The kids in Hawaii on the way back from Japan. 

Another view 

back yard 

Pics of the house for those of you who haven't seen it yet. Our address: 1640 38th Ct. Washougal, WA 98671 

Tonight is a nice breezy night. They have forecast that it may rain tonight. I sort of hope that it will...it's been a while since we have had rain. Just very hot sunny days. So much for the stereotype of the northwest!

Today in church it was back to just Dad and I on the back bench. David, Adina et al went to their new ward in Washougal. I'll let them tell you about it on the blog... Treven and Kim came over for dinner along with Dave's family. I, as usual, made a cyclone in the kitchen. We just finished cleaning it up and Adina is making cinnamon rolls...a tradition for the starting of school in their family. Isaac and Taylor start tomorrow. Parker starts on Wednesday. We had the furniture for Kim's old room...our new guest room...delivered last night. Now I have to get curtains, bedspread and bedding for it...and basically put the room together. It has great potential though...we do really like the furniture.

We took care of Jane, Sadie and Ellyn yesterday while Mike and Brooke had a day to themselves. It was a lot of fun...The day before I had Isaac, Taylor, Parker and Morgan at the store. Someone commented that I had my grandchildren with me!!! I guess it always is a little discouraging when other people do not even entertain the thought that they might be my children. I really do look my age now!!! It is so fun having them all so close so that we can have them get to know us well...both the good and the bad side. Sadie was not so crazy about me when I put her in the cart at Fred Meyer when she kept running away!!! Ellyn is a dream to take care of...except when she is waking up!! Otherwise she just toddles around and entertains herself. We have them again tomorrow for another play day for Mike and Brooke.

M & B, D & A and Dad and I went to see James Taylor on Friday night...Treven and Kim took care of the kids (Thank you! Thank you!) It is our third time seeing him and we would go in a heartbeat again. It was a great show!

It will be a quiet house when Dave and Adina move into their new house in a week or so...not sure how Dad will survive when I leave at about the same time too!!!

Love you all,

Mom

p.s. Loved your pictures, Marnie. It's great to see you happy and enjoying yourself!

Here are some pics from Disneyland last weekend. We haven't had pictures in a while so I thought I would post some!

I figure it is finally time to sit down and blog. I am looking at about 12 days until I fly to Korea. I have to say it has been a very enjoyable month leading up to my departure. We have learned over time in the Army, that with separation, it is best to leave the emotions to last and just enjoy the time you have.

The adventure across the country with the U-haul was thankfully uneventful. We spent all our bad luck in Columbus when I picked up the U-Haul from the rental place and proceeded down the freeway to Fort Benning. That was when I looked back to the rear of the 26-foot truck and saw the trailer hanging by one chain flying back and forth across three busy lanes of traffic. Cars swerved everywhere to avoid the impending catastrophe which fortunately never transpired as the chain held on long enough for me to slow down. Lifting the large trailer back onto the hitch with two blown out tires and seized brakes on a shoulder the size of a Hot Wheels track was largely a matter of earnest and successful prayer. Turns out the hitch on the trailer I had been given was faulty. I had to literally drag the trailer (because of the seized brakes) to another nearby U-Haul to get a replacement. It was a bit of a Planes. Trains and, Automobiles event pulling into the place with tires smoking and a bashed trailer.

Besides packing the U-Haul on the hottest day of the Georgia summer, everything else went great. It took us five days to get to Washington from Georgia averaging 40-45 mph. Marion, IL --> Lawrence, KS --> Denver, CO --->Twin Falls, ID were our stops. In Denver, we stayed with Brooke's brother Adam. For the evening, we went to a local amusement park that has been in Denver forever and got ourselves ill on thrill rides. Actually it was great fun with an authentic "Coney-Island style" wooden roller-coaster. Safety was in the back of my mind, however, after taking Sadie on a fairly fast ride. As we were getting set to start the ride, all the "carny' chic did was yell out "Is everyone ready?!' Never mind she could only see about 3 of the 20 or so cars from her vantage point, and that 3 and 4 year olds were in some of the cars BY THEMSELVES! No checking seatbelts here! Or, for that matter, tickets:) Yes, pretty much every ride was free. Funny place, but we had a memorable time.

On arrival, many helping hands assisted us in getting everything unloaded into Brooke's parents daylight basement and to our storage unit. We spent a fun day out at the Washougal river getting wet at Brent's in-laws. Kim's wedding was beautiful and I thought the backyard reception with Mom and Dad's great backyard was perfect. It was great seeing you Marnie and how much and adult you are now. I know that sounds funny, but you have to remember, I watched your birth! It is very good to see you having a successful and fun life.

The following week we took off for a Utah vacation. Because of all the driving we had done we decided to stop outside Boise on the way at a hotel next to a water park. We got to Boise early enough we were able to take the kids (including my nephew and niece) to the waterpark and spent 6 hours there. It was a fantastic idea of mine:) It made the trip so easy and enjoyable! In Utah we attended two of Brooke's family reunions which included 9 holes of golf. This was honestly the first time I really considered never golfing again because it was so frustrating. Of course the golf gods decided to allow me a perfect 250 yard drive ( a first for me) on the last hole so that I would play once more. They are really coniving. Following those events we went to Eden to visit Dick and Martha.

WOW! What an incredible place the have built. So well designed! We were treated to a great tour of the surrounding area and a wonderful lunch at The Oaks in the canyon. We stayed two nights and could have stayed a year. We got to see Jake, who is really doing well. Martha was very gracious listening to Jane who talks and asks questions at least as much as I did at that age. Reminds me of very memorable times I spent with Aunt Beppie. Dick is obviously in pain but taking it very well. No Moose sightings however. I guess we will have to wait for the reunion for that.

The rest of the Utah time we spent down in Crappy Valley. Actually, we were very happy Peter and Anne and Geof and Darla were there to keep us sane. We had a blast going to movies and the waterpark. Too bad Anne was playing volleyball 25 hours a day or we would of hung out with her. Peter is a good guy to hang with though, so we were all happy. I am glad Peter enjoyed Jane's curiosity, it never ends!

The drive back was an all-nighter non-stop (except for gas). I hate doing that. I always feel like I am pushing safety to the edge. It was fun to do when you didn't have the kids in the back, now it just feels irresponisible. So that was the last one. Day driving when going cross-country from now on. We did arrive safely and I have since recovered from the lost sleep.

Since we have been back, we have spent a lot of time just hanging out at Mom and Dad's. Very fun. Dave cooked some awesome NY steaks last night. Sadie is always asking when we are going to "gramma barb's to play with my best buddy Morgan?" I have really enjoyed hanging out with Isaac, Tay, and Parker. Good kids. We are going to take them to the Lewis river today to cool them off on what is to be a hot day up here.

Brooke is busy trying to get the basement looking like a home. Jane had a fun lunch with "Papa and Gramma Barb" yesterday for her birthday. Sadie is always delighting us with her funny comments or driving us crazy with her moodiness. Ellyn is finally an official walker! I am trying to get some books read. The last book I read was fantastic but I can't recommend it in the traditional sense. It is called "A Million Little Pieces" by James Frey. It is the most riveting book I have read in a long time. However, the content is very mature and disturbing (it is the autobiographical account of recovery from severe drug addiction). So if you can stomach it, read it. But, I don't officially recommend it. Right now I am reading Bryson's A Short History of Nearly Everything (Recommended by Lexi), which is very good although it has been a strange transition from the style and content of Frey's book. My PC is enroute to Korea so I have lived this month pretty much game free, except for small bits of XBOX time. My PSP has also filled that void. Mostly I am just enjoyimg spending a lot of good time with my girls.

So..that blog should be long enough...if any of you made it through this far. It is really long to serve the dual-purpose of a journal entry for the many events of this month. That is why it may seem a little dry in places. I hope Mom is still printing these out! Love you all!

Mike

Google just released a new version of an instant messenger that is connected to a phone system device. Pretty cool. You have to have a Gmail account to use it. I think I emailed everyone an invitation. I haven't really used it much but it is most likely pretty cool as most things from Google are! Just thought I would let you know.

To read more... http://www.cnn.com/2005/TECH/internet/08/24/google.messaging.reut/index.html

Things are fine here in San Diego. I got some good sleep last night that I really needed. So I feel pretty rested today. Just going through the day to day stuff. Most of the people at work are out of the office today. They are either sick, having personal problems, at appointments or in China! So I am having fun listening to Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince while I get some work done. This Saturday I start up at Sport Chalet again. I think it is going to be really good for me and I am excited to go back. I hope everyone is well. Congrats Tom on your test and D&A on your house! I want to see pics! Love you all.

--
Marnie

With the new update released from Sony
today, the PSP now has a full web browser from which I posted this. Cool huh?

Mike

Well, as Anne calls it, I am abandoning her tomorrow to go visit my parents and go camping with my siblings in California. I am excited to go to Dinkey Creek. It is a place that my family went to when I was little for family camp with the ward and it's down the road from Shaver lake which was a big place for us to go to while I was growing up in the scouts and all. We are slowly collecting more camping gear. The new item for this trip is a little camping stove. It's not the deluxe-o version, but I was way excited to test it out tonight.

My niece moved up to Provo a week ago to work and I think go to school. She was visiting tonight and we found out that she is in the same ward as Anne's teamates. Oh, my niece is 19 and has finished a year of college. It's fun to have a niece that old because she is more like the younger sibling I never had.

Last week we were graced with a visit from the Battleground Stinchfields. I keep wanting to call them the Georgia Stinchfields. Anyways, it was awesome to have them around for a couple of days. I had a load of fun at seven peaks water park. I havn't been to a water park for quite a long time. I also learned that you need to reapply sunscreen because it can wash off. It wasn't that bad of a burn though. I also had lots of fun showing Jane my coin and money collection. After they left I've been working on my "your in trouble" face that Mike and Sadie kept giving Jane. Jane really wasn't doing anything but being framed for popping Sadie's toes. Anne just shakes her head and gives me a "you're goofy" look when I practise the look on her. I probably don't do the look justice. It is pretty cute when Sadie does it. Anyways, I love being an Uncle.

Congradulations Tom on passing your boards! Congradulations on getting the new house all taken care of Dave & Adina! Take care all,

Peter

Tom,

Outstanding! Nothing like getting your part I behind you and you'll do well in the part II. I don't perceive that you'll have any problem with that or the state or regional exams when the time comes. Just remember that they did not let you into that institution because you were dumb. You have the intelligence, drive and ambition to get where you want to go. Just keep up with the requirements and great things will come your way. Hang in there, man. L/ Dad

That is just great about your boards. It is so nice to check off those things that you'll never have to take again. It seems unreal that you are at the hump....half-way through.

Mike, Brooke and girls just left after a great evening with us. I think David and Adina should get the keys for the house tomorrow. I'm excited to see the inside of the house...

Love to see updates from you all! We love you all!

Mom

Well the dreaded day finally came and ended in celebration! Tom got his board scores and he passed!!! He couldn’t help but be nervous because the test was so hard but he did just fine on it! We rejoiced by going out to Red Robin, yummy!!!

Prior to going to Red Robin we had a fantastic time cleaning our basement yesterday. What a joyous occasion it was… we have the biggest pile of trash I have ever seen and another large pile going to the Salvation Army… why were we keeping all the stuff in the first place? Our basement is one of those nice dark, unfinished spidery wet ones… it’s a lot of fun but we’re grateful to at least have somewhere to put stuff.

Kenn and Barb thanks for sending the binoculars and the cute outfit for “baby sister.” It was such a fun package to get. Buffy your shopping trip sounded like quite the adventure! I can’t believe she does that alone with her kids! Dave and Adina, congrats on getting the house! It is so cute and in such a great spot. It’s amazing how everything just seems to be working out so well for you! Hopefully we can come see it sometime before a year from this Christmas. We’re starting to look at options for traveling over spring break or something because we miss everyone so much already! Staying here for the next year seems really long!

Marnie, good luck with the transition into the non-school world. You're right that they should do something to help prepare everyone more! It really can be a hard transition, especially when you think about the fact that you have been a student since you were 5! I remember really missing the social aspects as well and feeling really lonely a lot. Getting a job back at Sport Chalet sounds like it might help. Around here you are supposed to stay active in the Institute program until you are 30, regardless of whether or not you're a student, or married or whatever. Are you still taking a class there or going to activities and such? That might help to with the transition too. Hopefully it will get better soon.

Hayden is as funny as ever. His new thing is to sing “Where is Thumbkin?” but to change the words to “Where is Hayden?” and to close his eyes until he says “Here I am!” What a funny kid. He was watching the Backyardigans while he was eating his lunch today and when they would start singing he couldn’t resist standing up in his high chair and singing and dancing, even turning circles while balancing in his high chair. Oh, how I wish I had the video camera running! He has become hugely afraid of monsters under his bed. Tomorrow we are going to go buy him a night light to see if it helps. He wakes up crying and running into our room several times a night until we convince him there are no monsters. I suppose that is just one of the side effects of a vivid imagination!

Hayden is also the king of excuses. For example, Friday we went to Geauga Lake to the water park. We were floating around the lazy river and Tom handed him to me to hold in my tube. He immediately wanted to go back to Tom and when I said no he said “But mom, I’m getting you all wet!” Very clever… After church today he wanted to watch a movie and I said no because it was time for lunch. He kept arguing with me and I told him his tummy was hungry and was saying “I want lunch.”. So he said “My tummy says ‘I want to watch a movie.” He has an excuse or a reason for everything! We were out shopping this week and I was making him sit in the stroller. He asked to get out and I said no and said “Hayden, what do you think would happen if I let you out?” and he quickly responded with “I would run away.” Needless to say, he stayed in the stroller.

Well I better go, he really wants my attention. Today he started calling me “mama” for some reason and he thinks it’s hilarious. He keeps trying to think of things to say that have mama in it just so he can laugh. I hope you’re all having a great weekend. Talk to you again soon!

Tracey

It seems we have had a lot of those lately. Anyway - it is official - we signed the papers today and should receive the keys to the house soon. We're pretty anxious to get into the house - not because we haven't thoroughly enjoyed our stay here. We have been so comfortable and we feel pretty fortunate. We'll be here a while longer - we need to have our stuff delivered and we want to do some painting before we move in. Kids start school on the 29th, so we are aiming around there.

Kenn, Dave and boys are at Father/Son camp out tonight. We ladies had some dinner, then went to Cold Stone for some dessert. My eyes were bigger than my stomach - half of my dessert is in the freezer! Then we came home for a movie of Morgan's choice. I was anxious to watch some super girlie movie like Beauty and the Beast or Cinderella, but what does she pick out? Spiderman! Her brothers have brainwashed her! It was a fun girls night anyway.

Off to bed - I am at the end of Wuthering Heights and I am anxious to finish it. I know it is a dark, twisted love story, but I like it! G'night!

Adina

Personally, I think that people in general need to trust the dentist they go to. More insitutional, "boring" names tend to engender that sense of trust. If you get hung up on a clever name, you could be working against this theory of mine. So my suggestion is Columbia River Dental.

When I get back Sunday I will post something about our wonderful trip to Utah.

Mike

Hey guys, some of you know that I am trying to aptly name my practice. Having a hard time deciding. Had it nailed down to River Rock Dental, but got too much negative feedback. I know, "any name you pick is going to get some negative feedback". Well, it was too much. So here I am again trying to figure out a name for the practice and not being able to come up with anything substantial.

So, this is where I ask you for your help. Give me some names. These are the "criteria" I am trying to satisfy:

• Something to do with the outdoors, Northwest, trees, water.....
• Short enough to be reasonable in length for a sign/website/answering on the phone, etc.
• Have a domain name available (www.name.com) for easy remembering when driving by and seeing it on the sign.
• Must have calmness associated with it. The problem with River Rock was the 'Rock' part....too hard.
• Not already be the name of a dental practice in Washington/Oregon.
• The practice is located on a woody acre with a serene garden that has bird/squirrel feeders galore and a waterfall with a small pond. The practice has been there for 32 years. Both the Columbia and Washougal Rivers are within a 1/2 mile North and South. Washougal means 'rushing water' and it is sometime called the Gateway to the Gorge because it is the last large community you go through before entering the Columbia River Gorge where there are waterfalls, etc. Also, there is a view of snow-capped Mt. Hood from Washougal. That should give you a good feel for the area and hopefully help with ideas.
  

If you have any ideas let me know. I have spent countless hours eliminating names and thought you all would have a fresh perspective with fresh ideas.

Thanks in advance, just put 'em on the blog.

Dave

Of the many places I want to see in LA before we move I was able to see one today... the garment district in downtown LA. It's not an attractive tourist spot by any means, but I did want to see this place I have heard of for so many years. I have a friend who sells clothing out of her home by hosting shows and letting friends come over to shop as well, who makes frequent trips to this place. By the way, she also sells those modest camisoles and cap sleeve tees.
Last Sunday I tracked her down to let her know I wanted to come along on her next trip. That trip came today and off we went in her Odessey with her 1 and 4 year olds. Our first destination was not what I expected. It looked like a large 2 story outdoor mall but all the stores were the exact same small size with clothing in them with either Asian or Latin employees. We went to the stores that Mandy had been to before and any that seemed to have merchandise that she was looking for. She would immediately decide if she wanted anything and then discuss cost and the minimum quantity the items came in. All the while we had 2 squirming children to keep happy.
Several very large bags and hundreds of dollars later, we drove to our 2nd destination which was more of what I was expecting (more ghetto). We parked on one of many blocks of streetside stores of tons of clothing and accessories. You definitely had to know where to go because most stores sold worthless stuff. So as we browsed our last few stores, I could not help but notice people selling dvd's on the sidewalk that were movies still playing in theatres for $5! I then noticed a ripple of these "vendors" down the street wistle to each other that a cop was driving down the street and quickly conceal the pirated videos.
In a 3 hour trip downtown, we packed the Odessey full of bags and headed home. It was kind of overwhelming but I would definitely go back with her again. Since it wasn't my money, I had a blast picking out tops and skirts and helping order 6 to 12 of everything! When we got back I was happy to pick out a couple things for the wholesale price since I helped out (basically I got to play dress up!). Anyway, the main things I learned from this trip was 1) boy is there a huge markup on retail, and 2) this friend of mine in gutsy and crazy but doing extremely well with her home business.
Ok, I'm done with my story now. Sorry we haven't posted either lately, but like you it's just been ordinary day to day stuff here. Oh, and Tracy... I found those Teva's on their website and ordered them directly from it (love flip-flops!).
Brent and I are more and more sure that I should do my final 12 week internship with the clinic in Vancouver. Brent might even beat me up there if he finds the right job and has already been contacting potential employers. I have a week and a half before school starts and am thoroughly enjoying sleeping way past my future 5:30AM wake up time!
K, I'm really done now... TTFN!
Buffy