Odds and Ends

This photo is our bountiful walnut harvest.  Last week's stormy weather knocked all the nuts off the trees.  Forrest cleaned them up.  The green outer coverings were knocked loose when they fell.  According to our internet research they need to dry in a cool, dry, place.  So they are currently residing on our front porch in one of the kids' old sleds.  This is the first big harvest from a tree we planted several years ago.  They should be ready to eat in 3-5 days.  Can't wait!

We braved long lines on Saturday to wait in our car for the drive-up  swine flu vaccination clinic.  The wait was three hours.  We are good multi-taskers and made the most of our time.  While Alyssa and I stayed in the car and snaked our way through town Forrest and Noah walked to the barber shop and got Noah a trim. Then I walked over to the hardware store and picked up a few things (and used their bathroom).  Alyssa and I went to Starbucks while Noah and Forrest stayed with the car for refreshments.

Alyssa has had some mild reactions to the flu mist.  A low grade fever and cough. My throat has been dry and scratchy.  But nothing like getting the full fledged flu.  We've had kids miss 7-10 days of school with high fevers of  103-105 degrees, high enough to cause hallucinations.  Some of our kids at school have developed pneumonia too.  So despite the long lines and some minor reactions I think it will pay off in the long run.

Football is now over. Noah's team lost in the first round of the play-offs on Saturday.  The field was a horrible mess and the other team handled it better than Noah's team.  They lost by two points.  The other team was able to convert their extra points and Noah's team wasn't.  Six games were played on that field in the span of five days of wind and pouring rain.  The sod just couldn't hold up under that onslaught.  We have tonight off, and basketball starts tomorrow.

I guess that's all the news for now.  I'll try to do a better job and not go so long between posts.

Homecoming

Alyssa poses with Noah before the Homecoming dance.  Alyssa and her friends didn't have dates, but they made quite the night of it.  They went out to a great seafood restaurant for dinner before the dance.  After the dance they went to a scary haunted house that's put on by a friend of ours.  One girl got right up to the entrance and freaked out and couldn't go in.  Then they all had a sleepover.  Needless to say she's exhausted and went to bed before 8 tonight.

What a lovely group of ladies.  What are the boys at their school thinking?

But who needs boys with this much energy and silliness?

So Hard to Get a Good Photo

Alyssa wanted this shot of her and Noah in their blue and gold.

Noah's eyes are closed. Forrest isn't smiling.  I'm gritting my teeth.  Alyssa looks OK.

Forrest still isn't smiling.  The kids and I look alright.

Noah's eyes closed again.

Three out of four look good here.

Alyssa is the only one who looks good here.  I don't know what I'm looking at, and Noah's eyes are closed again.

Maybe there's a Christmas card photo in this bunch. Or maybe we'll have to try again.

This is it, the end is in sight

This week Alyssa mailed her final two college applications.  She has applied to four schools.  Two state schools; Eastern Washington U and Central Washington U and two private schools; St. Martin's and University of Portland. Because she applied early she didn't have to pay the application fees or write the essays for the private schools.   Her transcripts have been sent, and now she just has to wait for acceptance  letters and offers of aid and scholarships.  She will most likely attend Eastern unless St. Martin's offers an amazing aid package.

Alyssa's yearbook photo has been submitted.  She still has to choose her quote and we have to send in a baby picture by the end of October.  Her Homecoming dress has been purchased and so has her ticket to the dance.  She is attending the dance with 6 girlfriends.  None of these beautiful, intelligent girls have dates. What are those boys up there thinking?  Her senior year is seeming to fly by.  She's retaking the SAT this weekend.  Her scores from last year are strong enough to gain her entrance to all of the colleges she has applied to, but she wants higher scores for scholarship consideration.

As Alyssa is getting ready to move onto college, Noah will be starting high school next year and we'll get to do it all over again.  I'm feeling very old that my kids have reached this point in their lives.  I can't possibly be old enough for all of this.

Catching Up

Alyssa planned a group volunteer opportunity for Honor Society. This past week she and her friends provided childcare during the kindergarten orientation and a PTA meeting at my school.

For those of you not on Facebook here's a photo of the antique table Alyssa refinished for her senior project.  It looks terrific in our freshly painted living/dining room surrounded by chairs my grandpa made.

Noah's game was a blow-out so he got to play different positions than he usually does.  Here he's waiting for the kick-off.  Too bad the kick was short and it didn't get within 10 yards of him.

Here Noah is breaking up a pass. He loves to play defensive end.

Noah making an unassisted tackle.  It was a beautiful day for football.  Sunny with a breeze, but not too hot.  After the game we had a great barbecue at the coach's house. Alyssa went shopping for a dress for the Homecoming Dance this afternoon.  It's beautiful!  I'll post photos of it later.

Weekend of Birthdays

What a great weekend!  Grandma turned 100 years old on Saturday surrounded by family and friends.  Mom and Dad planned a great party, cake, ice cream, and lemonade.  The Wilbur Senior Center looked beautiful with Michelle's and Enid's table decorations.  The photos Alyssa and I used with the flowers were a great success. It was so crowded at the party that we didn't get much quality visiting time done there with our cousins from out of state.  The best visiting took place at the Willows Inn sitting outside at the picnic tables and at the park where the kids could run and play.  My grandma is an inspiration for how to live a good life.  She has always had hobbies, her art, and is widely read and interested in the world. I know 60 and 70 year olds who won't touch a computer, but grandma keeps in touch with her children and grandchildren by email and reading our blog posts. 

My mom had to grab some "baby time" with Stratton as her youngest grandchild is now 6.

Here are some beautiful great-grandchildren: first row, Haden, Dalton holding Stratton, Gavin, Bryce sitting on Grandma's lap, Rowan.

Standing, Alyssa, Grayson, Ryan, Fuller, Noah, and Felicia.  Brandon and baby Myla weren't able to make the trip.Nine out of ten grandchildren were also present:

Katie and Suzanne sitting with grandma, in back are Leanne, Chris, Michelle, Jim, Me, Jay, and Mark. Leanne's sister, Debbie was the only grandchild not able to attend.

 Then the Jones family traveled onto Forrest's mom's house where we celebrated more birthdays:  Roland's, Mellisa's, and Anthony's.

 Austin and Noah are the cousins who are closest in age so I had to snap a photo of them side by side. They are both 8th graders this year, but Austin will turn 14, 6 months earlier than Noah.

First Football Game of the Season

Forrest, Alyssa, and I dressed for the partly cloudy, intermittent showers that were forecast for today in Bellingham.  What we got was bright sunshine, a slight breeze, and 80 degrees for Noah's 1:00 PM game.  Forrest and Alyssa both got sunburned, especially my fair English complected daughter.  Both my make-up and moisturizer have sunscreen in them so I was fine.  Even with his helmet on Noah managed to come home with red cheeks.  Noah's elbow got bashed by an opposing player's face-mask.  It's bruised and swollen, but he has a break from football till Wednesday to heal up.  Several of his teammates were nursing minor injuries too.

Bellingham's Regulators are traditionally very big boys.  They weren't that much taller than Noah and his teammates but the Eagles gave up 20-50 pounds on the line per player.  The Regulators scored on their first possession and then were held scoreless till the second half.  Noah's team lead 24 to 6 at half-time.  Noah and the rest of the offensive line have perfected the wedge, and they powered through Bellingham's defense to grind out lots of yards.  

Bellingham scored twice in the third quarter when the coach put in the second team defense.  In the fourth quarter the Eagles managed the clock and scored one last touch down with two minutes left in the game to seal the victory.   

Noah is spending the night at a friend's house tonight and will then go to Wild Waves to celebrate his friend's birthday.  He was pretty worn out so I think there won't be any problem with him wanting to stay up too late before his big day at the amusement/water park.

Alyssa put the final finishing coat on her refinishing project.  The table is going to be gorgeous.  Now we're going to move the old table out of the dining room, paint it, and then move the newly refinished table into place and attach the top to the base.  We can't get it into the house in one piece.  Alyssa is anxious about the class schedule she picked up last week.  She's missing a graduation requirement, and the computer gave her two classes she doesn't need.  Hopefully she'll be able to meet with a counselor this week to sort it out.