Holiday Wedding

I love weddings, and it's been quite some time since I got to attend one. My cousin Margaret's son, Ryan Presho, got married to his high school sweetheart in Spokane on December 19th. The wedding took place at the historic Davenport Hotel in downtown Spokane. The Christmas decorations were gorgeous. Holly Howard is now Holly Presho and part of the family. This trip allowed us to also spend some time with Forrest's relatives. Alyssa helped out by babysitting some of the younger members of the wedding party before the ceremony. She got to spend a little bit of time with her favorite girl cousins, Ryan's sisters, Nicole and Mikala. Noah had to dress up in something other than basketball shorts and a t-shirt. I think he cleans up pretty nicely.

Christmas Prep

Christmas countdown has begun. I think we're in good shape to have everything ready. The kids finally decorated the tree. Forrest put the lights on the house. Shopping is done and most of the presents are wrapped. Alyssa and I need to find some time to do some baking and make some fudge.

Now if only I can survive the frenetic energy of the children in my class for two more days. There's a continual hum in the room. Alyssa has been coming to work with me. She's been working with the kindergarten and first grade students. She's been helping them complete some Christmas projects, and today she helped complete some math assessments with the first graders.

Noah is in the middle of spirit week at the high school. He has worn cheetah pajamas to school and a furry sweater that made him look like the Cookie Monster from Sesame Street for ugly sweater day. His freshman basketball team continues to be successful. They've won all five of their games by 15 to 25 points.

Christmas break will be a busy time. We have a family wedding in Spokane, a quick trip to Portland, and Noah will continue to have basketball. He has one game during break and practice on most weekdays. I'm hoping to get some good books read by my fire with a cup of tea and some Christmas cookies.

Ah, a Snow Day in November

This is the coldest Thanksgiving week here in Western Washington in 25 years. And also the snowiest. I remember Thanksgiving 1985. I was home for college when the storm hit.

I had to chain up my mint green Pontiac Sunbird and drive it back to school. If I remember correctly my dad followed me back because I didn't have much experience driving on ice and snow.

Yesterday started out with the forecast saying that most of the snow would be from Everett south so I thought we wouldn't get much snow at all. However, by 8:45 AM as the students were getting off the bus it started snowing in Arlington. It snowed hard, but the flakes were the dry tiny ones that don't amount to much. By lunch it had warmed up a bit and that first round of snow melted. Then the temperature dropped suddenly, and it started to snow again, this time with larger flakes that piled up more quickly. The big problem is that the snow that melted formed a layer of ice under the new snow.

Basketball practice was canceled so I had to go get Noah from school during the last recess for my students. Lots of parents came to pick up their kids early. The buses were late and since the principal lives within walking distance of the school she took the remaining kids to the gym with a few other teachers and told those of us who live farther away to get going. The last group of kids were picked up at 6:00 PM, almost two and a half hours after school got out. It took Noah and I more than twice as long as usual to get home. Many people I know were on the road for 3-5 hours to get home last night.

Noah and I had a quiet day at home. He had a friend come over. They sledded a bit on our road, and they played a lot of Call of Duty, Black Ops. I made cranberry sauce, pumpkin bread with craisins, and pumpkin muffins with chocolate chips. We're waiting for Forrest to get home with Alyssa for Thanksgiving. School is also canceled for tomorrow. I'll have to get the turkeys in the brine for Thanksgiving and bake a pecan pie. We're having dinner with friends in Arlington starting with a yummy brunch and then eating all day.

Homecoming 2010

Noah and I went out to the Bryson's so Noah and Kaleb could get ready for the Homecoming dance together, and so that Kaleb's mom, Tracy, and I could put together some gift bags for the kids. We included mints, gum, cookies, water bottles, and other fun surprises like glow sticks.

Kaleb and Noah grudgingly agreed to pose for us.

Noah and his girlfriend, Kaitlin, make an adorable couple. The 12 friends going to the dance together met at Kaitlin's house for pictures before dinner and the dance.

Tracy and I had dinner at Applebees while the kids had Italian food at Johnny Carino's. Then the kids strolled the Cascade Mall to kill time before the dance. They were a sharp looking group in a mall filled with people in jeans and sweatshirts.

Off to College

On September 17 we moved Alyssa into her dorm in Cheney, WA at Eastern Washington University.  It's a beautiful campus with fountains, statues, brick buildings, and a devilishly red turf football field called "The Inferno." We weren't sure we could fit everything into the room. Three girls come with lots of "necessities." Alyssa and her friend, Amye, turned their beds into bunks so that they could fit everything else into the room.
There was no way to fit three twin beds and three large desks and chairs into that space without stacking the beds.  I was impressed with the amount of storage in the room. I think Alyssa has more drawers and closet space in her dorm room than in her bedroom at home.





Amye has the top bunk for now. I don't know if she'll keep it for the whole year or alternate at some point.  She likes it for now.

Alyssa is settling into a routine of classes, studying, going to the gym, and attending sporting events.  She has attended her first college football game and a volleyball game.  The boys next door tried to teach her how to play poker, but she preferred Uno and BS.  She has gone out to the movies with one set of cousins and out to lunch with another cousin and his girlfriend.  They even took her to the VFW hall and taught her how to play pool.  Now she can play on the tables in the dorm lounge.  She'll be coming home for the first time October 8th.  On the way home Alyssa will swing into Ellensburg to pick up a friend and take her home for the weekend too.  During the weekend she's going to be home she'll get to see her former babysitting charges play football and cheer as well as see Noah play two basketball games in Seattle. It will be a very full weekend.

Nostalgia

Just look at those cute boys.  Hot August Hoops champs in 2007.  Almost exactly three years later they won another August 3 on 3 tournament.



I was looking at this summer's photos and comparing them to photos we took three years ago during July and August of 2007.  Alyssa, Forrest, and I don't look so very different but just take a look at Noah.  It's amazing!  He's grown more than a foot. I hope his feet have stopped growing.  He's been a size 15 for 9 months now.  Usually I have to order his shoes online, but last week we actually found a pair at a mall store that were his size and on sale.  That almost never happens. 

Camping

We spent four days in eastern Washington on a family vacation with a couple of spare children along for the ride to keep the kids busy.  Forrest, Noah, Kaleb, and I drove to Sun Lakes/Dry Falls State Park on Thursday.  Alyssa and her friend, Amanda, joined us late Friday night. Forrest and I have decided that we don't like weekend camping any more.  Thursday and Friday were so peaceful, quiet, and uncrowded. As the sun set Friday night the campground filled up and got noisy. 

In the loop adjacent to ours were two 

very large family groups.  Forrest said it was like a refugee camp (he's so politically incorrect) since neither group spoke English.  One was a large Hispanic family with at least 17 kids and the other was a large Russian family. There are only supposed to be a maximum of 8 people per campsite, but apparently the rangers didn't feel like enforcing that provision. The kids kept running back and forth through the middle of our campsite. Next year we're going to camp mid-week.

One of the highlights of the visit was a quick trip to Wilbur to visit my grandma. Her 101st birthday is coming up soon. The girls love to take their own photos.  Here they are at Soap Lake.  It was too cold to swim, but we did dip our toes in the healing mineral waters. The kids loved jumping from the basalt cliffs into Deep Lake.  Forrest shot video of their jumps from above while I floated on a tube in the water below.  We weren't brave (or stupid) enough to jump in.  Other than the wind the weather was lovely and warm.  All in all a great family vacation.

Too Hot for Me

Bradey, Noah, and Kaleb show off their champions shirts in front of the bracket proclaiming them the winners.

All the kids pitch in and help keep score for other teams when they're not playing.



Spending the weekend in a casino parking in mid-90 degree weather is trying.  There is not nearly enough shade and we can't take the kids into the casino to cool off between games.  Today we took the boys to a nearby grocery store to eat lunch and chill out between games.  Noah's team has been trying to  win this 3 on 3 basketball tournament since they were 9 year olds getting ready to start 4th grade.  That was the first time Noah teamed up with Bradey and Kaleb.  They've been a team ever since. They usually pick up a 4th player so that they will have a sub, but this time it was just the three of them, and they prevailed and they were the champions of their age group. Their bracket was a combination of 8th and 9th grade teams.  However, Noah's team only played one 8th grade team.  The rest of their games were against freshman teams from Lummi and Burlington. 

Last night we had a potluck at our house after the first round of games.  It was a beautiful night to sit out on our deck and enjoy our view of the water.  It was a great evening with yummy food and the wonderful friends we've made through Noah's experience playing ball in Arlington.

Fair Time

Last weekend was the local Stanwood/Camano Community Fair.  The weather was wet but the kids had a great time any way.  I don't think Noah appreciates the animals any more, but Alyssa always takes time to see them.  She was especially fond of the little piglets.  I think she took 10 pictures of the pigs. This horse was waiting its turn in the show ring.
Noah and his friend, Nate, got their money's worth out of their $20 unlimited ride bracelet.  They were at the fair for six hours.  The boys ran into some girls from their school and spent the day with them.  They later went to one girl's house to hang out for the evening before spending the night at Nate's. It seems like Noah never spends a full week here ever.
Alyssa and her friend, Rachael, kept their hoods up trying to keep their hair dry during the damp fair.  They spend so much time straightening it they hate to get it wet.  After the fair Alyssa went to a Mariner game with Forrest.  They had a good time despite another loss for the home town team. I had the house to myself. I could watch whatever I wanted on TV and I didn't have to share my Ben and Jerry's ice cream with anyone.

Summer in Portland

Our first activity in Portland on Saturday morning was a yummy breakfast at Bread and Ink.  Forrest and Alyssa each had a beautiful plate of waffles like this.  My omelette was yummy but not nearly as eye catching as this plate.  I did get a bite of Forrest's and it was delicious.  I keep thinking I'll have the waffles the next time I go to this restaurant, but their egg dishes are so good, and besides someone at the table always gets the waffles so I usually get a few bites anyway.  Then we went to Lloyd Center to do some tax free shopping.  During the heat of the afternoon Michelle, Suzanne, Alyssa and I went to walk through the gardens at Edgefield.  We saw two bridal parties.  I felt a bit sorry for the gals in formal dresses as it was 90+ degrees.
It figures that one of the few times Forrest actually smiles in a picture my eyes are nearly closed. This was part of a mass photo op after Forrest and dad grilled salmon, potatoes, and portobello mushrooms.  We took lots of group shots. 
Mom and dad posed with Suzanne.
Three 40 something cousins who still look great.
Here's one of our traditional photos of the kids.  By height Alyssa is now in the middle.  I think in a few years she'll be in Rowan's spot. Noah is 6'2", Fuller is nearly 5'9", Alyssa is 5'7". I'm sure Grayson and Rowan will pass the girl up by the time they're teens.
Here's the group arranged by age:  7, nearly 10, 13, 14, and 18.  They're a lovely group.  They get along so well.  Noah took on Fuller on the basketball court and Alyssa kept an eye on the younger ones at the playground. I wish we could have stayed for a longer visit, but Forrest and Alyssa had to work today, Noah had basketball camp, and I had a dentist appointment.  I'm glad we were able to get away for the weekend to go to Portland while Suzanne was in town.  Unfortunately we didn't get to see Jim and Enid, maybe next time.