Student of the Semester

Hooray! Alyssa was named Student of the Semester for PE. The school provided a very nice breakfast in the commons and then the ceremony was in the Performing Arts Center.


The counselor read the nomination that was submitted by Alyssa's PE teacher before she was handed her award. Alyssa's friend, Amanda, was recognized for history. The PE teacher praised Alyssa's sweet nature, her drive to improve her fitness level, and her 100% participation. Alyssa hasn't missed a single class period.


It's unusual for Alyssa to be recognized for something other than an academic subject. This shows how well rounded a young lady she's becoming. I'm so proud of her!

Sunday Drive

There was no good news on the sports front this weekend: the undefeated Cougs lost, the Seahawks lost, and Noah's team lost to their chief rivals. So let's not talk sports this weekend.



Yesterday Forrest and I saw a flock of Tundra Swans that winter in our area right next to the road, but we didn't have the camera with us. We decided to take a Sunday drive this morning in search of photo opportunities. Of course today the swans were not nearly as close to the road as they were yesterday. These beautiful birds raise their young in Northern Canada and winter on the farms near our house. Their wingspan is nearly 7'. The swans are endangered so thankfully they're not hunted.



Snow Geese which migrate from Siberia for the winter gather in larger groups than the swans. Often fields are covered with 5,000-10,000 birds. They're harder to find this year since the state has opened up controlled hunts to keep the birds from destroying farmland. The closest fields to our house are five miles away, but on a clear night we can hear the geese bedding down for the night.



The sun was finally out today after weeks of gray, dreary, wet weather. We've had lots of sleet, snow mixed with rain, drizzle, and just plain downpours. The sunlight on the mountains was so lovely we had to snap a few pics. And I couldn't resist the alpacas and their babies at the local alpaca farm.



This was a great morning. We left the kids at home, explored our valley, took some beautiful photos, and went out for coffee. The children do not appreciate beautiful scenery. We took a walk along the slough. A few hunters were out and we heard shots in the distance, but we didn't witness any birds meeting their demise. Now it's time to get back to the business of Sunday afternoon: laundry and housework.

First Game of 2008

Pre-game instructions.
Noah waits for the pass.
Fast break!



Noah draining a free throw shot in his game this weekend. Score 79 to 9 Eagles win.


This was a horribly boring and sad game. I started cheering for the other team. Once Noah's team built a 15 point lead the league rules keep them from using a full court press which really slows down our game. The other team was content to pass and dribble. They were afraid to shoot from outside and scared to drive to the basket. If they'd at least tried to drive to the basket they might have been fouled and at least had a chance to make a free throw. The Eagles won their second game by 16.

Vacation Achievements

Well I've come nearly to the end of my winter break. Here are a few things that I did accomplish.
1. Two movies watched in a theatre, "Golden Compass" and "National Treasure, Book of Secrets"
2. Two books read, see list to the left
3. Both dogs washed and clean smelling
4. Newspaper read every day and crossword puzzle completed every day too
5. Caught up with my summer guilty pleasure, soap operas
6. Laundry is caught up and hampers are empty
7. Started a food diary to help me lose weight
8. Showed my kids that I'm good with a crossbow (via the Wii)

I didn't get the photo albums updated as I hoped to, but I did set up my craft table and the scrapbooking supplies are on it and ready to go. Maybe I'll have some time on Sunday afternoon since the Seahawks play on Saturday instead of Sunday. Forrest is bummed because the Hawks play at 1:30, but Noah has a game at 3:00 so we won't be able to see the end of the game. Then Noah has another game at 6:00 which conflicts with the start of the UW/WSU basketball game. Oh well, there are only so many hours in the day to devote to sports.

The mountain photo is a view of the Olympic Mountains from our neighborhood on New Year's Day and the others are from our trip to Soapy Dog.

New Year's Lunch

On New Year's Day we journeyed to the big city to have lunch with my brother and his wife. My poor brother was terribly sick with a sore throat so his wife did most of the talking. It was a beautiful day for a long drive. Nice days have been few and far between lately. Lunch at the waterfront was delicious. We even let Alyssa drive home. It was the first time she's driven in the city. Getting on and off the freeway was a bit scary, but she handled herself OK.

The neighbor kids went back to school today, so it was quiet around the neighborhood. The kids and I go back to school Monday. The last few days before break were trying. It was very hard to keep the kids focused. We went to school till the 21st while the neighbor kids were out on the 14th. I was hating our vacation schedule on the 19th and 20th when the kids were cranky and excited at the same time, but now I'm loving having so much time off after Christmas to relax before heading back to work.

Tomorrow the kids and I are taking the dogs to a new place, a self-service dog washing place called Soapy Dog. Our dogs are difficult to wash and boy do they need a bath. It will be nice to pay less than half of what our usual groomer costs, get clean muts, and not have to clean up the mess. I'll report more later.

Weekend Numbers

5: the number of concession stands we helped set up Friday night for the Holiday Hoop Tournament at 5 schools
4: the number of games Noah played in one day (they won 3 and lost 1, placing 3rd)
1134: the dollars spent on food for the concession stands at Costco by me ( to be reimbursed later after I take back the
unopened cans of nacho cheese sauce and chili)
135: the number of hot dogs sold
39: the number of teams who participated grades 4-8
14: the number of hours spent at the tournament yesterday

I had to be at my station yesterday morning by 7:00 AM to start the coffee and put the gluey nacho cheese sauce in the crockpots to make nachos later in the day. I could feel my intestines tying themselves up in knots just looking at that disgusting yellow goo.

The first games of the day started at 8:00 AM. Noah played at 8, 10, 3, and 7. If they'd won the 7:00 PM game they would have played in the championship game at 8:00 PM. After such a long day the boys just ran out of gas. After shutting down the sites and cleaning up it was after 9:00 PM before we got to head home. It was a very long tiring day. I didn't get to see Noah's first game because the teams who were supposed to run the stand I set up didn't show up so I was stuck there until I could recruit some workers. Despite the stress of not having enough people to work concessions and trying to keep on track of all the games going on at five different sites around town it was a fun day.

But today we've all been lying around resting. The most strenuous activity I engaged in today was putting new sheets on the bed. Tomorrow the Christmas tree comes down and I'll get to work on updating photo albums. Since we went to school through the 21st we don't have to go back till the 7th. It's nice having a long break after the holidays are over.

Merry Christmas

As you can see by the clock in the photo of the aftermath of opening presents we had an early morning. All the presents were opened by 7:00 AM. Video games, movies, and clothes were the most prevalent items. We don't get toys at our house any more. After a breakfast of homemade cinnamon rolls we played Kabookii on the Wii. It's a version of the board game Cranium. The kids beat the grownups. Then we watched Zac Ephron, John Travolta, and company in "Hairspray." Our ham feast was followed by a chilly walk around the neighborhood. We had snow mixed with rain during our midday dinner. It definitely felt cold enough to snow during our walk. The Sonics play the Trailblazers tonight so I'm sure we'll watch the game later. Last night Forrest talked to his family since they do most of their celebrating Christmas Eve. I talked to my folks this afternoon in Portland. Today was a nice, quiet day at home. The rest of this week won't be so quiet as we head towards the tournament that our league hosts on the first Saturday after Christmas. It's a one day basketball tournament that runs from 9:00 AM till 9:00 PM. I'm helping coordinate the concession stands at 3 or 4 different sites. I'll be one of those ladies at Costco later this week pushing one of the large flat carts.