Keepin' busy...

In-laws in town...lots to do...or not do. We're taking it easy and having fun. Updates to come.

So, some good news...

If you also read my sister's blog, than you know that while we were in MI for our grandfather's funeral, our other grandfather (my dad's dad) had a tumor removed from his neck and it was malignant. They had to do some tests and he met with his oncologist and surgeon this past Friday. We were all on pins and needles because he had already decided that he would not go through any harsh treatment (chemo or radiation) - which is not surprising because his wife, our Grandma Trudy, was completely debilitated by treatment for her cancer a few years back...it was horrible and she suffered for years after the treatments before she passed away.

Fast forward - my grandfather found out that he does have the same type of cancer as my grandmother did, but the oncologist said they pretty much could not have caught it sooner. They anticipated one six-week round of chemo (well, he said they told him he would be sick for six weeks) and they said with that treatment there's a 98% chance of remission. Praise God! He already consented to this treatment (another praise God!) and is ready to get it behind him. I do not even want to think about the pleading and prodding we would have had to do in order to have him consent to treatment if the results of these initial tests were not so positive.

I know that cancer touches a lot of families - in our family it has touched a lot of lives...my mom's dad, my Great-Grandma Huse, my Grandma Margaret, my Grandma Trudy and now my Grandpa. My dad had a spot of skin cancer (basal cell carcinoma - the most common type) removed several years ago. Not all have been terminal illnesses, but still, that's all four of my grandparents.

So, let's all check our skin regularly, stay on top of any health concerns, and visit the doctor regularly. I hate cancer.

The visitation, funeral and impromptu family reunion all went well. It was great to be able to all spend time together and we felt blessed to be there to support my grandmother, who is doing amazingly well and starting to plan for the rest of her life, knowing that she still has living left to do. She told us lots of stories over the last few days and I think she really enjoyed passing on bits of history to her grandkids. I know we all sat at rapt attention - she's led what she considers a very normal life, but it was so interesting to us...we'd like to hear more someday. Hopefully she'll be doing some traveling to visit family, and she'll be able to start going to church again, which she is really looking forward to - the last few years my grandfather has not been mobile enough to get to church, so the pastors have been doing home visits. My grandmother is ready to attend services again and visit with old friends each Sunday. The ladies of the church held a very nice reception for us in the Fellowship Hall after the funeral. It brought back a lot of memories for my sister and I as it was the church we attended as kids. Overall it was a wonderful trip - I would have liked to have had another reason for all of us to get together, but when we do get together it's always a good time.

So I went from rain in Michigan to rain in Washington, but at least I'm home sleeping in my own bed (not air mattress) and back with my husband just in time for our first anniversary tomorrow. Due to weather delays I got home after midnight yesterday, and because I flew into Portland, we didn't get home until almost 3 a.m. We were having our "man room" furniture delivered yesterday morning, so we had to be up by 9 in order to let them! Will had to go to work after that and I had to run errands...Needless to say, we were both exhausted all day.

Today we'll do a little shopping for some more "man room" items (end tables, and something to put the TV on, and throw pillows - my idea, of course, to which Will asked, "Why?"). We'll have dinner out tonight to celebrate our anniversary at a local restaurant we've been wanting to try - it's right on the water (which would be great for sunset, but it's cloudy today) and it supposed to be gorgeous inside as they brought in materials from all over the world to furnish and decorate the space. We'll see! Off to get the day started...

Impromptu Family Reunion...for a funeral.

If you read my sister's blog you've already heard that our grandfather (on our mother's side) passed away yesterday. He was 93 and lived a long, full, interesting life - some credits to his name are...

-being an orphan and deciding what he would like his own last name to be (as a 9 or 10 year old kid)
-playing minor league baseball for a Cubs farm team
-marrying my grandmother (Lucky man! They were both widowed; they met and married a few years after my parents did.)
-being featured in Sports Illustrated magazine as an outstanding senior bowler
-playing golf well into his 90's
-completing the newspaper crossword puzzle every single day
-and, well, living to 93!!!


So, folks, if there is thunder in your area today, just know my Grandpa has already hit the lanes in heaven...if there's hail, than know his golf game is rusty because it's been a while since he's had the chance to hit the links (normally he's very accurate).

In the morning I'll head out to Michigan for the visitation and funeral. I just found out this morning that all of my siblings, their spouses and my nieces will be able to attend as well. Poor Will has to work and will hold down the fort (base?) here in WA. As somber a time as it is, I envision a few days of celebrating a long life well-lived, spending time with family (time we thought we'd miss out on this summer), and spending time with our Grandma Margaret, who is an amazing woman of faith who we all cherish. Please keep her in your prayer as she goes through this transition.

***UPDATE*** - It officially reached 99 degrees, smashing the decades-old record of 94. Inside the house it reached, and stayed at, 88 degrees. Inside. The. House. All day long. While Will worked in and air-conditioned office. Ugh. We decided to eat dinner out. I sat in a chair that was placed directly over an a/c vent. I was cold, and it was delicious. This morning it is very cool, overcast, and I am happy. The pups are happy, too.

Currently At 6:00PM

98°F

RealFeel® 98°F

Winds: N at 7mph

Mostly Sunny
Humidity: 20%
Visibility: 10 Miles

Um, where is it that we live?

What we've been up to while we've been having wonderful weather...

Attempting to take a family picture...

Wake boarding (Will, not me...I fell down, thrice).

Modeling Will's ultra-cool issued sunglasses.

Just floating; however, I did tube a few times!

Tubing Will's way - Don't spill the beer!

Where we eat dinner every night. This patio furniture was one of our best first-time home-buyer purchases.

One more attempt at a family picture - Dixie did not cooperate as well as the rest of us and turned her head at the last minute. You know it was a pretty sorry photo session if this is the best shot we got!!!

Planter box finished by my amazing husband who didn't even want it in the first place. I said it could be my anniversary present because it really did mean that much to me that he built it anyway! I planted two tomato plants, lemon cucumbers, strawberries, jalapenos and serranos, basil, mint and parsley. Now we'll see how it all does!

So far the summer here has DEFINITELY made up for most of the horrible winter weather (in my humble opinion). It has been gorgeous, hovering just around the mid-80's so that we can survive just fine with no a/c. It has gotten up to 90 and is supposed to again this week, but then we'll have a beautiful 75 to 80 degree day following the heat and all is right with the world. We're so thankful to have friends with a boat! Oh, and those same friends have a/c, so if it gets brutal we can go across the street for a visit! We lead a blessed life, for sure.

Happy Independence Day a day late! We had a BLAST at a friend's house in Tacoma, where this picture was taken (on his back deck). The house had a perfect view of the air show and fireworks which were both over the Sound. There was a fair down on the shore and we had the best roasted corn on the cob (well, best next to what Will makes on the grill!!). We spent the day up there wandering around, people watching, and enjoying the festivities. When you think of Tacoma you don't usually thing "gorgeous view," but this was amazing! One of the great things about it was that we could also see the Seattle fireworks in the distance.

Today we spent the day on the lake with our good friends and had a great time tubing, wake boarding, swimming and just chillin' on the water...but those pictures will have to wait because we are tired, sunburned and ready for dinner!!! Hope you all were able to enjoy the holiday even though it fell in the middle of the week this year!

The time is flying by - I woke up this morning and realized my first week of summer break is over and I didn't get a whole lot done...However, I think I made the very best use of my time - spending time with my husband (who is home, and should be for a while). We made plans to finish projects, we started talking about our first anniversary and whether a celebratory trip is in order, we checked out my new classroom, we did some browsing at Lowe's and COSTCO, and we grilled. Lots of grilling. Sometimes I think we could be just about the best show ever on Food Network, but who needs the stress of being a star, right? Let's just say if Bobby Flay wants to throw down with my husband, he'd better come prepared. I mean, we'll give him a beer, we'll have some nice conversation, but he'll lose...oh, he'll lose.

We've also had some time to just play with the dogs and try to get Dixie to quit digging up our sod. She's so smart and has quit biting, she's getting much better at potty training, and she is learning commands...She's getting pretty big (15 lbs. at her last vet appointment, which was over a week ago) and she's growing into her big ears. She's brought us a lot of entertainment and just a little bit of stress. (Is that the right order? Maybe it was a lot of stress, a little entertainment...I can't remember right now because she's just so sweet relaxing on the floor and chewing on a bone in a way that makes it look like a cigar. Precious.)

We've been having quite a bit of rain, but that's no sot unusual for us - unlike for you Texas/Oklahoma folk we keep hearing from. I hope you can keep the cool weather but dry out a bit so that we quit hearing tragic stories on the news from your part of the world. When the weather clears up here we want to take a day trip to the shore, finally...it's been in the works for a while and might just happen this weekend/next week. So far we don't have plans for the 4th, but I'm sure something will come up!

Here are some pictures of my family...

Weekend Recap...

I had a great time catching up with a very old friend. It's one of those friendships that picks up where it left off every time - in this case, it's been a year and a half since we've seen each other! Unfortunately, our last visit was when I was out spending time with my grandmother in her last few days with us. We were only able to spend a few hours together then, but it was enough to catch up on the big things (at that time, my upcoming marriage and her acceptance to Harvard for grad school). This weekend we were able to do so much more catching up, a lot of laughing, and some talk about the future. She's the kind of person who really can do anything she wants in life.

So here are some pictures from our stay in the mountains. Excuse the no make-up/windblown/tired look...staying up late talking, getting up early, no shower and hours by a campfire the night before were not good prep for a photo session!

S'mores!

Me and MB.

I stopped on the way home at a scenic overlook to take a picture of myself with SNOW! In JUNE! Less than two hours from home!

I'm off to spend some time with an old friend...from elementary school, to be exact. She's now in graduate school and a group of her friends is meeting up at a cabin here in WA (one of those friends is from here)! I can't wait. It will be fun to catch up, meet her new friends and just relax. A neighbor is watching the pups - I considered bringing them along, but the weather is crap and the girls don't like being out in the rain (get used to it, right?). They'll chill here at the house and I'll be back around lunch time tomorrow. I'll be sure to take lots of pictures (especially some to show Alicia and my mom how I chopped my hair off yesterday!). 'Til then...

Freedom...

...for a few months - that is, until I start working FULL time in the fall! I got a sixth grade position (which is elementary here) at a local school, one I've subbed at many, many times. It will be an adjustment to go from middle school to elementary, but I like the kids, the campus and the principal, and in all honesty it was all that was out there. I just got home from signing the contract and learning all about the collective bargaining agreement and the rest of the union stuff - all new to me. It is bittersweet, knowing that I'll have to break into this school's community (and that I'll be the newbie), but even if I have half the support/encouragement/friendship I had my first three years of teaching, I'll consider myself abundantly blessed. Right now I'm just sending up praise that it's the SUMMER and I have a JOB for next year. Amen!

Some catching up...

-Last night I took myself out. Will had just gotten back when he had to leave again, and we had a lot of plans. Ha, ha. There are lots of little things to finish up around the house, and we have really been looking forward to trying a few restaurants in town and just generally hanging out, getting to know the area better. Now that our plans have been delayed ten days, I kind of feel in a funk. School is STILL not done (just a day and a half left, though) and I couldn't be more ready for summer vacation. So in order to avoid an evening at home, alone, again, I took myself out to sushi at the Sushi Boat. On Wednesday and Thursday nights they have an all-you-can-eat deal where you sit around the sushi bar and little boats come by in a moat with sushi on them, and you take what you want (I may have mentioned this place before)! Well, it was Monday so I just got a couple of rolls, but it was delicious. Afterwards I also treated myself to watermelon sorbet at Cold Stone. It isn't something I would normally order, but I love their lemon sorbet, so I went out on a limb and it was awesome. Very refreshing. Plus, Cold Stone gives a military discount. Gotta love that.

-Right before Will left, his squadron soccer team finished up their season. They were league champions and played three post-season games last week. Will played keeper in all three games and had two shut-outs! (I taught him everything he knows...) They ended up winning the tournament (I had no doubts) on Friday night! It was not a shut-out, but they won 5-1 and it was a great game. This group of guys has been so fun to watch. They seem to have been the only team to really do well AND have fun at the same time. They didn't take it too seriously which made it enjoyable to watch...most of the time I was the only fan, but there was huge turnout for the championship game.

-Dixie ate a mouse. It was one of the most disgusting things I have ever seen and I was livid. I don't feel like recounting the story again, but what it boils down to is that she did not listen when I told her to drop it, she swallowed it down like a stinkin' snake, and the vet said it's no big deal (except that she needed wormer because mice carry tapeworms...nasty). We have a field behind our house that was recently partially cleared, except for an area of weeds/bushes directly behind our fence. Apparently it's a mouse haven, and the dogs won't leave that area alone now, so I'm sure there's a mouse widow and her family still back there wondering if dad is ever coming home. Sorry little mice - I guess we don't feed our Dixie girl enough. Here's a shot of the little devil right after her mid-afternoon snack. Looks so innocent, huh?

So, it's the weekend again, and Will's...gone. I dropped him off a little over an hour ago. Usually he drives himself, but we decided I'd take him because he was leaving on a Saturday, and by the time he gets home I'll be done working and I can pick him up! Another ten days by my lonesome in rainy WA. I'm thinking of taking the dogs somewhere peaceful next weekend - I'm trying to find a cheap cabin, just the bare essentials, somewhere in the mountains or on the coast. The pups should see the ocean. I should, too. And I'm out of projects around the house. I'll have to see what I can find!

So, it's 8 a.m. and there's no Sunday paper on my porch. It's not in the driveway, in the street, or hiding in the flower bed. Where is my paper? This has never happened before and it's disturbing. At least Charles Osgood is on today. Whew.

On the agenda for this weekend: Rest, rest, and more rest. Will is gone again (but just for 48 hours) for a wedding. It's just me and the pups, but we're not doing any work. We're supposed to have gray skies and rain tomorrow (surprise, surprise) so we're going to watch Netflix movies, curl up on the couch, and make a honey-do list. I might even make a quick jaunt over to the farmer's market, which, for the most part, is under a big pavilion, and grab some veggies to throw on the grill for Sunday night when Will gets home. I haven't been since they opened in April, and I'm eager to see the new vendors. So, no projects, heavy lifting or cleaning. And I'm so, so looking forward to it.

Projects...

...some finished, some just begun.

Below is the desk and chair I spray painted to use as my "sewing station." I like the way it turned out and it makes the room a little more cohesive as neither the desk nor the thrift store chair matched the rest of the furniture (dresser and futon). The color was called "brown sugar" - what? I didn't notice that was the name of it until I got it home, I just liked the color of the cap!



Next - some pictures of the backyard. We left some of the planting area in the corner of the yard (we covered the rest with sod). I planted some small trees, dusty miller and rhododendrons. This past weekend I broke out Will's new mitre saw (he doesn't know I opened it and used it, yet) and cut the landscape timbers to border it to make it look more like a true planting bed. I'll probably put some more plants back there, but my energy level for outdoor projects is more focused on the next one...



The last two pictures are of my favorite project! I am building a raised planter box for tomatoes, peppers, herbs, and whatever else catches my eye. I got this started over Memorial Day weekend, but I am waiting until Will gets back to finish. I need his help with the levelling, drilling and rebar-ing. I need his truck to get more stones and then to get the soil to fill the box. I used 5-gallon buckets, recycling tubs and trash cans to get the stones you see here, but it was a huge pain and I ended up sore...there was just a huge pile of rocks and me - I had to scoop them with the buckets/my hands and then load them into my car. I'm going to bring the truck so they can just load a huge scoop from a front-end loader - much easier! I know this project is not even half done, but hopefully you can get the gist of it.

Some minor hang-ups...


It has taken me far too long to finally get these pictures all hung. One is my bridal portrait, and the other two are gracious gifts from Will's Nana and his parents. Now if we could just get furniture for our game room, our house would be done!

I'm not exactly sure why, but it makes me nervous when Charles Osgood isn't on CBS Sunday Morning. They usually have good fill-ins, but I always wonder why he's not there...Is something wrong? They did say he'd be back next week. Whew. It's such a staple show of my week and Charles has the most soothing voice, he's enjoyable to watch, and he even plays the piano for us sometimes! I kind of wish I knew him personally. So, it's disturbing when he's not on. I don't like it. And, since the show starts at 7 a.m. here, it's not good to start off thrown off so early. At least I found some powdered creamer tucked away in the cabinet, that my sister bought while she was visiting, so I don't have to drink my coffee with milk again.

Not whole lot has been going on. I'm trying to hold down the fort until Will gets home. Dixie requires a lot of watching because she likes to dig near the fence outside, and I don't trust her inside if I can't see her. I've been exhausted this whole week. I finally got away from the pups for a few hours and went out on the lake with my friends. I tubed with their daughter, but the water was ice cold. We were bounced off the tube, and by the time I got back on the boat I was numb. Brr. I wonder if the water ever really warms up here?

Fun in the sun! It was 80 degrees on Thursday with beautiful blue skies!


Becoming friends...


Dixie says, "Hey Maddie, I'm going to go ahead and take over your bed, okay? Thanks."