Slideshows

The slideshows were set to private but are now public.  I'm kind of a technodork lately. 

Hello...

I haven't blogged for so long that I had to do a password recovery!  I've also forgotten how to get around Blogger.  I'm also a little rusty at posting videos. 

I wanted to upload some slideshows I've done recently.  One is from Ryan's Eagle ceremony (back in January!)  and the other one I made because we celebrated our 20th anniversary this year.  This has been a big year for us:  20 years, Ryan turned 16, and Em turned 12.  The years are flying by and I'm enjoying every second of it. 

My own March Madness...

The Spring cleaning bug has hit and watch out junk, you are going down.

Several weeks ago I gutted one of the storage rooms and got rid of a ton of crap.  In the last 2 weeks I have deep cleaned the spare bedroom, the laundry room, and both bathrooms. 

I am publicly declaring what I'll be doing next to hopefully make it more likely that I actually do it:

1.  Clean the master closet and reduce the amount of clothes by at least 1/3.  We have so many clothes that we don't wear and it's so dumb when someone else could be using what we don't. 

2.  Deep clean hall closets.  We have coats we'll never wear again, bags we'll never use, suitcases that are useless, and winter clothing that will never be used.  Time to reduce.  I have a bazillion hair bows and barrettes  that Em will never wear again.  Some other cute little girl would love them.  I need to give some serious thought to how I organize the linens and cleaning supplies.  Right now it's very inefficient.

3.  Clean out under my bed.  It's not terrible, just a few books and stray shoes.  Could use a good vacuuming and dusting of the baseboards.

4.  Office.  Bleh.  Several months ago I reorganized the filing cabinet and it still looks pretty good, but it's surprising how quickly the papers pile up.  We have a lot of outdated CDs and other software/hardware that need to be filed in that big, black, round filing cabinet in the garage.  :)    I hope Steve doesn't read that. 

5. Game/blanket/toy closet.  When things get put back where they belong, this closet looks pretty good.  The problem is that things get shoved in and mixed up.  We have too many blankets and too many toys that never get played with.  They would be so much more appreciated by someone else. 

6.  Em's room.  I told her that she could have a room redo for her 12th birthday so I'm giving some serious thought to how we could better organize her room.  She's at such a strange age where she still wants some toys around, but is very picky about what is cool and what is dorky.

7.  Books.  It's time to get serious about what I'm actually going to read and donate what I'm not.  I also need to return quite a few books to the people I borrowed them from.

8.  Pantry and kitchen cabinets.  I have plenty of space, but the clutter just builds up and there is so much crap that I don't need.  Most of the cabinets could use a good de-junking.  The pantry could use a little organizing and a good vacuuming. 

9.  Command central.  This space has always been a problem.  I need better systems for dealing with all the papers that come in and need immediate attention, or attention some time in the near future. 

10.   Cold storage.  This area looks pretty good, but we have a lot of outdated food storage.  I need to assess what we need and get it purchased and organized. 

There.  10 things.  Totally doable. 

No!

Another year of 'no'?  Yes!

Last year was a pretty good year, for the most part.  Still much busier that I like, but I got really good at telling people 'no' and prioritizing.  I had a lot of fun with my kids and did a lot of things that I enjoy (quilting, reading, watching movies, etc.)

Some things I want to work on this year:

*  Update and organize our food storage.  Yikes.  It's been a little neglected.
*  Completely finish the downstairs bathroom.
*  Run/walk 400 miles
*  Update scrapbooks.  Yikes. 
*  Finish unfinished sewing projects.
*  Organize shelves in garage.
*  Read 10 books from my list.
*  Update blog twice a month.  (We'll see about this one!)

Here we go 2012!

their wackiness and all...

I guess as long as these three were in the mix, I'd be ok.

Oh, and this little guy, too:

 Ok, and about a bazillion other things.

Em was teasing me the other day that I like Ryan more than her because he's so perfect and never does anything wrong (?).  She's right about one thing: he is perfect.  For me.  And so is she.  And so is Steve.  I really wouldn't change a thing about any of them. You know the saying "we may not have it all together, but together we have it all"?  Totally fits.  We're kind of a hodge podge of souls and we like us that way.

(As I'm typing this, the kids are fighting about orange julius.  Too much, the wrong cup, not drinking it fast enough, blah, blah.  I'm sure it's just the first of many ridiculous arguments for the day.  Yep, still love 'em.)

Summer vacay...

We took the greatest little road trip this summer!  We headed up to Portland, Oregon, down the coast to the Redwoods in California, then back up to Crater Lake in Oregon, then home.  We stayed 5 nights and drove for hours on end, but had a wonderful time and saw the most beautiful sites! It was one of our best vacations so far. 

Shoshone Falls in Twin Falls, Idaho.

Horsetail Falls

Multnomah Falls

Oregon Museum of
Science and Industry

We finally made it to the Oregon Coast!

A cute little souvenir shop overlooking  the coast

Oregon Coast - so beautiful!

Yaquina Head Lighthouse

Harbor Seals at Yaquina Head Lighthouse

Oregon Coast Aquarium - so awesome!

seahorses

giant jellyfish

Heceta Bay Lighthouse - my favorite!

Sea Lion Caves is one of my favorite places.  The sea lions hang out in this huge cave right on the coast.  You take an elevator down about 200 feet and right into the cave.  Of course, the day we got there, there were no sea lions - they were all hanging out on the rocks on the beach.  We did get to walk to an observation point where we could see tons of them. 

We had the most beautiful view from our hotel room.  It's hard to tell in this picture, though!

Driftwood Shores

We stopped for lunch at Gold Beach and it was so peaceful and beautiful until these crazy dogs joined us.  They loved Em and kept running around her and kicking sand in her food.

Cool/sad story:  "Mama" the gray whale swam  up the Klamath River with her baby in late June.  The baby stayed for a few weeks but then got hungry and headed back out to sea.  Mama hung around a bridge that crossed the Klamath River for over 2 months.  We stopped and watched her for a while and it was amazing.  She was huge and put on quite a show for the spectators.  We found out that 2 days after we saw her she beached herself and died. 

Redwood National Forest

There are about 17 bazillion "big trees" in the forest, I wonder which one this sign is pointing to?? 

Another lighthouse - I can't remember the name of it.  It was in Crescent City, California.

Rogue River Gorge

Crater Lake.  I wasn't sure what to expect at this stop, but was so glad we made the effort to get here.  It was really pretty and we were amazed at how this lake was formed.  The mountain was a volcano that blew its top and then collapsed on itself forming this huge crater.  The crater has filled with water from rain and snow and made this lake.  So cool.

The water in this lake is the most incredible color of blue.  The pictures don't even come close to showing the color that it really is.

Wizard Island

We had a really wonderful time!  The kids got along so well - especially considering the MANY hours we spent in the car.  The Oregon Coast has long been one of my favorite places in the world - I was so happy to get to see it again!