Olympics

So, I finally found the cure to Post-Twilight depression.
The Olympics!
Did you love them? We did.
We kicked them off with a opening ceremonies party. We had yummy Chinese food and good friends. We played the Wii-Mario vs Sonic Olympics, tried to do another game with frozen T-shirts that didn't quite work out like Family Fun said it would. It was a fun night. The opening ceremonies were phenomenal! I stayed up all through the parade of nations and fell asleep right before they lit the flame. Then I proceeded to try to stay up well past midnight everynight for the duration.

Heath and I were jumping up and down watching Michael Phelps swim. I was so excited for the mens gymnastics bronze. Nastia, Shawn...fabulous! Love all things gymnastics. Women's Beach volleyball was Heaths favorite, hmmm, wonder why. Hayden loved the basketball. Sage's favorite was the syncronized diving. She told me that she wants to dive in the next Olympics-go for it Sis, we will be there to cheer you on. She will only be 7, maybe she can dive for China, they like them young. Track and field was sorta disappointing. The 4x100 relays had me so mad I could hardly keep watching. But some of the later events were fun. The sweep in the 400 was really fun to watch. It was so great. Hayden keeps wandering about humming the Olympic Theme and I am already planning to go to the Vancouver Winter Games in 2010. Now, I just need to figure out what to do with my evenings.

Tail End

So we had an incredibly busy summer. Last week we took a final trip to Seattle just the kids and I. It was too short as always. We happened to pick the worst weather of the summer for our week, but that barely slowed us down. We took off Sunday after church and got to my dads in time to watch some of the gymnastics.
Monday we went to Saltwater Park, a place I spent a lot of time at over the years growing up. What a nostalgic place! It poured on us, but that was OK. We checked out barnacles, and looked for shells. I think Marlee might have eaten some seaweed, but I am not sure. Hayden climbed the rocks and Marlee desperatly wanted to swim in the Sound, but as it was maybe 60 degrees, I wouldn't let her (oh yeah, and she can't swim). Sage was a bit more hesitant than the others, she was really bummed that the snack bar was closed.
We went at low tide and boy, was it low! There was an Army ship right off the shore doing cleanup of the bottom of the Sound. Pretty cool to watch. Hayden had been hoping to make a sand castle, but the park sand is too soft until it turns into rocks. hmmm, maybe we will have to take a trip to somewhere with great beaches for building sandcastles soon.


My Mom and Dad put together a great BBQ for the whole fam that night. It was way fun to see everyone-totally makes it worth the drive just for that.
Tuesday we bounced at a new bouncy place. Marlee showed her agressive side when any kids tried to take her ball. Sorta eye-opening for me. I have seen her get down and dirty at home wrestling with her dad and brother, but never to strangers. going to have to work on that. We did a little shopping at the outlet mall in North Bend with Avery and Jamie-Good stuff! Aunt Shelly took Hayden and Sage for the night. Wow! Marlee and me went to dinner with my parents and it was so peaceful. I got to check out the new Southcenter mall. Fabulous!
Wednesday, me and Marlee had lunch with Grandma Bird and Marie. We may have done some damage at Lasting Memories Scrapbook store. It was very nice to spend time with them. Then I got my kiddos back. They were totally exhausted-good work Shelly and Brianna! Dinner with Jamie and Kyle. Avery had some great books-Fancy Nancy and Alice the Fairy. Sage hopes to aquire them soon.
Thursday we hit the Rock before heading home.
Some of you may notice that there are certain things I do pretty much everytime I go to Seattle. Its never enough though. Sometimes its hard to be so far away. I hated all the nasty traffic, the rain was a drag, and its always hard to be away from Heath, but getting to see everyone was wonderful. I had a great trip and can't wait till we go back again.

1st Grade

I can't believe that summer is over! What happened? I swear it was just last week that I took the girls to the craft store to stock up on supplies to keep us busy this summer before school was out. As if that was necessary!
Hayden starts school tomorrow. 1st grade! Wow. We met his teacher today and got to see lots of friends from Kindergarten. He is getting to be so grown up. As I was unloading his school supplies, I watched him visit with his buddies Braxton and Rylie. They talked about the places they went and what all they had been doing for the past few months and then chatted about video games then the Olympics and it really hit me that he is not such a little guy anymore. I tried to keep from getting emotional but it was definetly a moment for me. Tomorrow he will head off to 1st grade, and be gone all day. Don't get me wrong, I am soooo looking forward to this, but it is also so hard to let him go. All day, that is a long time. I am really going to miss him, he is an incredible kid. So smart, so kind, so sensitive. I couldn't be prouder. I think the girls are going to have a tough time too. Sage is going to be lost without her big brother to play with. Marlee loves to wrestle with him and lights up EVERY time he walks into the room. He is so good to both of them.
So, 1st graders are pretty grown up. Hayden got a new Nike backpack because the old Spiderman one was for Kindergarteners. He has his own hair products because he likes to style his hair in the morning just right. He is excited to ride the bus. We got him a lunchable at the store today for him to take for his lunch-he thinks those are for special occasions. And he says that 2 recesses is pretty cool too. I know he is going to do well. I just think I need another week to get me ready for this.
Hayden and his teacher

Got Fruit?

Our nectarine tree was so loaded this year that one of the branches snapped from the weight of the fruit. Even after that loss, we still got 4 big paper boxes full. Nectarine pie, jam, smoothies, frappes, leather, even salsa; dried nectarines, fresh nectarines, frozen nectarines... any more ideas? They are soooo yummy!
Not as many pears, but they look to be manageable.
Oh, and if anyone was concerned, our pepper plants that were violated earlier in the summer have continued to produce and we are getting hot and spicy around here!

Breaking Dawn

OK, its been a couple weeks since my last post. Where have I been? Oh, a little town called Forks. Breaking Dawn came out on the 2nd of this month. So, now that I am on the last couple of chapters of my second read, I am starting to realize that life must go on...I absolutely loved this series. Breaking Dawn was not my favorite, but there is certainly enough closure for me that I don't feel like there should have been more. well, perhaps more Edward, but who doesn't want a bit more Edward??? My absolute fav part of the entire twilight series is found in the final pages though. good stuff.
Stacy and I went to the Barnes and Noble midnight release party. Just us and a few hundred teenagers and a handful of other obsessed moms. It was great. Stacy wore her Team Edward Tshirt with pride. I had a bit more trouble deciding. Team Edward on front, team Jacob on back. Love that kid!
No, I'm not kidding, we really wore t-shirts. We had a ton of fun. We made an agreement that we wouldn't talk to each other before we were both done, but 7:30 the next morning, Stacy was calling to discuss the first part. :) She is such a fun friend!
Imagine my shock when the paper arrived the other morning and found my friends from forks making headlines. (With a little creative help from Heath) We laughed pretty good over this. Isn't he funny?

Vacation 08

For vacation, we headed on a road trip despite the $4.25+ gas prices. 1st stop: Boise. We devised a 4 hour a day maximum drive plan so that Marlee would cope better. (umm, turns out naps are important too) We stayed at our beloved Springhill suites and had dinner at Wingers. Great start to the trip!
Second stop was Salt Lake City. We were there for a few days so we were able to do some fun stuff: Park City, where they had the 2002 Olympic games; the Hogle zoo, a really great mall-the gateway, and cousin Seran's 1st birthday party. Salt Lake is super family friendly. I wish we had stayed a few more days because there is so much to see and do.
Favorites:
Heath: Alpine slide, rock climbing with Hayden
Lori: The Olympics museum, the Flying Aces Aerial show, riding the chair lift with Sage
Hayden: Alpine slide, penguins at the zoo
Sage: The white alligator at the zoo, riding the carousel
Marlee: THE MONKEYS!!! "hi guys!" over and over and over-Didn't want to see anything else. Milkshakes at McDonalds.
Then on to Panguitch where we got to hang out with Grandma and Grandpa and Aunt Gretchen and the boys. Lots of Wii and DS downloading, 4 wheelers, a parade and lots of visiting with family. Thursday we got to see most of the Mitchell clan, and Clay and Kristi and family. There was a bit of a discussion...
Do you dip grilled cheese in hot cocoa? How about toast? What are your thoughts on homemade syrup. Please leave me a comment with your views. Its quite important that you are very honest with your opinion. There might be a couple marriages on the line.
Anyway. We went to the gorgeous and amazing Bryce Canyon. Spent a day at the Cabin at Panguitch lake.
It was loads of fun, even if Henri's drive in didn't have English chips.
Favs from Panguitch:
Heath: riding 4wheelers in the hills with his dad and the boys, chubby cheese burgers
Lori: reading Eclipse on the porch during twilight :), Riding the 4 wheeler with Heath looking for the tree we carved our initials in when we were down on Spring break in High school-didn't find it though.
Hayden: The parade, riding 4 wheelers
Sage: getting candy during the parade, riding with mom and Gretchen to Cedar city and going to the Pizza Factory, and Beaver for cheese
Marlee: gathering up unattended drinks and finishing them off. Doing laps around the van in the driveway.