August 23rd weekend

Happy Birthday to Gabe!

Wow! 10 years old? Hard to believe he is so grown up...

We spent the weekend at home. Only got out of the house a few times, to get a cake, presents, etc.
As Gabe is getting older, it is harder and harder to come up with a good present idea. When kids are smaller, they don't really care what they get, as long as it makes noise and looks bright. With the older kids' presents the price tag goes up. Pretty much proportional to their age. Lucky for me, Gabe is aware of that and he insisted that we get him the smallest of the gifts from his (mental) wish list.
He really wants (his own) Nintendo DS, but doesn't need it. iPod video, but doesn't need it either. So, we agreed that he would get a new Scooter. Plus, he already won $20 gift card to the Sports Authority store at the Summer Picnic limbo contest!
On Saturday I also got him a couple of those plastic "Dragon" toys that go with his other set and then a few crafts to do at home.
Sunday we got rained out, but "boys" went on a bike ride anyway. Came home completely soaked and cold. Nothing a hot shower wouldn't fix though!

August 16th weekend

What a hot week it was! We reached and surpassed all the previous records for hot temperatures. To add to the heat, it's always humid in Oregon.

As Summer vacation is approaching it's end, we are making our best efforts in making the most of it's remain.

Friday night was a yearly company picnic. It's a first one for us (in at least 10 years). We had more fun than we ever expected. Intel spared no expenses, went all out. Food was great, SO much to do, constant games and giveaways. At one point an announcer said that "everyone should have a prize now, and if you don't, come see me!"

We took a fly-fishing lesson, tried hula-hoop competition, limbo competition (Gabe won in 8-12 age group!), kids went on the biggest Slip-n-Slide I've ever seen, played carnival games, rode a pony, built a sand castle, went on a scavenger hunt, and the list goes on!

(We all look sweaty and tired, faces are all red...)

Larissa forgot to bolus after dinner, but after she shot up to 400's and I gave her a much delayed bolus, she took the insulin pump off and with the running around didn't need it all night. As a matter of fact I had to give her some small snacks just to keep her in good range!
All the activities went till 9pm. It was dark and finally cooling off. No one had any trouble sleeping that night.
If I could change one thing, that would be either less than 100% humidity or less than 103 degree temperature. Or both!

Saturday and Sunday were a little less fun.
Temperatures were relentless, just didn't want to come down. I started looking for an excuse to go to a store... any store, since they are all are air conditioned and our house is not. Finally, on Saturday afternoon, we decided that boys' room needed a new ceiling fan. We picked a really cool and modern looking one, put it all together and installed it, only to find out that cool-looking is not always equals to working great. What a disappointment! There was no air flow generated by it! And to top it off, it was using three halogen lights that were $5 a piece and created a whole lot more heat! Maybe in the winter it would be beneficial, but not while you are trying to cool off...

So, Sunday was spent removing the fan, taking it apart, returning it, and installing a different one. Note to self: Hunter is a good brand for ceiling fans!

August 9th weekend

No much happened this weekend.
Girls flew back home on Saturday. The rest of us went school supplies' shopping on Sunday. Boring weekend for the most part.

One thing I do have to be proud of is a much cleaner garage. More junk got put away, filed, thrown away. So, now, instead of an island of boxes in the middle, we have an empty spot, which was quickly claimed by the kids as a new crafts/entertainment space. I actually don't mind it. Makes it so much easier to clean craft spills of the cement floors, rather than the carpets. Another bonus, garbage can is right outside the garage door, so I can quickly dispose of extra creations...

August already?

First of all, Happy Birthday Emily!

The cake was excellent! Chocolate with raspberry filling...
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Now, someone, pause the time! I don't want for the Summer to end and I KNOW that kids are not ready to go back to school... I also think, they were successful in forgetting everything they learned during the last school year.


We are getting to know the area around our house and what's all going on. Some weekday events are just not for us, but we make an effort to get out of the house as much as we can...

Last Thursday we stopped by the Shute park for a Summer concert. Not the type of music to keep my kids even a little bit interested (an Army band), but a stop at McDonald's for a soft serve ice cream on the way home made it all worth the long walk!Saturday I spent some time sorting out more boxes in our garage and kids were playing outside, but on Sunday we headed out to the Hillsboro fair. Again, I mixed up which events took place on Saturday and which ones on Sunday, so we missed an opportunity to get in the Guinness book of World Records, for the most people playing kazoo at the same time (that was on Saturday)...

We made it there on Sunday though. An absolutely gorgeous day, sunny and warm. many many trinkets give aways, but I think games and crafts were my kids' favorite. Larissa kept going through a line to play basketball, over and over. May be I need to look into signing her up for a class. I think she would really enjoy it.

PS: I caught Gabe doing something really sweet... He was playing basketball against some little girl and he noticed that she hasn't been able to get any points on her side (digital game kept track of it), so he started throwing the ball into her basket, until she got some points, then he went back to his side, not saying a thing...

Also, Gabe (once again) found a booth with a Guitar Hero game and gave it a go.

Jon dressed up for the occasion on Sunday... Tank top with a clip -on neck tie and a pencil in hand, as a magic wand. He claimed to be Harry Potter for a day.

Girls spent some time walking through the fair, then headed out to the skate park and had fun riding MAX by themselves, just like "big girls", hee hee