New Diaper Bag!

When Jessi visited us in June, we went fabric shopping and found this great stripe and print. It wasn't exactly what Jessi had in mind for a quilt, but then we realized it would be a perfect diaper bag. So, tah-dah! Pack up the diapers, formula, extra clothes, binky, burp cloth, etc. etc. We are ready to go!

You can't beat all those great pockets for organizing baby's things.

Memory Tag

Memory Lane...the tag that gets everyone involved. I got this from Audra's blog. I hope you will play along. Here are the directions:

1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember!

2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you. If you don't want to play on your blog, or if you don't have a blog, I'll leave my memory of you in my comments.

Olympic Track & Field Trials - Great Weekend!

Eugene has been gearing up for the Track & Field Olympic Trials for years, and the exciting day finally came!

Jessie and Adam arrived at the airport ready to celebrate and enjoy the trials.

You just gotta have your picture with the Eugene Olympic track duck.

A couple of hours later Abbi and Chad joined us.

Abbi, Chad and the duck.

Here we all are, heading through the University of Oregon Campus on our way to historic Hayward Field. The 1980 Olympic trials for track & field were held here also.

Adam knows how to dress appropriately!

We ran into Bryan Floyd on our way into the trials. He is a family friend who was on the Churchill High School track team with Audra a few years back. It was so fun to see him again!

Here we are catching up on all Bryan's news.

At the Friday evening trials we enjoyed dinner as well as the events.

Here we are after Friday Evening's events were complete, Hayward Field in the background.

One last parting shot after Saturday's events. Now we can't wait for 8-8-08 and the Olympics begin in Beijing, China! But the BEST part of the whole thing was having Abbi, Chad, Adam and Jessie with us! What a great way to celebrate the 4th!

Swim Suits!

I don't know if Marylyn Eyer wrote this or just forwarded it, but I love it! It's great to know I am not the only one with a bad attitude about swim suits! Thought you might enjoy it too.

"When I was a child in the 1960s, the bathing suit for the mature figure was boned, trussed and reinforced, not so much sewn as engineered. They were built to hold back and uplift and they did a good job. Today's stretch fabrics are designed for the prepubescent girl with a figure carved from a potato chip. The mature woman has a choice - she can either go up front to the maternity department and try on a floral suit with a skirt, coming away looking like a hippopotamus who escaped from Disney's Fantasia, or she can wander around every run-of-the- mill department store trying to make a sensible choice from what amounts to a designer range of florescent rubber bands. What choice did I have? I wandered around, made my sensible choice and entered the chamber of horrors known as the fitting room.

The first thing I noticed was the extraordinary tensile strength of the stretch material. The Lycra used in bathing costumes was developed, I believe, by NASA to launch small rockets from a slingshot, which give the added bonus that if you manage to actually lever yourself into one, you are protected from shark attacks, as any shark taking a swipe at your passing midriff would immediately sufferwhiplash. I fought my way into the bathing suit, but as I twanged the shoulder strap in place, I gasped in horror - my boobs had disappeared! Eventually, I found one boob cowering under my leftarmpit. It took a while to find the other. At last I located it flattened beside my seventh rib. The problem is that modern bathing suits have no bra cups. The mature woman is meant to wear her boobs spread across her chest like a speedbump. I realigned my speed bump and lurched toward the mirror to take a full view assessment.

The bathing suit fit all right, but unfortunately it only fit those bits of me willing to stay inside it.The rest of me oozed out rebelliously from top, bottom, and sides. I looked like a lump of play dough wearing undersized cling wrap. As I tried to work out where all those extra bits had come from, the prepubescent sales girl popped her head through the curtain, 'Oh, there you are,' she said, admiring the bathing suit. I replied that I wasn't so sure and asked what else she had to show me. I tried on a cream crinkled one that made me look like a lump of wadded up masking tape, and a floral two piece which gave the appearance of an oversized napkin in a serving ring. I struggled into a pair of leopard skin bathers with ragged frills and came out looking like Tarzan's Jane, pregnant with triplets and having a rough day. I tried on a black number with a midriff and looked like a jellyfish in mourning. I tried on a bright pink pair with such a high cut leg I thought I would have to wax my eyebrows to wear them. Finally, I found a suit that fit...a two-piece affair with a shorts style bottom and a loose blouse-type top. It was cheap, comfortable, and bulge-friendly, so I bought it. My ridiculous search had a successful outcome, I figured. When I got home, I found a label which read -- 'Material might become transparent in water.' So, if you happen to be on the beach or near any other body of water this year and I'm there too ... I'll be the one in cut off jeans and at-shirt!

You'd better be laughing or rolling on the floor by this time. Life isn't about how to survive the storm, but how to dance in the rain."

Thanks Marylyn. I can identify!

Frog Blog

For some reason, I love frogs! Imagine how fun it was to find this little guy trying to get out of our house. I had been in and out of the back yard a few times that day, and later when I walked by the door, I noticed him trying to get out. He must have hopped in when the door was open. We often hear frogs croaking at night in the spring, but I hadn't seen one til now. I gently picked him up in a paper towel and put him outside by the pond. Hopefully he made it back safe and sound to his family. I wish he'd come and visit us again!

I Survived My Dance Recital!

Notice the placement of our canes is completely uniform!!

The thrilling ending pose to dance #1.

Our darling tap teacher Liz. She makes me feel like a giant!

You've got to admit that many 50+ year-old women don't usually have to worry about being in a dance recital. My motivation in taking tap dance was to get exercise and have fun at the same time, NOT to end up on the stage. That's why I was a bit worried about making a fool of myself when it came time to put on the recital. At one point, I asked myself what in the world I thought I was doing! BUT, I'm happy to report that it actually was a fun experience, and no one broke into hysterical laughter during our dance routine. I pretty well remembered the steps, and my mistakes were minimal (at least they felt minimal to me.) We are now learning the ShimSham dance, and it is sooooo fun! Who knows, maybe I will end up on the stage and become rich and famous.........

Tag you're it!

This 'tag' that Chris did looks fun, so here goes:

How long have you been married? 33 years, 1 month
How old is your spouse? 9 1/2 months older than me!
Who eats more? Mel but only by a little bit. Many times I'm the winner in that department.
Who is taller? Mel is 4 inches taller than me, unless I am wearing heels
Who sings better? We sing about the same, but I can sing alto and Mel can't!
Who is smarter? Depends on what kind of 'smarts' you're talking about. I win in the math department, but he wins in the leadership department.
Who controls the T.V. remote? Mel, definitely. He can't stand to watch commercials.
Whose temper is worse? We are both pretty calm, but I would become upset before he does.
Who does the laundry? Me. Mel used to iron his shirts when I was busy with the kids, but now I can handle that for him too.
Who does the dishes? Me. Mel helps often, and I especially love it when he steps in and takes care of that for me.
Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? Me. I think I always have.
Who cooks dinner? Me. But sometimes he takes over and puts a meal together, and of course, I love that!
Who is more stubborn? Neither of us are very stubborn, at least that I can think of right now.
Who is the first to admit when they are wrong? We're the same, pretty much.
Whose parents do you see the most? Mine because Mel's passed away in 2002. When they were both living, it was pretty much 50/50.
Who has more friends? Even steven - we're the same.
Who has more siblings? I win that one, 8 to 4.
Who wears the pants in the family? We both wear the pants, and we look very good in them too! :)

OK, I tag Abbi, Jessi, Audra and Jessie!