Debbie K's Camera

I had noticed the last time I was visiting Debbie K that she had some really cute pictures of my kids that I had never seen. I asked her to kindly hand over her memory card so I could copy them off. She did.

These are some of the pictures that she had captured over the past year of my little ones that were too cute not to share.

Monterey Aquarium

When I was downloading the pictures from my camera of our trip to the airshow I found I had over 300 pictures on my camera! They went all the way back to Father's Day. Evidently I am really far behind in my picture posting. I will try and make ammends.

As you all were aware, we did a 24 hour stop over in Monterey to basically just go to the aquarium. I had wanted to go forever, so this was my chance to check it out. It was more like a hit and run, but we did all enjoy our brief time at the aquarium.

Family Shot in Front

Alexis and Bob looking at the cool jellyfish

Toddler wrestling - now THAT should be an Olympic sport

Katya being her normal goofy self

Madras Air Show

I am a woman who likes a good airshow.

My mom used to take my brother and I to the Miramar Air Show in San Diego on a fairly regular basis. It is massive. We would park way out and trudge our way in, roast under the always hot sun and have the BEST time looking at all the airplanes classic to stealth fighter and the airshow was always something to oooh and aaah about.

I had taken Katya several times myself, only I bought the VIP tickets through Qualcomm so we parked on the tarmack and were served food in a covered tent. Ahhh, those luxuries I used to enjoy.

Well, now that I am a full blown Oregonian we decided to go to the Madras Air Show. I had seen the signs on my many walks around Bend and we put it on the calendar. My hubby, having a pilot's license, always wants to go to an airshow.

It was so much like when I was little. We had to park way the heck out, we roasted in the hot sun and enjoyed some nice aircraft. There was also a really nice small classic car show at the same time. The airshow itself was really awesome! A cool sailplane demo, a fly over by some military jets (I miss the sound of afterburners for some reason), some insane guy from Canada that was doing all kinds of crazy stuff.... way cool. We had to leave early because we were WAY past naptime, but it was worth it. Logan never really noticed that there were planes in the air - but Alexis did!

All in all - a way cool airshow! If you are a local, I suggest you check it out next year. It is only $5 a person for a full days worth of fun (kids 12 and under are free).

Bald Is Sexy

As you all know, my mother is battling breast cancer.

Well, yesterday she had a "Hat Party" with LOTS of friends and family to mark the occasion when she would lose her hair. She had her first chemo treatment last Tuesday and knew that she would lose her hair eventually - so she wanted to take it off on her terms. As with any momentous occasion in my family, we have a party.

At first my mom wanted it to just be a small affair with her girlfriends, but then so many other people wanted to go she just opened it up to all. I couldn't be there and it breaks my heart still. I was always at every family party. To have missed this is hurting my heart still.

Since she was going to lose her hair, my brother decided that he would shave his head in solidarity. Then my cousin, Becky, (who was sporting a bright red mohawk) announced she would shave her head too. Isn't my family cool?

I guess everyone started out with red mohawks before the final shave. They are beautiful!!

Please check out the pics on my sister in law's blog. The pictures are priceless. I especially love the hat that my Uncle Doug got her that says "Bald is Sexy". She had gotten loaded up with tons of scarfs, hats and other head decorations. She told me she has enough to wear something new everyday for over a month.

My mom is so gonna whip this thing!

Mohawks

When you are in your twentys, you are able to get away with things you just can't at any other point in your life. Case in point - my cousin, Becky.

Becky is a beautiful, creative twenty-something who is on the artistic side. She actually has a degree in art from CSU Fullerton - I can attest to that since Katya and I went to her graduation. Her artwork is beautiful, edgy, fantasy provoking, disturbing, gorgeous and everything an artist would like their art to be. She is still working on becoming the next big thing, but in the meantime has decided to show the world a bit more of her creative side by getting a red mohawk. Why not? She is young. She has a wig she wears at work. It is temporary. She will have the pictures to prove some day that she was a crazy chick who one day got her head shaved on staged and dyed it red. Who knows where she will be in ten years? She might be the owner of an art gallery and have to look all prim and proper. For now, she is enjoying life and having some fun.

But I wanted to show her that she is not the only rebel in the family. Both Alexis and Logan had their own mohawks - only au naturale. Alexis' has grown out, but Logan is still going strong with his. Laura should post Dylan with one of his many, many mohawks too. I wonder if this means they will all be edgy creative types too?

Alexis at almost five months.

Logan at 8 months

Grandpa's 89th B-Day Party

My grandpa is 89 years old. Man...you blink twice and - what - twenty five years have gone by? I still remember sitting on his lap eating ice cream out of his half gallon (he never bothered with a bowl) with an iced tea spoon and talking his ear off while he was trying to watch a football game on his little black and white tv.

My grandpa is one amazing guy. He is walking on his treadmill, grows the most amazing orchids, still drives (that is a scary thought) and keeps busy with the house and with church. I want to age like him.

There was a little birthday celebration for him last weekend and I wanted to share a few pictures.

Sharing a Bag of Cookies

One thing about being a grandma is that you get to get away with things that are usually poo poo'd by the mother.

An example of this is giving your 18 month old grand-daughter a bag of frosted animal cookies and letting her eat as many as she possibly can. The only thing is that you have to be prepared to eat as many as she can put in your mouth too.

The Unbirthday Party

"Statistics prove, prove that you've one birthday,

one birthday ev'ry year.

But there are three hundred and sixty four unbirthdays.

That is why we're gathered here to cheer.

A very merry unbirthday to you, to you.

A very merry unbirthday to you,

It's great to drink to someone and I guess that you will do.

A very merry unbirthday to you"



Those are the lyrics to the "Alice in Wonderland" movie segment of the unbirthday party. One of these days we all need to memorize them because every year my mother hosts her famous Unbirthday Party and we never know the words to sing when it is time to blow out the candles!

The Unbirthday Party is my parent's party to celebrate all of their children and grandchildren's birthdays. It is kind of like having Christmas, only all the presents are from one couple and they are in birthday paper. My dad runs the BBQ and my mom handles everything else.

This year we had everyone! All 14 grandchildren could attend and all four children with their spouses were their transportation. It was chaos, it was loud, there were children everywhere! It was so much FUN! I love my family. I love every single person that was at my mother's house, even if I may not get to see them often enough. It is times like this party when you sit back and are so thankful for family.

Friends may come and go - but family is forever.

Visiting Aunties

Debbie K. decided to surprise Jane by flying two of her sisters, Lyn and Sharon, out here for a visit from North Carolina. Let me just say, they are two of the lovelies ladies you could ever hope to make the acquaintance of.

I had written to Lyn before and sent her baby announcements as well as our family newsletter and Christmas card. She even told me that she reads my blog! Hi Lyn!! She, having never met me before in my life, sent both of my babies shower gifts. She sent Alexis two super warm sleepers and she sent Logan some scrapbooking stuff (I just now have to actually START his baby book). How sweet was that? I didn't have Sharon's address, so I hadn't sent her anything. I have it now so I can fill up her mailbox with correspondance.

We had dinner with Lyn and Sharon a couple of nights and I went with them to the High Desert Museum one day. I had just the nicest time visiting with the both of them. I feel as though I have known them for much longer than the one week that they were here. Lyn is all Southern sweetness and sugar. In fact, Logan just couldn't get enough of her. (I think he has a thing for redheads.) Sharon is a bit more tenacious, but exceedingly sweet and thoughtful. Both of them are a most wonderful addition to my life. I thank them both for all the love and cuddles that they gave to Logan and Alexis while they were here.

I hope that we get to go to Asheville again some day (Bob and I went years ago) and pay them a visit. Bob, Patti and Debbie have two amazingly wonderful Aunties!

Hand Me Downs

One advantage to having girl cousins is being able to hand things down. Although I am the oldest girl cousin, I had received a few boxes of clothes from my Mom's cousin's daughter, Devy when I was in high school. I only met Devy once, but luckily we were the same size at the time and I was in desperate need of clothes.

Other than Devy, I haven't really been able to take advantage of someone else handing things to me too often. I was able to borrow a few things from Michelle, but being a foot taller than her kind of made us wear different sizes. For years and years Beth was the happy recipient of my clothes that I no longer liked to wear. Actually, mostly just shirts but she was happy to have them. Before I moved, I gave Desiree (close friend, kinda like an adopted cousin) about two huge trash bags of clothes. Most of them were work clothes that I knew I was not going to be wearing again. Wool slacks, work jackets, button down shirts, cute skirts...etc.

Well, Diana is now enjoying the fruits of the hand me downs. Obviously she would never wear anything that I would wear (kind of a big age gap there), but she likes Katya's style and they wear the same size. Sooooooooooo, last night Katya and I went through every article of clothing that Katya had stashed in her closet. I didn't realize that we haven't really purged since we moved here. There were a LOT of clothes! Diana had come over for dinner and she had a good time going through the piles of clothes to see what she liked and would wear. She left with about five bags of clothes. I am so glad that she liked so many of the clothes. Some of them were only worn once or twice and others are just plain cute. I am a freak about taking care of clothes, so they are all in good condition. Diana should get lots of use out of them. I would always prefer that someone that I know get our stuff that we no longer want or need, instead of just taking it to Goodwill.

Luckily, Diana lives close to us so she can always have first dibs on our "good stuff".

Hikes With Tykes

Almost every Tuesday for the past month now, Ginger and I have put the babies in some strollers and headed out on different trails around Bend. The Parks and Rec office here offers something for everyone! For those of us that have small children and still want to get some kind of workout, they offer Hikes With Tykes.

We get emailed the starting location of our next hike and we show up at 9am ready to do some walking/hiking. Ginger walks Alexis in our Bob stroller (so aptly named) and I walk Logan in our Phil & Ted's stroller (that one still needs a name). I bring along water, snacks and diapering essentials and we head out following our trusty leader, Mary. The walks are sometimes more interesting or more beautiful than others, but they are always a good walk. The usual hike is walking for an hour, stopping at a park to let the kids burn up some energy, and walking for an hour back. We started out the walking season with only three mile hikes. Our hike yesterday was a bit over 5 miles, but because it was cross country (on dirt and gravel paths), it seemed longer.

Our hike yesterday, although long, was beautiful. It was a trail that ran along the Deschutes River that I didn't know existed. I will definately need to go back there for another hike sometime. But, I think I would prefer to take Logan in the front pack. My arms were sore from pushing that stroller along the gravel path and up some serious incline. Luckily, I had remembered to bring my camera to take some pictures. I am a photo junkie.

I am looking forward to the hike next week. I am learning all the cool places to go for a hike that are stroller friendly in Bend.

Happy Anniversary Mom & Dad!!

Today is my parent's 25th wedding anniversary.

It is hard to believe that they have been married that long. I remember the day that I first met my Dad. It is too bad that I was so mean to him for so many years. He didn't deserve it. The fact that he stuck it out with my mom (and me by default) is amazing. I have learned a lot by watching my parents relationship over the years. I am much more aware of what is truely important, when you should give and when you should take, when to put your foot down and when to just roll with it and what it really means to "be there" for your spouse through good times and bad.

To mark the occasion, they are going on a cruise with their friends from Barcelona to Istanbul in August. What an amazing trip that will be!

So.... Happy Anniversary Mom & Dad!!

Suzanne

Ok, see if you can follow me here. Debbie Kocian (aka Debbie K.) is one of Bob's older sisters. Debbie was previously married many years ago to a man who lived in Texas. Her ex-husband had come into the relationship with two children, one of them being a 2 year old named Suzanne. Debbie was married for many years, but the relationship ended and Debbie and her son, Brett, moved out to California. However, Debbie has maintained a relationship with Suzanne to this day.

I first met Suzanne about four years ago while she was working on her Master's degree in something biotech related. We had lunch close to Qualcomm and I instantly loved her. She is one of those genuinely fabulous people who are beautiful inside and out. I have only seen her a few times after that, primarily at weddings or huge family gatherings.

Well, her and her significant other, Tom, moved to San Francisco about six months ago when Tom was offered a great position with a biotech company up there. Suzanne was on the great job hunt this whole time as well as decorating her new apartment. I saw pictures of the apartment and it is small, but so cute! Well, Suzanne starts a new job on Monday but she decided she would hop up here to Bend to visit Debbie for a week before she starts back into the rat race.

Debbie had a lot of parent duty to perform while Suzanne was here (that will be a blog unto itself), so I had the privilege to entertain Suzanne a bit. I mostly just made dinners for them here at my house, but I really enjoyed the time to get to know Suzanne better. She headed back to San Francisco, but she promised to visit in the summer with Tom.

Isn't it amazing that sometimes the people that come into your lives - that have no blood ties to you at all - are the people you love to call family? I have been fortunate in having my life sprinkled with non-blood related people who I feel are some of the most important people in my life and my children's lives.