12 on 12 for 12

Here is a little peek into my 12th of July....

We went to church in Coos Bay today with family and friends

Then we packed up our things (including Sam our bird) for our trip home.

But before we got on the road for the 4 hour trip we went and had lunch with about 25 of our closest friends. That's my mom with the white shirt. She is talking to my friend Quinn who is here with her family from Germany.


I got a picture of Sean and Makenzie. They were born a week apart and spent a lot of time together when they were babies but haven't seen each other since. I think they look kinda cute together (we just won't tell them that).

Heidi, Emma and Tori went hot tubbing. Heidi and Tori became fast friends. Heidi is already asking when we can go visit her in Germany.
Then it was time for another round of goodbyes. After church I said goodbye to Sabrina, Gusti, Leah and Mary. Now it was time to say goodbye to Eva, Michelle, Butch, Naomi and Rachel. This is me with Eva and Michelle.

By the time we got to Coburg which is halfway home my two nights of staying up until 3:30 a.m. had taken it's toll on me. I was practically asleep here on my sister's kitchen counter. No more driving for me. The rest of the way Chris drove.


I curl up on the couch with a good book after I get home.

4th of July Festivities

Our day started with the parade in Harrisburg. I love this parade and I love this town. We got quite the bagfuls of candy. Usually our girls like to be in the parade but this year they watched from the sidelines and judging by the excitement they had over their candy I'm wondering if that is what they will opt for doing next year as well. We saw old cars, fire trucks, boy scouts and girl scouts and just about every business near Harrisburg being represented.



Then we were off to raft the McKenzie river. Here is a picture Martins Rapids, the only class III on this river. The water was high this weekend. The highest I've ever experienced it and it was a torrent of water. We loved every second of it. The smaller rocks to the right of the big rock were covered with water this time.

To finish off the fun day we watched fireworks in Harrisburg.

It was a fun 4th!

McKercher on the 3rd of July

I wasn't in a picture taking mood this weekend. Which is dumb. dumb because I have hardly any pictures of our fantastic weekend. It started with a trip to Pioneer Park in Brownsville, Oregon for a lazy float down the Calapooia River. When I say lazy I mean L-a-a-a-a-z-e-e-e. I layed on a floating lounge chair and closed my eyes and opened them when we got to our swimming hole. Deliriously Relaxing. Pioneer Park was our most favorite place to go when we lived in Linn County. We hadn't been there in so long and it was such a treat to go back. Up the road we went next to McKercher where the signs say "No Parking on Shoulder of Road" But there were about 15 cars parked on the shoulder so we did as well. And we even parked right in front of the sign. Here my mom in law showed up with her camera. Thank goodness or there would be nothing for me to show of our amazing day there.

Emma going over a natural rock slide

Where did she go?

Makenzie and Aunt Nora in one of the natural pools.

Keep your feet up, Heidi...

This feels crazy

My stud of a husband

Chris and his sister, Chelsea

Ross and Nora jumpin' off a rock

Chris thinking it's been a pretty amazing day so far. The sun is smiling warm on us, we are playing with our family and it's not even the 4th yet. Stay tuned for more weekend fun.

I love Summer

As I reached towards the blue sky to pull a bounty of cherries from a branch, the juice went running down my arm and left a sticky trail. Awwww, summer, I thought with a smile.

Girls Camp 2009 - A Hero Within

I've been thinking of this post for the past few days. How do I embody the feelings I've felt for Girls Camp this year into a single post? Let me start with....

I love that the sisters I met last year became even dearer friends. At one point at camp I had a meltdown and I needed to escape to the nearest private place and finish my crying. I walked straight from the lodge to the health cabin and I was so grateful for their kind words, concerned faces and the diet pepsi they offered me from the "secret stash". I truly felt like I had friends at camp.

I felt the Spirit stronger than I did last year. I'm not sure why this is. Was I more in tune spiritually this year? I'm not really sure. But I do feel that when you feel more connected to those around you, you feel more of what they are feeling when they speak to you.

I felt like it was "My Girls Camp". Last year, being my first year to this Stake's girls camp I couldn't help noticing things that were different than the girls camp I grew up with. Some were strange to me, some I liked. But this year I didn't do any of that. I knew what to expect and I felt ownership in it. I can now say, "In our Stake we do this...." and feel happy to be part of this Stake's Girls camp program.

Makenzie got her name. I'll never forget the first time I heard about this. Our babysitter was telling me how when you are a 4th year at camp you find out your "camp name." I didn't say so at the time but I thought that was the weirdest thing ever. Being there last year let me see the fun in it and what it means to these girls. It's a way to acknowledge each one of them individually at the end of their 4 years of camp. Since this was Makenzie's 4th year she got her name. Her camp name is Piano Forte and their sweatshirt color was kelly green. They call each girl up one by one, read a paragraph about them and at the end reveal their camp name. Then they are given a sweatshirt with that name on it. You can tell what year the YCL's are at camp by the color of their 4th year sweatshirts. Last year it was Royal Blue, year before that a greyish blue and before that black. Leaders get their names and sweatshirts after three years and the sweatshirts are always red. Now that I've had a daughter go through this I'm all on board with this tradition. The girls anticipate this and it's almost all they can talk about. Here is what they said about Makenzie:

When you first meet Makenzie she is soft spoken and shy but once you learn who the real Makezie is you'll find she is much different. Some of Makenzie's favorite past times are playing the piano and being with her friends. Sometimes she can be quiet and sometimes she can be loud. Makenzie has many different dynamics and a strong testimony. This is why we give her the name of ....Piano Forte.

She loves it.

Lastly, I love working with the youth. The 3rd year YCL's were just incredible. What a privilege I have to work with them.

Here is the slide show I made.

I want this...

Recently I was visiting my mom and we decided to throw a few apricots in her food dehydrator. It sits on the kitchen counter, this large black box that in a way seems a bit lonely. I threw in some apricots and my mom showed me how to set the temperature and we plugged it in. It came to life, making a soft whirring sound. It's way of saying "thank you for feeding me". We let it run the afternoon and all night and in the morning I pulled out a tray and there they were, perfect round dried apricots. They were gifts from the Excalibur.

It had been awhile since I dried any fruits or veggies because my dehydrator broke and died. I've been without for quite some time. I'm in love again. And this time with a newer model. If you have ever considered getting into dehydration I suggest the Excalibur. It's amazing. It worked ten times better than my old one. It's a dream. Of course they are spendy, every worthwhile kitchen gadget is. But if you are like my parents you will find one at a garage sale for $10. If I could only be so lucky! For now I will keep checking garage sales. Who knows, maybe I'll find one too. For now though, I'm dragging all my stuff to my mom's to dry. What's in season in July?

Today I am....

I have always wanted to do one of these as inspired from my friend Amanda.

FOR TODAY Friday June 19th

Outside my window... The sun is shining after the rain.
I am thinking... of how to get in touch with Laurie since I left my purse at a friend's last night and her number is in my cell phone.
I am thankful for... my beautiful children that I love spending time with and being able to admit that this has not always been the case. As they get older, I enjoy them more.
From the kitchen... there are dishes that need to get done. And we will have taquitos with guacamole for dinner and salad with lettuce from our garden.
I am wearing... denim shorts and an old white t-shirt.
I am creating... a beautiful patio. I finished my herb garden and still have a table to paint. My latest acquisition is a potting table that I'm super excited about. It fits perfectly in the space and is gorgeous.
I am going... to have a picnic with Laurie and our kids and go strawberry picking.
I am reading... Shopaholic and Baby. Really good so far.
I am hoping... that Chris and Makenzie are safe. But mostly I worry more about Chris because boys will be boys.
I am hearing...Heidi rummage around in the drawers of the apothecary cabinet for glue sticks. Now she is talking to me about the things on her school supply list for next year. She is putting it all together which is fine with me because come August it will already be done.
Around the house... our new chore system is going really well. For the most part all rooms have stayed clean since we started on Monday except for the kitchen because that is Makenzie's room and she left on her 4th year hike. I should be doing it but haven't.
One of my favorite things... not getting up in the morning to make school lunches. I loved sleeping in today.
A few plans for the weekend: Portland to Coast planning meeting and barbecue, Makenzie gets home, Chris gets home, Church, family Sunday dinner with cousins and sis and making jam.
Here is a picture thought I am sharing...

One of the projects for my patio is to put in a natural stone floor like the one above. It will entail taking out all the existing concrete first. How do you do that? These projects seem so overwhelming to me yet I really want to accomplish it.