Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Cathey and Mishell's Not So Excellent Mall Adventure

Spent another weekend in Helena with my family for my mom's 85th (way to go, Mom!). It was a quick trip - Friday to Sunday - but it was fun! Alex and Whit went with us and it was neat for them to spend some time together as they really don't see each other all that often. Caught up with some of the cousins and there was lots of laughter. My family is great!

On Sunday my "sister-friend" Mishell came through with her family on their way to Seattle for their son Matt's wedding. It's always a blast to spend time with them. Mishell, Cathryn and I spent ALL day Monday shopping, and then we spent over an hour looking for my car keys which I had left somewhere in Northtown. Now I'm not one who usually loses keys because I'm so paranoid about it that I have been known to get up in the middle of the night to make sure I know where they are so I won't be late for work. Long story, but the short of it is that I was sure I knew which store I had left them in (a shoe store - surprise!) but when I asked the sales girl she said no one had seen them. After trekking back to all of the 20 or so stores we had visited with all our load of packages, AND after calling Keith only to have him tell me I had the ONLY key as Alex had lost the spare, as a last ditch I went back to the shoe store. I was about to start ripping through shoe boxes in the 6.5 row, when another sales girl informed me that oh, yes, they had found them right after we left and had them in a drawer at the register THE WHOLE TIME!!!! At that point my feet were aching from walking through the mall about six times, my arms hurt from carrying all my purchases, and my blood pressure was elevated just thinking about having to call a locksmith. I could have unloaded on that first sales girl that didn't even bother to look, but at that point I was just so happy to be able to leave the mall, that I practically skipped all the way to the car. You can bet I'll be even more paranoid in the future and will have countless copies of ALL our keys!
It's off to Seattle this weekend for Matt and Meghan's wedding. Mishell predicts it will be not-so-traditional with a vegan wedding cake and square dancing (I just hope the bride shaves for this one). The trip will be complete with a Sunday visit to Ikea before we head home. Good times!

Thursday, July 24, 2008

Happy Birthday, Mom!


We're headed back to Helena this weekend to help my mom celebrate her 85th birthday. This time Keith, Whitney and Alex are coming, too, so it will be a fun road trip, even if it is a quick one. It will seem odd to have Whit and not Travis - it hasn't been that way for a long time! Trav is going to stay home with Chloe and Ali and I imagine he will be working on some house projects, too. Don't forget to eat and sleep while we're gone, Trav!

Monday, July 21, 2008

Project Franklin


Why do the weekends always go so fast?! Can't believe it's Monday again already. We spent the last couple days helping Whitney and Travis work on their house. At one point they ripped out all the carpet thinking they could refinish the wood floors that were underneath. However, the floors were not in the best of shape and it didn't make sense to put all that work in when they plan to move in a year or two. Instead they decided to put down laminate "wood" flooring and this was the weekend. Keith was experienced in installation as we put this in our t.v. room, so he volunteered to help. There were three rooms and an alcove and in the two afternoons they managed to get the living room and most of the office and alcove finished. It looks awesome!

While the guys slaved away on the floors, Whitney and I sealed and painted foundation and did a few other little projects. Their goal is to have most of the work done by Aug. 2. On that day they are hosting a going away party for Trav's brother, Casey, who is moving to Alaska. It's always good to have a gathering to create a deadline! Travis has also put in endless hours on their yard. Their ambition is infectious! Of course, Chloe and Ali contributed by keeping us laughing at their antics. It was a fun weekend.

We don't see Alex much as he is putting in a lot of hours with his landscaping job. He goes to bed EARLY as he starts work at 7:00. He likes the work and is piling up the $$$. That's good as he wants to live in a house with friends for school in the fall. We're proud of how hard he is working. He even came home yesterday and mowed the lawn and vacuumed "just because". Nothing warms my heart more than someone doing a household chore for me!

I know I am going on ad nauseum about my kids and how great they are, but it is MY blog! And spending time with them is what we love best. Life is good!

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

Summer is the BEST!


Summer just puts me in a good mood. I love the sunshine, the heat, the shorts and flipflops, the BBQs, the watermelon, the long days. I never get tired of it. I've been trying to figure out if I would love it as much if I had this season year round or if I just appreciate it so much because I dislike winter so much. I can't imagine EVER getting tired of it. Summer is definitely the BEST!

We had a delightful dinner last night with our kids for Keith's birthday (yes, it's true, he is officially a senior citizen now. Yay for Senior Discounts!) We went downtown to the Sawtooth Grill for their famous burgers. The food was great, but it would have been fun anywhere. Spending time with our kids is ALWAYS the best of times.

Today is our 30th anniversary - WOW, thirty years. Where did they go? We can't possibly be old enough to have been married that long. The fact that our daughter is going to be 25 throws a wrench in my theory. Hopefully we will have 30 more - Happy Anniversary, Honey!

Since Whitney and Travis have been too busy to blog, I can tell you that they are working like crazy on their house and yard. It's looking great! In the next year or two they want to have it ready to sell so they can move to a bit bigger house somewhere farther north. Bigger is better - more room for grandbabies! (Smile, Trav!) It's fun to see everything they are doing and it's even inspiring us to get a few projects done on our own house. We're not planning on moving, but are well aware that we have to stay current and keep things up. Recently we started updating the main bath and Keith is working on expanding our driveway and adding a large retaining wall. This was prompted by all the snow this winter and having no place to put it. It's a big job, but it will look great.

Ah, summer! Hope it carries us through a LOOONNNG fall - I can't even think about snow!

Tuesday, July 8, 2008

Fame Takes its Toll....


I'm not one who generally blogs on what's going on in the world, but I have to say I am saddened by the whole Alex Rodriguez downfall. When my kids were young, Alex was a 20 year-old rookie for the Mariners and they really looked up to him as a classy team player who still spoke with some sense of humility. When we took a trip to spring training in Peoria, AZ, both of my kids met A-rod and got autographs. He was very friendly and not in the least full of himself. He seemed surprised at his success and was just happy to have reached his goal of playing professional baseball.

Wow - how things change when money and fame come into the picture. He seems to no longer have a clue about what is true, what is right, no sense of loyalty and confused about everything that matters in this world. His poor wife and kids..... He is really a lost soul. I guess it's just a reminder that the "heroes" in the world are fallen humans, too and that sometimes getting all you think you want is a pitfall rather than a blessing.

Wednesday, July 2, 2008

Road Trip


I'm headed back to Montana this weekend (can't get enough of it!) with Whit and Trav to spend some time with the family. While we're there, we will enjoy an Independence Day gathering at Sandy's house and a fireworks display at Bev's house after dark. I'm sorry Alex has to work and will miss the crazy war zone that Bev's street becomes on the 4th and I'm a little concerned that we won't have the "no fear" kid to light all our fireworks. I guess there will be plenty to watch anyway as this neighborhood goes CRAZY setting things off. Good times! Keith will miss all the fun as he has to stay in Spokane to umpire the huge 4th of July baseball tourney. I know that's fun for him, but I think my weekend will be way better!
My dad is (thankfully) doing better and he and my mom will join us for the lunch, but will probably pass on the fireworks. Just glad he's up to a small outing - that's big improvement!

Happy 4th of July!

Tuesday, July 1, 2008

Sister Act x 3







Had an awesome weekend in Missoula with my two sisters, Sandy and Bev. We got in lots of tax-free shopping, some great meals, tons of chatting time and even some reminiscing. We only got lost once (never have Sandy navigate - we mostly kept her in the back seat!) and made a couple "side trips", but overall we conquered Missoula. We also learned we couldn't count on Bev for company after about 8:30p.m. - she even slept through Bourne Supremacy - how do you do that?!?

We thoroughly enjoyed our stay at Goldsmith's Bed and Breakfast. It's a delightful place. We did speculate about the fact that there was a room off of ours that had been closed off and we wondered if that's where they put the dead bodies because there was no access to it at all. The innkeeper assured us that it used to be an unattractive kitchenette that they just decided wasn't needed, but we're not sure we're buying it. :)

This was our fifth Sister's weekend, so we started playing with the idea of returning to Coeur d'Alene for our 10th since that's where we had our first one. We might extend for another night and maybe take in a show at the Spokane Opera House or do something really special. We thought it would be fun to have it in Maui, but likely our husbands would complain about us going without them, not to mention we would have to start saving up NOW! Coeur d'Alene will have to do....