Well, maybe NOT

Tonight's dinner was a trial run on a new recipe. After seeing Scott take a bite, I asked him what he thought- to which he was oddly silent. Maren quickly added, "Dad, let me rephrase that - if you were starving to death and this was the only food available, would you eat it?" Guess I won't be passing that recipe along:)

Maren Beckham

Milah Beckham

Pet Peeve

Ok, this is me - griping. Once upon a time, there was a familiar (annoying) voice on the radio that did local advertising. Everytime I heard "John from Rubensteins" I would run to the volume wheel with my hands covered over my ears (screaming) trying to shut out his nasally nonsense. Apparently he has switched to advertising for a certain car lot in Vancouver, and "John from Rubensteins" is just as nerve wrenching as "John from Dick Hannah". Go away, John - everyone changes the station after your first syllable. Whew, I feel better . . .

As seen on Pinterest - LOVE THIS! So true . . .

Hodge Podge Photos

Sten is competing in water polo again this year - here he is as Mr. (deep end) Goalie. They barely came up with a team, but they are starting to come together and Sten has made several goals (rah rah)!

Milah and Maren are avid, enthusiastic, and extremely competitive soccer players. One of their biggest fans came to cheer them on . . .

Dad stopped at a Farmer's Market and bought this beautiful bouquet of flowers - wow, thanks(nearly brought tears to my eyes)! The fresh bread is compliments of the Mr. who is back to his bread making.

Yeah, here's the same Mr - exuberantly entering a giant thrift store. Finally trained him after 21 years. We grabbed a few things, then did a little cheer at the checkout as everything was 40% off - oh yeah!

Time for an Update

Auntie Bonnie has been moved from ICU after 10 days. She is very weak and it will be a stretch of time til she is well enough to have the surgery she needs. Breathing, talking, and sitting is tiring at this point. All food has to be pureed and she is nervous about eating for fear it will head down the wrong tube (understandably so). Lucky for her, she has loving family standing beside her an awesome doctor and a great team of nurses.

Where's the Chopsticks?

Sten and Maren drool when they see this sign. They beg and plead and whine for ORANGE CHICKEN! While cruising pinterest (yes - they have recipes), I spotted a "crockpot orange chicken" recipe. I love the idea of a crockpot - dump stuff in and forget about it. While it is cooking, the aroma fills the house - and you feel like a magician pulling this fabulous dinner out several hours later (in your Betty Crocker apron with a pleasant smile on your face).

Crockpot Orange Chicken

Cut up chicken pieces, dredge in flour and brown in olive oil. They don't have to be cooked through, just browned

Mix together the following, and pour over chicken in crockpot
1/2 T Salt (yeah- they say Chinese food is high in sodium)
1 tsp Balsamic Vinegar
3 T Ketchup
6 oz Concentrated orange juice
2 T Brown Sugar
2-3 Cloves Minced Garlic
Dash of Ginger

Cook on high for 2-3 hrs or on low 5-6. Serve with rice, veggies. Sit back with a grin and wait for the compliments to roll in . . . Yum!

Purrrrrr.

No ordinary kitty . . .

A cougar was responsible for killing 5 goats on our property the other night. Traps were set, a dead goat was used for "bait" and this 115 lb male came inquiring . . . apparently they run in groups of two, so they are hoping to catch it's partner tonight. Not an animal you'd like to cross paths with -

UPDATE: the second night, another cougar was trapped and killed. They believed that the 2 were siblings and were hoping that they might catch the "mother" on the third night, but no such luck.

WARNING: if we are lucky enough to have you as an overnight guest, don't head out for a midnight stroll.

Pumpkin Please

I spied this project on Pinterest and thought it looked simple and failproof. If you are a Tom Clancy fan, please forgive . . . the local used bookstore had these out front for FREE (whoo hoo). There's something rebel like in destroying a book - I let out my rebel yell and tore the front/back covers off. Next I cut the pages to the desired shape - don't even attempt this unless your scissors are sharp. I then glued the spine all the way around a small stick, leaving a "stem" on the top. I rolled the pages in coffee that was left in the pot, and tied a ribbon around the stem. Fanned out the pages and voila! Simple, festive and (nearly) FREE.

There was also a helicopter involved in this operation shuttling supplies - wonder what the total cost/hour is?

This will give you Chest Hair

Cruising into town, something caught my eye - it appeared that people were hanging on an electrical tower. Terrorists? Aliens? No, linemen.

They were in little motorized carriers and they were zipping down the line inspecting and repairing. What do you suppose life insurance runs for this crew? Not a good job for a windy day.

Un-nurse Update

Auntie Bonnie continues to improve little by little. She has now partially emerged from the medically induced coma and responds to questions (like wiggle your toes). She still has the ventilator in, so is unable to speak. Last night, when mom and Carol were reassuring her, a tear rolled down her cheek. They will possibly be removing the ventilator today and I'm sure she will be shocked to learn that she has "lost" a week.

Family Alert

Some of you may have heard that Auntie Bonnie (pictured on left) has been in the hospital since Saturday. She was experiencing severe stomach pain and was transported to the hospital by ambulance. She was placed on a high dose of medicine to combat the pain, and when she vomited (sorry, there's just no pretty way to put it), she aspirated it into her lungs. This landed her in ICU on a ventilator where they placed her in a medically induced coma. Her lungs seem to be recovering slowly, but they feel they have been compromised. The plan is to gradually wean her off the ventilator. When she is healthy enough, she will need to have surgery to repair a hiatal hernia. Angel and Greg had been taking turns at the hospital and now Mom and Carol are there as well. Hard to believe that the lady with the most ferocious "sneeze" (seriously rivals the big bad wolf) can't take a breath on her own. Please keep in mind that I do not have a PhD after my last name, so medical mumbo jumbo may not be entirely correct. Bottom line: Auntie Bonnie is very sick and needs our thoughts and prayers.

Trespassing

Our neighbors have a beautiful pond that they drained and are going to rework some. Apparently it was originally built by the Project Works Administration in the 30's. They are hosting a wedding on it's banks next summer, so it will look considerably different . . .

If you click on this pic, you will see a wire running the length of the pond. This is a recently installed zipline. Word has it, that a couple of kids in this house have tried it - I think I heard them screaming from here (or was that their mother?).

Some of you may notice that I've recently joined the ranks of the Facebook clan. My only purpose in becoming a member (I mean besides seeing what my old boyfriend had for breakfast) - is that I can check out Pinterest. It is an online scrapbook of ideas for absolutely everything. I am most interested in DIY projects and decor ideas, but the possibilities are endless. Gone are the days of tearing pages out of magazines or trying to remember where in the world you saw that party idea on the web. With just a few clicks, you can search and archive countless cool ideas. Check it out! Warning - you may look up several hours later to find that it is 3 in the morning or that the children are eating dog food and giving the cat a shower.

There is a slim chance that I will ever become computer savvy, but I will attempt to link my pinterest account from the blog - it is amazing!

Caution

Before heading to the coast area to spend the night, please be certain you have made prior arrangements for lodging. Hmm, I have no idea why this comes to mind - grrrr.

Spy the Differences

Notice there is no picture of Stennie getting on the bus - that's because he is DRIVING to school. Another difference - Sten did not lay out his clothes the night before, I think he grabbed them off the top of the heap in his room. Sten did not neatly arrange his backpack with all his new school supplies nor invite friends over to check out his cool new pencils. He threw a pen in his pocket, assumed there was still paper in there from last year and was off . . . is it a boy thing, a Sten thing, or is it a general nausea about school?

Back to School '11

Milah was having a "moment" attempting to choose her clothes for the first day of school. After stalling, whining, and several half hearted attempts - Maren marched in her closet declaring that she would find the perfect outfit for her older sis. Within minutes, Milah emerged with a grin wearing Maren's choice. Thanks for your style expertise Mare Mare . . .

A reading from "Junie B Jones", take thpecial note of her thpeech. Her teacher for the year is Mr. Swanson - or Mr. Thwanthon (for the first month or so).

Dad was pleased with his present - a didgeridoo (woo hoo for mom who saved it for almost an entire year). His retirement hobby is secure now - don't be shocked if you see him with face paint, a loinscloth, and long, slightly curly hair soon.

Sten went shopping at Coastal Farm and came home rock'n these suspenders

Boo Hoo - our babies go to school tomorrow.

Maren - very thrilled with some belated birthday money

Sten - showing some promise as a native

Happy 12th Birthday

When Milah decided to be born on September 3rd, it wasn't the wisest of choices. It is difficult to plan parties when everyone is closing down their summer and is busy getting ready for school. Sometimes we have had to postpone a party for weeks, but this weekend we have managed to squeeze in 3 celebrations.


a pond party with friends

Celebrating with Grandpa who celebrated his 65th today

Celebrating at the lake with Papa and Nana and the filthy camping crew

Splish Splash we were hav'n a Blast

You may want to slap on some sunscreen for this post . . .

We spent a few days at the lake - seems like the end of the summer snuck up on us and we hadn't even got our toes wet .

The trademark toothless grin these days

Just chill'n complete with goosebumps

Sten invited some friends to share in the fun.

Milah really poured on the wakeboarding skills and is running across the wake now

Tried some wake surfing -

Mare Mare wakeboarding

At the corporate office. There was a 5 ft square area that Scott could access his phone so he conducted affairs from the dog kennel.

Wake surfing