Clean Up in Corvallis

 Our school district has gone to a 4 day school week this year -  which means Fridays off! Today, our plan was to meet up with the Bucks crew as they prepped toilets for the OSU game tomorrow.  We arrived in town a little early and spotted Benny Beaver walking down the street.

 

Clean and freshly stocked with TP, thanks to Milah

 

 

 

Go BEAVERS!

The Stellar 6th Grader

Milah graduated from the 6th grade today. She earned a Presidential Excellence Award for her outstanding academic achievement and she is very anxious to move onto Junior High. Her teacher for the past 2 years had extremely high expectations - assuring them success in the future.

Soccer Again

We started early, ended late and came home with 2 first place trophies!  Milah & Maren's teams were victorious in the tournament today.

Winners!

Today was the last day of regular season Spring Soccer.  Maren's team was undefeated this season and Milah's team tied for 1st.  Milah's team was victorious over a team that has been undefeated for several seasons!  The girls love to play - and it is a blast to watch them. 

The Knights

The Determinators

Altogether Now - Ahhhhh

So, we're driving by this beautiful field of mustard and the children holler in unison to stop the car.  They pile out with big smiles on their faces and beg me to take their picture.  Who am I kidding?  The grumbling and complaining started the moment the car began to decelerate.  It was in full roar as they struck this pose - whaaaa whaaaa - sounds like a bunch of babies.  Our cute little babies.

More of the White Stuff

Not 1, but 2 snow days! We had about 11 inches total - a near record amount. The power was out for over 24 hours and, as usual, our house became "snow fun headquarters" for the kids' friends.

Sten's orange machine did double duty. He used an old Ford hood, turned upside down as a giant sled - with the old Kubota towing his cronies.

My least favorite part of snow days - PILES of laundry and dirty boots

Go Beavs!

There is no question about where this family sits in the statewide struggle of Beavers vs Ducks.

Especially this kid.
Especially when she sat on the floor.
Especially when she got a hug from Benny.

One of the girls favorite gymnasts, Brittany Harris is just behind in the OS shirt.

Grandpa & Milah - showing off their celebrity status with courtside seats.

Friday Fun

The girls have become avid OSU gymnastics fans. Last night was "Pink Out" (a breast cancer benefit) and OSU tied for 1st. Maren went all out - even using pink hair spray.


Their favorite part - getting autographs after the meet. The gymnasts mingle with admirers and happily sign posters for swarms of girls.

A favorite of theirs - Olivia Vivian, from Australia.

White Out!

Winter finally showed up! We all turn to 4 year olds when the white stuff starts flying - giddy with excitement.

Katrina is a bad girl in the snow. She has remained parked since her slippery trip down the hill yesterday. Bad girl.

6+ inches! It's supposed to keep snowing throughout the afternoon and night. The kids are definitely cheering for no school tomorrow.

Oops!

Exciting weekend around here - we were on an odor hunt in the kitchen (can you spy the cans of room deodorizer). In the process, we pulled the refrigerator out of the cabinet and blew out the compressor unit. Yes, this is dust flying in the house - nasty. Our conclusion was that there was a dead critter in the ceiling and we would just have to "ride" it out. However, we were not correct in that assumption . . .

2 weeks ago, we cooked 4 whole chickens for a potluck. After getting most of the meat off, Scott threw the pan in the upper oven and we forgot about it. The origin of the odor became clearly apparent when we used the upper oven yesterday. "Gag, shiver and wretch" does not cover our reaction . . . do I hear a "duh!"

The argyle gypsies and their gymnastic genius were busy while we were making a big mess

Sten was also busy at the shop - starting to look like a real beast

Now it's HER turn

Milah has a teeny bathroom that is doorless. This is only a problem when she has guests. To make everyone more comfortable, we made a curtain with the bunting fabrics.

This is an awesome idea that I borrowed from a magazine. Space for a towel rack was hard to come by, so we increased the depth of the window sill, cut a "slit" lengthwise and it is the perfect home for towels.

Milah's room was in desperate need of a rehaul too. That hideous green color is a design idea gone bad, really bad.

The comforter we found HERE was our inspiration for the colors. Lime greeen, dark/light gray & bright/light pink. (I generally like to start with fabric as inspiration instead of trying to match something up later) A few cans of paint, some Craigslist furniture, soccer jersey valances and she has an updated look.

This previously all white wall looked spiffed up with some lime paint but still needed some pizazz.

A bunting with coordinating colors was the perfect accessory. Cheap and simple - cut desired fabrics in a triangular shape and sew them to a ribbon (I used grosgrain). We attached them to the wall with tacks.

A Few Years Back

Hmmm, I think I sat next to this girl in drivers ed

We have had some fun with this site. You import a picture of yourself, then plug it into a yearbook photo.

Looks like Milah belongs in my parent's yearbook

Lap Quilt ala Milah

We enjoyed a relaxing Thanksgiving break at the Coast with the VDB side. Milah learned how to sew by fire - might as well give her a challenge - her first quilt!

Precision cutting

The first square - a disappearing 9 patch pattern

Voila! 72 seams later - she completed 9 squares. Just have to sew sashing material, back & bind. She loved the process and I think she's hooked!