Honest John

We went to a home to buy a Karaoke machine that was advertised on Craig's List. It was a small home and they are in the process of moving. The woman had us follow her to the room that the machine was in. It was not the most tidy of homes and then there were packing boxes on top of that. She apologized for the mess and made a comment to the effect of "if you can make it through all of the clutter". John was in the lead and he replied in his most polite and cheerful voice, with a chuckle: "Yea, I am trying hard to!"

Alison x-static to eat lunch at Bob's Bread Mill
Admiring the water wheel

Obsessed With...

Hair color!

3D breakfast!

Right now we can't get enough of the Jonas Brothers and Hannah Montana, aka Miley Cyrus! We just bought the new Hanna Montana 3D movie and Camp Rock! Every time we are in the car it is the Jonas Brothers CD that we are rocking out to! I have even tried to get a Jonas Brothers song as the ring tone for my cell phone! What can we say, they are that good!

Say What?

I just finished wiping Alison's bottom in the bathroom. As I am helping her put on her panties she asks me why I am always touching her bottom? I tell her that I don't always touch her bottom and I point out that I am not touching it right now. To which she quickly bends over putting her bottom in my face and tells me to touch it, and smell it!

me: I am not going to touch or smell your bottom!

Alison: It smells like chocolate!

me: I don't think so!

Earlier in the morning Alison asked if she could pick a movie. I said yes. She finally picked one and I was in the kitchen while she was putting it in the DVD player.

me: What movie did you pick?

A: The Dreamworks movies.

me: Oh, Pixar Shorts.

A: No, it is long.

OMSI

We just went to OMSI (Oregon Museum of Science and Industry) with the McBride family. It was so much fun. The Dinosaur exhibit from China is here right now. That was fun to see. We even saw a laser light show! The kids really enjoyed themselves and spending time with their friends.

Kids behind the sign, too hard to see.

Ella and Alison
Fossil
John, Ryan, Alison and Susan examining things.
Alison building.

JD Image Consulting

Well, I have gone public! Here is the business card to prove it! Now on to writing the book!

The Quinn's Visit

My sister Tanya and her husband Tom came to visit us for a few days on their way back to Utah. After sitting on the freeway for an hour due to a hay truck catching on fire and setting the surrounding area on fire, seeing a movie to wait out the closed freeway, and eating dinner, they finally arrived! Safe, sound, and very tired.

We were excited to show them around Oregon. Unfortunately for the 2 days they were here, Oregon was having a heat wave. 101 the first day and 103 the second! Okay, to some of you this is just called summer, but here in Oregon, it is a heat wave! So day one was spent playing the Wii, having lunch and riding the Trolley around Oregon City. The Trolley is a summer favorite for a few reasons. The first is that it is free! It is an hour ride around Oregon City and the driver tells you all about the history of OC. We love to get off at various stops sometimes, like McDonald's for ice cream! Another reason we love it is that it is open aired and very antiqued.

We started the day at Mike's Drive-In. A great local joint with seasonal berry shakes. Tom, Tanya and I all had Mike's Special Deluxe. It is a very tasty burger with fresh (I have mine grilled) Walla Walla onions, Thousand Island dressing, lettuce, tomato, bacon, Tillamook cheese, and a fried egg! It is the best ever! Of course, you can fill your arteries clogging, so I only go there when we have guests in town. Oh, they do serve a lot of other great items, but once you have had the Mike's Special Deluxe, there is no going back! It was all washed down with fries and milkshakes!

We stopped at McDonald's for a bathroom break. We stopped on Main St. to ride the elevator. In case you did not know, Oregon City is the only place in the United States with a vertical street! And again, it is free! You get a wonderful view of downtown Oregon City and the Willamette River and Falls. Of course we went in the Coin Collector. It is a wonderful shop full of toys and antiques of various sorts. For someone my age, it is like walking in to the toy closet at my mom's house when I was growing up! They have toys and games and things that I have not seen since I was a little girl! I have really enjoyed taking my sisters there when they come to visit because a new memory always comes back to one of us and we have fun remembering together! When our Trolley journey was done, it was off to 7-11 for Slurpee's'! We went to Tony's Fish Market and Tom and Tanya bought fresh salmon, which Tanya prepared for us for dinner! It was delicious!

At Mike's

The first bite

The Trolley

At the Interpretative Center

Good night song by Uncle Tom

On day 2 we decided to beat the heat and head for the coast! It was supposed to be a beautiful 83 degrees, clear sky and sunny. So we packed our swim suits and headed for Rockaway Beach. It was so nice to leave the 103 degrees that we did not think for one minute to pack sweaters. Well Tillamook and Rockaway were a crisp 62 degrees, foggy and very windy! Oh well, it is the Oregon Coast, was I really expecting Florida?! (Well, yes as a matter of fact!) We had another wonderful day together as we toured the Tillamook factory, ate our cheese sandwiches and ice cream. Then we headed north about 20 minutes to Rockaway Beach. We lasted about an hour and then it was back to the car and hot Portland we went. It was so nice to have the Quinn's come and visit with us. We really enjoyed being with them and hope to see them again soon.

On our way in for ice cream!

Fun in the sand!

Thank heaven for showers!

Wii

John has been wanting the Lego Indiana Jones game for the computer. I wanted to get a Wii for Christmas, so after our garage sale last weekend, we bought both! Mark and I are not what you would call "gamers". The Leapster has been great for the kids. But since John has started school, he is learning all about games from friends. So, we decided to get one that is more interactive and physical, if you will. I really don't know if "Wii" made the right decision in getting a video game system at this age? (pun intended)

I can not believe how much John is loving the game! I actually have to set time limits! It has been useful in the way of punishment though. I have finally found a privilege that I can take away that makes him more aware of his actions and mouth. Today I let him play as much as he wanted. He played from 9:30 am until 8:00 pm! The only reason he stopped was that we turned it off and made him eat food! He took potty and M&M breaks, but no other! So now tomorrow he does not get to play at all. He will have to help the family do yard work.

The Wii is fun to play and watch others play. It cracks me up to watch and listen to Mark and John play. They both blame each other and the game. We must have bought a broken game because it does not work right for them! So I wonder, how many other broken games are in homes around the world? The odds can not be in only our favor, can they?

Move outta the way Alison!