The First Post in Ages!!!

Yes I really am adding a new post to my blog...I know that some of you thought that would happen again!!!
Since November 1, it has seemed as though life has become a forced march. All I seem to think about is how I can get the warehouse empty in the most efficient way...
We have had 3 days of sales which helped tremendously...I have felt so blessed with all of the friends who have offered to help us,(I really don't think they know what they are agreeing to!).
So far we have had 4 trips to the dump, two trips to the place that takes unpainted wood.
We have had help from the Sorenson Family, Kim, Preston, Anita, My parents, My brother Tim, Melissa, and Matt. Yes, Matt came on Thanksgiving day. He drove for the whole day and surprised us completely!!! He stayed for Friday and Saturday and then drove all day on Sunday so that he could go to work on Monday...
Molly our 14 year old grand daughter came a few weeks ago and has been working with out much complaint ever since. She has been such a blessing to me and I don't think I could have done it without her! She was amazing tonight when we had to empty the big box truck into the shop building (just her and I) We are women, hear us roar!!! We treated ourselves to taco bell for dinner.
Tomorrow is another garbage day! It will be interesting to see how much it all weighs!!! My parents took 1000 lbs to the dump yesterday for me! It has to be at least 3-4 times more at the warehouse....
Thanks to all of you who are being such emotional support for me! You know who you are!!!
We will be so relieved when January comes and hopefully this is all over. Who knows if I will be able to blog again until then!

blogging...

I have a bunch of pictures I want to post on my blog but I have just been too tired to get it done or have not had access to my computer when I am not tired! Life is very frenzied right now and I am trying to get an extra amount done each day...not that it is working! I was able to get a small amount of organizing done on our building that is behind our house...clean my studio some, get most of the house cleaned up and get the leaves on the sidewalk and porch swept away!
I am going to the doctor tomorrow and hopefully will get some help to get a better sleeping pattern going! I am feeling the effects of the lack of Z's! I hope to get back to more regular blogging soon...

No School Today!!!! (or tomorrow!)

Riley and Drew both got a 4 day weekend this week!!! Yipee!!!! Collin wasn't sure what to think when his sisters played with HIS toys and he got to go out and play in the backyard with them!!!

This was the first time he has climbed the playground and got to slide down the slide!!! He loved it and didn't want to stop!!! He actually did go down alone but I had to catch him and couldn't take a picture at the same time! He scratched his face while playing in the "forest" and fell down several times and bonked his head...I think he needs to be a fighter for Halloween...then we can say "you should see the other guy"!!! We get to spend the whole day together tomorrow too!!!

The Harvest is over!

All of the pomegranates have been removed from the tree and taken to the health food store that has been buying them from me!!! Les has been the chief picker...too many that needed a ladder to be reached! We picked on 3 different days and in 3 different weeks. This way I was able to supply the store with our gorgeous pomegranates and none went to waste!!! This was the first time I have tried to sell them and I have to say it was very successful...they paid 75 cents per piece and I made over $250.00!!! Les picked this one from in the middle and top of the tree! We were shocked at how large it was...the girls called it the giant pumpkin-pomegranate!!! I wouldn't let the girls carry it for fear that it would be dropped and I wouldn't get to take these pictures!

For perspective I decided that the tape measure and the quarter would help so that you could see the size!!!

Saturday!!! Soccer, Birthdays, Computers and Sleepovers!

Happy Birthday Riley!!! I can't believe you are already 10 years old!!! It was fun spending some time with you and I want you to know that we are very proud of you and love you very much.
Before Riley's birthday party we went to Drew's soccer game (which was a great game!) and then we went to Les' office to pick up his computer and move it home...the building is going into escrow on Monday and everything there is turned off! I cleaned out a couple of drawers on the desk and found a whole basket of writing utensils and change!!! I packed up a large box of videos while he loaded the car with the computer!!! We could (and will) spend many hours packing up his stuff but, instead Les decided to go and visit his brother George who has been very ill while I went and helped Melissa get ready for the party! After snacks, cake and present openning it was time to head out so that the REAL party could get started! Drew and Collin got to come home with us so that they weren't tortured by Riley's sleepover!!! We got home and I made the kids dino chicken nuggets for dinner and they got to play outside until it was almost dark! Then it was bathtime...they had a great time until Collin pooped and they had to make a fast exit from the tub!!! Oh well they were pretty pruney already!!! When it was bed time Collin & Drew were going to both sleep in the parlor but that wasn't working cause they are both used to sleeping in their own rooms so I moved Collin into the studio and they both slept the whole night with out a peep!!!! We all woke up in time to get ready for church and had a happy morning together!!!
It was a fun day for everyone I think!!!

My birthday

October 22 is my birthday and it was so nice to have phone calls and cards from my family and friends! I got flowers and a balloon (Collin was so cute with the balloon, he had a great time with it and didn't want to give it to me!!!) and Melissa hosted a little dinner for me that evening! Riley had a soccer game at 6:00. She played very well and her team won, so that was fun to watch!

Melissa had made a yummy Stombolli, Kim did a fab salad and Anita outdid herself with an amazing cake! I didn't get any pics of it, so you will have to look at Kim & Anita's blogs to see the cake! Thanks to everyone who made me feel special on my birthday!

Drew and Collin...

After picking Drew up from school on Tuesday we went to my house (instead of staying in Redding until it was time to pick Riley up from school). After lunch, Drew and Collin wanted to play in the backyard! Here are a few photos of what they did! Drew did a/b patterns with chock on the bricks while Collin played with a stick and took seeds out of a pomegranite that was open and in his reach!!! He was totally covered in juice and his socks had juice on the bottoms!!! He had had a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for lunch and his shorts were totally covered in pb&j...so that is why no pants!!! The gas prices have made it so that the girls don't get to spend any time at Grandma's house during the week. Hopefully that will change enough so that we can have more time in Anderson!
Drew's class at school had made bread that day and we baked it when we got home! It smelled great! They ate it with dinner that night!

last weekend...

Last Friday evening, all day on Saturday and Sunday morning, Kim and I got to work on our scrapbooks! We like to go out of town because it is nice to get away and not feel bad about the dishes that don't get done or people that don't get the usual attention!!! We have gone as far north as Lincoln City, Oregon and as far south as an oceanside cabin near the Hearst Castle! We have spent many hours driving to locations and this takes away from our scrapbooking time!!! We enjoy traveling together but that is beside the point!!! We have used hotels in Redding and almost did this time too...but, we decided we wanted to try the newest hotel in the area...which is Gaia in Anderson!!! Ha! Ha!!!

When I made the reservations the lady asked my home address and then she said...you live really close don't you!!! Yeah it is about 1 mile from my house!!!

We really liked the hotel. It is a Green Hotel....they even have gauges in the lobby which showed the electricity and water that is being used!!! Anyway, I took some pics of the stuff in the bathroom cause it is different than most hotels! The toilet had 2 buttons and depending on what the toilet was used for was what button you pushed! There were dispensers in there for lotion and hand soap plus the one in the shower for hair soap, conditioner, and body wash. No small bottles. But the shower was a bit difficult for me (yes I am a retard sometimes!!!) I couldn't figure out how to turn it on and Kim had gone out to get breakfast, so I just took a bath. bummer. Turned out there was a little ring on the faucet you had to pull down, oh well.....
We had a great time and got a lot done in our albums! It is never enough cause we take so many photos! But, since we don't get to spend as much time as we would like it was just great spending the time together! They had great Wi-Fi (very easy to use) and cable tv. The restaurant is supposed to open in November, it will be called the Swan Lake Bistro...they have a pond with 2 white and 2 black swans! Looks like it will be a place to go for special occasions because it is a bit pricey!

Drew-in-a-box!

Collin and Drew have a lot of fun playing together in the afternoon. Drew kept trying to bring this box out into the living room and I kept telling her to take it back to Collin's room! There was so much squeeling going on that I had to go and look to see what was happening! This was Drew's way of playing hide & go seek with Collin!!! They are so funny! This is actually the box to hold all of Collins toys!

A Wonderful Adventure!!!

!!! And Yes it was a triple exclamation point day!!! There is a company near Turtle Bay that is called Shasta Ride and Glide that rents bicycles and Segways!!! Les and I had always wanted to ride a segway but had never had an opportunity. We decided that our worship team needed a mini retreat and that this would be a really fun thing to do! It was a suprise for everyone and they were just thrilled when we pulled up to the rental place!!!! After filling out forms and getting helmets, we had a short time of instruction and then we were off on our guided tour!!! We went over the Sundial Bridge and all around the River trails. We saw where the fire had gone and were amazed at how there is already new growth in all of the devastation. We went through Caldwell Park and under the Railroad Trestle. We saw a couple of guys who are conducting some research on the Deistlehorse Bridge for NASA. Then we turned around and rode back through the park and then we got to ride through the Monolith and as a finale we got to goof around in the parking lot of the museum!!! We had a great guide whose name was Joe and the guy who had to follow us was Jacob! They were very nice guys and made sure that we had a memorable time!!!

I would recommend this to anyone and everyone! It is easy to do and so fun! You have to be 16 years old and under 275lbs I think...so it you ever want to have a fun couple of hours...give them a call and try it out! As a special hint...they have 2 for the price of 1 on Fridays...call early for a spot cause it is the busiest day for them!

A cold Saturday!

This Morning I got up early and went to Riley's 8:30 Soccer game! It was very cold and very windy but Riley played a great game and did a good job for her team! She even assisted another player to make a goal! Her team won and it was a fun game to watch! Mark Stephen's game started at 10:30 and I decided it would be fun to stay with Melissa and the kids and watch his game too! Still very windy and cold but he is an amazing player and it is always a good game! Riley was cold and decided to wrap up in the quilt that Melissa had brought to sit on and when she did Collin decided that she was a couch!!! It was pretty funny! Madison took advantage of the couch too!!! Mark won his game too! Then after another 1 hour wait we got to watch Drew's game at 12:30! Drew made a goal even though she was one of many human Popsicles! She is very enthusiastic and really likes to be the one who throws the ball in or do the kick!!! Drew's coach owns North Valley Fitness (I think that is the name of his company) and he is also the sponsor of the team and he had a film crew there with him making a commercial and the camera man ran up and down the field with the kids and then did some other stuff on the sidelines! At one point he was taking filming and Drew was the subject and she just ran up to the camera and yelled HELLO! It was pretty funny...she is so shy! Anyway after the games I was feeling pretty beat up from the wind but I needed to go and buy a few groceries. I went home after shopping and was able to lay down for about 1/2 hour and get warmed up and then Les came home and we decided to go to Mary's Pizza Shack for dinner (our friend Melissa Hunt was on the roof raising money for Plus One Mentors so this was in support of her!) MMMM! Calzone isn't on my food plan but that was what we ate and it was yummy! Then we went to Walmart and used their machine that takes your change and you get cash for it.....
Let me tell you we had a ton of change! More than I could have carried myself! We ended up with a shoe box of pennies, a shallow bucket of mixed change, a sour cream container of mostly quarters and dimes, and a big Costco size jar of mixed change...I can't remember how many pennies it said we had but it was many thousand! The grand total of all of the change was $254.40....Yippeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!


It might be worth it to look around your house and gather up all of that loose change and see how much it is worth!
It costs about 8 cents per dollar to use the machine but I think it was well worth it!!! Did you know that if you click on the picture it makes it larger? I just found this out last week! You can read the receipt clearly if you enlarge the pic!
I also sold pomegranates for 75cents each last week and made over 40 bucks!!! Next stop...the consignment clothing store to sell my too large clothes!!! Too bad you can't sell blood in California cause I would do that too!

A Rare Happy Moment!

Wednesday was a rough day for Collin. His mouth must have been in extreme pain. He was not his normal cute and sweet self...he cried and hit and was so miserable that I tried to do everything I could think of to make him happy...to no avail. He wanted to go outside and he chased Daisy around with the leash and wanted to put it on her...when I tried to help he layed on the floor and screamed....when we got outside he didn't want to walk he wanted to be carried! When I didn't pick him up fast enough he layed on the ground and screamed! I decided to go early to pick up Drew, hoping that he might go to sleep in the car but instead he sat in his carseat and screamed all the way to Redding...I hoped that he would calm down when we got to the school but instead he kept falling down and crying. We sat in the front seat of the car for a while and Collin played with the steering wheel and locked and unlocked the car doors. He enjoyed this for a few minutes and then got mad when I wouldn't let him push the button on the keys to make the horn honk!!! He is usually so happy and yes he can get a bit fussy but not like this! When we got home for lunch I decided that a waffle with peanut butter and syrup was in order and Collin got happy for long enough to eat it!!! He enjoyed the process of me poking the fork into the waffle and then giving him the fork so that he could eat it! He ate the whole waffle and then he put the plate on his head!!! Yick! Now he had syrup head and was very sleepy!!! I used a washcloth to wipe as much as I could out of his hair and then put him down for a nap! I was exhasted too!!! When he woke up he still wasn't feeling great and sat in my lap and snuggled for quite a while...then I realized he had not had a motrin before lunch...whoops, Luckily a friend (Anita) was there and got one for him! He did a bit better in the afternoon but he ended up having a bath and just going to bed when Melissa got home!! I hope and pray that these teeth come out quickly!!! The poor guy has had a very hard time this week! Today was a much better day and he was more like his happy self! And no syrup on his head!

Mosaic Time!

We had a lot of fun making mosaic pots! I think that everyone enjoys getting to break up dishes with a hammer the most, but Lydia and Rowan loved having the adhesive all over their hands! We didn't get to finish them partly because we ran out of time and also because the stuff didn't dry because of the rainy weather...So I will put the grout in later! Lydia won't need too much grout because she used ALOT of adhesive!!! You can see it on the pot she is holding!!! Even Molly had a fun time too!