The Union/District has arrived at a tentative agreement! They'll be calling back 43 teachers of the 60 they let go. Woo Hoo! I just pray that one of those will be my teaching partner...

As the summer winds down I'm thinking that all my reading time is going to be shortened considerably. So, here is the book that is on my nightstand right now... and quite possibly the one that will be there until next June!

At this time next year we'll be adding one more to the gang... one more girl that is. Congratulations Casey!

With all of the stress and frustration that is going on with the union/district negotiations, it was extra nice to get an invitation from Angie to join her at the beach. It was perfect timing to get away. It was absolutely beautiful there! The first night we had a camp cook out and roasted hot dogs and s'mores. Of course, we had to sing a few camp songs...

The next day was another gorgeous day!! The sun was out, there was hardly a breeze... it was perfect. The girls had a wonderful time digging in the sand and jumping waves. I was so concerned about getting the girls lathered up in sunscreen, that I forgot myself. The left side of my body is quite red. Oops!

We spent one day in town browsing the book store, toy store, and candy store, of course. Then we spent some time on the little playground in town before heading back to the hotel for swimming.

Today - our last day - was another fabulous weather day! I can't believe how beautiful it was every day we were there. It was so amazing! We spent some more time in the ocean and sand, had lunch at Dooger's and then headed home. It was such a blessing to have this time to chill {as much as you can with little ones!!} before going back to work... and building special memories with my girls.

Another Book

It has been a great summer of reading for us. We've made several trips to the library and to the book store. I've finally read many of the books that have been sitting on my night stand throughout the school year. The Help is one that I really enjoyed. It was very well written from several different perspectives. It made me feel blessed to be where I am right now... as opposed to being in the deep south in the 1950's!

School Supplies

Is it wrong that I get so excited about new school supplies? Lucky for me, Alison loves them just as much as I do! She had quite a supply list this year... and all very specific. We had fun gathering up all the materials; I could've spent even more time in the school supply aisle. :) Ali's most exciting purchase was her back pack. She carefully searched through the selection, narrowed her choices down, then decided on a Wizards of Waverly Place back pack. She is so excited to go back to school... it's so crazy to know that I am the mommy to a first grader!

Tillamook

We traveled to the coast for Trav's annual family reunion. It was a beautiful weekend! I love-love the coast. If I had a million dollars the first thing I would get {after paying off debt, of course} is a beach house.

Trav took Ali to the Tillamook Co. Fair, but Miss Merilyn had to miss it. {And, therefore, I missed it as well.} Meri threw the ultimate temper tantrum about getting dressed, & unfortunately was left behind. While Meri was crying about wanting to go to the "fairy", Ali & her cousin, Marisa, had a great time! Her favorite was the "monkey house" - a house of "crazy mirrors".

Saturday was the reunion & although the day started out gray & drizzly, the sun came out & it warmed up. It was gorgeous! We all had pink cheeks & noses. It was nice to see Trav's extended family & catch up with them.

On Sunday we left Tillamook & headed to Newport to check out the Aquarium. The last time the girls were there Merilyn was very little, & slept through most of it. When I asked the girls what their favorite part of the aquarium was, Ali said "taking my own pictures of the fish with the camera"... Merilyn said, "the ice cream."

My book club met for our annual "Pool Party with the Kids". It's been so hot here, it was great to get in and splash around. The kids swam and played while we {tried to} catch up and talk about the last book, Sarah's Key. As always, Liz was a great host with sandwich fixings and pool toys! Thanks, Liz, for a great afternoon!

Camp Sherman 2009

We drove out to Camp Sherman last week - on a day that was going to be 102 degrees! {And we were heading into more heat!!} Suzann had reserved us great spots on the Metolius River, so as soon as the camper was set up, we jumped into the river. It was FREEZING!! {But, definitely refreshing!}
On the second day we decided to try "LetterBoxing". (It's basically an outdoor treasure hunt.) We followed the clues that Angie had printed out; they led us to the Gorge campground... we walked on the trail along the river until we found the burnt snag...

walked 14 more steps and began looking along the base of the rock wall. We weren't sure what we were looking for, but we went for it and started digging through dirt and cobwebs, trying to find a "treasure". Thank goodness Casey found it quickly! {It was too hot and dirty to be there any longer!}

We opened a little Tupperware container and stamped our books, signed our names, and re-buried it. Considering the heat, the amount of walking 7 little girls were doing, and how much the mommies were sweating, we decided that one was enough for the day! The next stop was the little Camp Sherman store for ice cream!
Later that afternoon we got the raft on the river and took turns rowing/floating down the river back to our campsite. Suzann and I were crowned the best "steerers" in the world!


Other highlights were sending dreamboats down the river, and the campfire talent show.



Needless to say, the girls had a blast, and although we were in desperate need of a shower when we got home, we're already thinking about next year!