Teenagers
Pre-pubescent Girls
Drama Queens
Whining
Arguments
Did I mention Pre-pubescent Girls?
Husbands
Drama, Drama, Drama
Complaints About EVERY MEAL I MAKE!
I’m sure I mentioned Pre-pubescent Girls, didn’t I?
Did I forget to mention Teenagers or Drama Queens?
Frazzled Nerves
I am hopeful that with the advice of the Guru above, I can achieve a state of inner peace similar to this fine fellow:
Here’s to a GREAT new day!
Monday’s Suck!
I can finally say that one room is COMPLETELY UNPACKED and put away!
Presenting the Tolar Kitchen:
As we get each room completely put-together, I will post pictures of them.
The unpacking process has been very slow for many reasons – busy schedules, lack of motivation (on my part), the sorting and discarding process takes FOREVER, and just having SO much to unpack. We are getting close to being completely done, and our yard sale pile is getting bigger and bigger!
I do plan on keeping this blog going for as long as we’re working on the house – inside and out. This Spring, we’ll be painting the exterior, putting in a yard, and finishing the driveway. Inside, though it looks completely finished, there are still a few things to be done – the bench in the nook, workspace counter in the office, and shelves in the office. Aaron and I still haven’t made it to Portland to pick up our new bed. Luckily, we’re patient, and we know this process will take a while, so we’re prepared for that.
Filed under Home Construction
It is not very often that Emma is the only girlie we have here, but yesterday was one of those days. Katelyn was at a friend’s birthday party, and Harley & Reagan were at their dad’s house, so I got to have a day with just my big girl! We decided to make a date of it and have a Girls’ Night Out.
We spent the afternoon at the high school basketball games against Elgin, and she got to visit with a lot of her friends from Irrigon while we were there. It was nice to see her just slip right back into the little hole that was left when she changed schools. Its comforting knowing she still has those connections here.
After the games, we had a movie date, and we watched Bride Wars. Cute, cute, cute! It was a great movie. I am positive that Aaron’s choice to “pass on that” was probably a good one, though, because it is definitely a chick flick!
You can never have a Girls’ Night Out without the obligatory self portraits with the camera, right, so here are ours. We even took a funny one at the end just for fun!
Thank you Emma, for such a WONDERFUL weekend, fabulous day and evening together, and great time today. You truly are an amazing girl, and I love you more than the world itself!
I found another treasure on Aaron’s camera. At some point last Spring, he was applicating chemicals to a potato field when a storm broiled up out of nowhere. He took pictures of the developing storm, and they are so gorgeous! Pictures like this make me extremely happy to have a desk job INSIDE where I don’t have to go out into bad weather except to get to and from work!
There is something thrilling about watching storms like this develop and rage through the countryside. Thrilling, scary, exciting, and wonderful!
Filed under Photography, Work
My own version.
Aaron is notorious for NEVER deleting pictures off his memory card, even after it’s been downloaded. So, today, while I was dowloading the pictures from Katelyn’s assembly yesterday, I found some pictures of Tod from when we first got him and some more recent ones from around Christmas-time.
Here he is right after we got him – he was 8 weeks old then. He was also only 7″ tall when sitting – floor to the tip of his ears. He weighed just about 2.5 pounds.
And, here he is now – he is nearly 10 months old, and he is 15 inches – floor to the tip of his ears (he’s full-grown now). He now weighs nearly 7 pounds.
He’s awesome – he has such a wild personality. He loves to be right in the mix of everything, and he can’t stand beling left out. He loves to play fetch, tug-of-war, and he really loves to “rip” around the house like a little wildman! He fits right in with the girls, he’s quite the little socialite!
Filed under General
Every month, the girls’ elementary school has a student body assembly. Students are recoginzed for their mastery of different subjects – math, spelling, etc. The Student of the Month Awards and Self Manager Awards are also presented.
Katelyn has been waiting all school year to be named a Self Manager, and she finally made it! Not only did she receive her Self Manager Award, she also received a Student of the Month award for her success in spelling. We are so proud of her and how well she is doing this year.
Good job, sweetheart, we love you!
I love reading these posts when other people make them, and I’ve just been too busy to post one of my own. After a very busy weekend of unpacking boxes, basketball games, laundry, unpacking more boxes, and just generally getting settled in our new house, I finally feel like I have time to do this myself.
Give it a shot, it’s fun!
I posted a major update on our Dream Home Blog tonight. The construction process is slowing down – it’s nearly at a stand-still. Not because of any problems or hold-ups, but because we are pretty much done with it! We have several loose ends to tie up, and once they are done my parents will be leaving, taking Luna, and moving back to Cove permanently.
They will be living in their lovely home that they’ve given up for the past seven months to live in a 20-foot camp trailer on our property. Since graduating from High School, I’ve never lived with, or within minutes of, my parents for more than two months at a time (summers home from college, after Emma’s dad and I separated, etc.). Quite frankly, I liked it that way. I liked being close enough to go home when I wanted or needed to, but I liked being far enough away that we weren’t able to just drop in on each other.
I’ve changed my mind.
I don’t want them to go home, even though I know they are ready to go home. I am feeling extremely selfish, and I want to drag the project out just so we can keep them around longer. I can honestly say I am going to be very sad when they do make that final trip home, and I am sure I will be home-sick for them for quite some time. That realization makes me very happy because it means our relationship has grown stronger and closer through this construction process when it could have been tested and strained. I have had a unique opportunity to get to know my parents again; not as Mom and Dad, but rather as Burr and Donna.
More than ever, I am very thankful that we are only a short, two-hour drive away.
For the time-being, I am going to treasure every day of work we have left until they pull up their temporary roots and move back to Trickle Creek Corner and get back to their own lives.
Thank you , Mom and Dad, for everything you’ve ever given me. You two truly are amazing, and I love you very much!
Filed under Cove, Family, Home Construction
For once, I can say that work on the new house has slowed down. It has slowed down for probably a couple of months – at least until Spring when we can paint the exterior and start working on the landscaping. There are very few things that my parents and Tom are going to finish before my parents go home for good. It is so exciting to finally be at this stage in the process, where the work being done isn’t the house being built, but it’s the home being made. We’re working to get unpacked, moved in, settled down, and back into a routine.
The front deck steps are being built; they’re almost done.
All the window sills are installed, holes filled, and touch-up painting done.
The pantry shelves have been painted and we’ve started unpacking the boxes of food. The linen closet shelves are done, as well.
My dad has spent the week installing the Master Closet organization system, and then Aaron & I spent 1/2 an hour filling itp and making it a mess. 
Obviously we still have a whole bunch of work to do, but at least we don’t have to go clear to the other side of the house to get our clothes out of the girls’ closets anymore.
Wednesday, my mom sealed all the grout in the house except our shower, and I did that when I got home from work. Both our shower and bathtub are now functioning. I was able to take my first shower in our bathroom this morning, and it was WONDERFUL!
Just a few little loose ends to tie up and Mom, Dad, and Luna will be heading home.
Filed under Home Construction
Your are an amazing person, mother, sister, daughter, and friend. Your friendship is a treasure that will last a lifetime. Thank you for being part of my life.
Happy Birthday, Yvette!
