This is really a pathetic way to do the "yearly letter" thing, but life has been a little too hectic this week to get anything else done, so this is all you get....all 1 or 2 of you that really care. I'm a little ill prepared, as I don't have "notes" on our family's life in the past year as I found out my sister does, but guess we made it through the year, regardless. So, here goes:
January this year found us in Baker City for my husband to undergo Rotator Cuff Surgery. He had injured his shoulder at work in October 07, but in typical insurance and medical fashion, it took that long to get the right surgeon, the right tests, etc. So, we knew it was going to be a long, drawn out recovery. We just didn't realize it was going to be as bad as it has been. We also began a new experience in coaching 4th grade basketball. We both had played basketball in high school, but coaching was a stretch for us. We finally gave in when the coordinator put it in perspective when he said "They are 4th graders, it's not like they are going to realize whether you know what you are doing or not." We started early January and Steve was not able to do much because of his shoulder, but his knowledge and physical presence was very helpful. They did not have enough boys and girls to have separate teams, so we coached a co-ed team.
February found us searching for teams to play in other towns. Apparently, there were no other 4th grade teams, so we got about 3 games, one being against a mix of 4th, 5th and 6th graders, and two against our 6th grade girls here in Union. We certainly have to hand it to our team as they never gave up, even though they were staring at the 6th graders belly buttons. They had fun and made our job very easy because they always showed up with good attitudes and a desire to learn.
March brought Spring Break which was pretty uneventful. It seems like it rained the whole time, so I remember a lot of phone calls at work from Steve asking for suggestions for indoor activities to contain 2 young girls with cabin fever.
April of course is Birthday Month in our family. My late grandmother's was the 16th, my oldest, Kamille was born the 17th, and my oldest nephew was born on the 18th. My brother-in-law's birthday is the 23rd, my brother's oldest boy Brandon was born the 24th and my baby, Keanna, was born on the 25th. Throw some of my Uncles in there, and a couple anniversary's and it makes for one busy month. This year, I got brave (or maybe it's stupid, I'm not sure) and invited 2 friends for each girl and went to a local motel in La Grande where we went swimming, pigged out on pizza, cake, ice cream, strawberries and whip cream, soda, and various other sugar-laden goodies. We did facials, manicures, pedicures, hair and makeup. BOY, what an experience that was. If I ever offer to take 6 girls, aged 7-11, and sugar them up and contain them in a small motel room, I hope someone will admit me to the nearest nut house. But, the girls loved it and talked about it for days on end, so I guess it was a good thing.
May brought some tears to our family. The military already has one of my nephews, and during this time, he was deployed for his 2nd round. But, my next oldest nephew decided he wanted to go in the Air Force and they don't observe holidays when it comes to Boot Camp. On Mother's Day, my sister and her family loaded Kyle up and took him to Pendleton to fly to Texas for Boot Camp. Before he left, my parents had come up for the weekend and we all met for lunch with his dad's sister and mother and said our tearful goodbyes. I don't think it was any easier for my sister to see her second go, especially with it being on the day that is supposed to honor her. We were also worried about my niece Chandra in Arkansas, as she was caught in two of the multitude of tornadoes they experienced there. Thankfully, only some minor outdoor damage to a shed, but scary nonetheless. Little League started the end of May, just as school was finishing for the year. Both girls were in Coach Pitch this year and did very well.
June brought Stock Show and of course, Parma Convention. It was also the month I decided that my children needed me at home and it was getting SO costly to drive back and forth to La Grande every day with gas prices skyrocketing, so I resigned from my job on the 11th, just in time to be able to accompany the girls to Parma for the entire time. That was a special treat for me. My best friend Niki came home from Alaska for a summer visit, and we had a LOT of catching up to do. Always fun to be with her, regardless of whether we're doing something fun, or just hanging in the living room chatting away. It was crazy to see how much her kids had grown and fun to hear of her adventures in the bush of Alaska where her husband is a school teacher. This is his 2nd year there, but she and the children have only been there for one year. They are looking at 1 more year at least, then don't know what their plan is from there. I just don't think it will be to continue in "QuackAttack" as they call the village where they are living. That's a lot easier to pronounce than Quinhagak (which is actually pronounced "Kwin-a-hawk") My husband's birthday was the 30th, and he chose to just have a quiet BBQ with Niki and her daughter. Our girls were down visiting with their dad in Idaho, so it was a rather quiet affair.
July was memorable for me. With the girls at their dad's for the 4th of July holiday, and Steve's daughter staying with us for awhile, we loaded up and went to my parent's property in Council, Idaho and spent 4th of July there. I was born while my parents lived in Council (although I was born in Weiser due to complications) so most folks there know me, but I vaguely remember most of them. However, my mom's half-brother who is the same age my brother would have been was there, as his wife's grandmother lives in Council. So, we spent some really fun-filled days with Mark and his family, my parents, and Steve's daughter. We played cards in the camper at night, spent the VERY HOT days trying to find shade, or going in to town for festivities, watching the parade, porcupine races, and fireworks in town on the 4th, and lots of just lazing around enjoying ourselves. It was hard to come back home and face the real world again. Mom and Dad's property is so relaxing...not far out of town, but very much "primitive"...they just got power installed a couple years ago, but it is definitely "in the woods" and relaxing. Beautiful sunsets, deer, coyotes singing us to sleep...it don't get much better. Then, of course, I had to get sick, and ended up in the ER in Ontario when we got back from Council as I had a stomach bug and a raging kidney infection along with the busted rib I encountered while helping my dad move some machinery the day before we went to Council. That was not the way I wanted to end a fun adventure.
August was hot, but we spent a LOT of time in the mountains picking huckleberries with my sister and niece. She was selling them to raise money for her trip to Europe next summer and it's always enjoyable to spend an afternoon in the forest. There were always lots of laughs, awesome sunsets, even a trip with mom and dad included and the fateful screaming trip down the mountain when Kamille chose to throw a rock at her sister's head. We were supposed to go to my family reunion in Utah, but with gas prices the way they were, we just couldn't swing it, so we had to back out. I had a quiet birthday party with my family and my sister gave me a water-bath canner and several other things required to home-can fruits and veggies. My sister labeled me the "fruit-nut" because anybody who had fruit they didn't want, I was the nut that would gladly go pick it. Between my sister and I, we canned over 400 jars of "stuff", everything from fruit, to veggies, to pickles, kraut, jam, pie fillings, etc. Lots of those canned items got entered in the Union County Fair by my sister. Also, the girls entered cookies in the fair and they both won blue ribbons. I'm afraid it might have started an annual trend. But, that's not all bad. We prepared the girls to start back to school with clothes and school supply shopping. We spent every Wednesday and Sunday (and any other time we could get free) on the bank of Pilcher creek fishing. My mom's brother Bud is the camp host there, and we love fishing that reservoir, so we spent as much time there as we could.
September found us sending a 3rd grader and a 5th grader off to school. They are growing up so fast, and I just don't know how to handle them some days. Kamille is really turning into a young lady and Keanna gets more "tom-boyish" every day. We also were glad to have my oldest nephew home on Labor Day weekend for a 3 week visit before deploying to Iraq for his 3rd tour. We took him fishing one day, and spent some time just chillin' with him, listening to whatever stories he was willing to share. He was also glad to sample the canning his mother and I had been slaving over for the past couple months.
October was full of several different activities....a few last trips for huckleberries, but they were beginning to freeze and not be any good. Fishing was starting to get a little miserable with weather turning cold. My sister got an apple cider press for her birthday, so we started pressing cider and selling it to raise more money for the kids' trip to Europe next summer. Also, Leasa got a smoker for her birthday, and I'm here to to tell you, she has smoked everything she can get her hands on. She plans to smoke a turkey for Thanksgiving and even though I don't like smoked meat, she did a pretty good job and I actually ate some and enjoyed it. We had a booth at the local Fall Festival and worked our tails off to raise money for Britta's Europe trip. We also did a booth at the local University's Homecoming Celebration. Lot's of work, but worth it when she can put more money in that bank account. Halloween came and we got to welcome my sister's 2nd son Kyle home for a 3 week visit before reporting to California at Vandenberg Air Force Base for his permanent station. We put up signs in their driveway, hung balloons, dressed in as much red/white/blue as we could find, and thanks to a well-placed cell phone call, we were standing at the driveway waving flags when they pulled in from Boise with him. We went to a masquerade ball early in the evening that doubled as a rehearsal dinner for a friend getting married the next day, then home for a few stops of trick-or-treating then home to bed.
November 1st found me in La Grande helping my sister put the finishing touches to Tammy Benitez's wedding. We've known Tammy and her family for a long time and even though she is wedding coordinator, she asked my sister to step in and take over for her on her special day. My parents came up, so that was an added bonus. We had a "mock" Thanksgiving and Birthday party for Kyle, as he would be leaving November 20th to go to California and would miss Thanksgiving as well as his birthday in December. Again, my parents came up and we enjoyed our time with all the family. Kamille was voted by her peers to possess the characteristic of "CARING" so we went to the Assembly and proudly watched her accept her award. Thanksgiving was a very special day for us. My sister always goes to La Grande to be with her in-laws, but she and her husband were kind enough to "loan" us their kitchen so I could prepare Thanksgiving dinner for my mother and father, Steve's mother and father, and his sister and 2 nieces. This was a first for us....to have both sets of parents together, and after a rough start with me and Steve's dad after our wedding, it was SO nice to have a lovely day, with good food, good memories, and hopes of repeating this in the future.
December started with a bang, as my sister asked me to help her ready her house to be part of the Rotary Club Holiday Home Tour. This required LOTS of little projects, several trips for decorating supplies, and hanging of lights, garland, cleaning house, touch-up painting, organizing, and decorating. Believe it or not, she has over 270 snowmen, and I can guarantee you I touched every single one of them at least once, if not more. The day of the tour was the reward, though, as several people wanted to "trade" houses, and several asked if they could just move in and stay forever. The house looked wonderful, with a "primitive/western" Christmas theme and I was very proud of my sister's creativity. Obviously, I do not share the creative gene she seemed to inherit, but I make a good slave...climbing ladders, painting, moving furniture, cutting pine garland and hanging rope lights. It's a good match, what can I say. I'm just SO glad that my sister and I have a new relationship that we haven't had in the past. It's fun to spend time with her, and we've done a lot of it. I hope it continues to grow as each day passes. My friend Niki from Alaska gave me a wonderful surprise. She called my husband and got him to help her plan for a knock on the door to announce "HI...WE"RE HERE TO VISIT FOR CHRISTMAS" I was so excited, as I didn't think she was going to make it for the holidays and time spent with her is ALWAYS memorable. Christmas finds us snowed in, my parents in Vancouver because my dad's mother is very ill, facing her last days because of kidney failure, blood clots on both lungs, congestive heart failure, and a heart that is operating at 20 percent capacity. But, she's a tough lady, so we'll see how that plays out. The girls have a long Christmas Break, but won't be able to spend time with their dad as the storms are so bad, roads are closed on both sides of us. We went out to my sister's Bed & Breakfast cottage and spent Christmas Eve and Christmas Night there and THOROUGHLY enjoyed ourselves. We enjoyed having my brother-in-law's sister and husband join us for dinner and played games and enjoyed a wonderful day. We look forward to starting up basketball again after the kids return to school January 5th. We will be coaching 5th grade this year, as they allow us to move up with our kids, however, it appears there may be enough boys and girls to have separate teams this year, so we'll see what happens. The Christmas Program just before school let out for break was a BEAUTIFUL surprise for me. My daughter had a solo part in one of their songs and she performed AWESOME. She has a great voice, loves music, and will go a long way with her desire to learn more. She got a harmonica for Christmas and has intentions of starting the flute in 6th grade band when she gets there.
So, here were are today, anticipating 2009 and wondering where it will take us. With my husband still not released to return to work, and me not working, a move may be in our future. We certainly hope not, as this is "home" for Steve as all of his family is here, and I've lived here longer than I've ever lived anywhere in my life. My children enjoy school here, and all their friends are here. But with major lay-offs and huge businesses closing their doors, my husband may find himself going through Vocational Retraining, and we have no idea where that will take us. But, we know that we'll make it through, and we just continue to function as a family unit and try to make each day the best it can be.
We hope 2008 was kind to all of you and 2009 holds a bright future for you. I don't know how many of you actually read this junk, but to those who do, we hope you had a WONDERFUL Christmas. Cassie, I want you to know that 80 percent of my Christmas gifts were homemade and your post were a huge encouragement for me to do so. Katie, you're snow flake strings on the dental floss not only were a great project for the girls, we used it in Leasa's home decor for the Tour of Homes. To the rest of you, I love reading your posts, keeping up on your family and their happenings, and watching your families grow and change. Best of wishes to all of you in 2009. Happy Blogging!!!!
