HUGE and Blue and Really Pretty

This last weekend in August, we went camping at Diamond Lake.  Thielson View campground was beautiful, with large spacious spots and gorgeous views of the lake. As we arrived it turned cool and cloudy, but not rainy! 

We started our trip late Friday evening, driving from Newberg to the Mountain House. We got up on Saturday morning to a light rain, and lots of clouds. This was not motivating us to leave the cozy fire, but we are glad we did!

We arrived at the lake to excited cries of "Cassie and Zoe are here!" While our friends' kids folded the girls into their game, I walked down to help Ben's dad pack up his fishing boat. Fortunately, he was willing to take us out one more time. Unfortunately it became very cold and drizzley.

Connie was disappointed that Peter and I never got a chance to see Mount Thielson from the campground - it was too cloudy. However, we got a great view on our day trip.

Sunday we visited Crater Lake. Drove around the rim, and stopped at various viewpoints. We also hiked down to see "The Pinnacles." Fossil chimneys of hot ash fused into glass by hot gasses were a lot more interesting that it sounded on the map.

This was our family's first Crater Lake visit together, and the first exposure for our kids. They were extremely patient with their parents oooohs and aaaahs.

I want to thank our friends Connie and Ben, Tim and Laura, and James and Lotte for inviting us to join them. I'll admit I was a bit intimidated by the volume of people  - 8 adults and 11 children - but by working together we created a fun time for everyone. Thanks again!!!

Cassie took a video that sums up Crater Lake very well:

August, the Month of Camps

Wow! August has just flown by, probably because the kids were involved in two fund camp experiences! 

The first was Grandma Camp, hosted by my mom. This was a week of staying overnight with Grandma at the Mountain House, doing lots of fun things. There was swimming, and baking, sewing, feeding chipmunks, decorating hats and shirts, and just lots of fun times going on!  Peter and I drove down to pick them up, and helped Mom, Dad, and Becky hack away underbrush and trees on the property to meet fire code standards.

Then there was Circus Arts Camp in Portland, sponsored by Grandma Jeanne and Grandpa Norm. Here they learned to walk on Stilts, ride unicycles, juggle, create clown skits, do mime acts, and have a good time while performing!

This weekend we're going camping, to end the summer off with a bang!  More to come. . .

Marissa's Wedding

Here they are, the Photos from Marissa's Wedding! We had a great time, and were happy to help the new couple get their ceremony off with a bang.  The photos start with the rehearsal (July 10th), where everything wend smoothly, despite the heat of the day. It prompted us to wear extra sunscreen and bring hats for sitting in the audience.

That evening we all went to an excellent dinner in the small town of Carlton. It was worth the wait- Zoe still talks about how awesome that food was!

July 11th was Wedding day. Zoe was a flower girl, scattering lavender blossoms as she went.  Cassie was the ring bearer, and carried the responsibility very well. Peter worked the video camera during the ceremony, and spent some time afterwards filming the cake ceremony and the tossing of the bride's bouquet.

Marissa recruited me to help time the ceremony by playing the music.

I had the instructions and the ipod all ready, but for some reason the PA system refused to broadcast the sound past the first few rows during the ceremony, despite having worked 30 minutes prior when we did the sound test.

I turned the volume up to maximum, on all the knobs I could find, but the folks in the back couldn't hear the music. Oh No!

Fortunately, the couple was beautiful, the vows were amazing, and everything else went off without a hitch! Everyone could hear the pastor and the couple just fine.

Hope you enjoy the photos!

Photos, Photos, Photos!

In my last post, I left out some major events happening in our extended family, such as the birth of my first Grand Nephew, Alexander! Our niece Leesha is a new mom. While Leesha has a lot on her plate, she is studying to become a nurses assistant. Way to go Leesha! Cassie and Zoe are getting their first new baby experience, and are facinated with watching him grow. We have lots of great photos!

The spring term of school presented lots of photo opportunities, such as the Oregon State Scrabble Tournament, the concert for Cassie and Zoe's parks and recs music experience, field trips, and more! Enjoy the Photo album here!

Here are the photos from our 4th of July Pacific City experience. Yesterday I heard a song on the radio about a couple watching the sun rise over the ocean. How strange! I've only ever seen sunsets on the ocean. The one on the 3rd of July was amazing- check it out!

This weekend we're going to a wedding! Marissa, our oldest neice, is getting married to a wonderful guy and making a shindig of it. Zoe and Cassie will be flower girls for the first time, with matching dresses and everything. So watch for those photos in a future post.

Until next time,

Jen ;)

We're Here! And we've been busy!

Notice the new backgrounds and template design? My goal is to write at least once a week, if not more frequently, to keep you all up to date. So welcome to the new blog kickoff!

Zoe turned 8 on April 26th, and invited her friends and family to the AC Gilbert House museum in Salem. It was a great day for a party, despite the threat of rain. Check out the photos here!

Soon after Zoe's Birthday, the 5th Graders had a track meet. Cassie did the high jump, the long jump, and the 50 meter dash. Lots of fun, noise, chaos, and a chance to meet some of the kids that will be attending her middle school next year.

This May, we helped out at the local Community Festival at Cassie and Zoe's school. This was a chaotic but fun event. There were all kinds of activities, including a book fair, bouncy games, helicopter rides, classic cars, and food! Picassa album coming soon.

Then, what seemed like the very next day, graduation leapt out at us from wherever it's been lurking. Cassie finished her last year at Joan Austin Elementary School with style. She won a Presidential Award for Outstanding Academic Excellence- with Obama's signature and everything! This means she had higher than a 3.5 GPA for all of fourth grade and the first 2/3rds of 5th Grade, and exceeded the state standards tests in all categories. Whaa hoo!!!! No, we're not boastful about that at all. . . . (snicker). Of course we are- She is AWESOME! She will start Middle School in the fall with special privileges, like going to lunch early, and attending the honors writing/language arts/social studies classes.

Zoe finished 2nd grade with flair, becoming a Self Manager. This is an award for kids who turn all their homework on time, and manage their workload and behavior with minimal interference from the teacher. She was VERY excited to receive this because, like the certificate says, she's responsible, trustworthy, respectful, fair, and caring. She is AWESOME too!

Peter and I didn't graduate from anything. We are still members of the PTO, working at the school, working at work, and trying to keep our troublesome kids in hand. Actually, that last bit has been incredibly easy so far.

So we took them on vacation for the end of June and beginning of July. We packed up the VW and headed out to the coast - South Beach State park is just south of Newport, OR. There we camped for four nights. It was a very fun relaxing time. See for yourself!

Then we met my Mom, Dad, Becky and Mike at a beach house in Pacific City to celebrate all the July birthdays in my family. Even those of us with birthdays in other parts of the year ended up with cool presents. Watching the fireworks on the beach is the best way to view them. The sunset over the Pacific Ocean is one of the finer things in life. A wonderful trip, and we're sad t o be back home, where it is suddenly hot and summer like for the first time this year.

Those of you who get auto updates will immediately notice a lack of actual photo links in this post. Trust me, more links are on their way. ;)

Fall 2009 Summary

Fall was loads of fun too. Right before school started, we got up early and visited the Evergreen Aviation Museum when they hosted the balloon festival! Besides creating an awesome photo opportunity, this was a very exciting thing to witness. At least 50 hot air balloons took turns inflating and taking off, and we got to watch them up close and far away!

When School started, we were very busy acclimating to 5th and 2nd grades. Cassie had to get used to switching classes for Math and Reading. This will prepare her for next year, where she will switch classes all day long. Middle School is around the corner, lurking!

Zoe really started the year off with a bang, diving feet first into 2nd grade. Peter started parent helping every Tuesday in her classroom, and this is a fun way for him to stay connected with her at school.

Peter and I are involved in the PTO, and helped run the fall fundraiser - the Jaguar Jog! This was a very successful event, and raised a lot of cash for the school. Speaking of cash, Peter is our Treasurer, and so he did all the hard work of counting the money!

October brought my birthday, another visit to the Mountain House, and Halloween! November brought Cassie's birthday, and Thanksgiving at uncle Bob's. We spent the day after Thanksgiving at the Mountain House with my parents.

Summer 2009 Summary

Howdy! I figured I'd better get caught up with this blog before it's summer again! So, remembering back to the summer, there were several memorable events:

For Father's Day, we went camping at Jeanne and Norm's property. Joe was visiting from New Mexico and we got to spend some quality time there around the campfire. We also helped Norm clear space for his trailer, which he brought up and left there. The girls found salamanders in the creek and had a blast!

We re-arranged our house- moved our computer room into the living room, and moved Cassie into the old computer room. Zoe stayed in the same room that they had shared before. This is working out great! However we're still going into Cassie's closet to find our Computer manuals and Cassie still has some of her stuff in Zoe's closet.

We helped my Mom and Dad move furniture into their Mountain House on Willamette Pass. We had an IKEA party, where we assembled most of the furniture. While Peter and I moved the rooms around our house, my mom had the girls over there for a Grandma Camp week! That was really fun for all.

Peter helped his Dad move, multiple times! Long saga made short, they are here in Carlton Oregon, only 20 minutes away from Newberg! This is very cool because we've seen Dave and Sondra more often in the last 6 months than we have in the last 6 years.

We spend time in Pacific City with my parents over 4th of July, as per our tradition. Birthday Party for all the July Birthdays. Lots of fun beach times, and the foggiest fireworks ever! We could barely see 20 feet in front of our faces, so the fireworks were like big surprise explosions lighting up the fog.

We didn't go camping as much as we did the year before, but we did explore the area around the Mountain House- Oakridge, Cresent Lake, etc.

The Last Day of School- June 12th

For the last day of school, the kids had a short day, where they went outside and played field games. There were several stations setup including Frisbee golf, parachute games, a giant slingshot, field hockey, tug of war, and a sponge relay race.

Unfortunately, by the time Peter and I showed up to help, the first graders were already finished! But we stayed to help with the upper-classmen, the 3rd-5th grades. It was a perfect day, and although I have no photos of Zoe doing these games, I did take lots of photos for the school.

Here is the photo album!

June 9th Community School Concert

Slowly but surely, I'm getting caught up! This spring, Cassie and Zoe finished up their year's after school music classes in Guitar and Choir. Both of them performed wonderfully, and were proud to be there.

Cassie's beginning guitar class was up first. They have learned several chords, and were amazingly together, for a large group of 20+ kids! This concert prepared them for playing songs around the campfire, with the hope that maybe over the summer they would play a bit. Cassie is in the back row, and was behind some music stands and the director. Too bad everyone can't always be in the front row all the time!

Zoe's choir sang several songs to recorded background music. This really helped them stay together and in tune. The last day of school, we got a CD! So if you're interested in hearing it, we'll try to upload some of the songs. I haven't linked in audio files before so it may take a few tries. Go kids!!!

Zoe's 1st Grade Music Concert

(Ok, so this happened AFTER Zoe's birthday, but I got my photos ready out of sequence.)

All the first graders at Joan Austin had their music program together. They sang songs, recited poems, danced, and introduced each song. Each child got a chance to do something in the front of the stage, from announcing the songs, performing a small dance, or accompanying the singers with percussion instruments.

Zoe started out the evening with, "Welcome to our program this evening." She was nervous about being first, but she did great! I, however, was not fast enough with the camera and only got a photo of her walking away!

Check out the other photos here! Peter took two videos with his cell phone. But as you might guess, the video is tiny! So listen to them for the audio, not the picture quality. I couldn't figure out how to size them correctly for Picassa. That will be a project for another day.

Check back soon for Zoe's Birthday photos!

Happy Easter!

Can you believe it's Easter already! What a great weekend! Saturday, it was threatening to rain, but the rain held off long enough for Peter's Uncle Bob's egg hunt to stay dry. I didn't count all the cousin's present but there were a lot. As Zoe said, there were at least 50.

After hunting eggs, many of the cousins had to leave, but we stayed later along with Ruth's Mike and their kids. They had tons of fun in the yard. Cassie had tons of fun meeting new babies. Bob's son Tommy and his wife Mary Ann have 3 boys, and now a new little girl named Isabella, only 2 months old!

Click here for Photos of Bob and Karen's Egg Hunt.




Then we came home, rested, and colored Easter eggs! We had so much fun at this that we lost track of time, and got to bed late. Fortunately, we have a forgiving Easter Bunny who left nice baskets and a fun egg hunt for both Cassie and Zoe. See pictures of the eggs and our hunt by clicking here.

An Ancestral Graveyard - A post by Peter

We recently visited Hill Cemetery where we have ancestors. There had been fears circulating through the family that vandals had toppled some headstones of our ancestors. While there were some broken stones around the cemetery, and some cases of entire sections of stones missing, Those of our ancestors remained untouched, or at least undamaged.

The first image is the headstone for Alverus Matteson. I spell it this way, rather than Alveris, because I have had conversations with someone who, at one time, had access to a family bible. I have noticed among the stones in this cemetery, that those of our ancestors are particularly large and/or sturdy, and in one case, practical in application. I believe it is owing to this that they are still standing. This one is 101 years old.
Alverus was my great great grandfather.





This headstone is that of Abigail (spelled Abigal on the stone, incorrectly I believe) . She was Alverus' wife and passed away in 1877. This stone is 132 years old.

This has all gotten me curious about how this cemetery is administered. As far as I know it is still "active". There was a burial here in 2004. I would be nice if a plot map could be found, if such a thing even exists.

In addition to these, there are headstones for two other Matteson husband/wife plots. Also, someone who had compiled a list of names in a web page somewhere had listed a Daisy Matteson, which I could not find. This list was based on, I believe, simple observation of whoever wrote it.... sort of an on-site inventory. There must be some kind of official documentation, one would think.
Check out our photos of this visit here.

I'm Alive!

Tonight I took my family out to dinner. When we came home and got the kids ready for bed, I read out loud to them. Then we said goodnight, put on some relaxing music, and lit a candle. A normal evening.

And this is important because its one of the few normal evenings I've had in the last few months. I'm at the very tail end of the project I've been working on for the last two years. Starting in January, things got a bit hectic. Like a large ball I've been pushing up a mountain suddenly cleared the summit and started rolling down the other side.

Eat, sleep, work, repeat. Layoffs, re-organizations, delays. And the project just rolled on, getting more and more frantic until last week, when the proofs came back of my gold CD-ROMs and everything is fine! Done! Fini! Just about. Breathe!

I've been almost about to finish this project now for a few weeks. I keep telling my family that the end is in sight, that we can start eating dinner together again on a regular basis, and that I won't be leaving for work at 6:30AM and getting home at 7pm. Starting next week I should have a normal work schedule again! From now throughout the rest of the summer!

Now comes cleaning out my email, upgrading my computer, learning new software. A new project, a different printer, awaits. But the best part is getting re-engaged with my life, my family, friends, and my hobbies. So stay tuned, because more family updates await!

The Day Before the Day Before Christmas Eve!

What a blizzard! You will not believe our weather if you don't see the photos to prove it!

Last Wednesday I wrote about our snow storm, and snow days. The entire week ended up being snow days, but as you could see in my last posting, we had the usual western Oregon dusting, where building a snowman reveals the grass and mud beneath the snow. Then there was some ice, and it was really cold, down to the low 20s and into the teens!

Then we got more snow, this Saturday. It was about 8 inches deep (powder) when the freezing rain blew in in the evening, coating everything with a thick crust of ice- 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick in some places! Blech! We thought our playing in the snow was over, because ice is so much less fun.

Sunday morning it started snowing again, and after snowing all day and all night long, we woke up to ANOTHER 10+ inches of snow on top of the ice! And it was still snowing! It didn't stop until about 3pm.

Check out the below photo album for evidence of our snow, sledding, and birdwatching from the last few days. Stay Warm!
Snow Photos. . .

Snow Days

Ok, here in the Willamette Valley, we don't often get snow in the valley floor. When we do, it's a big deal, because we're not equipped to deal with large volumes of frozen water. We get rain, and have all kinds of drainage solutions, but snowplows and gravel trucks are limited, and we do not salt our roads.

So here we are, getting ready for Christmas, and the snow storms that the weather people promised us actually arrived! It was amazing! On Monday we decorated the tree and played outside. On Tuesday I went to work, but the kids were still home. Today, Wednesday, I'm home too, and it's been snowing steadily all day. We have about 2 inches. It drifted in places because we also had some high winds along with the cold temperatures. Maybe we'll have a White Christmas! The last time that happened was in the late 1980's!

The scary thing is that it's been warming up, just enough that tonight we may have rain mixed with snow, falling on the ground that's been below 28 degrees for three days. This ends up being freezing rain, coating everything with ice and being really nasty and obnoxious.

So we are hoping that the snow continues and that it does not rain and get icy. Our street is already coated in ice, then has 3 inches of snow on top of that, so more ice would just be uncalled for, don't you think?

More Photos Here!

Holiday Music

What better way to get into the holiday spirit than listening to holiday Music?



Last week, Cassie was in her first guitar concert. After only 7 or 8 sessions, all the kids got up infront of the parents and played their Christmas music. Did they sound like pros? Of course not, they sounded like kids who are just learning their instruments and having fun! It was awesome!

The evening before that we saw The Trail Band play live at Forest Grove High School. That was a swinging concert! I highly recommend their new album too. Thank you to Jeanne for reserving the tickets for us!

Then over the weekend, we went to my Mom's choir concert. My Grandma and Grandpa Kaake came down from Seattle with my Aunt Becky and my cousin Emily. It was a great visit, although Grandpa wasn't feeling well and they had to cut the visit short.

But my Mom got to play the baritone Ukelele that my Dad made for her several years ago. It sounds great, and my Mom is very brave for playing with the choir. Mom, here is a message from your Dad- Go Beard!

Tooth Day

OK, this marks a first in our household. The girls lost 3 teeth today!

We went down to McMinnville to do some shopping and stopped for lunch at the Oregon Hotel's rooftop pub. The downstairs restaurant has more menu variety, but the rooftop is great for lunch because you can see the whole city. We started out sitting outside, but it got too windy and we came back into the warmth of the pub.

Now for the last few days, we've been telling Zoe her other front tooth would be coming out any second. It was dangling diagonally out of position, giving everyone the impression that one sharp tug would relive it of duty. So when Zoe finished eating her sandwich and tater tots, we went into the restroom to clean up.

"Mom! my tooth is even looser!" she said, jumping up and down. So she asked me to try tugging on it just once, and *pop* out it came! Hooray! We took a little extra time to clean up, and emerged back into the restaurant where Peter and Cassie examined the tooth and Zoe's gap with the appropriate awe. And now Zoe officially has the gap toothed lisp around those "S" sounds.

Cassie, not to be upstaged, has lost 3 molars in the last month, and has had an I-tooth loose for about six weeks. So we had to return to the restroom again, to try and remove that one as well. Stubbornly, it remained anchored in there. We left the hotel in high spirits, one kid happy to finally lose her second front tooth, and the other content to wiggle the I-tooth for the rest of the afternoon.

When we got home about 5-ish, Cassie was still working on those teeth. The molar next to the I-tooth was irritated (gee, I wonder why) so she went into the bathroom to investigate it, and popped that molar right out! Now the I-tooth finally had space to move freely, and about 3 minutes later, it was out too!

So after a dinner of soft foods and a movie, both girls are in bed, anxiously awaiting the tooth fairy, who, I keep assuring them, is waiting for them to fall asleep. Whew! What a day.

Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I realize I'm about a week late, but we had a good long weekend. For Thanksgiving day, we went to Jeanne and Norm's house. They had a great meal, with excellent company, and cousins the girls hadn't seen for a long time.

Then we went to my Mom and Dad's for the day after Thanksgiving, which was another great meal! First though, we got crazy and stopped by Fred Meyer for some things we really needed. It was payday, they had sales going on left and right, and Peter (rightly so) thought it would be a great way to save some $$. Fortunately, the Newberg Fred Meyer is really big, so although most of the town, including nearby Dundee, and environs, were there all at the same time, it really wasn't insanely crowded. Remind me to stick to the outlying regions for any future "Black Friday" shopping. Can you tell I don't usually do this??? I can't imagine doing this in downtown Portland.

My Mom and Dad had a great spread, although my sister and her boyfriend Mike weren't feeling well enough to join us. So we had lots of extra food. A good mix of work, relaxing, and spending time with each other. A great weekend to be Thankful!

On a side note, I was late in writing this because I also got a sinus infection, which is making me a total space cadet. Hopefully, I'll be more consistent about writing from here on out. As the holidays loom, I might be several days behind.

Casise's Birthday

Wow! Cassie is 10! Who knew that this little tiny cute girl would turn out to be the director of a play??? On her birthday (November 19th), her drama club acted out a play that Cas wrote and directed. It's called "Alien School" and I won't even attempt to transcribe it here, but the whole thing is in another language that sounds like "Bleep bloop bleeeep!"

The actors had to show the story by acting! Unfortunately, one of the main actors didn't really understand the plot, but that's part of the learning process! Fortunately, Cassie got a chance to explain the play to the audience, and answer their questions before performing it again.

Since Cassie's birthday was on a Wednesday this year, we had her kid party on Saturday. This time we took everyone to a children's museum called A.C. Gilbert's Discovery Village. Named after the inventor of the erector set, the entire indoor and outdoor experience is designed for hands-on play. Check out photos here!