Oregon in June

It sounds like the name of a novel: "Oregon in June".

 

And yes, I realize it's nearing the end of July. I'm just trying to get caught up here!

 

For the last three years, Alyssa & Darcie have played together ... on three different travelling softball teams -- for varying reasons. And for the last three years, each of those teams has travelled to Oregon for the same college exposure softball tournament. I told you about it HERE and HERE. Alyssa has participated in the exposure camp and all-star games prior to the actual tournament, and this year, it was Darcie who did that.

 

It also happens to fall on Father's Day weekend. So, Happy Father's Day -- to the amazing man who devotes so much of his life to the rest of us! For his present, he gets to drive for hours, sit in the cold (or heat) and watch his daughters throw, catch and hit a neon yellow ball, carry coolers & chairs, buy meals for the whole family, and then drive for hours to get back home again. Kinda doesn't seem quite fair, huh? That's just part of the reason why we love him!



 

 

So these photos are some of my top picks of the few hundred photos I snapped. Starting with these next two pictures that actually came before the weekend started:

 

 

 

We had gone to our local softball fields to get some batting practice in before heading out of town for the tournament. I had to smile, because lined up at the fence are the girls from the Little League All-Stars softball team, who were practicing on the next field. When they took a water break, they came to the fence to watch Alyssa and Darcie hitting the ball! It was cool for me to see youth softball come full circle. I remember our girls being the Little League All-Stars and looking up to the high school players in great awe...... and now our girls ARE the high school players that the little girls are watching!! So fun!!

 

So, we were off to Hillsboro, Oregon, where our weekend began with the morning "exposure camp" for Darcie. That evening was also the all-star game -- and the first time in a LONG time that Alyssa watched Darcie play softball, without being in uniform and playing along with her.

 

She looks like she's handling it ok!

 

(That's Darcie batting -- she hit one over the fence, too)

And these are her catching in the all-star game. She caught for 3 innings, which was pretty good, considering that there were several catchers that needed to be rotated through. Her first pitcher asked if Darcie would wear an armband, to give signs.

 

Miss Emma loved Alyssa's hat!

 

Moving on to tournament play....

 

Unlike the last two years of both high school and summer softball, Darcie actually got the opportunity to play different infield positions. She has been catching for so long, she has really learned that position well. It was odd for me to see her playing first base:

But I think she enjoyed getting moved around on the field.

So their sisters' high-fives were coming from a different direction, and without Darcie being covered in catching gear, too!

 

 

(One of the team chats after a game)

 

And, still a highlight for Emma ... is the hotel pool...

 

 

(Emma's not the only one to have fun there.)

 

If it kind of looks like we go the same place all the time ..... well, we can't help but stop at Multnomah Falls. It's truly right on the way -- the freeway exit dumps you right in the parking lot. And it's just a quarter-mile hike to get to the bridge between the upper and lower falls.

 

 

But the views that Todd and I see the most of ..... are these:

 

 

Oh, how I love those girls!!

 

 

 

The Real Midsummer

The sun has gone down. It is dusk, on a warm summer's evening.

Perhaps I should have gone down to the garden a little earlier. But first it was dinner, then Family Home Evening. We played Bingo ... still a classic. No treat, because we had it right after dinner: homemade crème brulee. Ohhhhhh ..... so smooth and creamy under the crunch of caramelized sugar! I don't want to even THINK about how many calories are in those babies.

I take a bowl and my girls and we walk down to the raspberry row. Light is fading quickly, so there's not much time left to still see berries. We'll have to hurry.

The raspberries are on the downhill slide of harvest. This year's crop is much smaller than last year, but that's ok. Emma swaps sides of the berry row as she carries first a few berries to the bowl, and then brings the whole bowl around to the pickers. My heart jumps when I see the bowl tilt precariously, as she avoids the mud puddle from Todd watering the garden earlier.

The girls head back to the house first, with about two cups of berries in the bowl, ... but I am not far behind them. Although the sky still looks light, it's too dark to pick anymore. The evening star has come out, and it's a waxing quarter moon.

I pause to look at the freshly-mown grass, and think of how the girls have taken over that job since the boys have been gone. I see the silhouettes of trees, the annual flowers that are blooming madly, and the string of lights between the decks.

And it's right then that I remember what Todd said this evening in the living room. It is July 15th. For all intents and purposes, our summer is half over.

Really??? Half gone!!

I'm feeling blessed. I've had a conversation today with a good friend who is holding her life together, but struggling under the surface. My heart goes out to her, and I'm thankful again for the many ways my life has been truly, truly blessed. I look around and know that there is a God in heaven who tenderly watches over His children.

I'm also feeling like my summer has snuck away and left me with too little. I love this time of year when the time and deadlines of the school year has vanished and we all have the freedom to breathe more easily. My own summer goals haven't gotten very far. Life happens, though.

In 16 days, Cameron will return home from his mission in California. I'm not prepared, but I'm oh-so-ready to see my son again! I've gotten his mission blog caught up, but this family blog is rather
"behind".

I return indoors, and decide that it's not too late this evening to still get a few things accomplished. Starting with a blog post. It's a little out of order, but it won't hurt to write it anyway.

Life is good. And life moves on.

The OTHER June Graduation

Still catching up, and I realized I almost skipped Emma's preschool graduation. That would have been a shame, because these kids are just too cute!

We did the same preschool program as we did last year for preschool, and some of the kids were the same, and some were new. I like the program, but I'm rather glad that it's not me that is in charge of it. It's kind of nice to just sit back and let someone else run the show!!

 

They sat on carpet squares last year, cardboard this year. Whatever works, right?

 

And sang their songs. This was "Little Bunny Foo Foo".

 

Then our head mom shared the kids' answers to the same set of questions. Emma thinks that Todd sells stoves (which is true), and that I am good at cooking. Which I hope is true!

 

Another mom created a photo collage of the preschool kids, asking each one what they wanted to be when they grew up. This was Emma's answer:

 

We're not sure where that came from, other than we recently "found" a soccer ball at home.... ha ha!!

 

Here's the whole group: 

 

 

 

And Emma with her daddy: 

 

 

Next year, Emma will not quite be old enough for Kindergarten. This means one more year of preschool for her. I'm thinking of putting her into a regular preschool program, instead of doing our home-based one for the 3rd year with her. Although the program itself has different units, I think she may be needing to be in a more structured environment. I'm still looking into possibilities for her. We'll see what happens!

 

 

Party it Up!

 

Apparently, we don't have parties often enough at my house.

 

Because if we DID have parties often enough -- I'm sure we'd be better at it. Practice makes perfect??

 

We did throw a graduation party (well, "open house" -- does it make a difference if you call it something else?? I think not.) ... for Alyssa, a couple of days after graduation. It was actually a good idea to wait, since so many of her friends had graduation parties on the day before or the day of graduation -- and we were hopping, just to get to drop in on all of the parties! So we were pretty glad to do it on a different day!

 

This party maybe wasn't "perfect" -- but in life, what is truly perfect? It did go quite well, and it was so nice to visit with friends for a couple of hours. Here's Alys with her cake:

 

We were still doing some yardwork that very morning -- which was NOT part of the plan, but it did look nice when we were done. You can see the new flowers and bench area in the background here.

 

 

Ok, AND the fire table. AND the food table.

 

There was a flurry of food preparation, also at the last minute. I had baked 3 kinds of bar cookies, plus made some Oreo truffles. Todd was grilling up a storm that afternoon and evening. He had skewered chicken [2 kinds], skewered steak [also 2 kinds], veggie kebabs, and "moink balls". (Moink = moo + oink ---- they are actually bacon-wrapped meatballs.) And there was also chips & dips (using some of our favorite meat rubs) and that cake, and water or cherry limeade to drink. Whew!!

 

It was a LOT of food!! But, judging by how challenging it was to keep the serving platters full, I would say that people seemed to like it.

 

I also did an idea from Pinterest..... the "keys to success" frame and activity:

 

It didn't turn out quite as I'd wanted, but it was one of those things that I ran out of time for, and it is what it is. I don't think any of the guests knew any different. The idea is that each guest writes a little note to the graduate, giving them a piece of advice, or their own "key to success". It was fun to read what people wrote to her!

 

(Some of Alyssa's memorabilia from her school years.)

 

I'll say it again -- we're sure proud of this girl!!

 

 

(I love these lights we found in Spokane. I think I'll just keep them up all summer long!!)

 

 

 

And, in the interest of "keeping it real" .........  at the end of the day, the kitchen becomes a magnet for all kinds of party fall-out!!

 

Good times!!

 

(Uhh.... good times that took me 3 days to completely clean up afterwards!! Ha!!)

 

 



 

 

Easy, Breezi, Orange Julius. {Our fake-out Recipe}

A few days ago, I posted a picture on Facebook, of that morning's breakfast drink, a variation on our take on an Orange Julius:

 

 

Sorry about the quality. It's a phone picture -- what can I say? But don't you love how thick it is? You can stand a straw in it, at least!

 

And, I had a few people ask me for the recipe.

Yeahhhhhhhh, about that. I got the basics of the recipe from my friend, Breezi. She's pretty cool that way. Her approach to this is pretty much the same as mine: we wing it! So, for a recipe, this is rather "loose" and approximate. Because that's how we roll.

 

Here's the basic start-off recipe:

 

I make the whole drink in my blender. My OLD Hamilton Beach blender:

 

 

We've had that almost as long as we've been married. Does that make it "retro"? No? Ok, well it's 6 cups to the rim of that thing. And I find that it actually works better to make this as a full size amount, than to try to cut it down for one or two people. You'll need:

 

Ice Cubes

Milk

Frozen Orange Juice Concentrate (not mixed up)

Vanilla Extract

Sugar (amount varies)

 

Start with ice cubes .... enough to fill to the 2 1/2 cups or 3 cups line.

 

Then, add milk, .... to about the same line. Maybe a little more.

 

Next is the orange juice concentrate. Not diluted. Not reconstituted. Just the concentrate, straight out of the frozen can. You can use it straight from the freezer, or it can be thawed first. Still-frozen stuff will make the ending drink thicker, which is how Alyssa likes it. I buy the bigger, 16-oz cans from Costco, and since Todd likes enough orange flavor, I put in probably 4 to 6 ounces of it. At least 1/4 of the can, and up to 1/3 of it.

 

Then, a shot of vanilla extract. The real stuff. Ok, it's probably 1 - 2 teaspoons.

 

And finally, the sugar. I don't add a lot of it, maybe 2 tablespoons or so. You could add more, but it doesn't really need it.

 

Then hit your highest speed button, and let the blender do its thing. I leave it running for a minute or so, and make sure that it's circulating, so all the ice gets really tiny.

 

And that's it!! Pour it into glasses, and make sure you have straws on hand -- you'll want them.

 

So the variation I made that day has the addition of some Cream of Coconut, to give it a more tropical flare. Cream of Coconut can be found with the alcoholic beverage mixers at your local supermarket. It is not alcoholic, and is shelf stable until opened. And the only reason I found out about this stuff is because it was an ingredient in a new-to-me punch recipe that I used for Brandon & Cecilia's reception last August. If you like coconut, then ..... oh, my, goodness: YUM!!!

 

This stuff is not a knock-you-over-the-head coconut flavor, so if you like coconut, plan on using a fair amount of it. I put in about a 1/4 cup of it (again, I'm winging it, here!), and I thought it needed a little more. Maybe 1/3 to 1/2 cup-ish. Try it, and let me know what you think, ok?

 

(By the way, pineapple juice, or even crushed pineapple would be another super addition to this!!) What would YOU add??

 

 

Anyway.....

 

So that morning, I also took my breakfast outside on the front patio. And these lovely ladies were my companions there:

 

 

I love, love, LOVE our delphiniums!! They are the BEST addition to our front patio, ever!! (More on the front patio here, here, and here.)

That's my empty plate there. I wasn't about to stop eating and let the rest go cold while I snapped a photo, you know. I do draw the line somewhere!

And the bees were buzzing around me, too:

 

That's ok. They weren't interested in my breakfast, so we got along just fine.  ;-)

 

 

 

 

Graduation {Class of 2013}

Can I just say that once again, I am loving the fact that summer is here and the daily grind of deadlines and appointments and schedules ... has relaxed into something just a little bit more leisurely. And it's only a little, because life is still wild, believe me!

It felt like a wild ride -- a race to Graduation, and the end of the school year. With both the girls in high school, and one of them is a senior: it makes for two different "finals weeks." Plus, all the end-of-the-year events: concerts, practices, luncheon, induction ceremony, [I'm sure I'm forgetting some things] ..... whew!

But we made it. And more importantly, ... SHE made it.

 

It serves as yet another reminder to me that our kids are growing up, right before my eyes. How is it possible that we have three kids now graduated from high school? Where did their childhoods go?

 

Yet -- we're once again so proud of one of our kids. She's pretty amazing. (The gold cords are her National Honor Society cords.)

 

 

 

 

And Darcie played with the band for Graduation -- and without Alyssa. Obviously, she doesn't need Alyssa with her, but usually I see them sitting side-by-side. (Darcie's just to the right of center of the photo - see her red hair?) 

 

 

Receiving her diploma from our friend (who also happens to be on the school board) ...

 

I love her excitement! 

 

 

 

Hey, Alyssa! How do you *really* feel about graduating from high school?? 

And Grandpa came to watch her walk the walk. Grandma would have loved to have come too, she just wasn't feeling well that day.

 

Moving on.... to new life chapters, and new adventures. 

 

Good luck, Alyssa! You are going to be awesome at whatever you put your mind to. Love you, Sys!!