It's Back to School Again!

Well, its off to school again! Jessica is a Senior, Melissa a Sophomore, and Rachel is beginning her last year in middle school as a 8th grader. The other night when Rachel was off getting her schedule and I sat there at the middle school talking with a friend, we counted up my consecutive years at Meadow Park Middle School: 10! And half of those had been with more than one child there. It is the end of an other era. Time flies by, and the kids keep growing up. Two kids in college, two in high school, and the youngest not a little kid anymore. They are all growing up to be wonderful young adults. I am so very, very proud of them!

Rachel ready to head off for the 8:35am bus.

Melissa ready for her Sophmore year.

Jessica eager for her Senior year- one AP paper already written and ready to be turned in.

Jessica gives Melissa and Kalia a ride to school in our new kid car "Ozzy".

Have a Great School Year Kids!!

Our Firstborn in the wilderness is now 20 years old.

Jennifer celebrated her birthday on May 19th, 2010. She isn't my baby anymore. Wow, she is not a teenager anymore. She has grown up to be a beautiful woman. Where has the time gone?

We sent her a birthday box and she reported that it arrived that morning. She was heading off to class and found it on her doorstep. She said that she had a hard time going to class and leaving it there- but instead of going to the library to do homework like she had planned to do, she went home after class and opened it up. I found a message on our home phone from her saying that she loved all its contents (and her roommate Jessica in the background also cheering that she liked it too). Some things that were included: 3 musketeer bars (from Melissa), canvas and frame (from Rachel), Poky sticks, Instant Miso soup, Curry mix, angel food cake mix, cherry cheesecake mix, necklace, and cookbook. When talking on the phone with her later that day, she informed us that friends were coming over that night for fun and games.

Happy Birthday Jennifer. We love you!

Jessica turns 17

On May 17th Jessica celebrated her 17th birthday.We had a quick scripture time at 6:15am and then got right into the gifts. She got some pretty things: necklace, earrings, and scarf. A Snuggie (a fake one- but much nicer color and softer!)She also received a keyboard notepad and a female beta fish (from Rachel). In the mail she received a Book of Mormon in French from Jennifer, and card and $ from Grandma & Grandpa Greenall.What a Beautiful Young Woman!!!!!We had baked French Toast for breakfast.She was surprised to get a bunch of balloons from Kevin tied to her chair in Symphonic Band when she got to class. Melissa took her to Jamba Juice after school. Later in the day she received a package from Grandma B and Granddad: A nice tote bag which she now uses to carry her piano music. For dinner we had her choice of Chicken Broccoli Casserole. And Chocolate Cake (made from scratch) with Sea Foam Frosting. Served with Cherry Chip and Mint and Chip Ice cream. YUM!Lighting the 17 candles. . .

Blown all out in one swoop.Rachel contemplates which piece she'll get. Kevin and his nice short hair. He was giving himself a buzz and asked me to touch up the back for him- oops the comb had fallen off the buzzers and I gave him a nice stripe up the back. He said not to worry about it and cut the rest to match.

It was a Happy Day for Jessica.

Another Year Older, but Another Year Wiser?

Yes, another year has again gone by resulting in another birthday. But that's OK. I like birthdays! This year it landed on a Sunday so I went to BYC and then church. The YW sang to me, gave me a goody bag, and all signed a nice card. For dinner I planned my favorites: pot roast, mashed potatoes, gravy, and corn. I remember always asking for that growing up. I still enjoy it. I planned ahead and baked a carrot cake from scratch the day before.

I received some nice gifts from my adoring family. Cards, A Portland pin for my hat, some nice lotion, and a Sheri Dew book from Jennifer in the mail.

Rachel painted me this garden stake in YW (also my Mother's day gift).Roses from Brian.A butterfly from me.The kids created this fun candle for my cake.

A Flaming Carrot!

I managed to blow it out, but in the process got frosting in my hair- but that's OK because it tasted good! It was a fun day. Thanks to all those that sent me birthday greetings!

So am I wiser? Maybe a little. I've learned that to get served what you want on your birthday, you make the plans yourself!

KOOZA

While Kevin, Jessica, and Melissa were off playing at Disneyland the rest of us decided to have some fun too! So I got us tickets to see Cirque Du Soleil's KOOZA. We thought we had an extra ticket when Jennifer's ride back to school decided to leave on Saturday (she was home for spring break), so Rachel invited Angela to come along. Then Jennifer's ride changed to Sunday so I quickly got on line to buy another ticket. Luckily there was one more ticket in our row 10 seats over so I bought it!I had seen the circus tent as I had driven over the Portland bridge, and thought it would be way cool to go so I am happy that we did. I was surprised that once in the tent, it was a lot smaller than it looked. I had bought the cheap seats, section 206, row R and was happy that we weren't all that far away. We only had to look around a pole now and then when the action was not downstage. The nice people sitting in our row all scooted over so Brian could sit with us! The acts were amazing and the live music was great. I liked the guys that walked inside the spinny hamster type wheels. The unicyclist was also great. The costumes were all unique and amazing. I bought a pin for my hat, Rachel and Angela bought a bracelet, and Jennifer and I oooed and awed at all the pretty masks and trinkets. It was a fun evening!

Winter Percussion 2010: POP

Jessica and Kevin both participated in Winter Percussion again this year. They practiced Tuesdays, Thursdays, & Fridays 4-9pm and on Saturdays practiced some more or went to competitions. It kept them so busy that we hardly ever saw them- or ate together. But it has been such a great experience for them., and they loved it!

This year their show title was POP, themed around "pop culture". For their uniforms they headed to the Goodwill to find 80's clothes. They had a lot of fun dressing up.


Jessica played mallets in the Pit, and Kevin played bass drum #4.


It was a tough season - they competed in the Percussion Scholastic Open Division, but their hard work paid off- they won 1st place at the NWAPA Championship finals on April 3rd. It was a wonderful way for Kevin to finish off his Sr. year season. Great job kids- we are so very proud of you!!!!


Here they are set at the beginning of the show:



A good shot of the bass line. Looking good. . .Doing a little bit of Thriller. . .Jessica at work in the Pit.The Finish! During the Closing Ceremonies they acknowledged the seniors.

Here they present Westview High School with 1st place!A extremely happy group of kids!The bass line and their metals.The Girls of the group- (so much better than Jessica's Freshman year when there was only two of them.)Brother and Sister (Did we really look like that in the 80's?)Here is a look at Kevin's Eagle Project- doesn't it look great holding all that drum equipment?!

The end of another great Winter Percussion Season.

POP Championships

Here is the video Brian took of Kevin and Jessica performing POP at the Championships. On YouTube there are more views posted by others if you want a closer look.

POP PIT

Sometimes I was so busy watching the Winter Percussion show that I forgot to watch Jessica in the Pit. So I took this video so I could just watch her doing her thing. They sure are having fun! Enjoy

Beaverton Orchestra Festival 2010

Rachel had a fun day with her cello for April fools day. ACMA (Arts & Communication Magnet Academy) hosted the First Annual Beaverton School District Classical Orchestra Festival. She got to spend the day with 6 orchestras. They practiced and had sectionals. This was a good experieance considering the Meadow Park Middle School's orchestra only has 5 members. We enjoyed their performance that evening in ACMA's new auditorium. Each orchestra played a couple numbers, then they combined for 3. It was a nice evening.

Here is a picture of the whole group. Not too good of a picture, but the only one I took. Rachel is the one sitting on the outside of the last row in front of the bass wearing black pants and white blouse.

I have spent too many hours trying to upload the video- so I give up. Sorry.

Spring Break: Oregon Coast Aquarium

On Thursday March 25th it looked like rain so we went to the Oregon Coast Aquarium. We saved a few dollars on our entry fee by buying a family yearly pass.

These were the only turtles we saw: Looking and touching the sea life.

The Jellyfish were way cool looking.

We enjoyed the tunnel. Last time we visited was before Keiko the whale- this is what they made out of his tank after they "Freed Willy"Brian enjoyed watching the sharks. We ate our sack lunches in the car, then explored the outside exhibits. We got to see the otters being fed.Kevin got a kick out of this sign at the otter tank.This little Puffin was having way too much fun! (tried and tried to post the video, but our internet service is lame).

In the shark's JAWS

It didn't take us too long to see the whole aquarium- somehow I remember it being much larger when we went before. I guess it is easier to see everything when you aren't pushing a stroller and keeping track of preschoolers! When we were all done, we went back to the beach house and relaxed, played games, watched videos, and ate taco soup. We packed up Friday morning and headed for home. Of course we had to stop in Lincoln city at the Outlet malls and buy some stuff. It was a nice break away from home together as a family, but the kids where happy to be home with their computers, games, TV, homework, and friends.