Iva

I have to admire our dog. There is nothing that she loves more then "ball." She likes to bite the ball, chase the ball, and I am sure dream about the BALL. Unfortunately, this time of year playing ball is not as frequent of an event as Iva would like. She turns into a mud ball while chasing the ball. The thing that I admire about Iva is how she can sit and stare at you for hours. She is hopeful and persistent. She does not know the meaning of "no ball." She all hears is the "ball" part of that statement. To her we sound like Charlie Brown's teacher except for the key words in her life, "go, ball and park."

In our house we've had to be careful about saying "go, ball and park" because Iva goes nuts. We say things like, "Shall we play with the dog and the round thing?" or, "Let's move across the street to the field." All in hopes that Iva doesn't understand so she'll stay calm. If we can't agree to play ball and someone says, "ball" it just seems mean not to do it.

Wouldn't we all be a bit better if we could have the blind hope that Iva does? All she wants to do is exercise, run with abandon and play. What a great goal. Sometimes the "stare" works but Bob is way less apt to take her then I am. I cave. The look in her eyes says, "Take me out, play with me.......LOVE ME!" I can't resist most of the time. I mean, it's what she lives for.

So I say (for Iva) live in the moment, enjoy the little things that bring you great joy and focus on your goals (playing ball) not obstacles (Bob and rain).

Mt. Hood Weekend

The back of Timberline Lodge

Kees in his cave. He was being a Mountain Tiger....hugh?

Sophia after her "summit"

The whole fam damily at 7000+ feet

The 'rents and the boys on the ski lift

Check out the bunny ears on the mirror. So Cute! And the fire log pillows on the bed.

Becky relaxing on the sofa. Great room.....

Gas "wood stove" and bar area.

A WAY better kitchen then I have.
Deer head in the living room. Check out the antler chandelier.


Wow is all I can say about the cabin we just stayed at this weekend. The cabin is called the Mule Deer Cabin and is phenomenal. Every detail is beautiful and has been attended to.

The mom's arrived on Thursday. We went to Timberline Lodge for dinner. It was pretty good and we enjoyed it. Then we went back to the cabin and got our party on. I have to say, waking up tired after a party night is MUCH easier when the small people are not around. We had breakfast, went on a little walk and then prepared for the coming onslaught of people.

The troops started arriving about 5 pm. We had a huge dinner with all 15 people. The kids watched a movie, the adults talked and then later watched a movie too. The cabin has a rear projection movie set up. Again, cool.

Saturday was gorgeous! The sun was out and there were only a few clouds in the sky. We all headed up the mountain to the Timberline Lodge. When we arrived we voted to take the chair lift to the top of hill (or the top that we were going to). It takes you up to about 7000 ft. From there we could see forever! We could see the top of the mountain and many other mountains. We felt lucky to be there when the weather was so good.

That evening some of us danced to 80's music (Becky's era) and had a fine time. Again, food, family, wine, movies, fun..... All fun.

The one bit of nastiness.... Saturday night Coulter got sick. He had been complaining that his stomach hurt. Then, about 10 pm Coulter came up whining and just hurled on the floor. He hit a couple pillows and some leather and wood furniture. WHAT he DIDN'T hit was more important. There was a carpet that was not only beautiful but I am sure about half of Bob's salary. Coulter was inches from hitting that. I am still quaking thinking about that. Bob had already laid down with Kees so I was on my own with this one. God bless Becky who jumped up and helped cleaned up Coulter's mess. I was torn between finishing the clean up or cleaning up Coulter. We cleaned up some of the barf but then Coulter was really upset. I got up and stripped Coulter, put him in bed, made sure he had a barf receptacle for the night time with towels underneath. By the time I got back up stairs the mess was totally cleaned up. I couldn't believe it, Becky finished cleaning up that gross mess. Yikes!

Sunday was pack up, clean up and drive down. It all went fairly smoothly and Coulter seemed to feel better. Thank goodness. It was a really fun weekend on all fronts. THANKS BECKY!!!!

Happy Halloween!!!!!! BOO!!!!

This is the poem that Coulter wrote for Halloween. He has really been working hard on his writing. I am so proud of my big boy.

ONCE UPON A TIME....
THERE WERE FOUR PUMPKINS
AND THEN WE PICKED THEM


This is the picture that he made to go with his poem.


My sweet Coulter with his pumpkin.


Kees as a Halloween "Thinker"


Big girl Sophia with her pumpkin.

While I was in the mountains of California, Bob and the kids went up to my mom and Ed's house for their neighborhood Harvest Festival. Now there is a man that is brave! I love him so much. When I told my friend George what Bob was doing he thought Bob was nuts, "I would NEVER do that." Yep, Bob's a keeper.

As it turns out, they all had a very nice time. Danny (Ed's son)and his, kids Ella and Anna, came down from Seattle too. Our kids were thrilled to see them. It had been since Mexico last year since they had been together. The weather had been horrific until just before the Harvest Festival. Almost the moment the party started, the clouds parted and the sun came out. All the kids got to find their pumpkins with their names on them. There were trailer rides behind the tractor and general merriment. And the dogs....apparently there were about 7 or 8 dogs that all ran around and had a blast. Iva ran the whole time (about 3 hours) and then collapsed.

The moment the party was over, the clouds reconveniened and the rain commenced. Go figure.

While they were there they also got to see Grandpa Ed's new project THE TREE HOUSE! It's not finished yet (duh) but it's already fabulous. The kids were not only excited but thought is was really cool!


The kids in the tree house.


Here's the side view.

SO that was last weekend.

The week has gone quickly and we've all been busy with our regular stuff. Now we're preparing for a family weekend up at Mount Hood. I'll go today with my friend Becky and then the families will join us tomorrow. More good times! I'll write more later.

Wedding Weekend Pictures

In order these pictures are ….
#1 - George, Sarah, Marilyn (the Bride), Heather, Cassandra, Ellen and Tony
#2 - Connie and Abdul (Dude Mike from Springfield)
#3 - Heather, Sarah, Connie
#4 - Darcey (Marilyn’s brother) and Thai’beh (Majid’s Cousin)
#5 - Shawn and Ellen

A Beautiful Thing

Marilyn and Majid - The happy couple!!!


Sarah, Marilyn, Heather, Ellen and Cassandra


Abdul (Dude Mike of Springfield), Heather and Connie


Ellen and Tony


Ellen and Cassandra

I just got back from California where I attended the wedding of my dear friend Marilyn Beck. She married Majid Karimi a man of Persian descent. I had never met Majid before but I couldn't have imagined a nicer man for Marilyn. He is smiling all the time, embraces his friends and family always, and is an all around lovely man.

I tell you this, Majid's family is HUGE! He has five brothers and two sisters and most are married with a few children.... There were aunts, uncles, cousins etc. all over the place. Marilyn's family was well represented as well but it's hard to keep up with the numbers when it comes to the Karimi's.

Ellen, Tony (Ellen's Boyfriend, such an nice guy) and I all arrived on the mountain on Friday. I immediately went to the spa. My toes were a mess and lord knows, one can not attend a wedding with messy toes!

Upon returning to my room I met up with my room mate Cassandra. We conferred that it had been about 15 years since we had crossed paths. How is it that she looked exactly the same? Cassandra is smart, successful, friendly and beautiful. It was really fun to see her doing so well and to, well, just see her again. She was a great room mate.

Shortly there after our reunion we took a short car ride to a little restaurant. By the looks of it we weren't expecting much but the menu was great. Everyone sat all mixed up so we could get to know one another. As it turns out, I sat next to Marilyn's mom, Ann, and across from Abdul and Connie, Majid's oldest brother and sister in law. Abdul is in his early fifties I would guess and his wife is right behind him. Connie is Hispanic and FULL of life and humor. Abdul is known as the strict one in the family. Of course, I didn't know this so I went in with no preconceived notions.

As dinner progressed we shared LOTS of interesting conversation. It's always fascinating to hear a new point of view when it comes to world politics. We shared many ideas and didn't share others but it was all good. Later on I asked Abdul what his WHOLE name was. It was something like Abdul Kalif humina humina humina Karimi. So I translated it for him. Abdul is a title, his second name is a common name, the next one means "From the" and the last name describes the area he's from. The area is a grassy plane. So I translated it as Dude Mike of Springfield. Well I'll tell you that caught on. By the end of the night he WAS "Dude Mike of Springfield."

Majid told me, "I have NEVER seen my brother like this." That made me laugh since all I had seen was this silly guy. I later heard so much more about Abdul. He moved to the US when he was 19, put himself through school and moved his siblings over two by two. He then felt the responsibility to guide them as they were educated, married and basically sought the American Dream all while getting married and having four children of his own. I think that would make anyone fairly serious. Lots of responsibility. I hadn't met that Abdul. I met the Abdul that was "Dude Mike of Springfield" and liked laughing a lot. The same guy who adored his wife and was very happy for, and proud of his whole family.

We played poker late into the night on Friday. I think we were there until 1:30 in the morning and it turns out, we were not the last to leave! Yikes. This wouldn't have been so bad EXCEPT - it was in Marilyn and Majid's suite. AND Marilyn is almost 3 months pregnant. I know how tired that made me, I can't imagine having to host a wedding and a bunch of crazy people in my suite. As I came to learn later, Marilyn has learned to accept Majid's hospitality and knew there would be people in their suite the whole time. Bless Marilyn!

Saturday was fairly quiet. We all got up early considering the late night. The women did flowers and then the women in the wedding party had their nails done. I had lunch with George, Sarah and their boys, Minas and Michael. It was fun to catch up with them. Later then I rested and got ready for bowling. We all went bowling for the rehearsal dinner.

After bowling it was back to the hotel where Majid insisted we all go to their suite again. We did but then we all insisted that he and Marilyn go to bed and we left at about 11. Much better considering the next day they were getting married!

Wedding Day - I slept in while there was a hum through out the rest of the group getting ready. The wedding was held on the lawn over looking the lake....Beautiful. The ceremony was fairly traditional but also included Persian traits and welcomed all believers. I loved that part. We are all one. There were many representatives from each family flanking the bride and groom. So much love.....

The reception had all kinds of music and the food was great. Majid's brothers and Marilyn's family all toasted the happy couple with love and blessings. Even Dude Mike got up there. I was dragged onto the dance floor by both Abdul and Connie. I felt like the long lost sister who had finally be reunited with her big Persian Family. It was great.

So it was a successful weekend. I loved seeing my old friends. We talked about the fact that we've all been friends for over 20 years, almost half a life time. Amazing! And I love these people as much as I ever did. Then to meet the Karimi Family and feel like I have even more family. Fabulous. Abdul and Connie have insisted that I come back and bring the "Dutch one", Bob and the kids. Abdul said we'll have a big celebration when we go. I am sure it will be amazing.

Thanks so much to the hosts for providing a wonderful experience for all involved. I will not soon forget...actually I will never forget that good time.

California

It's going well....my trip that is. I left Portland at 11:00 after clearing security with my terrorist bra. The under wire in my bra set off the detector. I received a little massage from a woman in security and then was cleared as having "no weapons" except, of course, my bra. The flight was on time, the staff at Alaska Airlines was friendly and helpful....in all a good experience.

I flew into Orange County and took a cab to my friend Ellen's apartment. I did a little laundry and read my book....The Lost Symbol. I'm hooked. Why can't Dan Brown crank these out as fast as I can read them?

We went out to a great little Mexican place. Delicious! Then we went out on the town and met up with one of Ellen's buddies. We stayed out too late but had a great time.

Today we're headed to Lake Arrowhead Resort. I'm getting a desperately needed pedicure and then out to dinner with friends. This is going to be great fun! More as it comes.....

A Few Random Things

SLIP
A few days ago I was outside watching soccer practice on a beautiful sunny day. I usually sit in my low chair and try and relax. It's one of the few times that I can sit still and not feel guilt about doin' nuthin'. As I was sitting there I saw a woman walking toward me. She was walking her dog and wearing a skirt, a shirt and tennis shoes. I can tell you this much, she wasn't wearing a slip! I swear, it wouldn't have been much different if she were walking down the street in her underwear. And to make matters worse, she was at least 50 pounds over weight. Yikes! I remember when I was a teenager and my mom said that I had to wear a slip under my skirt. I thought it was a bunch of hooey. The one thing that I had going for me was I was 127 pounds and pretty cute. I honestly can't remember if I wore one or not but I sure hope so. I just had to share that because it was really funny and if you have a thin skirt....WEAR A SLIP!!!

AIR HORN
Last Spring I was riding my bike. When I got to a 4 way stop, I stopped. I waited for my turn and then I started across the intersection. As I started, the guy coming from my right started too and almost hit me. I rang my "pedestrian" bell..."ring, ring, ring" and said, "Hey, WATCH OUT!" He didn't even flinch. I may as well have been blowing him kisses. As I was ringing a guy on a bike pulled up next to me and blasted his horn. I mean BLASTED!!! I said, "WHAT was THAT?" and he showed me his air horn. I went out almost immediately and got one. I haven't used it much but I am pretty sure it saved me from a side swipe 2 days ago.

First I'll tell you I went to fill up my air horn at the gas station. I wasn't going to but I figured, better safe than sorry. The guys at the gas station thought it was the coolest thing they had seen in a while. They all came out of the garage and were checking it out. They couldn't believe how LOUD it was. It's as loud as a regular air horn that you would have on a boat. One guy said he was going to get one to replace the one he carries around on his boat.

After filling up the air horn I was riding down Broadway. Broadway has a bike lane. As I was getting ready to cross MLK there were 2 bikers about 30 feet in front of me. The light turned green and they proceeded. A car was waiting to turn after those bikes went by. Then there was a car right behind that car that was also turning. I KNEW he wasn't looking down the bike lane and I KNEW I was going to have to be on the offense. Yep. Right as I was getting to the intersection he started to turn. I BLASTED MY HORN and he SLAMMED on his brakes. It was awesome! It wouldn't have been a horrible accident but I prefer NONE thank you. I sometimes feel like a geek with all my stuff on my bike but I have to say I was really grateful for my air horn.

HAIR CUT
Yesterday I got my hair cut. My last cut was in the Bahamas so it's been 4 months, it was time. Of course they made it look great. So great that I am not sure that I can do it. The gal that dried my hair flat ironed it. I have never done that before and I have to say I really liked it. So there are 2 problems; I don't know how to do it and I don't have one. Everyone loved it and said how great it looked and with it flat ironed it looked like I had it dyed a darker color. Of course I intended to take a picture but didn't. I am feeling under the weather.

I am going to a wedding in a week and hope that I can re-create the look. My friend Mary Ann has a one that she is going to let me try. Apparently a good flat iron is fairly expensive so I want to make sure I can do it before I drop $100. We'll see how this goes.

VISITING FRIENDS
As I mentioned I am feeling under the weather. I am praying that I get better. I was planning on visiting my friends, Mary and Carl this weekend. Carl is very sick with cancer. Of course I can't see him if I am sick. All of us who love him need to protect his health as best we can.

Both Mary and Carl are dear friends and have been for almost 40 years. We met them when we lived in Denver so that was about 1971. They have been like a second set of parents to me. Mary and Carl have always been there for me when I have needed them especially when I was in my 20's. I remember calling them when I lived in Houston (about 1990) and they lived in Germany. My parents were going through their divorce and were leaning on Rex and I a lot. I needed to talk to an adult who wasn't needing me for support. That is just one of many times they were important to me.

We have spent more holidays together then I can remember. There has always been lots of laughter between our families. So many memories are wrapped up with them, more then I can write. So I am really praying that I am better but I will not be able to go unless I am 100%. Say a little prayer that I get better. Thanks in advance.

SO that is a bit of what has been going on for me.

KIDS
The kids have been in school and doing their usual stuff.

Sophia has been fighting homework, room cleaning and general responsibility. That is a whole other post and I'll spend some time with that soon. She has caved and has admitted just doing the work is WAY easier then all the complaining. Ahhh, progress.

Coulter is loving school. He doesn't have many details to tell me but he is writing, coloring, drawing pictures, talking about math, patterns and so on. I love his excitement for learning. In the morning he dashes in and we have to catch up with him just to say good bye. He comes out of school almost every day with a smile from ear to ear.

Kees is also loving school. He has the same teacher that Coulter had last year and the teacher that Sophia had the year he was born. He feels that he is DUE!!! They are learning about beavers, they're writing plays, talking about patterns, learning about sharing and problem solving and many more things. I love his teacher and how she makes learning an adventure. The kids set the pace and she fills in their questions with answers they can understand.

BOB
I would be totally remiss if I did not mention that Bob got a promotion!!! He will continue his position as the CIO of the hospital but he will also take on the Chief of Staff job. This has been a goal of his but he didn't fathom that it could happen this fast. He's been at the hospital for 5 months now. I am very proud of him, as usual, and continue to be impressed at his high level of performance and the accomplishments and results that he consistently delivers. I still am convinced that we made the right decision when we talked more then 10 years ago when deciding, "Computer guy or hotel guy?" Computer guy was the right choice.

So there is the brief and a little commentary. The kids are out of school tomorrow for an in service day. I'm trying to figure out what to do with them since I don't feel very good. Maybe Kids Club Fun and Fitness? We'll see. More when I have the energy.