She Passed!!

Congrats to my sister Melanie, who passed her final LPN exam this week! She now has letters after her name:

Melanie A. Gazdag, LPN

Yay!!! I'm proud of you, Smell!

More happy news: Some dear bloggy friends and I are getting together next month at the Oregon coast for a girls' beach weekend, and I'm so excited! Starting in October 2006 at a Time Out for Women, my friend Claudia and I began meeting them "in real life." Since we check in with each other online pretty often, we've become quite close. Last year we spent a weekend in Colorado together and had so much fun, and it'll be great to see them again! Yay!!!

Harrison's Day Camp

Building a "ship in a bottle" - Harrison and his good friend Austin Cahoon

Thursday was the staff costume fashion show, and I made a lame attempt at Captain Hook. Here's the hat and wig. Thank goodness for those raffia ringlets Mom gave me years ago and I held onto for some reason.

Playing "Simon Says" while they wait for their sand candles to harden.

For more pictures, go here.

Cousin Erin Has a Blog

Cousin Erin and her husband Adam have started a blog! Check it out! I did, and while I was there, I found out Erin's brother and sister-in-law, Blair & Bobbi Flinders, also have a blog! Check it out too! Then I heard from Erin that her sister Keli and husband John ALSO have a blog! Here you go! (Thanks Erin!)

The past few days, I've either been at Cub Scout day camp, or recovering from being at Cub Scout day camp (which I also plan on doing tomorrow). The hermit crab flag is holding up remarkably well. Being at camp, it's been fun to see what everyone else did with their flags - now I have good ideas for the next time I make one.

Last night I found out I was in charge of providing a sea-ish piraty costume for one of the teenage camp staff members, for today's staff fashion show. Ours ended up as an OK-looking Captain Hook. We used the Zorro cape and I wanted to use the Zorro hat, but it vanished sometime last week, after being kicked around the house for about six weeks straight - "Will someone please put the Zorro hat in the dress-up box?" Instead, I had to use Dad's old volleyball hat, which I sewed black raffia ringlets and a peacock feather onto. Under the cape, he wore one of Dad's white shirts. I also bent a dead wire hanger into a hook and hoped our staff member (who is really sweet) wouldn't give himself lockjaw with it.

Pictures later... maybe. I'm really tired and need a shower.

The Latest

A small hodgepodge of pictures...

July 8: Here's Roz, stuck in her shirt. I buttoned the top button before I put it away and she's still trying to figure out buttons... couldn't quite get her head through the neckhole. There's that scabby little nose, which is almost better now.

Yesterday we did the Braid-y thing. I put Roz's hair up in six braids all over her head and did mine in eight or nine (I lost count), then put all of them but the front three up in a clip in back. It felt good having my hair out of the way.

Today I made this flag for Cub Scout Day Camp next week. Our group is the "Hermit Crabs" - trying to find anything with a hermit crab on it was quite the challenge. We bought "watery" fabric, sequinned iron-on letters, an iron-on rhinestone skull and crossbones (their theme is "X Marks the Spot"), and found a picture of a hermit crab online to color and mount on with that sticky spongeboard stuff. Then, of course, we have to have the googly eyes. I'm pretty happy with it but I wish the crab looked as good as the rest of the flag. It hangs from a dowel at the top. I still need to attach a tie so we can hang it up at camp, and I'm thinking of possibly painting the dowel black and attaching black tassels or something - but I've been to day camp enough times to know that the flag gets dropped in the dirt at least twice a day for five days, so there's only so much geegaw you should put on it. (Click on the picture to see the details)

I still have more reunion pictures to post, but I needed a break. I took over 100 pictures (counting the ones of Union Cemetery).

UPDATE: Friday Night Date Report - we went to the T-Mobile store by the airport to return Bri's loaner phone, then drove to Portland and parked at Lloyd Center. We rode the MAX downtown and had dinner at his favorite wings place. Then it was off to Borders - which, even for downtown Portland, has a deplorable lack of homemaking books. We took MAX up to Pioneer Courthouse Square and enjoyed the lovely summer evening. I gave a panhandler $1 (which I never do).

We rode back to the car with a couple of really loud annoying drunks, drove down Glisan to 205, and went to Albertson's for cold drinks and cheese sticks. Tomorrow we're meeting Mom and Bob in The Dalles to have lunch and pick up Bella, and our car doesn't have air conditioning, so we wanted stuff to drink on our hot ride home. Then we came home, and made the kids clean up the very cluttered floor. YAY!!!!

For Melanie

What We Couldn't Stop Singing Last Weekend: SIGN

Daddy Warbucks: Sign!
Miss Hannigan: I make a very dry martini.
DW: Right here!
MH: I make a very wet souffle.
DW: Just your name.
MH: Don't be so mean you mean old meanie!
DW: Come my dear.
MH: Let's you and me make, why shouldn't we make, hay!
DW: I have an appointment at one.
MH: This way!

MH: You ever been to "Bonas Eye-rees"?
DW: Where?
MH: I hunger for the Argentyne.
DW: Argenteen!
MH: Let's me and you fill up our di'ries.
DW: What? Stop!
MH: Buy me a ruby.
DW: No!
MH: Why shouldn't you be mine!?

DW: Come...
MH: I got your number...
DW: close, madam...
MH: you like to rhumba.
DW: While...
MH: I'll call ya "Ollie"
DW: I read...
MH: my hot tamale.
DW: ...this file...
MH: And now I gotcha
DW: from my...
MH: my cucaracha!
DW: ...private eye.
MH: Ay, ay, ay!

DW: You spend your ev'nings in the shanties...
MH: You had me followed?
DW: Imbibing quarts of bathtub gin!
MH: Bronchitis!
DW: And here you're dancing in your scanties!
MH: Great gams!
DW: With some old geezer called Little Caesar.
MH: He's an uncle!
DW: You lock the orphans in the closet!
MH: They love it!
DW: You hock their Christmas souvenirs!
MH: Drink?
DW: You steal the funds you should deposit.
MH: It's fresh!
DW: You make them grovel, while you buy lavoliers.

DW: You'll...
MH: Must you upset me?
DW: ...sit...
MH: Why don't you pet me?
DW: ...out this...
MH: It's you I crave now.
DW: ...century...
MH: Let's misbehave now.
DW: ...in some...
MH: You wanna smoochie,
DW: ...deep dark...
MH: my little poochie?
DW: ...penitentiary!
MH: Jail?

DW: Sign!
MH: I guess I'll never know the feeling
DW: You'll rot in jail,
MH: ...of fingers running through your hair.
DW: ...in Sing Sing!
MH: I guess this means no "Bonas Eye-rees".
DW: Will you sign!
MH: Well, I don't need you,
DW: That's fine!
MH: so just forget me.
DW: The dotted line.
MH: Forget my sweetness,
DW: Don't whine!
MH: Forget you met me,
DW: You can't decline!
MH: This day is sorta,
DW: Just sign!
MH: my bread and Waterloo.
DW: Sign!
MH: Oh, why didn't you say so in the first place? - Swine!

Now we have the words, so we can sing the whole thing right next time. :)

Moving Out

We are trying to get the heck outta Dodge. This has been the plan since three years ago, when we moved from a 1800-square-footish house into this cardboard box we call an apartment.

(Before I go off about how horrible it's been, let me say that I'm grateful to have a home, to be able to stay home with my kids, to have food, clothing, and all of my needs and some of my wants met. Bri is a good provider. One life-changing OMSI exhibit about money and how the rest of the world lives, showed me a couple of years ago exactly how much I DON'T have to complain about.)

So we're in Phase One of the moving process: trying to find a new place to live. I subscribed to the newspaper this morning, for searching and packing purposes. I called Marcie because she announced in Relief Society that her business provides lots of empty boxes (on condition that we don't move out of the ward - suspiciously, I haven't heard back from her). From the weekly newspaper mailer, I've been seeking out and calling prospective landlords about rental homes.

We don't live in a great area of town. Carter's new birthday bike AND his scooter were stolen long ago. Our kitty was taken off our back porch. Harrison was approached by a man and told that "his dad" wanted him to leave with this man. Last week Harrison's bike was stolen, then ridden back onto the property with a new paint job the very next day. Our neighbor upstairs alerted us to the situation, and Bri ran out to the basketball court and made the kid get off the bike. He checked the right brake for squishiness and sure enough, it was Bear's. We now have a blue bike instead of a green one.

And this week, one of the neighbor kids pointed a gun at one of our friend's kids. Supposedly it was a BB gun but it certainly looked real enough. So, we're done. The gun was the clincher.

We're going to try to stay in our ward and/or school boundaries, but we have to go where our new house is.

I look forward to sorting through and boxing up things, and having a house where we have all our furniture and nice things which are now in storage. I look forward to having Neenaw's hutch in my dining room and a fenced backyard and a garage and just more SPACE.

We'd love your prayers for our search and upcoming move. Thanks in advance.

Reunion Part II

Chow Time 2: Stacy, Rachael talking to Tawnee, Becky, Rosalind, Demeter and half of Neenaw.

Uncle John feeding his face; Dad in the background.

Laila, Carter and Roz.

Bella (wearing my stolen-from-Bri sheriff sweatshirt) and Carter. Looks a little smoky.

Ernie taking a snooze

Melanie and Dad. Cheeeese!

Here's a good shot of our scabbed-up kid in our stuffed-to-the-gills van. We took a trip to Union for some supplies - I also snuck in a visit to the cemetery and grabbed some pictures. Obsessed much? (Roz saw this picture and laughed, "I'm so fat!")

Brennan and Bella at the picnic table. Did we miss our Bella while she was in Utah? You bet we did.

Bri and Carter. This is an important moment in history: Bri is voluntarily holding a Mad Libs book. Look at that - it's even OPEN. And you were here to witness it.

Jetta and Jeremy

BC and Dad chatting it up

Chef Karen

Rosalind, Camrynn, Demeter, Berkli, Carter: The Next Generation

Mr. Carter hanging out next to the playpen, his favorite spot. He's loved babies ever since Roz was born - he likes their hair. He used to say to us about Roz, "I want to pet her head." He loved holding all the babies this weekend. They were pretty good sports about it.

Brook, Paisli and Xanden. The blow-up pool worked great as a playpen. The four babies spent much of the weekend playing in it.

Reunion Part III

Matt and his ball game, another popular camp item. I can't remember what it's called but the players get a different-colored band and the ball yells out what color to toss it to next... pretty fun.

Uncle John, Heather, Dena, overseeing the collapse of their tent on Saturday

Whit, and Stanlee sweeping behind her - they were the smart ones who brought the broom.

John and Neenaw

Xanden and Stan next to the babies

Hanging out in the kitchen (where all the food is): Jer, Deen, Heather holding Paisli

Melanie's extreme closeup

Kiley, Brennan, Stacy. Brennan and Stacy are less than a year apart - her birthday is Oct. 4, 1991 and his is Sept. 30, 1992. It's fun that my aunt and I had children so close together, and neat that they're good friends.

BC, Uncle John and Becky. This is on Saturday again and half of us left to go home, so the campfires were doused and smoke was everywhere. I can't tell you how good it was to get out of that smoke smell. I shampooed my hair twice and washed my feet three times before I felt clean. Poor dirty me. My life is so hard.

Rozzie, Berkli, Demeter and Dionysus "Ny Ny".

Melanie and Brennan - I don't think Brennan laughed as much in his life as he did this weekend. And we're pretty funny, so that's saying something.

The Group Picture Ordeal: I'm just glad I'm not a photographer. Good grief. (Group picture will be posted later)

Jeremy and Stacy. We decided we need Stacy to come and live with us for those inevitable bad self esteem moments, because she's so sweet. We loved her hugs and the way she always laughed at our dorky remarks and silly faces.

Dad and Melanie. Ernie said of Mel: "It looks like someone gave her a lobotomy and then smacked her with a bat."

Ernie's no slouch in the stupid-face-making department either.

The Magical Watermelon Helmet!!

It all started - obviously - with a watermelon rind.

Bella's triumphant pose - she was so proud of herself for thinking of this idea. Pretty soon everyone in the family wanted to wear it. (Well - some of us had to be talked into it.)

Jeremy

Berkli

Dad the tough guy

"Ewwww... do I have to put it on my head?"

Rach's placement is convincing. She didn't actually put it on her head, but it looks like she did, doesn't it?

The watermelon helmet met its sad end during a trip to a nearby reservoir. While playing in the water, Bella accidentally let it go, and it floated away a la Wilson the volleyball in Cast Away. "Watermelon helmet! Come back! Watermelon helmet... I'm sorry... I'm so sorry... (sobbing)..."

Group Pictures - Family Reunion

I couldn't be in these pictures, so I asked my ugly twin to stand in for me. (Seriously, I am NOT a pretty camper... just imagine me with a bag on my head, please?)

I posted this one earlier of all of Neenaw and Gran's 40+ children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren trying to decide on a good spot for a group picture, milling around, people trying to pack and leave, babies crying, campfire smoke wafting, wild hogs running indiscriminately through the campground... pretty messy.

Group Shot #1. If you want to know who's who, email me and I'll send you a diagram. I still find it amazing that all this came from Neenaw, Gran, and their two sons. Did Wally and The Beaver have this much offspring? I guess we'll never know.

Group Shot #2 - I don't like this one of me, just so you know. I liked hiding behind Brennan.

Then Mel had a good idea - let's get a picture of Neenaw and all her great-grandchildren. In theory, it was an excellent idea, one that made us all go "Awwwwww...". Too bad no one informed the kids. Here's Jen in the stripey pants, directing traffic.

Oh, the trauma! This is actually the best one - you can't see Xanden in any others. He's the one on the left, looking like he's kicking his cousin Jetta.

I love the way Camrynn and Rosalind are covering their ears for this one and the next one. Apparently all the crying was pretty loud.

Let's try naming these kids off: back row - Zane, Isabella holding Luke, Brennan holding Brook, Kiley holding Paisli, Harrison.
Middle row: Jetta, Cami, Stanlee, Neenaw with her hand on Xanden, Demeter.
Front row: Berkli, Rosalind, Carter, Dionysus, Laila. Missing from the picture is Jen's youngest, Sienna, who was taking a nap.

Seriously, I feel like taking a Valium after seeing these pictures again. :)

ALSO: We have boxes! We have newspapers! We have one application turned in at a rental management company, and another one to fill out and fax today! We have the bishop on the lookout for a house in the ward!

AND: Bri and Brennan left this morning for High Adventure (a Boy Scout thing for the ward boys), Harrison has Cub Scout day camp all week starting this morning, Bella has a hike Wednesday, preparatory to Girls' Camp later in the month... what was I saying about Valium?

Independence Day

Our first installment of S Family Reunion camping pics. We spent the weekend at Catherine Creek campground, eight miles outside Union, Oregon.

Our tents, with BC & Tawnee's place behind them. We all slept in the big tent and Brennan had the small one to himself - the bachelor pad.

Dad and Rozzie. Roz loved camping - I don't think we'd ever taken her before, but she took right to playing in the dirt and hanging out with the little cousins. The night we left Vancouver, while helping Dad load the car, she tripped and smacked her face on the pavement. She has a lovely scabby goose egg on her forehead and a cut-up nose... just so you'll know what happened to her when you see her in pictures.

My injured brother BC. The night before his birthday, he was trying to butcher one of his chickens, and the axe landed on his finger instead of the chicken's neck. It cut to the bone, but his finger should be fine. He spent his birthday in the hospital having surgery and we weren't sure if we'd see his family at this reunion, but he figured he could either sit at home and do nothing all weekend, or be with us and do nothing all weekend. We're glad you made it, B!

The common area of our camp. Heather and Deen are looking tentative.

Note to me: that thick coated wire makes a much sturdier clothesline than plain old rope. Uncle John and Aunt Karen brought it - they're the master campers.

So are BC and Tawnee. Here's Tawnee expertly washing out a pan. We were all wowed by Tawnee's tie-dye prowess this weekend - she tie-dyes clothing and sells it at the Farmer's Market there in Tri-Cities on weekends. Very cool stuff. Demeter wore a darling top and skirt that Aunt Tawnee had made for her.

Dena and Neenaw in the kitchen. It was fun meeting Deen's baby girl Brook for the first time - one of four new ones to meet this trip.

Grandpa, taking it easy by the fire. Ahhhh, camping.

Stanlee, Berkli, Jen holding Sienna (another new one), Becky and Cami - making campfire biscuits. Jen was so sweet to pick up Bella at the Boise Airport before leaving for the campground. She and Matt had to wait around longer and leave later than everyone else so they could pick her up and bring her with them. Bella was in Salt Lake City all week for U of Utah soccer camp and stayed with Aunt Kristy, and we flew her into Boise so she could join us at the reunion. Thanks so much, Jen and Matt!

Aunt Karen, Harrison and Stacy. When we left the camp, I asked Harrison which of the cousins he liked best and he said, "All of them." He had such a great time hanging out and playing with everyone.

Uncle John (chug! chug! chug!) and Deen, with Whitney in the background.

The ever-popular hammock with the girls' tent behind. The hammock spent the weekend rocking all the little kids - sometimes I'd look over and there'd be five or six kids trying to ride the thing.

Zane riding his bike (another popular item). We had a nice situation there in the woods, with a great road to ride bikes on. Quite a few family members brought their bikes.

Our recently-released sister missionary, Heather, in front of Jen & Matt's tent. She's easing well into civilian life once again. It was so fun to see her after such a long time.

Chow time! From left: Harrison, Dad, Matt holding Jetta, Heather holding Xanden, Dena holding Brook.