find joy in the journey

class is over

Last weekend we visited Utah.  The big reason we went there was so that Scott could attend his last BYU EMBA class session.  The other reason we all went was so that I could go in for my last post-LASIK check-up and lock-in free adjustments for life.

His last EMBA class session.    !!!

We started this thing 2 years ago because he wanted a change, and a new set of initials (MBA) would open doors.

For two years he travelled to Utah from Portland (then from Las Vegas) every other weekend.  That is a lot of plane flights.  84 to be exact.

We really didn't know what to expect when he went into the program.  How intense would it be?  How much time would school work and studying take from family life?

Well, we were pleasantly surprised to discover that the program had very little impact on our daily life.  Other than the time out of town and some evening conference calls with his group, the program was little more than a blip on our (me & the kids') radar.

I should have guessed this from the beginning, because Scott has a gift when it comes to school.  He puts in little or no time studying and still manages to pull out A's.  And in this case, he graduates with honors.  Ohhh, that made me so jealous when we were doing our undergrad.

Because the program didn't seep it's way into our everyday life, and it was going on 2 states away . . . . I always felt like the EMBA was this mysterious, unknown world.  Like this whole other life that he was living which I had no frame of reference or perspective on.  He left for school, I talked to him in the evening after he ate Papa John's pizza with his hotel roommate (a guy in the EMBA who was also from Portland), and he came home the next evening.

When we went to Utah it was so nice to drop him off at class and finally see the place, and the classroom, where he has gathered all these experiences and friendships over the last 2 years.

To see his seat in the back row of the classroom which he claimed early on, and then re-claimed when they tried to change seating assignments.

And the class TA who let Scott keep a bag of toiletries in their storage closet for the last 2 years, so he wouldn't have to pack them.

And the Maverick across the street which he and his friends visited once or twice a day during breaks for soda fill-ups.

The next day (Saturday) I joined him for a big EMBA dinner at the Cliff Lodge at Snowbird.  All the students and their spouses were there along with several of the professors.  It was basically their last hurrah.  A time to share memories, give thanks, etc.  Some of his friends led the "entertainment portion" of the program -- part jokes, part roast of their fellow classmates.  It was really fun to see them having fun and laughing with each other.  I definitely learned a lot more about everyone there that night.  I learned that Scott played a lot of Angry Birds in class (and everyone knew it).  And I learned that this was a tight group of 62 students, colleagues, friends who really connected as a group during their time together.

Heck, Scott & his posse went lingerie shopping together for their wives in multiple European countries.  Talk about bonding.

They are going to start having monthly luncheons in Utah, the yearly golf tournament will continue (which Scott attends), and they are planning a 5-year reunion cruise in the Caribbean.

Anyways, it has been a good experience.  Scott's new job here is a direct result of networking with classmates.  That alone makes the program more than worthwhile.

But, we're glad it's over!

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During the dinner program they presented a list of humorous thank-yous, including one to Scott.  "Thank you for always providing an alternative point of view, especially on issues of ethics and morality."

And another presenter gave a bunch of statistics for the EMBA program, including this one:  "2160 -- The number of green pigs that Scott Brown has killed while playing Angry Birds in class."

what zombies do on vacation

During the plague of Summer 2012, we were able to muster the energy to roll out of bed (or off the couch) to do some kind of summer activity from time to time.

Now, I should point out that not much energy or exhuberance went into these activities.  In fact, most of the time we looked pretty pathetic.  I've never seen the kids drag so much.  

But we tried to make the best of a less than ideal situation.

Razors on the beach.  This was the reason we came to Pismo Beach.  It was short-lived, though, because it was cold, super windy, and crowded.  And the truck got stuck in the sand.  Anna was freaking out because she thought we would be stuck on the beach forever.  (My mom and Conner, recovering from croup, stayed back in the hotel room during this adventure).

We enjoyed hot chocolate in the hotel.

Watched the smoke billow from, and airplanes drop water on a fire just 2 miles away from my parent's home.

I got to clean up my dad's head-wound (from an accident at work).  It was gory.  Think, "Massive Headwound Harry."

We attempted the zoo.  The baby oragutans were super adorable, we touched stingrays, and Anna got to feed a leaf to a giraffe.

I filled my purse with throat lozenges, loaded up with Tylenol, and Scott took me out to a nice dinner.  If you ever go up to Yosemite through Highway 140, stop at Savoury's in Mariposa.  Excellent food.  They never disappoint.

I risked life and limb by letting this kid into the driver's seat.  At one point we were headed for the ditch because Conner was distracted by a bug.  And then he says things like, "have I ever given you a reason not to trust me?"

There was swimming.

And time in the shade.

Roasting marshmallows

and rootbeer floats, movies, k'nex masterpieces, lots of Wii, trips to the garden for apricots, and wildlife sightings (an owl, turkeys, bunnies, deer, and even a rattlesnake).

And in between each of these activities, lots of naps.  :)

summer vacation, day 2-18

Our summer vacation began with a road trip to California, where we met my parents near Pismo Beach for a weekend that we hoped would be full of sun, sand, and fun.

That first day was gorgeous.

Since then, the rest of our summer vacation has looked like this . . . . 

We have been through the ringer the last 2 1/2 weeks.

First there was croup, and a visit to urgent care in Santa Maria for Conner.

Then I got a fever and chills and achiness and a cough and nausea and headaches and fatigue over a period of 12 days, during which I felt pretty much miserable.

Payton and Anna also started the fever while at my parents' house.  A favorite quote from Payton during his groggy/zombie days, "Grammer, is this what it feels like to be old?"

After coming home from California I eventually went to the doctor (after 11 days of feeling horrible) and had my first ever chest x-ray.  They thought I had pneumonia, but no dice.

Somewhere along the way Scott picked it up, of course -- fatigue, congestion, sore throat.

Then we went to Utah and the kids and I seemed to be doing okay.  We visited friends, family, temple square, and even went to a water park.

But wouldn't you know it, Payton woke up with a bad ear ache the day we left.

And 5 miles from home Anna announced that she needed to throw up.  Thanks to Scott's quick thinking & reflexes (I was driving) he caught it all inside a cooler.  We threw that cooler in the dumpster when we got home.

Then things got just plain ridiculous as I spent all of sunday night and monday tending to three . . . count them, three . . . puking kids.

Welcome to the Brown Infirmary!  Literally.  I wheeled Payton's trundle bed out to the living room on Monday, rented 3 Redbox movies, gave everyone a bowl, and handed out glasses of pedialyte when they were awake.

Summer vacation has not been kind to us so far.  We've carried our ailments through three states: California, Nevada, and Utah.  Not the way I pictured our summer vacation starting out, but what can you do?

I am happy to report (knock on wood) that we are all feeling much better!

The residuals:  I pulled a muscle on my side from coughing, which is still pretty tender.  Payton's ear is still a bit plugged up.  He has a hard time hearing us sometimes, so we have to repeat things a lot.  We'll get that checked out next week if it's still a problem.

I saw this the other day on Pinterest and it made me think

 

Source: nettiesexpressions.com via Shannon on Pinterest

Well, hmm.  What can I pull out of this situation to be thankful for?

I'm thankful that of all places I could get sick and be practically bed-ridden, it was at my parents' house where my mom could take care of me and entertain the kids.  Had this happened while I was at home, I can only imagine the torture & insanity that would result from the kids being cooped up in an apartment for a week with a sick mom who can't feed or entertain them.  Thank you mom.

I'm thankful that Scott insisted he come home early from work so I could go to the doctor and get me some drugs.

I'm thankful for access to modern medicine and over the counter drugs.

I'm thankful for the kids who were real troopers and really didn't complain at all.  Through their own sicknesses and mine.

I'm thankful for hot chocolate to soothe a sore throat.

And this experience has made me especially thankful to have a healthy body once again!

Here's to a healthy summer vacation!

and the emeals giveaway goes to . . . .

Stephanie, congratulations!  I'll connect you with eMeals to get your subscription going. Let the meal planning begin!

And thanks to everyone else who commented and showed interest in the program!

my week with eMeals (and a give-away!)

About a month ago I was contacted by eMeals, asking me if I'd like to try out their program.  Seeing as menu planning and grocery shopping are one of my least favorite, time-sucking activities I said, "sure thing!"

Here's basically what they offer:

• A weekly menu plan - It includes 7 different meals with recipes.  The variety is great.  The week that I tried out included beef, chicken, pork, fish, a salad, a breakfast casserole, and a crockpot meal.
• A printable shopping list - This was super cool. All you do it print it out and head to the grocery store.

One of the meals that we enjoyed:  Beef Burgundy with Egg Noodles and Fresh Steamed Carrots

Ingredients

• 1 lb London broil, cut into tips
• 1 can cream of mushroom soup
• 1 can sliced water chestnuts
• 1/2 cup red cooking wine (I substituted with a little worcestire sauce and water)
• 1 envelope dry onion soup mix
• 8 oz fresh sliced mushrooms

Instructions

Cut beef into bite sized tips.  Add meat to crockpot and mix in soup, water chestnuts, wine, soup mix, and mushrooms.  Cover and cook on low for 6 hours.

Boil 1 package of egg noodles until done.  Drain and serve with beef burgundy over noodles.

Steam a 16 oz bag of mini carrots and season with butter and salt.

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After trying out eMeals for a week, here are my observations:

Cost effective -- In my opinion, the coolest feature of eMeals is that you can sign up for a plan that is specific to the grocery store that you shop at.  They do the extra work to coordinate the menu/meals with items that are on sale at your grocery store that week!  This is a big time saver for me - as I usually spend time each week pouring over the grocery ad to plan our menu and write out my grocery list.  Also, with eMeals doing all the work for me, my grocery bill for that week was lower than usual.

Normal food - Nothing froo-froo or fancy.  Just good, normal, family-friendly food.  I would say that 6 out of 7 meals got a thumbs up from most of the family.  (It's impossible to please everyone.)

Organization - These people are super-organized.  On the shopping list, I love that the food items are cross-referenced with each meal number.  So, say there's a meal you don't want to cook (maybe fish isn't your family's thing), then it's quick & easy to eliminate those items from your list.

Ease of mind - Knowing all week that I had the ingredients for 7 planned meals, count them . . . seven, in my cupboards & fridge, ready to go, was just awesome.  It made dinner time a stress-free experience.

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Today I get to giveaway a 3 month membership to eMeals!  To enter, leave me a comment telling me which eMeals plan you would try.

For additional entries:

1) "Like" eMeals on Facebook -- then come back and leave a comment to tell me you did

2) Follow eMeals on Pinterest -- leave a comment here to tell me you did

I'm going to close the giveaway on Monday, June 25th at 9pm PST and announce the winner soon after.  Good luck! 

summer vacation, day 1

The kids and I drove 7 hours so we could enjoy this with my parents for the weekend.

We had shrimp & fish sticks & clam chowder for dinner.  Followed by a beautiful walk on the boardwalk.  The light was amazing.  And the coastal plants were so fragrant.

Perfection for a small moment in time.

three month report

Before school ended, each of the kids wrote a letter to their classmates back in Oregon.  This month I'll let their letters do the reporting.

To: My kindergarten Class

In Las Vegas there's cactuses.  They have awesome splash pads.  I get soaking wet in them.  they're just like a sprinkler at the park.  There's waterfalls that dance to music (Bellagio Fountains).  Once it got up to 104 degrees so we got to go swimming.  I swim a lot!

It's really fun in Las Vegas.  I miss you.  I'm having really fun in my new school.  I have tons of friends.

We had a field day.  One of the games you go to go on a skateboard and ride on it.  We get to play computers at centers.  The play structure has a cover over it to make shade because it's so hot!  Every park has one.

It's rained 2 times since we've been here.  I love you!  I hope you have a good summer.

Love, Anna

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To:  My 5th grade class

I'm liking it in Nevada.  The night is a sea of lights in Las Vegas.  There's a pyramid with a light on the top.  There are lots of parks and there is a hiking place.

I've been on two hikes and played on splash pads.  The pool is fine, but is cold sometimes.  I'm going on a campout in June.  I'm in charge of planning meals.  I miss coming to YAA:  the rain, the dodgeball, the four-square.  I miss you.  In Oregon, the highest it gets is 102 degrees.  In Las Vegas, it can get up to 115 degrees.  I'm staying inside on that day.

The playground at my school isn't near as good as YAA's, but there's a game called nine-play.  I have 5 teachers and there are lots of computers.  My new friend Stephen introduced me to a website called coolmath.com.  It has lots of games.

I miss you.  Conner Brown (Bionic Booger Boy)

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To:  My 3rd grade class

Las Vegas is great.  The highest temperature so far is 104 degrees.  My hair is steaming all the time.  The parks are huge.  Right now we live in a apartment.  The swimming pool is great.  We have a lot of pool toys.

We went to the Eiffel Tower.  It was huge.  We even saw a pyramid.  At the top there is a giant light.  Did you know it's a hotel?  We bought an electric piano.  At our apartment a ton of stuff is broken.  First our sink, then the sink . . . again.  And the dishwasher.  We can even see our broken dishwasher in the dumpster!

My new school is very fun.  I got a gold medal on states & capitals, singing Star Spangled Banner, and writing the Pledge of Allegiance.  On the last day of school we are having a pizza party.  We just had an ice cream sundae party.  On our field trip to Lake Mead we saw a burrow full of scaprat poop. There are so many burrows.  I miss you guys!

From: Payton

 

project life // week of may 27

Still keeping up with my project life layouts . . . this is like, what, a 3 week streak?  Hey, you've got to cheer yourself on!  Even in the little things.

This is the routine that works for me.  I print my photos on Sunday or Monday at home, make a little pencil sketch of my layouts (so I can jot down journaling notes, the tidbits I don't want to forget, and figure out where to place everything).  And then on Monday night I put it all together while watching The Bachelorette.  Don't judge.  

(oh, and I just noticed a typo.  This should be may 28 - june 3.  I go Monday to Sunday with my weeks.  Will I print a new photo to fix it?  Nope.)

Some weeks I really like the photos that come out of my camera.  This is one of them.

I'm trying to take design notes from some of my favorite Project Lifers:  Ali Edwards, Elise Blaha, Design Editor.  More full pocket photos (even in the 3x4 journaling pockets).  Don't clutter the page with product.  Or text.  Add journaling to the photos in photoshop.  And use a photo for the date/title card.

You might recall these quotes from Payton.

I feel like I'm the last person on the Project Life planet to purchase a Smash journaling tag pad.  I finally splurged, shelling out 1.49 at Target.  

And the right page . . . . 

On Sunday we came home from church and Scott had the most fantastic idea to roast marshmallows over the gas stove burner.  And can I just tell you that we are forever changed because of it?

Reese's peanut butter cups

Milky Way Caramel bars

Oh man.  The PB cups were my favorite.  The next day we made then again for family home evening.  This time I tested it with Mounds bars.  Also pretty incredible.

For the "recipe" photo -- In PSE, I added a 3x4 white block over my 4x6 photo and lowered the opacity way down.  Then I typed the journaling on top.  I really liked using 2 journaling pockets for one photo -- very fun.  But I especially love that boy's cute cheeks.

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What is Project Life?  Go HERE for all the details.

Also, I'm linking up with The Mom Creative 

embrace the camera: june 7th

Just a few pics taken while trying to get out of the school parking lot the other day (moving at a snail's pace). I love how Anna is scowling in the background.

Plus,

A few pics from dismissal today. School's out for summer!!!

I loved it when the principal came over the loud speaker and announced, "Students you are hereby dismissed. Summer vacation begins now!  Have a great and relaxing summer."

I am so proud of these kids for making it through a couple rough months of transition.  They are doing great.  But I think we are all ready for a big break.  Conner came right home and curled up with his blanket and pillow.  

I think we are all craving some calm, normal, stress-free time to just be together as a family.

Welcome to Summer! 

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And thank you so much for the warm response to my Summer Fun List!  I'm flattered that so many people enjoyed it and are going to draw inspiration from it.  Really, everything I post on this blog is just the stuff that I normally do/create/organize/imagine for my family.  And after creating it I sometimes realize that someone else might benefit from sharing.  I know that I benefit from others sharing their ideas every. single. day.  Pinterest, anyone?  Thanks again for your support and nice comments.  It sure does make a girl feel good.  :)

summer fun list 2012

Summer vacation is nearly upon us!  Just 2.5 more days of school and we couldn't be more excited.  The 2012 Summer Fun List is up and ready to go!

I've mentioned before that our summer is going to be a little different this year.  More time spent indoors, avoiding the extreme heat.  There will still be plenty of swimming.  But not as many outings, day trips, park days, and exploring outdoors.  The thought of getting into a car that has been baking in the 115 degree sun is in no way appealing to me! If we do make it outdoors it will be in the early morning hours.  

Keeping that in mind, I added some daily, weekly, and overall summer goals to our summer fun board so that we could have plenty to keep us busy during the day.  I'm sure the kids would be perfectly happy to play video games all day (and I'm sure there will be some of that), but there's only so much Mario Kart that I can handle.

Here's a run through of what I am planning for the summer . . . . 

SKILLS

The kids have individual skills/goals to work on this summer.  The boys get to work on Scouts & Cub Scouts.  Anna needs to learn how to tie her shoelaces.  Their second skill is taken from my 101 in 1001 list -- something that we can work on together.

DAILY

Our daily job charts include 6 items:

1. HOME - Do one chore around the house.  I will have a jar of popsicle sticks with miscellaneous jobs that they can choose from.
2. READ - 30 minutes of reading on their own or with me.
3. PIANO - Practice the piano!  We're going to dust off those piano books and get back to it.  We don't have a piano teacher yet, so I will instruct & guide them through the summer.  We'll pull out the purple books and even Anna will begin learning.  I purchased a month of piano lessons from a Young Woman (great girl - age 17 or 18) at our Ward auction/fundraiser last month, so I will probably take her up on that to get Anna started.
4. WRITE - They can choose to write in their summer journal, write a story, or write a letter.
5. EXTRA - I'll explain this one in a minute.
6. SB - This stands for Summer Bridge.  Every year I order Summer Bridge Activity Books for the kids and have then complete one page each day.  They are fantastic books.  I highly recommend them as a way to help your child retain what they have learned through the summer and prepare them for the next grade.

I have a personal rule/opinion that I don't pay my kids for doing chores around the house.  You're a part of the family, you live in this house, and so we all work together to maintain it!  But for the summer I'm going to alter things a bit.  

For each task that they complete, they will earn $0.25.  That's a total of $1.50 a day.  And $7.50 a week.  The catch is, that there will be times when they are required to use their own money to pay for some of our activities.  Like, our weekly ice cream outing, souvenirs on vacation, and maybe a couple of our summer fun outings.

This monetary incentive is also meant to replace nagging from mom.  I'm so excited about this part!  I'm not going to remind/nag/bug/fight with them to do these 6 tasks.  They know what they have to do to earn $$ so it's up to them to choose how much they earn on any given day/week.  And if it comes time for our ice cream outing and they're out of fundage, sorry charlie.

Items that are non-negotiable (and have no monetary value):  making your bed, getting dressed, brushing teeth, cleaning your room, and any odd jobs I ask them to do.  Because I'm the mom.

WEEKLY

To make sure we do a variety of things each week, we have an activity checklist to be completed anytime during the week.

• LIBRARY - We will definitely sign up for the summer reading program
• COOK / BAKE - This will probably include a lot of "cold" treats like popsicles.  Things that don't require us to use the oven too much.  I'm also excited to make rock candy with the kids.
• ARTS & CRAFTS - Pulling from my Pinterest boards I have a file folder full of potential projects.  I plan to go to Michael's and purchase all the supplies for 4-5 projects at once, so we have everything on hand when the mood strikes.
• SERVICE - I've seen some great ideas for RAKs (Random Acts of Kindness) on pinterest that I'm sure we will use.
• OUTING - movies, new park, bowling, museum, the mall, splash pad, etc.  Anything for a change of scenery!
• TREAT DAY - We have a great selection of summer desserts around here - frozen yogurt, snow cones, frozen custard, cupcakes, crepes, etc.

I've printed enough of our daily & weekly sheets to keep us going for quite a while.

Ah, and here's that "Extras" list.  This is what I came up with so far, but I'm sure we'll continue adding other options as the summer goes on and ideas come up.

Approved Websites -- I'm in the process of adding some stiffer parental controls to my laptop so the kids can use it a little more freely during the summer (i.e. - without me hovering over their shoulders).  But still, I have to approve any and all websites that they choose to visit.

and finally, THE SUMMER FUN LIST!

I like the list that we've put together.  A few vacation-related items, but everything else is pretty low-key.  Which is perfect for summer.  Conner's only request for the list was to have a pajama day.  He wants a day that we stay in our pajamas all day and play video games or watch tv.  Sounds good to me!

Here's an expanded view of my command station:

You can't quite see it, but that dry erase weekly calendar to the left has been oh so handy this school year.  Never mind that Friday will forever be Field Day -- I had a little oops with a permanent marker.

And this is the woven tray that Target convinced me I needed to buy.  I had no choice.

I like to keep the art supplies out in the open during the summer for easy access. New crayons were in order, along with some twistable colored pencils (the kids really like these, and I don't have to sharpen them over and over again).  The glass jar holds scissors, glue sticks, glue dots, elmer's glue, and refills for the hot glue gun.  

The little coral bucket came from the dollar spot at Target.  The chore sticks have yet to be labeled (soon) and I might add some paint brushes in there too.  On the floor to the side I have a big tote for other craft supplies.  

And then there's this basket which keeps papers, coupons, project & outing info, Scout books, and letter writing materials (envelopes, note-cards) in order for me.

I hope everything comes together as well as I've imagined it in my head.  We shall see how these turkeys do once we get into the thick of it.  

If nothing else, we'll enjoy the swimming pool and a freezer stocked with otter pops and call it the best summer ever!

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See our past Summer Fun Lists HERE

sunday thoughts: words with friends

watch this first

Scriptures can calm an agitated soul, giving peace, hope, and a restoration of confidence in one's ability to overcome the challenges of life.

Searching and memorizing scriptures is like filling a filing cabinet with friends, values, and truths that can be called upon anytime, anywhere in the world.

They can become stalwart friends that are not limited by geography or calendar.  They are always available when needed.  Their use provides a foundation of truth that can be awakened by the Holy Ghost.

A scripture that we may have read many times can take on nuances of meaning that are refreshing and insightful when we face a new challenge in life.

To memorize a scripture is to forge a new friendship.  It is like discovering a new individual who can help in time of need, give inspiration and comfort, and be a source of motivation for needed change.

- words by Richard G. Scott

I found this video on Friday and it touched me on so many levels.

First, seeing this gathering of women, friends, around a table . . . discussing their everyday challenges, asking questions, learning from each other, sharing ideas & thoughts based on faith and experience . . . it reminded me of what an amazing blessing these kinds of relationships are.  Coincidentally enough, that evening I was able to Facetime with my friends for an evening just like this.

I can't tell you how much I love & adore this picture and how much it fills my heart.  (courtesy of Paige)

Second, I realized that I am not taking advantage of and nurturing a personal friendship with the scriptures like I should.  Every single statement above resonated with me.  I want to bold and underline and highlight every single one!  Maybe amid all this change, and finding my place, and navigating through moments of loneliness, I need to put more effort into re-igniting a friendship with the scriptures.

This summer the kids have daily jobs to complete.  One of their jobs is labeled "Extra" and from the extras list they may choose to work on memorizing a scripture.  I think I should take on this task as well.  Hmm, and I think I just came up with goal number 101.  Right under #100 - make a new friend.  Go to the list and see.

wrapping up the school year

The kids have just 3.5 more days of school!  So before we leave this school year behind I wanted to quickly share a few of the things they have been up to in the last month.

Make way for Chief Payton.  He did a state report on New Mexico -- why he didn't choose Oregon, I'll never know.  On presentation day he came dressed as the Apache Indian Geronimo and I whipped up some sopapillas (my first ever attempt) for him to share with the class.  Apparently they were a huge hit.

As you can see, Field Day was pretty much awesome.

The PTA put on a Father/Daughter Dance at school and everything surrounding this event pretty much melts my heart.  It deserves it's own post.  I'll add that to my list.  Anna looked and felt like such a princess.

I was so proud of Payton for earning a gold medal in the Great American Challenge.  He had to memorize the Star Spangled Banner, write the Pledge of Allegiance, and memorize all 50 states capitals.  While this other kids had been working on this for 8 months, he completed this in just 2.  Plus, he earns a gold medal for having the cutest smile on stage.  It's true.  A random mom even leaned over to me and said "what a cutie" after he accepted his medal.

While the rest of the 5th graders went on a whirlwind, chartered bus, 24 hour field trip to Disneyland and back . . . . Conner went to school, with the 15 remaining kids.  It sounds like he had a great day.  I mean, just look at that face.   A definite highlight was when I met him for lunch, with McDonald's in hand.

For inquiring minds:  we didn't send him to Disneyland because 1 )I don't think it was an option because we moved in long after the fund-raising & payments were made and 2) even then, we wouldn't have sent him on a 24 hour (essentially overnight) field trip.  Age 10/11 is too young for that, in my opinion.

After a big Heritage unit in Conner's writing class (he did lots of research on Denmark - my ancestry), the 5th grade classes put on a program for the Heritage Feast.  Crepes, hummus, japanese rolls, Norwegian pancakes, swedish cookies, croissants, enchiladas, apple strudel, pasta, Filipino duck eggs . . . plenty of food to go around.

Signs that summer vacation is right around the corner:

• The homework load around here has taken a nose-dive.  
• The kids have started to bring home memory books and journals.  
• I loaded "School's Out for Summer" onto my ipod to prepare for the big day.  
• Realized today that I need to pull together teacher gifts soon.  
• The Summer Fun List is up and ready (I'll share next week).  

let's go on a date: june link-up

Back for another month of date-sharing.

But I have a confession.  We did not make it out on a date in the month of May.  :(

I think it had something to do with the fact that Scott was out of town 18 out of 31 days in May.  Including every single Friday and Saturday.  Sometimes life just happens!

So, for this month I'm going to go pull from my archives and actually share our September date from our 2011 Year of Dates!  It never made it onto the blog because, well, I only made the scrapbook page last month.  So here goes.  This was one of our favorites.

Let's go on a date: September 2011

the date envelope

contents  $15 giftcard to Panera Bread, map, description & map of Mount Tabor hike, picture menu from Mojo Crepes (printed from the web)

cost  $15

the plan  (from the date card) This month is going ot be fun!  Because it is my birthday month I chose something fitted for my tastes, something different & new.  First, we'll stop at Panera Bread to get some sandwiches to go.  Because we'll need them for our picnic lunch/dinner on top of Mt. Tabor.  After savoring the city views we'll hike back down and visit Mojo Crepes for their delectable ice cream crepes.  See!  I told you it was going to be fun!  You'll be spending time with me, how could it not?

On the google map, I placed number stickers (1, 2, 3) on each stop during the date.

the date & scrapbook layouts

As I mentioned earlier, sometimes life just happens.  And that was the case with our September date as well.  In mid-August Scott accepted a new job in Vegas and started that job the first week of September.  He was only home for 2 saturdays in September, and those saturdays were busy with soccer games.  And the weather was pretty crappy.

So, I made sure that we scheduled time for a date in October.  Again, we had the typical Oregon rainy & cold, so the hike was out.  So we altered the plan, and made things up as we went but it was a great night out.  We had a lot of fun.

First, we went to a Vietnamese restaurant for dinner.  We had the Panera gift card with us, but we just weren't feeling it.  Scott served a mission in Australia & spoke Vietnamese.  I've had Vietnamese food before (it's good), but it had been a long long time for both of us.  We made up for it by ordering about 6 different dishes.

Next, we drove clear across Portland to find Mojo Crepes.  (A place that popped up online when I searched for "crepes" - I love crepes.)  I was okay with changing the plan and getting dessert somewhere closer, but Scott was gun-ho on taking me out there and making my crepe dreams come true.  It was a little interesting getting there, and the place was on the edge of the sketchy part of town, and we were the only people there . . . . but, oh man, it was delicious.  I got a crepe with nutella, bananas, strawberries, and vanilla ice cream.  Then they wrap it up like an ice cream cone and you pretty much die and go to heaven.

Okay, looking at these pictures makes me really, really want another one!  Luckily, I think I've found a place here that does the same thing.  I'm itching to go.

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Okay now it's your turn!

Here's how it goes:

1.  Go on a date with your husband.  Easy, right?  And post a wrap-up on your blog.  This is for anyone . . . whether you put together a Year of Dates gift or not.

2.  On the first of the month, come here and submit a link to your blog post.  Not your blog

3.  In your blog post include a text link back to me.  You're also welcome to use the image below.

4.  Lastly, have fun and visit each other!