Ruhnow Rukus

Graduation Day

2011-08-26T16:31:00.001-07:00

Portland State University

On August 13th, 2011 Seth graduated from Portland State University with his Degree in Criminal Justice and a couple specialized certificates in his field of study!

I am so proud of him! One of the best days of my life!

Good by Oldsmobile...Hello Odyssey!

2011-07-26T16:18:00.000-07:00

Bye, Bye my good companion!

I have to say, I used to think that it was weird that people got attached to their cars...much like my dad, I would much prefer to drive a new one every few months. However, I married a man who hates to go car shopping and would rather stick with 1 car until it dies! That being said, I was in a horrible car accident and have now had to say goodbye to the car I have driven for the last 5 years! I miss her...BUT

As I said before, my Seth hates car shopping so while he put in my beautiful new GINORMOUS patio, my dad took me out to buy a car. (Well, an SUV(Seth's preference) or Van(mine)) We drove a Mitsubishi Montero which was beautiful but Lithia just wouldn't negotiate to what I wanted to pay so we went off to Kendall budget lot! We drove a Nissan Quest but weren't impressed with it! As we got out I wondered around the Honda Odyssey that I have wanted since I worked for Honda and my dad convinced me to drive it! (I knew as soon I as got in the car it was going to be mine!) My dad talked them down $4000 and it was still out of our budget. So, I called Seth who VERY reluctantly (he didn't want a van) agreed to spending the additional amount!

So...I know have my Honda! I love her! And I mean Love, Love, Love her! Makes all the pain seem bearable!

We own a Home!

2011-06-16T12:07:00.000-07:00

Home Sweet Home

After a long few months we finally closed on our first house! June 1st, 2011, a day for the record books! Isn't she beautiful! We got a great deal with instant equity on a brand new construction. It is a 3 bedroom, 2.5 bath home! We are once again in Springfield 3rd ward and loving it! As you can tell, we have major work to do on the yard and landscape! We have plans for a patio, sprinkler system, extended parking area and boat parking!
A VERY big special "Thank You" to my amazing Dad for going above and beyond in EVERY way to help us get into a home of our own! I am a lucky, lucky girl!

What we are up to now!

2011-04-02T21:59:00.000-07:00

I realized yesterday that it had been over a year since my last post and that is rediculous! So time to update my blog on our life! This past couple months has been crazy! We had a lease on our apartment that was up in October and wanted to move into a house at the end of that time. In January I sat down with my dad and realized we could buy for the price of rent and started looking for a house! Everything happened so fast, we worked with a great, very patient finance guy and an AMAZING realator and found a great house! Then it was a whirl wind of finding someone to take over our lease and getting everything squared away! 2 weeks prior to signing we get a call that things have gone wrong! So...no house and NO apartment! Homeless and turning 30! So we are now staying with my parents until we find a new house to buy! This is actually working out pretty good for me, I spend my days here with my grandma anyways so its kind of convenient! I attempted to do a monthly dinner calendar and so far we have stuck to it! (I started the last week of March so...its only been a week!) I also turned 30 this past month and I have to say...the week of dreading the big day was way worse than actually being 30! Seth got a new camera for Christmas and he has been taking some amazing pictures, yesterday we were at the temple and he took some amazing shots of the temple! I just love them! He is way more talented than he thinks he is! He has a great eye for details and shots. Seth is also graduating sometime this summer and I am VERY excited! We will be having a PARTY! Well, thats all for now! I will try and be better and keeping this updated!

My Amazingly Wonderful Husband

2010-01-18T20:24:00.000-08:00

So, my poor husband was a little sad that all this blog updating and I didn't blog about him. So...I am adding one more blog, all about Sethers!

Today, I spent the day in Woodburn with my nephews and Seth had to work but that's not all he did. He made dinner, this is the Chili's enchilada soup that I absolutely love and he made it and it was simmering when I got home! It was so amazingly sweet of him!

It had a while left to simmer so when I got home he asked if I wanted to go for a walk, since it was nice out! It was so wonderful, I got to tell him all about how much fun I had and he listened and didn't roll his eyes once at how much I use my hands when I talk!

Seth is amazing wonderful and I am VERY lucky to have him! He works hard all week and on Sundays he is up and at meetings long before most of the ward is even out of bed and stays pretty busy until dinner! I appriciate all he does so much and the great example he is to me! Just want everyone to know that!

Woodburn - Play Time!

2010-01-18T20:15:00.000-08:00

Today I had the opportunity to go up to Woodburn and play with my little nephews while Desi and April went to a service project! We had so much fun! We started out by playing cars, I am going to have to get better at putting together race tracks because after half an hour Aaron just gave up on me and decided we should try something else!

So next we decided to build a fort! We took all of the cushions of the couch and made a little fort. Aric got in and was so cute, I decided to grab my camera. When he saw me going to take a picture he ducked down so I couldn't see him and we played a little up and down game until I finally got a good picture of him. It was so fun.

Then we put together puzzles, and watched a cartoon before we decided to go to Walmart and get balloons, not the kind with helium that float but the flat kind so we could blow them up and pop them! By the time we got home Desi was back so we all blew up balloons and tried to pop them...who knew that $1 balloons from walmart would be incredibly tough to pop, but they were...we gave up and went to Chuck E Cheese!

All in all it was a great day and I can't wait for them to come visit in February! Sorry Mike but I am hoping you have to take that business trip to Canada! I like playing with the kids!

Happy Birthday, Boys!

2010-01-12T20:02:00.000-08:00

Well the first Birthday cake in January was for Tim! He is a huge football fan, and is worried about what he will do when football season is over! I had fun doing this for him and Seth, Tim is a great guy and we love having him around!

Now this beauty was for none other than my AWESOME older...way older brother! Since his birthday is the 10th, when they came up for the shower on the 9th we decided to have a birthday weekend too! We had a party for him and dad after the shower...it was a busy day! So...for Christmas Ben got me this awesome cake server. It plays music, the birthday song, the wedding march and he's a jolly good fellow! It also has an extra button that you can record whatever you want to. So...I recorded the entire theme song from the office and made him an office cake! It was REALLY fun to do that!

I also took these great pictures of the boys...not wanting to go to bed! Actually, I think Luke had already been put down to bed and snuck out to sit on the stairs and listen to the old folks talking! I told him I was going to keep taking pictures until he made a nice face! That just became a challenge and I got all these great pictures of him. At one point he ran to the top of the stairs and laid down so I could take a picture of him that looked like he was falling down the stairs. I love that guy! He is so adorable and Jared is great! He is getting into his own personality and is just a ham. I miss these guys!

Babyshower

2010-01-10T13:45:00.000-08:00

Alison Cameron Whitmer

Yesterday, January 9th, 2010 we had a baby shower for Charity! It was so much fun! Aunt Sarah realized that she had done a little too much shopping for Miss Alison when she pulled all of the stuff out of the closet to start wrapping...good thing there is another shower next weekend in Medford! Of course the best gift was from me (It's my blog, I can say what I want too)! Its the cute Oregon Ducks cheerleader uniform! It says Oregon across the hiney! I fell in love with it and talked myself out of it for 6 months but just didn't make it passed the Christmas sales! (Uncle Seth was a little excited to get it too! Not often he volunteers to go shopping with me but he went on that trip!)

It was really relaxing and fun and I did a cake! It turned out pretty good I think!

PS...I don't want anyone to notice the top right picture in the collage! It would be VERY embarrassing for Aimee! Love you Aimee!

Go Ducks!

2009-12-30T00:17:00.000-08:00

I have been taking some cake decorating classes this past month and will be continuing on through out the month of January as well! Yesterday was our final project, and so I decided that if I was going to do Roses and Rose buds what better way to display them than on a Rose bowl cake...I am boxing it up and sending it to UPS with a tag that says To Clark & UPSers! (Clark used to work for me at Regional and is a die hard OSU fan!!!)

Christmas: Traditions of Torture!!!

2009-12-26T23:41:00.000-08:00

Well, this has been a great holiday season. I have had the opportunity to serve much and spend lots of quality time with my family. We certainly feel blessed this holiday season. Josh came home and I missed him so much!! This term won't be so bad though because he left me a series of about 10 pictures to remember him by...this one is at the top of my favorites list!

Since Seth's family goes to Portland on Christmas Eve, we spent the evening with the Whitmer Klan completing our usual (as I have nick named it!) "Traditions of Torture!" Just watch this video to see what I am referring to! You have to realize this video takes place after several practice's and this was the last of 4 houses! Poor, Poor Bishop...whatever did he do to deserve this!

I love it though, It just isn't Christmas without caroling with the Spindlers...talent or no talent! Poor, Poor Leland, we teased him all night about how this single video was going to keep him out of the Mo Tab!

Christmas Morning dawned very early this year as we spent an early morning trying to recreate Dad's favorite Christmas memory! Big breakfast, french doors, and oh so much family! Heather and Donal came up from California and the whole family was there! Aunt Janice stopped by later in the day and all the kids were home! It was great! That evening we went over to Courtney & Adams and broke into the boys Christmas present and played Rock Band for a couple hours. All in all a VERY fun day!

Grandma isn't one to have her picture taken so I tried on several occasions to snap some good shots of her but this is as good as it gets! Hoping to convince her to go get some professioal shots with me!

Well the Christmas decorations are down, though not quite put away and I am jumping right into planning a baby shower for my favorite pregnant Sister-in-law! I am so excited to have my new niece come into the world! Alison is going to be adorable, and for Charity's sake I hope she takes after her in size!

UPS Bake Sale!

2009-11-12T20:29:00.000-08:00

Seth came home from work this week and said that his co-worker had been in an accident and that when she was going through some tests they found a fungi growing on her brain! She has been in the hospital for a week and will probably be there for awhile longer. She was 5 days away from having health insurance! Isn't that just lucky! Anyway, they decided to have a bake sale to help earn some money for her to help with bills. So I decided to make this cake I have been wanting to make and I think it turned out pretty good! I am having a lot of fun with this! I can't wait to get started on Seth's birthday cake, it is going to be quite the challenge!

"I'm not a soccer player anymore, I am a soccer scorer!"

2009-11-10T19:30:00.000-08:00

This past weekend we went down to Medford to stay with my adorable little people! Ben had to head down to CA for work and he decided to take Aimee and go to the Stanford vs. UofO game on Saturday (BTW: I blame them for the terrible loss!;-). So, we headed down to watch the kiddo's. We had so much fun! Though there wasn't much sleeping! I have decided that I really like sleep and miss it, but it was well worth it!

Friday was fun, we got the kids off to school and just got to hang out with Jared. He is so sweet, we just love him. It wasn't too long ago when he couldn't even be in the same room with me and he would cry but this weekend we totally bonded! It was so fun to sing him to sleep and then get the 10 minutes of snuggles when he woke up. He is a complete doll!

Saturday, Luke had a soccer game in the morning and it was awesome! He scored a goal, and came running off the field to tell me about it and ask if he could call his dad after the game to tell him, then he ran back on the field to keep playing! It was so cute, there was no way I was going to tell him he scored for the wrong team! (He is truly a Whitmer!) After the game, on the ride home he informed us that he was no longer a soccer player, he was now a soccer scorer, and it was a lot more tiring to play soccer when you make a goal! I love it! Seth and I were sitting in the front seat just giggling!

When we got home from the game, we had lunch and put the boys to bed and Makenna and I took off for a girls afternoon of Ice Cream and grocery shopping! We got waffle bowl ice cream sundaes and just talked and talked! It was super fun, she is growing up so fast! How does that happen, I feel like I am missing so much!

Saturday night we went to see the temple. I hadn't ever been to the Medford temple before and wanted to go look at it. (Also, we had heard from a very reliable source that the coolest McDonalds ever was nearby!) So we loaded up the kiddos and headed out, all the way there we sang primary songs and when we got there the kids were so excited. Jared was in awe, he just stared as he walked towards the temple. Just as we were getting out of the car, they locked the gates and the kids were so sad. They wanted to walk around the grounds, but we just sat on the bench while Makenna told us about her primary activity when she got to go inside. It was really fun to be there with them.

From the temple we headed to what turned out to be a really cool McDonalds! I would recommend it to anyone. It was a musical themed play structure. The slide was a piano and when you went down it, it sounded like running your hand accross a keyboard. There were drums you could jump on and a guitar! It was pretty cool!

Well we would do it again in an instant! We had a blast!

Halloween

2009-10-30T10:52:00.000-07:00

This Halloween has been so fun! Pumpkin carving with Matt and Charity, cookies, candy and JEOPARDY with my Webelos and cake decorating with Grandma (supervised closely by her kitty-Mali)!

Rachel asked me to make her a cake for her Halloween party on Saturday so me and my inability to say "NO" made her a spider Halloween cake, in addition to my inability to do anything simple took on a crazy fun project! I found a cake idea online and took my own spin on it! I had so much fun, Grandma and I spent 2 days mixing and baking the cake on Wednesday and then frosting and decorating the cake on Thursday! There are definitely things that I would do differently next time but all in all it turned out GREAT! If I do say so myself...

And to top it off, I have options for Halloween night! Seth is working for Casey in Florence, so I can follow him and spend Halloween at the coast, which I love! Or, I can stay home with my kitty and watch hours of chick flix's and hand out candy while working on my Christmas projects! Both incredibly nice sounding options...what to do, what to do?

She is so bashful! Adorable isn't it!

Gift Shop Sign

2009-10-24T22:31:00.001-07:00

Today I really needed a laugh so, rather than writing some personal blog entry here are some funnies to just give you a little laugh!

Gift Shop Sign

A Puzzling Blond Joke
A blonde calls her boyfriend and says, "Please come over here and Help me. I have a killer jigsaw puzzle, and I can't figure out how to get it started." Her boy friend asks, "What is it supposed to be when it's finished?" The blonde says, "According to the picture on the box, it's a tiger." Her boyfriend decides to go over and help with the puzzle. She lets him in and shows him where she has the puzzle spread all over the table. He studies the pieces for a moment, then looks at the box, then turns to her and says, "First of all, no matter what we do, we're not going to be able to assemble these pieces into anything resembling a tiger." He takes her hand and says, "Second, I want you to relax. Let's have a nice cup of tea, and then ..." He sighed........"Let's put all the Frosted Flakes back in the box."

Wedding Colors

Attending a wedding for the first time, a little girl whispered to her mother, "Why is the bride dressed in white?" "Because white is the color of happiness, and today is the happiest day of her life." The child thought about this for a moment, then said, "So why is the groom wearing black?"

Sibling Humor

A Sunday school teacher was discussing the Ten Commandments with her five and six year olds. After explaining the commandment to "honor thy father and thy mother," she asked "Is there a commandment that teaches us how to treat our brothers and sisters?" Without missing a beat one little boy answered, "Thou shall not kill."

Thanks for "Humoring" me in my quest for laughter!

Have a Great Day!

Friends

2009-10-22T13:21:00.000-07:00

People come into your life for a reason, a season or a lifetime.
When you know which one it is, you will know what to do for that person.

When someone is in your life for a REASON, it is usually to meet a need you have expressed. They have come to assist you through a difficulty, to provide you with guidance and support, to aid you physically, emotionally or spiritually. They may seem like a godsend and they are. They are there for the reason you need them to be. Then, without any wrongdoing on your part or at an inconvenient time, something will happen to bring the relationship to an end. Sometimes they walk away. Sometimes they pass away. Sometimes they act up and force you to take a stand. What we must realize is that our need has been met, our desire fulfilled, their work is done. The prayer you sent up has been answered and now it is time to move on.

Some people come into your life for a SEASON, because your turn has come to share, grow or learn. They bring you an experience of peace or make you laugh. They may teach you something you have never done. They usually give you an unbelievable amount of joy. Believe it, it is real. But only for a season.

LIFETIME relationships teach you lifetime lessons, things you must build upon in order to have a solid emotional foundation. Your job is to accept the lesson, love the person and put what you have learned to use in all other relationships and areas of your life. It is said that love is blind but friendship is clairvoyant.

Thank you for being a part of my life,
whether you were a reason, a season or a lifetime.

It may sound ridiculous, but Angels exist, only sometimes they haven’t got wings and we call them friends; if you are reading this you are one of them.

Kris will be missed by many, may he be at peace and find the comfort he longs for.

Pumpkin Carving!

2009-10-18T22:32:00.000-07:00

So last year we got together with friends and made gingerbread houses for Christmas and so I thought how fun would it be to get together and have a pumpkin carving date night!
So...we invited Matt & Charity over for some fun pumpkin carving & bean dip! (because Mexican food and pumpkin carving go together, right?)

So Friday morning Seth and I went to pick out A pumpkin, an hour and 2 stores later (with a little encouragement from Sis. Alston that you can never have too many!) we had picked out 3 pumpkins in graduating sizes!
Aren't they just adorable! Almost perfectly matching too!

The girls got right to work, but the boys...they were a little wussy about the whole pumpkin guts thing!

Back off Ladies...the one on the Right is mine!

Left to Right: Matt's Skully, Charity's Boo, and Sarah's Bugaboo!
(Seth's is pictured on the end above...its Joker!)

And completely unrelated to pumpkin carving...isn't that the cutest baby belly you ever did see! That's my niece in there!

In Summary...We did NOT have any fun...

2009-10-10T22:25:00.000-07:00

As you can tell by the following collage of pictures:

No fun...No fun at all! (Hee Hee):

Brick Oven Pizza!!

2009-10-08T21:57:00.000-07:00

Saturday Night!

I ran out of time before I had the opportunity to finish about our trip! After conference we met up with a bunch of family and friends (old and new) to eat pizza and share lots of laughs! We pulled into the Brick Oven a bit late, and I thought I saw Colby walking towards the building, I wasn't sure because I hadn't seen him since Vegas so I yelled through the parking lot "Is that Colby I see?" my mom looked at me shocked that I yelled it so loud but when he turned I was so excited I ran and gave him a big hug! I have been planning our family reunion and have had such a huge desire to meet up with my family again!

Then Tracey showed up and I forgot just how much I missed her! She is so funny! One of my favorite memories was when Aimee, Tracey and I went to the Olive Garden for a girls
night and when our waiter came up she said "Your tip tonight entirely depends on whether or not the bread basket stays full!" I laughed so hard but I tell you, I have never eaten as many breadsticks at the Olive Garden...before or since!

I was a little disappointed because I thought that Lanette wasn't going to make it but she did show up and it was soooooo great to see her! She was one of my first YW in 3rd ward and definately one of my favorites! She married a great man and she seems entirely happy! I have always admired that about her though...she is always happy!

And last but definately not least, Josh was there and we were able to meet a bunch of his friends, its great to see him having so much fun with such great people! Go BYU!

This night was amazing, though I must say a bit overwhelming! I wanted so much to just sit and really get to visiting with everyone and there just wasn't enough time!

Ro..Ro..Ro..ROAD TRIP!

2009-10-07T10:17:00.000-07:00

Girls ONLY Conference Road Trip!!!

We left October 1st, about 4pm and headed outta town! Aimee, Rachel, Mom and I, we had an incredible time! On Thursday we made it all the way to Ontario and then stayed the night there! It was a blast and I enjoyed every minute of it!

We got into Utah Friday afternoon and went to visit Josh and his women, and brought him up to West Jordan with us for the night! He seems to be having a ball! I am so happy for him but miss him terribly! He will be home for Thanksgiving and I am so excited!
THANK YOU, Leland!

The next day we went to lunch and conference, it was amazing! I love the spirit that is so strong when you have the opportunity to sustain the prophet, when he is sitting directly in front of you!

It was so great to see Josh again, and to be able to stay with Steve and Lee!

I stand all amazed!

2009-09-23T21:42:00.000-07:00

Today I had the oppurtunity to go to the temple with my wonderful husband and one of my girls! I am so excited for Sister Hailey Durfee and her exciting adventure of serving a mission! What an inspiration she is to me!

I am amazed today at the wonderful spirit and its ability to lead and guide me through my life...the inspiration and peace I have received from the temple in the last 6 months has truly been what has kept me going! Every time I go, I get the same answers to my concerns, have Faith and Patience! You'd think that I would get it and develop faith and patience but it just isn't that easy so I am grateful for the constant reminders!
Well kind of a random blog entry for me, but I just felt I needed to show thanks and appreciation to my Father in Heaven for my peaceful and wonderful day!

I did it! I have achieved one of my life's goals!

2009-09-13T23:34:00.000-07:00

After the concert we stayed the night and headed into Seattle on Friday! We went all the way to the top of the Space Needle! It was amazing, the view is incredible! There were so many fun facts about it! There is a restaurant at the top and it spins on 1.5hp, that is smaller than our lawnmower engine! Crazy!

Although, I am not a huge fan of heights it was awesome! I am a sucker for a great view!

Funny Story: We went through the gift shop before we went up and I was scouting for a souvenir! I decided to wait until we got down to make a final decision, as you go up, they pose you for a picture and take your picture to try and sell you one in the lobby when you come down! We posed and thinking there was no chance that we would ever buy a copy, Seth smiled! No funny face, just a nice smile! When I went down, I just had to buy it! Boy was he bugged! He never would have had a straight face if he thought I would buy it! Hee hee...sometimes I win!

(Aren't they so adorable!)

WEEZER

2009-09-11T23:23:00.000-07:00

Yes, Yes, Yes...we did it again! WEEZER in concert! We went with Matthew to his first concert on September 10th, in Auburn WA. (I don't however recommend this location, the traffic was unbearable!) It was a great concert, even though it was awfully short! (They were one of 3 opening bands for Blink 182!) An hour is just not long enough with my boys! Here are some awesome pictures and a video of Pork & Beans will be uploaded soon! I even refrained from singing (well for most of it anyway) so you could hear them!

WEEZER is so awesome in concert, though I probably won't go to another one where they are sharing the main stage since Blink 182 was awful! Every other word was the F-word, and they were dirty. Just sing and quit talking!!! We left after the second song, he was TERRIBLE. I was so disappointed. When people talk like that they sound so stupid, and they were promoting drugs and sex. It was such an opposite feeling from WEEZER, they are so quirky and funny! I love Rivers!

Well I am off my soap box! As were were leaving, I decided to hand our tickets off to someone who was on the lawn (since we had 2nd row seats!) I walked over and asked two guys who were headed up to the lawn...they were so grateful one of them asked if he could kiss me! It made me laugh, I guess I still got it! Hee hee! (Yeah right!)

Well it was a fun day and I had a blast! I love WEEZER and they have a new CD coming out next month, which means they may have their own concert soon! RADITUDE...I can't wait!

Flashback to August!

2009-09-06T23:15:00.000-07:00

So I pulled out my camera and realized that so much has happened that I didn't even blog about so here is a little flash back to August!
In the midst of our crazy frenzy of family camps and moving, my wonderful in-laws invited us to go with them to the Benton County Fair and see Diamond Rio! It was a great location for a fair, the eating and concert location was completely off from the rides and all located under the shady trees. It was great! The concert was amazing, I really enjoyed it! I was surprised to realize I knew most of the songs they sang and was a much needed break!

We also went to my annual family campout! It was the first time in many years that I haven't been working and was able to go for the whole campout! However, Seth worked all week and didn't make it out until Friday! I was surprised to realize just how lost I feel without my better half! I am very lucky to have him...especially since he is the KING of tube wars! Ben sure gave it his best shot but...

Charity and I went out for a nice leisurely stroll behind the boat! I haven't been behind a boat since high school...at least not that I can remember! I will be the first to admit, I am kind of a wussy!

Well August was great and I just can't stop this post without recognizing the ever present lord's hand in our daily lives. We have truly been blessed this year and I am grateful for the peace and ever frequent answers to our prayers!

My week with Grandma

2009-09-04T17:17:00.000-07:00

I have had a fun week spending time with my Grandma Schoepke! She is such an amazing person, I always feel lucky when I get to spend time with her! This past week has created many wonderful memories for me!

1. My parents went out of town for a week and left her with out ice cream...apparently a fate worse than death! I had to go to Freddy's anyway so we went to get some ice cream, just enough to last until they get back! (When I stopped her she had 6 half gallons in the cart!) When I made her make due with only 2, she grabbed 2 boxes of hagen daz bars as well! I gave up, but I will laugh about that and remember it forever. That trip ended with an argument about wether she needed 1 or 6 snickers bars...and who was more stubborn! (which I apparently inherited from her!)

2. Then we went to the bank and I took out some cash, in order to get cash I have to show my ID! When I pulled it out she grabbed it out of my hand and said "WOW, you were fat!" Just what you always want to hear from your Grandma! She covered her mouth and apologized profusely for the way it came out, she just meant I look good now!

I love her dearly and am so grateful for the oppurtunity's I have had to talk and laugh with her! I can't wait to get started on my DVD project of her for her 80th birthday party!

A stern talking to...

2009-08-29T20:35:00.000-07:00

Ok, so it wasn't really a stern talking to but two weeks ago we went to our new ward for the first time! It is so great! I am so excited to rollup my sleeves and get involved! Anyway, I digress. After sacrament, one of my favorite people in the whole world spoke with us about how excited she was to have us in the ward and then she said she reads my blog, and I haven't updated it in awhile! Sooo....here it goes!

This has been a spectacularly crazy summer! We have had the oppurtunity to do so much in such a short period of time and the lords hand has been there every step of the way, we have been blessed with gifts before we even realized that we were in need of the blessings!

Last week we got to spend time with our family at camp! It was so fun and reminded me so much of the great family I was blessed with! Then Sunday we got to speak, and our topic was temples. It was such a blessing to be able to spend the time preparing and studing about temples!

Then this week my parents took off to take my baby brother to BYU! Don't get me wrong I am so excited for him but he is my baby brother, I am going to miss him!

We are staying with my grandma this week and that has been fun, a little difficult, but fun! She was diagnosed with dimentia, and it has progressivly gotten worse, and at times it is funny and I laugh at having the same conversation 500 times but sometimes it makes me sad, and I just want to cry! She is an angel and I am so grateful for the time that I get to spend with her now!

Well that pretty much gets you up to date! And...I am going to be better!

I promise!

Getting the Keys

2009-08-11T04:32:00.000-07:00

Today we are getting the keys! We are official first warders...our new address is:
2215 15th Street - Springfield OR 97477

The moving day is Thursday (well moving evening anyway)! Thanks for everyone's help and offers for help with this transition, it has been a crazy busy summer. It is great to see how many friends we really have!

We're Moving!

2009-08-04T19:46:00.000-07:00

So, we got a letter in the mail last week and we have to be out of our house by the end of the month! The Owner's nephew is moving in and this wouldn't be so bad, if we didn't have plans the last two weeks of the month! But we found a great duplex, it is absolutely beautiful! We signed the lease today and we get the keys on Tuesday!

Ruhnow Stampede

2009-06-25T20:09:00.000-07:00

We traveled from Denver to Custer State Park in S. Dakota on Thursday after going to the temple. It was a beautiful drive, the moutains and rolling hills all green and lush from all of the rain. We spent the next 3 days in the park and it was so much fun! I adore Seth's family. His Uncle Doug & Aunt Pam are so funny! Seth has so many of the same mannerisms as his uncle Doug, its so fun to see where certain traits come from. All his cousins were there and it was the first time to really talk to any of them, they are all wonderful!

We shared a cabin with Gabe and Cassie and of course Adaleah, who is the most adorable little girl ever! I love her, and they just hauled her off all the way across the United States...HOW RUDE!

We went to Mt. Rushmore, (You know, Rachel...the place with all the Prophets carved in the mountain!) through the most amazingly beautiful, crazy windy roads! There were Buffalo EVERYWHERE and all kinds of wild life...and I finally saw prairie dog town. (Though not quite as exciting as my family made it out to be!) Since you weren't supposed to feed them, Gabe threw peanuts at them instead of feeding them!

We just had a blast! I have wonderful inlaws, I was VERY blessed in that department!

MY NERVOUS BREAKDOWN...the beginning of a wonderful week!

2009-06-21T18:05:00.000-07:00

We got up at 2am in order to get to the airport on time, and this was just the beginning! We check in and get our luggage all deposited to where it needs to go and get to the gate with over an hour to spare, we got some breakfast and wandered around the shops. (yes, they are open at 5am...weird!) As we were getting ready to board, I got this weird impulse to look for my ID (by weird impulse I mean a prompting from the spirit!) and behold it was gone. I freaked and was completely sick to my stomach as I was frantically searching my bags, pockets and finally the airport. I discover I had dropped it by the magazines and got back just as we were boarding! It took the entire flight for me to be able to breath again!!

We get into Denver and seriously spent 2 hours getting a rental car, but the good news was we got an upgrade...for free! I was excited to get on our way, instead of going to the temple as we planned we decided to shop and go to the temple on the way to the reunion the next morning. So we headed to Costco...where I dropped the keys to the rental car somewhere around the bakery and didn't discover this until we were checked out and headed to the car! Ahhh what more could go wrong!

About that...we finished our shopping with minor incidet, bought some styrofoam coolers packed everything away and headed to the hotel. A few hours later Seth stayed in the hotel room while I picked up a couple of things from Safeway, as I open the back hatch to put the stuff in the coolers, I discovered that the cooler had cracked and soaked the entire back end of rental car...there I was standing in the parking lot with the cart boy staring at me as I am bawling my eyes out and trying to sop up water with clothes and towels from our luggage!

Now...I tell you these things with a moral to my story!

DO NOT PUT OFF GOING TO THE TEMPLE!!!

The next morning we attended the Denver temple and it was an incredible experience. The peace and comfort I felt there carried with me throughout the week. We had so much fun with Seth's family, I really love them so much!! We are truly blessed to have them!

Cassie's Shower

2009-05-26T20:53:00.000-07:00

Cassie's Bridal Shower

I did the food and made the cake! It was so much fun putting together my part of Cassie's shower. I really love this girl, she deserves the best, though I am not sure this was the best!(But I tried!)

The cake was sitting in the sun and the dots on it started changing colors! Ahhh, you live and learn, don't leave the cake in the sun!

Who needs enemy's when your friends dress you in toilet paper and take pictures!

Bowling League...80's Night!

2009-05-18T20:43:00.000-07:00

We have joined a bowling league and it has been so fun. We adore William Dixon and the enthusiam he brings every where he goes. We came in dead last in the league and had great fun doing it! Always good for a few laughs, the Regional girls dressed up for the occasion!

Date Night!

2009-03-29T19:13:00.001-07:00

So we decided on a hot date Saturday night and went to the $1.50 theater but...we didn't see a movie! We ended up in the Arcade and played Air Hockey, Batman pin ball, and hoop shoot! It was so fun...we haven't done anything like that, I would say since high school!

It was so much fun! And we had dinner at Applebee's, its official Seth's ribs are better!

Spring Break Kid's Camp...its was great fun!!

2009-03-29T18:38:00.000-07:00

I was in charge this week of camp and it was really fun! I enjoyed it...and that isn't always the case! Josh worked for me again and that is always fun, Nate also worked Monday thru thursday and all the kids were asking for him on Friday!!!

We played some great games and had lots of fun with dodgeball, obsticle courses, parachutes, and even ended the week with Spring Break Camp Olympics!

And now...the week is over and I am not sure if I am ready for quaduple the amount of kids for 11 weeks in a row starting in June! It will be an adventure

My 25th Birthday...again!

2009-03-22T21:20:00.000-07:00

My birthday is always an event NOT looked forward to but this year was great! A highschool friend came to visit with her son and Seth planned a dinner and almost all of our family on both sides came! It was so fun!! Seth bought me a camera, I really wanted one that was small, and I could carry it around everywhere, and because of this I have pictures...

Chamber After Hours @ Regional Sports Center

2009-03-16T22:00:00.000-07:00

The last 2 weeks have been spent putting together the Springfield Chamber of Commerce After Hours Event! WOW...am I glad that is over!

It went really well and I shouldn't be complaining but it was a lot of work, and nothing seemed to go as planned. But I think it was a sucess...

I tried to get creative with the sports themed centerpieces and they were a hit! We had lots of competition on the basketball game and several compliments on the flower arrangements...although Heather took mine apart and redid them! My mother would be so ashamed of my flower arranging skills! Hee Hee!

This was my first opportunity to work with caterer's! I have always done my own food (its much cheaper!) The food was good but...not much better than me! If I do say so my self!

We had several different venues come in with tables to display there programs! One of those tables stood out far above the rest...Caprice Day Spa came and gave FREE massages! After the day we had, our staff took advantage of that!!

Only difference between men and boys is the price of there toys!!!

2009-03-14T15:41:00.000-07:00

Too much fun!

Mormon Ads

2009-03-12T23:16:00.000-07:00

I just love this ad and I know you will too!

Have a great Day!

Flowers & Play Doh

2009-03-10T21:52:00.000-07:00

I have been stressed and working long hours lately. Last Saturday I worked until noon and when I got home there were beautiful yellow roses on the counter! It was soooo thoughtful and wonderful! Seth may not be perfect but sometimes he is pretty close!

Also...we had Luke this same afternoon and it was so fun! We played with play doh! This is my magnificient creation...that luke made into a rock!

Fun with Cakes!

2009-03-05T22:24:00.000-08:00

I have been playing around with cakes...I had fun!

Drum Roll Please!

2009-03-01T22:31:00.000-08:00

I would now like the pleasure of introducing you to my new niece...Adaleah Rose! Isn't she beautiful!

She is adorable and I love her already and haven't even met her yet! We cannot wait for the end of May when she gets to come visit for weeks! (During which time she will come to realize I am her favorite aunt!) She can't wait...I am sure of it!

New Family Pictures

2009-02-17T19:42:00.000-08:00

"YEP...THATS MY FAMILY"

Nothing but pride...

It's so nice to have some great family pictures, but sad as well...since Tammy isn't in them!

California Girls...Part 2 - San Diego

2009-01-31T19:31:00.000-08:00

We made our way to Coronado Island and it was beautiful, we saw the sunset first and we made a unanamous decision that we both wanted to move... It was so incredibly beautiful!

It is beautiful here, the sun was shining made into the high 70's and it was wonderful. We spent friday afternoon at the navy base, we got the tammy tour. We had the oppurtunity to meet her boss who is a great guy! It's good to know someone is looking out for her. We go to see the offices, look at night vision goggles that cost 12k a piece, and try on the search and resue vests. It was fun! We got to climb around in the helecopters and look at the ship Tammy will spend most of the next year living on.

Friday night we went to a club that was quite an experience...and that's all I have to say about that!

Saturday morning we debated on what to do...Sea World, the Zoo...and then settled on a trolley tour of San Diego, it was AWESOME!! It is a tour that stops at like 10 different places and you have the choice of getting off the trolley or staying on. If you get off you can catch the next trolley, they run in half hour incraments. It was so fun, we got to visit the zoo, old town, see a million museums (though we didn't opt to visit many) the trolley told us all about the history of San Diego and Coronado Island.
This is the view from the bridge going to coronado island. It is so beautiful...I know I have said that a million times but I want to move!!

We stopped at old town and there was about a million missionaries wandering about so we had to check out what that was all about...there was a mormon battalion commemoration. It was so cute all these little kids were running around with guns, it made me laugh!

This elephant is carved out of an olive tree. I thought that was cool!

Well I have lots more pictures but I can't get them off my phone...someday I will post all the pictures of tammy's office and ship and choppers!!!

California Girls...Part 1 - San Francisco

2009-01-29T22:18:00.000-08:00

We are having a blast...Hayes and I spent the day driving in from Redding to San Francisco! Our hotel is, how do I put this...it resembles a haunted mansion! There are lots of spooky corridors and no real entrance, you have to have a key or buzz in. Our cars are locked up in a court yard area that is well...creepy! We have been making up ghost stories and having fun!

We took off from the hotel and hoofed it around Fisherman's Wharf, which was fun but when we got to the alcatraz ferry it was sold out, I was so incredibly bummed out! That was the one thing that I really wanted to do!

We had a great lunch at the "Rain Forest Cafe" the restaurant was so awesome! There were creatures everywhere. I think I enjoyed it more than Hailey but it was just awesome!

Matthew's Wedding

2009-01-09T21:55:00.000-08:00

It was beautiful...the day was perfect! Charity is perfect for Matt and I am so happy for them! Enjoy the GREAT pictures!

Christmas Fun

2008-12-25T21:46:00.000-08:00

These guys are the cutest things in the world. Especially in the pajama's that we gave him. I love them so much!

Just some pictures fun from christmas. It was a mellow year with so much going on!

8th Anniversary - Coast Trip

2008-11-21T08:52:00.000-08:00

We took off on Monday night 17th and headed for Lincoln city for 4 days. We had a blast. We got to our hotel and were a little nervous, at night it looked a little bit on the creepy side but the room was very nice with a jetted spa in the room!! The view was incredible as well.

I made a friend...and all it took was a few crackers! "Sammy" the seagull, stayed right there outside our window for virtually the entire 4 days! It was pretty fun!

There was some steps down the beach so we walked on the beach, Seth took some pictures and I did a little running and walking up to the "D" river. Which is the shortest river in the world @ 150'.

TUESDAY we headed up to tillamook. We toured the tillamook cheese factory and watched the videos about how they made cheese! We have been there before but usually on the weekend and haven't gotten the chance to actually see the whole process. It was really cool and the samples were delicious! We also brought some home along with some fudge!

On the way back we decided to skip the air museum and instead head up to munson falls. It was a fun little hike into some beautiful woods! The trail was really nice too, but washed away in some places.

That night we went to a steak and seafood restaurant which was a little on the spendy side but was so incredibly delicious! I am telling you the best meal I have EVER had. It was called the kernsville steakhouse...I highly recommend it!

Wednesday was an incredibly LAZY day! I did not want to get out of bed! It felt so good to not have any demands on my time. When we did get going we drove around devils lake and stopped at Chinook winds casino. (Flashbacks to Vegas!!) We walked down on the beach and it was so beautiful!

WEEZER BABY!!!

2008-10-19T20:36:00.000-07:00

OCTOBER 9th 2008, Portland Oregon...The Best Concert EVER!

We had a blast at this concert! Weezer was so incredible and we had awesome
seats. The last time we saw Weezer were in the nose bleed section and the
music was great but we couldn't even see the band. This time we were
right there. We saw them before they got on stage. We were right next to
Brian as he came out to watch Angels and Airwaves play. It was so much
fun! We stood and sang along to every song they played. They only played
one song that I didn't know and I found out after the concert that it
was a Pink Floyd song, so I felt better about that!

I want that track suit! I Love It! Brian is on the right and I love him too!

WEEZER BABY!!...But second to play ANGELS AND AIRWAVES!!

2008-10-19T20:21:00.000-07:00

Angels and Airwaves was much better than Tokyo police. They had a lot of weird boxes and equipment that blocked some of the view and that was annoying! I didn't recognize much of the music but I hear that they are getting pretty popular. I guess I am just too old to know who they are!!

PS. What is the deal with skinny legged jeans? They are so incredibly disgusting looking on guys! I am not a fan!!

WEEZER BABY!! ...but first Tokyo Police!

2008-10-19T20:05:00.001-07:00

Not to be rude...but this opening act for the concert was just plain painful! I think Seth enjoyed this somewhat but I had to get up and leave, the guy who was plaing the keyboard and was closest to our side of the stage was just obnoxious to watch! He was kind of a spaz! Cassie was in agreement!

We had incredible seats and were able to watch the bands come on and off the stage as well. It was fun to see them joking around with each other before actually hitting the stage and the deep sighs of relief when they were coming off the stage! We also got to see a lot of the behind the scene work before the concert and there were some lighting issues they were fixing during the opening acts that were fun to watch. They climb up these crazy rope ladders...it was cool to watch!

WCWC - Tyler's Birthday!

2008-10-01T19:50:00.000-07:00

September 29th, 2008

We got the oppurtunity to go as a family to the Regional Sports Center and see the West Coast Wrestling Connection, for Tyler's birthday, it was so fun for the boys. Professional wrestling is... WELL...you will just have to see for yourself! They are coming back November 1st and there is bound to be a much larger crowd!

The pool is UP!!!

2008-09-20T19:38:00.000-07:00

Now that it is freezing cold today and I have been in a sweat shirt and jeans. THE POOL IS UP! I am so excited for warmth, I hope that I get the oppurtunity to swim before Fall sets in! I will try and post some pictures but it is huge and next year we will have some great patios and plants to make it look better! YIPPEE! It's awesome!

My Pool...from H, E, Double hockey sticks!!!

2008-08-31T20:02:00.000-07:00

So, my wonderful friend who lives up in Vida is moving! She is so excited and offered to sell us her pool for dirt cheap so we jumped on the chance. This isn't just any pool it is a 15'x30', $4000 dollar above ground pool and it is so fun. I was so excited...UNTIL...we started reading the instructions. It started with the fact that the ground has to be level in the entire area with in 1 inch. We have about 1000 moles out here and if you have seen our yard you know this was a challenge that lasted a FULL day and half...but Seth did it!!!

Then the 2 hours we planned to take down turned into about 8 hours, then put up took another day and more than once the whole project almost ended in the river!! But now the frame is up and we have another problem. Rain...Crappy Rain....and the liner doesn't match up and we have a lot of patching, stretching and have to find 4-6 other people to help us in our misery!!!

I just needed to vent I am sure this is worth it...

Look how much bigger the pool is than the truck...I will be able to swim laps in my pool! The brown grass area is going to be a brick paver pathway to the pool steps, the brown sand area will hopefully be framed in railroad ties and filled in with some easy on the feet pea gravel...these will be future projects for now.

Nala is very curious about what is happening outside her window...she has been hearing lots of yelling and frustration lately...

These are the steps we will install, once we get the pool liner installed. The big black thing, we will eventually hide is the filter for the pool and I don't have a picture of them but we also have solar panals to heat the pool!!

A special thanks to Dad Ruhnow and Mike for all their help!!

Photo's From the buggie Show - OR State Fair

2008-08-29T19:51:00.000-07:00

I just put these pictures on the computer so...I thought I would put them here. These are of Gabe's Cassie and her family. They go to the Oregon State Fair each year to show their ginormous horses and in this show the horses are all dressed up pretty with ribbons braided in the mane and hooked up to a cute old buggie. It was fun!!

MY BOYS!

2008-08-26T16:11:00.000-07:00

Just look at these handsome eagle scouts...and that one cute soon to be eagle scout! They are so adorable!
Congratulations Josh the newest eagle scout in the family. What a lot of hard work goes into that! So proud of you Joshua!

Oregon State Fair

2008-08-24T09:58:00.000-07:00

Saturday the 22nd, headed to the State Fair to see Gabe and Cassie. We got to see Cassie's family show there horse and buggies. It was pretty fun. It was fun seeing Gabe, we haven't gotten to see him much and I think Seth misses that...We took off from the fair and I dropped the boys to see "A Dark Knight" the IMAX experience, while I ran some errands.
It's funny Seth had seen it 3 times already and when it got out he said "It just wasn't as good the 4th time." So...moral of the story, only see it 3 times in the theater. Wait till it goes to video to see it the 4th time...(Hee Hee) I love that movie!!

It's Official

2008-08-24T09:55:00.000-07:00

My little brother is finally getting married...I can't believe that he is old enough but apparently they keep growing up even when you aren't paying attention!!
Charity is great and I am so excited to have her as apart of the family. She brings out the best in my favorite middle brother!! I have never seen him like he is around her I can't even explain it. They will be great together, I am sure of it!

California - Family Reunion

2008-08-24T09:35:00.000-07:00

August 16 my cousin Megan Schoepke got married in the Oakland temple. Slowly one by one all of the kids decided to go. It was so much fun!! I can't even remember the last time the entire family was together. Tammy came up from San Diego and even Charity, Matt's...Friend??? (Who will soon be family...I am sure!) Mom and Dad were able to get a couple of 2 bedroom hotel suites across the hall from each other. Dad used his Marriott points so we didn't even have to pay for it....YIPPEE!!

It was so much fun...we invented a new game called "Thong ball" it began as "Flip Flop Football" but that was a mouthful to say....we divided the teams into Ben, Garret Schoepke, and I against Tammy, Josh and Rachel. (We dominated...of course!!) Basically this was tackle football in the swimming pool with a flip flop sandal instead of a ball. It was a blast...it felt like we were kids again...there weren't even any injuries except Josh elbowed me in the nose and it hurt for days, but no blood so it didn't count!!!

We initiated Charity to the family by kicking Matt out of the hotel room and playing 10 fingers. She is great and continues to be attracted to Matt after spending a weekend with the whole clan...if she can survive that I vote "She's a Keeper!"

The last night JOSH came in and slept in the middle of Tammy and I on the King bed. It was so fun...I love that guy. He has spent the summer working for me at the Regional Sports Center and I am really going to miss him.

So...the trip went great, I feel so lucky to have such wonderful parents and siblings. Sometimes it feels like we are so spread out and busy that we don't see each other nearly enough!!

...AND THE LANE COUNTY FAIR!!

2008-08-11T14:53:00.000-07:00

We are going to the fair on Tuesday...because Seth has 3 pictures hanging in the photography exhibit...and I can't wait to get my hands on some cotton candy!!!

Going to the State Fair...

2008-08-07T17:58:00.001-07:00

We got the results today! Seth's photo Humble Beginnings (the barn) will be exhibited at the Oregon State Fair!! I am so EXCITED!!! So...if you find yourself in Salem at the State Fair make sure that you go to the Photo exibit and look at it!!!

My bum!

2008-08-07T13:53:00.000-07:00

WOMEN'S BUM SIZE STUDY

There is a new study about women and how they feel about their bums, the results were pretty interesting:

30% of women think their bum is too fat.......

10% of women think their bum is too skinny......

The remaining 60% say they don't care, they love him, he's a good man, and they wouldn't trade him for the world.

BUT I SAY....

MY BUM IS PERFECTION!!

Photography Contests

2008-08-03T16:50:00.000-07:00

This year I decided that I would enter some of Seth's photographs in the Lane County Fair and the Oregon State Fair Contests. I was told that wildlife and unusual pictures are the ones to enter so...I submitted these three photographs (there was a limit of 3 pictures per photographer) and we should get the State Fair judging results in the mail this week! I am so excited, I picked the sprinkler one because I love it and it is really unusual. These barn one is my favorite and am blowing it up and hanging it above my bed. The bird one is just awesome. The bird sat in the middle of the road for a few minutes while Seth inched forward...he was not moving an inch. I know you can't get the story across in a picture but it was funny to me and so I entered it. Hope that you enjoy the picture and wish Seth lots of luck!!!

Just something that made me laugh today!

2008-07-26T20:20:00.000-07:00

THE SMART BLONDE

A blonde woman boards an airplane. She is extremely exhausted and just wants to take a nap. She finally finds her seat and sits down next to a very curious young man.

He wants to test the whole dub blonde thing and possibly make some money out of it. "Hey, wanna play a game?" he asks her. "No thank you, i just want to take a nap." "Please, its really easy, all you have to do is answer the questions that i ask you. If you don't know the answer, then you give me five dollars, and if I don't know the answer to your question, then Ill give you five dollars."

"I really don't want to do this. I just want to take a nap."

"Oh but PLEASE pretty please. Okay, how about if I don't know the answer to your question, I'll give you five hundred dollars." The blonde woman became interested and decided to play the game.

"Okay. How many moons does jupiter have?" the young man asked. The woman reached into her purse and took out a five dollar bill. "What goes up the mountain with three legs and comes back down with four?".

The young man, determined not to lose, gets out his laptop and searches all over the internet for an answered. Flustered and confused, the young man hand the blonde five hundred dollars.

After a few hours, the young man was itching to know the answer to the question."What was the answer to the riddle?" the blonde woman reached into her purse and handed the young man a five dollar bill.

Just a thought...

2008-07-22T19:18:00.000-07:00

Are spider stories to women, like fish stories are to men?

Spider Drama...

2008-07-20T20:05:00.000-07:00

Act 1 - Spider in the rear view mirror!

We are heading into California on I-5, there are 4 lanes of traffic and we are 3 lanes from the right side of the road and all the sudden Mom swerves through 3 lanes of traffic to a quick stop on the right shoulder. She jumps out of the car and the yells into the car "Now I don't want anyone to panic, but look at the rear view mirror." There is a spider about the size of a nickel (if you ask mom quarter size, and Rachel is pretty sure it is silver dollar sized) on the mirror. So...since no men were present I suck it up and go to kill the spider so mom will get back in the car. But...I missed and it was knocked into the drivers seat floor. Mom doesn't want to drive anymore so we switch and I get into the drivers seat. As I glance in the rear view mirror there is a police car behind me and a tap on the passenger side window.

Mom explains about the spider and then there is about a 10 second pause (While I am pretty sure he was trying to gain composure and not laugh at us!) before he says "So...crisis has been averted?" We said yes and started the car. We took off on our way as I am sure the police officer phoned all his friends to tell them about the crazy Oregon women...

Act 2 - Spider on the drama queen!

Two days later after going to a wedding and having an afternoon swim, Rachel and I decided to go to the store and get a deck of cards to play and get some fries and burgers from In and Out burger. We get in the car and just barely got on the freeway when Rachel starts screaming hysterically that a spider is crawling across her face. I blow her off saying it was just her hair being blown in her face by the AC. She insists it was the spider, I insist it wasn't. Then starting her screaming again she points to the (nickel, quarter, silver dollar) sized spider on the center console. I pick up a napkin and kill the spider...which should be the end.

Act 3 - Benefits of being a BIG sister!

For the entire evening the screaming and freaking out continued even after returning to the hotel room so... that night we are all tucked in bed (rachel and I sharing a queen) and I can't help myself, I just had to run my fingers up her arm!! She freaked out and it made the whole drama worth living.

THE END

I'm telling..."

2008-07-16T14:41:00.000-07:00

Remember the days when you were a kid in the car on a road trip. Your brother/sister is sitting next to you, poking you repeatedly. Eventually you tell Mom and she tells him to stop poking you, so he does. Then he holds his finger an inch from your face and says "I'm not touching you, I'm not touching you!" This has become my life... again.

We are in week 4 of Summer Camp and this is my day, everyday. I actually came into work 2 hours early so I could get something done before the kids desended to cover every surface of our 200,000 sq. ft. building. It amazes me how one kid can be in 10 places at once!!!

I joke, it isn't all that bad!! I have several new friends, Eric is adorable and so fun, Daniel always wants attention and hangs on me but is a little devil and makes me laugh! Ilias brings me one of his toys everyday and tells me all about it. He gets picked on a lot and I look forward to his incesant talking each morning!! I also secretly love alexander, the kid is a terror but he is so stinking cute, if he were my kid he could get away with anything!!

Today I had a child sitting with me and he acually put his finger by my face and said "I'm not touching you, I'm not touching you!!" It gave me flashbacks and just made me want to call my mom!!

Welcome...

2008-07-15T20:17:00.000-07:00

This blog is for all of you who continually bother me to start a blog…I give in!! (Especially Janet, you win!) I don’t know that I will be able to keep this blog updated but it will be my best attempt at keeping a journal!

Wow, we are busy all the time but it doesn’t seem like it when I sit down to write about it. We have spent hours, days and weeks working on our yard. We haven’t had a working tractor so we let the yard go but we have mowed and we removed all of the awful brick work in the front and laid bark-o-mulch. It looks so good. We planted some pretty rhododendrons and some other plants. It looks great with my pink hanging baskets. I fertilized the front and back and now the moles are back!! (any ideas on how to get rid of them would be greatly appriated!)

Seth is working for UPS and hopes to continue on there and eventually drive a truck for them. In the mean time he is working with his dad and working to complete his bachelor’s degree from PSU (Portland State University). He is a busy guy!

I am working for the Regional Sports Center and I love it. It is funny to me that as the least athletic person in my family, my work is in a sports facility! We have hosted many events including volleyball & basketball tournaments, fundraisers, kids camp and my favorite event so far, the 2008 Special Olympics. It was great! Josh is currently working for me as a summer camp counselor, and that has been fun. I am also excited to have Makenna come for a week this summer!!

Seth & I were recently called as ward missionaries and we have a new ward mission leader that is very gung ho! I am excited to get involved with missionary work in our ward.

Well, I think that gets us up to date with what is going on….keep posted, we may exciting news in the future!! (probably not!!)