So we had a busy, busy weekend...
Besides having family and friends over to celebrate Ty's birthday we had Youth water ski day on Yale lake...
I had a very important job to do....I have to drive these guys around the lake. I have to drive in such away as to make them all think they are about to die but actually keeping them safe...its tricky... There is great pride in being known as the best tube puller and I intend to hold that title on Yale Lake.
I live to make Emmett scream like a girl....its really very easy :)

I also love to look at the pictures and see their faces. Emmitt never smiles bigger than when he's on a tube. Jacob is always laughing and having a great time. Sammy I was worried about...she looked scared to death! She had never been pulled behind my boat before and she had a death grip on the tube. I stopped more than once and asked if she wanted back in the boat but she claimed she was having fun...


But I don't only pull tubes. I also love to give them a chance to board behind our boat. It is so fun to watch and see what they can do

And they can do some really cool stuff!

Makes me wish I was a teenager again....

But that's OK, someone has to drive the boat :)

Oh, I almost forgot to mention the temperature...

When we put our boat in at around 1 pm it was 60 degrees!!!! These kids are tough! I didn't even bring a suit!

However, the water was flat all day so it almost made getting into the freezing water worth it! But if these kids are sick this next week I don't wan ta hear about it!

Frychik

They grow up so fast!

This little guy melts my heart! Where is he? Where did he go?????
I remember when I had two small boys people used to tell me "it goes by so fast". I thought yea right I bet you slept through the night last night.... But it really, really, does go by fast....and then you wonder...

Exactly when was the last time I picked him up?
When was the last time he reached for my hand?
When was it that I read him a bedtime story for the last time?
When was the last time I washed his hair?
and how on earth did I not notice it was the last time???

Yesterday my little guy with the amazing brown eyes turned 13!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I have two teenagers in the house!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Heaven help me!!

I'm proud of my little man and I realize it's a good thing that I don't have to wash his hair each day ( although I would love to comb it!!!)

Several people including myself have commented on his deepening voice. I heard him say with some irritation this weekend "isn't it supposed to do that!" Yes, baby it's supposed to do that but no parent is ready for it when it actually happens!

He's growing up just as he should and I love who he is.

Frychik

Green Tomatoes.....

These are last years tomatoes....actually only some of them...there were a lot more than this...

They tasted so amazing! I loved wandering out to the garden to pluck a juicy warm tomato off the vine and then make a tomato sandwich....

My mouth is watering.... So if you began this blog with me you will remember my early angst about whether or not I should plant a garden. The combination of a cold, wet, wet, did I say wet?! spring and the dilemma over our possible move to Florida kept me from planting my garden.

Normally I would plant around Mother's Day. When I finally got around to planting my miniature garden it was July. I didn't plant any seeds figuring there was no way they would have time to grow before frost. I also hunted for large starts to give my garden a head start...

Apparently the head start wasn't enough.....It is now the end of August. At this time last year we had baskets full of gorgeous ripe tomatoes (the first picture). Enough to share. More than we knew what to do with!

There is that potential in my garden....lots of tomatoes but they just won't redden up!

Well, these are kinda red...

Oh, wait! There's one! Oh, so close...

But here's something I'm very happy about! I have a massive pumpkin plant that has runners 9 feet long but only two pumpkins to show for it. But I'm very excited about those two pumpkins! I'm rooting for them. I'm babying them. I'm talking with them. They better not let me down!

We have peppers as well! They are little, but its ok that they are green!

And then I have these gorgeous baby pumpkins! The plant is loaded! Makes me so happy! Love my baby pumpkins!

Every year of my garden I plant sunflowers...they make me happy

Except this year...I didn't plant a one...

But that didn't matter to them....they stilled showed up :) Why can't tomatoes be like that???

Wish I could share some tomatoes with you...

Frychik

First Day of School

For three of our four family members yesterday was the first day of school. My husband was most excited because for these past summer months he has been lonely in the mornings...

So it was an eventful day...For the last time I was able to walk a child of mine into the classroom and take a picture of him with his teacher. The only way I have been able to do this is with the solemn promise that I will not do it to them their freshman year...


So here it is...Ty's last "first day of school" at Meadow Glade. He's a big 8th grader now... Josh headed out the door early for band and his first day as a Sophomore. He has a bad attitude right now...hoping it will change...I'm sure it will change...especially after he meets his Global Studies teacher...;)


I purposely laid low at school today. I did not seek Josh out. I didn't go out of the way to give him big hugs in the hallway or ask if he brushed his teeth this morning before school...And you'll notice there is no picture of Josh with his teachers on his first day.

But I was excited! I was happy to be at a school where I already know 90% of the kids names! I was more than ready for class to begin.

My schedule is pretty easy. I only have one prep and two class periods where I teach the same thing twice. Which is convenient but I tend to get confused wondering if I'm repeating myself a third time or just twice as I should....

Anyway, on the first day of school the schedule is modified so the kids get the full immersion. This resulted in my first class not meeting until 12:05. I had checked and rechecked my schedule so I was sure to be ready. I had everything organized, tidy and prepared for class. I had decided I wanted to greet my class at the door. So when the bell rang I positioned myself so I could greet each kid as they arrived.


Kids filled the halls and I chatted with a few but kept a careful eye out for my first student. I began to wonder when the halls began to empty and I still didn't see a single Sophomore...Then the halls were empty and I could see into my colleague's classrooms which were filled with their students....My entire class was missing! I ran back to my office...did I have it wrong? Nope, they were supposed to be here....

So I wandered down the hall to Administration and mentioned that my entire class was missing...

They were found in the gym with the PE teacher. They don't have bells in the gym so they were oblivious to what was happening in the rest of school...


So eventually my class did show up and we had our first day.

It went well. I think. You might want to ask them...

Frychik

First Impressions....

So today is the first day of school....It is also my first day as a teacher at CAA (well except that 6 year run I did 6 years ago)


Usually when I begin a new school year, at a new school, I have a high level of anxiety...

I'm anxious to learn all their names as soon as possible, so when I send them to the Principal's office, I can do it by name... ;)

I'm anxious to make a solid first impression. And this is the impression I want to make on those precious teenagers...



"Wow! She's inspiring! Wow! She's so smart! Wow! I hope I can learn all she has to teach me! Wow! She looks so professional and yet approachable in an appropriate way...."



Maybe I set the bar too high...



Anyway, I find myself in an unique situation tomorrow. For the first time, the classes I will face are to be filled with very familiar faces. Most faces I've known since they were chubby cheeked, freshly scrubbed, excited to death about school, kindergartners.....who have since turned into lovely, intelligent, if not always motivated or enthusiastic about school, teenagers...


And well, we are a long way past first impressions....this is my sons class, which means they have been to my house many, many times. With some I have made many, many, many trips to the mountains and lakes and soccer games and lets just say I wasn't always so professional in manner or dress....



So tomorrow I will stand up in front of them and begin the retraining process for some of them by asking them to call me Mrs. Fry...several have taken to calling me "Shellers" including my son! Sigh....


It is a fine line...


Will it be possible for them to see me as their teacher "Mrs. Fry" at school and still be comfortable hanging out at my house when I'm just "Josh's Mom"? I really hope so...


I love teenagers....I have truly enjoyed working with them. I have always hoped that one day I would have the opportunity to work with my kids and their friends. When I think of all the time and effort I have put into others people's kids it just seems right that I should have the chance to do that with my own, and now I do.



So think of me today as I try to make that good "first" impression....



Frychik

aka - Mrs. Fry

If Summers over why is it so sunny??

So it was just a month ago when I got the call about CAA.

Now I have one last day of summer before the first day of school...

I have nested in my new office...

And my new classroom...

I have even come up with visually stimulating bulletin boards ;)

My home office has been reestablished as well...

I'm excited but I'll be honest...

I really enjoyed my freedom,

but I was lonely,

but I needed a challenge,

but I liked driving the kids to school in my jammies,

but I like teaching

but I wonder how I will have time for the things I have had time for

but I get to hang out with teenagers which I actually like

but now that I live with teenagers maybe I won't like them as much???

Yes, I will!

So here's to another year of part-time teaching!

Frychik

Commitment

This weekend I had the honor of celebrating with friends as their daughters committed their lives to their Heavenly Father... Sisters shared their hearts with songs...

Friends shared their hearts with words...

Friends shared their talents with beautiful gifts...

Other friends shared their home for the perfect setting...

Another friend shares her talents by making beautiful cakes....

And two beautiful girls shared their hearts and their lives by making a commitment to God

The water was cold!

And lots and lots of friends/family gathered to show support and love. It is a beautiful thing to be part of such a community

And as always, consistently, God shares His love and His hope with us.

Aunt Helen

We lost another member of the family yesterday. I always wished that I had the opportunity to get to know my Aunt Helen better. She was my Grandma Throckmorton's sister. She always, always lived in New Jersey so I only saw her a few times in my life.


She was a woman to make a lasting impression! I think my first memory of Aunt Helen was a visit to Idaho when I was quite young. I remember that she was loud. What I realize now is that it was her Jersey accent that made her seem loud to my little NW ears.


I remember hearing stories about Aunt Helen and how she loved my Grandpa, her sisters husband...scandalous!


I remember that she was full of energy and she had a spark about her like she was always ready for excitement.


I remember that her Mother, my Great-Grandmother, who immigrated to America from Czechoslovakia, lived with her and that Aunt Helen took care of her in her final years.



I remember visiting her and Uncle Butch in New Jersey when my Mom took me on a trip as a graduation present after college. We went to a play and ate foreign food and I learned deep dark secrets about my Mother as a child....


But my most recent memory is when she visited a few years back and my boys had the chance to meet her. She made a vivid impression...She filled the whole room even though she was a small person. She always had much love to share. I found her fascinating and loved to listen to her talk.



It was always a little strange to be related to her. She seemed so different from us...So foreign..



One of her greatest passions in life were her beloved Yankees. She loved to talk about her Yankees. The details that woman knew about the team was impressive! In all honesty, I don't think some of the Yankees themselves knew as much as she did. As I understand it, she never missed a game...


I enjoyed watching her and my brother discuss the fine art of Czech cooking and challenging each other to a cook off...


But what I remember most of all is that I really didn't get a chance to know her.



It is sad to see a generation pass away...it is a reminder of how precious family is


Heaven will be a far better place than this...

Book Club saves the day

So the Flashlight Literary Society meet last night. It was my one year anniversary since joining and I was given a 10 finger WoooHooo which I really appreciated!

I love these girls. I love being in the club. I love that they make me laugh after a hard day.

It was a hard day. I can't go into details because I will get myself in trouble but it really was a hard day.

Sometimes people step on your heart without knowing it...I realize that, but then there are days where you feel like you are being trampled....

Those are the days that should always conclude with a book club meeting filled with yummy food, relaxed atmospher and most of all warm and witty women. It will pick you up!


Thanks ladies! I value each one of you!

Solo - Part III

You know it was a busy weekend when it takes you three blogs to share it. I'll finish today I promise...

After I was done exploring "Goose Poop Park" I drove across the Bridge of the Gods (cool name!) If you don't know, Indian lore says that the two mountains on either side of the Columbia got into a fight and threw rocks at each other creating a bridge...this is what I remember being told as a kid...I notice the bridge is made out of metal....

I drove home to let the cat in and turn on all the lights before driving over to Shannon and Galen's house to watch Invictus. I was happy to have an invite because the idea of being home alone for the evening didn't sound fun... But I really didn't want to come home to an empty house. So I let the "guard cat" in :) and turned on the lights and locked all the doors and then headed out for movie night at the Drakes...

I got home around 11:30 and had the whole do I take an ambien or not dilemma but then decided to tough it out. I woke up at 1:30 and thought oh no, here we go, but then the next thing I remember was the "guard cat" meowing at 5:30 am so it went well...

Sunday morning I had plans to do a bike ride in Portland with my Mom. I was really looking forward to this. But not only did my man take my boys and my dog away for the weekend he also took my Tahoe....so I had to take my bike apart and cram it into his trunk. This involved a blanket, a bungee cord, two emergency stops along the way and then having to reassemble the bike when I arrived in Portland...

I'm the first to admit that I am a kept woman and I enjoy it! I was mildly surprised that I was able to pull it off since I don't usually have to... The ride was so fun I did it twice. I love riding through old Portland neighborhoods with their fabulous houses and yards. I loved doing the bike ride with my Mom. I can't wait for the next one...

So even though I wasn't alone the entire weekend I still think of it as a weekend alone...

Here is what I learned:

1. As often as I have craved some "alone time" I realize what I really want is an hour or two of uninterrupted reading time. But if I want someone around I want them at my beck and call!



2. It's one thing if your husband is gone for the night, its another if your husband plus the kids are gone for the night but its a whole new level of alone when they take the dog too!



3. I can handle it when an emergency blinky light comes on in the car and I don't have cell service or my husband near by



4. I can cram a bike in the trunk and close it with a bungee cord (even if it did take 3 tries)



5. I much prefer to be the one who does the leaving...
   
   

Solo - Part II

Ok, so this is my second attempt with the post I began yesterday. So in case you need a refresher, we left off here....
But this is where the weekend really began....My husband took my boys and my dog and headed to the mountains for a weekend of backpacking and belching and farting...I was really torn about whether I should go....;)

As I mentioned yesterday Shannon and I headed to Mother's for breakfast. If you haven't been there go! It is fabulous! I always have the Migas and their chai is yummy too! But make a reservation first! Then you get to waltz in ahead of all those other people who have to wait...

The farmers market was a zoo because of graduation but it was worth it. So much yummy beautiful produce. I loved the color of this kale!

I loved it so much that apparently I downloaded it twice, so please enjoy it again....

These peppers were gorgeous!!!! Did you know that yellow, orange and red peppers all start out green and they take much longer to ripen than the green bell peppers...I learned that when I tried to grow some in my garden...

Ok, here is something new. It turned out that Shannon had plans for the afternoon, so I dropped her off and decided to wander into the Gorge on my own with my camera. My target was Trout Lake. I had never been there and I had heard there were amazing views of Mt. Adams so I decided to venture out. Solo...

There were some fun things to see along the way. I discovered this bridge with these rafts going over a mini waterfall. It was fun to watch the rafts disappear for an instant before popping to the surface. I didn't know there was such intense rafting so close to home. I will definitely follow up on this at a later date...

I watched about 5 rafts go over and I didn't see a single person fall in. I was impressed and a little disappointed...

About 10 miles before arriving in Trout Lake as I was driving on a long desolate road in the middle of the Mt. Adams wilderness, I notice an ominous warning light blinking on my car....I had no cell service and wondered what on earth I would do if I was stranded...I immediately took stock of my food supplies....they were bleak.

I was afraid to turn the car off so I pulled to the side and fished out the manual from the glove box. As ususal it was no help...

Thankfully I found a lovely old fashioned gas station in Trout Lake complete with a mechanic! A very nice mechanic who checked my oil and assured me that I would make it home safe and sound. Phewwww. Then I asked him where the lake was...

He ( Andy was his name) informed me that Trout Lake was really more of a marshy area. He told me if I drove down this road for another mile, turned right on a dirt road, go down that for a mile and then I would see the marsh with the view of the Mt. That is the picture above.

It was gorgeous but it was really weird to be in such a remote area and realize nobody (except Andy) had any idea where I was. It was exciting, but it unnerved me to.

There was a trail that followed the edge of the marsh. I walked for about a mile and tried to relax and enjoy the solitude...but I kept wondering if there were bears, or snakes, or random strangers...Jesh!!!!!!!!

So after exploring I headed back down into the Gorge to Cascade Locks. This picture is taken from "Goose Poop Park" This is my name for this lovely park in the middle of the Columbia River.

I lived in Cascade Locks for a time and I remember flying my skull and crossbones (really!) kite here on the tip of Goose Poop Park...I almost took a picture of the poop so you would understand why I call it this...but then I decided that wasn't necessary...

It really is a beautiful place....

These stairs leading down into the old locks remind me of the stairs in Paris. Once time when I was there the Sein was so flooded that there were stairs leading right down into the river..(I love sneaking in random references to my travels abroad) :)

This cracked me up. Apparently even fishermen have realized that fishing is boring and have resorted to mounting their poles complete with bells attached so they can wander off to more exciting things until there little bell goes "tinkle tinkle" and then they all rush pack in a furry just to be disappointed again....I laughed at them.

So I'm out of time. I'm a working girl you know, I have my first faculty meeting today so I must go. I'll finish up tomorrow.

PS for those of you who read this...Thanks :)