Since we've been home

Shortly after we got home from North Carolina, we went to our local Clark County Fair and enjoyed some time with dad while he was in town.

We let the kids all choose one ride they could each go on. We would have loved to let them ride more but A) it was raining and we were all cold and B) tickets for the rides are expensive and when there are four kids, it adds up quickly.

This is what Shannon chose. She was so excited and once the ride started going higher I thought she was going to throw up. I wish I could have gotten a picture of her face during the ride. Afterwards it took a few minutes for her to get back to her old self.

Aiden and Olivia wanted the bouncy cars.

And Bry wanted the roller coaster, so of course I just had to go on with him. :)

I tried to get a picture of the eagle when he spread his wings but someone walked right in front of me so I had to settle for this one. He's still beautiful.


With Doug being gone I've had to have dad come and do the repairs that I can't. Water was leaking down under the sink and the whole garbage disposal had to be removed and a new seal put in. Dad had lots of "help" from the little ones.

One exhausted girl. She fell asleep waiting for me to tuck her in.

Bry got stuck. It took about 10 minutes to get him out.

Doug was able to make it home for his birthday so we had some good friends over for dinner. His cake was a KrispyKreme doughnut with a scoop of ice cream on top. How do you like his candle? Yup, that's a lighter. Thanks, Cory for lighting it!

For Labor Day we went to Agate beach with our dear friends, the Giffords. It was just gorgeous.

Usually it's pretty windy on the coast but there was hardly a breeze so the kids had a hard time flying their kites.

Wish dad could have been there with us. :(

One evening while Doug was passing through we took a drive down to the temple. We got there just after they closed the gates so we weren't able to go inside the grounds but the kids still had fun smelling the roses and posing for the camera.

On Friday nights, the kids like to camp out in the game room.

Doug's truck was in the shop the week of Halloween so he was able to help us carve pumpkins. I wanted to get a shot of them lit up but the flash quit working on my camera and they just don't look the same in the daylight.

More job stuff

Many of you have been following what's been going on through my Facebook page but for my personal reasons, I'm blogging the details of what's been happening these past few days. So if you want to read on, please feel free. I promise I'll post pictures soon.

Doug got home last Thursday from a run he had made to New Jersey. It was two weeks from the last time we saw him. On his way home, he gets pulled over in Wyoming for an inspection and is given a warning because of various things the officer found wrong, one of being that there is oil leaking from his rig which is a fire hazard. When he gets home, May has his rig scheduled to go into the shop for work to be done so we figured he would be home for two days or so. He called May after the two days and they still hadn't gotten to his truck and wouldn't until Monday. We're told Monday afternoon that they don't know what's wrong with it or where the leak is coming from so it has to go to a different yard to be looked at. In the meantime, a driver is on vacation for this week, so Doug will need to use this other man's rig while his rig is out of commission. Something he's not too thrilled about but......

Tuesday morning, he goes into work and heads out to Toledo, Oregon (right by Newport on the coast) to pick up a load that's going to southern California. There are certain parts of Hwy 20 that don't allow 53' trailers and he misses the exit he needs to take to get off of hwy 20. So he has to drive a little ways to find a place big enough to turn around. On his way back, he gets pulled over by the police. Doug tells him he knew he wasn't suppose to be driving on that road but he missed his turn and was trying to find a place to turn around, etc. The officer says, "I believe you" and then tells him he's going to do an inspection since he had him there. Doug says no problem and gives him all the info needed. The officer comes back and tells Doug that he's got a suspended license in Oregon due to an uninsured accident that happened way back in August. So now Doug is unable to drive and he's sitting a few miles from where his load is waiting. He calls me and asks me to call the DMV and figure out what's going on since his phone is almost dead because his charger won't work in the rig he's in. I find out that because he didn't fill out and turn in an accident report when he crashed his UPS truck last August, they charged him with an uninsured accident (even though it was insured) and suspended his license. All we needed to do was fill out and turn in the report, pay a $75 reinstatement fee and then he's good to drive again. In the meantime, he's had to call May to get someone to drive down from Salem and pick him up and have someone else drive the rig back up to the yard. Since he can't drive, I have to pack the kids up at 7pm and drive down to Salem, an hour away, to pick Doug up. When I get there, the rig hadn't made it to the yard yet and we didn't know when it was going to get there so we just left, leaving his clothes, refrigerator and keys in the rig.

Wednesday morning we get up and go to Lake Oswego, where the accident happened, and fill out the paperwork, pay $75, and find out why we were never notified that his license was going to be suspended. It ends up that the address they have on file is the last place we lived at there in Oregon, seven years ago! We showed the DMV worker the accident report the police officer filled out and it shows our current address and Doug's current drivers' license number, both in Washington! It's bad enough that we didn't know he had to fill out an accident report, because when it happened, he asked them if there was anything else he needed to do and he was told no, but now he also has a $425 ticket!!!! The worker says, "Hey, I just work here. I can't help you anymore." She says, "If I were you, I'd take all this to the judge and tell him what you're telling me and hopefully he'll take care of it." Thank you very much lady. On our way home, we call our friends dad, who's an officer in Lincoln City, explained the situation and see if there's anything we can do. The biggest problem was that we didn't look on the other side of the accident report and if we had, it clearly states that we had a certain amount of time to get an accident report filled out and filed with the DMV. The thing we have going for us is that a) we went and took care of the accident report and b) the whole address issue. He advised us to go to the courthouse next week and talk to the clerk. The clerk has the right to dismiss the ticket. If he does, then we won't need to worry anymore. If he doesn't, then Doug will have to go back on the 5th of October and plead not guilty then go back at a different time to plead his case.

We find out today that his truck still hasn't been looked at and it was taken to the new yard on Tuesday. It is now Thursday, he's been given the ok to go back to work, he just needs to take his reciept in that we got from the DMV, and he's got a load that's got to be in Northern Washington by noon tomorrow. He'll still be driving the other guys rig until Monday, when the guy is done with vacation and we were told his truck won't be ready until sometime next week. Somewhere in the midst of all this, we need to find six hours out of the day to go to Newport and plead our case to the clerk (three hrs to get there, three to get back, depending on traffic). We're at the mercy of the clerk so please help us pray that the Lord will soften his heart.

Funny

I've been terrible about posting but it's been non-stop GO since we've been home. I'll eventually get the pictures downloaded off my camera.

Olivia said something funny yesterday that I just had to post it.

We were sitting on the couch and she was looking up at me and says, "Mom, you've got spider webs in your nose!" After I stopped laughing I explained to her that they were nose hairs, not spider webs and everyone has them. She just wrinkles her nose and says, "Oh."

4th of July weekend

I had to take Bry on base for Cub Scout Camp and everyday we passed these three helicopters. Aiden asked to see them everyday. They wanted to go inside them and were really disappointed when they couldn't but it was still fun to get up close to them.

Doug was able to come and visit for a week. We're so grateful that his company let him drive his truck all the way here. There's a place down the street that lets truckers park their trucks for free so after he was done cleaning out his cab, he took it down there where he had dropped off his trailer earlier.

Kids sitting on the top bunk, Shan is on the bed he sleeps on.

That Friday we went to the beach. As we were finishing lathering the kids up, I noticed some black spots in the distance. WHALES! Hopefully you can see the three specks in the middle.

They got pretty close. That's Shan and Bry and the black speck is another whale.

Doug with Liv playing in the waves. (He had to wear his shirt because the day before he played in the pool/spa with the kids and got totally sunburned. I even smothered him in sunscreen that day)

For the 4th we went on base to watch my sister perform in the band and then to watch the fireworks afterwards. That had to have been the best fireworks display I have ever seen.

Olivia and Riley (it wasn't cold but there was a small breeze that made the kids cold enough to want a blanket)

Bryson, Aiden and Kennedy

I love this picture of Anya. I don't even remember the setting I had on my camera.

Since we watched the fireworks on the 4th, the kids (meaning Doug) didn't get to light off any of his own so the next day we set a few off.

Handing out sparklers

Waiting in the truck to watch the bigger fireworks.

It was a really nice visit. Next time we see Doug will be when we're back at home, in a few more weeks.

Fun times

Doug and Buddy when he came to visit us in May.

Bryson and I having fun at the beach.

I told Aiden to go and change his clothes after we got home from this trip to the beach.  After a while I realized it was too quiet and this was why.

Playing with the rain water after a quick downpour. 

Shannon's hair was getting too long for me so I decided to trim it up to the length of her bangs that she had grown out.

Before

After

Wearing Aunt Nichole's ugly glasses she had to wear during boot camp.

It was a beautiful evening one night, with a few distant clouds.  I went into the house and not even five minutes later I came back outside to this.

Within 5-10 more minutes it was right over the top of us.  It was so beautiful watching the clouds build and move.

At one of the local parks.  It has been a long time since I've seen one of these.  I used to love them.  Now all that spinning makes me sick.

There were these old baby swings.

I love this of Olivia.  Right when we got there she ran straight out then stopped and stared for a little bit.  This was last Saturday.

Aunt Nichole had a cooler delivered the other day and the kids had fun playing in it until someone got hurt.

Happy Anniversary

Well, at least it would be happy if Doug were here to enjoy the day with me.  Right now he's in Texas, on his way to Florida.  Twelve years ago we were sealed in the Oakland temple.  The time has flown by.  I'm so amazed at what we've been through and gotten through together.  Here's to many more years.  Although you don't read these posts, Doug, I still have to say that I love you and Happy Anniversary!

Sad Day

My grampa passed away today.  He would have been 91 this November.  This is the best picture I have of him right now since I'm not at home.  He had dimentia, which is kinda like Alzheimer's  He and my gramma were married about 65 years (I don't remember exactly when they were married) but have known each other for 70.  I'm sad that I couldn't be there right now.  There won't be a funeral, instead he's going to be cremated and his ashes will go in the Columbia River since in the whole four years they lived in Vancouver, he didn't believe the Columbia River was there.  The day before I left for NC, I went and cut his hair and when I gave him a hug as I was leaving, it felt like it would be for the last time.  It's been a long time since anyone close in the family has died.  The last time was my other grandpa and I was about 13 or 14 so it's been a while.  I'm grateful for the gospel and that I'll be able to see him again someday.  I love you grampa.