It's beginning!

After 20+ years of discussion, it's finally happening! Mom is adding onto her home so that we can move in with her. We are so excited (and a little nervous that it is actually happening).

The prep work is starting and here are the pictures...

Taking out the hot tub deck,

removing the pond,

removing dead bushes (the shed will be moved here on the south side of the property),

dismantling the shed so it can be moved.

A last look at these trees before...

the first tree is down. The second tree will come down soon.

These bushes (across from the garage doors) will be taken out to make more room to turn around and park. Our friend Holly suggested putting narrow grow boxes in that space too--a great idea!

To make more room in the garage and to make it more convenient for Mom, a stacking washer & dryer are being installed in the big hall closet (on the left side). Here is the preliminary work--a floor pan, new dryer plug, water connections. Tomorrow the washer & dryer will be installed and shelves will go up in the other half of the closet. 

Here's her new washer & dryer. Pretty cool that they fit in her hall closet.

This is all so exciting! What an adventure (probably more for Mom than us right now!). We are on the way...

Last Day

This is Taryn's last day of high school. She's heading across the crosswalk to get to Rex Putnam. Wow! Hard to believe that my 3rd child is done with high school. Amazing!

Tanner finishes Fifth Grade

Tanner was a fifth grader this year. He had a great teacher, Mrs. Barakat. Halfway through the year, the school district decided that the fifth graders would move up to middle school next year. Middle school will now be for 6th, 7th and 8th graders. One of the special things 5th graders got to do because they would not get another year in elementary school was to have an overnighter at OMSI. Other things Tanner did this year were several reports, a field trip to the Clean Water Festival, BizTown (his favorite), and learning Taiko (Japanese drumming). 

With Tanner leaving elementary school, that also marked my departure from volunteering and PTO. Fifteen years has gone by since I was first recruited to help in the school. I'm both sad/happy to be done.

Milwaukie Roads

When we moved to Milwaukie 24 years ago, we noticed that Milwaukie had a preponderance of flag lots. The other thing we have noticed through the years, is Milwaukie's unusual street naming policy (doesn't seem to have one). The picture below is a perfect example. At this intersection, each of the 4 roads feeding all have a different name. Running roughly west (left) in this picture--Railroad Avenue. Running north (straight ahead) is Linwood Avenue. Going to the east (right) is Harmony Road and behind the camera point is Lake Road.

Funny, huh? There are many more examples. Right near our house are three Arista Avenues. Arista starts and stops and then continues at another location not near the first Arista's. The street my mom lives on is the same. She lives on Ruby Drive. But after Ruby crosses Creighton Avenue, it becomes Lee Avenue. Crazy.

I'm used to thinking of all these road in Milwaukie, but it's better to say they are in unincorporated Clackamas County. It would be interesting to know who named the roads and to know what they were thinking when they did!

Bowling, bowling, bowling

It's tradition--several times a year--on the smaller holidays, our family goes bowling. On Labor Day, Martin Luther King's birthday, and Memorial Day you can find us rolling a ball down the lanes with whomever we can talk into going with us. I always bowl on the bumper guard lane with Tanner and my mom. Tanner usually tries the regular lane for his second game. It's a fun thing to do to liven up a holiday!

Birthday Celebration!

With family in town for Tayler and Aaron's wedding, we had the chance to celebrate 3 birthdays together--Sarah's, and Ethan & Aidan's. John and Anna invited everyone to come to Bullwinkles in Wilsonville for food, cake and fun. Taryn & Tanner stayed late with John and Anna to go on more of the rides/activities there. It's fun to get together with the Knowles family!

a new year and two new habits

This is the second year of my plan to implement healthier habits into my life. Last year, my first step in a healthier me was to get more sleep. For someone who has lived on 4-5 hours of sleep a night for 30 years, increasing my sleep to 6-7 hours was EXTREMELY difficult to do. I loved my late-night solitude, but have gradually improved (and only backtracked a little!). Do I feel better? Don't know....
This year, 2011, I've started two other healthy habits. One, I joined a fitness club and am exercising regularly. I'm working up to 5 days a week. I've neglected my body for years and this is a positive step toward taking care of me. The other healthy habit is to clear my life of clutter. I am trying to purge all the stuff we have hanging around that physically and visually clutters our home. It will be a big challenge, but I'm determined to change...