A great day!

So the day started out with an absolute surprise! After Teresa left for the rest of her trip, Tiana and I went back to Kohl's. We'd been there on Sunday and if you spend $50 they will give you $10 to spend on your next visit. Well, we earned $20 and I decided, though, not to get the dress that I had tried on and liked because I'm, well, cheap! I figured we'd spent enough. Well, then I decided, though, I could take the $20 back and apply it to the dress and it wouldn't be so much. We went back and I couldn't find the dress. Two days later and I couldn't believe it, it looked to be gone! But NO!! It was now on the clearance rack for -- any guesses? $20!!! So, now the dress is FREE!! Tiana asked if she could at least buy a shirt then so we wouldn't look so cheap. I said yes, and the one SHE found was on clearance, too, for a whopping $3.80!! So, we walked out of Kohl's with a new dress for me and a new shirt for her for $4.16 with tax!! I like shopping when I get deals like that! We then went home to get ready for the National Night Out for Crime Prevention block potluck I organized (MUCH to Kent's dismay!). Having never done such a thing I wasn't at all sure what to expect. And our neighborhood pretty much sticks to itself, except for the littlest kids, of course, who end up at our house. So, the invites were out, the RSVPs weren't really in and we're set to roll. I would say about 35 of us gathered, we had a good show of food - homemade pico de gallo, some Bosnian desserts, home grown veggies, friendship bread, typical bachelor food, and really, overall, a good time! If we registered our block party with the city, they would send out Police cars, Fire equipment, other city representatives and they'd hang out for a few minutes, answer questions, leave contact info, whatever. Target is a sponsor of the program and so they gave CHALK to the kids for having fun in the street!! AWESOME! Anyway, we had fun, and I hope it's just the beginning of an even friendlier neighborhood!

A treat!

This evening we had the privilege of spending some time with one of Kent's cousins who was heading through town. We hadn't had her here with us since we were married, other than one time in MT, but Kent wasn't there. The evening was gorgeous so we went down to the beach and watched the sun set over the water! It was just very special! The other really cool part of the story is that we'll host her twin sister and family starting Wednesday!

Happy Birthday!

Big Birthday Eve

15 years ago tonight we had Sandra D. come share a meal and run through newborn care with us. Tonight we honored that night with food -- again! Since we are far too often eating out, we tend to sign up for all sorts of "clubs" that get us free food around our birthday time. Tonight was no different. Tiana got the coupon from Famous Dave's BBQ and it was good for something -- anything from a free dessert to the great big huge All-American Feast (feeds 4-6). We usually get the puny stuff, but not tonight!!We got the great big $60 platter of far-too-much food for free!! And she even got a small sundae afterward!
We made it through a lot of the food (actually more ended up being gone by the end of the meal!) with just a few leftovers!
I thought this picture looked almost like she was about to lose her meal, although it was just a slow camera phone in low-light! All told -- Dinner tab $0!!! Yes, of course we left a tip! And? When it was all said and done, after a number a ribs, a few bites of chicken, a bit of pulled pork, 1½ corn muffins, some mac-n-cheese, some beans and a lot of coleslaw, a few bites of ice cream and water, what did Tiana have to say? "I'm hungry!"

It happens every year!

Today we went on our annual foodie venture downtown. We've missed only 2 Bites -- one when Tiana was born and one the year we lived in Montana. It's always fun to try something new, although Tiana's pretty stuck in the Piroshky rut. Doesn't help much that some pretty "hot" guys are manning the booth! Kent had a BBQ pork sandwich from a mobile vendor whose "van" looks like a pig, a burger and some pelmeni (we all shared that). I had a phyllo dough "pie" filled with an herbed chicken (it was about 2 bites!), an equally small raspberry filled "pie", some coconut prawns with pad thai and a marionberry shortcake. I saw that one place was serving Guiness Stew, but that was what was printed in the paper. The reality was -- there was no Guiness Stew! :( Tiana and McCaela also shared a skewer of dark chocolate covered strawberries. There were several booths of goodies, bands and the most fun to watch was the DockDog Dog "Diving" Competition!

We are whole again!

I picked Tiana up at the airport today and so now we are a whole family at home again! She's been the last little over 10 days in Oregon. First with all of us at Todd and Tammy's, then with Jon and Traci, down to the rafting trip and back to J and T's and then on home. Sounds like she had fabulous, heart-touching, growth-worthy experiences that are likely to stay with her for a lifetime! Everything from familiar egg gathering to the brand-new water-fight-included-river-rafting-trip that wasn't near as scary as anticipated! Of course, there was horse-back riding, a bit of shopping, helping elderly friends and introducing a younger cousin to the fine art of dining out at a sit-down restaurant SANS ADULTS!!! ☺☺ (Even making mom proud by remembering a better than 15% tip for the server!) Extreme thanks to those who helped make this week so extra special (that includes some who are "simply" in the background)! Welcome Home, little one! (I "can't" say that really any more, especially not with a birthday coming soon!)

Sunshine, old sunscreen and a great day anyway!

Kent and I went to Bonnie and Larry's cabin today. We put on the 30 SPF sport cream, but both of us are quite red in spite of it! Must have expired?! Morgan and Sandra, Jase, and Jolyn, and Kate, Derrick and Zoe were all there too! We played ladder golf, some of us went in the canoe, some in the dinghy, some on the Hobie sail boat, some swam, we all ate and just enjoyed a very relaxing, beautiful day! The day was actually a bit cloudy at the start so I wasn't sure what the day would bring, but the sun came out, we burned and now we're ready to call it a day! Thanks Bonnie and Larry!!

Oh, and we heard from Tiana that she had the most fun ever!! She was on a rafting trip/potluck/volleyball/games/fellowship get-together down in Oregon!