Ice skating! 11.27.09
A friend of ours was turning 25 so a group of us got together and took her ice skating! Mike only almost fell once.. luckily there was a person in front of him with whom he ending up in a bear hug with for support. I was not so lucky and had one good fall taking out two others. Not bad for my second time on the ice.
Grandparents 50th anniversary party 10.17.2009
50 years! My grandma and grandpa Griffith celebrated their anniversary with our entire family at the Oregon coast. Everyone got rooms at the hotel where the party took place and we had fun all weekend. I don't get to see this side of my family much so I had an absolute blast being there with them for 2 days. The party turned out very nice, full of dancing and laughing, both of which are natural reactions for everyone there.
I'm extremely proud and love my grandparents very much so. Fifty years down and they still looked like newlyweds. Mike and I very much look up to them and are excited to look the same way at our 50th.
Congratulations Grandma and Grandpa!
Camping! 8.20.09-8.22.09
Ma and Pa VT, the Short family and the Jr. VT's all found a middle ground and went for a weekend camping trip. It started off a little rocky with Ode, Kels and the kids breaking down half way through their trip and having no way of letting us know because we were about 30 minutes away from cell coverage. Mike, Tami and I drove 15 minutes down to the little store to use the payphone and call Kelsey's cell which is how we found out they had been sitting at a McDonald’s for the last 3 hours. I went to use the bathroom and when I came out, Mike and already got on his white horse to save his sister which meant Tami and I had three options... wait 2 1/2 hours for Mike's return, hitch a ride, or start walking the 12 mile journey back to camp and hope that Ron comes looking for us soon. We vetoed waiting, thought about asking a few different people, but finally decided to get some exercise. Mike’s rescue mission didn’t take as long as expected and found Tami and I about 3 miles down from the little store. The Short’s camping gear, 2 car seats, Tami, Odus, Kelsey, Mike, Natalie, Eli and myself all piled into our Escape and drove back to camp. All that was missing was the clown paint and big shoes.
The rest of the weekend was great. When we all camp together, there is always some creative invention being made to show that we are all just big kids. This time it was Mike and Odus building a dam (why?.. I don’t know.) in the little river by our camp site. They worked on it for half the day on Friday and watched it break apart before dinner time. Meal times were also pretty interesting this trip due to our camp site having, what I can only assume, the biggest bee hive in history somewhere close nearby. Bees were out and curious during the day and I think I’ve seen more bees than I ever wanted. Ron got stung 4 times almost in a row and poor little Eli got 2 bee stings, one on each hand. Although, I got stung around 6 months ago and I now feel like whimp compared to my year and a ½ year old nephew and how he handled those stings. Eli’s a champ.
My dad couldn’t get off work to come join for the whole weekend, but he drove mid morning on Saturday and hung out for the whole day which was a lot of fun. I wasn’t expecting to see him all at so it was nice little surprise!
We are always sad to leave, but it was nice to take a shower and see the real color of my feet again. AND it’s nice to eat food without a swarm of bees wanting what you have in your hands, but I’d do it all over again.
Senior Pictures!
Tarah got her senior pictures taken at the end of summer, 09', and they turned out awesome. Can't believe she isn't 10 anymore!
Check them out!
http://fritzphoto.com/slideshows/Tarah/
Lake Eniant 7.31.09-8.2.09
It's nice to have friends with a boat and a cabin by the lake! Megan and Nick, again, took us to go play on the water for a weekend which is always a good time. The temperature reached 112, so we stayed on the boat where we could jump in often (or be thrown in by Mike...see pictures below). This was also a special weekend because Mike, after 2 years of trying, got up on the wake board!! It started out funny that he couldn't stand up and then we all started to feel for him so it was exciting to see him stand :)
Updates on Liz..
If you're wanting to know little updates about Liz, she has a blog page that she keeps as current as she can. Her and I have been managing to talk pretty regularly and when she switches jobs she'll be able to call on her cell very often. Feels like shes been gone for months, but it's only been one!
http://www.australializ.blogspot.com
And she's off! 6.29.09
Her trip has officially started! Early Monday morning Tarah, Sarah, Rachel, Alicia and I all took Liz to the airport. She's off to California for a few weeks visiting family before she leaves to Australia. This was the last time any of us will see her for more than a year so it got all girly and emotional. The hiking pack you see in the pictures is her closet for the next year and basically the majority of her possessions. And yes, that is the actual size of it. She already had it packed for Australia so she wont have to open it until she lands there. The first time she tried it on was also in the pictures. FUUNNNY to watch. She did it alone though! She will be missed, but we're all very excited for her!
Camping trip. No boys allowed. 6.25-6.28.09
Us girls packed up Sarah's truck and headed out to Mill City for a last girl weekend together before Liz leaves for a year! Lot's of team work involved. Alicia and Liz chopped the wood, I built the fires and Sarah cooked. We kept busy the whole time which made it fly by. Rafting, hiking, volleyball, sun bathing, cold drinks.... fuun time.
Most of the pictures you can tell what we're doing. The rafting ones are the best. Sarah was in the back steering, I was in the front steering, Alicia and Liz on the sides. At one point on the rapids, Sarah thought she would be funny and rock the raft in hopes of knocking someone off, but her legs went right over her head and she popped out by my feet at the front (which confused the crap out of me). We got her and the oar back then pulled over to laugh for 20 minutes. The rapids were very minor and always end in a calm spot so the danger level was low. It just made a really, really funny story.
6.20.09
Mike and a few of his co-workers volunteered to help Jason Mesnick host a father's day event. Families from all over came to play in the sun all day and get some exercise! During the tug-o-war it was grown men plus one moose vs. all the kids. They thought they would play like it was hard for a few minutes before letting them win, but the kids destroyed them in under a minute. On national television. Seeing how Mike was unable to bring a child of his own, he adopted his friend Aaron for the day,
Goodbye Miss Liz! 6.16.09 and 6.19.09
Liz said goodbye to being a preschool teacher. On July, 14th, she will be flying out to Australia where she will be living for a full year. My aunt Nadine set her up in a work program that will find her work 6 months out of the year allowing her to play for the other 6 months. She gets to break it up how she wants. She'll be traveling with Carol, a friend she met through our work. It's bittersweet for us girls.. soo happy that she is doing one of her dreams, but it will be MUCH too quiet without her :)
Since we are losing two teachers, the staff from our school went out (on a school night) to celebrate at a Australian bar in Seattle. Perfect place! Also one morning after picture. Staying up that late and being able to function isn't as easy as it used to be.
Friday was the actual last day of work where all the classes gathered for one big send off.
Crescent Lake! 6.12-6.13.09
Alicia, Liz and I took a completely spontaneous trip to Crescent Lake on Friday and came home late on Saturday. Took about 4 hours including the ferry boat ride, but was so BEAUTIFUL! We rented a little cabin big enough for three, stayed up late on Friday. Woke up early on Saturday to get some good pictures in and was able to feed a mama duck and her ducklings! They came straight to us. Got dressed, drove to First beach in La Push, Wa., where we saw some sea lions. Had lunch and looked around near by towns. Came back to Lake Crescent to ride the hydro bikes before heading home!
Bike season! 6.2.09
Just a afternoon bike ride to the Tuesday farmers market in good ol' Carnation where they have honey sticks and donuts the size of your hand. We also went around 3 miles out to a lake that we don't know the name of because we just found out it exists! It has canons for rent so that may be in our near future. On the way home we forgot we needed to go to the store for dog food so instead of going back for the car, we made things interesting. Mike made a lot of left turns.
Vivaaaaaa Las Vegas! 5.21-5.23
Mike won a trip to Vegas over a year ago from one of his clients and we just now got around to taking it! Mike planned it the weekend of my birthday so our last day of work was a Wednesday, we left Seattle at 6:00 am on Thursday and were eating breakfast at the Hard Rock by 9 am. LOTS of fun. We spent a lot of time by the pool and most of Friday walking the strip to see everything. The celebrities were everywhere.... batman and joker, red M&M guy... the list goes on. We actually did walk into our hotel right behind Mike Tyson, but didn't care enough to get a picture or autograph. Loved our time there, but 3 days was enough. Glad to be home:)
Prom 09'!
Actually, for Tarah, it's TWO proms in 2009. Her boyfriend Nick attends Canby High so the first pictures are from his prom at the end of April and and second are from North Marion's early may prom.
Finally Spring!! 4.3.09
The first day we got to eat outside and be fairly warm! All around our house we're finding TONS of blooming flowers and plants that are all new to us since we moved in mid November. Almost time to garden! Or at least learn how!
Bowling!
A friend of ours had a birthday and as a surprise we took her bowling which is something we haven't done in forever! Forgot how much fun it was. And not that these things matter, but...... Mike and I tied. I guess he can only beat me a Wii bowling.
1.23.09
Hockey! Our friends Megan and Nick took us to our first hockey game in Kent, WA. It was actually pretty interesting even without random fights. We may become regulars!
The man we asked to take our picture had no patience for us to stand next to the right guy so we improvised for picture sake and it was everyone's favorite picture after. We look so happy with other men because we were laughing so hard. Funny stuff!
After we got back Megan and I found out how much Mike and Nick really have in common.
1.22.09
Elite Fitness hosts an annual charity event called 'Train the Trainer'. Clients get to pay for time to train any trainer they want, doing what ever they want. $50 buys you 5 minutes. All donations go to the Austin Foundation which is helping to fight obesity in children. Clients requests range from yoga posses, making them do the work out they hate the most to eating gummy bears in the push up position. Mike had to stay in the push up position, go down and pick up a gummy bear with his mouth, finish eating it before he could go on to the other 9 gummy bears without dropping a knee. I supported Mike by watching with a plate of the delicious food they served, in my hands. The Elite team always has a good time together no matter what they are doing so it really is fun to watch. The link below is from the Seattle Times who attended and did an article on the event. For those who watch the TV reality show 'The Bachelor', this seasons current bachelor trains at Elite which is great because he is causing a lot of attention towards the gym. During the first episode he was shown going in to the gym to work out which was a great advertisement and he has only spoke highly of the business creating big potential for more clients. Whoo hoo!!
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/flatpages/video/thebachelorgetsintoitatbellevuefundraiser.html
11.9.08 & 11.10.08
Liz, our friend Carol and I went to see Jason Mraz Sunday the ninth. Loads of fun. Liz and I have been fans for a good, long while so her and I went AGAIN to see him the following night for his acoustic show.
10.24.08
Sarah and Nate came up for a weekend visit! Nate's birthday was the Wednesday before so Saturday we took them to the zoo then out to a few places in Seattle to celebrate.
10.18.08
Tarah was homecoming princess! Brother Mike drove Ron's judge around the track during the halftime show at the Friday night football game and thought he was pretty cool. I told her I wasn't going to make it, but husband Mike and I surprised her by showing up before the court show started. Saturday night was the big dance. I helped her do her make-up which is funny since I don't really wear make-up myself. That's trust.
The first three pictures are from Friday night and the lower three are Saturday before she left for the dance. She went with her boyfriend Nick.
10.17.08
Mike and other trainers played waiter at a 'pink poker party' to raise money for a charity supporting the fight against AIDS.
9.28.08
There was an Italian festival in Seattle this weekend where I volunteered in a grape stomping competition. My team lost, but I got a free shirt and my feet felt nice afterward!
Marsh Wedding! 8.2.08
Rachel and Bryce! Couldn't be happier for these two! High school sweethearts who have shown nothing but respect for one another. Great, great couple. The wedding was at Rachel's parents house in the evening overlooking the water. Absolutely gorgeous and 100% Bryce and Rachel's style. Congrats!!
Ramsden Wedding! 7.12.08
Sarah and Nate made it official!! And Nate made Sarah and I cousins!! I love this couple with everything I got and I was thrilled to see them join together at their BEAUTIFUL wedding. I was blessed enough to be Sarah's maid of honor and get to stand right next to her as she became a wife. Very cool.
Sarah's Parties!!
I threw her two bachelorette parties. Number one was help at a steak house where a group of us girls dressed up in our finest to celebrate Sarah's true love for the country. Yes, we wore it out in public and stayed true to our parts all night... with accents and everything. We also thought of dares for her to do throughout the night and put them into a John Deere hat for her to pick out of. After, we all went back to my mom's for a slumber party/spa party!
Second party was just for the bridal party (not all could make it) where we took her out to a fun, what I call, "grown up arcade" then out on the town later on.
The bridal shower was just as fun. It was held At my mom's pool on a really sunny day. Not everyone enjoys the silly games that are played at these parties so I tried to be original. My favorite was breaking the ladies into groups (4 groups in all) and giving each group tiny, un-iced cakes that I made earlier. Each group had to design a wedding cake for Sarah, but all the decorations were across the pool area. Rules were that no teammate could stay behind while the others run for decorations and each team may only use one decoration at a time. These ladies got into it... I mean bookin' it. All were actually very creative too. We ended with Nate surprise crashing the party and quizzing his future bride with a "how well do you know me" quiz. FUNNY. All in all it was a really fun day for her.
Hiking 08'
The girls (Liz,Alicia,Sarah,Rachel) and I decided to make an annual "girl's weekend" starting with this year and a hiking trip up Smith Rock! We made it to the top, had lunch, checked out the view, and slllooowly came down. We never have a dual moment together. Love these girls.
