August 15, 2002

Even though the summer's not officially over, the busy-ness of ours is behind us. It was fabulous, but we're relieved to have some nothing-planned weekends ahead, for a little while anyway. So here's what we've been doing since June:
My dad and Dotti came over for Father's Day brunch, which I prepared with some help from the dad in OUR house. Finally tried the Spinach-Strawberry Salad, and got many thumbs up. It's delicious! Although Dad (Curt) is feeling a bit weak these days, he had a good time playing with the grandchildren and even got some cuddle time with Katie. Vic's Father's Day gift was a Palm m125 and he hasn't put it down since (when he can get it away from Katie).
Amusing anecdote time! Besides Vic's new PDA, he also recently got a new cell phone. After carrying handfuls of gadgets to work for a week, he came home one day and said, "I need something to carry this stuff in! I'm worried I'll drop my phone, and the Palm is too big to carry, I have no place for my wallet (it makes his scrub pants fall down!). I don't want to put something down and lose it." I replied, "Honey, what you need is a purse!" and then I laughed and laughed and laughed. He found a "guide bag" at Eddie Bauer, which looks like a small-ish messenger bag and has room for all of the above, along with places for pens, stamps, and lipstick. His co-workers call him "Girlfriend," and he endures relentless taunting at home too.
If Martin weren't on my you-know-what list right now, I'd insert a joke about him and his purse here.
Debi visited over a long weekend in June, and as always we had a fantastical time. We shopped, stamped, scrapbooked, and hung out with the kids.
I am officially back into scrapbooking, especially after sorting through pictures from the past 2½ years and realizing how many details I'd forgotten about many of them. I'm trying to get Katie's stuff done first, and then I'll start on Jack's. Although it's an awful lot of fun--especially to see the finished layouts--I am way too much of a perfectionist to get pages done very quickly. It's a slow process, and Vic is getting tired of all my supplies being spread out on the dining room table. (Hey, can you think of a better use for that space???)
This, of course, makes us both think that we want to add a room onto the house. It didn't help to see Ted & Jocelyn's new sun room, which is gorgeous, and made us want something like that for ourselves. Actually, our new room would be more of an office for us, and the current office would become a project/guest/TV room. Ah, dreams... we're pretty sure this will never happen.
We got a bunch of stuff done in our backyard, and it's finally finished. Only took us four years. Someday I'll post pictures.
Fourth of July was so much fun! Darlene and Wellington came down with Julianne and Jacob, who'd come home from Paris ahead of Chris and Sonya. My mom also joined us, so the grandparent to grandchild ratio was quite favorable. We had a traditional BBQ dinner and then spent the evening in the front yard watching our neighbors set off their illegal fireworks.
When Chris and Sonya got to the states in mid-July, we raced up to Seattle to spend a weekend with them before they got too busy with their five-week to-do list. While there we were also able to attend Alec's 4th birthday party, which was great fun for everyone! Jim, April, and Emma came over one night with a box of Krispy Kreme donuts, which means they're our favorite people EVER!
We had to go up again the next weekend for a portrait session with all six Manullang grandchildren. You can just imagine what a nightmare that half hour was, and I'd prefer not to dredge up the awful memories to share. But surprisingly there were actually a couple really good shots! Check them out here.
The weekend after that we all headed to Sunriver for a long weekend. Jocelyn and Abby were the only ones who weren't there--Dennis, Dee, Elissa, and Brianna even drove up from southern California to join us! We had a very fun birthday celebration for Daryl and Vic at Daryl and Sally's gorgeous new house, and otherwise spent time most our time doing Sunriver stuff. The trails were perfect for trying out our new Razor scooters!
We left Sunriver and headed to Walla Walla for a day to see my mom and grandma. Our timing was right, because Uncle Paul and Claire were there too. Although it was a really quick visit, we were glad we could get up there to see them.
Kathy visited a couple weeks ago. I didn't see much of her because she stayed at Dad's, but she said they had a good visit together. She'll be back again for her 20th reunion at Laurelwood in October.
Last week I put shelves up in the office. They look great, if I do say so myself, and have created a whole series of new projects (re-organizing all closets and cabinets where books were previously stored, etc.). This was not quite the effect I was hoping for, but it needed to be done anyway. If it's normal to take years to finally complete plans for rooms in one's home, then why do I feel so lazy for taking so long?
Darlene came down with Julianne and Jacob again last week and we made a trip to the Oregon Zoo. Katie loved it; Jack didn't really care. I was exhausted from walking in the heat, but it was an awful lot of fun anyway. My favorite critters: lorikeets and otters. My least favorite critters: every monkey ever in the history of the world.
We were back in Seattle again this past weekend for Emma Jordan's first birthday party. She's a cutie! Pictures soon.
Katie is talking more than ever these days, and has begun to show a keen interest in the mirror and what she wears. She has absolutely LOVED spending so much time with her cousins this summer, and has even picked up some of their funny traits. We're thinking that their advanced language skills (they are in school, after all!) are rubbing off on her too: when Jacob first got here he was "Gape-up" and over a few weeks he became "Jacob." Impressive, hm?
Jack, aka Bamm-Bamm, is crawling and standing and THIS close to walking. He's 9 months old as of Tuesday. Four teeth, all on the bottom. Loves tormenting Katie.
I was trying to get through a very enjoyable book this summer but kept getting interrupted with all of our projects, trips, and visitors (not complaining! not complaining!). One of the benefits of things slowing down a little, now, is that I might be able to get some reading done. I've got a long list of things to pick up at the library and look forward to escaping into something entertaining soon.
Well, this whole update is kind of half-assed since I've posted very few new pictures. I promise, they'll come soon. If you had the migraine I've had for the past couple days you'd understand that I can barely type, much less dig through a zillion digital photos to choose some to share with you. Maybe this one will tide you over?
Aw, Mom!Bossy Sonya spoils all the fun
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XOXOXO--