Williams - Aquarium

Shark Tunnel

 Shark's mouth

 Clear colored jellyfish

 That is a orange jellyfish right above Herb's head.

Took the kids to an Aquarium on Saturday at the Coast. Had a great time. Their favorite part was being able to touch some of the sea life. We watched the sea otters and sea lions feedings and they put on a small show for us, walked through the shark tunnel, and then flew kites at the beach.

Williams - Domesticated

I canned pears all by myself on Friday. Something I have never done before and it was successful.

Yeah! Aren't they beautiful?

Don't Know Where She Gets It

Williams - Nothing much

It has been a long time since I posted but not much has been happening. Herb has been gone for almost the whole month of September, between work and hunting, I have felt like a single mom the last few weeks. Sage started 2nd grade and is loving it. The weather has been the warmest it has been all summer and the most depressing part is that we haven't taken the boat out once in the 90 degree weather because Herb hasn't been around. Herbie and Sage are playing soccer right now and it is fun to watch them. This is Herbie's first year and he is really into it. He even scored 6 goals last game. On Saturday, we took the kids to the Oregon Historical Society (had a free pass). It was rock n roll family day so they got to make rock n roll sunglasses and play the drums. The musuem was okay, not worth the price we would have had to pay but interesting. It is neat to expose the kids to some history and different cultures.  Herb's family is officially moved. They left us and are clear across the country as far from us as you can get, Florida. Here are some pics from our day. We also went to the farmer's market and the kids got free waterproof glitter tattos. They last a couple days. Aren't they cool?

From My Hometown's Paper

this.

Williams - Boating/Camping

Last weekend we went camping and boating with some good friends. A couple of our friends drove from Idaho and California a met up with us to spend three wonderful days in the dust, sun, heat, and water. We loved every minute of it. I got to try out my brand new tent that Herb bought me for my birthday. It is the nice blue tent in the picture with Herbie hugging Brooklyn. Nora absolutely loves the tube and the boat and kept saying "wanna go, wanna go". She couldn't get enough and would cry if she wasn't on the tube.

Williams - Expecting Unexpectedly

Yes, it is true. Baby #4 is in the oven. March 16th is the magic number.

Cabin

The kids think lawn camping is camping camping! Wahoo! Hehehe... fooled 'em. Throw in some s'mores and a hot dog for authenticity and BAM! Camping!

My nanny (Rosario) doesn't typically work weekends but for this an exception was made. She came up Sunday morning to hit the ol' white church with us and then watched Ben while we went on a hike.

Janna and Mike were at a fancy wedding at a vineyard in Sonoma, CA. for the weekend so we were +1. Janna and Mike's life is like Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous. Honestly, every weekend they are going somewhere spectacular. (Mike, Skywest) Not only was Tessa (from an old Bachelor) a bridesmaid in the wedding party but Janna also ran into Ben from the most recent Bachelorette. Janna looks here like she's on The Bachelor... Why do I love that show so much? Anyone else minimizing their morals by watching The Bachelor Pad now? It's THE greatest train wreck. I find it impossible to look away.


That's about it these days for me.

Heading to Newport and then Santa Barbara the end of this month. My Grandpa is having a 90th birthday celebration! Granted, he'll fade in and out of knowing who I am but I'm also looking forward to seeing the fam and extended fam.

I've taken the hint everyone is sick of hearing about goats and agrarian fortresses.

I'll try to acquire some new interests.

Like time travel.

Which reminds me... we saw Eric Barnum. We were setting up the tent on the lawn and we heard, "Hi." I didn't hear anyone drive up, either. And then to look up and see just about the most unexpected person in the world, well, I just love when that happens. I guess he was at the reservoir and saw someone was at the cabin and stopped to say hello.

But I do totally love when that happens. No sounds. No warning. It's like he just stepped quietly out from behind the veil or from another dimension or something. Once my brother-in-law Mike came in my downstairs sliding door and I didn't hear him. He came silently up the stairs only to trip on the last one. He caught his fall but it had this tear-out- of- the- fifth- dimension effect as he stumbled into my kitchen. Or a just- dumped- in- from- the- future effect.

One More Time

Click here please.

Makes me smile every time (It's just delightful!). I know I've posted it before.

I don't have my dream homestead with solar panels, well water, basement full of seeds and bullets and gold bullion and apparatuses for printing my own coin. For now, I'll just keep visualizing my milk goat surrounded in a golden glow, hopefully magnetizing it to myself.

BAAAAA...

I turned on the TV late last night to hear this. My stomach dropped identically to a real sudden fall of the physical body. I've been watching/waiting for this. Think I'm overreacting? We'll see...

Here we go, folks...

Buckle up!

Williams - Crazy Hair

We celebrated my friends Lisa, Julie, and Adrianna's birthdays with a Big Fat Greek Birthday Party. We were told to come with big hair so I went all out. You may also remember the pink necklace and pink vest from my goodbye party 10 years ago. Check out my big hair. My kids were cracking up.

Holy Moly!

My Aunt Kris saves a life! Read all about it.

Can't wait to hear more about it when we go visit my fam the end of this month.

LONGING FOR MY FANTASY RANCH HOUSE

Because my last drawer project was so widely acclaimed, I would like to share my latest work with you. I made pop-up books with Anika during Ben's nap. Echo with me now ...
l o n g d a y f o r a h o u s e w i f e. I love my life and kids but man, how endlessly long is a summer's day!



...Together they enjoyed a beautiful agrarian life, complete with milk goats, a gun nest, and solar panels. THE END.

That's really all I've ever wanted for myself and my family. And only marginally for myself when compared to how much I want my kids to grow up how I did. Our property bordered the National Forest. We had horses, cats, a dog, a bunny, even a pigeon coop! (My Mom had a raising-messenger-pigeons phase. Until coyotes got inside the coop!) If we had so much as a 10X10 patch of grass, I would immediately get Anika a puppy. I think pets are such a huge part of childhood.

We played outside from morning until night. I'm pretty sure no one was watching us, either. We would roam all over and had forts everywhere. I wish I could set my kids free outside. Where we lived, there were no roads or kidnappers. We were free to be kids. We didn't wear shoes all summer. For now, I'm doing the best I can with the situation we've got...

...Which is the back porch, parks, etc.

100+ degress on a July evening... transformers costume with long pants underneath, and mittens! Why not? I purchase fewer clothes since entering Anika's dress-herself phase. She just wears the same five things repeatedly.


Dear Boonies,

I'm coming someday. I promise.

Forever yours,

Alana.



Have I ever told you the story of my childhood home and how it was built? My parents bought an old home, disassembled the entire thing, and moved it (partly by helicopter) to our new lot and put it back together in a new shape! Not kidding! My Mom planned every last square inch herself! She had to use everything from the old house... windows, etc. to design a new home. Even down to each single light switch and its location was my Mom's design. It was amazing.

I was just a baby but the older kids had to help in the huge project. They even used the same bricks from the old place and the kids' job was to scrape the mortar off the old bricks. They had a song that they sang to the tune of I've been workin' on the railroad. IT went... "I've been workin' on the brick pile"... and they still sing it sometimes to reminisce.

AMAZEBALLS!