Every year the TnT boys camp out. The last two years it has been at the BP Park. This is a great place to camp because there is horseshoes, tennis courts, a large grassy field for baseball, soccer or volley ball. There is a place for a large camp fire, a covered area in case it rains, bathrooms (with a shower if you are inclined - the boys weren't) and places to BBQ. John and the boys took off around 10am on Saturday and returned around noon on Sunday. I told John that if he didn't take any photos he was in big trouble. Hence this year I have photos to share. Highlights of the trip included a sunburn (yes, here in the rainy PW they actually got a sunburn), a water balloon fight, catching a crow, eating 20+ pieces of licorice, smores and stick carvings. There was lunch on Saturday, dinner and breakfast provided. The boys had to help with each meal which I'm glad of. One of the leaders helped Isaac and Job carve three sticks into a figure 4 trap. Some of the kids said that it would never work. Saturday something ate the bait but didn't spring the trap. However on Sunday morning the trap was sprung and when the boys investigated they found the wing of a crow sticking out of he box. When they raised the box slightly to peek in, the crow flew away. Isaac was estatic - it worked! The first thing Job asked me when he saw me the next day was, "Guess what I lost!" huge smile on his face. "Your jackknife?" "No, my tooth! eating GrapeVine Licorice!" This will make the third tooth in a week. He's already missing two naturally and now another three have fallen out, two more are loose. The kid will have go back to baby food if they fall out. John had a great time talking to the other dads, playing soccer and hanging out with his boys. Goodtimes by all.
Chaque annee, les garcon dans Awana (c'est un groupe Chretien) font du camping. Les deux annee passee c'est au parc du BP. C'est un bon place parce qu'il y a un courte du tennis, un grand place de jouer le football et le base-ball, un puits du feu, et un place couvert. Les garcons peuvent allee au plage aussi. Isaac contruit un piege et attrappe un corbeau. Les autre garcons lui ont dit que ca ne marche pas. Ils etaient errones. Job avait perdu une autre dents. Pendant une semaine, il a perdu trois dents et avec deux dents manque naturalment, il y a presque ni dents dans sa bouche. Deux autre dents sont lache aussi. Job et Isaac jouent le football, avait un guerre avec des balloon d'eau, mange toute, et ont un temps tres bon. Ils quitent la maison a dix heures du matin samedi et retournent chez nous a midi dimanche. John a parle avec les autres peres et a joue le footballe avec les garcons. Il dit qu'ils n'ont pas dormir bien parce que Job se leve beaucoup de temps et parler dans son sommeil. Mais il dit que tous avait un bon temps, lui aussi.
Chaque annee, les garcon dans Awana (c'est un groupe Chretien) font du camping. Les deux annee passee c'est au parc du BP. C'est un bon place parce qu'il y a un courte du tennis, un grand place de jouer le football et le base-ball, un puits du feu, et un place couvert. Les garcons peuvent allee au plage aussi. Isaac contruit un piege et attrappe un corbeau. Les autre garcons lui ont dit que ca ne marche pas. Ils etaient errones. Job avait perdu une autre dents. Pendant une semaine, il a perdu trois dents et avec deux dents manque naturalment, il y a presque ni dents dans sa bouche. Deux autre dents sont lache aussi. Job et Isaac jouent le football, avait un guerre avec des balloon d'eau, mange toute, et ont un temps tres bon. Ils quitent la maison a dix heures du matin samedi et retournent chez nous a midi dimanche. John a parle avec les autres peres et a joue le footballe avec les garcons. Il dit qu'ils n'ont pas dormir bien parce que Job se leve beaucoup de temps et parler dans son sommeil. Mais il dit que tous avait un bon temps, lui aussi.
July 9th marked our 15th wedding anniversary. We dated for 5 years before that. I've known John for 20 years, more than half my life. Sometimes it seems like yesterday that we were planning our wedding but then it seems like we've been here forever. I have to say that I do love him more now than when we said our vows. I can't believe how much he has made my dreams come true, not just the monetary or materialistic dreams but the relational dreams as well. God has truly blessed my with John as my husband. Some things that I appreciate about him:
He compliments me (one of my love languages)
He is always thinking of the family ( I was going to buy him a video game but he wanted to make sure it was appropriate to play with the kids)
He works hard at work and at home.
He helps out around the house.
He doesn't take any attitude from the kids or me.
He loves to laugh with the kids, especially when they are being witty.
He likes to play chess with the kids.
He has a very soft heart.
He planned a get away night and took me to Whidbey Island on our anniversary! Ok, the last one I do appreciate but it is just icing on the cake.
We borrowed a little red Miata (thank you so much) and left the kids with a very capable sitter (for pre-teens) and left town. It was wonderful. I had a captive audience all the way to Coupeville. I knew we were going to have a great time when he purchased two diet Cokes and a package of peanut M&Ms. Usually we share a Coke which he drinks and he doesn't buy candy. We showed up in Coupeville and drove around town a little, stopped at the visiter center to pick up some brochures then drove to our hotel. We walked around town, out on the pier and to the restaurant for dinner. After dinner, John gave me the keys. We ended at Fort Casey. We walked all over the old gun batteries, bunkers and ammo storage holds. I was telling John that this would be a great photo shoot for a wedding, not 10 minutes later a wedding party came out with the photographer. Love it when that happens. The next day we drove to Fort Ebey and hiked all over. We plan on bringing the kids this summer for some hiking for the day. It was so beautiful! Then onto home and back to reality.
C'est 15 annees depuis notre ceromonie de marriage. Ca passe vite mais ca passe bien. J'appris beaucoup dans le temps. Je pense que j'adore mon mari plus maintenant que le jour de notre ceromonie. Quelques chose que j'apprecie au sujet de John.
Il m'aime.
Il a patience avec moi et les enfants.
Il pense a les enfants avant de lui.
Il aime de jouer avec moi et les enfants.
Il discipline les enfants.
Il rit avec mois.
Il m'aide avec la maison et le diner.
Il me pris a Ile de Whidbey pour le nuit sans enfants!
Nous quittons la maison dans un voiture convertible. La jour est beau et chaud. Nous arrivons a Coupeville et faisons un petit tour. Apres nous avons trouver l'hotel nous avons allee au pier et diner. Le soir, nous avons conduise au Fort Casey. Fort Casey avait des grands pistoles pour garder les Etats Unis entre 1940 et 1945 mais nous n'utilisons pas les pistoles. C'est annee nous avons etudie les deux grand guerres. C'est des sujet vrais triste mais c'est vraiment importante d'apprendre. Nous avons decide de prendre les enfants ici cette ete. Le jour prochain, nous avons a Fort Ebey. La, nous avons fait une promenade au pied dans le parc et apres returner chez nous. Il y a deux jours parfait avec mon mari.
Today Lona turned 8! I can hardly believe that but it is true. I thought that I had everything planned out. She has been wanting a "SPY" birthday so I looked online, ordered some stuff and started planning only to have her say to me the very next day that she wanted a Chinese Birthday. HUH? Ok, I'm saving the spy gagets for Job's birthday (don't tell him) and am now planning a surprise party for him. He'll have to solve the clues to find out. This did not leave enough time to order Chinese supplies for Lona's party. Oh, well. Instead I found paper balls at Target, made fortune cookies (very easy, really) with personal messages and went to the dollar store for little goodie buckets. The girls dressed as Asian as possible which was very cool. I am very fortunate to have this wonderful girl come over and teach the birthday guests how to draw chinese calligraphy. They used special ink and paint brushes and learned friend, my, and love. It was very impressive. They played on the trampoline, in the swimming pool, watched Kung Fu Panda, ate spring rolls, fortune cookies, yans yans, ice cream and drank tea. It was wonderfully fun and Lona said it was her best birthday. But it wasn't over yet, John watched her swimming lessons in the morning and we all went out to Red Robin for dinner where she was clapped and sang to. We opened family presents at home and watch The Pink Panther. What a day.
Au jourd'hui Lona est huit ans. Ca passe tres vite. Je pense que j'ai tout pense qu'est ce que nous faisons pour sa fete. Elle veut un fete d'espionage. Alors, j'atchete quelques jouets d'espionage pour les enfants. Le matin prochain, elle me dit qu'elle veut un fete chinoise. Quoi? Alors, je mets les jouets dans un tiroir pour utilizer avec le fete d'anniversaire de Job. Il est trop tarde d'achete quelques chose chinoise par internet pour le fete alors je trouve des balles de papier et des seaus et des fleurs pour les filles. J'ai fais des biscuits au fortune. Une filles qui apprendre les lettre chinoise. Elle enseigne des mots ami, amour, joyeux et anniversaire en chinoise. Les filles ont ecrit les mots chinoise, allees dans le piscine et le trempoline, vue un film et manges les glace, les biscuit au fortune et bu des the. Elle pense que la jour est parfait. John la vue ses lessons de nuager et nouse avons alles au restaurant pour le dinner ou les serveurs la chante bonne anniversaire et apres nous voyons un autre filme. Oui, je pense que c'est un jour parfait pour un fille de huit ans.
I was trying to figure out how long we've been picking strawberries together. The earliest pictures are from 2006 but I was sure that we've done this for more than just 4 years together. Our tradition is for Wendi to let me know that the strawberries are ready to pick. If it wasn't for Wendi, I'd never figure it out in time. Then we plan a morning, gather up all the kids and go out to Boxx Berry Farms for about an hour. Each child gets a bucket. We are assigned a row and we pick behind the kids, gathering the berries that they have left behind. The kids usually race to see who can fill up their bucket the fastest. After was have 3 buckets or so of berries per family we pay and head over to the store to eat ice cream. It's tradition. This year, Lona couldn't join us because she had soccer camp instead and we missed her.
2006 photo
Chaque annee nous selectionnons des fraise avec notres amis. Le premiere photo que j'avais et depuis 2006, mais je pense que nous avons l'alles avant ca. Mon ami trouve quand c'est le temps pour les fraises, puis nous avons decides quelle matin d'aller. Chaque personne ont un seau. Nous allons deriere les enfants pour trouver tous les bonnes fraise qu'ils ont laisser. Les enfants font un course qui peut choisir les plus. Apres nous avons trois seau des fraise par familee, nous paions et aller d'acheter des glaces. C'est comme ca chaque annee mais c'est annee, Lona n'est pas avec nous au cause de le football. Elle nous manquons.
2006 photo
Chaque annee nous selectionnons des fraise avec notres amis. Le premiere photo que j'avais et depuis 2006, mais je pense que nous avons l'alles avant ca. Mon ami trouve quand c'est le temps pour les fraises, puis nous avons decides quelle matin d'aller. Chaque personne ont un seau. Nous allons deriere les enfants pour trouver tous les bonnes fraise qu'ils ont laisser. Les enfants font un course qui peut choisir les plus. Apres nous avons trois seau des fraise par familee, nous paions et aller d'acheter des glaces. C'est comme ca chaque annee mais c'est annee, Lona n'est pas avec nous au cause de le football. Elle nous manquons.
On a Friday morning John drove out to work just for a few hours. He works four ten hours days and so he doesn't really need to go to work on Fridays but it is a chance for him to get ready for the next week, tidy up, go through emails and stuff like that. He had a project meeting coming up and wanted to make sure his ducks were in a row. I had a physical therapy appointment so I was gone. When I arrived home I received this message on the answering machine. "Hello Leslie, I've been involved in an accident. I'm fine, it's taking a while for the highway patrolman to arrive." I immediately called him at work. He was indeed fine but not the truck. We had someone look at it and it was totaled. We were not looking at getting a new truck. In fact I was not looking at any newer vehicles for a long long time (four years or more). It's been a little over a week and John's neck and back are still sore. We have no word yet on replacing the truck but I'm hoping that we will hear about it this week. John was driving down Grandview (it's a 50 mph road) and the person in front was making a left hand turn so he stopped. John slowed down and stopped as well. Unfortunately the person behind him didn't and had enough time to press on the brakes and then hit him. Apparently he wasn't paying attention/dozed off. We are so thankful that it wasn't worse which it could have been. Our kids weren't in the truck otherwise the back of their heads would have hit the back window hard. The back seats don't have head rests. John did not hit the car in front and the other driver wasn't seriously hurt either. He called John the other day and I guess he has some bruising from the seat belt but he was wearing a seat belt thankfully. It's always good to count our blessings and times like this make us aware that our lives are truly in the hands of our Creator.
John travaille pour dix heures par jour chacque semaine lundi jusque jeudi. Vendredi John travaille pour trois ou quatre heures mais ce n'est pas necessaire. Je vais chez docteur pour mon dos et quand je retourn chez moi j'ai ecoute un message par repondeur. "Leslie, c'est moi. Je suis dans un accident mais je suis d'accorde. Je n'ai pas sur avec le camion." Je vit le telephone et oui il est d'accorde. Mais le camion n'est pas. Nous pouvons condruire le camion mais nous ne pouvons pas remorquez un bateau et le chaisse est pli. Il faut que nous achetons un nouveau camion. Nous sommes reconnaisant que les enfant n'est pas dans le camion. Nous sommes reconnaisant que John ou l'autre garcon n'est pas tres mal. Nous sommes reconnaisant que John n'a pas frappe le voiture devant lui. Notre vie est dans le main de notre Dieu.
