It seems like we're finally having the summer weather we've been waiting for. We've had a few warm days and it looks like a number more are in the forecast. But, it's back to school for Benjamin (Tues) and Krissy (Wed) this week.It's been a really good summer for many reasons. Krissy had an excellent experience at ACAP. They had several children with biting issues, and that was hard on the staff. It also became apparent that Krissy was one of the easier ones...welcome news for us. She really seemed to enjoy the variety of activities and we were blessed by Missy (who was hired by ACAP and also works for us) coming by in the mornings for any last minute getting ready...then took her to ACAP for the day, and brought her back home.
Benjamin, as I mentioned last post, has had a happy summer. I can't believe our 'baby' is going to middle school. This will be a new FLS (Functional Living Skills) classroom after K-5 at the same school, so I'll be going in to spend part of the day Tuesday with him. I need to teach the staff about his care and how he communicates. I've heard good things about his new teacher and the OTA for the classroom is a friend of ours from church, so we're optomistic about this change....though I would have been most happy leaving him with Merrie, his teacher we really love and appreciate from his previous classroom.
Krissy had a very fun birthday...we did go to the hotel in Sandy. She got one swim time in before Larry showed up with pizza. Then she and some of the kids went again and that was lots of fun. But she was so hyper about it being her birthday the next day, we realized we probably were not going to have the best night...so we began reviewing possible options. In the end, Anne went to spend the night with Emily, Larry & David decided they would enjoy staying at the hotel and watching a movie (Safeway was right next door, to rent one) and so Jamie, Ben, Krissy and I came home to sleep. It was a good decision :o) Krissy was happy because Jamie spent the night in her room with her. Ben and I were happy getting a good night sleep. Krissy and I headed back up Friday morning to enjoy breakfast with the guys. Missy picked Krissy up at noon from the hotel while I came home to decorate the cake and Anne worked on decorating the house for party time at 4 pm. She was so happy with how things went and got a number of things she had been hoping for.

Larry and I enjoyed a further celebration of our anniversary (early August) today by going on a small sailboat ride on the Willamette River. This was one of those Groupon deals from several months ago that caught my eye. It really was nice. Just 6 people (incl. us) plus the skipper. We boarded at the marina right at Newport Bay, and we had a wonderful lunch when we got back. It was a beautiful day to be on the water and we had a nice time...visiting is often hard at home with so much activity. We are feeling some twinges of sadness anticipating the next few months of not just one leaving the nest, but two. No, Jamie isn't getting married....but she has applied to go to Grand Canyon University in Phoenix in January. She's flying down next week to look over the school and talk further with them. She has several good friends there and they have a strong nursing program. She hopes to be accepted into the program next fall and thought it would be good to finish the pre-requisites and be an existing student when she applies for it. She thinks most of the pre-req's she's taken the last 2 years at Mt Hood will transfer and she'll continue working on those this fall term. We know if she goes in January, she'll likely be back for the summer (who wants to be in Phoenix in the summer?) but we'll sure miss her. David and Emily will be close by, thankfully. We enjoy seeing Emily often since she's here helping with Benjamin frequently. She's done such a great job with him. I think that will probably continue after they are married. David has stepped up in being much more involved with the 2 younger kids and they enjoy the time he spends with them.

Mom is doing well....she's had lots of 'grandma fixes' the last couple weeks. Jacob & Amy and kids were here from Boston. We got together with them a couple times....then their flight home was canceled due to the hurricane, so with an extra week here Amy and Emily (my other niece) planned a family get together last Wed evening, so there was a houseful. Emily and mom went berry picking Friday, so mom shared a wonderful blackberry cobbler with Larry and I this evening.

Anne is gearing up for the early college program that has her at MHCC this fall. She's very motivated about her classes and I think this will be a good fit for her. Lots of good friends are there and for the most part she's happy with her classes/schedule. Like Jamie, since she's entering this program as a Jr.. she will likely graduate from high school 'on time' at 18, with 2 years of college under her belt. She's very ready to get the algebra over and done with....which I can relate to VERY easily. She is going to be doing childcare for the Women's Bible Study at Good Shepherd on Wed am's this year....I decided since I'm taking her out and picking her up, I should just sign up and stay. We'll be studying Ephesians and Colossians. Larry and I plan to be in the same home group as last year on Wed. evenings as well.
Larry is continuing hard work in the front yard, digging the massive roots out from the tree he removed. Our niece's husband is coming tomorrow to talk about putting sod down in the next few weeks. We didn't want to kill the existing grass (spray) until our blueberry crop was over...but I think we're ready now. Pictures? maybe, sometime....but we have new plants and trees we'll need to put in as well, so that may not be until spring.
Bye bye for now~