Category Archives: Addyson May

Youth Soccer Season 2026

Tonight will be the final game for our short summer soccer season. There were fewer practices and games this season because of all the wildfires in our area which caused unhealthy air quality. Congratulations to our Grands for a well played season and to our son who coaches well.

This week the air was clear and we had games Monday through Thursday. Two games each for our ‘Grands’.

While at the game on Wednesday night,  the water bucket helicopters were still hard at work helping with the fires that are not contained yet.

The Wednesday game was later than usual so we got the bonus of seeing the sunset on our way home.

After the game tonight, our folding chairs will be back in storage until the next season.

Good Things

I started another thrift store puzzle and it’s a tough one.

I’m making slow but good progress.

Josh and Laura surprised me with this puzzle in the mail. They chose this one because our VBS theme this year was centered around Psalm 23. I’m looking forward to starting it soon. Thank you, Laura and Josh for your thoughtfulness!

On Thursday Addy and JJ were over in the afternoon so we made Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies with walnuts. They are at an age where all I have to do is watch while they mix and load the cookie sheets. They are experienced in the kitchen. We threw caution to the wind and enjoyed a little cookie dough, too.

The big news is that the skies were not smoky on Thursday because of our rain. That meant that soccer games were not cancelled and we could finally watch Addy and JJ play soccer. There games were on adjoining fields. It was a cool evening on the soccer fields.

The skies continue to be glorious and the air is good to breath. We are over the top grateful. It is exhilarating to say the least to have our clear skies again.

Have a great Saturday!

Eye of Tigger Hodgepodge

It’s time for the last Wednesday Hodgepodge of July. Thank you, Joyce!

1. What was the last thing you celebrated? 

The 4th of July and the 250th Birthday of the U.S.A.

2. July 29th is International Day of the Tiger. Besides the wild animal itself, when you hear the word tiger what’s the first  person-place-thing-whatever that comes to mind? 

I think of Tigger the Tiger. If there was a Tiger in my life I wouldn’t want to expose the fact here because they might just come after me! (Seriously) I’m happy to avoid tigers.

Our niece Hope and Grand Nephew Jackson with Tigger at Disneyland in 2009! Hope is headed to college in August and Jack is done with college and getting married in October.

3. The expression ‘eye of the tiger’ describes someone with intense focus, determination, and the drive to succeed. What area of your life are you currently bringing that kind of energy to? 

These are the lazy days of summer and I’m not bringing that kind of energy to anything. I am considering a special quiet project that is going to take all my quiet energy, digging and sorting and putting it together. When it materializes, I’ll share.

4. What was the last meal you cooked? 

I’ve been following Drew Cooks on Facebook lately and he shared a recipe that I made and my company really enjoyed. If you haven’t seen this guy cook a meal yet you might be entertained…or not. Go ahead…click on the link. 🙂

5. Describe your July using exactly five words. 

World Cup Soccer Ole Ole!

Soccer camp started up on the hottest week of the summer and next week soccer season will start. My evenings will be full. Time to put the folding chairs in the back of our vehicle!

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

More lazy day achievements at our country bungalow.

I completed this jigsaw puzzle on Monday. Another thrift store puzzle that had all the pieces! Woohoo!

Vacation Bible School starts on this coming Monday. I’ll be selling the t-shirts and other accessories each evening.  We are hoping for cooler days and for more progress on our area fires so our air is not smoky. Praying for that end.

Happy Birthday to my youngest brother and sister, twins! We love you dearly.

Catch-up Day

While Greg and I were enjoying Cannon Beach, all of our kids and grands were on the same side of the mountain and enjoyed some time together.

These are not in any given order of how they filled their days together.

Time was enjoyed with lifetime friends, too.

Another anniversary was celebrated by these two while they were on the other side of the mountains.

I’ll save a July Catch-up for Monday.

Busy Days Behind Us

June 7th through the 9th was filled with family activities and gatherings.

Josh and Laura started the drive across the mountains early on the 7th to make it to JJ’s Taekwondo exhibition at Town and Country days in Kettle Falls.

The sun heated up those mats and they had to make the presentations fast so the soles of their feet wouldn’t burn!

Yep the mats were hot. I’m pretty sure there will be discussions for next year to have the presentations from our group and the gymnastics group for performing on the stage instead of in front of the stage!

A snow cone and ice cream made things better.

From Town and Country Days we all gathered at our country bungalow for a Taco Salad meal. After dinner we all made our way back to the Woodland Theater in Kettle Falls for The Haran Dancers recital.

Addy performed beautifully.

On Sunday after church Josh and Laura traveled back home.

They won’t be back for Father’s Day so Laura took an early Father’s Day photo.

On Father’s day weekend I’ll share the very thoughtful gift our kids and grands gave their dad/gramps.

Very early on this same Sunday morning (2:00 am) our Niece, her hubby and our grand niece found their way to our home from Boise, Idaho where they had attended a wedding. They let themselves in and found their guest rooms without waking us up. They slept in on Sunday and we managed to get ready for church and leave without waking them up. We left them at Bedside Baptist and returned from church in time to make them fresh coffee.

Sunday afternoon we were at the Woodland Theater again with this new crew who wanted to see Addy perform with the Irish Dance group.

It was a great matinee performance and once again we all headed to our country bungalow for a meal.

Pulled pork sandwiches with homemade coleslaw and not home made beans. There were homemade desserts.

Fun and goofy times.

The fun continued on Monday at Bayles Mountain.

Cousins once removed making memories.

The California crew left about noon on Tuesday June 9th after enjoying Uncle Greg’s famous Swedish pancakes. They headed for Josh and Laura’s home for another week in the Pacific Northwest.

And while the westside crew were on the Olympic Peninsula we were back in Kettle Falls at JJ’s Taekwondo Promotion.

We also participated in a community garage sale on Thursday and Friday. We were happy to get rid of some large items that were getting in the way around here. So thrilled we didn’t have to haul them back home.

I’m watching World Cup Soccer games while I work on posts and visiting blogs. It’s no secret that I’m a soccer fan. It’s been an exciting start in the group stage. It’s been fun following fans that have traveled from around the world and who are soaking up the food and experiences unique to the USA!

Thankfully we have a relatively quiet week ahead of us. We need that. Have a good week y’all.

Last Week of May Happenings

At the very end of May on a day without rain, the first camping trip as a family happened for this crew.

Addy had the big catch of the trip hooking a Prize Fish that was registered with Fish and Wildlife. They are working on what she’ll get for her prize.

She now has more fish tales to tell. Both Grands want to go camping again.

I’ve been on the lookout for a nice chess set. Stopping in at a local estate sale I found this Renaissance set from the 50’s in great shape. It was $25 which I thought a decent price.

With all the rain we’ve had lately it seemed a good time to start another puzzle. This puzzle was purchased at a thrift store and I wanted to see if there are any missing pieces. I’ll soon find out!

And as of last night just a few more sections to go.

More May blooms that are thriving.

June blooms coming soon. Looking forward to all that June holds.

Balancing the Hodgepodge

I think this cake could qualify for my plate of beige food!

A new set of Wednesday Hodgepodge questions have come our way From This Side of the Pond. Thank you, Joyce.

1. What do you make more complicated than it needs to be? 

Answering some of the Hodgepodge questions! 🙂

2. What impresses you? 

Hard working young people.

3. On a scale of 1-10 how picky of an eater are you?  (1=extremely and 10=not at all)

I’ll go with an 8. No liver for me, thank you. Not a fan of raw fish, either.

If you had to eat a meal made entirely of one color what color would you choose? 

Beige or light brown as in a Thanksgiving plate of turkey, stuffing and mashed potatoes covered in beige gravy and a beige soft roll on the side. Also…see photo up top!

4. What does balance in life mean to you? Does your life currently feel ‘balanced’? 

A good combination of home life responsibilities, keeping relationships at peace, and adding in some good adventures is a good balance in life. Giving freely and receiving graciously are important, too. Knowing the God who created me and having peace with Him through Jesus Christ gives me spiritual balance and security.

Currently things are seemingly balanced.

5. If you could travel the world for a year what would be your first destination? 

The United Kingdom would be my first and my last destination. It would be amazing to travel all about that Kingdom with that much time. A whole year could be doable if our kids and grands and friends would meet up with us through the year.

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

While we were away these three came by our house to water since we were having dry and warm days which isn’t typical for Spring.

This little guy was pleased as punch to find the snacks I left for him and his sister!

Adios April Hodgepodge

We’ve had some beautiful days as April ends.

May is coming and the Hodgepodge is here. Thank you, Joyce!

1. Are you feeling more reset, restart, or full speed ahead as we move into May? Tell us why. 

We have to reset. A dear friend of ours passed away and we will now be traveling for his memorial.

Other opportunities have arisen this month, too, and we are shifting our plans to accommodate. We can plan but we do not know what tomorrow holds.

2. Painting, sculpture, architecture, literature, cinema, theatre, music…what’s your favorite form of art? Elaborate. 
Music is at the very top for me but the kind of music is specific. Music that honors God is what I appreciate the most. I’m not a fan of music that yells or goes down roads I don’t want to follow. Story music isn’t at the top of my list, either.
I also appreciate painting, sculpture, architecture and literature. These forms are most appreciated outside of the modern realm. I’m not a fan of modern art in most of these forms. Cinema and Theatre are my least favorites.
These photos are from the House of Strauss in Vienna and the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge, England.

3. What time is dinner at your house? How do you feel about leftovers? 

These days we call it Linner. We tend to eat between two and three unless we are meeting up for dinner or having our kids over for dinner. If that is the case dinner is usually between five and six. I’m a fan of leftovers!

4.What’s the last thing you fell down a rabbit hole investigating? 

When I research places to visit or have visited, I can go down many rabbit holes! I was doing some extra history searches for Český Krumlov this past week. In travels, you can’t learn all about a town in a four hour visit. I try to learn what I can before but when I work on a post, after the fact, there is so much more to learn! It always makes me want to go back to places we’ve been for a second look. 🙂

Vienna will be the next place I’ll go down rabbit holes for my research and my next river cruise post.

5. And now for a question from the book Marilyn (Memphis Bridges) gave me…

At what are you ‘self-taught?’ 

Our mom cooked 99% of all our meals growing up and she did a lot of baking but it was never with any help from me. I didn’t do a lot of watching of this process, either. I ate all the good things she made but I had a lot of learning to do on my own. My mom’s efforts and her being open to try new things gave me confidence but the hands on learning came after I was married. Trial and error has worked well for me. Our sister Vera has preserved many of our mom’s recipes and I’m thankful for that.

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

I’m so thankful to the LORD for these two and the fact that they have so much room to roam and enjoy the outdoors!

They peddle to the end of the driveway to wave goodbye when our visits are over and we are heading home. See you soon!

Catching Up

Some things of late that I want to store up in my memories.

Turkeys have been strutting around our property this Spring.

This is the latest puzzle I put together and it was a delight except for the pictures of the puzzle on the box did not show a section of the right side of the puzzle or the very top of the puzzle.

This puzzle was found at Goodwill. It was a sealed puzzle that had never been opened so I was confident all the pieces would be in the box. A fun celebration puzzle to complete for the 250th anniversary of our country!

For the Friday night of our latest Birthday Weekend this recipe for Raspberry Lemon Bars was a hit. Click on the link to find the recipe from Reluctant Entertainer.

There were stories told and stories reenacted that made for lots of laughter during the birthday weekend and afterward. If you know you know. I know these next photos will be a hilarious reminder.

I’ve had some nostalgic days going through photo albums after the death of a dear friend of ours and it was uncanny to come across our sons combined 7th and 9th birthday party photos and to see the similarity to our grandsons party this Spring some thirty eight years later!!

Laura captured this beautiful photo of Colville mountain driving into town for the birthday weekend. She has a knack for capturing beauty around her.

Homeschool Co-op had their last session on Thursday. These three have done well and persevered. That doesn’t mean school is over for the year, though.

Working on the last of the limbs to maneuver to the burn pile on this sunny and windy Friday.

Hope you have a beautiful Spring Day in your corner of the world. If you are in a land below the Equator have a lovely Fall Day!

 

Tiny Tiger is Seven

All the usual suspects gathered for JJ’s Taekwondo/Korean themed birthday party on Saturday at noon. Another amazing cake with a green stripe belt in honor of JJ’s promotion that his mom created.

Two pros helped all of us tie our belts.

JJ showed me his moves.

The food was Korean themed.

JJ enjoyed opening all his presents and he didn’t forget to thank each one of us for his gifts.

There was a high kick contest! I won for low kick!

Last but not least, our Taekwondo pro taught us the 14 moves he is tested on. Everyone was a good sport but none of us got a prize for doing this correctly.

We had glorious sunshine and blue skies for our celebrations.

We moved on to our home for dinner and another birthday celebration.

We celebrated Andrew and by the way, he won high kick earlier in the day!

The weather was beautiful and there was a lot of fun playing ‘tag’ out doors.

We slowed down long enough for a family photo but then played games into the night. We all met up at church on Sunday morning and Addy played a special number during the service, Unashamed by Matthew West. I’m adding the chorus below.

I’m unashamedOf the gospel of Jesus ChristAnd the truth that changed my lifeFor the name above all namesI’m unashamedAnd I will live my faith out loudTake a stand and stand my groundFor the One who took my shameI’m unashamed

After church we all went to our own homes. For some that meant 5-6 hours on the road. Another wonderful weekend celebrating together. We don’t take that for granted.

The weather on this Monday is supposed to be unseasonably warm. We have a couple teens coming to help with our windstorm yard clean-up!

I hope your weekend was good and peaceful and that your Monday is starting out well.