.cheer camp 2012.

We finished up cheer camp today. It was a great two days…the girls learned a ton of material, we had great instructors, and survived the 100 degree heat with no AC.

Here’s the whole group – 17 girls! SO MANY!

 

The football squad:

Back row: Katlyn, Kayla, Madi, Kirston
Front row: Emily, Carly, Sommer, Selena

The basketball squad:

Back row: Madison, Chelsea, Emma
Middle row: Carly, Haleigh, Kira
Front row: Emily

The wrestling squad:

L-R: Jenni, Shanda, Megan, Summer

Random crazy pictures from camp:

     

Laying in front of the fans was a popular activity during breaks!

 

Look at that stunting!

  

Our instructors, Courtney & Bailey. We LOVED them!

 

 

These girls tried out for the All-American squad and made it! I am so proud of them!!!

Selena, Sommer, Kayla, and Kirston

 

The spirit stick!

 

The whole group with Courtney & Bailey!

 

I’m so proud of these girls! Love them!

.summer projects.

As I’ve done the past few years, I collected fabric and patterns through the winter and saved them to complete at the Lake. I had a small love affair with Vintage Modern by Bonnie & Camille, as you can see!

Just sneak peeks of some of my creations!

 

 

 

 

I had about 5 more projects that I wanted to complete, but between the cleaning and redecorating of the house and then my machine breaking…I didn’t get as much done as I would’ve liked. I’m happy with what I did complete though! :)

.the dewulf’s.

The stars aligned and Mom & I got to have lunch with the DeWulf’s on their way through Spokane.

I miss them SOOOO much. I spent a lot of time with their family when I was in grad school. It was so fun to see the kids. It’s been two years since I’d seen them!

Clayton is going to be in 9th grade, Jack in 7th, Little Lukie in 5th!, and Liddy in 2nd. That Liddy is a crack up! I think the funniest thing she was telling us was about Ronda wearing matching pajamas to bed. Liddy: “Why do you have to wear matching pajamas to bed? No one sees you there!” She’d obviously considered this for awhile! :)

I’m so glad it worked out to get to see them, even if for a short while. LOVE them!

.lake time.

These are random shots from throughout the whole summer…a little glimpse into our “Lake lives.”

We like to play games there – mostly Rummy, but Melissa’s friend Nichole taught us Speed Scrabble a couple of years ago. The excitement of it has worn off for me, but I’ll play along with everyone else once in a while. I challenge myself to create the longest words! I was pretty impressed with “libraries!”

The dogs…they are frequently photographed at the lake. Apparently they’re not as cute at home! HA!

 

They have a love/hate relationship with the beach and the water!

 

 

Mom and I like to sit with our chairs in the water in the afternoon and read, watch the boats go by, talk to the neighbors, and enjoy the scenery. It looks a little like this:

Samson does not like it when I’m in the water and he’s on the beach. Heaven forbid that he step into the water to get to where I am. He is so spoiled…I put him in his own chair next to me. It’s ridiculous, but so much less annoying that hearing him whine and whine and whine. The neighbors across the lake just loved seeing Samson in his chair and insisted that I took a picture!

 

 

A resort near us, Hill’s, added on to their deck this year and really improved their outdoor seating. Mom & I loved going there for lunch and drinks. Beautiful view…

 

We took Grandma there for lunch one day too!

And our Wednesday night tradition….Sushi Wednesday at Hill’s with Mike & Sadie Wagoner. We LOVE going for sushi and to listen to our favorite local singers.
“Goin’ to the lake…I just can’t wait…the more I wander, the more it calls out to me.”

While Grandma was at the lake, she helped me with my quilting…she pressed 200+ squares and cut my chain-pieced pieces. I could get used to help like that!

 

One afternoon we took a drive to Deer Lake to visit the Vanderbilt’s and Mauseth’s to see what their place was like. Emma took this picture with Coco to send to Melissa! I told Melissa we should give Coco her own blog or Facebook page and post “where in the world is Coco?” pictures! She sure gets around!

 

It was fun to visit Deer Lake, but we do love where we’re at. We are so lucky!

.primary election.

My Dad is running for a third term as County Commissioner this year and the primary election was yesterday. He had three other guys running against him, but came out on top in the primaries. He and the other top vote getter will go on to the general election in November.

Dad has been busy getting signs put out around the county and will step up the efforts now that he will be going on.

We are thankful to our friends and community for their support so far – so many people have asked for signs for their yards and offered their support.

Look at these supporters…all the way from Nevis, Minnesota! :)

 

.dog days of summer.

The dogs sure enjoyed their time at Priest Lake too…they took advantage of their time and caught up on their sleep. HA! If only I could sleep half as much as they do!

It seemed like I was constantly taking pictures of them sleeping because they just so darn cute when they’re sleeping!

 

 

 

 

 

  

It really was the dog days of summer!

.the old neighborhood.

While we were in Tacoma, we decided to take a little drive around Lakewood and South Tacoma to see our old house and other landmarks from our Tacoma life.

We drove by my Dad’s shop, Edgewood Auto Electric, but failed to get a picture.

We went by Lakewood Auto Body and Mountain View Cemetary, where my Grandma, Grandpa, Uncle Dick, and brother Bobby are buried, on our way to our old neighborhood.

This is the house my family lived in until we moved to Connell…both Melissa and I were brought home from the hospital to this house.

 

I remember sitting on the steps that led from the main floor to the garage while my Mom literally TORE curlers out of my hair…and watching my brother play Atari in his room…and watching myself cry in the mirrored closet doors in my room…and being sad that I had to go to bed while the adults got to stay up late and hang out in the hot tub…and walking around the house with the policemen after our home was broken in to…and watching polywogs turn into frogs in the mason jar on our kitchen window sill…and watching “The Wizard of Oz” on TV while my Dad recorded it on to a VHS with a “remote control” that had a cord attached to the VCR.  We moved when I was 4 1/2, so those are pretty much all the memories I have of living in that house. I remember the entire layout of it and those handful of memories.

 

It had a pond in the backyard…pretty cool, huh?!

 

A few blocks away was the house my Grandma Jean and Grandpa Ernie lived in. It looks pretty much the same as I remember!

 

After my Grandpa died in 1987, my Grandma moved from this house to a smaller town home.

They had a large garden in the back…I remember picking carrots out of the soil and washing it off with the garden hose and eating it right in the back yard. I loved picking strawberries and eating them with whipped cream, which my Grandma always had in the fridge! Lots of fun memories in this house too!

 

It was fun to walk down memory lane for an afternoon and reminisce on our Tacoma-life.

.friends.

We had friends come to stay with us last night…such a fun treat!

They used to live in Connell and Norma Jeanne is one of Grandma’s dearest friends!

Here' they are on the farm with Mark!

 

Connie, Norma Jeanne, Marcial, and Connie :)

 

I was so glad to see this picture in the mix – this is my Grandma and Grandpa’s house on the farm and I have never seen a picture like this of their home. My Grandma has lived there since 1949 and is just now beginning the process of moving to a house in town. Can you imagine?

Such fun to have friends visit!

.shopping and dinner.

On Friday while we were in Tacoma, Mom, Melissa, & I went to check out the site Melissa wanted for their reception. She put a deposit down while we were there, finalizing the date for their wedding: April 12th!

After that, we went straight to Nordstrom for the pre-Anniversary sale. We had lunch in the Nordstrom Cafe (love!) and then shopped til we dropped. I found a new shirt and we all got shoes. Lucky day for us!

We met back up with Dad and then met Tara, Janelle, Tyler, and Alex for dinner. We don’t get to see them much, so it was nice to catch up. I love hearing about Janelle’s classes and how things run at her school. She is going to be a senior this year, which I cannot even believe!

Great day!