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July 9, 2010

IT'S FRIDAY, MY FAVORITE DAY!!

Lots of company, lots of food and lots to celebrate on the 4th of July! We ended up having quite a bunch of people come visit, starting on Thursday and leaving on Monday. Lara, Greg and the girls got there on Thursday and she brought her long-time friend CariJo and her husband Carlos. Our place in Hillsboro had been kind of a second home for Cari and we had a wonderful visit - catching up on old times - before they had to leave on Saturday to spend the holiday with her folks in Hillsboro. It was nonstop cooking for the next five days and even the washing machine got a pretty good workout. We were so glad to have everyone come and our granddaughters always entertain us. It is also nice when they all leave and we have peace and quiet once more. Jordyn, who is two, is really talking now and she is up pretty early (6:00 a.m.) in the mornings. "Me wake up grandma" is what she excitingly tells me while I am trying to get my thoughts together for the day.

It was birthday time for Greg and I on Friday and the girls made us a homemade chocolate fudge birthday cake. They had so much fun decorating it with M&M's and raspberries. I fixed a real nice dinner and afterwards we opened our gifts. I got a birthstone necklace (ruby) from Greg, Lara and girls and a cute little gnome for my garden from Leslie, Jason, and their girls. Dave had gotten me a gift certificate at a local nursery so I scored pretty well this year.

We spent most of Saturday getting the steamboat cleaned up for the parade on Sunday. Dave found a couple of problems, and had to make a couple of emergency trips to the hardware store in Nehalem to get it running right. Leslie and Jason arrived early enough to visit with Cari and Carlos before they left, and then help with the boat too. We were invited down to the Kahrs' for hamburgers on the wharf, so we headed for their place around 5:00 p.m. We wanted to make it early enough so the kids wouldn't get too hungry. It was a real treat for me because I only had to bring macaroni salad and that was one less meal that I had to cook!

Dave got the steamboat fired up and ready for the 4th of July parade in Manzanita and with five excited granddaughters ready to throw six bags of candy to people in the parade, we had a pretty good time. It was cloudy but it didn't rain. We had plans to launch the boat after the parade but since it wasn't working at 100% (something to do with the fuel) we didn't put it in the water. I sometimes think the only times the granddaughters get to ride in the boat is when it is being pulled by the car on the trailer!

The weather changed from 65 degrees on Sunday and Monday to 95 degrees by Tuesday and Wednesday. I am NOT complaining but it sure is a shock to the system going from one extreme to another. I tried to work out in the yard in the early morning but an hour in the heat was all that I could handle. I also gave my flowers a good watering because they would have wilted from the weather. For most of the time, I sat around the fan trying to stay cool. By Thursday, we were back to normal for the coast as far as the weather goes. When it is real hot in the valley we get fog, and that kept the temperatures down.

I did manage to get out and work in the park on Thursday morning. As I've said before, I'm on the Parks & Recreation Committee for the city, and about all that means is that we get to be the ones that help maintain the city parks. There were a couple of us on Thursday, and we did some weeding at the city's Upper Park. It's a never-ending job!

Ashtin is at the Marion County Fair showing her pigs (Boss Hogg, Lulu and Roscoe) and we are going to go to Salem today to watch her do her thing. This is her second year in 4-H. The pigs weighed in at a good weight and she is doing well so far with her handling. She got two blue ribbons and one red in yesterday's judging, and we're looking forward to watching her this morning.

We are spending the night with Leslie and Jason and then on Saturday, we will head south to Siltcoos Lake for steamboat mini meet. We are not taking the boat this time, but just going to visit with friends and begging for rides from them. We should be back home by Sunday night.