Blog Challenge - Independence Day part 2

Midnight in Cali issued last week's blog challenge on Scrapshare. If you read the previous entry, you know that she invited participants to blog a second time about this year's festivities.

Since I have current photos now to share I decided to take her up on the invitation. This year's group at the BBQ was smaller than the last couple. I am not sure why that is but things wax and wane over time. Each year brings a slightly different mix of participants. My mom mussed as we left about how much longer the hosts will continue. The "older" generation of the family, at whom's home this is held, are moving up in years. "Doc" turned 80 this year and time is obviously starting to show its passage.

But for this year the food and company were fabulous as usual. It is interesting how things change from year to year. Last year there were lots and lots of yummy desserts, this year lots and lots of equally yummy salads. The main attraction is always the pig and it was particularly fabulous this year.

The kids enjoyed the watermelon. It was sweet and yummy. The first of the summer for us.
David and Emily, the two watermelon eating munchkins above had fun playing in and around the creek under the supervision of one of the other moms. Jessie, the preteen in the family, found a couple other preteens to hang with forming a "gaggle of giggles" When the party broke up to head over to the school for the annual sports fest (this year no softball but something else was happening) we headed home to Mom and Dad's (that will always be one of my two "homes". The house I grew up in and the house I am raising my children in.) Dad took a nap, Emily and David played with the dogs and Mom, Jessie, Matt and I played cards. The game is called manipulation. My grandma taught me and my mom. She taught Matt and Jessie some too though I take some credit for them playing. It is always good for laughs and memories.

The kids wanted to see their friends the Souzas and they wanted to watch a big fireworks display because we skipped the display that is held in our little town on the 3rd (we call them the 3rth of July fireworks, held then so that the town can have a celebration but people can then travel to other locales on the 4th). Matt called up the Souzas and soon we found ourselves on the way over to their house to watch the Lebanon show. We parked ourselves in the field of the nearby elementary school and waited for dark. There was lots to watch. All around us people were lighting off fireworks that were illegal in our state but are easily attainable across state lines or on the Indian Reservations. We benefited from the show without any of the risk. The kids played, lit off the few legal things that the Souzas had and watched the goings on around us.










I even got some nice shots of the sunset.









After it finally got dark, the professional show started. I forgot to take my tripod so my fireworks shots came out only so-so this year.
After the show, we came home, dropped into bed and prepared to get up early the next day to make sure everything was packed up for the kids to go to "Grandma Camp" with Matt's mom.

Blog Challenge #23

Yikes I have skipped a bunch of these. Blogging is hard!

This week's Scrapshare Blog Challenge was issued by Midnight Scrapper in Cali.

She wrote:
Independence Day is this Friday. For this weeks Blog Challenge, I would love to see how you spend the 4th of July. Is this a time for you and your family to get together and celebrate? Do you bar-b-que, watch fireworks at the same place every year, participate in a parade or block party? Is it a day that makes you feel more patriotic? I realize that some of you may treat it like a any other day...but write something! Most have it off from work, but if you don't, you could write about what you usually do for the Fourth.

This could even be a two part thing. Blog about past Independence Days and then after Friday, get one more in there to tell us what you actually did this year.

I hope to hear about traditions, favorite recipes, stories from the past. Maybe you could share pictures from past celebrations and/or add some more after Friday.

For those that do not live in the U.S., please tell me how you celebrate in your country for your Independence Day. I would LOVE to see pictures and read about your traditions.

My 4th of July tradition is one I have been participating in since I was a child. Since getting married and having a family I have dragged them along with me.

Family friends of my parents have a pig roast/potluck every year. It is a great way to reconnect with neighbors and friends. Growing up we had friends who lived physically close but we were all so busy our paths crossed very infrequently. This gathering always brought us all together to visit and hang out for a day. I grew up in a farming community. There were (still are) many small farms as well as large grass seed farms in the area. Summertime is an extremely busy time. My parents used to make hay for themselves and on a custom basis. Haying season in Oregon runs from as early as mid May to as late as mid to late July. I can remember a couple of years that Dad was still making hay when my brother and I headed off to 4-H fair the last week of July. So the Independence Day gathering at the Marbles was a welcome day off.

It used to be that the hosts would cook a pig in a ground pit (ala Hawaiian style). They also provided the most delicious BBQ sauce I have ever tasted. Now as everyone gets older and their kids have taken over the tradition, the pig goes in a big BBQ and they still have the BBQ sauce. Everyone invited brings salads, fruit, breads and desserts. There is also a gentleman who BBQs corn on the cob. This is usually the first corn we get each summer season. The hosts also provide a keg for those interested in indulging a bit.

This is a great summer tradition. There is always too much food, lots of fun and laughter with old friends. The day ends with a friendly softball game with another group that gathers at another party a few miles away. The softball game is held at the local elementary school's diamond.

Usually, though, we skip the ball game and head home to rest for a while before going to visit some other friends. They hold their family reunion on the 4th every year. They have a super cool picnic area right down by the river. In fact, this is the spot where Matt and I had our wedding reception 14 years ago this coming 9th of July. They also usually have a big potluck but usually we get there after the food part is mostly done. Again, we just hang out and visit. The last few years they have gotten a big gob of fireworks and we all stay till dusk to shoot them off. It is fun and keeps us all out of the crowds and traffic jams at the professional displays in the area. Only about every 4 or 5 years do we take the kids to a big, professional display.

Independence day is a day to gather with friends and family, have fun, relax, visit and appreciate that we are able to do so because others long ago fought and died to let us be here in this country as it is today. It is a great time out from the hurry and hustle of summer. Each year summertime becomes busier and busier as the kids grow up and get involved in more stuff and as my volunteer obligations grow along with their activities. For those still living the true farming life, like my parents and many of their friends, it is a quick break from the hard core run, run, run to get everything done that needs to get done.

Blog Challenge #12: Getting to know you

This week's Scrapshare blog challenge was issued by MidnightScrapper in Cali:

Blog Challenge #12 - Getting To Know You
Copy and paste the following section into your blog and answer as best as you can. You can elaborate (I hope you do), you can post pictures, you can be deep, you can be funny. Whatever you choose -just be honest.
Second part of the challenge - post a picture (from this week) of you at your computer. Don't worry about cleaning up - just post and have fun.

1) Right now I want: Have all the family debt magically disappear so DH will quit worrying so much about it.
2) I wish I knew how to: Oh so many things, so little space. I wish I knew how to sew, sing, crochet, teach, keep my house and car spotless.....
3) When I want to indulge myself, I: make a cup of tea and pick up a good book.
4) You’ll never see me: Skiing
5) A childhood memory that I love: I have a lot of happy childhood memories. Some of my favorites involve time spent with my grandparents. I loved the many summer days I spent with them, gardening, playing cards and just hanging out.
6) 2 things I do every single day: Visit Scrapshare and hug my children
7) Happiest moment of 2008, so far: Spending time with all my cousins and my brother for the first time in 6 years despite the sad reason for us all being together.
8) Describe yourself in 3 words: Traditionalist, loud, caring
9) 2 scrap related goals for this year: Get all my digital photos organized, cropped and ready for printing and getting the current, i.e. 2007 and 2008, photos scrapped so I can work on older projects.
10) You have $40 that you MUST spend on yourself – what do you do with it? Get a haircut or a pedicure.

Been a while

Well it has been an eventful week and a half since I last posted. On Friday March 28th we began a journey that would cover miles and a lot of emotion. On that Friday we headed north to LaConnor, Washington for Matt's Grandma's memorial service. We stopped at his sister's in Lynnwood for a short while to visit with them and Matt's parents. After a day of packing and then driving through snow, sleet, rain and wind it was a nice break. We got to play with our nephew and the kids got a chance to unwind a bit before we went to our hotel for the night. The hotel room as typical and rather boring. Luckily there was free wireless available so we were able to get online and check out our favorite internet haunts.

Saturday morning dawned cold and foggy with some snow on the ground. What was with this weather? Snow, even that far north, is extremely unusual for the last days of March! However, by the time we were ready to head over to Grandma's house, where everyone was gathering prior to Mass, the clouds were clearing and the sun was making an appearance. It was nice to gather together as a family to say goodbye to this courageous woman who had fought long and hard against a guaranteed death sentence of lung cancer. It was also gratifying to see how the community gathered to show what she meant to them. The hardest part of the entire week, save the service itself, was Sunday as we cleared out and divided up Grandma's belongings. It is so sad how quickly a life of 82 years can be dismantled and given away. By the time we all left, the house was cleared out.

We arrived home after a long but ultimately uneventful trip and unloaded all our new treasures. We still need to retrieve a wooden rocker that was NOT going in that van anywhere.

Monday morning the girls returned to school for the first day back from spring break while I prepared for our trip south. I ran some errands, got a substitute for our workday at preschool on Tuesday, repacked clothes and made a dinner for the road. After finishing up these chores, making sure the animals were fed and everything turned off and locked up we headed out to meet up with Matt at work. After picking him up, we tuned the radio to the Oregon State baseball game and turned the car toward the south. We arrived in Myrtle Point, Oregon at around 9:30 p.m. The kids were wound up and it took some time to get everyone settled down to sleep. When the alarm went off at 6 it was way too early. We all got up and got ready. This was going to be a hard day so I loaded my pockets with tissue packets. We met my parents and brother at Frazier's in Coquille for breakfast. The morning started out cold and foggy but during the time we were eating it cleared. By the time we headed to the cemetery the sun was shining and it was actually warm enough that I left my coat in the car. We were the first to arrive other than the funeral director. It was very difficult to see that hearse, to know that my grandmother was in there. If I have one regret, it is that I did not call her in those final days and say goodbye but I know in my heart that she knew how much I love her. The arrangements were all Grandma, bright, vibrant and many colors. Grandma loved her flowers and nutured them like her children. It was amazing to see all the people who gathered to say goodbye. The service was short and very Grandma. The hardest moment came when it was time to drive away. As we were the first to arrive, too were we the last to leave.

The reception was held at my Uncle Joe's house. It was the first time in years that all of us cousins, 9 of us, have been together in one place. We shared stories and laughs. A little wine made it easier at first but as the day and evening wore on it was just nice to be together. The trip home was late and long but we made it safely. The girls did well heading back to school and their routine on Wednesday. I spent the day just recovering. Now it is time to scrap the pictures, tell the story one last time and put this time behind me. We will all remember though.

Blog Challenge #10: Photo Savenger Hunt - Bad Habit and Joy

Today I am doubling up because we are leaving tomorrow morning for the weekend. The first picture is joy. The kids returned from my mom's last night to find what the Easter Bunny had left them. These are three joyful kids. They get joy out of little gifts and I get joy from them. Watching their happy smiles and hearing their excited directions to each other as they search for goodies helped to dull the ache of loss that I was dealing with last night with the loss of my grandmother. These three were a source of joy for her as well. Remembering that brings more joy for me.


This is a picture of my bad habits or at least a couple of them. I watch way too much TV. During the day I watch or listen to endless sitcom reruns unless a ball game is on. In the evening more sitcoms or a select few reality tv programs.

The other bad habit is piling laundry into baskets and letting them sit. I hate folding laundry. Even more than that, I hate going to all that work only to have that work undone by unthinking or lazy children. Either way, the result is the same, someone ends up living out a clothes basket. Might as well save myself the work of folding them then huh? Seems perfectly reasonable to me today.

Blog Challenge #10: Photo Savenger Hunt - Reflection of You

As noted in the previous post this week's Blog challenge was issued by our famous Cowtown Stacy. Tonight I am posting about my version of a "reflection of you". This post is about my grandmother who we lost tonight. This woman was someone I would consider a reflection of what I want to be. She was smart, compassionate, hardworking and just a wonderful person. I am so privileged to have had her in my life for these 34 years that I have lived. I will forever miss her.

This photo is from July 2007. The family gathered to celebrate my aunt and uncle's 50th wedding anniversary. The day after the big party we all gathered back at their house and had a little mini family reunion. The day was beautiful and it was so nice to sit and share memories with everyone. We laughed and talked and laughed some more. Grandma presided over this group of people knowing that they were all on this earth because of her.

This photo is from our first visit to Grandma's after our DS, now almost 4, was born. I was so proud to present her with another great-grandchild. She looks pretty happy to see him too, doesn't she?

Okay so how is this woman a reflection of me? She is what I want to be. She was the matriarch of this family. She was a sweet, gentle woman who would protect any of us with the might of an aircraft carrier if she thought one of us was threatened. She was the go to person in my life. I always knew that if I had a problem and went to her I would not get a lecture, just gentle guidance to a solution. I want to be that person for my kids and my eventual grandkids. She nearly made it to her 96th birthday and she did it with grace. She had many, many challenges throughout her life but she overcame them. She raised 3 self-reliant, hardworking children. She is my ideal. She is a reflection of what I want to become, grow to and emulate.

Grandma was a lover of children. She was a farm wife. She was self-reliant. She was instrumental in instilling a love of flowers and gardening in me. She, along with my mother, taught me to grow, can and freeze food we grew. She helped me learn to make jam and juice. She helped make many summer vacations fun by taking my brother and I to her house for several weeks. She would get down on the floor and play with any and all of her grandchildren and great grandchildren. She loved playing games, particularly cards.

She shared her birthday with the sailing of the Titanic. She got a real kick out of that. She loved to come and watch my cousins and my brother and I show our 4-H animals. She was fan of Oregon State University. She delighted in attending sporting events there, though she did not get to do that as much as she would have liked.

This is a reflection of what I want to be. Rest in peace Grandma Mary Sinko April 10, 1912 - March 26, 2008. I was so lucky to have you in my life.