A Day of Mourning on a Day of Thanks...

I am thankful for so many things... my beautiful family, healthy kids, sweet dogs and the best friends I could have ever hoped for.

But on this day when I had so much to be thankful for, I also had to mourn the loss of someone that has always been a part of my life. My grandfather, Henry Rae Simonson passed away last night surrounded by his wife and children. He was nearly 93 - just 3 months shy of that actually - and had been so fragile in the last few months it was hard to believe he was the same man that built houses and lived on boats several times in my life...

His influence in my life extended far beyond the typical grandfather role - I grew up living with my grandparents for extended periods of time while my parents separated, and divorced. By the age of 12 they were living next door and were part of my daily life for the next decade. My grandfather was not always sweet and kind, but he was a great example of what a person can do when they put their mind to something. An entrepreneur from a young age, his adventuresome spirit and faith in God and humanity was evident.

His love for his grandchildren (8) and great grandchildren (he had 7 at last count) was evident by the pride he showed when telling of their lastest accomplishments. While he was never big on lavishing compliments or praise on the child he was lauding, he would tell the world of his love for them.

He taught me how to swim, how to sail and quietly - scratch that - LOUDLY encouraged me to be the best person I could be. My nickname for him when I was young was Old Faithful - just like the geyser at Yellowstone - also something he showed me. It was understood he'd lose his temper about something on a regular basis - but he was always there and ready to help build a bookshelf, a playhouse or a coffin (he still owes me a pair from a visit to their home on Lake Tulloch).

He will be missed - Jack will want to know where Boppa Rae is when we go down to California next week... Sophie will look around and ask quietly for him as well. Jack will miss playing ball with him, and Maddie will miss his jokes.

All my love and prayers go out to my family - aunts, uncles, cousins and especially my mother, for she has been their constant caregiver and support for many years now. My grandmother - my namesake - has been such an inspiration to me in recent years - her patience, kindness and ability to make the best of a difficult situation are what I constantly strive for (often falling short). Now in the coming days I only hope I can provide some strength and solice for her as she mourns the loss of her life partner... my grandpa.

Halloween Photos

Ok... thanks for being patient! Here are a few photos of the kids... er, I mean, Peter Pan, Tinkerbell and Cleopatra. They all had a blast, and even Lucy got in to the act by dressing up as Nana (the dog from Peter Pan). The photo of Sophie with her face painted is from their Harvest Party the day before Halloween. Then there is Carter & Maddie, and Tink & Peter Pan. They sure were cute! More to come I'm sure. With kids these cute, how can I not take pictures?

Okay... so MAYBE weekly was a bit optimistic...

Yes, I know I promised in my last post that I was going to try to keep it more up to date (for those of you that read it and/or care...), and for misleading you I apologize.

In my defense, that was probably a bit ambitious given that I was spending very little time on or near a computer. But things are looking up for me! I have 2 new clients that I'm going to be working with... I'm going to step away from the restaurant a few days a week (and let someone else handle the lunch crowd!). I'll still wait tables a couple (or three for now!) days a week, since I know Rob likes for me to be there... but I have to find something that gives me a little more satisfaction than whether or not I got a good tip from Table 5!

I'm going to be consulting with a new office here in town, and also doing some work for my dear friends that own Willaby's Catering. I even have a desk in a really cute office that I can call my own! No more snatching W-4 and I-9 forms out of the twins hands after they've already colored all over them... no more late nights searching for paperwork that "was just here on the desk a few days ago..." I'm so relieved!

Of course, now I'm going to be near a computer more... well, let's not get our expectations up, right? You just check back every now and then... and I'll do my best to keep information up to date and relevant. Oh, and maybe next time I'll post some pictures of those cute kids of mine...

NO... SLEEP... til BROOKLYN....

why oh why is this song from the Beastie Boys (white Jewish rapper boys from New Jersey, popular in the late 80's and early 90's for those of you that may read this and not recognize that group) running through my head at 3:30 am???

Ah yes... because at 3:30 am lots of things that are unimportant and ridiculously random seem to pop in to see if I'm awake. And... apparently this time I am. And so now, "Who needs sleep?" from the Bare Naked Ladies (again, pop culture reference here - Canadian band popular in the early 90s) rattles around. When I was pregnant with Maddie, Robert and I used to joke about making a "lullaby" CD with some of our current fave music that had insomniac themes... here I am nearly 8 years later contemplating it. Sigh.

Maybe it's the guilt that I'm not very good at keeping this blog up to date... That must be it - so I'm going to attempt to keep this updated at least weekly - and we'll see if that assuages the sleepless guilt. :)

On to the recent news... (or lack of it, seeing as how it wasn't really all that important until sleep eluded me...)

Last week I got to spend several days with one of my favorite people - Jean. She had a couple big events (she & her hubby own Willaby's Catering, and have been friends of ours for nearly 10 years now) and asked if I could help her out. Thursday I got to mix Italian Sodas for a luncheon out at the winery... that was a blast! And then on Saturday (Jean's b-day no less!) I helped her get a wedding set up out at the Oregon Garden (someplace I hadn't been since I before I was pregnant with the twins... but was a regular part of my daily life when I used to manage Wooden Nickel Catering). I got some beautiful pictures of the wedding - set outside in the Bosque Garden which features raised ponds and some spectacular views.

Pretty huh? The band was really good too... and the guests all seemed to have a really good time. Jean did these absolutely gorgeous Mango Martinis to greet the guests after the ceremony and they practically glowed during the sunset... I got some great shots of them all set on the table - before I dropped my camera in to one of the aforementioned raised ponds while trying to get the floating candles lit in the gusty wind. grrrrr....

And so... (Saturday Night Live - pop culture reference #3 for those of you that are counting... or care) with that, I think I'll try to get a little more sleep... seeing as how I have to get up with my little beasties in a couple of hours. Oh, and they are loving pre-school. No big surprise huh?

Back to School...

Okay - so back to school (well, Back to School for Maddie - NEW to School for Jack & Sophie!). The pics above are Maddie at her new desk in 2nd grade, and Jack & Sophie getting introduced to the other kids in Mrs. Tibbot's room at West Salem Baptist Preschool. Sophia walked in like she owned the joint, and Jack was fine... until he realized that Mom & Dad weren't going to stay and play with him and all those fabulous new Little People toys.

Now everyone is getting settled and acclimated to our new school routine. Trying to make it a point to look through back packs on a regular (semi-weekly instead of MONTHLY) basis... This is all new to me - I mean really, homework in 1st grade??? How was I supposed to know? So now going forward we are having back pack time after dinner. So I don't miss any of the important stuff.

This also helps avoid those last minute embarrassments, like oh, I don't know, not knowing when PICTURE DAY is... I think we are going to do a lot better this year. :) But then again, sometimes I'm just a glass half full, sunshine-y optimist! yeah right...

Big birthday LUAU bash at Carter's house for his birthday last Sunday... Jean even hired some hula dancers to come and perform - ostensibly for Carter, although I think the dads that were in attendance got a much bigger kick out of them than the kids did! Jack also professed his love for coconuts to me - and I don't think it was just because we had read Chicka Chicka Boom Boom a few nights before and the coconut tree climbing alphabet was fresh in his memory... see last pic above... Carter is the birthday boy surrounded by 3 grown up dancers and 1 very young hula girl.

Hey - who stole AUGUST??

ummm... My name is Janet and I've been an absent blogger. It's been 34 days since my last post. Sigh. So much for confession being good for the soul... I just feel guilty. The above pictures are some cute ones from the last month or so... Love the one of Sophie in her new swimsuit - what a ham, huh? Then there is "the fashion show" when they both had to try on all their new clothes that Nana Dolly sent them for their birthdays. Cute stuff - thanks so much!!!

That last one - well, one night we decided to take the kids to the park, have a picnic and then get some ice cream... the picnic didn't work out so well (the yellow jackets were swarming EVERYWHERE... we beat a hasty retreat and ate in the HOT car!), but then the kids got to play at the park and got their ice cream... chocolate all around. What a MESS! Good thing I keep a package of baby wipes in the car! (and just in case you haven't seen it... Jack's shirt says "Monkey See, Monkey Do, Monkey Get in Trouble TOO!)

Maddie is back to school on Wednesday. She will be in a 1st / 2nd combo class and I'm not sure how I feel about that... especially given that she didn't have any areas of "needs improvement" from her 1st grade report cards. I will be patient and will see what they have planned... for now.

Sophia and Jackson will start pre-school on Thursday with Miss Mary (different Miss Mary than Madeleine had - but same pre-school). They are very excited to wear their backpacks and new school clothes. I will post some first day of school pics later this week... Sophie will also start ballet classes soon too... I'm sure there will be some serious blog fodder from those!

Ok... The long awaited Hawaii photos...

I will probably have to figure out how to add Flickr (Sarah???) so that I don't overwhelm the post with photos. I will post a few for now. The update on the trip? I learned that I would probably cruise again, although I'd like to check out different cruise lines. While NCL was great for a first cruise - and if a bargain is found, it can definitely be a great value - the overwhelming consensus I found from fellow cruisers was the food was the worst cruise food they'd had.

PLEASE NOTE: The food was fine. Most of it was perfectly acceptable (notable exceptions would be the lunch / dinner buffet - very low standards) and the upscale restaurants (where you pay a small per person upcharge to dine) were anywhere from good to great in my opinion.

The Freestyle Cruising approach on NCL was a welcome intro to cruising, since we were free to dine whenever, where ever we chose, and with whomever. If we wanted to nap in the afternooon and eat late, we could. We mostly chose to eat lunch in port, and then have dinner on board. We did go to a Luau and to see a Hawaiian Cirque du Soleil type performance - called Ulalena - in Lahaina. Both were very entertaining.

Only spent time by the pool a couple of times - this particular ship we were on was not very well equipped with lots of extra-curricular features - small pools and a few hot tubs were present, but not a lot to entertain / challenge more active folks or kids.

We had a blast exploring the port cities as we docked - just walking around and finding cute little shops and places to enjoy lunch.

One of the nicest things for me was to be able to relax and read (lots!) and spend time with a great friend who also got to RELAX and enjoy the freedom of a true vacation.

Pics: The Ship - Pride of Aloha (christened 07/04/04 - how WEIRD is that???)

Susan & I at the luau on Kauai

A HUGE sea turtle lounging on a beach near North Shore on Oahu. There was a red velvet rope and signs posted everywhere for people to stay back. Must be nice to be a celebrity! ;)