Stay Tuned!

I finally put together a new album of summer pics but there is a bit of a delay getting them from Picasa. As soon as it's "ready" I will be sure to post it. I didn't take as many photos as I thought and now I'm wishing I had! Waaaa!! I want a summer do-over, please!! Sniff! Anyway, I didn't post any of our vacation pics yet b/c I want to do those seperately. I may just post those in a new post instead of an album.

Bye for now! Love, Nan

P.S. School starts tomorrow. I can't believe I'm the mother of a 5th grader!! I've been emotional all night and I'm guessing it has something to do with that. Plus, I miss summer already! I had to pull out my wool sweater this a.m. But wouldn't ya know??? It got NICE this afternoon. Perhaps old man Murphey was playing a trick on me! I'm gonna do that tomorrow too!! Oh!! We had the MOST spectacular sunset tonight. Here's a pic for ya. As my friend Stacy always says..."Jealous?" LOL!!!

Wow! A New Post!

Well...so much for keeping up on the blog. What can I say? We had a wonderful summer and it was too hot to sit in the office spending time on blogging. I have no other excuse (other than being lazy, I suppose!) I have had two people complain about me "abandoning" this so I'd better get on the stick and catch up. I will post pics later. Actually, I may just attach a slide-show with all the latest pics and replace my "snow" pictures. Yeah...I'll do that. It will be much faster and save me a lot of frustration. Plus, it's just "time" to replace those snow pics!! LOL!

So, where did I leave off? I think we were getting ready to go on vacation! Yes...we took off for Portland on July 3rd to spend some time with my family. We stayed at my dad's new house in Portland. He is out in East Portland...kind of close to Gresham for any of you in the PNW that know where I'm referring to. It's kind of "out of the way" but it's not far to I-5 which takes you just about anywhere you want to go. And my dad was very gracious with the use of his car sooo...we were good to go!! Anyway, the 4th of July was spent in Ridgefield where I grew up. It was quite a day!! It was up over 90 degrees...that is VERY hot for us Alaskan folk! The parade was pretty good and I took a lot of pictures. I've never seen SO many tractors, tho! You know you are in farm country when people line up for what seems like miles with their tractors for a parade...yep..."you might be a redneck"...etc...etc....LOL!!! Just kidding!! There were some very impressive machines to say the least! :) We also went to my cousin, Marie's, new house for a BBQ. It was fun seeing her and hearing about all her plans for the "fixer-upper" she and her husband bought. It's going to be cool when it's all done!

After the 4th, we did a little shopping in Oregon and tried to take advantage of what Portland had to offer. We did the zoo (more pictures ensued) and went to OMSI (Oregon Museum of Science and Industry.) The weather wasn't that great so we didn't get to go swimming and such. I was a bit bummed by that. I *DID* get to see a lot of family, tho, including my brother, his wife and my new niece, Abigail. I am in LOVE with Abbie...will post pics later. My other sister, of course, with her brood was ever present. Baby Clara is getting so big already! She'd changed a lot in the 6 weeks between visits (I was down there Memorial Day weekend.) It was fun seeing them again and Jake had fun seeing all his cousins. I spent a little time with my baby sister, Crystal. She's been studying to take the test to get into medical school so I didn't see her as much as I would have liked but I understood.

At the end of the trip we spent a day out at Seaside, Oregon on the Oregon Coast. WHAT A BLAST!!! This was the hightlight of our trip. Tony was in awe of the beach and the sand and all things "beachy". It's completely different down there in comparison to SE Alaska! He and Jake tried the "skim board" that all the kids were using...it seems to be all the rage now. It was a very windy day and body surfing and swimming were out of the question so the skim board it was!! I ended up buying a kite. Great day for kite flying that's for sure!! We are definitely planning to go back there some day and actually stay a night or two. It's a great little touristy town but they also have some outlet stores I'd like to check out. You know me...I have to shop where-ever I go!!

All in all, it was a great visit. My aunt, Lori, and cousin, Emma, came over for dinner the last night we were there. It's always fun when Lori is around! My other cousin, Ryan, came by and it was great seeing him. He lives not far from my dad so I will be able to see him a little more often (I hope.) We are planning a trip down for Christmas so hopefully I'll get to spend even more time with everyone. Jake and I will be there for two weeks over Christmas break. I am excited about that!! Tony will more than likely come down for a few days to spend the holiday with us (unless he wants to save miles for Hawaii...hint...hint!!).

Since our return, we have enjoyed probably one of the best summers in Ketchikan that I can remember. It rained for about a week when we got home but then got gloriously hot again. It was marvelous!! Jake spent countless hours on the beach with Damion from next door. We enjoyed sitting on our deck watching the water. We didn't get out and do much other than the beach once in a while but it was still fantastic seeing the sun and getting a reprieve from the gloom and rain. We just simply enjoyed it as much as we could. Other than that, we really haven't been up to much. (One downside to the heat, however, is it killed the fish I've been fish-sitting. The parrot fish that I pictured on this blog and the silver dollars are gone. I was just SICK about it. It happened while we were gone b/c our house was all closed up and it just got too warm for them. Thank goodness Buffy hasn't disowned me for killing her fish!!!!)

Anyway, work has been extremely busy for us both so there's nothing new to report there. Soccer has begun and Tony is coaching this year. Jake wasn't too thrilled about playing but he has sucked it up and just dealt with it. I wish he'd be a little more excited but "whatchya gonna do" right? He's doing OK with it....and I am the "assistant" coach so....I'm helping keep him in line. :) Our first game was Saturday. It was a lovely day and even tho we lost 3-1 we still had fun (I think!) LOL!

School starts in 2 days. My boy will be a 5th grader. I can hardly believe it! Pics to follow for sure! Oh...and he's still hanging in there with the flute. He is taking a weekly lesson and will start band at school as well. He is excited about getting to his new school and seeing all his new/old friends. He'll be at Point Higgins this year. Mrs. Troina is his teacher. I hear she's very nice! Can't wait to meet her!

OMGoodness!! I almost forgot....I turned the big 4-0 this year!!!!!!! I knew there was something I was forgetting!! LOL!! It was pretty painless. It's hard to beleive I'm in the "40 and older" category. Yeesh!!!

Well, that's all I can think of for right now. I better get going. I promise (I always say that!) to put pics on here asap. I also have video of some whale action from earlier in the summer. We are back to our gloomy, rainy weather so I'm sure you'll be hearing more from me. Hope you all have had a wonderful summer!

Love and Hugs~ Nan XOX

I Must Blog!

OK, OK....I know I am SO far behind on this blog it is utterly ridiculous. Not as ridiculous as some...but ridiculous none the same. Can you tell I LOVE the word "ridiculous"? I just hope I'm spelling it correctly. Where's the autocorrect you ask? Well, apparently is just doesn't exist on Blogger. Nice! Another thing to be exasperated about. THAT and the fact that it has become a federal case just to put pics on this stinking blog that I sometimes wish I had never started. I'm kind of having a tizzy...can you tell?? LOL!! Just kidding. I am starting to ramble, however, so I will quickly get to the point of my post. But first, I will check to see if Blogger has at least some spell check. I love me some spell check y'all. I am ALL ABOUT spelling and grammar and all that jazz. :) I see there is a little button right above this text that has a little "ABC" with a "check mark" right below it. BINGO!!!!!!!!!!! Lovely...it doesn't tell me how to exactly spell the words right...it just highlights them. CHECK, PLEASE!!!!!! WAITER??????????? Oh geez.

Sigh.....Ok...enough of that nonsense. Oh, one more thing. Pics will come later. I know I'm behind but bear with me. I can't do pics from work so I'll just update you now and post pics later. Sorry. I know it's disappointing but you'll just have to "deal". LOL!!!

Where do I begin? I already told you about my family meeting me at the airport so I'll just talk about my last trip down to Portland. It was, in a word, "FAST". I did see my parents, grandparents, my baby sister, Crystal, and my other sister and her family and the new baby. It was REALLY good to see everyone. I hadn't realized just how much I missed them. All of Becky's kids are growing up so fast. The last time I saw them was August of 2007. That's quite a lot of time to go by. Oh! I also met up with my auntie, her daughter and my uncle and his family. It was such fun to be there. The weather was amazingly warm considering it was the end of May. Flowers were in bloom and I wore flip flops the whole time. I had to wear shorts at my uncle's BBQ b/c it was SO HOT that day. It was so much fun catching up with everyone and I can't wait to do it again when we are down there next month. It was very hard to leave and of course I came home to rain. I was VERY glad to know that we have tickets and are leaving again the 3rd of July. Can't wait!!!

Shortly thereafter, school was out and Jake was FREE! We started having some amazing weather as well and summer was well on it's way. We even went kayaking one night with a friend from work. It was blissful for about a week. Jake has been going to the Rec. Center "summer camp" from 8-3pm (he spent one week at Lori's but got bored.) He will be there until we leave for vacation then he's going back to Lori's for the remainder of the summer. By then there will be more kids (boys) to play with and it won't be so boring for him. Anyway, as I mentioned in a previous post, he is also taking flute lessons on Tuesday afternoons. He seems to enjoy it so far. Other than that we are just biding our time until vacation.

We've seen a lot of whale action this summer already. I have some video of the Orcas going by. I will post that at a later date along with pics of my family and the new baby, Clara. Speaking of which, I found out that my brother and his wife are flying into Portland the same day we are so I will get to see baby Abigail for the first time..FINALLY!!!!!! I am so excited about that I could just pee myself...just a little bit y'all...seriously! At my age...it's not difficult. LOL!!!

Speaking of my age...I am having a very special birthday next month. I can hardly believe it. I have been trying to figure out what I want to do to mark the occasion. I finally remembered what I've been wanting to do again FOREVER and that is "Zip Lining". I'm thinking I'll get some of my peeps together and we'll make a day of it. Nothing makes you feel more alive then Zip Lining. It's a "Must Do Before You Die" kind of thing. Seriously! Sooo...I will be doing some celebrating while I'm south as well since I will be with my family. My mom has lined up a massage for me with THE BEST massage lady, B.J. She's THE BOMB. I cannot WAIT!!! Then, of course, there WILL be some cake and things of that very sugary nature. I am so excited. I can hardly believe I made it to see 40. Wow!! Just saying it out loud puts a knot in my stomach. Yikes!! How does that happen???

I can't think of anything else that's happening at the moment so perhaps I'll end this for now. I will post pics and try to keep up on this blog (I always say that!) a little more frequently. :)

Ta Ta For Now~ Nanette XOX

P.S. I forgot to mention that my mother has been diagnosed with "Atrial Fibrillation". This explains her collapse at work on May 4th. I am very relieved that they figured out what the problem is and she is able to take medication for it. If you don't know what A.F. is...Google it! :) (I just love saying "Google It!" LOL!!)

My Wonderful Family

So, as you all know, I went south to see the fam for Memorial Day weekend. I had made plans ahead of time to have my little sis, Crystal, pick me up. Unbeknownst to me, however, there was a welcoming "committee" of sorts there waiting as I walked out of the security area. Standing there was Crystal, my grandma, my mother, and my auntie!!! Not only that...they were all dressed in Hawaiin "garb" and had a BIG, YELLOW sign saying "Nanette...Welcome Home!" Holy cow was all I could think at that point!! How cute are they, tho??? LOL!!! It really touched my heart to know that I had been missed so much. :)

From left to right, My grannie, Mom, Aunt Lori and Crystal. I love them so much!!!!! Thanks guys!!

Fish-Sitting

Hi Everyone! Meet Waldo the parrot fish. He and the others belong to my BFF, Buffy, and we are taking care of them over the summer. Buffy and the fam are going commercial fishing and she didn't have room (or electricity) on the boat sooooo....I offered to foster parent them for a few months. It's been 2 days and we are already attached. :( They are so funny!! Who knew fish could be so fun? Anyway, I know I have a lot to blog about but honestly...after a day at my desk doing data entry...it's all I can do to put THIS on here! You'll have to bear with me. You may just get random pics, thoughts, and posts for a while until I get out my blogging "slump".

On a totally different "note"...Jake started flute lessons today. He already seems to be getting the hang of it. I'm so excited for him!

Bye for now! Nan XOX

P.S. Did I mention we had to order water this week? Yep...we are in conservation mode. You know what they say in SE Alaska..."If it's yellow...let it mellow." If it's brown...flush it down! LOL! (Hope that's not TMI for some folks!)

Playing Catch-Up!

Better late then never, right? This is Jacob (kid in striped shirt) playing at his last concert of the school year last month. He did so well on the recorder! We were very proud. Next, we are moving onto the flute. Jake will be in 5th grade next year which means...Band! Yeah! We are excited and he can't wait to get started. We rented a used flute over the weekend (we are renting to own) and he begins private lessons tomorrow. I figured it couldn't hurt to give him a head-start and since he's so excited about it...I'm all for it! :)

Is She Ever Going to Update Her Blog?

I know this is what you all are thinking out there in cyberspace! LOL! Thanks for not hasseling (sp?) me about it. Any of you that blog know that there's a time for blogging and a time for your actual, so-called "life". Having the time to just sit down and blog is somewhat of a luxury for most of us. Not to mention, putting pics on here is almost a freakin' art form and can be a REAL pain!! I have tons of pics to put on, too, so it may be a challenge tonight. I may have to just start with a few and blog a little each day. We'll see how it goes. Anyway, last I left you I was getting ready to leave town and was trying to keep you posted on Marina's condition. Well, after I left to go south which was Friday of Memorial Day weekend, I got a message from a friend that Marina was actually being released from the hospital and was leaving Bellingham to return to Ketchikan. Once she was south, the doc in Bellingham knew exactly the best course of treatment and she got a LOT better rather quickly. She was like a new person once they got her on the right meds. She flew back to Ketchikan on Saturday of that weekend before I even made it back to town. I was much relieved to hear how much she'd improved. Needless to say, she is doing HEAPS better. I think she's still suffering with some headaches and short-term memory loss but that is to be expected with a head injury. I think it was a week or so later, tho, when I got a text message stating that she and Gillian were at Oceanview having lunch and to join them asap. They didn't have to ask twice! When I saw Marina, I couldn't believe my eyes! She looked AMAZING....like nothing had ever happened. Marina is the one on the left above! Ms. Gillian is on the right...my new, dear friend I refer to as Mizz Gillian! :)

Just like I thought, Blogger is already giving me fits when it comes to posting pics. I will continue this update in a new post and I will try adding pics first and THEN text. Sigh....

Back in a bit. On to the next post! :) Nan