Living in the NOW.......

I've found myself a little melancholy lately and have been struggling with what might be causing my mood. I know it is somewhat related to our empty house, our kids went back to Boise and we are left with Mom, Dad and little Lauren. Not that she doesn't keep us running, but there was so much more going on with all of our kids in the house. So, we both miss that aspect. Also, summer is winding down and I am not ready to let it go just yet. We've been running every weekend, doing fun things, going on adventures and just enjoying the warm, sunny days. We had a meeting one evening this week at Lauren's school - it was a "welcome to Kindergarten" meeting with her new teacher for this year. It made me realize that life will be changing on September 2nd and we will be entering a whole new world. So I am sure this has helped with my "down" mood. I'm excited for the future and the possibilities that are opening up for us, but it's always a little sad for me to change and move forward.

On the way to work today one of my favorite songs came on the radio...Stealing Cinderella by Cuck Wicks. I listened to the words and was touched by a bit of sadness for the future. If you haven't heard the song, you should listen to it sometime...very sweet. Then I realized after listening to the chorus that I am living the life RIGHT NOW that someday I will be missing. So, my goal for the week and forward is to focus on what I have right now and be thankful for it all - to live in the moment!

This is my life right now...and I am truly thankful for my little girl who seems to always be:

Playing Cinderella

Riding her first bike

Bouncing on the bed and looking for a pillow fight

Running through the sprinkler with a big popsicle grin

Dancing with her dad, looking up at him

Priceless...

List of chores:

make beds = 50 cents

wash dishes = $1.00

clean family room = 50 cents

etc...

etc....

The kids earnings....nearly $45

Lauren's loot = $9

Kira's loot = $12

Grand total at the Dollar Store = $37

Not having to keep the entire house clean by yourself and getting a few kids to chip in with the chores....PRICELESS!!!

Weekend fun.

We had a mostly quiet weekend. Spent a lot of time around the house on Saturday, bbq'd at night and mostly just hung out as a family. We got out into the woods on Sunday and discovered the most beautiful falls on the McKenzie River. I am always amazed at how beautiful Central Oregon is. We find so many wonderful things when we get out and explore. The two falls we visited were Sahalie and Koosah falls. We had a lot of fun exploring. Hope you enjoy the photos and have a great week!

These first two of Sahalie Falls

This is Koosah Falls

The kids at Sahalie...we found a little pond down below the waterfall

Jason and I - Alex took this shot of us.

The family picture at Koosah - there were one's of J and I not kissing, but they weren't quite as funny.

Sisters

We found this awesome plant that looked like Peppermint Sticks...very cute. After getting home we discovered that it is called Allotropa Virgota "Candystick". It's a mycotrophic wildflower.

And of course, a little chipmunk came to share our lunch. The kids named him Alvin...he sure loved the Doritos and wasn't afraid of us at all. This is Jason hand feeding him.

And this was out of the ordinary...a real phone booth. So, we had to take some pictures in this. My favorite is the last one of Jason...