Monday, July 28, 2008

Just call me Melissa Poppins

I haven't blogged in a while. Not a lot has been happening since I got back from Oregon.

I've been nannying, which is great. In the last week I have done the following: Played mini-golf, played probably 10 games of Monopoly (we've declared Mondays "Monopoly Marathon Monday," played lots of other games, seen "The Bee Movie" in the theater, made sugar cookies, read a lot of books out loud before nap time, watched a group of 4-year olds at "Princess ballet camp," been to the pool a few times, done arts and crafts, tutored math and spelling, played on the monkey bars and trampoline, blown a lot of bubbles, made homemade popsicles, and given a few time outs...

All in all, I'm really enjoying it. The kids are well-behaved (minus occasional sibling rivalries and typical 4-year old tantrums), and we have a lot of fun.

In other news, Michael is down to only a couple weeks left of school. His official last day is August 13th (besides the online classes for the fall). We're still working on our field placement, but we think we have a pretty good idea where we might be going. As soon as we know for sure I will post on here. In the mean time, we are planning on heading back to Oregon at the end of the summer, when I'm done nannying. We'll probably take our time and make a trip out of it again. If everything goes as we think it may, we'd be in Oregon for a while (maybe a month or two?) before we head overseas.

As our time here comes to an end, we've been realizing how much of a community we have built among the other graduate students and spouses in the program. A couple weeks ago Michael and I started hosting a weekly gathering of food and hanging out, just to make the most of the last few weeks here. The talk lately is of everyone packing up and heading out; we're having a mutual garage sale before we leave, and very soon. That makes it seem very real.

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

Home Sweet Home

I'm home from Oregon.

I had a lot of fun, although I missed my husband tremendously. I knew he was missing out on all the fun and seeing all the family, (especially the nieces and nephews) so I tried to take pictures of everything we did (some of which will follow shortly).

The biggest bummer, besides missing Michael, was getting a speeding ticket on the way to a wedding. NOT fun!

It was so fun to see all FIVE of my nieces and nephews, including my newest nephew who was born June 6th.







Isabelle loves her new favorite toy Elmo, from Uncle Mike. She also loves to wear her shirt we sent her from PA.

A couple of Oregon sites I miss:




Beach time with the family:








We made these beach bags. Even Isabelle got one!



The girls won mini-golf.



I took this picture of me eating Tillamook ice cream (to show Michael what he was missing out on). I got a triple scoop for the first time ever, and people kept staring at me!



Is there anything more adorable?




Chicken Ranch Pizza from Upper Crust. Another shot I took for Michael. Pizza on the east coast is no good.


My brother's two kids.



Our "adopted" nephews. Our best friends' two boys. We moved to Oregon two weeks before Hudson was born, so this was the first time I got to see him.


I was able to go to two weddings.

The first one was a friend from George Fox. The four of us girls lived on the same floor for two years.



The second wedding was a Fox/Twin Rocks friend. It ended up being almost half of our staff from 2003 were there (including our directors), a mini-five year reunion! Such a blessing.




I had a wonderful week. It was so fun to see a lot of people at Twin Rocks that were there for camp that week. We even got to see our pastor who was staying next door! I am home rejuvenated and ready for what comes next: an internship overseas. (When we know where we are going, I promise that I'll post something).

Thursday, July 03, 2008

Oregon Here I Come!

I'm leaving tomorrow for Oregon! I'm really excited, except for the part where Michael has to stay here while I go hang out with all his family.

Today I was officially asked to nanny for a family for the summer. I interviewed over the weekend, and ended up watching the kids yesterday and today. And it's been so fun! The kids are super well-behaved, we do some schoolwork, crafts, play games, and we'll be going to a park nearby lots this summer, as well as the pool at the YMCA. There are three kids, two boys (10 and 8) and one girl (4). They are all fun ages for different reasons. I'm already thankful this has worked out this way because I feel like I enjoy myself much more with these kids (than with the other family I was possibly going to work for) and just have a lot more peace about the situation. And, the timing works out so great because I can start right when I get back from Oregon.

I need to go pack. One good thing about me traveling alone is I don't have to worry (as much as I would if Michael was coming) about having my apartment clean before I leave, as my mother-in-law and sister-in-law are so worried about (though I did try to stock the fridge and freezer with easy meals for my husband and our new roommate.)