Friday, May 23, 2008

Western Days!

Today was Western Day at school. Why? I couldn't tell you. But the kids had fun dressing up for it. And like I've said before, Daniel is incapable of giving a natural smile for the camera.
On a completely random side note, let me share with you one of my greatest pleasures... it's called, "the laundry walk".


I did it this morning like I do so many other mornings.


I walk through the house, going through every bedroom, both bathrooms, the kitchen, the living room, the front room, and I gather up each and every piece of dirty laundry.


Oh the indescribable joy when all the darks fit into the washer making a full load, and I have all the whites sitting in the laundry basket waiting patiently for their turn to be washed. Every article of dirty laundry is accounted for! Before I walk out the door, I put the darks in the dryer and the whites in the wash. And for that brief fleeting moment, all is right in the world.

Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Looking Back

Here is a picture of the house I grew up in,
in Bend. Well, not exactly "grew up in". I lived there from birth to eleven years old. Even though we moved to Salem when I was fairly young, I have so many good memories from my time here. We didn't have a TV when I was a kid, so my two older brothers and I spent every spare minute running around outside, riding bikes, making forts, climbing trees, sleeping out on the back deck in the summer, skiing to the grocery store in the winter. I remember even jumping off the roof of our house into the snow. Just looking at this picture brings back so many memories. In fact, every time we drive through Bend, I am always flooded with memories....Good times!My brother Jeremy on our back deck.



On Mother's Day weekend my two brothers stayed at our house. Nate flew in from Texas and Ben drove down from Seattle. On one of the nights, my adorable little brother Ben cooked an authentic organic, Seattle-hippy-style dinner for all of us. :) I was so impressed: Grilled eggplant with humus, spinach, red peppers, kalamata olives and feta cheese. And it was actually amazingly delicous! Both of my brothers are actually very talented musicians, and can sing VERY well. So the three of us competed against each other singing High School Musical songs on the Wii. Nate was undefeated, so Ben and I kept trying and trying to beat his high score, but no such luck. Although, I did take them both to school in Wii sports as we played into the "wii hours" of the morning. And I must let you know I'm the undisputed tennis champ! Olivia absolutely adores my brother Nate and followed him around everywhere he went.



Daniel and Sarah had their big Spring Piano Recital, and they both did so well. We kept our tradition, and had a big after-party at Konditorei, where the kids get to pick out the biggest, yummiest piece of cake they can find. It's a hoot with Grandmas, Grandpas, Aunts & Uncles, because we all order a different kind of cake, and then sample each others...yummmm! I'm so glad I started this tradition. Pure genius, if I do say so myself.

On Mother's Day we all went to my mom's graduation ceremony at Willamette University. I'm so proud of my mom and her amazing accomplishment. She worked very hard for that degree!That's my adorable, little sister Abby on the left. And once again, we celebrated with more food!

It's been a busy, but good last two weeks. Looking back, I have so much to be thankful for.


Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.

~1 Thessalonians 5:16-18


Sunday, May 11, 2008

Saturday, May 10, 2008

Tuesday, May 6, 2008

Getting Out of Town

We feel very blessed to be able to get away for a few days. It has been so refreshing! Yesterday we spent the day at Eagle Crest, and now we are enjoying Sunriver for a couple days. I've been a little camera happy, so you'll have to endure a lot of pictures!
Who needs to go to the pool? Olivia LOVED "swimming" in this big jacuzzi tub!
She loved the real pool too!
I have no idea what Daniel is doing in this picture
Ready...Set...GO!
We have been trying to break the news to Daniel that he's not a little kid anymore, he just hasn't got the hint yet :)We are really enjoying our short time away...if only it didn't have to end so soon!

Monday, May 5, 2008

On a Lighter Note...

I'm quite embarrassed about my frizzy hair in this picture. Jon snapped this with his cell phone right when I was heading out the door to go get it cut. Who fixes their hair before they go to the salon anyway? Obviously not me! Ta-da... The new do!
(Ladies, Niki Quarles is terrific. If you need a new stylist, go see her!)

And where have we been spending most of our free time? Three words:
It's Softball Season!
My Little Lefty

The Sideline Kid


It's been hard to keep my eyes off the 3rd base coachAs you may have guessed, life in the Garland house has been quite busy lately. Which would explain my one lonesome blog post for the whole month of April...ouch! That's an all-time low!


We are all doing well, and enjoying this busy time of year. I am counting down the days until summer, when life seems to move at a more relaxed pace. I will definitely try to do a better job of keeping in touch with all of you dear family and friends. Until next time, enjoy the season God has placed you in, and be blessed as you remember His faithfulness...regardless of our shortcomings, He is faithful!


"We tend to be shortsighted about life, so caught up in the present that we lose sight of how brief our time on earth actually is. It is easy to attach too much value to the wrong things and assign significance to the wrong accomplishments and, in the process, dilute those things that carry eternal significance." ~Mayo Mathers, from the book "Finding Adventure in the Ordinary"