Just a short post to tell you how awesome this little scanner is. For Christmas Eric’s parents gave me a gift certificate to Amazon. With it, and a little of my own money, I bought the Pandigital Photolink 8.5-Inch x11-Inch Photo Scanner. I bought it because it scans in 300 dpi and 600dpi either straight to your computer or to a memory card. For some I suppose that this wouldn’t ge too interesting or exciting, for me.. IT ROCKS! I have all of my grandmother’s photos, memorabilia, etc. that it’s not even funny. I’ve long wanted to scan all her pictures and burn them on to DVD for each of my cousins. I got over 3K of my grandmother’s pictures scanned with this thing in two days. I had been using my flatbed scanner and while it scans, it takes longer. This little thing is so little I can sit at the dinning table, watching tv and just sling my pictures through the scanner every few seconds. AMAZING! I’m just about done with all my grandmother’s photos and things, next stop.. all my mom’s pictures. Thanks to Bob and Julie for a great Christmas gift!

Isn’t it funny how you can go a week or more and not journal but have a ton to say? I mean, I enjoy journaling and posting here and getting comments and everything but I’ve not been journaling/blogging for about a week. Hummm…. I guess it could be because I’ve been busy with things. I know that’s an excuse for everyone. I have been working, which I’m loving. I love my job and the people I work with. it’s so nice to work with people that have a common goal and interest. It’s great too that I’m working on the projects I’m working on. I mean I’m helping make some decisions for the future of the training organization. How cool is that! I’m doing the typical, create training courses for online delivery but I’m also in charge of determining and giving recommendations for authoring tools we’ll use for now and in the future. I’m working on moving some of our content, like manuals to wiki’s, which is super cool. I could give you the link and password but then I’d have to kill ya… HAHA… I’m working on developing some Instructional Design Standards and templates for us to use which is cool too. It’ s just so nice to have such growth opportunities. it’s the stuff I’ve always wanted to be doing but haven’t had the opportunity in my last job for a variety of reasons.

This weekend Eric’s parents were here which was so nice. I love it when they come, or my mother comes because we always have a great time and it’s not a high maintenance, gotta make sure they have something to do, sort of thing. Of course we had great food and exceptional company while they were here but I think the best part was playing Pinochle for a couple of hours. Of course this time the guys beat us but usually Juile and I are the winners. Oh I also need to say THANKS a TON to BOB for getting the cable up in the garage with the curtains. If not for Bob and Eric, I don’t know when it would have gotten done..

I’ve been down here in AZ for about 5 days with Eric, my mother-in-law and father-in-law and LOVING it. I’m being really bad about posting partly because we’re just having too much fun, swimming, reading in the warm sun shopping, the spa, the sun, etc while the boys golf and also because there’s only Internet (wireless) in the lobby which mean little contact with the outside world which isn’t half bad. I’m having such a relaxing time I honestly wish I could stay down here. It’s been in the high 60′s to mid 70′s this whole time. Right now it’s 74 and sunny outside. God I love the sun, I can’t get enough of it. It’s times like this that make me realize how much I hate the rain in Portland.

Today Eric and I are off to visit some of my friends down here while his parents have a quiet night at home. No Pinochle tonight. Oh, that’s another thing, Eric and his parents taught me how to play so we’ve been playing several hands every day so far us “girls” are up two games.

Pictures will come but not until I get home, can’t be bothered posting them right now because every minute here on my computer is another minute I’m not in the sun Keep warm all my northern friends and know I’m not jealous of the cold at all..

Eric and I headed to Ellensburg today. We go every year about this time as Julie and I have a tradition of going to the scrapbook convention in Bellevue every year. We stopped at Eric’s parents first. Neither Bob nor Julie were home so we just left Baylee there while we went to Greg and Hollie’s to see them and the kids. The last time we saw them all was Father’s day weekend in June when they’d just bought the house and showed it to us.

We timed it just right as Beth was just awake and it wasn’t long until Miles had woken up. Those two kids are SO cute and I can’t believe how big they’re getting. Eric and I were stilling in the living room chatting with Greg when Miles came down the stairs turned and headed towards us. Hollie said something like, “Look it’s auntie and uncle” and Miles smiled from ear to ear and came running toward us. Of course it was big hugs all the way around. We sat there and chatted with Greg and played with the kids while Hollie was messing around in the kitchen. Beth is so super cute with her big brown eyes. Beth is so young and we haven’t spent the time with her like we have Miles because Greg and Hollie moved a little less than a year ago so I’m really not sure if she even knows who we are yet. It was a lot of fun though to play with the kids and catch up with Greg and Hollie.

It wasn’t long and Miles asked if we wanted to go upstairs and play video games. Originally he’d ask me if I wanted to play but I asked if Eric could play with him because Eric likes video games and with my tendinitis the repeated thumb usage isn’t good for me. We all headed upstairs to the landing where the kids have this great little play space to play video games and trains. It’s such a fun little place. Miles played a couple of games for a bit while Beth, Greg, Eric and I watched. Then, Eric and Miles were playing. Beth had a blast cruising around upstairs checking things out, jumping on the bed and playing with Miles clothes. Greg was multi-tasking by watching his laptop and hanging out with us while Hollie was downstairs. I had a lot of fun keeping Beth happy while the boys played video games. She’s VERY ticklish so of course I tickled her like crazy. One of the most precious moments was when Greg was on the floor with Beth and tickled her. He had Beth in his arms with her back to him while he hugged her with one hand and tickled her with the other. The best part was their facial expressions. I wished at that moment I had the camera because you could see the love Greg has for Beth and the love she has for her daddy. It was a very precious moment! It is those moments with the kids that mean so much. I want to have a close relationship with both Miles and Beth.

After we’d spent a few hours at Greg and Hollie’s we headed back to Bob and Julie’s to spend a little time, have a cocktail and chill before we all met at the local pasta restaurant for dinner with Greg, Hollie and the kids. I had a great night. I mean, it was so nice to sit with Bob and Julie at home, have a little to drink and catch up on things going on with all of us. It makes me appreciate the “slow times” where you really get the opportunity to talk with each other. Later on we headed to dinner and met up with Greg, Hollie and the kids. It was a great dinner; the kids were so good, better than I think I was at that age. It was nice to sit as a family and have dinner together and catch up. I really love moments like that, gathering together, spending time, chatting about all sorts of things and just appreciating each other. What a great night.

It’s 1:10p, Wednesday and I’m sitting here at work trying hard to deny the fact that I really am here at work and I need to do something and the iPod and “surfing” isn’t doing it, so what should I do? Well, I realized that I have yet to post about this last weekend and Father’s day. So here goes…..

So Friday Eric and I got to Ellensburg for the weekend. Jim, Eric’s grandpa, was there too and the plan for the weekend was that “the guys” would be golfing sometime on Saturday while Julie, my mother and I hang out and did, “woman things”. OK, so we get there on Friday and of course it was but a millisecond that Eric sat down with his grandpa and watched golf or some other sport. I had wanted to go around and take pictures of places I remembered from my childhood. Julie and I decided we’d drive around and do that since neither of us wanted to be subjected to sports. So we jumped in the car and headed out. Here’s the pictures:

1) This was my childhood home, just off Tamarack street and down the street from the park. Man, I loved that house and living there. I have many a story about that place and the adventures there, but I’ll save it for my “Book of Me” scrapbooking I’m determined to work on.

Ellensburg House,

2) The “Castle House”, this was the coolest ever place when I was a kid. My parents used to drive by that place every day on the way to the sitters or school and I’d dream about the place and wonder…. What if..

Castle House,

3) Mt. Stewart Elementary School
I went to kindergarten and first grade at that school. My best friend was Barbara Mann. He dad was a cop in town, if I remember. It was there that I had my first crush, Jeff Rainey, wonder what ever happened to him.

Mt. Stewart,

4) Mrs. Shore’s house. Mrs. Shore was my babysitter. She lived just about a block from school. I had a blast there. I have such fond memories.

Mrs. Shore’s,

5) CWU indoor pool, the first one. It was here that I learned how to swim. Mrs. Purser was my teacher and man was she mean. I mean she’d throw us kids in the water and tell us to “swim”. Oh the stories. The best though was when she’d make us go off the high dive then jump in (she was LARGE) after us. When you hit the water you really swimming for your life!

CWU Pool,

Saturday the guys went golfing in Mattawa. Julie and I met my mom there and took off for Othello and “hanging out”. It was a nice day, especially the authentic Mexican food in “little Mexico”.

Sunday was the best day. Greg, Hollie and the kids came over for brunch and we all hung out for a while. Here are some great pictures of the day. It was so nice to spend some times with the whole family. After brunch we got to go to see Greg and Hollie’s new house. It’s super cool and bigger, which is a great plus for them. I can’t wait to see it when they’re all in and it feels like them. What an exciting time for them.

Miles,