The Wilkes' Week Blog

Happy Mother's Day!

2012-05-15T16:33:00.004-07:00

I am a little behind on the old family blog so I will be doing a bit of catch up this week but I wanted to share these photos from our Mother's Day festivities.

Jim didn't have any bishopric meetings Sunday morning so he asked me what I wanted for breakfast. I told him my usual - a Green Smoothie. I really love starting my day with a green smoothie. Besides that it's good for me. Jim has lowered his cholesterol by 40 points since we starting drinking them once a day!

We then headed to church and Tessa was one of the speakers. She did a lovely job and embarrassed me by talking about her mother but I must admit it was rather fun to hear. She made me cry too.

My mom and dad came to church with us so they could hear Tessa speak and then have dinner with us.

Dinner was a joint effort between everyone. We had a yummy grilled pork tenderloin, rice pilaf, roasted garlic bread, fresh green beans and salad. Dessert was home made malted milk ice cream with fresh baked chocolate chip cookies.

How lucky am I have to have this beautiful women as my mother!?

Three generations of women. Can you see a family resemblance?

Tessa and her grandmother.

Me and my mom.

Happy Mother's Day to us!

Easter Sunday

2012-04-09T21:17:00.000-07:00

The weather was beautiful in Portland this weekend - it was perfect Spring weather. It was actually warm.

Friday night we went out for a burger and fries at Five Guys and then home for a movie.

Jim and I made a trip to Home Depot (actually two trips) on Saturday to get some wood to build a prototype for a carnival booth. We have decided to have a carnival for the wedding reception here in Portland - it's going to be fun!!

Saturday afternoon I also cooked baked beans for 200 people for a wedding reception that evening. The daughter of one of the family's Jim home teaches was getting married. It was a fun wedding reception with a cute country theme. They even had a s'more bar. They had made a really fun cabinet that housed 3 hot plates that your roasted the marshmallows over. They had four different kinds of homemade marshmallows. Very fun!

Sunday was Easter and I was pretty sure the Easter Bunny was going to pass right over our house since there were no kids home but I was wrong. Jim got up early to go to Bishopric and when I woke up I found an Easter basket waiting for me at the top of the stairs and a maze of string through the downstairs.

I guess the Easter Bunny didn't know where I hid the Easter candy because all of the eggs were empty but there was a nice little present at the end of the string for me!

We had a nice morning of meetings at church and after church we joined our friends the Jensens, Appels and Ann Gibney for Easter dinner.

Good friends and good food.

Larry and Marsha - our host and hostess.

The Easter Bunny and me!

Easter Egg Dying

2012-04-09T20:58:00.000-07:00

This was our first Easter without kids at home since before we had kids! It felt a little strange.

There was no one to dye Easter eggs with me. I really could have passed on the whole Easter egg dying thing but then I found this idea on Pinterest using natural dyes to color eggs. I wanted to try it so I borrowed some kiddos - Owen and Addi Daines were my helpers. I made dyes by boiling various vegetables and teas. I used red cabbage, blueberries, red onions, yellow onions, black teas and even some spices like tumeric.

We got some really fun subtle, natural colors.

The kids also used some food coloring to dye some of the eggs so we did end up with some brighter eggs too.

Me and my helpers!

I really loved the way they turned out - I had to do a little photo shoot with them when I got them home.

Jim's got a lot of hard boiled eggs to eat!!

Week in Review/General Conference/An Engagement

2012-04-01T22:38:00.000-07:00

This week started out with an 8 mile run for me on Monday. Yes, I still can't quite believe it myself but I actually ran 8 miles. If you had told me a year ago that I would be able to run 8 miles I would have laughed and told you, you were crazy. But I did it and 9 miles is on the agenda for next week. Wish me luck.

Tuesday I talked Jim into seeing The Hunger Games since it was Five Dollar Tuesday at the Movie Theater. He hadn't read the book but really enjoyed the movie although he thought the people in the Capitol were all quite strange.I loved the movie.

Wednesday was Relief Society day and Jim had a little minor surgery. He had some basal cell removed from the top of his head several weeks ago but there were still some cells in the margins so they sent him to a plastic surgeon who took a good size divot out of the top of his head. The incision was about two inches across and two layers of stitches. I took a photo but I"ll spare you all the visual. It was conveniently located in his bald spot so they didn't have to shave much hair!

Thursday my mom and dad came over and we got some more work done on the old family pictures. We have been putting them all into albums and getting them journaled. I think we're almost done! It feels so good to have them in a nice organized place.

Friday we hosted a fun dinner party with a few other couples. The party was sponsored by a new product. Yeah, I actually got paid to put on a party! I will be blogging about it later on the blog - it was so fun and lots of yummy food so you'll have to watch for that post.

Having good friends and good food always makes for a good evening.

It did a lot of raining this week and we now have a small lake in the backyard. My umbrella came in very handy a lot this week!

Saturday morning the exciting news that Clark and Jessica would be getting married this summer was made official. Logan, Cali and Tessa helped him set up the scene with a breakfast picnic on the dock at Utah Lake and they then hid in the car and watched from a distance. They called us on the phone and gave us a blow by blow of what was happening. Very fun. Tessa took photos and once I get some of those I'll do a post with

them.

We're glad Jessica said yes and the only casualty of the morning was that somehow Cali's phone ended up at the bottom of Utah Lake. Fortunately we had a free upgrade available and her phone was soon replaced!

It was General Conference weekend and we loved watching all of the sessions live. I worked on a pillow order from my etsy shop as we listened - I had a customer order 20 pillows so I created quite a pile of pillows!

Saturday evening Jim and Larry Jensen took Tom Emmett, who they home teach to the Priesthood Session and I went and hung out with my friend Meg and her kids. We had fun visiting and brainstorming and I had fun holding the baby while she made cinnamon rolls.

Meg was sweet enough to send some home with me. I always make cinnamon rolls on General Conference but had decided that since it was just Jim and I that I wasn't going to. Thanks to Meg we didn't have a cinnamon roll less conference! They were yummy.

We enjoyed them with some hot chocolate as we watched Sunday morning session.

After the Priesthood session Jim and I went out to dinner. I got to choose so I chose Noodles, one of my favorite local westside restaurants.

We split my favorite pasta dish and some cheesy garlic bread. Yum! We had a green salad too so it was healthy!

We went home and watched an episode of Miss Marple, our latest favorite BBC show.

Sunday we lounged around and listened to conference and just enjoyed a quiet, low key day of spiritual reinforcement. I needed it.

Easter Decor

2012-04-01T22:15:00.000-07:00

For posterity sake (not sure why they really need to know) I thought I'd post some pictures of my Easter decor. It's on my other blog but wanted it here on the family blog too. For posterity sake.

The Babes at the Beach

2012-03-29T18:51:00.000-07:00

Last weekend was our early trek to the beach. This time we stayed at our house in Manzanita. The weather was Beach Babe Perfect. It never fails - if we head to the beach, the weather will be good. It knows we are coming - always!!

We had blue skies, no wind and temperatures in the fifties - pretty perfect for the beach in March.

On Friday we spent some time in Cannon Beach doing a little shopping and lunching. We found a wonderful new shop that we loved exploring - it was huge and so many pretty things. I could have taken the whole store home with me!

We then found a new place for lunch that was recommended by the locals - Cheris. Everything is made fresh. The fish & chips was highly recommended so April and I split an order - it was delicious and made from fresh tuna. I don't like tuna but this was delicious!

After a little more shopping we headed down to Manzanita. We enjoyed Marzano's pizza for dinner and a movie.

Saturday we headed to Wandas for breakfast - yum!

Then we headed into Wheeler for a little antiquing - they have a great antique mall. We all found some treasures. Shauna found a sideboard and a chair so she will be making another trip down to the beach to pick them up. I found a few new pieces of milk glass for my collection.

We even explored the Old Wheeler Hotel which is suppose to be haunted! They let us come in and walk around and check out some of the darling guest rooms.

I even found a treasure - an old doll case. Loved the color and have all kinds of ideas for it.

We then headed to the Manzanita dump where we found a few more treasures!

We enjoyed dinner at the Mexican place in Manzanita and another movie. We also enjoyed some lovely sunsets.

Waiting for the sun to set.

So grateful for these wonderful women who I have known for over 20 years!

Sunday was a leisurely morning before we headed home. We stopped for lunch at the bakery in Manzanita and enjoyed a yummy cinnamon roll and panini sandwich

It was a wonderful, relaxing weekend with wonderful friends!

Snow in March

2012-03-29T18:14:00.000-07:00

March 22nd - It snowed - again!

We went to bed with a few flakes coming down sure that it would be gone in the morning and we woke up to three inches - in March. A little strange, even for Portland. It was enough snow to give the kiddos a 2 hour delay at school.

Out of habit, if I wake up to snow I still get online and check the school status and even felt a little excited for the kids that they got to go to school late.

Happy St. Paddy's Day!

2012-03-19T08:59:00.000-07:00

I have never been much of a St Patrick's Day fan. In fact, I must admit there are some years when I totally ignored it. My poor children.

So when my friend Meg asked me what we were doing for St. Patrick's Day I replied - nothing. Lucky for us Meg invited Jim and I to join their cute little family for a St. Patrick's Day dinner complete with corned beef and cabbge.

I brought the soda bread which I had never made before. Not too bad but a bit crumbly since there is no yeast in it. We also brought the fixins for Shamrock Shakes!

But the best part was we got to share it with these cute little leprechauns.

Thanks Daines Family for inviting us over and making it a fun St. Paddy's Day celebration!!

Wicked!

2012-03-19T08:55:00.000-07:00

On Thursday evening Jim asked me if it was o.k. if he planned a date for the next day, Friday. I was a little surprised because he usually doesn't plan that far ahead and of course I said yes!

When he got home from work on Friday I asked him where we were going and he replied - Wicked! I don't listen to the radio (only books on CD) or read the paper much so I didn't even know it was in town. I was excited. We have seen the show a few times before, once in New York, but I think Wicked is one of those shows you can see over and over again.

We decided to make it a real New York experience (and save a little money) and we decided to go to Escape from New York Pizza for dinner before the show.

The show was amazing as usual although we were a little disappointed in the guy who played Fiyero.

Noticed there are a few more shows headed to Portland that I'd like to see including Memphis which Logan just recently saw in NYC. Hint, hint Jim.....

Can't wait until Jim plans another date night - he did good!

Happy Birthday Tom!

2012-03-19T08:02:00.000-07:00

This weekend we were able to attend the 100th birthday party celebration of Tom Emmett.

Please don't think us disrespectful that we call him Tom. We would rather call him President Emmett (former Portland Temple President, Regional Rep, Bishop, etc.) but he insists that we call him Tom. Whenever we slip and call him President Emmett we are quickly reminded to call him Tom.

Jim home teaches the Emmett's and loves every minute of it. Tom and his wife Rosemary are amazing people and I want to be just like Rosemary when I grow up. She is a beautiful, gracious, kind, spiritual, and a funny woman. Love them both.

At Christmas, when the kids were all home for the holiday, we went over to the Emmetts to visit and sing them a few Christmas carols. It was a wonderful evening and when we left Logan said "Being around them just makes me want to be a better person." He was right.

What an honor and a privilege to know them. Tom said a few words at the party and he shared with us his amazing spirit, wisdom and sense of humor. Even at the age of 100 he is clear, concise and articulate. Amazing!

Years ago he was called to be the Bishop of the Mt. Tabor ward. He was actually called out of the congregation and asked to serve as the Bishop - no interview ahead of time. He didn't live within in the ward boundaries at the time so he was told he would need to sell his house and move into the ward boundaries and of course he did! What an example of service and dedication. He has dedicated his life to serving his Heavenly Father and fellow man. Even at his birthday party he was being a missionary to the non-member neighbors and friends they had invited.

We are honored and privileged to call Tom Emmett our friend!

Laughs

2012-03-15T15:34:00.000-07:00

Nothing makes me happier than to have my four children together enjoying each other's company.

The night we went to Barry's for milkshakes there was a machine you could place your finger on to see what kind of kisser you were. Let's just say I raised a group of good kissers!

Other Utah Happenings

2012-03-15T15:15:00.000-07:00

Here are just some miscellaneous photos via instagram from my trip to Utah.

Of course there was lunch at Cafe Rio with two of my favorite people - Emily and Miss Addi.

And a trip to Tai Pan and Gygi's were on the agenda.

Friday night I drove up to Park City to Logan in action at the concluding dinner/auction for their Corporate Alliance Summit. So proud and so fun to hear how everyone things he is so amazing!! He knows how to work a mic.

Got to see two beautiful temples up close and several more from the freeway.

Enjoyed dinner at Station 22 one evening with the girls, Clark and Jessica (Logan was in Park City)

Was able to watch Jacky and Ward compete in Battle of the Books at their school as well as a visit to the bookstore here.

And on Sunday Clark, Cali and I attended church with Tessa and afterwards went back to Wynn & Emily's where I was able to cook them dinner. Dessert was a pazookie!

Life is just a bit more fun when these four faces are all in the same room together - especially when I am there too.

Story@Home Conference and a trip to Utah

2012-03-15T14:19:00.000-07:00

I was asked to speak at the Story@Home Conference in Salt Lake last week. The conference is sponsored by Family Search and Cherish Bound. They had three different tracks - family history, story telling and blogging. I spoke on the blogging track about Blogging Your Passion. I love any chance to get to Utah!

I had the privilege of speaking in this beautiful room - the chapel in the Joseph Smith Building.

The other best part is that all of these faces were in the front row staring at me! They had to be up in Salt Lake by 8:30 a.m. which elicited quite a few moans and groans from them but they did it and I loved it. Thanks to Wynn and Emily who let us all stay at their house Friday night so the drive to Salt Lake would be a bit shorter in the morning. My friend Diane Lafrandt came to hear me too which was so sweet.

After my presentation the boys headed back to Provo and the girls all went out to do a bit of shopping. We got a text from the boys that they had just had the best french fries of their life at Bruges, a waffle and frites shop in Salt Lake. So we decided to make a stop too to check them out.

We enjoyed some Frites and waffles. We agreed that the waffles are better at the Waffle Window. What makes the fries so amazing is the delicious sauce they have to dip them in. We tried the Brazilian on Clark's recommendation and it was amazing. Now to try and duplicate it at home.

That evening we all went to dinner together to a Mexican place in Spanish Fork. A blog reader had recommended it and Logan had tried it out previously and loved it. I can't believe I am going to admit this but I t hink I liked it better than Cafe Rio!! It is called Casa Salza and everything was delicious, especially their salsa dip.

The best part though was we were all there (except for Jim) together!! Mark Boothe and his wife Erin were there when we got there so Mark graciously took a photo for me.

After dinner we headed to Barry's for some yummy shakes and a lot of laughs! Love it when all my kids are together and enjoying each other.

Strawberry and Brownie was Clark and Jessica's choice! I went for a chocolate malt.

A Weekend Home

2012-03-15T12:13:00.000-07:00

We were so excited to have Tessa come home for a weekend - man I miss that girl!! She is my fun buddy - shopping, eating etc.

She flew home Thursday night and we had the weekend planned out. Friday was our day to explore some fun new places in Portland and some favorites.

We headed over to the East side because that is where all the fun places are! Our first stop was Buffalo Exchange on Hawthorne where she found some fun new finds.

I kept myself entertained when she tried things on!

She found a fun vintage dress that of course looked darling on her plus a few other things!

We did a few Totally Tessa photo shoots while she was home too!

For lunch we hit one of our favorite Eastside spots - Pour Que No.

Tacos, Chips, Salsa and Guacamole were the perfect lunch.

I love seeing that face across the table from me!

A Happy Mama!!

Our next stop was at Fizz - a fun candy store/soda fountain shop that a blog reader had told me about.

The have a fun candy selection and over 200 types of soda.

Of course we couldn't pass up the opportunity to enjoy a good old fashioned ice cream soda at the soda fountain! Blood orange for me and root beer for Tessa.

We made a few more stops at a few vintage shops but didn't find much.

That evening we went to Helvetia Tavern for dinner before going to see a performance of Westview's Music Man. It was strange to sit in the audience and not have one of my children up on the stage after 13 years!!
Katy Jo joined us for dinner and the show!

I miss these two crazy girls and their crazy faces.

Of course there were burgers, goop and fries for dinner.

A pretty and delicious breakfast for my girl.

Saturday we headed over to do some thrifting on the East side again at Red, White and Blue and then checked out a pretty candy store - it was amazing!

We also enjoyed a mother/daughter pedicure date, a trip to New York Pizza and a movie night! It was so fun to have her home and it was sad to see her leave on Sunday! Miss my kids!!!

Leap Day Surprise!

2012-03-15T11:53:00.000-07:00

We ended February with a bang! Not only did we have an extra day in the month but we also had snow! We woke up to a light covering of snow which is always fun. Unfortunately for the school kids it wasn't enough to cancel school but I enjoyed taking some pictures of the garden.

AMI Gala

2012-03-15T11:38:00.000-07:00

I was asked to host/MC the American Mother's Gala again this year. I guess that means I must have done an OK job last year.

It was held out at the Embassy Suites at the airport. Since I no longer am active in the organization it is a fun opportunity to see some of the women I use to work with and help them celebrate.

Spending some time with my friend Jeannena is always the best part!

February in Review

2012-03-15T11:23:00.000-07:00

So it's been a while since I blogged here on the family blog although I'm not sure anyone has really noticed! Now that we are old boring empty nesters!!

So how about a little catch up!? What did we do in Februrary?

Worked, worked and worked some more

Dinner with friends and then the BYU/ University of Portland Basketball game for the boys.

Yoga

Running

Racquetball

Empty Nesters Family Home Evening group

Relief Society meetings - Bishopric Meetings - World Wide Training

Trip to the Dry Pack and stocking up on flour and sugar

American Mothers Gala - MC'd the event

Boxing Movies (Reel Steel and Warrior)

Chiropractor visits and a new mattress to help prevent future visits

Chi Running Training

Book Club

Lunch with Friends

Ward Temple Night

Picture taking at Westview dress rehearsal of Music Man

doTERRA classes taught

Portland Women's Expo - doTERRA booth

Sad to see Season 2 of Downton Abbey end.

Watching all seasons of Foyle's War

Writing my letter of resignation from Creative Memories after 20 years!

Jim gets the flu and Leigh Anne does not thanks to OnGuard!

All in all it was a good month (except for Jim getting the flu of course!)

First 5K

2012-02-05T18:38:00.000-08:00

This summer Cali got us all to do the Couch to 5K program and we made it all the way through and actually ran our own "unofficial 5K" here in the neighborhood. My running stopped after that.

Then this fall a group of gals from church decided to form a running group and train to run a marathon. I decided to join in although my goal is a 1/2 marathon not a full. They run at night and after about a week of that I decided I much prefer to run in the morning so I am following along the program but I run in the morning.

Two mornings a week my friend Marsha runs with me and the other day I run by myself. We decided as a group to enter our first official 5K race. It was a Rival BYU/U of P race on the day of the BYU Men's Basketball game at U of P. The BYU Management Society was sponsoring it.

Marsha Jensen, me, My-Lynn Teague, Nicole Read, Laurel Winkel (Mary Anne Heap also raced with us)

Didn't realize they would be announcing my age too!!

It was a beautiful sunny, clear day but it was pretty chilly and windy up at the top of Mt. Tabor. About 15-20 MPH winds that day. We had a beautiful view of the city from the top of Mt. Tabor.

The race was 1/2 up and 1/2 down with very little, if no level ground. Let's just say it was a challenge - especially with the wind. I have run farther than a 3K before but with all the uphill it was tough going. But we did it!!

I was the last of our group to finish and the advantage of that is everyone is there to cheer for you!! Larry and Jim were there too to cheer us on!!
We even got medals!

Like I said - I wasn't fast but I finished!!

For a post race treat the four of us headed over to the Waffle Window for Lunch!!

Vote!

2012-02-05T18:27:00.000-08:00

In January Jim and I got a little involved politically. Our Congressional District was having a special election to replace a Congressman who was ousted from Congress - bad dude!

Rob Cornilles was running as the Republican (a difficult thing to do where we live). Rob is a good man and also the grandson of Tom Emmett who is in our ward. Jim home teaches the Emmett's. We spent a little time helping out. Jim went to the call center several times and made calls to remind people to vote and I went with him once.

Working the phones was an interesting experience and we got to talk to all kinds of people. The majority were very nice but a lot of them were getting tired of being called. The trick to not getting so many political calls is to vote early. Usually, once you have voted, your name is taken off the list - so vote early!!!

I also spent part of a Saturday afternoon outside a local grocery store reminding people to vote and asking them to consider Rob.

Our neighbor Caitie Osborne was working as one of Rob's interns so she encouraged us to get involved!

Unfortunately Rob lost but at it was fun to get a little involved and support him!

Valentine Decor

2012-02-05T18:13:00.000-08:00

I like to post my holiday decor here on the blog so I can look back the next year to remember how I did it!
I had fun creating a new mantle decor for Valentines. I used a couple of old window frames I had and some vintage Valentines I had bought on ebay.

The wreath, cherub angel and candlesticks all came from Goodwill

I made a little Valentine Subway art for the frame, filled a container full of hearts and used my brown kraft letters to spell out love.

I found these cute little shoes in an antique shop for three dollars and just couldn't resist them.

Another cute cherub from Goodwill on a cake stand I already had.

Love filling containers with hearts.

And of course we couldn't have Valentine's Day with some candy conversation hearts!

Snow and Frost

2012-02-05T17:52:00.000-08:00

January brought a bit of snow to Portland - it lasted a few hours but it was beautiful while it lasted.

The garden can be just as beautiful in a skiff of snow as when it is in full bloom in the summer.

We also had lots of frost and even some freezing fog. It was beautiful!

Birthday Dinner

2012-02-05T15:19:00.000-08:00

For my birthday dinner we had a fun dinner party at Gloria's Secret Cafe.

It is a teeny, tiny (I mean small!) little restaurant in downtown Beaverton. Gloria has a booth at the Beaverton Farmer's Market but she also has this little cafe. She is from El Salvador and a great cook.

Larry and Gerry were our welcoming committee.

We barely all fit into the restaurant. We fit as long as no one had to get up and go to the bathroom!

We enjoyed a wonderful evening of good food and good friends! Lots of fun and laughs!

We brought along our own sparkling cider and Bill Young led us in a toast.

It was also Darlene Young, Jane Densley and Gerry Reeve's birthday in January so all the birthday people helped blow out the candles on my favorite lemon poppyseed birthday cake from Beaverton Bakery!

It is a teeny, tiny (I mean small!) little restaurant in downtown Beaverton. Gloria has a booth at the Beaverton Farmer's Market but she also has this little cafe. She is from El Salvador and a great cook.

What a fun way to celebrate my 52nd birthday!

The Goodwill Outlet - Birthday Adventure

2012-01-29T17:41:00.000-08:00

When my friend Marsha asked me what I wanted to do for my birthday I knew right away! I had been looking for an excuse/opportunity to go to the Goodwill Outlet. I knew Marsha would be up for the adventure.

The Goodwill outlet is where everything goes after it leaves Goodwill. It's a little bit like dumpster diving!

We learned there was a certain etiquette you needed to follow not to get in trouble.

They bring everything out in these bins - they are movable tables. They switch the bins out all during the day.

When they switch out a row of bins everyone must stand along the line on the floor. They are not allowed to touch anything in the bins until the entire row of bins is in place.

You may look but you must not touch!

O.K. - once the row is in place it is a free for all. It was interesting to watch people and what they would pick out of the bins! There was something for everyone.

We managed to find quite a few treasures. I found a vintage quilt, tablecloth, a Banana Republic sweater, some cool old books and a few other treasures! I think I spent a total of $25.00 for all my treasures. You pay by the pound.

We wore gloves on our hands! Things were a bit dirty!! We are actually excited to go back and see what other treasures we can find.

Birthday Breakfast

2012-01-29T17:32:00.000-08:00

Lucky for me my birthday fell on a Saturday this year. That meant I could play all day!

We started out the day with breakfast. We love finding new places to have breakfast and one place I had been wanting to check out was Cafe Broder, a Scandinavian restaurant over in SE Portland. We headed over and got there early because I knew there was always a line. We were second in line.

Jim kept himself entertained while we waited with the camera.

When they asked how many were in our party I answered two and then Jim said FIVE! He surprised me and had invited our friends the Watts to join us for birthday breakfast! Everything is always a little more fun when the Watts are around so I was excited to have them join us!

Cute Lindsey was still home from college so she came too!

Love this picture Merrill took of Jim and I.

Merrill had fun playing with my camera.

What we had for breakfast. The presentation was so pretty and the food delicious. Jim had the eggs, all their eggs are baked in these cute little cast iron pans, along with potato salad and toast.

I went for the abelskivers with lemon curd and lignonberry jam!

The food was delicious and the company excellent. A great way to start off my birthday!!

Packing it Away

2012-01-22T22:59:00.000-08:00

I love decorating my house for the holidays. What I don't love is getting all 35-40 boxes of stuff out of the attic and then putting it back again. Especially now that there are no kids at home to help us get it down.

The last time I helped Jim do it I ended up in physical therapy for 6 months with tennis elbow in both arms so I am banned (darn!) from helping. This year we paid a neighbor boy to help get the boxes down - WAY cheaper than 6 months of physical therapy.

So before the girls went back to school we took all the decorations down so they could help us put it all back in the attic. They were good helpers despite a little complaining! (I think it may have only been Tessa that complained - but just a little bit)

She's really not running away in that photo!

Cali manned the ladder, Jim was up in the attic and Tessa handed them the boxes. What a team! I took pictures.

Why does it always go down so much faster than it goes up!