Winter is waaay too long

The sun peaks out occasionally, but not nearly enough. We are anticipating grandson number seven in March. Hayden William is scheduled to arrive during spring break. Strategic planning. Grandma and Grandpa will have that week off. The picture above is our view of Mt. Adams from the front of the house.

Newest Grandchild

Little Sarah is a wonderful addition to our family. She looks a lot like Dylan when he was born, but she also has some of Jadyn's expressions. Her eyes are the same color as Jadyn's were when she was born. It is hard to catch her with here eyes open long enough to snap a picture. She weighed in at 9 lbs. 8 oz. and was 20 inches long, Amy's smallest in weight and length. Dylan and Jadyn are so excited to have her at home, they are not going to be anxious to go to school all day and be away from her. She is doing very well and eating like a champ. Jadyn and Dylan stayed with us Thursday- Saturday nights. Sarah and Mama came home Sunday afternoon.

Had the snow tires changed to regular Saturday. For once I beat the last minute backlog. Then Monday snow in the forecast. Thankfully, it stayed mostly in the valley and didn't stick. I'm going to Portland tomorrow with Katy, Marcus and Ryder for more diabetes training. Children's blood sugar can really bounce. Hopefully, the snow will not show itself. I'm the bus driver. Having lived there before, navigating is easier. None of this makes much sense. It must be sleep deprivation catching up with me. Too many late nights.

No matter how many toys they have they always want to play with the same one at the same time. Teka is on the left. Beau is on the right. They really enjoy spending time together. The snow has finally melted off so they can run in the front yard playing catch me if you can. They love everyone.

Ryder is doing pretty well since his diagnosis of type I diabetes. Naturally he is not fond of fingersticks and shots, but he doesn't cry. Occasionally an ouch, but that's about it. He only goes to daycare on Thursdays this term so I go over to give him his shot at lunchtime. The other kids got very quiet when it was time for his shot. I kept telling him he couldn't eat until he had it. The others may have thought they had to have one before they could eat.

I am so ready for some consistent sunshine. I need to get outside to go for a walk.

Our lovely mimosa tree has been blooming for six weeks. In the daylight, the leaves spread and resembles a fern. At dusk the leaves close. The sun is finally breaking through the haze from the "microwave fire". No not in my microwave. It is south of Mosier, but the smoke has blown our direction.

New Front Porch

We try not mention bike out loud because Ryder gets so excited that he can hardly contain his enthusiasm for his bike. He loves to ride and it doesn't matter whether it is indoors or out. His bike doesn't have pedals so no chain to get tangled in. He has learned to balance and steer. He gets up speed and then coasts along.
We have a wonderful new front porch that Ben built. He arrived on Tuesday, off to Home Depot Wednesday to fetch a load of lumber and an assortment of hardware. In just four days we have a most excellent deck/porch complete with railings and solar powered post lights. He also installed a new porch light, new house numbers and doorbell button. It has been way to hot to sit and enjoy the even the evenings. Ben said he lost 2 pounds. It must have been water. It was over 100 degrees every day that he was here. We couldn't handle it for more than a few minutes. Guam prepared him to handle the unusually hot weather here. It was so nice to have him here. Vale spent a couple of days and nights here. That was an extra treat for us. We hadn't seen him for several years. He is just as sweet as ever.

Happy 4th of July

Edson barbecued steak and pork steak in the afternoon. We went back in the evening the do fireworks in the driveway. Ryder was not liking the noise or the sparks so we stayed inside with him so he could watch through the window. He was much happier playing with toys. He would venture out to see Mama, peek around the corner of the house, then say "around" which means let's go back. He is very fortunate to be able to express himself as well as he does at two. It has been so hot for the last three days that it has been hard to keep the garden watered. It is supposed to be cooling off this week. I left my camera at Amy's so I will have to post pictures next time.