Wishing the days were still longer ...

So, between the 'ginormous' frog in the window well, neighborhood boys screaming in delight when it jumps out of the window well at the neighborhood girls, couch pillow forts in the still boxed up den (perfect for coloring creations on paper), sprinklers on the lawn and swimsuits on little bodies to cool off in an incredibly hot and humid Thursday evening, J.D.'s hair curlier than ever in that humidity, Master S going for a ride in the neighbor's 1960-something, all-original Barracuda, it still feels like summer here, at least today, although Big D thinks he's going to go for a ride on a bus - since he has the backpack and is walking to the bus stop ... I guess it really is closer to fall than summer - I think I'm okay with that ...

Things to Post ...

I have things to post, pictures I've taken and experiences that make me laugh and smile. But, today and the last few days I just haven't been able too. Sometimes life is hard - sometimes it isn't what I want it to be and I find myself a little depressed and frustrated. There are things that I just have to keep doing and I'm not sure I want to, but I know that they are what I need to be doing. It would be so much easier to just walk away and assume what I believe would be 'easier' responsibilities today. But, there are these Mormon Messages on You-tube that I've really liked - they are posted on the church's website and today, I watched the new one. The link is here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vIrGKB5nRKE
Not only did Sis. Dalton quote a song that we learned in Primary for the program this year, but she reminded me, that no matter how well prepared we might be, there are always hills, AND most importantly there is always our Savior and the power of his atonement, available to us to help us and keep us moving forward. It encouraged me and was just a little bit of heaven smiling on me today, urging me to keep moving forward - maybe it will help someone else continue on their journey forward instead of resting or giving up today too.

Pencil Cookies

Here you go Tonya - hope you enjoy them :)
Pencil Cookies After-School Snack

Ingredients:

Vanilla Wafer/Creme Cookies

Fruit Slices Sugared Candy

White Frosting

Chocolate chips

On cookie, slice off, at a slant, both sides to make a point - like a pencil. A serrated knife works best for this.

Slice off the top of a red fruit slice. This will be the eraser. You can also slice off the bottom and use about 3/4 of it - that seems to be the right size for the width of the cookie.

Place the fruit slice on the squared end of the cookie.

Next, frost the tip of the cookie with white frosting.
Slice a chocolate chip in half and put on the tip of the white frosting. Enjoy - makes a fantastic after-school snack!

First Day Happenings

Amazing how much I can get done when a certain little someone takes 2 naps! Incredible! It had nothing to do with Master S in school today and everything to do with an 18 month old who really needed to sleep a lot more today. Whatever the reason, I had time to make a way fun after-school 1st day treat and make a poster so we could have a 'party' as Miss Lilly called it, when Master S got home. There were balloons too, but they blew away in a very loud and short thunderstorm before he got home. At least we got some needed rain. Miss Lilly was so excited to see him - and yes, she was dressed as a ballerina all day, even at walmart. The greeter ooooh'd and ahhhh'd over her - like she needs more encouragement ...

First Day of 2nd Grade

A picture from this morning ... its already really quiet around here. He was a little nervous, a little excited and had 2 cinnamon rolls and a bowl of cereal for breakfast! I hope he keeps it all down today ...

P.S. Can you tell it was really humid this morning? Still it this afternoon ... i'd like to think the camera is that good, but probably not - I cleaned a smudge off this afternooon. Oh, well - makes you really live in the moment when you look at it, 10000% humidity and all!

New haircut ...

She has been begging for a haircut for awhile now ... but I've been resisting.
I've had my hair on the short side for most of my life - partly because as a child I wasn't nice to my hair and had to have it short, but mostly because I'm not patient. I've always loved my sister's long hair ... and I so love Miss Lilly's blonde hair - she's always had so much of it!
Miss Lilly has been screaming every time I comb it out in the morning -
So, I started saying,
'Do you want your hair short? We can cut it off if you won't let me comb it.'
Thinking that might motivate her to calm down about the combing thing.
But, I'm pretty sure it backfired, because after that, every morning she'd ask if we could cut it off.
So, while brushing it out yesterday she was screaming again, and I got out the scissors.
I don't really know how to cut little girls hair.
But, I've been cutting Spencer's for awhile now and it always turns out pretty good. Plus, every time I actually pay money for his haircut it doesn't really look that much better than when I do it, so I figured I'd try it out on Miss Lilly too.
It's a little uneven - but for my first time, not too bad.
And it really is cute.
There are no more tangles in the morning and most importantly,
She Loves It!

Oregon Coast

It has been a month - yes, just about a month since I last posted anything. Just got a little crazy around here with work, and a family reunion to pack and plan for. We had our first ever 'Yorgason Family Reunion' last week! Yeah! My siblings and parents haven't all been together in about 3 years, so we were all looking forward to this - espeically since last year we kind of got splattered all over the U.S. (one in PA, one in IN, one in Hawaii, mom an dad in ID and a couple at school in UT). As usual I had a few 'little' projects in my head for this reunion and suddenly realized a few weeks before that I needed to get them out and done if I wanted them at the reunion! So all other unecessary things halted and I'm trying now to get back into a normal rhythm - which I need to do quick, school is only 6 days away - ahh! Where did the summer go? Anyway - here are some pics from the family gathering. I think I could have spent the whole summer on the beach ...

This is my favorite pic of Master S -- while traveling (we flew there and back) he wore this hoodie, with his backpack on , and earphones in his ears - didn't matter if they were actually plugged into anything, he just liked to wear them - ha, ha! He did look way too grown up -- he announced a few weeks ago that he wants his own MP3 player ...

Miss Lilly loving every minute in the sand.

Eating ice cream at the Tillamook Cheese Factory - YUM!

Family picture overlooking the coast.

J.D. and me :)

My brothers and I had a little building contest one day -- can you guess which one is mine?

(it's the one on left ... I'm still not sure what it is ... something sea monsterish. How I love the feel of sand on my feet and hands - sorta like to gardening, only more fun!)

This is my nephew -- isn't he adorable?!

This is about how Big D felt about the ocean -- I think he would have enjoyed it more if there wasn't any loud, noisy waves roaring constantly in the background.

This is my niece - I just love her curls!

Big D, much happier at the beach house.

We took a day trip to see the 'Octopus Tree' at Cape Meares Lighthouse. These are all the cousins posing for the many cameras.

One night we had a campfire on the beach and cooked hot dogs and smores -- yummy! The kids (and the men ... you know, that whole fire thing ...) loved it.

On another day we went to Newport's Yaquina Point Light House. This was a really cool place - incredible light house up on a cliff overlooking the ocean and then you could hike down a ton of stairs and explore the tide pools along the rocky shore. We saw seals, lots of birds, starfish, mussel beds, anenome ... in between a few hikes back up and down for the bathrooms! Why do they always have to go at the most inconvenient times?!? Oh, well they were troppers and didn't asked to be carried.

Me and the kids in front of the beach house. 16 people in one house - a little crazy, but we had a lot of fun playing games, eating, talking, crafting, eating, watching movies, eating, playing more games, sleeping a little, laughing at the kids and eating a little more ...

Big D with his favorite pal.

The tiny starfish I found while walking along the beach.

Miss Lilly and her cousin -- they got along so well this trip! Can't wait to see everyone again!