I'm a criminal

Did you know they don't always send you a renewal notice for your driver's license? I didn't, and today at Home Depot, the cashier told me she couldn't accept my expired license as ID with my credit card. My license expired January 25, 2007! I have been driving without a proper license for 9 months! I can't believe I didn't notice, and I can't believe that the hundreds of people who have looked at my ID this year haven't noticed.

After paying $34.50 and getting my picture taken at the DMV, I can say I am no longer a criminal. If I would have gotten pulled over in the last week, I wonder what the policeman would have said? We just bought our van, and so we don't have all the paperwork processed yet. "You have no license, no proof of insurance, and no car registration...hmmm." Good thing I'm a good citizen and an otherwise lawful driver.

Oh, the Bravery

I just killed a very large spider in our living room. My spider killer (Greg) was not here to save us from it, so I had to be courageous. My heart was racing, but I did it. I hope he doesn't have a brother. (My dad always used to tease me that the spider he just killed for me "probably has a brother nearby.") I really hate spiders.

Great-Grandpa's 75th Birthday

We went to the beach on Saturday to celebrate Great-Grandpa Moffat's 75th birthday. We got to catch up with a bunch of family, which was fun, and the kids were excited to be back at the ocean.

I believe this was right after Morgan's lively rendition of "The Moffat Special Blues."

Quite a crowd for this party, and I didn't even get everyone in the photo.

Kari sat very patiently at the counter for a long time, waiting for the cake and ice cream part of the party. We have a bunch of September birthdays in the family, so there will be more cake and ice cream to be enjoyed in the weeks to come.

Good-bye First Car

Yesterday we sold the '82 Accord, the car Greg has driven for the past4 years, and my first car, the one I drove all through college and until we bought our new Civic, just before Kari was born. Part of us, the sentimental part, was a little tiny bit sad to see the other college car go, but we are very excited about our new-to-us Odyssey (yes, we bought a minivan), so our sadness was short-lived. I never thought I'd be excited about driving a minivan, but I have to say, I love it already. It's the perfect family vehicle, made with kids in mind. Kari is really enjoying the power sliding doors, and Joel likes the fact that he can run around in our car (when it's parked, of course).

Cousin Time

Maggie and Sam came to play yesterday morning, and the kids all had a great time together.

The boys playing together at the big kid table.

Juice cup hilarity--just being plain silly.

They all decided the entryway was a good place to finish their beverages.

Greg was Tagged, too

Here are his 8 random facts, and I don't believe he wants to "tag" anyone else. (He's humoring you, Hardings.)


#1 When I was in middle school I started a nail clipper collection. Had over 10 distinct pairs with graphics. This is pretty ironic because……

#2 I have not used clippers on my fingernails since grade school, due to a severe biting problem. My nails either don’t grow, or grow so slowly that I absent-mindedly bite them and don’t need those cool clippers.

#3 Many interesting, embarrassing, and odd things happen when you are a twin. During my freshman year in HS, there was an award for 1 student every month for excellence in school. One month, my brother Eric and I were both the co-‘student-of-the-month’. Nothing says individuality like sharing an embarrassing, cheesy award with your brother. He agrees.

#4 I ended up 2nd chair clarinet senior year in my high school symphonic band, and really enjoyed playing. The ‘band-geek’ stigma of a boy playing a clarinet, not so much. I suppose this is where I say something about it building character.

#5 I like looking at athletic shoes. I don’t really ever buy them, but I enjoy browsing and looking at my Eastbay catalog every month for the latest.

#6 For those not familiar with AWANA clubs, it is a bible club that is like a youth group for young kids. There are bible stories, games, teams, etc. Every year there is AWANA Olympics held somewhere in Oregon ( Salem ?). In 3rd grade, my brother and I won the district 3-legged race competition and went to the state games. We got destroyed, mostly because we got too cocky thinking that we had some special connection, when in reality, we were WAY to slow. I am pretty sure that there were future Pac-10 football players out there; it is intense.

#7 I break forklifts as a day-job. It is enjoyable.

#8 In high school, I was swimming at friends’ place (DEMAS), and several of our buddies were hanging out pool side cracking jokes. My younger brother Ryan had to step up the comedy level to get a good laugh. I was relaxing in the pool at the edge facing the water, and he was directly above me (without my knowledge). Suddenly my head was wet. All my friends were looking at me and busting up laughing. I had a foul taste in my mouth. Ryan had urinated on my head. I pulled him in the pool and we got it on. He almost drowned. I decided murder was not justifiable after about a minute with his head under water. He is still alive today. Michelle can thank me later.

Swim BBQ

On Saturday we had a big BBQ and swim party at Greg's parent' house with a bunch of other families. They graciously opened their home and pool to all 32 of us (14 were kids). It was kind of crazy but fun.

Isn't she a colorful sight? Kari is just a little fish in the water and can swim all by herself all over the pool with her water wings. She'll stay in the water for hours if we let her. By next year, she'll probably be a better swimmer than her mommy! (I'd say she is already, but I don't have to use water wings to stay afloat.)

Joel's gotten braver and has been sporting the water wings as well.

Back to Square One

Joel didn't stay in the nursery at church today. We were out of town two Sundays on vacation, and so I guess we start over on the nursery attempts. Bummer.

Quite proper, aren't we

Kari has taken to calling me "Mother." When I ask her to do something, I hear, "Yes, Mother" (when she decides to be agreeable and obey). And when she wants something, it's not "Mommy, will you....?" It's "Mother, will you please...?" Where did she get this?

Bear with me...mommy's reminiscing.

These were all taken around this time last year. I was looking through photos on the computer, and I couldn't help myself. I had to post some of them. Joel was such a cute little chub-chub, and he smiled so nicely for my camera at that age. I'd forgotten how his hair used to stand straight up. Kari looks about the same, just a little smaller and with shorter pigtails.


(taken the first part of August--before stand-up hair)

I, too, have been "tagged"

The Rules:
1. I have to post these rules before I give you the facts.
2. Each player starts with eight random facts/habits about themselves.
3. People who are tagged need to write a post on their own blog (about their eight things) and post these rules. (If you don’t have a blog, email me)
4. At the end of your blog, you need to choose eight people to get tagged and list their names.
5. Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged, and to read your blog.


1. Starting when I was pregnant with Joel, I haven't been able to stand anything or anyone touching my neck. It makes me gag. It's difficult to wear a scarf, and turtlenecks are definitely unacceptable. Some T-shirts and necklaces even bother me.

2. I had an appendectomy when I was 10.

3. I don't like lettuce. It all tastes like dirt. I try salad every few years or so, but I just can't make myself like it.

4. I can't watch intense or suspenseful shows/movies right before bed. I stopped watching 24 and Lost because of all the nightmares and loss of sleep. Too bad they weren't on at 8pm. (We just saw The Bourne Ultimatum the other night, and the same thing happened. Good movie, though.)

5. I love cloudy, rainy, "gloomy" days. I think they're cozy. I can't wait for fall and winter.

6. I've never been to Hawaii. My husband promises to take me someday.

7. Last week I rode a bike for the first time in 14 years--and liked it.

8. I was ping-pong champion in 8th grade.


Now, I'm supposed to tag 8 people. Many fellow bloggers I know have already been tagged, so I'll break the rules and just name a few. I'd like to hear what you have to say, but don't feel obligated to do it if you'd rather not. I hereby tag-without-obligation: Janelle, Leah, Jen, the Hardings, and Mars.

The Falls and Park

On Saturday we took the kids to Multnomah Falls. We had fun; it's always so beautiful, but it had been a long time since I'd been there, and I didn't realize it's a terrible place to take a run-wild toddler! The 2 foot tall brick wall along the edge of the path going up is not high enough to keep kids from tumbling off the edge of the cliff, and that's where Joel wanted to be, right on the edge. Then once we got to the bridge I saw more safety issues. The bridge slats are about 6-8 inches apart, wide enough to allow a little one to pass right through! Joel kept wanting to put his head through and look out at the falls. They've also got big huge holes along the bottom of the taller brick wall on either side of the bridge. I kept a tight reign on Joel, and he didn't appreciate it. We didn't stay long--too nerve-racking. We decided to enjoy the view from below. Aftewards we went to a park, had a picnic, and walked down the path a ways. Kari took our photo (bottom right) on the much more kid-friendly park bridge.

Sunriver Vacation

We just got back from six days in Sunriver (yes, we do all our vacationing in August) with the Moffats--Mark and Shari, Bob and Carol, Ryan and Michelle, Eric and Leah, us, and all 6 kids. We had a great week together.

testing

Beach Vacation

We spent the last week at Rockaway Beach with the Arnold family. The kids loved the ocean--couldn't get enough. On our last trek across the street to the ocean we learned that the water we'd been playing in and allowing our children to play in was "shark infested." We never saw a shark, but apparently there had been sightings. It was better that we didn't know.