Happy 40.1

2010 will ring in the big 4-0 to many of my closest friends. In February, Marc and I took a quick trip to Medford to surprise Dianna for her 40th birthday party.

Her husband Greg went over the top in planning the party. I'm pretty sure it wasn't a complete surprise, but I don't think she ever guessed that I would be driving 8 hours to spend the weekend with her.

We had our nails done, went shopping, and talked endlessly. It is remarkable that we can go months without seeing each other or talking at all and pick up like it was yesterday.

The Jello shots were nasty - but we each put one away for old-times sake.

Mr. Party Planner himself was the first to hit-the-hay... but he had worked hard, so we didn't torture him too much about it.

I hope they get to head up our way in June to watch me roll into the next decade!

Fun Times

It was a fun time in Portland celebrating my sister turning 40 with 60+ of her closest friends.

I enjoyed all the 'me' time I had too.

A quiet drive to Portland

Listening to the songs I like on the radio

Hitting Costco and buying a new little camera

Spending the night at the Gray Inn (A wonderful bed & breakfast.)

Shopping - Shopping - Shopping

Found a cute card for Jill's Birthday

Got really lucky with a present too

Met lots of fun people who all adore my sister

Stayed up until 2 am....yawn!

Slept in until 9 am

Drove to IKEA

Ate lunch with my good friend Amie & her daughter at Red Robin

Drove home again

Went to bed - early!

A great weekend.

Happy Birthday Ms. Reagan

My 'baby' turned seven today and we partied like a rock star.

Hannah Montana to be specific, as if there was any doubt.

We had a Hannah Montana hair-do.

Hannah Montana BFFs.

Hannah Montana goodie bags.

Hannah Montana purple cupcakes.

Hannah Montana gifts galore...

And....

Drum roll please....

ask your children to leave the room now, please...

We had 'explicit' Hannah Montana fruit snacks!

What...

I know...

Yes, they are supposed to be 'guitars' and 'microphones'

But....hmmm...something else crossed my mind...

Gutter...my mind's second residence apparently...

again...my apologies.

Thank goodness my girls are not residing in the gutter with me.

They loved the guitars and microphones.

The Lemonade Ladies

Last year, on July 17, Taryn's 10th birthday, she received a hand-built lemonade stand. We had many successful sales. This year, due to all the wonderful travels and adventures, we had not yet set out the stand. Until today!

Taryn's Treats was again open for business. It took a lot of sampling for us to find a perfect recipe for our fresh squeezed lemonade. Taryn and her sisters also sell fresh baked cookies and candy. Their specialty is the strawberry lemonade. (Remember all the June strawberries? Some were frozen especially for the lemonade stand.)

Total Sales: $32

50% = College = $16
25% = Charity = $8
25% =Fun $ = $8

Taryn isn't responsible for buying her supplies. We do that for her. We also will make a $5 deposit in Grace and Reagan's college account for helping and another $5 for their fun money. Once Taryn 'graduates' her stand for bigger and better jobs it will become Grace's Goodies and then eventually Reagan's Refreshments.

I am feeling terrible about my lack of blogging effort lately. But there have been just too many other important activities to occupy my time. I vow to at least upload a few pics of each event and jot a note or two, so that I don't forget about all our wonderful summer events when school roles around. My worst lack of blogging offense was for Taryn's birthday.

Miss Taryn turned 11 while we were on our trip home from Montana. With some of her funds from last year's lemonade sales, and her profit from Max, she wanted to purchase my old laptop from me, to call her own. Not knowing how much life is left in my old laptop, we decided to surprise her with her own desktop computer. She had agreed to 'trade' a birthday party with friends, for a nicer gift. In Missoula we gave her a puppy mouse pad and told her about her computer waiting at home. We told her she had to contribute all her fun money she had saved. She stated, and I quote, "I got a new computer. I only had to pay $200 and my parents paid the rest. The best part is I am still filthy rich!!!" I guess, in a way, she is. All my girls have been blessed with birthday/Christmas money from family to have nice little nest eggs growing for college.

Happy Belated Birthday Taryn. We love you, our little entrepreneur.

Happy Birthday Marc

We celebrated Marc's first, of what could be many, 39th birthday tonight. He actually said he stopped having birthdays at 22, but I don't think anyone was buying that.

Marc was followed by his harem of ladies to help him celebrate tonight. At our favorite Mexican Restaurant in town, La Fiesta on Main Street, all 7 of his guests were ladies~Kylee (2), Kyndra (5), Reagan (6), Grace (8), Taryn (11), Athena & Anne. (You didn't really think I was going to put all the ages down did you?) Marc was indeed, the guest of honor, the token male, the King of the Castle, The Man!

Joe, the owner, greeted us with his usual smile. We immediately let him know we were there to celebrate Marc's birthday. He let us know, at his restaurant, you are given a choice of a shot of tequila or a lap dance by the dishwasher for your birthday. He said the shot may be bad, but we hadn't seen the dishwasher yet. Athena and I got a good giggle out of that one. Marc enjoyed a melon margarita instead.

To balance out the dinner, Marc gets to go on a ride-along with Tony. There's nothing that gets the testosterone flowing like a good 'ole up-close-and-personal night of Cops! Marc loves to watch Tony in action. I imagine every little boy at sometime dreams of going after the bad guys. There is no guarantee of a high speed chase or interesting arrest, but a warm summer Friday night definitely holds promise. **UPDATE** Very exciting night...he was out until 4:30 am, good thing I knew he was safe. He got to see lots of action...drug dog, multi-agency pursuit of a bad guy in the act of a break in...etc.

In keeping with birthday posts I will share 39 Marc facts...it is so tempting to throw in some fiction too, but I gotta live with this guy.

1. Allergic to beans-the legume varieties
2. Allergic to dust & wheat-great hometown we chose right?
3. Relies on weekly allergy shots to survive in E. Oregon
4. Three sport letterman in HS-football, basketball, baseball
5. Acted in a school play
6. Took piano lessons (he swears it helped his hands in football)
7. Worked as the girls dormitory supervisor in college (coyote-in-the-hen-house?)
8. Worked at a golf course in college and took up the sport
9. Very handy with power tools! (I'm talking remodeling here folks!)
10. Has bungee jumped!
11. Had a perm & salon tan in HS
12. Shares his birthday with his best friend from college, Vince
13. Loves Banana Cream Pie & Amaretto Cheesecake
14. Is the 'Strong-Silent' type..ie...doesn't shed tears in sad movies
15. Does the laundry better than his wife
16. Has a magic touch with the BBQ
17. Will always buy twice as much (of anything) than is needed
18. Doesn't hunt and peck when typing anymore
19. Loves to try new versions of cereals, candy bars, ice creams
20. Throws up louder than ANYONE I have ever heard
21. Is the oldest child of four
22. Nickname in HS:Soko
23. Nickname post-college:Sparky
24. Doesn't like when I use my teacher tone on him
25. Sits very still for make-overs & manicures that the girls give him
26. Has 'rode the range' when working calves, but prefers a 4-wheeler
27. Hates gristle in a piece of meat. The meal is instantly over if he bites into it.
28. Eats & enjoys smoked oysters ~yech~
29. Boxers not briefs, not ever
30. His eyes close, almost always, when he smiles
31. Has seen three professional baseball games that were No-Hitters
32. Hospitalized when his wisdom tooth fell down larynx during extraction
33. Falls asleep & snores instantly when his head hits the pillow-nearly always
34. Shot and killed a cougar without using dogs in John Day mountains
35. Graduated from the University of Montana - Go Griz!
36. Loves to coach football
37. Is very patient when hunting & fishing...not so patient when I am shopping
38. Hero of three girls that love him dearly
39. Loved by his wife in good times and in bad, through thick and thin, in sickness and in health, young and OLD, forever!

Happy Birthday, a-day-late, Sandra Louise Hemphill-Chapman

Or in other words...Happy Belated Birthday Mom! I know I am a day late...and a day late for the most important woman in my life. Unforgivable? No way. It's a mom thing.

I have always loved my mom.

My mom was a stay-at-home mom until I was in high school. She made Halloween costumes, put wet washcloths on my forehead when I was sick, ran the school carnival, & baked everything homemade. I didn't know that cakes and brownies could come from a box. I never tasted Hamburger Helper until college. Yet-I still didn't 'get' it. I loved my mom and she loved me. Easy right...she was just doing her job! Not so much -

Becoming a mother myself changed the relationship I had with my own mom in an instant. Understanding that change has been a slow process...but that instant was clear and defined.

Until I was a mom I didn't believe - "This hurts me worse than it will hurt you." Given after a punishment I deserved.

I now 'get' how my mom could not like someone because they hurt my feelings or were unkind.

I aspire to be as calm and matter-of-fact when I have to answer tough questions about the changing body.

I yearn to protect my girls from the same hurts that my mom wanted to protect me from.

I love and live - "Go outside and play until I call you to dinner."

I have girl friends that are as important to me as the 'Bridge-Ladies' were to my mom. They are a life-line on days when your kids have you spiraling out of control.

I know fear too... I know the fear of the unknown, I know fear of hurts we can not stop, of broken things we know can't be fixed, I know of pain, but I also know of healing, but the most important thing I know is unconditional love. That is the gift of a mother and her child. It is a gift that I was blessed to have been given and a gift that I know how to pass on because of the great role model I have to follow.

Mom I love you!

Now, because I am in Eastern Montana, where Internet access is limited, I will not be able to post a picture of my mom on her birthday. This indeed could be considered a gift, right? Never fear.... I will now digress to fun filled facts about my mom, for which she will want to kill me, but never-the-less, will love me the same.

My mom grew up in San Diego and used to drive friends across the Mexico border where the drinking age was lower.

My mom used to hitchhike from San Diego to LA. (Can you even imagine that now-a-days?)

My mom was wanted by the FBI-doesn't that sound cool? (She was in a car that was drag racing and wrecked...she left the scene...hoping to avoid getting in trouble...didn't work, obviously).

My mom was a flight attendant and was featured in a glamour magazine, but had to quit because she got engaged to my dad. (You weren't allowed to be married as a flight attendant.) There may have been other magazines too...I'm not sure. Mom?

My mom and dad met on a blind date...were engaged in three months...and have been married for 42 years. (I hope I'm right...I may be off a year or two.)

My mom had smoked since she was 18 but quit when Taryn was born. For this alone, I believe I am most proud and thankful. It wasn't easy, but I know that was the most important gift she could have given us. I worried lots about smoking killing her.

My mom loves words. She loves crossword puzzles, she has written many a rhyme for birthday cards and anniversaries. She also uses words when she is UNHAPPY... she can formulate her argument, revise and perfect them, she doesn't always send them, but it helps her vent. You don't want to be on the end of one of those. :-) She has now taken to e-mailing companies if they have wronged her.

She loves to walk and geocache. She needed a hobby...I found her one...and now dad has to pay the price when they are on trips. Being a fellow-cacher...I think it's great!

You want to be near a bathroom if you are going to tell her a funny joke. She wet her pants once (or maybe twice) and Grace will never let her forget it.

She does things she used to make fun of her mother for doing. I'm sure I will follow in those footsteps, so maybe I should leave that alone.

My mom has been there for me after nine hospital events...

• my birth-June 1970
• hit by a car-1977
• appendix out-1978
• tonsils out-1991
• Taryn's birth-1997
• kidney stones out-1998
• Grace's birth-2000
• Reagan's birth-2002
• thyroid out-2007

Happy Birthday Mom. I'm looking forward to many more blog-able memories. You are my model for whom I try to mold myself into.

The party!

Eight is Great!

The goodie bags: Silly string, water bottle, glow necklaces,

flashlights, birdhouses, gum, bubbles, and a tote.

Before the surprise -

Almost there!

Surprise:

The RED cheeks:

Beading necklaces in the tent.

Painting bird houses.

Silly String Fight!

(My personal favorite.)

Roasting marshmallows.

(Hmm...maybe this one was my favorite.)

My favorite card!

Grace Penny Thoughts for the night:

This was the best birthday ever!
So that's why you were cleaning the basement last night.

In response to the fact that she doesn't like surprises or to have people looking at her, "I do like it mom, I just have to get used to it." *See this post for more on the topic.

The big day...

Eight is great! On June 6th, Grace turned 8! The day began with a very chilly visit to the Pendleton Aquatic Center with her class. Though the temperatures for the day never hit 60, it didn't keep her out of the water. She continues to be my little water bug.



When she returned to school it was time to pass out treats to her class. We brought pudding cups with whipped cream and sprinkles on top. The treats were a big hit with her class. It was during treat time that I learned something about my daughter that seems so obvious now, but had not occurred to me until now. I asked her when she was done passing out the treats if she was ready for us to sing Happy Birthday to her. SHE SAID NO! She did NOT want anyone singing to her. As her teacher got the classes attention for the singing, we asked if it would be OK to simply say, on three, Happy Birthday Grace. Everyone was happy, thank-yous chorused, and pudding disappeared.



How did I not know this about Grace? She is not comfortable being in the spotlight. She is very uncomfortable with all eyes on her. I'm guessing this missed my mommy radar, because it is so not me. I get it now, I really do, I am just sad it took me so long to figure out. She loves calling attention to herself, but only if it is by her doings. It makes sense why spilled milk at a restaurant is so traumatic, while at home she barely bats an eye. I am sure this was a moment I'll never forget...it was so easy, it was so in front of my eyes the entire time, but I'd missed it.



UH-OH : BIG PROBLEM



Prior to my big revelation about Grace I had planned an elaborate Surprise Birthday Party to occur in less than 3 hours. I was afraid that the coming events could be a train wreck leading to her worst birthday ever!



I decided not to abandon the total surprise, but was able to talk to her 6 little friends in the tent before she arrived...letting them know that Grace might need a few minutes to adjust once she realized what was happening. I was still nervous.



With the crummy weather...we set up our camping party indoors. (This was one rare day I was happy to have an unfinished basement.) We set up a tent in the play room and zipped it closed. Grace came in...and handled the surprise pretty well. She turned so red I thought her head might explode. Then she needed to be redirected quickly to the craft table with her friends so the spotlight was over...it took about 10 minutes for her face to return to it's normal color.

Happy Birthday Dad

(The girls got these for Grandpa and he was happy to pose.)

It is my dad's birthday today. I didn't get to spend the day with him...I didn't get to send him his birthday treats...but I thought of him often today and I did share 'flu' battle stories on the phone with him tonight. I wish I was better saying aloud my feelings, but I guess in that category, I'm a chip off the 'ole block. Here it is 11:30 pm, your birthday is about over, and I'll get in trouble for burning the candle at both ends of the wick...but I want you to know...


You have taught me so much about living a life of character. You always give more than you take. You never give up and don't complain about the cards you are dealt, the rains that come too fast or never at all. I know that a very few do the work for many. It is important to stand up for yourself. When you make choices in life they reflect on those around you, so make sure they are choices you can be proud of. I've always known that you were my safety net if I was in danger, but you'd let me fall to learn a life lesson. I'm learning each day how hard that is for a parent.

I'll never forget the day I was so excited to talk 'A Few Good Men' with you...I was proud that you were in the military...that you fought for our country. Though I don't remember your exact words, I'm sure they were brief, but a quote from the movie summed it up, "You want the truth, you can't handle the truth." I was so caught up in the Hollywood of it all, I didn't take time to think about what that meant to you. It wasn't all glory...you paid a price...for our country. You fought, you served, you trained, and you taught me that you'd do it again, but it wasn't all that Tom Cruise portrayed in his movies. I learned that I will probably never completely know the impact it had on your life. I hope you know, that even though it goes unsaid most of the time, your entire family is proud of the life you chose to live.

My favorite role of yours to-date, has to be that of Grandfather. I melt watching my girls with you. You had, what I considered, pretty big shoes to fill, those left by your father. He was a pretty dynamic grandpa. You, however, have outgrown those shoes and set a cast that may break records. The tractor rides, the 4-wheeler rides, the shoulder rides. The gift of love you give to my girls is a gift that we all feel is priceless.

If I could bottle a 'feeling' or a moment from my childhood it would be of us walking hand-in-hand. I remember how you would always lift me up, right before I was going to trip. There would be a moment of panic, fear of falling, that would suddenly turn to joy of being lifted, by your strong hands, over the rocks or invisible rocks that I had stumbled over.

Happy Birthday Dad. You continue to lift me up in more ways than you will ever know!
I love you!

Racin' Jason...hits 35!!!

Today is the day my 'baby' brother was born!

As if being born isn't traumatic enough ... this little bundle was greeted by his two big sisters. Jill and I could come up with a number of ways we enriched his life. I think he would be happy to tell anyone about the numerous ways he has been tortured by us.

35 facts about my brother...

1. He will be the 3rd generation to own and operate the Chapman Ranch in K. Falls.



2. His favorite book as a boy was, "Can I keep him?" by Stephen Kellogg.



3. He rode his bike miles and miles around the ranch.



4. He ALWAYS wore his cowboy boots on the wrong feet.



5. He is a HUGE OSU Beaver fan.



6. He prefers his 4 Wheeler over a horse ANY day.



7. He likes microbrew beer and Pendleton Whiskey.



8. He loves to steel my husband to work cattle, play poker or golf.



9. He DOES NOT like Chicken Divan.



10. He DOES NOT like avocado but loves guacamole.



11. He prefers late nights to early mornings.



12. He has been to Hawaii and I haven't!



13. He has moved me (apartment to apartment) more times than I can count.



14. He recently helped us move the claw foot tub out of the basement for the remodel.



15. He loves to argue/debate and mostly loves to be RIGHT.



16. He won local, state, and national FFA honors.



17. He is VERY private about his private life.



18. He doesn't have much hair under that hat.



19. He has been ran down by random black cows. (More than once!)



20. He DOES NOT like black cows.



21. He likes to own all the newest technology trinkets.



22. He owned a swather and custom cut hay for neighbors as a teenager.



23. He loves chocolate bordeaux's from See's Candy.



24. He affectionately refers to my girls as Satan, Lucifer, & Hades.



25. He is a lousy housekeeper.



26. He has the worst smelling feet I have ever been around.



27. He used to whistle just to bother me.



28. He hated being called Racin' Jason.



29. He is very smart and is full of useless s--- (I mean trivia!)



30. He has terrible handwriting.



31. He lets Grace go feeding with him in the tractor...a favorite activity of hers.



32. He was an Alpha Gamma Rho(ΑΓΡ) at Oregon State.



33. He is a smart gambler. He knows when to hold & fold.



34. He has fought a barbed wire fence and won. He has cool scars to prove it.



35. He is loved by me...even though I don't tell him enough.

Happy Birthday Jason!

Happy Birthday Jilly

My sister turns 39 today (for the first time)! It is hard to believe that she's that old. Lucky for me, I will ALWAYS be younger. Having a big sister had it's ups and downs, but I can't imagine it any other way. Jill and I were oil & vinegar growing up. She was an outside kid. She rode horses. She worked cattle. She ran with my dad. I was the inside kid. I baked. I sewed. I cried if they made me go work outside.

Jill rode a bike first. Jill got her car and her license first. Jill got grounded first. Jill got to go away to college first. I spent my days always trying to 'catch up' to my sister. Little did I know at the time that there were things about me that my sister longed for. Who knew...

Jill went to So. Oregon State College. I went to So. Oregon State College. Jill transfered to OSU. I transfered to OSU. Jill took some tumbles along the way and I took notes. I got the benefit of learning from her mistakes.

Jill and I don't get to see each other as often as I'd like...but we talk on the phone often. Now days, we compare notes...we seek each other out as sounding boards...we trade recipes...we enjoy each other as friends. If I need my sister I know where to find her.

Did you know? Jill...

1. was born February 10, 1969...she was a big baby!
2. was a Henley Honeybee Baton Twirler.
3. had a surprise party...and I kept it a secret.
4. and I used to jump on the haystacks together.
5. and I used to 'spy' on boys...we called ourselves "Valley Vice."
6. and I both kissed the same boy only twice that I know of.
7. talked me into sticking my tongue on the frozen mailbox.
   
8. was a better teacher than mom on how to drive a stick shift.
9. runs in marathons...she's training for #5 right now.
10. is a great cook, now...hasn't always been.
11. can knit a lot of really cute things. (Not that she's ever knit anything for me...hint...hint.)
12. and I made up code words for embarrassing things...PRU...SBD...OTC.
13. made me shoot milk out of my nose at the dinner table...with a BANG.
14. hid under my bunk bed and scared the daylights out of me.
15. suckered me into...the last peep. "Girls, if I hear one more peep out of you..."
16. used to chew her nails to the quick.
17. could do amazing tricks that I couldn't with pencils and cans of mousse.
18. had to call and ask me how to boil eggs in college.
19. had to wear braces on her bowed legs as a small child.
20. 'got' to wear braces on her teeth in high school.
21. fought fires as a summer job.
22. got stung by a scorpion while fighting fires.
23. has traveled to 11 States.
24. has traveled to 7 countries.
25. drove a green Horizon Meizer. We had to climb in the hatchback...the doors didn't work.
26. rear-ended my best friend on the way to school...got me out of a history test. :-)
27. stuttered as a child.
28. has beautiful brown eyes and an olive complection.
29. weighed 55 pounds in 4th grade and led her 1500 pound 4-H steer.
30. flipped me off the back of the 3 wheeler more than once.
31. was scared of my long fingernails...I used them as defense! (See #32)
32. used to pin me down and drip spit on me. She pretended to try and suck it back up, never did though.
33. would eat cold cereal for dinner on any given night if she didn't need to cook for the kids.
34. listens to talk radio A LOT.
35. is an avid reader and loves to buy books.
36. has a degree in Forestry.
37. took me to the infirmary when I had kidney stones in college.
38. is a great mom.
39. is the best sister ever!
40. NEXT YEAR DEAR SISTER.

A penny thought: Sisters are different flowers from the same garden. ~Author Unknown

Super Six Sledding Party at Spout Springs

One six year-old

+

seven silly girls with

with matching hats & scarves

+

one snowman cake

+

one beautiful day

=

A Super Six Sledding Party at
Spout Springs!

A penny thought: If you want to make matching hats and scarves and don't want to stay up until 2:30 am...begin making the hats sooner than the day before the party!