Two days and counting.....

We can hardly stand it - only 2 more days and the boys will be home! Tuesday at 10:30 p.m. to be exact!! We are excited and getting ready. Clark has already emailed me his list of "requested foods" per my request. This will be the first time in 5 years that we have all been together for Thanksgiving!!

It was a busy week - I felt like I was running full speed all week. With the holiday on Monday, the week really started on Tuesday so we were already one day behind! Tuesday was Book Club - this month we read "Driving over Lemons" - an OK book about a man and his wife's adventures as they moved to rural Spain. That evening was genealogy class and then Wednesday I taught an appetizer class for Relief Society. It was a fun, food packed class. I showed lots of different ways to create different appetizers using tarts made from pie crust, phyllo dough and puff pastry. They ate everything so I guess they enjoyed it!



For Young Women's this week we had a joint activity with two other wards and had an "Amazing Race" activity. We divided up in cars and drove all over the area following clues. I drove a group of kids but had to make them promise not to tell their parents how crazy Sis. Wilkes drove!

What we didn't realize as we were on the race was that there were service opportunities at each stop - the trick was to see if we would notice them and do something about them. Our car didn't do too well - we were so focused on the race that we only noticed one of the service opportunities (a lady lying on the ground under her car) We did ask her if she needed help but we didn't see the others (someone with a spilled bag of groceries at the grocery store, a lady dropping her books outside the library, a lady with her hood of her car open) or I am sure we would have helped! It was a good lesson for us all -most of us would ask to help if we saw someone in need, the problem is many times we are all so focused on our own agenda that we just don't see them! Cali loved the activity because she got stuck in a car full of deacons!



Jim flew to Salt Lake on Wednesday and has business there and in Idaho Falls so he got to spend the night with his parents. He returned to Salt Lake on Friday and was able to have dinner with Logan and Shayla before his flight left for home - he got home late Friday night.

Thursday, Cali and Tessa went to a concert for a local alternative band - "Stars". I decided there was safety in numbers and they went with a large group of kids from school. It was a late night though - getting home at 12:30 so I let them sleep in the next morning and miss their first period class (I"m getting soft in my old age - I'm sure the boys would tell you I NEVER would have let them do that!!) I had a unit meeting that night with a computer webinar so I got to run the meeting in my pajamas!

Tessa's big news of the week is - she got her hair cut. She looks darling! We're including a picture so you can all check it out! It was a big dance week for Tessa - she had class/rehearsal on Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and all day Saturday. They had a New York choreographer in town to work with the kids Her feet were very sore by the time she got home Saturday night!

Friday night Cali and I went to the play at Westview - they did the drama "Anatomy of Gray" They did a great job and it was a thoughtful play.

Saturday - was house cleaning day - it had been sorely neglected with the busyness of the week! Cali left for a weekend birthday party. They were going to stay at the Skamania Lodge - a beautiful resort in the Columbia Gorge for her friend's 18th birthday - what a life!

Jim and I went to the high school auction Saturday night. I was the food chair for the committee so figured I better show up to make sure the food was o.k. - it was delicious. A prime rib and salmon dinner. We had great restraint though and didn't end up with any purchases although Jim was tempted by the courtside Blazer tickets!!

At church today it was our Children's Primary Sacrament program - a little different than the one we saw last week at the branch at the beach. The kids did a great job but the program ran 35 minutes past the time Sacrament usually gets out!! We kept thinking they should have had an intermission! The kids did an amazing job though sitting still that long - I was having a hard time though!!

Cali had her Ecclesiastical interview today for her BYU application so she has the process rolling - her goal over the Thanksgiving break is to get her essay written!

Boy Update:
Logan and Clark had a double date this week - Saturday they both took dates (Logan and Shayla of course) to lunch at Los Hermanos. The boys then went and played a round of golf together. And of course they are both very excited to come home!!

Back from the Beach!

We are a little late with our blog post this week as it was another 3 day weekend and we escaped to the beach for a few days. We enjoyed beautiful weather on Saturday and Sunday but woke up in the m iddle of the night last night to loud winds and rain - the power even went out in the middle of the night!

Saturday we enjoyed a walk on the beach - walking all the way into town where we did a bit of window shopping. We enjoyed dinner at our favorite pizza place - Marzanas and then watched a movie and did some reading. Sunday we attended church at the Neahkahnie Branch - the girls were excited because it was the Primary program which is their favorite meeting of the year. There were only about 8 kids in the Primary. Seven of them were under the age of 7 so the adults did a lot of the talking and the singing wasn't very loud but it was cute to see.

After dinner on Sunday we drove Cali to Camp McGruder where the Concert Choir was having their retreat for the next 3 days. (just south of Manzanita in Rockaway)

This morning, Monday, we woke up to high winds and rains and got the house cleaned and headed home. It was a good day to leave the beach!

We didn't get down to the beach until mid day on Saturday because we went to the playoff football game Friday night. Westview won big time against North Salem so they are into the next playoff game. I sat in the rain most of the evening at the Krispy Kreme table while the kids sold the doughnuts in the stands.

This week was a busy one for Cali. Her Children's Theater class put on their production of Franklin at the local elementary school. Cali played Franklin the turtle and then she was inducted into the National Honor Society that evening. It was the same night as Standard's Night so Tessa went to that and Cali and I showed up late. They had a great speaker from Idaho who is an EFY speaker.

We had Grandma and Grandpa Best over for dinner Tuesday night to celebrate Grandpa's Birthday that was Thursday but they would be in Texas so we celebrated early. I made him a butterscotch pie - his favorite. After dinner Grandma and I headed to the genealogy class we have been taking.

Jim went to Seattle Thursday and Friday for business and I attended a funeral and helped with the food for a former home teacher of ours -second funeral in two weeks:(

Boy Update:

Clark had a quiet week of work, school, flag football game on Saturday - it was a "no date' weekend for him.

Logan and the Young Ambassadors had a 3 day tour to somewhere in Montana, Idaho Falls and Pocatello. The highlight of course was getting to stay at Grandma and Grandpa Wilkes along with 3 of his buddies and be spoiled with all of grandma's home cooking. He also was able to attend a session in the Idaho Falls Temple with Grandpa. He said the shows went great.

Happy Mama!

Last week I was a sad mama thinking of my baby girl leaving home but this week I am a happy mama because I just spent 2 days with my boys!

The week started out with a fun family trip to the corn maze on Sauvie Island - it hasn't rained in Portland in several weeks but the corn maze was SO MUDDY!!! I am so glad we took boots!.

I spent a lot of time at the grocery store the first of the week getting ready for Cali's birthday party, a luncheon for 40 women I was in charge of the food for and the Halloween party Tessa decided she had to have at the last minute! Oh - yeah and Cali and I attended a funeral of the grandmother of a friend of hers in the middle of all that getting ready.

The girls looked darling for Halloween - Tessa was Wonder Woman so we painted a tshirt and shorts for her. Cali wanted to be an 80's girl and asked what I had in my closet from the 80's - when I told her NOTHING! she went to a friend's house and found an old tube skirt her friend's mother still had in her closet. Tessa had a group of friends over for pre-trick or treating dinner (I told her a high schooler was too old to trick or treat but I was voted down by everyone including Jim) after they came back for some apple bobbing and doughnut on a string fun. Cali went to a party.

Thursday morning Jim and I headed to SLC. Jim had appointments there Thursday and Friday and I tagged along using one of his frequent flier tickets. I was so excited to see my boys!

We picked up a rental car and headed south towards Provo. Since Jim had appointments Logan met us in Draper and we had lunch at Cafe Rio - yum O (no trip to Utah is ever complete without at least ONE trip to Cafe Rio)!!! I had so much fun hanging out with the boys in between their classes, work and rehearsal.

Logan had a dress rehearsal for Young Ambassadors Thursday night so after taking Clark to dinner we went to Spanish Fork to watch the dress rehearsal (Clark opted to go back to his apartment and study). It is a fun new show and of course I love the two numbers that Logan solos in the most ( A Billy Joel number and "Seize the Day" from Newsies)! There are also some great numbers from some of the newer Broadway shows - Drowsy Chaperone, Wicked and Mary Poppins.

Friday, Clark and I did a little clothes shopping for him since his post mission wardrobe needed a little help. Logan and Shayla met us for lunch at Brick Oven Pizza. Clark had to work from 3 - 6 and Logan headed down to get ready for the show. - Thursday we stayed at a hotel thanks to Daily Access and spent Friday night with David and Tricia.

On Friday, as part of his training, Clark listened into the calls coming into the help line for the BYU website. The first call he listened into was Shayla calling in for some help to reset her password - what are the chances of that!

We met some of the Wilkes for a quick dinner at Bajio Grill in Spanish Fork Friday night before the show. It was fun to see the show with a live audience - everyone loved it and they have so much energy!!

I headed back to Portland Saturday morning and Jim stayed behind so he could go to the BYU football game with the boys. I had to get back because six hours after getting home we were having an 18th birthday party for Cali for about 30 of her friends. I had gotten most of the shopping done before I left, just needed to pick up a few things and then get everything set up. We had draped off the garage so they could dance, set up the fire pit ready for a fire and had lots of food including a chocolate fountain which is always a hit. The kids seemed to have a good time.

Since we weren't home the morning of Cali's birthday she had breakfast in bed this morning and then birthday dinner with Grandma and Grandpa Best. Cali requested a strawberry/cream cheese pie - lucky for her Costco had strawberries! What a wild but wonderful week!!