My Rock Star Family

One of the {many} reasons why I love my family is because you never know when a random rock concert might occur.

I shut myself in my bedroom after dinner tonight because I had a really bad headache. When I came back out I had a rock concert waiting for me. (Luckily the Advil kicked in and the headache was mostly gone, so I could enjoy the show).

Corbin on guitar:

Jenalyn on drums:


And Jason on vocals (he declined photos from the paparazzi tonight).

Tienna was acting as a back-up dancer from her highchair.

They were rocking out to a song on Jason's iTunes and about mid-song, Corbin shuffled over to me and whispered in my ear, "It's coming from dad's phone! We're not really playing music."

*LOL* I'm glad he cleared that up for me. I was about to start booking venues for the tour! That would have been embarrassing. We would have had another Milli Vanilli scandal on our hands!

Utah Trip: Favorite Memories #4

Having spent most of my youth in Utah, Lagoon was one of the most exciting parts of my summers. There were company parties at Lagoon, end-of-the-school-year class trips to Lagoon, and Stake Lagoon days.

I was thrilled to take my kids there. And it was everything I hoped it would be. The memories of my childhood, combined with joy on their faces, was over the top for me.

The first ride I took Jenalyn on was the Mouse Trap. My dad told her it was *somuchfun* so she wanted to try it. She was absolutely terrified. It was fun to hear her nervous chatter throughout the entire ride. "OH my goodness. I'm freaking out right now! Is it almost over? I'm so scared! Holy cow!"

At the end of the day, Jenalyn declared that it's the second most funnest place on earth ... Disney Land is first. (Not that we know that first-hand, that's just what we've been told.) The kids are still talking about it. It really was that fun.

(It's possible that I drove this exact same car when I was Jenalyn's age. They've relocated the ride since then, but I'm guessing they haven't changed the cars. Very nostalgic.)

Fabulous Fourth

We had a rockin'-awesome 4th of July weekend!

We had a BBQ with Nancy, Cassie, Dale and Grandpa John.
We had Grandma 'Nee and Grandpa Jerry all to ourselves for 2 days.
We spent a night at the beach house with extended family.
We saw fireworks in Depoe Bay on the 3rd. In the cold, blustery wind.
We saw WHALES just off shore! (finally! I've waited SO LONG!)
We climbed 114 stairs to the top of the Yaquina Head Lighthouse.
We saw fireworks in Harrisburg, carrying on tradition that was started with Jason's mom, so many years ago.
Yes, it was a good holiday. I'm grateful for my family. My heart was full-to-bursting before we even saw the fireworks. Which, I love, by the way!

I had an itch.

So we scratched it. And it was good.

I've really been hankering to get to the coast. When I first moved here I promised myself I would not take the coast for granted, and I would drive out there at least once a month. Well...apparently I break promises. At least promises I make to myself. Shame on me.

So after church on Sunday we came home and changed, loaded up the van, and headed west for the afternoon. We had a great time!

Here's a run-down of our day:

The kids used their Easter buckets. Yay Easter Bunny! (Unfortunately, the Easter Bunny is cheap. These $1 buckets barely made it through their first trip to the beach. Jenalyn's got a hole in it, and Corbin's handle broke.)

We explored caves

Climbed on rocks

Hiked to the lighthouse

AND THEN. Jason grilled up a delicious dinner. Right there on the beach. I love living in Oregon. I love that we only have to drive one hour to enjoy such beauty.

But I especially love that I have beauties of my own to share it with:

Isn't she dreamy?

Joy of Love (Day 1)

What he does:
Jason is the IT guy for a local company. He spends many late nights on his laptop researching and troubleshooting. Lucky(?) for me, he brings it to bed with him so I don't have to go to bed alone.

IT isn't all he does. He's a great husband and father. In fact last night, just prior to this picture being taken, he took over the mom-duties and got dinner for the kids so I could go out with some of the gals I use to work with. He is always so supportive of me having my girl time. I am so very grateful for that. Because I NEED that!

I love my hubs. He works hard for our family.

Joy of Love (Day 3)

I'm participating in a free online class called The Joy of Love. The class requires that you take a picture of someone you love each day during the month of February. I just started today. I may go back and do the first two days another time. But I really wanted to start today. So here it is:

(Can I just say, the look in those eyes makes my heart beat a little faster. I am so in love with this man!)

The topic is "Then and Now." The "now" was taken this evening. The "then" is the last professional photo we've had taken of us, and it was taken one week after we got married (11.5 years ago!). *HA* time for a new pic to go on the mantle, huh? (I tried to position his head so I was hidden in the picture, because I hate that picture of me.)

The challenge was to get in "tight". Fill the frame.

Eleven Years

Thursday was our 11th wedding anniversary. ELEVEN YEARS! Woohoo! This past year has definitely been a pivotal year for us. After all the trials and changes, I'd say we came out of it better. Stronger. I can't speak for Jason, but I think we both love and appreciate each other more than ever.

During our 10th year of marriage:

• We've had our highest highs and lowest lows.
  
• Jason's amazing mother passed away :(
• We enjoyed a our Christmas holiday with my parents - they stayed in Oregon for a whole 2 months!
  
• Jason got a job - well, a more consistent, reliable contract job. Which he loves!
• I QUIT my job of 12 years! YAY! (and boo, it was kinda sad leaving.) I'm finally living my dream of being a stay-at-home mom. And I love it! I've had a lot of fun with the kids this summer!
• Jenalyn finished her first year at Japanese Immersion School - and she loves it!
• Corbin finished his first year of pre-school and gave his teachers a run for their money!
  
• We are expecting Baby #3 (a GIRL) in late October.

We didn't have much time to celebrate on Thursday. Jason wanted to whisk me away for a weekend, but I talked him out of it because we need the money for other things right now. But we had an awesome date night on Saturday.

The company Jason is working for had a "Night at the Em's." They do this in lieu of a company picnic. So we got a babysitter and went to the baseball game. We got to sit by a couple from our ward (he actually got Jason the lead on this job) and we chatted the whole time. It was fun getting to know them better. Plus, I won a door prize *woo*

As we were leaving the game (early, because Jason wanted to go to a movie), I got a text from Venessa. She was bragging that she was at Bite of Eugene and Samba Ja was playing (that was our favorite entertainment from the Eugene Celebration last year). Well, we were just down the street so we stopped by briefly. We got there just in time to catch their last song...sigh...but it was still fun to visit with Venessa and James. As we were leaving for the movie, Samba Ja was getting back on stage...sigh again...this time with fire dancers!! SHEESH! Bad timing! But, we stayed long enough to get a short video of one of the fire dancers. I want to be a fire dancer some day. *heehee*


We made it to the movie just in time. We saw Inception. Pretty good show. By the end of the evening we both agreed that it was one of the best date nights we've had in a long time!

The next day, Jason spoke in church. That was icing on the big, beautiful, delicious cake! I love listening to him speak. He's so eloquent.

I love that man for so many reasons...on so many levels!

Here's to another awesome year together *cheers*

Farewell to an Incredible Woman

(missing you)

Janice Lou Zollinger

2/18/44 - 11/28/09

Two days after Thanksgiving, 2009 my sweet Mother-in-Law, Jan, left this world, and left all of her physical limitations and health problems behind her.

The phone rang at 2:30 a.m., Saturday morning, November 28. it was Jason's dad, John. He told his son that his mother was gone. The first thing we did when Jason hung up the phone was pray for comfort. That prayer was heard. And answered. The second thing we did was call our trusty home teacher. (Thank heavens for good Home Teachers!) He drove right over so that we could leave the kids sleeping and I could go with Jason to his parents house. I didn't want to send Jason alone.

The next couple days were a blur. Planning. Arranging. Coordinating...between sobs. It was so surreal. Jan was such a caring, loving, gracious, classy woman. Always doing things for others. In 2006 she had heart surgery and never fully recovered. She had a stroke in the recovery room and was left with some serious limitations. Which left a huge void in our family. Corbin wasn't even a year old and Jenalyn was just shy of 4 years old.

This is my favorite picture of Jan, holding Corbin just months before her surgery.
This was the last picture I took of Jan with the kids (not a very good shot of her, but it's all I've got!). It was taken at a restaurant on Jason's birthday this year (8/25/09).

We had a beautiful funeral service for Jan the following Saturday. The talks were so sweet and really captured Jan's character. Jenalyn sang a solo(!) "Families Can Be Together Forever." She practiced in the chapel, probably 5 times before the service. She sang strong and beautifully. It seemed like she loved being in front of the microphone. But when it was show-time...she froze up. The corners of her mouth were pulled down and her sweet little voice was barely a whisper. I wanted to run up there and throw my arms around her. But she finished strong. I was so proud of her for getting up there. (Afterward, she refused to admit that it was stage fright! She insisted that she just missed her grandma. I'm sure that's true too.)

Jason and his dad, John at the cemetery. It was a very cold day!

Five of Jan's 7 siblings were there - three drove all the way from Colorado! It was so nice to have them here. Despite the circumstances, we were able to spend some good time together and make some memories. (L-R: John, Dale, Marleen, Dori, Nancy, and Jim. The only two missing were Davie and Bill.)

I was so overwhelmed with all the help we got from our ward. Talk about a "family" pulling together! WOW! It helped that our ward is Jan's ward too. She lived in this ward for almost 20 years.

Our Trip to Zarahemla

Jason was in charge of FHE this week and he hit the ball out of the park! He started by reading Mosiah 4:14-15. It talks about not allowing your kids to argue, but instead teaching them to love and serve one another.

Then he took us all on a trip - lined up the kitchen chairs, which acted as our time-machine-airplane - back in time to Zarahemla to MEET King Benjamin! WOW! As soon as our plane landed, Jason excused himself to "find a bathroom" and out walked King Benjamin! He talked to the kids about what it means to love and serve one another. They played a little game together. Then King Benjamin shook our hands, thanked us for visiting him, invited us to come again, and left. Jason missed it all! But luckily, I got a picture of the kids with King Benjamin, you know, in case daddy didn't believe that we actually met him!

It was an incredible FHE. The kids LOVED it. I think it was memorable. I hope they'll always remember the words of King Benjamin.

Wonderful Weekend

We had such a great day last Saturday. I can't not blog about it! We have done so many fun things this year and I'm doing a terrible job of documenting it. So I'll start here and press forward - maybe do some back-posts when I feel motivated.

So first thing Saturday morning we made breakfast. Jenalyn was very specific! She said she wanted pancakes with strawberries (we'd had some in the fridge since Sunday and it was driving her nuts) and blueberries - we had frozen blueberries so I dumped them into a pot with syrup and warmed it up together. Mmm...blueberry-infused warm maple syrup. Lucky for us, we also had some whipped cream on hand. We all pitched in and cooked breakfast together. Jason warmed up some left-over Easter ham for protein. It was so pretty that I snapped a picture. I love food.
After breakfast I got so much done! Vacuumed, swept, mopped, scrubbed the tub, toilet & sink, bathed the kids.

Jenalyn had a birthday party in the afternoon. It was at BOUNCE. Wow. What a fun place! She had so much fun. I got a couple cute videos. Can't help but share.

I love this video because I like the way her braids bounce when she's jumping on the trampoline. Then her bestest friend walks in and they greet each other with a *BIGhug* She just LOVES Madison! She broke down in tears the other day when we saw her mom at the store and Jenalyn learned that Madison is going to a different school for Kindergarten next year *sobs* it was heartbreaking!


Here she is flapping her arms like a birdie and and basking in the lime-light and making her classmates laugh. She loves making people laugh.


After the party we came home and got some rest and then Jason and I had a little date. It was darned near the best date of my life. We left the kids with a sitter and stopped by a RedBox for a movie, Quizno's for some grub, and headed down to Cottage Grove and out to Dorena Lake. It was such a beautiful night. We took a little walk around the lake and enjoyed the peace and quiet. I love the water. It is so serene.
Then after the sun set we put down the seats in the back of the van and snuggled up with blankets and watched Yes Man right there in the parking lot at the lake! It was so much fun.

Before we left for our date I told our babysitter what our plans were and she said, "That sounds like something teenagers would do. But that's cool, I guess it's fun to go back." *LOL* At first her comment made me feel really old, but she was right. I totally felt like a carefree teenager the whole night! After the movie ended we drove up to the dam and star-gazed. It was such a clear beautiful night. So picture-perfect. I was born a romantic and it reminded me of when I was younger and we would be out camping and I'd find a quiet spot, gaze up at the stars and dream of my prince-charming. And now here he was, standing right there with me. Awe sweet. It was just one of those wouldn't-rather-be-anywhere-but-here-type of moments.

The next morning I woke up with no voice and a sore throat *hmph* I was sick for three days! I'm not blaming the date or the lake, I felt the scratchy throat coming on Saturday, but I was having too much fun to slow down so it hit me like a ton of bricks the next morning.