Swimming

There is an outdoor public pool(very rare in Oregon) in a small town 10 mins. away.We went on Thursday,I really liked it.I think it's going to be my new hang out.

Our Summer Home

Don't be fooled. It's our winter house, too. And spring and fall. Just decided, since summer is half over, to take down the dark curtains, put up the white ones, and get out the white throws. Thanks to IKEA my redecorating is as easy as switching curtains.

You'd think I'd take more pictures, wouldn't you?? It's been a super busy week. Kids in camp, Alan teaching at a jazz camp in D.C., and me running around to a bunch of meetings. I hate to think of all the hours I logged in traffic this week. Yuck. How nice to sit each evening with my girls and read a chapter of "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe." Now I'm going to put my jammies on and go upstairs to our library room in the A.C. and re-read "84 Charing Cross Road." One of my favorites. How I love books made entirely of letters, especially when they're real!

garage sale

every summer my sister in law has a garage sale (arlene is the the one on the far right...my mother in law martha...80 years young in the middle, friend bev on the left) so this year i did it too. i hated it. i dont like going to garage sales and i really hate having one! but hanging out with family was fun

Mo's Seafood

They have these half price deals online so 3 months ago I bought a $40 coupon for $20 to this yummy seafood place.

My kind of thrift store!

Sunday evening I headed to the beach with two friends (w/all our recent "friend" talk, I must say this was a GOOD time w/friends!!!) and we spotted this sign as we searched for a restaurant. The next day, we popped in on our way to the beach and found the BEST deals. We all found some treasures and no one spent more than $10. You girls would have loved it. They played Christian music, Scripture verses were painted in large letters along the walls, and there was a box of free Bibles and Christian recovery books by the register.

Beach Day

I took Ray and the girls to the beach today.Ray dug for clams.....he found 75!!!We didn't have a license so he gave them to some people that weren't as successful.

8 year old first aid

amelia was there in my time od need!

The Next Project

When I found out I was having a girl when I was pregnant with Evelyn, I did what any self-respecting tomboy would do: I had the baby's room painted a ridiculously bright blue and swore off anything frilly. Well, my girls LOVE frilly. And they LOVE pink. So this month has seen the gradual overhaul of their bedroom. (And when I say gradual, I mean gradual. It's been a month now and only two walls are painted. Sigh. That's just the way it is around here!)

men "visiting"

here is husband gene and uncle harry "visiting" at my moms. they "visited" for over an hour.

Seattle with Justus

Justus and I went to Seattle yesterday to go to this concert last night.We had a great time!!!I love Seattle!

NYC

This week Alan had a meeting in New York City, so we all went up and made a mini-trip out of it. We stayed w/my cousin & his wife in Jersey City and had a wonderful, long day in the Big Apple on Wednesday. This is the girls on a section of "The High Line," which is a city park made out of an old, raised railroad bed that runs for several city blocks. This is what used to be an overpass for the train, and is now a spot where people can sit and watch the cars go under.

Panko Shrimp

This is the first time I've ever breaded and fried my own shrimp.It was a big hit in the Gash home :)

Converse

These are my new shoes that I got for our anniversary about a month ago......

Another old pic

Evelyn the winter of 2005. Crazy how time flies.

The girls and I are back from our camp-out week. It was fun, including the last night in the tent under torrential rain, thunder, and lightening. I'm so glad I brought those ear plugs. The rain soaked up through all but the top layers of our bedding, so we managed to stay dry all night! In spite of all that, the girls LOVE sleeping in a tent...and I do to! Must be the summer of 1984 that made me forever in love with camping. :)

fun in Oklahoma........Jody

so why just swim in a lake when you can roll in the mud and try to hug your mother!!!

Ray

Ray is still coming over for breakfast twice a week in the summer.Please continue to pray for him...he is still making really bad choices but I know God is moving on him.He went for a bike ride with the girls today...that's Rainey's bike :)

Creativity

My kids LOVE these magnetic 3-D building blocks a friends gave us. Amelia made this "fox" all on her own. I love watching creativity happen in our kids.

The girls & I are pretty much away all this week. They have day camp at my brother's camp & I'm working there while they're in camp and we're sleeping in a tent at night. It's a little sweaty but they love it. I'm home tonight because I am my parents' ride to the airport tomorrow, then I'll be gone again until Saturday.

Love my Kenya friends!

Heee Haw

One of the girls at church had a ho-down for her graduation party on Sat.It was a lot of fun :)

oklahoma city

here in oklahoma city visiting genes niece and her family...went to the art museum and saw "passages, the history of the king james bible"...pretty amazing stuff

Making Reading Fun (and tiny!)

A friend gave us a kids' book about the Bronte siblings (Emily Bronte wrote "Wuthering Heights" and her sister Charlotte wrote "Jane Eyre.') and one of the things they did when they were kids was making tiny little books. So our girls have loved making tiny books, too. Okay, I admit it. I love making these little books!

Evergreen Wings and Waves Park

This is where Destiny works as a life guard.They had a deal yesterday for family members so we took my niece Anna.We spent 4 1/2 hours there.I am tired and sore today :)

Before and After

 I admit, it wasn't a bad bathroom "before." My husband just got inspired to renovate (I think it was the combination of watching too many home improvement shows on HGTV online and talking to my sister-in-law about their home upgrades and staging their own home for selling.) So...we went from having a gray and white bathroom to having a gray and black bathroom! But I admit--it was fun!t

cousin lain

visiting our niece and family in oklahoma,  amelia loves cousin Lain...she reads to him and he loves it.

Nana's last day

We went canoeing on this lake last Sunday it was really fun.The guy in the middle is my nephew Josiah,he hangs out with some of Ray's friends so he's not making good choices.I decided to try and take him to do some things.....the other girl goes to our church.