Memorial Day Weekend

We spent Memorial Day weekend in 3 Rivers at the cabin. Emily and her kids came with us. We spent the weekend dodging rain drops, boating the second the rain stopped, eating good food, cleaning up after muddy kids and playing Bingo! Twice a year in 3 Rivers the community gets together at the community center to eat hamburgers, drink beer and play bingo! We showed up with 7 kids (Em's 3, our 4) and played all night. Even Isabelle was into it! Hayden actually won twice which earned him $45! The guy next to us said that he has been going to Bingo night for 5 years and has never won. I guess Hayden hit a lucky streak! We met lots of nice people- very friendly and fun. Shea fell asleep on Emily's back. We were all amazed that she fell asleep considering how loud everyone was. The Morgan family came for a BBQ on Sunday- it was fun to hang out with them and to show them the cabin.

Olivia the runner

Olivia joined the track team this year. Turns out- she is an amazing runner. She finished her season 2 weeks ago and brought home 2 blue ribbons from the finals! She has a total of 8 blue ribbons from the 6 week season. Olivia has always been strong and athletic but has not ever really wanted to play on a team. We talked her into track after a little nudging from friends and she ended up loving it! Michael had a talk with her about being competitive which she quickly replied "Dad!! Thats rude. I don't want to beat my friends!" After a few practices, she learned just how fun it was to beat her friends!

Boating season and disgusting boys!

This weekend marks the beginning of boating season! It is the season in which the Neal family is just a little bit happier! We will head to the cabin this Friday with Michael's sister Emily and her family. Rain or shine we will be boating! Last weekend it was 95 degrees in Central Oregon. Michael, David, Brittan, Hayden and his friend Brennan spent the weekend with a chainsaw clearing fire hazardous trees and shrubs around the property. They played in the lake when they got too hot, and they also played "boy games" that mom would NOT have approved of. I learned that Hayden (my only boy as I like to remind him) is willing to do just about anything for a mere $20. This is a picture of him pretending that he is on the reality TV show called: Man vs. Wild. It is a show about surviving in the wilderness and one of the ways to fend off wild beasts (I can't remember its purpose exactly) is to urinate all over your shirt and wrap it around your head..thats right- your heard me right...URINATE!!!
I am not proud of my son, nor am I proud of my husband. I thought this was an important event that should probably be documented. Thank goodness for girls is all I have to say!

Brittan Rachelle is 12!

Today is Brittan's 12th birthday. I can't believe my baby girl is 12! Brittan woke up to our traditional birthday breakfast in bed. After school 4 friends joined her for a pedicure and a trip to the Spagetti Factory. We love Brittan!

Europe Trip/April 2008

Michael and I just got back from a fabulous vacation in Europe. We went on a cruise with some friends along the western coast of Italy. We started in Savona which is just south of Genoa. We traveled south to Naples, then to the island of Malta. Corfu Greece was next which was my favorite day. We rented mopeds and cruised around the island. We found the picture perfect cafe and ate like real Greeks! It as dreamy! After Greece we went to Croatia, then to Venice. Venice was neat. We had a hard time enjoying ourselves in Venice because it was so expensive. I did break down and buy a new purse though!

Neal family update:

Well...now that it is officially April I will do another post! I haven't been very good about posting. I guess I am going for the once a month thing!

March rushed by! We enjoyed Spring Break at the end of March. We officially moved into the cabin over the break. We cleaned, and cleaned and cleaned. The entire cabin was covered in 9 months of dust and grime. I must admit that I have never had so much fun cleaning! The kids were great. They worked like dogs and helped with whatever we needed. We took them into town one night and got everyone an ice-cream cone. Somehow ice-cream works every time. Not only did we clean the inside, but we spent 2 days cleaning up all of the trash that all of the subcontractors left outside. We literally took 4500 tons of garbage to the dump in two different trips! I know that because they weighed it at the dump! We rented a Uhaul to take some of the furniture that we have been collecting to the cabin. Once we unloaded it we used it to fill it full of all of the trash. It was actually ideal because we didn't have to worry about thing flying out! Anyway...that was important enough to document!

The kids are all doing well. Hayden finished his school play. He did a great job. He had a hard time not smiling on stage when he heard his dad laugh. Brittan is the most avid reader I have ever seen. We actually find ourselves getting mad at her because she is always reading! She starts an acting camp tomorrow that she is very excited about. Olivia is running track. She has been practicing for the long jump. I think the coaches took one look at her long legs and sent her straight to the long jump! Isabelle is the queen bee of the neighborhood. She has about 6 friends of all ages that ring the doorbell after school and play until dinner time. I was washing windows the other day and I heard her scolding a 10 year old boy on the trampoline. "Jake...if you take the lords vain in name one more time I'm going to have to send you home!" I was so proud of her! She has a lot more guts than I ever had (have) at her age!

Michael is great! Working hard and playing harder. He got excepted to Law school. Now he just has to decide if he really wants to go! It is such a huge commitment. He paid his fee that says he is coming. Now we will weigh all the pros and cons.

I am still plugging away. Hair on T/Th. I am enjoying my time during the week while the kids are at school. Michael's sister Emily has 3 young ones. I help her out a lot and she helps me too. She said today that I was so lucky that I didn't have to take my kids to the grocery store anymore. I totally agree! Life is good!! I was made the Mia Maid advisor a few weeks ago. I think that it will be fun to be in YW while my girls are there. Brittan will be 12 May 1st!

We hope to see as many of you as possible this summer. We are planning on being at the cabin a lot so look at your schedules and figure out when you can come! So far I only have Curtis' family coming for sure!


Hope you are all well!

February 2008

Okay...so February was a bit of a blur! It came and went before I was really ready and now we are already into March. We spent a lot of time on the road traveling to Central Oregon trying to pick out all of the interior stuff for the cabin. It is coming along nicely. We are ready for it to be done! Our goal is to have it done by Spring Break which is in about 3 weeks! I will keep you posted on the cabin front.

We traveled to sunny California in February to spend a few days at Disneyland. We went with Curtis and Gretel and their girls. (Always a blast with the Sampsons!) We ran into John Heder- AKA Napoleon Dynamite. We spent some time with Uncle Tim which was a real treat. We learned that it really pays to know someone that works at Disney. Tim and his friends were able to get all 10 of us in for free all 3 days!

Isabelle was a real trooper at Disneyland. She had been sick most of February. When we got home I took her to the doctor and found out that she had strep throat. I included a picture of her at Disneyland having a "melt down moment".

Hayden is in the middle school play at the end of the month. He was heavily bribed by his father to try out. He plays a police officer in the play "Spring Break". We are hoping that it is appropriate!!! Sounds a little questionable!

Brittan and Olivia are doing well. They are enjoying school and growing like weeds. Olivia and Brittan have a love/hate relationship with sharing clothing. Some days they love it and somedays there are cat fights. What can I say?

I got to skip town last weekend with my girlfriend and head to Scottsdale Arizona. We did some serious lounging and treated ourselves to the spa one day. We enjoyed every minute!

Hayden is 14!

Yesterday was Hayden's 14th birthday. He woke up to our traditional breakfast in bed. Hayden finally broke us down and we got him a cell phone for his birthday. I also finished decorating his room. It is now kinda of a tan color with red and tan striped bedding. We put some new decor on the walls too. Uncle Curtis sent him a puzzle of him flying on the tube. I included that picture to remind you all just how cool Hayden is! Michael took Hayden and Olivia night skiing tonight too= not too shabby of a birthday!

interior pictures...

Curtis called for some interior pictures too. These pictures show the great room, the upstairs loft and my bedroom. The ceilings will all be wood and the walls are sheetrock. The texture is the same as what is in Nate's house and the color is what is in my salon and basement here at home.

The Cabin...

Here are some current pictures of our cabin. We have spent the last couple of weekends there trying to get some work done. Everything takes longer than we think it is going to take so it has been a test of our patience. We hope to have it completed by June 1st. Anyone up for vacationing in Oregon this summer? We would love to have you!