Party of Five

Good morning from Alaska!

2011-07-17T12:13:00.001-07:00

Mendenhall Glacier

2011-07-16T17:04:00.000-07:00

The picture doesn't do it justice. It's half a mile across and is the most amazing blue color!

Having a Magical Trip!

2011-07-16T17:02:00.000-07:00

A Girl After My Own Heart

2011-07-05T18:58:00.001-07:00

Annual Tradition

2011-07-03T20:20:00.000-07:00

It's the Last Day of School!

2011-06-15T15:02:00.001-07:00

So we stop for an annual slurpee. Hooray! Soon we'll be headed to kindergarten, third grade, fourth grade and middle school. But first, a long relaxing summer!

The End of an Era

2011-06-08T20:13:00.001-07:00

In the fall of 2003, Josh and Diana started at the local high school lab preschool, Bear Hugs. They were three years old. Teacher Annette, has loved, encouraged, taught, read to, wiped tears, given band aids, and laughed with at least one Eitzenney (sometimes two and sometimes three!) child each year since then. Today marked the last day for me to pick up a kid from Bear Hugs EVER! There was a huge group hug, individual hugs for everyone, and lots of tears from our beloved Teacher Annette. Then all the kids went into the classroom for a last look around. Has the furniture all shrunk? Surely the chairs, tables, and reading loft were much bigger eight years ago. There were lots of, "Remember when...?" and a final stop to gaze at the class photos from every year back to 2003. My how they've grown!

Thanks, Teacher Annette for giving them all such a great start! We will miss you!

Spring Flowers

2011-06-03T20:59:00.000-07:00

Laura and I took a walk around the neighborhood after dinner. She took every one of these photos and made the slide show herself. Enjoy!

She Made it From Scratch

2011-05-31T19:38:00.000-07:00

All by herself!

A New Tradition: Playgroup Memorial Day BBQ and Bonfire

2011-05-30T15:26:00.000-07:00

So much fun! Photos and slideshow by Mary.

Happy Birthday, Diana!

2011-04-24T20:51:00.001-07:00

Love Note

2011-04-18T20:07:00.001-07:00

Abby (my favorite five year old on the planet!!) greeted me with this card at 7:15 am. She made it for me yesterday with her most treasured goodies from the Playgroup egg hunt. She told me it says, "I love the Denneys". See those beautifully formed letters? And the gorgeous swirls? And the carefully taped on erasers and silly bands? Isn't she brilliant? What can I say. The Denneys love her too. Tons.

Guess who's taller than Grandma?!

2011-03-31T19:11:00.000-07:00

Happy 9th Birthday!

2011-03-20T06:46:00.001-07:00

Happy Snow Day!

2011-02-24T07:36:00.000-08:00

My Mom, My Grandpa, and My Girl

2011-02-20T16:46:00.001-08:00

Priceless!

January Student of the Month, too!

2011-01-27T12:22:00.000-08:00

January Student of the Month!

2011-01-27T12:20:00.000-08:00

New Braces!

2011-01-17T16:11:00.001-08:00

Mary Strikes Again

2011-01-16T20:42:00.000-08:00

While scrolling through the pictures on my phone, I found this. I was pretty sure who had made it, but I asked the girls anyway. It was Mary. In a burst of creativity, she searched online for lion pictures, found this one and liked it. So she added the speech bubble and saved it for me. Ah, the innocence...

What the World Needs

2011-01-09T09:30:00.000-08:00

I came home from a hair appointment yesterday to a very frustrated daddy. He reported that Mary had spilled some glitter in Diana's bed. He had stripped it and started the wash. I told him I'd take over, and he headed for the casino. The girls and I hung out and went to the newest Narnia movie, which we all enjoyed. Mary wanted to watch a show at 8:00, and the vaccuum was out upstairs so I assumed there was still some clean up to do. I told her we needed to get Diana's bed remade and finish vaccuuming all the glitter before tv. So we started about 7:45. Big Mistake.

If you don't know Mary well, you won't know that she does things BIG. She loves big. She feels happy big. She feels anxious and let down big. She has big dreams and big ideas by the gallon. And she sprinkles glitter big. We made the bed, vaccuumed the floor, and I as looked around, I realized there was glitter on the desk. On the bookshelf. On the windowsill. On the dresser. In Laura's bed. On Laura's desk. On Laura's dresser. On Laura's shelves.

Completely exasperated about 45 minutes into vaccuuming, I asked, "Mary, what did you do? Sprinkle glitter everywhere?"

She replied, "The world needs more glitter, Mom."

After closely following the news from Arizona yesterday, I couldn't agree more.

She worked like a trooper to clean it up, missing her 8:00 show, and never complaining. How could I be mad at that?

And, just to illustrate my big point. Here's what Mary made for us for breakfast this morning. Instead of blueberry pancakes, she made one BIG one!

Love That Girl

2011-01-05T20:51:00.001-08:00

Mary finished Love That Dog, a novel by Sharon Creech, a few minutes ago. She came running in to tell me about how the boy in the story's yellow lab gets hit by a car. His dad carries the dog onto the grass, and the boy is there when "the dog closes his eyes for the last time." Mary was sad. Who wouldn't be with an ending like that?

Writing homework tonight was "free write", Mary's personal favorite. So: "I know, Mom! I'll write a poem about Ginger!" This is what she wrote:

I still miss Ginger every day, but I haven't cried about her in a long time. Tonight I did. Just a little.

The Polar Express

2010-12-28T18:47:00.000-08:00

Mom and Dad took us on the Polar Express the day before Christmas Eve. It was a perfect start to the serious holiday festivities. There were singing waiters, a conductor who punched tickets and made them snow on kids' heads, a funny wandering hobo, hot chocolate, cookies, the story, sing a long Christmas songs, and of course Santa. The cd of our pictures with Santa arrived today.

We had a great time!

Diana's (Big) Golden Book

2010-12-24T19:06:00.000-08:00

-A Christmas Story-
Written by Diana Denney

Once upon an time there was a girl. Her name was Diana. And for Christmas she wanted (dearly) a cell phone. All her friends walked around with their BIG FANCY cell phones. They were mocking her.

The reason she didn't have a phone was her evil parents (the Stevester and the Teresanator) were very anit-celluar. They also hated unlimited talk and text. There were tragic times Diana was living in.

Diana received a letter...

Dear Diana,
I bring sad news. If you do not receive a celluar phone for Christmas, all Christmas spirit will be lost. Give the Teresanator and the Stevester thos puppy dog eyes and the whole shingding.
                                                              Sincerely,
                                                              The AT&T Elves

"And the whole shingding," thought Diana.

She made figgy pudding. The Teresanator's personal favorite.

She sliced the roste beef. The Stevester's least favorite thing to do.

She decked the halls with bows of holly.

And sang Falalalalalala.

On Christmas morning she walked down stairs shakily. And under the tree was...a cellular phone with a text:

                              U savd X-mas! :)
                               <3 The AT&T Elves

Diana huged her parents, now Teresa and Steve.

Note to my readers: Santa WILL NOT be delivering a cell phone to my ten year old daughter. Christmas spirit is in serious jeopardy. Also, I really hate figgy pudding.

All Aboard the Polar Express!

2010-12-23T13:43:00.000-08:00

Baking Christmas Cookies!

2010-12-21T19:57:00.000-08:00

Piano Recital!

2010-12-21T07:39:00.000-08:00

Last weekend, was the girls' first big piano recital. It was held in a church, and about 100 people attended. All the kids were amazing, and we were so proud! Enjoy!

I apologize for the poor quality of the video! Hopefully the music comes through just fine!

A Milestone

2010-12-05T09:44:00.000-08:00

It's early on a Sunday morning, and I've been the only one up for an hour. Bliss! While sipping my coffee and listening to Christmas music, I've been uploading and sorting through two months of pictures which need organizing and posting. It's shocking that my last post was 5 weeks ago, Halloween. The time goes by so fast, and here we are in December. Two stories seem blogworthy to me this morning...

First, my inlaws celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary on November 23. They hosted 19 for Thanksgiving at their house as people began arriving in Gold Beach for the big celebration the next day. Truly, Thanksgiving paled in my mind compared to the import of the anniversary. What an accomplishment! What luck! How many couples make it to 50 years, I wonder? Chuck and Sharon met at a high school beach bonfire, which Sharon almost didn't attend. She thought it wouldn't be fun. Months later, after graduation, she headed off to San Francisco for dental hygenist training. Within a week, she was home and planning a wedding. Three kids and seven grandkids later, they travel the country in their rv and adore their 57 Chevy which Chuck completely remodeled himself.

The party was perfect. We all spent the night at Tu Tu Tun Lodge up the Rogue River from Gold Beach. The owners are childhood friends of Steve and his brother and sister so we were truly treated like royalty. It was the most gorgeous, classy setting! No decorations were required as the lodge was perfect with its beautiful rock fire place and huge picture windows framing the Rogue and lush forest. There were delicious appetizers, drinks, and about 50 friends and family to celebrate the occasion. Steve's sister had made a beautiful quilt and planned entertainment for the evening. Mary started it off by reading a poem she had written for her Grandma and Papa:

You're just gonna have to turn your head here. I cannot get this stupid thing to turn!

Next, Cousin Zac Houdenney and his Lovely Assisstant Diana performed some fantastic magic tricks:

Grrrr! Sorry!

My niece sang Love Me Tender beautifully, and Laura presented a Powerpoint about life in 1960. That girl is a natural born teacher, I tell you. Here are a few tidbits she learned: minimum wage was $1 per hour, Kennedy narrowly defeated Nixon in the presidential election, individual ketchup packets were introduced, and a postage stamp was four cents. I'm so proud of them all!

It's actually turning the pictures around by itself!

The Sweeney Sisters made a surprise appearance and entertained us with their musical/comedy sketch about Chuck and Sharon.

Why not this one??

And we had cake:

And, a few more pictures from the special night:

Thanks Lisa and Doug, David and Shelley for all the work you put into it!

Since the family got up, it has taken me two hours to finish this post...blogworthy story two will have to wait. We're off to get our Christmas tree!

Meet Marvin the Puking Pumpkin

2010-10-24T16:47:00.000-07:00

This mama is so proud...

Back To School Breakfast #4!

2010-09-06T18:52:00.000-07:00

There are a few annual traditions that just have to happen at the Denney house every year. Back to School Breakfast ranks up there on the "important traditions" list. This year our playgroup has grown to 18 children--ages three weeks to almost 11 years old. All but Baby August begin new school years in the next few days. Four years ago, we decided back to school was reason to celebrate, and armed with menu ideas from my inlaws' rv park experiences, Back to School Breakfast was born. Mary and Laura were getting ready for kindergarten. Diana was entering second grade. Like most traditions, food plays an important role in the event. We have omletes and monkey bread. Everyone brings omelet toppings to share. We each "personalize" our omlete in a ziploc baggie, and Steve and John professionally boil the omelets in the baggies to perfection. Monkey bread consists of frozen white bread dough, real butter, cinnamon and sugar. Enough said, right? Today's celebration was a huge success. Laura put together this video of the fun!

Disclaimer: The Mason boys REFUSED to be filmed for this project but were, in fact, in attendance. Maybe their mother has photographic evidence. You will, however, find them in the group shot.

New, sparkly earrings!

2010-08-30T11:49:00.001-07:00

In freshly pierced ears. So exciting and grown up! Just in time for
third grade.

Show Time!

2010-08-24T15:24:00.001-07:00

Now Playing!
"The Square Dancing Vampire Witch"
Starring Anna, Diana, Mary and Laura

Lemonade anyone?

2010-08-04T14:21:00.001-07:00

It's no wonder business is good! These three aren't afraid to turn on
the charm to passersby. They're on their third batch so far!

Some of my Favorite Photos...

2010-07-30T21:12:00.000-07:00

There are lots of great things about visiting my inlaws in Gold Beach. It's beautiful. The home cooked food is delicious. The girls get to play with their cousin hunting newts in the creek in the backyard. It's very quiet. My mother in law refuses to let me help with anything. That gives me time to do things I can't seem to squeeze in at home. Like sorting through and organizing old photos on my laptop. So, here are my favorite photos of our fabulous trip to New Jersey a whole month ago. Better late than never!

Summer Fun!

2010-07-27T17:04:00.001-07:00

I suggested a little dish soap in the pool...

Canada!

2010-07-19T22:20:00.001-07:00

After months of waiting, Mary and Laura's special trip to Victoria,
BC, has arrived. They left on the train this morning with Baba and
Grandpa for a grand adventure. Such grown up, sweet girls I have! I'll
miss them dearly, but I'm so excited for them to take this huge step
toward independence. I can't wait to hear the stories they'll tell
when they come home next week!

Making Their Live Theater Debut

2010-07-16T18:30:00.000-07:00

In Snow White and The Eight Dwarfs

Happy Birthday, Steve!!

2010-07-12T21:24:00.001-07:00

Meeting Jon Scieszka

2010-07-06T18:21:00.000-07:00

One of the best things about vacations are the unplanned, unexpected surprises. A favorite memory for the girls and I from our New Jersey adventure was meeting children's author, Jon Scieszka (it's pronounced 'sheska', I was happy to learn). For those of you who don't have young children or aren't reading teachers (seriously, I doubt there's anyone who reads this that doesn't fit into one of those categories!), Jon has written about thirty books for kids. His most popular are The True Story of the Three Little Pigs, The Stinky Cheese Man, and the Time Warp Trio series. My quest for coffee late one morning ended at a Starbucks inside a Barnes and Noble in Princeton. As we were leaving, I spied a small sign annoucing the writer's visit and book signing the next afternoon.

We returned a little early the next day expecting a big crowd for the promotion of his newest novel. Happily, it was an audience of about 20 kids and parents. He spoke for fifteen minutes or so, and then fielded questions from the audience. Laura asked why he wrote his new book Spaceheads. His reply was that he read on the internet that waves from earth travel into space forever, and he wondered what aliens would think about life on earth based on commercials they see.

Mary wanted to know his favorite thing about being an author. Without missing a beat, he answered, "Sleeping in and getting money in the mail." He's really a funny guy in person and as an author. I often read his Time Warp books to my class since they fit perfectly with my history curriculum and contain lots of 'boy' humor, hysterical to all 11 year olds and the teachers who love them.

"Seriously," he continued to Mary, "It's an amazing feeling to see your books in print. Seeing them finished and on the shelf is the best part of being an author."

Since it was such a small group, he engaged in personal conversation with each family and posed for pictures during the signing. And, on the way home? Silence in the backseat as they devoured their newly autographed copies.

Happy Fourth of July!

2010-07-06T11:53:00.000-07:00

At the Drive-in!

2010-07-02T19:46:00.000-07:00

"Fireflies" -Mary

2010-06-24T09:50:00.000-07:00

I was eating ice cream around a grassy area in Princeton, New Jersey. Little sparks of blazing light flashed across the area.

"What's that?" I asked.

Then I went to the grassy area.

"Fireflies!" I yelled, trying to catch one.

This sight was amazing! I had to try catching one. Then Felipe caught one and showed it to us. I was excited to see one. Fireflies are beautiful, blazing creatures! I walked down the street with Kendra, my sisters and my mom. We could still see fireflies. I caught one, and then my mom took a picture. It was a beautiful sight! I had never seen one in my life, not one. I had seen them in books, but not in real life. This beauty is amazing. Fireflies are big and easy to catch. These bugs are interesting to watch and discover. I never thought I would see these amazing creatures in my life. It was an amazing discovery for me!

Mom's Note: This is exactly as Mary wrote it in her diary the next morning. Thanks, Mrs. Lomas! :)

Hittin the Oregon Trail!

2010-05-28T07:44:00.000-07:00

The Not So Plain White Tees

2010-05-25T20:56:00.001-07:00

Lately the kids have been obsessed with Super Mario Brothers on the Wii. They get one hour to play after school every afternoon. And I don't use the word obssessed lightly either. The oldest five each have some specific character they always play, and when it's not their turn, they happily cheer each other on. It gets pretty loud and rowdy in the living room, but I love how they have to rely on each other in the game. It really forces them to cooperate and problem solve.That's stretch I know, but I'm trying to find one or two redeeming qualities in a video game. You should hear the cheers when they accomplish a goal! The sense of accomplishment and teamwork is amazing!

For the last couple of weeks, they've been planning t-shirts to wear while they play. They came up with some really clever ideas including nicknames and appropriate phrases for each or them. So, of course, I sprang for the t-shirts at Walmart. Josh already had the fabric markers. This afternoon was blissfully free of piano, dance and baseball so we finally got to work. It was really fun! I can't remember the last time we did a project together, all seven of us. They put a lot of thought and effort into their shirts, and they are so proud of the results. Each kid planned on paper what they wanted on the front of their shirt, then they did the writing and drawing for each other. They turned out so cute, and the kids are so proud of them!

Some of my favorites that you might not be able to see in the photos:

Abby's says, "Can I play?" and "Laura loves you!"
Josh's: "I eat enemies for breakfast"
Laura's: "ABBBBBBY" (Abby signed it herself)and "I bubble for fun"
Diana's: "I laugh in the face of Mario"
Mary's: "Got yellow?" (she's the yellow toad)
James drew the cutest green toadstool!

And on the back of the Team Mario jerseys? "Eitzenney" across the shoulders. It's what Allison and I call the collective group of them. As in, "Eitzenneys, get in the van. It's time to go!" Below that, they all signed each others'. Too cute! Love, love, love these kiddos!

(You can click on the square at the bottom right of the video to watch it full screen)

Happy Toes!

2010-05-16T16:37:00.000-07:00

Columbus Elementary April Student of the Month

2010-04-30T20:48:00.001-07:00

Birthday Happiness

2010-04-25T18:26:00.001-07:00

I had grand plans for Diana's birthday blog post. Newborn photos,
memories...instead I got to do two soccer games and a dance
competition in Portland this weekend. It was all great, but this post
will have to do. The second we walked in the door, she got settled in
new new AG jammies and slippers with Lanie and started her pile of
nine knew Warriors books. What could be better for a ten year old
Denney girl??

First Dance Competition!

2010-04-18T08:36:00.000-07:00

After a morning soccer game (in which we were short players so the
Diana played hard the whole time) we headed to the Convention Center
for her first dance competition. It was something I wasn't quite
prepared for! Sparkles and feathers and sequins, oh my! Diana's team
did great. I could hardly believe that was my little girl up there
looking so pretty and graceful. Their adjudicated score earned them a
"high gold" ranking and fourth place in their division. We celebrated
with a yummy (and very late!) dinner at Olive Garden with the
Gibson's. And, we get to do it all again next Saturday!

A Definite Don't

2010-04-16T19:55:00.001-07:00

Or, How Not to Wear False Eyelashes

Books Are Yummy!

2010-04-15T21:24:00.001-07:00

Mary: Mom, the first sentence of my new book is delicious!!

Sent from my iPhone

A Lazy Morning at Home

2010-04-15T10:02:00.001-07:00

The girls asked me to take a picture of them and put it on my blog.
I'm happy to oblige! We're enjoying a lazy morning at home. There's no
school today since parent/teacher conferences start at noon. Laura
loves to cook breakfast and make up recipes. She's pretty good at it
too. On the menu today: scrambled eggs in hash brown "nests".
Delicious! Mary had two! And I love how this picture shows how
different my twins are: Mary with her dark hair, green eyes and braces
who wears footie pjs and still is cold, Laura with her fair skin and
freckles who would wear nothing but panties all day if we'd let her.
So different, yet so connected. I guess those of us who aren't a twin
will never get it.

Warning: Vacation Photos Here!

2010-03-28T21:05:00.001-07:00

Spring Vacation was just what we needed. There was no rushing anywhere, ever, for nine whole days. It was blissful! I worried the girls were too young for a do nothing vacation, but they loved it! Steve saw some spring training games, and we spent long days at the pool and water park. Since the water was never over 3.5 feet, it was easier to concentrate on my reading and worry about them hardly at all. They played hard, read lots, ate huge amounts of food, and slept extremely well. We had the zoo all to ourselves Tuesday (post with pictures to follow)and got an extra day, night, some meals and future travel vouchers on US Air. It was an awesome ending to a fantastic week! Since we've been home: laundry, cooking, rushing from dance to soccer to school, and rain, rain, rain. Can we do it all over again please?

Spring Soccer Begins!

2010-03-06T20:19:00.000-08:00

It was a beautiful day for soccer to start. Sadly, I know the rest of the season won't be as perfect. Mary happily listened to Hannah Montana and cheered Laura's team on. Laura scored a goal, and Diana had three! Of course I missed all the action. Both games happened simultaneously, and I was always in the wrong place at the wrong time. It was a great start to a gorgeous early spring day!

The Columbus Cougar Silver Medal Battle of the Books Team!

2010-03-06T15:44:00.000-08:00

Mary Potter

2010-02-09T19:22:00.001-08:00

She showed up to dinner like this. And had no idea it was there. Watch
out, Voldemort!

Makin brownies on a Friday after school

2010-02-05T15:25:00.001-08:00

Homework Time for Little Hands

2010-01-28T21:51:00.000-08:00

Papa called...

2010-01-28T21:10:00.000-08:00

And he wants the $33 from his purple purse back.

Sent from my iPhone

Lesson Not Learned

2010-01-25T20:13:00.000-08:00

So, for those of you who don't know, American Girl makes a doll "girl of the year". It's a big deal every January 1 at our house to see what she'll be like. She's exclusive, you know. Only around for 365 days. This year, they have to have her. Lanie. She loves nature and has beautiful blond hair. Understand we already have nine American Girls. I'm a little horrified to admit it, but they really are great. The quality is fantastic. My girls really do love them, and they play with them A LOT. And they really have learned a ton of history from the books. So Diana and Laura have been earning and saving since January first. Do we need another doll? No. Do I see the value of wanting something and working hard to earn it? Yes. Am I thrilled that the two who fight the most are happily working together toward a goal? Totally.

Saturday morning found them just about $15 short so I had them washing windows to earn some cash. Next, I set them onto the bathroom "pretty drawers". The ones where we have several thousand hair accessories affectionately called "hair pretties" since Diana was very little. I'm sure you have these drawers at your house (although you may not be so lucky if you don't have three girls). Tacky plastic bead necklaces are tangled in giant knots. There's toothpaste gluing barrettes together. Floss is unraveled and woven between brush bristles. And on ballet days, I have to dig through it all to find the one hair elastic that actually has elastic still and a few bobby pins to put girls' hair up. About thirty seconds into the job, just as I was settling down with my second cup of coffee and the newspaper, much hooting and screaming came from the bathroom. In an old purple purse, they found cash. No one remembered putting it there. No one claimed it (although Steve tried hard). Who knows how long it's been there or where it originated from. Doesn't matter. There was lots of hugging and yelling. Then the counting began. I'm just hoping the whole time it's a number that divides evenly by three...and it does. Perfectly. The little divas found $33 in there! Enough to order Lanie. There goes the lesson about hard work to earn what you want. Next time you need a little cash, check the pretty drawer in your bathroom. Apparently it pays.

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-26T11:06:00.001-08:00

New Year, New Name, New Look

2009-12-18T21:32:00.000-08:00

I know I'm about two weeks early, but the right name came to me finally. So, the Denney's blog is now "Party of Five". That's what we are. A party of five. And with a new name, I decided it was time for a new look. 2010 here we come!

Introducing

2009-12-18T11:34:00.000-08:00

The December student of the month!

90

2009-12-07T19:32:00.000-08:00

Major league baseball bases are 90 feet apart. 90 is the latitude of the north and south poles. 90 is the international number for calls to Turkey. Cuba is 90 miles off the coast of Florida. According to Wikipedia, 90 is a Harshad number, a Perrin number, is semi-perfect, pronic, and unitary perfect. It is also a nontotient. Whatever. Most importantly, 90 is the birthday my grandpa just celebrated.

When my grandfather was born on November 24, 1918, Woodrow Wilson was president. World War I had ended just 13 days earlier. Warner Brothers Pictures was incorporated, and an influenza epidemic killed 20 million people world wide. Jazz music was gaining popularity, and the average family income was $1518. A pound of steak cost about 37 cents.

He was born in Arizona, one of nine or ten children, and orphaned around age 5. He remembers being sent away on the train with one brother after his parents died. In high school he worked as a soda jerk at a lunch counter where he was paid 25 cents a week. He played football at Arizona State University. Luckily, he stole my grandmother's heart away from her fiance, and she married him instead. He was by her side when she died of ALS in 1980.

During World War II, he served in the Air Force, working on planes in the relative safety of England. While he was away, my mother was born. They didn't meet until she was two years old. They moved to Medford, and my aunt came along. Thanks to the GI Bill, he went to college and studied education. He served as principal at several elementary schools until his retirement about 25 years ago.

On Saturday, over 120 people showed up to wish my grandpa a happy 90th birthday. Although I literally knew a handfull of them, I was amazed at who came. There were former students, teachers, Rotary club friends, church friends, four great-granddaughters and of course retirement home neighbors. People had traveled from as far as Eastern Oregon and Portland ("by train, since my children don't allow me to drive this far anymore") just for the event.

My favorite memories of Grandpa are of spending days at school with him while he was principal, and fishing trips. I would shadow him through his work day which included hours in his office, lunch duty, and visiting classrooms. The students were amazed he had a granddaughter. I was amazed he had a career. Fishing trips began with breakfast at 4:30 in the pitch dark followed by the rituals of getting the boat into the water and baiting my own hooks. He was master on the Rogue River. A professional guide for years, he knew all the best spots. I'll never forget his pride when I landed a 37 pound salmon in front of a bunch of his buddies. He rowed his drift boat with power and ease well into his sixties.

Grandpa's a lot slower these days. Everything's slower. His memory. His body. We have to constantly repeat things. When I send him the more than fifty pictures I took on Saturday, he'll get to enjoy them for the first time over and over again. He's allowed. 90 years is a really long time. We should all be so lucky.

And, just so you know what you've got to look forward to, here's a picture from outside the dining room at his retirement home at 5:00.

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

2009-12-06T21:40:00.000-08:00

It was perfect day to get our tree. We had a great time traipsing around the frozen mud at our favorite tree farm! The view was amazing, but it was clear and really cold. After two quick picks and hot drinks, we headed home to decorate. More photos to come!

Another Slide Show!

2009-11-08T20:58:00.000-08:00

More from the Bucket List

2009-11-08T20:40:00.000-08:00

Who knew you could cross so many things off your bucket list in one long weekend? Broadway shows: check. Carriage ride through Central Park: check. Yellow taxi and subway rides in New York City: check. Empire State Building: check. And, Ground Zero: check. That deserves a whole post of its own, but it will have to wait for now. You can click on the images in the collages to enlarge them. They say a picture is worth a thousand words. For me, these only begin to tell the story. Enjoy!

Ellis Island

2009-11-07T08:43:00.000-08:00

Diana and I spent the time at Ellis Island pretty much on our own. We enjoyed exploring the building were so many immigrants entered our country. Diana found both Beattys and Denneys. I have no idea if we're related to any of them, but it was still cool. The upstairs rooms were filled with items brought by immigrants. There were so many photos, pieces of clothing and personal items. It was fun to look at them all. Outside is a wall covered with names of immigrant families who contributed to the restoration of Ellis Island. Amazing to walk through such a historical place!

The Statue of Liberty

2009-11-07T08:28:00.001-08:00

One of the most moving experiences of the trip was seeing the Statue of Liberty. Not that it's massive or gorgeous or unusual. It's just what it is, and it touches you. Security was exceptionally tight. Airport style, twice. But worth it. The views of the city are amazing from the 300 something steps up just the base. Inside is the original torch and a detailed museum of the building and restoration of the monument. I'm not typically a patriotic person, but there are no words to describe being there. Proud is close. Kinda.

Images of New York City Day 1

2009-11-07T08:04:00.000-08:00

Philadelphia

2009-11-05T18:46:00.000-08:00

I arrived without any difficulties in Philadelphia, proud of myself for getting all the way across the country, spending the night in the hotel and meeting the tour group. We spent several hours (of a very warm, humid morning!) exploring Independence Hall and the Constitution Center. It was amazing to be in the rooms where our forefathers discussed, debated, wrote and signed The Declaration of Independence and The Constitution. The Liberty Bell is impressive up close, and there was an added bonus of an exhibit of Princess Diana's memorabilia which included her wedding dress, jewelry, many ball gowns and outfits and some personal artifacts of hers. Mom, Diana and I skipped the gift shop and sped through. Beautiful! That afternoon: the bus ride to New York City! What an adventure...

Fall Tradition

2009-10-18T21:07:00.000-07:00

Today, the annual trip to the pumpkin patch. Tonight, the annual blog about the pumpkin patch. It was a warm afternoon (hence ice cream instead of hot chocolate), everyone came home with the perfect pumpkin, and a good time was had by all. Even Laura enjoyed herself after recovering from the fact that the pumpkins were already picked. It's not a real trip to the patch unless they're still on the vines apparently. Now for the carving!

Mary, Mary...

2009-10-08T20:08:00.000-07:00

We spent two and a half hours at Discovery Meadows this morning. It was beautiful and peaceful, and a good time spent with old friends. The moms visited while the kids played. Hard. We barely saw them except to occasionally dole out band aids and flush sand out of the eyes. Hours later, Mary stood up from the couch where she had been playing Wii for a bit. Left on the couch cushion was half the sand from the sand play area at the park. Confused, I went to investigate. This is what I found:

"Mary, how many times did you slide down the sand hill?"
"Oh, about a hundred."
Obviously!

Apologies

2009-09-20T21:53:00.000-07:00

I apologize for the terrible text on this afternoon's post! I sent it from my phone while sitting out in the beautiful sunshine, watching Laura try out her new skateboard. I did take the opportunity to change things up a bit. Hopefully that will inspire me to blog a bit more often...

Laura's New Hobby

2009-09-20T16:48:00.000-07:00

Laura is so much like her dad. She is a saver and a shopper. First,
she saves her money. For a long time hates to part with it even when
it's for something she loves. When she finally decides what to spend
it on, she shops around. About a week ago, she decided she'd like a
skateboard. After several hours online comparing colors, prices and
styles, a trip to Walmart for baseline information, and checking the
Sunday ads, we came home from Big 5 this afternoon with all the gear.
So not how I operate! But, after almost 15 years married to Steve, at
least I get it. I'm proud of her! She wouldn't get any pink gear
though they do make it. The pink helmet has a special place for a
ponytail even! Oh well, I guess they can't be girly girls all the
time. And doesn't she look darn cute in her new stuff? Watch out Tony
Hawk! Here she comes!

You know summer should be over when...

2009-09-06T10:35:00.001-07:00

the kids are really excited to play in the rain. They splashed,
stomped, and got soaked in a huge puddle out front. The boots and
raincoats sure didn't stay on long!

Big Girl With Sparkly New Braces!

2009-08-31T12:34:00.001-07:00

A Perfect Day

2009-08-25T17:50:00.000-07:00

2009-08-20T15:49:00.000-07:00

The Girls of Summer

Finally! Here we are!

2009-08-09T14:53:00.001-07:00

San Juan Vacation Photos

2009-07-27T21:05:00.000-07:00

Warning: There are lots! If you've got something cooking or a child in the tub, don't start this. It takes awhile! On the other hand, I'll never know if you don't look or if you tire of it half way through. We had an absolutely amazing time. I hope I captured some of it in pictures. Enjoy!

Greetings from Friday Harbor!

2009-07-26T11:04:00.001-07:00

This is the only orca we've seen...

Kendra and Felipe: Post Number 100!

2009-07-19T11:38:00.000-07:00

I've been watching my number of posts creep toward 100 for a few weeks, wondering what what the big 100 would be about. Kendra and Felipe's day yesterday was 100% perfect. The flower girls were 100% adorable. How fitting their pictures get to be post number 100!

Lemonade

2009-07-08T10:33:00.001-07:00

We're making gallons of lemonade in the Denney family this week. Life has given us tons of lemons lately. What I have learned is that when life gives you lemons, if you look close enough, you'll find plenty of sugar to sweeten it. I saw the corner of Steve's mouth turn up from his hospital bed for the first time in days when I told Diana that I felt a long blog coming on. Here goes! Feel free to skip or skim...We left McMinnville Thursday afternoon for what was supposed to be a long weekend in Gold Beach followed by taking the girls to Roseburg for the week. Steve and I planned (after months of discussion!)our first real child free vacation since, well, since children. We had reservations on Capital Hill in Washington DC for five days of sightseeing. Life had other ideas. Steve's aunt died of cancer about two months ago and a memorial was planned for the 4th of July morning in Gold Beach. The day before, Steve's brother took their mom, Steve and two cousins up the Rogue for several hours in his boat. It was a gorgeous, hot day, and the five of them had a wonderful time. Unfortunately as Steve got out of the boat, his back went out. Bad. He was frozen. He took it easy the rest of the day, but it was worse the next morning, so off to the ER we went. Yes, Gold Beach does actually have a hospital with an ER. In fact, they have two stoplights there now so don't be dissing it anymore. He was diagnosed with a "back sprain", given drugs and sent home. Big ol' bag of lemons. We made it back just in time to shower and leave for the memorial. It was a lovely service, up on a hill overlooking the ocean. My niece sang "Amazing Grace" as Aunt Sue's ashes were scattered on her father's grave surrounded by 23 family members. Each family left a red rose, and we went back to my in laws for good food and lots of shared memories. It was an emotional day. It pains me to see my mother in law so sad. She confided in me that it feels like a huge part of her soul is missing having her twin sister gone. Wow, big bag of lemons. I was struck by the sense of belonging I had there, though. The connectedness of the group was palatable by the end of the weekend. I am part of that family even though I wasn't born into it. Sugar! Somewhere in the middle of it all, I received word from our dog/house sitter that our first baby girl, our 12 year old yellow lab Ginger, had had two really bad seizures. More lemons! The next day, Steve was worse so I spent several hours on the phone canceling all the DC reservations. Lemons. Around 2:00, we somehow got Steve into the car and made the trek to Roseburg. My dad met me at the door with the best gin and tonic I've ever tasted. How did he know I needed that so badly? The next morning, Mom and I headed to Medford to be with my 89 year old grandpa while he had his pacemaker replaced. He was thrilled to have my mom, my aunt and me around him in the pre-op room, and we laughed a lot at his silliness after whatever they put in his iv kicked in. The surgery was a success, and I could see the improvement on the heart monitors afterward. Sugar! As mom and I made our way home that night, Jeanita (who kindly took my girls to her pool before the ambulance took their daddy away) called to say an ambulance was coming to take Steve to the hospital. He had gotten to the living room floor and couldn't get up. We flew the last hour (thanks, Mom!) home and she dropped me at the hospital. Watching Steve writhe in pain on the gurney was surreal to say the least. I wondered a little if that's what it's like for a husband to watch his wife give birth. I felt so helpless, but unlike labor, there sure wasn't going to be a sweet baby in a few minutes... In fact, I couldn't really see the light at the end of the tunnel for a while. Diagnosis this time: sciatica. More new and stronger drugs, specific directions not to ride in the car and we headed to my parents' house about 11:00. 25 pound bag of lemons. We couldn't be in a better place for this disaster, though. I'm enjoying my dad's cooking, Mom doing laundry and entertaining the girls. We're swimming every afternoon, getting dressed whenever we feel like it, and I've already finished one book. Sugar, sugar, sugar! I'm carefully documenting the muscle relaxants, pain killers and steroids I dose my husband. Lemons. But I'll finance our next trip by selling the leftovers on the Black Market. Sugar. So, in a week or so, when we're finally home, come on over. The Denney's will have the biggest vat of lemonade you've ever seen. And, we'll share!

Beatiful Inside and Out

2009-06-24T22:11:00.000-07:00

Laura has always had pretty hair. She has gotten compliments on it her whole life. It is a perfect blend of several colors with natural highlights and gentle curls at the end. Although she has never said it out loud, I suspect what she loves most about her hair is that it's so different from her sisters'. She has always kept it much longer than theirs. A couple of months ago, she mentioned she'd like to grow her bangs out and have the rest shorter. I suggested we donate it if she got it cut. One look at the Locks of Love website, and she had a mission. There are beautiful photos of donors and recipients both before and after. Some little girl who needs it will be so lucky! We had to wait for the cut until after the ballet recital (a perfect bun is a must, right?). Today was the big day. She insisted she wasn't nervous but squeezed my hand tightly as we went into the salon. My hairdresser, Ami, did a fantastic job! I cannot tell you how proud I am of her. She is thrilled with her new look (which is amazingly grown up!) and she glowed all afternoon. She is truly beautiful inside and out.

Before

2009-06-07T19:35:00.001-07:00

Feeling nervous!

After

2009-06-07T19:33:00.001-07:00

Notice the new earrings!

Close to Home

2009-05-31T20:46:00.000-07:00

Anyone who knows me at all knows how much I love to travel. A friend teased me the other day that Steve should know better than to even mention a trip. I'm online planning before he finishes the sentence. It's important to me to always have the next adventure on the back burner. (Hello, NYC in October!) Today though, surprisingly, I enjoyed a new adventure right here in Mac. After a very lazy morning in pj's, a breakfast of homemade waffles with fresh strawberries, and a movie (If you haven't watched E.T. with your family yet, do it now! We got it at the library on DVD. I had forgotten what a great movie it is, and the girls LOVED it!) we headed all the way to Airport Park. It was beautiful and perfect! And right here. Last time I was there was in college for a late night sorority thing about 20 years ago, but that's a whole nother story...Tons of work has been done at the park. The trails are clear with fresh barkdust and new bridges. It's lush and green and cool. And so quiet! We could hardly believe we were minutes from home. It was completely the perfect afternoon walk on a sunny Sunday. We stopped for ice cream and hanging baskets for the backyard on the way home. Who knew you could have so much fun so close to home?

Feels like summer III

2009-05-29T19:34:00.000-07:00

Nothing like a red popsicle on an 85 degree day!

Feels like summer II

2009-05-29T19:32:00.000-07:00

Watering the baby tomatoes together...

Feels like summer!

2009-05-29T19:30:00.000-07:00

Barefoot finally!

2009-05-15T19:17:00.001-07:00

What a gorgeous afternoon! We've spent it outside. Happiness for us
girls!

Happy Mother's Day!

2009-05-10T17:15:00.000-07:00

from the windy and chilly Oregon coast!

Truly the happiest place...

2009-05-08T21:37:00.001-07:00

Sorry, friends. I just set up my mobile blog account and have to play
with it a bit. Now I can bore you with the details of our life
anywhere, anytime. Lucky you!

Lovey Laura

2009-05-08T21:19:00.001-07:00

Merry Mary

2009-05-08T21:16:00.000-07:00

Abby

2009-05-08T12:45:00.000-07:00

If you know me at all, you know how much I adore Abby. Today, while Mother's Day shopping at Walmart (I know, but Mom wants a hand mixer...), some pink princess crocks jumped into the shopping cart. Just her size. Sorry, John, they're definitely not Stride Rite. We'll keep them at our house so you never have to know. Abby's idea. For real. When we got home, she was eating her macaroni and cheese (who cares if she has it every day at my house?)and we had this conversation. I'm writing it moments after so I never forget it:

Abby: You knew me at my grandma's house before I was born.
Me: Yes, I did, Abby. In fact, I was the first one to hold you after you were born.
Abby: Really?
Me: Yes, and I loved it.
Abby: Well, I wuv you, Teresa.
Me: I love you, too, Abby.

One of those days...

2009-05-07T21:04:00.000-07:00

Ever have one of those days? I had one yesterday. It started about 7:45 with the van's alarm inexplicably honking for 20 minutes or so at Allison's house. After rushing the kids to school (late; our first ever tardy slips!) in her not-honking van, getting totally drenched and just barely making it to my classroom before school started, I thought it couldn't get much worse. Fast forward to about 12:42. I'm supposed to be in the gym at Linfield observing one of my student's PE lessons. The only parking is about 9 miles away. Drenching number two. I'm walking as fast as I can down Linfield Avenue. You know those metal bumpy square manhole covers? They're textured so they're not slippery when wet. Well, they don't work. You know what a hurdler looks like when they clear the hurdle? One leg stretched out, the other bent back and under? Imagine me doing a beautiful triple axle on the wet metal textured manhole cover, then ending up on it like a hurdler: right leg stretched out in front, left bent back and under. Hi, man in little red truck! Thanks for slowing down to see if I'm okay. I am, just feeling really stupid. Anyone around with a camera? No? Crap. I'm sure that could have won $10,000 on American's Funniest Home Videos. Second place at least...So I pick myself up and continue rushing into the gym, pretending that little stunt never happened. Okay, so how am I going to explain my really wet butt and soaked left pantleg to my students? Plan A: just admit it. Plan B: sit on the floor against the wall with my legs crossed and clipboard in my lap. Sneaking into the gym, I opt for Plan B. I smoothly remove my jacket and use it as shield while I get myself settled on the floor. At least I'm not in charge today. As I observe the lesson (well planned and delivered, I might add) I get a chance to inspect the damage, discreetly of course. Left knee: red and sore, big bruise on the way. Right shoulder and left "sit bone" (Hi, CB!) sore from absorbing impact making sitting on the gym floor more than slightly uncomfortable. Left foot: two bloody cuts. Cool. I have no idea what I cut myself on, but it doesn't matter. At least I've got some bleeding to show for my acrobatics! And the worst of it? A hole in the left knee of my new pants! Only wore them once before. Damn. And today? Still sore and still feeling stupid, but at least I can laugh at myself about it, right?

American Girls (and their moms and grandmas) Who Love American Girl

2009-05-05T20:56:00.000-07:00

Disneyland!

2009-05-01T16:46:00.000-07:00

Kites!

2009-04-05T10:50:00.000-07:00