Haley: Last Track Meet Stayton, Oregon

Witty quotes

Witty quotes

Making Paper Pots for this Year's Plants

Time to start the squash and bitter melon seeds! An easy and inexpensive way to start seeds is to use paper pots. But unlike the linked instructions I find using a right-sized soup can instead of a jar works just fine. And instead of just bunching the left over paper into the end, just make four cuts and fold each section in, taping the final section down.

You can also see we have little starter pots. These we got from Fred Meyers, called "Jiffy Discs" (I think). These are for the special seeds we got from "Pepper Bob" (Mom and Dad's neighbor). Pepper Bob is most protective of his special tomatoes but because Annie is so cute, this last summer PB gave Annie "one" tomato. Well, we already knew these tomatoes were special so instead of savoring that one tomato I found how to extract seeds (a fun project, really) and dried them. Fingers crossed, we hope that unless the tomatoes are hybrids, we will have our own special tomatoes from now on. (Don't tell Pepper Bob!)

Tomato Seed Starting
Tomato Seed Extracting Pictorial

Newberg Track Meet, Haley Wins 100 and 200

Just got an email text from Haley.



She took the camera with her so maybe I'll have some more pictures to add!



Haley took along the camera and as you can see she is more comfortable behind the lens than in front of it. This of course is the look Haley's mother and I have trained her to give all boys. (That should work for a while.)











Thankfully, for the foreseeable future, boys will be working hard to keep Haley single too.

Mom's Secret Omlette Recipe

Apparently, while on the trip to the beach this last Friday, Mom told Annie about an easy way to make omlettes. She sent the recipe by email and I couldn't help myself, I had to try it. You put two eggs and ingredients into a ziplock bag. Then boil them for 13 minutes. Voila!

Only thing is, I used a too big ziplock so the eggs were on the bottom crease and all the ingredients were high and dry. So I added a couple eggs. Therefore this omlette you see is HUGE! (Good thing I had a healthy appetite.) Oh, and it is delicious.

Thanks for the recipe, Mom.

Day at the Beach, Lincoln City

Mom and Dad offered us a trip to the beach to celebrate Annie's birthday. It was a beautiful, beautiful day. Annie, Haley, Mom, Dad and I left from Forest Grove at about 10am. We made a stop at an estate sale in Yamhill and then headed to the casino in Lincoln City. While on our way we once again saw the stately mansion that served as a backdrop for a picture of Mom and her sisters some forty years ago. She said her sisters agreed to have another picture taken and that the owners are still relatives and will let them do it. Will be nice if they can make time to do it again.

We arrived in Lincoln City just in time for lunch. We had the buffet which was delicious. Salmon seemed to be the favorite. I enjoyed the rice and crab stuffed cod. They had lemon merangue pie, so Haley was extra happy. I think the best was the carrot cake.

After lunch Haley and I went exploring while the rest of our group settled in for some gambling. We took the van and did some exploring. We went to the state park at Devil's Lake. We went to a cute little candy shop and got Grandpa some salt water taffy. We went to Bimart and got Haley some orthopedic inserts for her shoes (Haley had a doctor's appointment earlier and learned that a "bump" on her right instep and the pain in her knees was from growing so fast and to help with the pain she needed the inserts).

We drove around, looked at the beautiful homes in Lincoln City and found a thrift store in the basement of the Elks Lodge. Kind of a creepy place. One of the pictures above is from on top of one of the hills looking out over the ocean.

We also had a chance to go to the beach. The stairs down were very steep and zig-zagged all the way down. It was a bit hazy on the beach but there was almost no wind and it was nice and warm. Really enjoyed sitting there, taking pictures of Haley. But had to come back a little early because Haley took on a big wave and lost. Got back to the van and Haley got under a blanket and changed into a pair of shorts.

On our trip back home we stopped at Walgreen's in McMinnnville and also at a super used clothes store called "New To You". Haley and Annie found some clothes they liked and then we headed home. When we were dropped off Dad asked me to consider ways to tape hawk sounds to be played from remote control airplanes. Figure a small mp3 player attached to a sound system would work. Will have to give it some more research.

Haley Second Home Track Meet, 3 Events, Places 1-2-3

Starting to feel more like spring, the weather for Haley's track meet was very nice. She ran three events. The mile (2nd place), then the 400 (3rd place), and finally the 200 (1st place).

I had been called in the morning and asked to be a volunteer. I was a time keeper. In the mile they didn't need me because they were using a fancy tape reading gizmo so I timed Haley on my own and got this picture.

Speaking of pictures, the little picture above shows the high school team getting a formal group picture while the NAMS team is warming up.

It was a long meet. I got there at 2:50pm and we didn't leave until around 8pm.

This was the last home track meet. There is only one school meet left and then district try-outs.

(The video below is of Haley finishing the mile.)

#2 Track Meet

Cascade High School, Turner, Oregon. Haley gets out of school early to go (2pm).

This was a late one for Haley. She didn't get back to the school until after 10pm. Good news is, they got to stop at McDonald's for dinner.

Haley placed in the two events she competed in:
-1st in 200 meter dash.
-3rd in the mile. She is most proud of this because her practice times have been over 7 minutes. In this meet she did the mile in 6:35. Very nice!

Annie's Birthday - 43 Today

The Starting Line

Track Team Meeting

Before starting the track meet, coaches call all the members together. This meet includes 6th, 7th, and 8th graders. NAMS doesn't have any 6th graders. Their team is still large, about 60 boys and girls.

Haley's First NAMS Track Meet, Forest Grove, OR

A rainy, blustery day. Haley only runs one event, the 400 relay (they lose). She never practiced for it before. She says her strongest event is probably the 400 meter. She was signed in to run the 400, 100, 800, and 1500 (mile). Considering she was pulled from the meet for shin splints and was unable to do the other races, she may be doing too much running. She came home and we iced her one knee. On the upside, Haley maintained her sunny disposition and had a great time throughout the afternoon and early evening. The track meet started at 4pm and ended at close to 8 pm! Haley says there are about 60 kids on her team, so now we know why on their future road trips they won't be stopping at McDonald's for dinner, it would take way too long. (Photo taken at Dick Hendricks Memorial Stadium, Forest Grove, Oregon.)

ENJOY

MOVIE: Haley's First NAMS Track Meet, Forest Grove, OR

Click to Play

Rainy Day. Haley still enjoyed it.

(Dick Hendricks Memorial Stadium, Forest Grove, OR)

Following Tigard Bus Thru Forest Grove

Rainy day for a track meet. As I followed this bus through the side streets I realized it must be a big hassle for bus drivers from other districts to come to the Forest Grove High School. For the moment there is no direct route.

NAMS Track Schedule 2007

Haley's track season with Neil Armstrong Middle School officially begins today, April 12, 2007. Home track meets are held at the Dick Hendricks Memorial Stadium (Dick Hendricks is Haley's grandfather's 1st cousin).

Haley is training for the distance events.

Just a test to see if I can insert "css" code into blogger...

BEFORE
ANYONE DID ANYTHING,
ELVIS DID EVERYTHING

Yes! It works!!

ENJOY

Hidden messages in words? Cool. | Clipmarks

Hidden messages in words? Cool. | Clipmarks
DORMITORY:
When you rearrange the letters:
DIRTY ROOM

PRESBYTERIAN:
When you rearrange the letters:
BEST IN PRAYER

ASTRONOMER:
When you rearrange the letters:
MOON STARER

DESPERATION:
When you rearrange the letters:
A ROPE ENDS IT

THE EYES:
When you rearrange the letters:
THEY SEE

GEORGE BUSH:
When you rearrange the letters:
HE BUGS GORE

THE MORSE CODE:
When you rearrange the letters:
HERE COME DOTS

SLOT MACHINES:
When you rearrange the letters:
CASH LOST IN ME

ANIMOSITY:
When you rearrange the letters:
IS NO AMITY

ELECTION RESULTS:
When you rearrange the letters:
LIES - LET'S RECOUNT

MOTHER-IN-LAW:
When you rearrange the letters:
WOMAN HITLER

SNOOZE ALARMS:
When you rearrange the letters:
ALAS! NO MORE Z 'S

A DECIMAL POINT:
When you rearrange the letters:
IM A DOT IN PLACE

THE EARTHQUAKES:
When you rearrange the letters:
THAT QUEER SHAKE


ELEVEN PLUS TWO:
When you rearrange the letters:
TWELVE PLUS ONE

The Artist...Haley

Haley enjoys working with photographs. In this series she has used a free program called, "photofiltre" to make different effects.

Fish At Office

Fish grow up in schools, so they must be smart, right? Here is one at his office...

The J-Walk Blog: Fish At The Office

Haley Congratulates Sallye at Les Schwabb Invitational

This Sunday, Haley and I went to the Chiles Center in Portland to see the Les Schwabb invitational basketball game. The best high school senior players from Oregon and Washington were invited to play against each other.

Sallye Alexander hails from Forest Grove and has a scholarship to Humboldt State University this next year. Haley was lucky enough to be invited to her workshop earlier this year and while there Sallye invited Haley to come to this invitational. We really enjoyed watching her play.

At the end of the game, Sallye was presented with a special trophy. Here you see Haley joining in to give Sallye congratulations.

In this picture from left to right: Sallye's Dad, Haley, Sallye's little sister, and Mr. Hurley, a history teacher and basketball afficianado from NAMS (Neil Armstrong Middle School, Forest Grove, Oregon).

PS Here you can see Sallye at the Forest Grove High School in November, signing her letter of intent to attend HSU on a scholarship. If you take a close look you'll be able to see Sallye's Dad, Mom, and oh, there's Mr. Hurley again! Also, two of Haley's favorite guards, Sarah Amina and Nikki Kemper, are in the picture too.