Grilling Chicken on Back Porch

Annie says Haley is not getting enough protein, so I grilled up chicken on the backporch this morning. We found a "George Foreman Grill" for cheap at a garage sale and because Annie doesn't like the smoke filling the house she put a cookie sheet on top of a wastebasket to make a little table for it (note to self: find a tiny table at a garage sale for the grill!).

The chicken is marinated overnight in terriyaki sauce in the fridge and then slapped on the little grill. Very delicious. Haley ate chicken and rice for breakfast, ate the full serving. And now she is off to school where they get to go to "Skate World" for the day. She took the camera so hoping she brings home some pictures.

Basketball: Weekend Tournament

It was a gruelling weekend for Haley. Three games Friday night, four games Saturday, and three games on Sunday. In between games she would curl up in the backseat of the car and take a nap. The highlight though was Saturday. We snuck away into Beaverton and went to the Nike employee store. Haley found an awesome pair of basketball shoes!

Eggs and Hashbrowns Ready For Annie to Take to Work

Still plenty of potatoes from last fall's digging at the folk's farm. The hashbrowns, cooked in olive oil, are delicious!

Haley: 1st Summer Basketball Games

Haley played in three games this evening at Aloha High School. First was on the JV team against Hillsboro Spartans. They won by one. Then she played on the Frosh team against Aloha and they lost by quite a bit. and then at 7:45 pm they played the third and last game against Aloha and lost by a point or two. Haley did really well. She was chosen to shoot two free throws when Aloha JV team had technical called against them (we aren't sure why there was a technical, Haley thinks it is because teammate April likes to use her elbows to hold off players and someone got upset and swatted at her). Anyway, the court was cleared, Haley calmly went to the free throw line, did her ritual to get ready, and swished both shots! It was beautiful to see.

These two pictures are of the JV coach (Coach Thoma, black shirt, upper picture) and the Varsity coach (Coach Wai, white shirt, Lower picture) having an after game meeting with the JV girls. Haley is in there somewhere.



And here is a picture of the strawberry waffles Haley had for breakfast today. These strawberries were picked about 5:30 am from bushes the folks gave us. And, wow oh wow, these strawberries are delicious!

Haley: Picks Up New Glasses

No basketball practice today. So after weight training at the gym, we head to Pacific University and Haley picks up her new "LaCoste" glasses. Nice, yes?



And Haley in October, 2005, her second pair of glasses through the three year study.

Haley and Shel to Salem, "The Hoop"

Haley and Shel rode together to Salem to "The Hoop" for a team camp with other high school girl's teams. It was a hot day and the folks let us use their van to take advantage of the air conditioning (it was nice!).

Double-Yolk Eggs and Hashbrowns in the Morning

Today is a big day for Haley. She is going to Salem to partake in the summer Basketball team camp. I get up early, peel, grate, and soak potatoes from the folk's farm. These were harvested this last fall, and are still delicious. They have been in a box out in the garage and have weathered the winter well.

We also had some extra large eggs. It was a big surprise when I cracked one open and out came a double yolk! (Annie got to take this one to work.)




hasbrown recipe: peel and grate potatoes. add two tablespoons of salt, cover in water and then place in fridge for two hours. Drain water, squeeze out extra moisture. cover and place back in fridge (if not using immediately). Otherwise, thin layer of olive oil in pan. Medium high heat. Thin layer of potatoes, add salt to taste, fry each side until crisp. Great!

Planting Garden at Folk's

Student of Month Breakfast

Haley, Annie and I attended the breakfast honoring Haley and other students for being "Student of the Month". They had muffins, coffee, juice, fruit and tiny donut holes (yum). A guest speaker gave a motivational talk. The school choir sang some songs. Certificates and an official pen were handed out. It took a little long so all the students had to take a moment to sign a paper to be turned into the office. Kind of ironic that the students of the month were tardy for class!

Haley Makes Summer Junior Varsity Basketball Team

A special day for Haley. It seems she is always playing basketball, or getting ready to play basketball, so today all the work is paying off. She was named with one other girl, Michelle Bromagen, to Junior Varsity.


SUMMER SCHEDULE

Haley's 14th Birthday

Haley's birthday has been spread out a lot this year. Beginning last Sunday, Perlie let Haley have a party at her house. And then last night the official birthday began when her mom and I gave her presents (Annie has to work today so last night was a good time to give Haley her presents).

For her birthday Haley received a cool mp3 player (Sansa 1GB Express). It has really good reviews, has an FM receiver, can record voice, and has a micro sd slot that allows an additional 1 GB of storage. Also, it has a usb rechargeable battery and files can easily be transferred.

Also she received a "memory foam" mattress topper. Jury still out on whether she likes it or not.

And today, she received a nice card and gift from Grandma and Grandpa. They also rewarded her for her good grades. Then we were off to "Izzy's" for lunch. It was great! Stopped on the way back and got some Umpqua icecream (Wild Mountain Blackberry Ripple) because it was on sale at Hank's Thriftway in Hillsboro. Back at the folk's place we were given a big bowl of beautiful strawberries and also two big containers of strawberry plants (now residing on the side of our house). Dad showed me the peas he and mom planted and the new garden is ready to be planted (look toward the top right of the picture, a grand row of blue squash will be planted there this week!). The folks have been sharing their rhubarb with us but you can tell from the picture that it is the end of the season for them. Look forward to next year enjoying them again.

Haley Pre-Birthday Party at Perlie's

Annie got Haley's party combined with Perlie's Diane's 1st Communion party.
Here are some pictures:





Haley received several gift certificates and also a cute "American Eagle" purse.
We arrived at the party at about 2pm and left about 4:15pm. Haley and I went to Mom and Dad's, dropped off some food, said hello, and then got Haley to her point guard meeting at the high school at 5:30pm. After all the nice weather lately it was hard to adjust to the cold, rainy weather we have had this weekend.

Haley: Named Student of the Month at Neil Armstrong Middle School

Got this letter in the mail today. From the envelope, thought maybe Haley was in trouble for something. Guess not!

Mothers Day: Annie and Haley, and Haley and Grandma Picture

Annie had to work today. But that didn't stop Haley from getting up early to wish her mom a happy day. Haley made her breakfast, squeezed orange juice and a ham/cheese omlette. She also gave Annie her present (Self magazine subscription, chocolate almond bars, and glass wind chimes). Finally they posed for the camera!
















After church, Haley and I headed over to Mom and Dad's place. Haley gave Mom a little pewter angel pin and I gave her a card (Annie, Haley and I were over last Sunday and gave Mom a cool flower as a gift). Then we spent time working with the new DVD camera that Dad bought Mom.


















And here you can see the Mother's Day cards set up on Annie's favorite drawers in the living room.

Haley: Last Track Meet Stayton, Oregon