A Little Golf

At lunch yesterday, my friend Marc and I snuck out of the office and went over to watch some of the LPGA golf tournament at Colmbia Edgewater. We "lunched" in the Safeway sampler tent, one little plastic cup at a time. It was fun to soak up the sun, and rub elbows with those who give a rip about golf. I just enjoyed people watching.

Last night, we went to a picnic for Kailynn' school, and we met her teacher, Miss McFarland. It was so much more comfortable this year, since we knew what was going on. I chatted with a few new families, and Kailynn had a great time seeing her friends.

We're going to Cam's company picnic today. I think we're almost picnic'd out by now.

Funny Story

The picnic was held at the Oregon Zoo last Sunday, and parking can be really challengning on a summer Sunday, so we asked people to ride MAX to the Zoo, and we offered special raffle prizes just for MAX riders. One of my co-workers was up to the challenge, and he and his wife rode MAX all the way from Gresham (almost an hour one way). To get from the MAX platform in the tunnel to the Zoo, you have to ride an elevator. After the picnic, as he and his wife were heading for home, they rode the elevator down to the platform, and it got stuck! I guess they werethere for quite a while. The fire department was called in, and the elevator service team was called. In the end, I guess a fuse had to be replaced in order to get the elevator working again. Which is funny since I work for an electrical contractor, and there were over 200 electricians at the zoo that day who could have fixed the problem.

He gets our "You Got Shafted At The Picnic" award.

The Picnic Is Over!

Today was picnic day! We expected over 1000 people to all come to the zoo for our company picnic today. The weather was a little wet, so we may not have reached 1000, but George, the president of the company, was impressed with the turnout.

Cam hired Katie to come with him and the kids, and it worked out well. Until the end, when Kailynn ran ahead, and then ran out of sight. I searched for her for 10 or 15 minutes, and then I heard my name paged over the intercom system. She was holding court in the lorakeet landing, waiting for me to pick her up. The stinker! I tried to give her "the speech" about not running ahead, and staying within sight, but I was just so relieved to have found her. Maybe I'll try to lecture tomorrow.

I woke up at 2:30 this morning, worrying about today, so I got up and sat in the family room for a little while. I heard the oddest screeching sound, and I tok a peek outside. It was a family of raccoons! They were patrolling the neighborhood, looking for snacks.

We rented a movie for the kids lat night, "Firehouse Dog." It was a good one! Kailynn really enjoyed it, and that's a pretty good for a six year old.

It's Saturday!

We're still trying to get back in the groove of things after our vacation, so today was pretty low-key.

I uploaded pix from our Ohio trip from my camera today, so I thought I'd try posting on the blog. This is a picture of George and Martha, a pair of Mute swans that lives at my uncle's house in Ohio. George and Martha rule the pond, and keep other riff-raff water fowl away.

Tomorrow is picnic day. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for good weather, but the forecast is for rain.

Today wasn't a typical Friday at work. I spent most of the day trying to get ready for the company picnic on Sunday. I took at least 25 phone calls from people who are just now RSVPing for the picnic, 17 days after we set the original deadline. I called Jeff at the zoo on Thursday, and set the final count at 1,000, with 700 adults and 300 kids. The weather forecast for Sunday is 69 degrees and showers, but I hope we get a good turn out.

Cam found out his schedule is supposed to change on the Tuesday after Labor Day. That's 10 full weeks after he originally found out about the shift change. That gives me two days to get my groove down for getting the kids up in the morning, getting them dressed, and feeding them breakfast before I have to start taking Kailynn to school, too. I've been desperate for this schedule change for a long time, but the ten-week lag time is ludicrous. And it's even more frustrating since I can't get mad at anyone. I can't really call Cam's boss and tell him what I think, can I?

My Virgin Post

This is the very first post of my very first blog!

I'll just list a few things to describe my day.

Today was my first day back at work after vacation. we spent a week in Ohio visting my relatives. My Uncle Larry has several acres of land in Savannah, OH, and he has a huge pond. The kids spent the week "fishing" in the pond, hunting for crawdads, and playing with their cousins. We all had a good time, but we were glad to get home. We saw some wildlife that we never get to see in Oregon, including: deer, snapping turtles, bluegill, woodchucks, salamanders, a toad, tree frogs, wild turkeys, and more! My uncle has a pair of mute swans named George and Martha, who rule the roost so to speak. I saw my first Osage Orange tree, and we searched the woods for a buckeye tree (we found it!). Of course, we saw fireflies in the evening. It really was a great trip.

Today at lunchtime, a group of my friends went over to North Coast Electric for a BBQ. The food was delcious (Bamboo Grove), and we had a great time just chatting about general stuff. On our way out, we walked through the vendor fair, and one of the vendors started having a seizure right in front of me. I wasn't much help in the situation, but many people around me were able to step up and take care of him. My friend Marc called 911, and as we left the ambulance arrived. I hope he's OK.

That wraps up my very first post!