Lily and Trudy's Birthdays

Last July and early August were busy birthday weeks for us. Trudy celebrated her 14th birthday (on July 26th) and just a few weeks later (August 8th) Lily had her 10th birthday. All our girls are double digits now!

The fireplace is in a bit of disarray at the moment as we wait for

the mason to come out and redo it (hopefully this week!)

Frosty Paws ice cream is always a special birthday treat!

Mitch's 80th Birthday Party

August 2nd was Mitch's 80th birthday party. For several months Mitch's wife (Joy)  and daughter (Michelle) and myself had been planning a huge party for him! It took place at Valley View Rock of Ages, the Mennonite retirement community where Mitch and Joy live. The facility was lovely and the views of the Willamette valley from this place are outstanding! People from all areas of Mitch's life attended: his biological family, his museum family, his model family and his church family. We had such a wonderful turn out and a great time!

I made all the decorations except the balloons

The food was catered in from the kitchen at Valley View

Mitch (the birthday boy) is on the right

Matt and his best friend Bob Carlos 

from the model group and restoration @ Evergreen

Best Way to Get a Job is to be too Busy for a Job

A couple weeks ago I hit Evergreen's website to see if any new employment opportunities had been added recently. Surprisingly I discovered a job in the education department was available, problem was it required a master's degree. At first I was disheartened but decided to talk to the Director of Education next time I was in. She was so excited to hear about my interest and immediately put me down for an interview just two days later. I submitted my application and resume, had my first interview and than was called back in for a second interview. The second interview was terrifying! With just three days notice, I had to develop my own lesson plan for 5th graders that taught the 4 forces of flight. On top of that, I had to present the curriculum in front of the Museum Director who also happened to be a Marine and a teacher! Despite my fear, I really felt like the second interview went well!

Than I heard nothing for 5 days straight...apparently there was some deep discussion regarding whether to hire a teacher with no museum experience, or a museum person with little teaching experience (me). On Saturday, while I was at a model airplane show, I got an email that I GOT THE JOB! 

You, ladies and gentlemen, are looking at the new (full-time) Education Outreach Coordinator. My job will be to get out into the community and get kids (of all age groups and levels) excited about aviation, space, engineering, science and mathematics. I will teach in classrooms and go to community events and perform demonstrations in addition to providing support to the education department at the museum. I am terribly excited, overwhelmed and scared! I am treading into new territory with a lot of autonomy and responsibility. The success or failure of this relatively-new venture for the museum will rest upon my shoulders.

Now the big question is: how do I work full time and still make it to all the Champoeg board meetings??

** Had to remove the image due to social media clause I signed yesterday **

Spruce Goose: Unsuccessful Test Flight (includes video)

On July 27, 2014 the model group from Evergreen worked in conjunction with the model group in Amity, OR to have a fly-in at a reservoir in the area. Our hope had been that we would finally get the Spruce Goose off the water and into the air for the first time! It didn't work. :-(

Unfortunately we experienced a lot of problems with the battery packs and they didn't provide enough power to do anything other than taxi around the reservoir. We are now working on getting new battery packs and conducting another motor test to confirm that was the issue.

Eventually the Goose got stuck in the reeds along the shore line and Cecil and I had to take a row boat out to rescue her. There are photos of this endeavor floating around somewhere...

Teeny Tiny Kitchen: Storage Solutions

I can't really call this post a "before and after" because truly the kitchen has received the least amount of attention since moving into the cabin. Mostly because the kitchen is the most expensive (and overwhelming) room in the house to update. It needs a complete remodel and redesign!

I have been focused on how to get the most storage out of our existing small space. The cabinets you see in these photos are all that we have.

And because Pinterest is my new favorite obsession, I decided to search out creative storage solutions and I found the one below. The person utilized a tension rod and some shower hooks to hang the cookware instead of piling them on top of each other. Brilliant!

Storage idea via Pinterest

The only problem was I didn't have a cabinet that large (and down low where I could reach) that could accommodate all our cookware. BUT we do have a lot of wall space. So Hubby ordered some heavy duty tension rods from Amazon ($20 total) and installed them on our wall. Using shower hooks that came with the Star Trek bathroom curtain we were able to hang all our skillets and pots conveniently where I can see and reach them!

Spice rack that came with us from AZ cause my Dad made it

He up-cycled it from an old teacup display cabinet

Window valance found via Pinterest for $8 on Amazon