Do I need to REPEAT myself or did you get it the first time?!?

Father's Day- "Hadley Style"

On Sunday evening Brandon, Ryan, Matt, Danielle and Ethan joined us for Father's Day dinner. Marissa and I decided to do something a bit different this year- Tex Mex Dip w/ chips and fresh watermelon and pineapple. Sorry Garth, still no "meat pies and rice" or "Beef n' Cheese Foldover". The problem is still the same: The kids just WON'T eat your all time favorites! Now that I think about it, you didn't even ask for them this time. I suppose you've finally thrown in the towel after years of unsuccessful attempts to get me to serve them. If it's any consolation, they're neither one any better than "Reo's Ribs" so in the end we haven't really suffered a loss after all. (I knew you'd see it my way). :)

After dinner everyone headed out back to play ball. But before they even got started it was determined that there were too many branches blocking the basketball hoop. "Hey Dad! Can you help us?" Garth got the pole saw out and trimmed off about 4 of the lowest branches.

"Thanks, Dad. Now we can shoot from all sides equally".



"Young"est first. You can do it Ethan. :)



Okay. Maybe just a little help from Dad is needed. Yea Ethan!!!




Hey! Let's play "Around the World". The object is to be the first one to get the ball in the basket from all the designated spots around the court. You get to keep going until you miss.
Look out everyone. Ryan is up first and he's GOOD at this game!



Nice shot, Matt.



Brandon, you're dropping them in far too easy!

Marissa TOO?! This is going to be tough to win.


Wait a minute...maybe not. Danielle's playing. With her being almost 8 1/2 months pregnant, there should be NO PROBLEM beating her.
First shot...."proof that it pays to have good posture"....... she SCORES!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Another one?! Y_E_P

Cha-CHING!!! Is anyone recording this?

The "Surfboard" shot- one of her personal favorites.

Oh yeah baby! Watch'em drop!!!!

You're "smokin" Danielle.

Can you say Q_U_A_C_K_?

Game over. Winner- DANIELLE!
I think you have a couple of siblings who want a rematch.
NEVER underestimate the "skills" of a pregnant woman. :)



How do you follow up a game like that? Why, with dessert of course. We enjoyed a yummy 4 layer pudding dessert Marissa made. Garth received several nice gifts and cards from the family. Here he is showing off a "long-time family favorite". We couldn't stop laughing. Danielle found this at Goodwill. It is exactly like the one we bought Brandon and Ryan when they were little boys. That thing about drove us nuts. You fill it with rocks and some type of gritty polishing material and let it run for a month nonstop to get the finished product. An interesting thing happened. After the first batch, the rock tumbler mysteriously disappeared. Hmmm.
Remember, Matt and Danielle, what comes around goes around. You may see this again one day, especially with two boys. :D

Happy Father's Day Garth!!! We LOVE you.

Grow Boxes

We have talked about planting a small garden for awhile but haven't ever followed through with the idea. Two reasons. First, where would we put it? Before Jason left on his mission he helped me put in flower beds that wrap all the way around the back yard. I have found alot of pleasure working in them and can't bear the thought of tearing out ANY of my beautiful plants to put vegetables in. Which leads us to reason #2. The only alternative we could come up with was to build grow boxes and then you have to consider all the cost and time involved. So we felt very blessed to see Krista Carroll's offer for free boxes on the ward e-mail. I responded to her e-mail and left her a phone message in hopes of snagging several of them. She called me back within minutes and gave me directions for picking them up. Cheryl and Seth Carstens were kind enough to give me a ride to go get them on Thursday.
Are these cool or what?! Here is what they looked like before we put a sealant on them.

Marissa and I had a great time painting them. Luckily we had the garage to work in because it was POURING rain as we worked.

On Saturday we finished our project. Thanks to our neighbors for selling us their leftover soil, Monte Carstens for taking time out of his busy schedule to stop over and cut some boards for us, Al and Myrian for the sealant and the sturdy black bags we lined them with and Jeff Loftus for offering us a few pointers on where to place everything. We even got a 15% discount at Farmington Gardens on our plants. :)

(left to right)
Box 1-
2 strawberry plants, 3 types of lettuce, mini bell peppers, Habanero Caribbean Red peppers (these are for Garth ;) and Jalapeno peppers.
Box 2-
2 slicing cucumbers, six carrots....and only six!! (We got a good laugh over this. Marissa and I were trying to figure out how you get more carrots after you pull the first one. We decided maybe you just stick the green part back in the ground. Not so, we learned. Oh well, we'll each have two I suppose.)
Spinach, eggplant, and Walla Walla onions.
Box 3-
Feisty peas (we hope these are sugar snap), and three types of tomatoes:
Early Girl, Orange Blossom and Sun Gold.
In the two rectangular white planters on the side we have zucchini, basil and cilantro.

SQUIRRELS BEWARE !!!!!
We are watching you.

Birthday Bliss

I am convinced that the older you get, the better the birthday. I turned 52 today. It is just the age I want to be...not younger and not older. Life couldn't be any sweeter for me than it is right now. I am married to the "tall, dark and handsome" man of my dreams who I love dearly. I have five beautiful children and I am grateful to have the opportunity to be their mom. You have each taught me far more than I could ever have taught you in this life and I wouldn't trade a one of you if I had the chance! Add to that a terrific son and daughter-in-law and three (and a half) of the sweetest grandchildren you could ever wish for. Now you see the greatest source of my joy.

Today was a perfect day in my book. I got up early and watched my sweet boys for the first half of the day. Mid day Danielle and Ethan stopped over and brought me a beautiful birthday balloon and a "mango-strawberry" drink from Taco Bell. Mmmmm. After lunch Shellie Weed went with me to run an errand and somehow we ended up at Taco Bell and Goodwill. You may ask yourself at this point, "Could it get ANY better?!" Yep! I got a phone call from Jeanne Grimmett up in Spokane, a visit from Jeannine Johnson, and Cheryl and Seth Carstens took me to pick up 3 free planter boxes. :):):) (Which was my top birthday wish). On the way driving back, Cheryl hooked me up with two free boxes of freezer jam from Michelle Leischman. Wooo Hoooooooo!
Did I mention I got calls from Ryan and Brandon? It was so fun to hear from them.
When Garth got home from work, he took Marissa and I to dinner at Benihana's. Oh YUM!!
Here is the birthday picture they took of the three of us.

Thank you to everyone who made my day special, including all the fun comments on Facebook.
I believe I'm the luckiest girl in the world. Thanks, not only for making my birthday so fun, but especially for sharing the road of life with me. :)

Seriously?!?!?

PETA Wishes Obama Hadn't Swatted That Fly

WASHINGTON (AP) — — The group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals wants the flyswatter in chief to try taking a more humane attitude the next time he's bedeviled by a fly in the White House.

PETA is sending President Barack Obama a Katcha Bug Humane Bug Catcher, a device that allows users to trap a house fly and then release it outside.

"We support compassion even for the most curious, smallest and least sympathetic animals," PETA spokesman Bruce Friedrich said Wednesday. "We believe that people, where they can be compassionate, should be, for all animals."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yTpiwngOg7I


During an interview for CNBC at the White House on Tuesday, a fly intruded on Obama's conversation with correspondent John Harwood.

"Get out of here," the president told the pesky insect. When it didn't, he waited for the fly to settle, put his hand up and then smacked it dead.

"Now, where were we?" Obama asked Harwood. Then he added: "That was pretty impressive, wasn't it? I got the sucker."

Friedrich said that PETA was pleased with Obama's voting record in the Senate on behalf of animal rights and noted that he has been outspoken against animal abuses.

Still, "swatting a fly on TV indicates he's not perfect," Friedrich said, "and we're happy to say that we wish he hadn't."

Deputy press secretary Josh Earnest said the White House has no comment on the matter.
Copyright © 2009 The Associated Press.

Pour it ON.....Spray it OFF

Ever wonder who decides which streets need our tax dollars more? Especially when times are a bit tight? Well, I am still shaking my head over this one. Someone "thought" we needed our street paved. Funny thing is, NOTHING was wrong with it until they came along and tore it up. Okay, now it really does need paved. After several days of anticipation, the show is about to begin. Alex, Jack and Vanessa have front row seats for the big event.

W-O-W!!!! What is that?!
This big truck is carrying all the fresh asphalt that will be applied to the road......

...and here comes the big yellow roller that presses it all down. Gee! That's a noisy machine. Every time it goes past, our windows start rattling and the ground starts to shake.



Oh look! More children from the neighborhood...looks like this is going to be some party.



Jack and Alex had to go home but Carl, Danielle, Ethan, Myrian, Jasmine and Al have joined us.
Heck! This is more fun than a fireworks show anyday. And a good time to catch up on all the latest. Notice the difference between the men and the women in this picture- girls would far rather chat. ;)

Meet our favorite neighbors, The Fontans.
Myrian, Vanessa, Jasmine and Al.

I'm not quite sure what this guys job was. Probably making sure the "circus crowd" stayed out of their way. Yeah, like we wanted anywhere NEAR that hot asphalt.

Ethan is totally taking everything in. "No need to hurry home for my nap today, Mom!"

Charles and Carl are watching to make sure they get it right. Actually, they are enjoying the show just like the rest of us. Pretty cool to see how it all works up close. :)

As the machine finishes pouring, this guy goes along the edge and pushes the loose pieces back onto the surface. Thanks for the pretty new street. We like it.

A few days later Fred Fagergren came over and powerwashed for us. Here he is working on our driveway.

We are thrilled with the results. Look at the difference it made on the basketball court. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you Fred! This job really DID need done.

G-Sale in da' HOOD

Please join us

for a NEIGHBORHOOD GARAGE SALE Friday and Saturday

June 5th and 6th 9:00 am – 4:00 pm(one or both days- your choice)

An ad will appear on Craig’s List and there will be bright, neon colored signs placed on main intersections and in the neighborhood to help direct customers to our sales. Let’s make this a “sale not to be missed”. Questions, suggestions or just want to help us hang signs?

Contact The Hadley’s
___________________________________________________________________

After turning a nice profit at the Century Band garage sale in May, I decided to bring the remains home and hold one more sale. I ended up inviting the neighborhood to join me. :)
Sixteen days before the sale started I put signs on both sides of 12 different community mailboxes which covered 102 homes in our area. I had no idea how many would participate but I thought it was worth a try (on the actual signs I had put our phone# and address). Danielle brought a few things over and we had everything priced and ready to go ahead of time. She and Marissa even helped me print up the signs. After we finished we decided to get a little creative with the remaining poster board. This one was a favorite of mine, however Garth suggested we might not want to put it outside where anyone could see it. :D

(We also thought the blog title would have made a great sign too).

It turned out to be a huge success. We made $253.46 and with the $311.60 from the school sale added, we made a total of $565.06!!! Danielle made $240.20. Not bad for a bunch of stuff we no longer wanted or needed. WOOO HOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!

Promorama 2009

The high school years may be winding down but the fun isn't quite over yet. Prom is one of the last big flings for the seniors. This is a highly anticipated event and no small amount of preparation goes into the planning stage. Marissa and her friends have been swapping thoughts on the "big night" for some time. She ordered her dress online and it turned out to be a perfect fit. Here she is minutes before time to leave putting the finishing touches on... Marissa, you look BEAUTIFUL!!!!!

Her date for Prom was Andrew Larson. Earlier in the day they went bowling with Gabrielle Loftus and Fred Fagergren. This picture was taken shortly after we got over to the park where they met for group pictures. Don't they make a nice looking couple?


Here Marissa is helping Andrew hold up the tree (sorry Marissa, I couldn't resist). Maybe this is due to the fact that Garth jokingly warned Andrew to keep his distance from our daughter. lol. He says that one of his duties as a parent is to embarrass his children and keep the "suitors" in line. Poor Andrew.




I LOVE this picture. I can't believe our youngest child is attending Prom and graduating.
Where has the time gone?


The theme for the evening was a "mascarade" party so everyone was given a mask when they purchased their tickets. These four even decorated them just to be unique. Here Andrew is pulling a "Picasso" face.

They decided only several days before Prom to join together with some other kids and rent a limo for the evening. There were twelve of them in all (two are missing from this shot).



Marissa and Gabrielle. Best friends.



As "Murphey's Law" would have it, the limo driver got confused on the directions and instead of showing up at the park to take them to dinner he drove all the way out by the Portland airport where Prom was being held. Sooooooo........now for Plan B- Fred's dad happened to have his twelve passenger BMW (big Mormon wagon) there so they all loaded in and he dropped them off at Typhoon in Beaverton for dinner before the dance. Thanks for saving the day Brother Fagergren! :)

After dinner the REAL limo showed up to take them to the dance. I'm telling you, I NEVER remember going all out like this when I was a senior. Too FUN!!!

After the dance they came back over to the Loftus's and hung out and played games until 1:30 am Sunday. Need I say we were a bit droopy at church that morning? ( I couldn't go to sleep until Marissa got home).
Sweet memories and a fun day with friends- Marissa had a great time. :)

Girl Time

On the weekend of May 30th we got to have Rebecca ( our 6 yr. old granddaughter) spend the night with us. On Saturday, she and Vanessa (from next door) played nonstop all day together. It's cute how quick they are to track each other down whenever Becca gets to come over. Here they are playing on the trampoline with the sprinkler underneath it. You can't hear it but there was a whole lot of squealing going on! lol.

When lunchtime rolled around they were off to Vanessa's for a special meal Myrian made for them. They even had special "Tinkerbell" napkins. Thank you Myrian for inviting Becca for lunch.

Later in the afternoon when they were both about to drop from playing so hard, we coaxed them inside for a movie and popcorn.

Vanessa, thanks for spending the day with Rebecca. We'll be sure and let you know when Becca can come play again. :)

Young Women's and Senior Awards/ Graduation

Marissa has reached several significant milestones over the past several months. We are very proud of her and all that she has achieved so far. The first and probably the most special is her Young Women's Recognition Award. This is an award given through the Church to honor those young women between the ages of 12 and 18 who complete the Personal Progress program. In order to achieve this, they need to live the standards in the "For the Strength of Youth" pamphlet, complete six value experiences and one value project for each of the eight values (Faith, Divine Nature, Individual Worth, Knowledge, Choice and Accountability, Good Works, Integrity and Virtue), keep a personal journal and record their testimony of the Savior Jesus Christ. Marissa received hers on May 3rd along with a beautiful silver necklace with a picture of the temple on it.

In addition to her Y.W. Award, every year the young women along with the leaders and anyone else who would like to join in, meet together and tie a quilt for the girl's who are graduating that year. This is the quilt we made for Marissa. She picked the colors, eggplant (her favorite) and white with black flowers. Danielle came and helped us and even her dad stopped by and put a stitch in the quilt. :) She is excited to take it to college this fall down at the Y.

This picture was taken on Senior Awards Night. This is just for the seniors who received special awards and scholarships. Marissa earned the National Honor Society blue and gold cords, the PAC (Certificate of Advance Mastery for assistance in the community) light blue and purple cords, the Chancellor's Diploma white tassel, the Presidential Award, the OSAA Activity award and the OSAA Athletic award.


Here is a picture of the whole group at the end. Marissa is the tall, beautiful one on the top left corner on this side.



This picture was taken as the seniors walked down the stairs on either side of the gym to take their places for the graduation ceremony. Someone sure looks excited!! ;)



After everyone had received their diploma the hats began to fly.....
"We're FREE at last" !!!!!!!!!!!!!!



Everyone but Jason, Matt and Ethan were there for Marissa's big moment.
(Ryan, Brandon, me, Marissa, Garth and Danielle)

Marissa with her best friend and future BYU roommate, Gabrielle Loftus.

Marissa and Jackson Baker.

Gabrielle, Delores McDaniel and Marissa.
Delores threw discus with Marissa and also sang a special solo during graduation- "Unwritten" by Natasha Beddingfield. Good heavens Delores! You can SING!!! The girl's were telling her she needs to try out for American Idol.

Marissa, Fred Fagergren and Gabrielle Loftus.
"Three peas in a pod."

CONGRATULATIONS to Marissa and all the seniors from Century High School.