School's Almost Out...

This school year has been quite the journey. On top of the everyday busyness in life we have been searching for more information and ways to help Alissa with Dyslexia. This is something that has been a part of my family for generations, every member affected by it has had different challenges. I know from my personal experience, it was really frustrating to work my bootie off to receive an average grade. I have seen signs in Alissa since the first grade but each year I’d bring it to the teachers attention it was “age appropriate”; well this year it is no longer “age appropriate”.

These past years, the school had no information/suggestions; Google dyslexia and the information can be overwhelming! How do you know what’s good information and what’s not? You want the best for your child, you want this struggle to be overcome; where do you go? Even though this learning disability has been researched for over 30 years, help is hard to find. We live in between major cities, so most suggested locations to go to are about a 3 hour travel time alone (roundtrip) plus however long the appointment is. But you make whatever sacrifices you possibly can (time, financial, etc) if you think it can help your child.

This year a suggestion was given, vision therapy; we jumped on it! We got her tested, signed up for the once a week in office 1 hour therapy sessions, 5 days a week at home therapy (should take about 20 minutes each night but it took Alissa 30-45 minutes each night to complete), and diligently participated in this out-of-town program for 12 weeks. After about 6-8 weeks the struggle started at home of Alissa not wanting to do the therapy homework. At first, we just viewed it as she was challenged and uncomfortable and we pushed through. But then it became a fight to complete the exercises! A major concern that pushed this journey was Alissa’s struggle to get information from her head to her paper and full comprehension from the paper to her head; do this all verbally there is no issue; ask her to write it and she shuts down! At this point in vision therapy, we were expecting that some way to tackle this huge missing link would be in sight, yet it was still a major concern. We weren’t expecting an overnight change but we were hoping to see something!

What do you do when you don’t know where else to look? You talk to EVERYONE you know! Soon, I had more information in my hands then I knew what to do with! Then I had to sort through that; what is good sound information, what is too experimental. It was very overwhelming! But I was thankful that I had it all; I had the answer somewhere in all of this! The strongest piece of information I received from my friend in California.(CALIFORNIA people! Truly, talk to ALL of your friends!) She told me to check out this website and watch a seminar online; I did. Suddenly, I no longer felt like I was crazy; that I wasn’t making a mountain out of a molehill. This really is an issue for my child and here’s an answer to my prayers.

We are still in the entry stages of this journey. For the last 7 weeks we have been in contact with our family physician, school psychologist, certified dyslexic tester, pediatric neurophycologist, the creator of the system we are going to use, and back to the school. There has been a battle of “who’s” issue this is to tackle; is it medical or is it educational? I hope and pray that we have found an out from the educational/medical issue battle! More on that in a later post.

The system that we are about to begin is one recognized by the International Dyslexia Association. This is BIG; there are only a few that have that honor. The only ones that have that honor are Orton Gillingham based programs. Our plan is to begin this summer. The program takes anywhere from 18-36 months; but it is one Brett & I can do with Alissa at home. Again, we are just starting this journey and there is a long road ahead. I expect that more challenges will come but I’ve made it this far and believe me getting here wasn’t easy! All I can say is BRING IT!

Hello there...

I'm BACK! (Yes, I know that it's been awhile and I'm so sorry that I've kept you waiting for so long! ) New banner, no profile pic as of yet, and as always, lots to share!

Let's see, can I summarize 5 months in a post? Without making it pages long? Let me try...

April: we stayed home for Spring Break, but staying home doesn't mean it didn't stay crazy busy! I took pictures of the girls at the park, completed some house projects, the girls had a sleepover, Jeff & Jennifer welcomed their new addition to the family Kai Joesph....

Alissa took a Hunter's Education class; GREAT experience for Brett to share with his daughter.

I was inaugurated into Facebook (FB) and was completely sucked in! Blame FB for my absence! LOL!! Seriously, it's been fun! I've reconnected with so many people! I've been able to keep in better touch with all sorts of friends and family! Quick posts here and there; it's been great!

May: BUSY, BUSY, BUSY!!! Jillian had a dance performance at Kid's Festival while Alissa and Brett attended range day for Hunter's Ed., I cut off my hair (from mid back to above my shoulders).

We went camping at Tunk Mtn. above Riverside, WA where we pasture the cows for the spring /summer. It was a working "vacation" for Brett - fixing fence. It was really a lot of fun I have to admit. Josh, Jeff, Chelesy, and Levi joined us!

The girls had a Jog-A-Thon for school, dance performance at the Spring Festival, BBQ & Boating season officially began, we had a great visit with Nana and Aunt Almyra, and Brett had first cutting.

June: I started my summer vacation from the office to be home with the girls, the girls and I made a quick trip to Portland and visited with Nana, the girls had Spirit Week the final week of school, a Father's Day Mariner's Game for Brett, Jeff, Larry, and Ken,

Dance Recital, the start of many playdates to come,

Camping at Liberty,

Vacation Bible School, and the start of swimming lessons.

July: finished up swimming lessons, 2nd cutting for Brett, gymnastics camp, dance camps begin, rollerskating, Nana here for a visit, celebrated Ken's 80th BDay and the 4th of July along with taking some family pics (thank you Nena!),

Montana with the Chapmans, Jonni's Wedding (in MT, Charli's sister),

August: attended the Festival of Homes in ML (great way to get ideas for home projects), start work on new playhouse, more dance camps, and Grant Co. Fair & Rodeo time!

Brett & I took the girls to Seattle for their first Mariners game; before the game we enjoyed dinner at the Crab Pot.

And, on August 27th Brett & I celebrate 15 years of marriage...love you babe!

So, there you have the last 5 months; not a short post but now we're all caught up! My goal is to blog at least once a month but I would like to make it weekly. Let's see how I do. :)

Bye for now!

Our Family Getaway...

Our anxiously awaited trip to Sunriver, Or has finally arrived!

As posted earlier, no snowmobiles came with us for this trip...we'll come back to this little fact in a later post.

We had a pretty nice drive considering that it is still winter and there could have been bad roads, but there weren't - thank goodness! The girls were setup with their movies and I played DJ with my iPhone.

When we finally arrived, I had a rush of memories from my childhood...

The Sunriver Logo that used to greet you as you entered Sunriver, now located at the Police dept.

A drive by picture of the Lodge. There's something about that entry that I love...(architecturally)

The Gathering House. It's next to the pool (summer activity) and it has a lot of textures. LOVE IT!

I used to come here as a kid with my parents. Brett and I have been here twice in our 18 years of togetherness; our Honeymoon and a trip when Alissa was about 2 years old. There's just something about this place; is it the nature all around and the security of the trees or am I just a granola girl through and through? (Rhetorical question people; the granola girl part anyway.)

I'm looking forward to creating memories with my little family...I'll keep you posted! :)

Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss...

As I've stated before, I LOVE SEUSS!

Today, Theodor Seuss Geisel would have been 105 years old.

I hope that you each find your own favorite Seuss book and join Read Across America today!

Man, I miss my Mac...

So, I brought my HP laptop along on our trip because a gadget girl like me can not be without the necessities! :)



The pro's of my laptop; well, it's a laptop therefore it is easily portable. It connects me to the internet, it plays DVD's, and it is fun.



The con's; it's not my Mac. My stuff isn't on it, and it operates a little different. Key things I am missing; my iTunes library, how I switch through the different windows, my iPhoto program, and my Quickbooks. It takes longer to accomplish the same tasks; I'm not exactly sure why but this PC can not multitask! Overall, it's just frustrating! But I will go through the frustration in order to have my gadgets. (LOL!!)




A prime example of a frustration; I plugged my iPhone into the laptop in order to charge it and it sync'd my iPhone - erasing ALL my music from my phone! No worries though, my music is on my Mac at home but it's a little frustrating for now....I miss you Mac, I'll see you soon!!

How ironic...

I find it pretty ironic that the day before we plan on leaving for a trip that could involve snowmobiling (upcoming Sunriver trip) or that we've planned on snowmobiling (Roslyn Ridge after Christmas) Brett has a wreck...

Now, I am VERY thankful that Brett has not had any personal injury with these wrecks (other than pride) and to be truthful, I'm not heartbroken that snowmobiling hasn't panned out. It's not that easy or enjoyable to ride when you are hitting helmets with the kids or trying to turn not only your body weight and the sled but factor the kids in too. I'm not that good of a rider and it truly makes it more stress for me than it's worth. In December, we rented a cruiser snomobile in addition to our M7, Alissa sat behind me; that was better, but I just sat there and we stayed on the trail...that get's old...

The latest wreck totalled the 900 on Friday. There was apparently a run in with some trees which Brett "successfully rode out of with one ski for approximatly two miles" until walking it downhill he was side swiped by Julie...that did it in! Julie apparently lost control and jumped off her sled right before hitting the 900 which then slammed it into three large trees...finishing off the 900. Oh, and no damage to Julie's sled...The 900 though is no longer ridable and was towed approximatley 15 miles to the trailer...

The shocks, struts, A arms, steering rod, etc. of the left side are COMPLETLY gone! The right side is damaged, but no parts are missing like the left.

So, no sleds for our trip to Sunriver...poor 900.

There's nothing like a Dove Milk Chocolate Promise...

If you have never had one, get one! I was introduced to them a little over a year ago by my friend Charli, and they bring me such happiness! Truly, it always seems that the little message inside is just what I needed; to pick me up , to make me laugh, or to give me a reality check. Serious!

For example, I have found two wrappers today left behind from Brett. One says, "Think without limits", and the other "Bring your life to life: stop planning, start doing." How appropriate and cool is that !