Remembering 9/11...

Where were you on 9/11, and what were you doing? These questions have been asked more often than not lately and it has been quite interesting to read what people have written or what they have said. Like everyone else I definitely remember this day 10 years ago very vividly.
It was my junior year in highschool and I was home sick with mono. I had woken up earlier than usual because I was running a temperature of 103.7 and I felt horrible. I was laying in bed trying to fall back to sleep when I suddenly heard my mom say (louder than usual) "Oh my gosh, oh my gosh!" I immediately jumped out o bed and went into my parents room to find my mom standing in front of the tv in complete shock about what Ahwaz seeing. When I asked what happened she said that an airplane had flown into one of the world trade center buildings. We immediately thought that it was just some freak accident. My mom had to keep getting ready so she was in her bathroom getting ready and j was sitting on he bed watching the news when suddenly out of nowhere a second plane flew right into he other world trade center building. I immediately responded the same way my mom did...all I could say was "oh m gosh, oh my gosh" while staring at the tv in complete awe and shock. It was at this point that we had a bad feeling that this wasn't an accident. When hearing hat this was a terrorist act and we had been attacked I could hardl believe it. These kinds of things didn't happen in real life and especially didn't happen in my lifetime...this is what you learn about in your history class at school.
I remember that the coverage of the events was literally on every channel and since I was home sick and stuck on the couch, all I watched was 9/11 coverage. A bit depressing and overwhelming to say the least. All of my aunts ( especially Jaime) were worried that I would become depressed or upset watching all of this negative coverage by myself during the day so they would take turns coming over and hanging out with me. I spent nearly each day glued to the tv listing to the names of the people who had died or even better names of the people that were miraculously found under the mess of the building remnants. I have never felt so overwhelmed and invested in something despite it being so far away. Although New York and Oregon are on opposite ends of the United States it felt as if it were simply a few blocks away.
Although the events on 9/11 were unbelievably overwhelming and scary it was on the other hand incredible to see everyone bond together and show their pride and love for this country. I saw flags flying, people wearing red white and blue, businesses carrying patriotic merchandise, and an increase in people helping people. It was amazing to see but it was a bit of a bummer that it had to take something like a terrorist attack for us to come together as a country.
The pictures I included in this specific blog is from the flags of honor display in Salem, which is back for a second run. It's simply amazing to see and feel a part of. On the main flags are the names of everyone that died on 9/11 because of the attacks. There were also flags for those from Oregon who passed away in combat. One of those heroes was my cousins husband Captain Drew Jensen. He was a West Point graduate and to say that he was amazing is one heck of an understatement. He is a hero and was one incredible leader and person. Thank you Drew for your amazing dedication and love for our country...you made a huge difference.


I could go on about this forever, but I will close it ip by asking you've same question I answered..."where were you on 9/11 and what were you doing?"

To the BEST K-9 in the land!

Since being back in Oregon I have been spending a lot of time with my wonderful pup Joey. So I decided that he more than deserves a post dedicated to him and only him. Why...cause he is the man! Rather than typing up an akward story in wonky order I am going to pin point the best, funniest, quarkiest and most memorable things about him and his life as a Melton.

-Joey is a dazzling chocolate lab with the most beautiful and soft brown coat. He hast the softest ears in the world and my sister McKenna and I sware that he feels like a little bunny.


-We adopted him from family friends whose 2 pups (1 chocolate lab, 1 black lab) had a litter of adorable puppies together. They had half black and half chocolate labs, and they were all precious as can be, but Joey (or Charlie Brown as he was known before we adopted him) was the one for us!
-When we went to visit Joey before adopting him we went over to our friends house and saw all of the sweet puppies taking a little nap, and we all stood in amazement when we saw that the dogs, yes the dogs had seperated themselves by color. The black ones were sleeping in a pile together and the chocolate ones were sleeping in a pile together. They were all in one big area together, and literally seperated themselves...what the heck?
-Before we adopted you, your name was Charlie Brown...but we soon changed it to Joey-you just looked like a Joey to us. However you have many nicknames, which include: Jo Jo Beans, Jo Jo, Beans, Joseph Alowicious, Gary (inside joke), Beanie, "You're a good man Joseph Brown", Do Do (pronounced "Dough Dough" by Sydney age 2) and Joe.


-You are a funny dog with some pretty interesting quarks, including: you used to get a little nervous and uptight when you were left home alone for a few hours and in the first few months we had you, you developed a stark white spot (shaped like a heart) on your ear from stress...honestly Joe, stress? When we are gone (a few hours maximum) you literally have the entire large backyard, your room (laundry room) which has a giant soft bed, toys and always fresh water, and then you also have access to the family room. So needless to say you have plenty of room indoors and outdoors if we are gone for a little bit. When we first got you, you would dig your way out of the back yard and once you made it to the front yard you didn't exactly know what to do at that point so we would often come home to you laying on the porch and the minute you saw us pull into the driveway you would immediately jump up, wagging your tail and looking at us like "oh yay, thank goodness you are home I've been waiting so patiently for you!" Luckily this phase didn't last long. Another funny quark that you had and thankfully still have is the way that you sit. Rather than sitting like a "normal" dog you would get in the sitting position, then sway your body forward to get a little push then you would arrive sitting on your back legs with your 2 front legs hanging bent with your head held high as if you were a show dog doing a trick. We didn't show you how to do this...no, no this was a talent you were born with. It was always funny though when you were a little puppy doing it because you would get up on your hindlegs, hold still for a bit then would suddenly get really wobbly and wiggly and would slowly start to lose your balance and fall backwards, which was then followed by you jumping up on your legs acting like nothing ever happened--quite entertaining.


-You DO NOT like water...I am pretty sure that you are the only Lab in the history of dogs that is not a water fiend...you have no desire to be involved with anything related to water and actually avoid it at all costs...god forbid you get a little wet from the hose while watering flowers.
-You have been a pretty healthy dog, but we did have one major scare with you when you suddenly could not breathe. My sister yelled out to my dad that Joey couldnt breath, and my dad immediately put him in the back of the car, drove to the vet clinic and was informed that our dear Joey had arthritis in his throat and if this happened again we simply had to grab his tongue and give it a good tug...uh pardon me? Yes indeed the cure for Joe's breathing issue is to stick your hand in his mouth and pull his big ole' tongue. Well ok then. Thankfully we have only had to do this a few times...I think Joe enjoys it just as much as we do.
-Another unique quark is your complete lack for catching treats or yummy snacks if we lightly throw them in the air for you to catch. We have sat you down soooo many times and have tossed a treat literally into your mouth it seems, and 99.9% of the time you either completely miss, wiff it, or hit it off your lip or nose. When you do catch a treat from a toss we immediately freak out and all get so excited because this accomplishment is such a rarity for you--we still love ya though.
-You have such a great personality and a very kind and loving temprament. You LOVE everyone and are the happiest when someone simply takes a few minutes to sit with you and just pet and love on you. You love playing with the kids and have no problem when they sit on you, try to ride you like a horse, snuggle, pet, kiss and basically maul you with love. You are so kind and would never hurt a fly.


-Although you have a pretty good bark (thankfully we rarely hear it) and can sound intimidating or in charge you are such a weenie and actually quite a scardey cat. If there is something in the back yard (animal or person working on the house or yard) you start to bark at them and provide us with such protection by literally sticking your head out of your dog door in the laundry room that points out to the backyard and then you come inside and pace around while looking at us like "well, what are you gonna do because I can't do anything" which you then follow by putting your head back out of the dog door. What a protector you are. I think it's safe to say that you are a "lover and not a fighter."
-You don't eat or chew your food...you literally inhale it. I honestly don't even know how you can enjoy or probably even taste your food when you move that darn fast. However we always know that you aren't feeling well if you stop eating for some reason. Luckily this seems to pass rather quickly and you generally bounce back after a few days...phew!

Wings & Waves Waterpark

(The 3 boys had a sleepover at Nana and Grandpas the night before we went to the wavepool--Abbie joined us in the AM)

You read it right...yesterday tons of fun was had at the Wings and Waves Waterpark, which is the newest addition to the Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum in McMinnville Oregon. This glorious waterpark opened this June and has been a huge success from day one. I for one LOVE waterparks so when I heard that my parents were going to take the 3 boys (Keegan, Chandler and Hayden) and Abbie to the new attraction within the Aviation & Space Museum I was more than game. Lucky for me I had an "excuse" to go in a frolick about the entire day because if your child is 10 and under they must be accompanied by a swimming adult...not just an adult in the building. Keegan is 13 so he just needs a chaperone within the building, but the other three are 10, 9 and 7so they had to have an adult chaperone with them swimming alongside them the entire time for safety. So I had to bite the bullet, and much to my dismay I had to accompany the kids at the waterpark all day long....uugh what a drag. ;) While the 5 of us more than enjoyed ourselves in the wavepool, 4 HUGE slides, the "vortex" pool, the play structure, and the interactive water museum my parents took the opportunity to just hang out, eat some lunch (before we joined them, after a wavepool test run) and spend the majority of the day outside reading. We probably spent about 6 hrs just frolicking about the waterpark and really enjoying the day having lots of fun with eachother.
The kids were all so excited to try all of the slides and we successfully went on every one of them. We would have loved to have tried them more than once, but the lines were just a bit too long to wait in more than once. Although the lines and wait for each slide were a bit long the slide itself was very long and provided some serious fun that made the wait well worth it. In addition to enjoying the slides the kids also loved the wavepool. Abbie wore a life jacket despite being able to swim because the water throughout the park was very strong and she is a skinny little thing. Not to mention I prefer to prevent something like drowning in a wavepool. Chandler, Hayden and Keegan loved riding the waves down the pool and we all enjoyed the play structure. It had 2 smaller slides and a lot of water guns and buckets to get people wet with, would dump over, spilling 300 gallons of water on top of everything and everyone below it. Very Fun! All in all we had an AMAZING DAY and hope to visit the waterpark again sooner than later. The only downfall to the waterpark experience is the price...it is a little spendy if you ask me. It costs $30.00 if you are 42'inches or more and $25.00 if you are under 42' inches. Another weird aspect is the unnecessary (if you ask me) charge for the adults or other people who came to the facility but are not swimming. It costs $10.00 for you to pretty much sit at a table and watch your family/friends enjoy the pools and slides. I read on the website that they do this becaue there is no way for them to distingish between someone just sitting on the side or somene who paid and is there to swim. I guess I understand but I think that they can charge a smidge less oh well, such is life. Below are some pictures from the day as well as the link to the
water park,
Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum/Wings & Waves Waterpark:
http://www.evergreenmuseum.org/waterpark/attractions/

Man Overboard!

Now don't be too alarmed at the title of this post because no one actually went over board, but I can assure you that there were a few occasions when I thought that this may be a possibility.
Last week my dad and I decided to take my mom and the 3 boys on a boating trip on Detroit Lake that weekend. We decided on a glorious Saturday at the lake and we were all very excited to have a fun filled and relaxing day...or so we thought.
The day started off a little shakey because as we picked up the boys from their house there was a bit of a drizle in the air and darker clouds then we wanted or were planning on. So needless to say we had to send some prayers up to ensure a dry day at the lake.
We made it to the lake and we all got out of the truck and the boys put on their awesome neon colored life jackets while I helped my dad launch the boat into the water. I hadn't really ever done that so I wasn't too familiar with the process--luckily the boat and trailer made the process pretty easy. After the boat was launched my dad proceeded to drive away with the trailer--however the rope decided to stay attached and about took me to the ground. Fortunately the rope flew off just in time and spared me an embaressing moment and injury, So the 5 of us got onto the boat and went to find a nice spot to park it so we could get comfy and relax...or so I thought.

Now I LOVE the idea of going on the boat and having a nice relaxing day on the lake with my family, but the moment that darn boat motor starts up I immediately feel myself starting to internally freak out. I have no idea why or what triggered my fear of boats but it is definitely apparent. I have tried to figure out why it freaks me out so much, but I can't figure it out. I can swim, I have never had a near drowning accident, I have never fallen off a boat, and I've never been attacked by something in the water...so pretty much all I can conclude is I am just afraid for literally no reason whatsoever. Perhaps I will get over it if I am to go on the boat more often....eeek that idea scares me. Moving on...once we finally all got onto the boat and got on our seats my dad started on our voyage to find the perfect spot.The boys had a great time, but I can confidently say that my mom and I were not too excited about the insanely choppy water that day. If I were unable to see I would have thought that we were in the ocean. The water was flying over the boat and eventhough the boat had a cover over the top and sides for protection we still got splashed quite a lot. The boys were soaking wet and I tried my best to hide under a towel to prevent getting completely soaked and also to shield my eyes so I wouldn't feel like I was dying so much.
After a while we finally found a spot and parked the boat and I made egg salad sandwiches for the whole crew...delicious. About 5 minutes passed and Keegan announced that he needed to go to the bathroom. Soooo we brought the anchor up and made the short journey to the bathroom that is literally in th emiddle of the lake. Whoever thought of this idea was a genious and is my best friend. Thank you for realizing that girls cannot go to the bathroom off the side of a boat nor can we really go in the woods too successfully. One false move and the rest of the day can become very uncomfortable. So we all hit the bathroom, loaded back onto the boat and made our way back to our spot. We threw the anchor out again and the boys got off the boat and went searching for salamanders on the shore. Then after about 10 minutes chandler came back and announced that he now had to go to the bathroom. Mother of pearl we couldnt even go 5 minutes without a bathroom break--oh to be a Melton. We found out that he had to go to the bathroom when we suddenly realized that we were floating away from our spot near the shore and saw the rope in Chandlers hand where he decided to take it upon himself to untie us, and fail to inform his brothers that he was doing so, so that they could actually get on the boat. When we looked over at the middle of the lake bathroom we saw that the line was HUGE and we convinced him to just suck it up and go to the bathroom on the designated potty bucket that we brought on the boat for emergencies. I assured him that I would shield him from the public with a giant beach towel and no one would ever know. Long story short--Success!
After about 30 minutes of relaxation on the boat we decided that it was time for us to go (yes we were barely even there) because the boys had to get back home for a BBQ that had been planned with their friends and parents and siblings for months prior. So we had a very short adventure, but adventure nonetheless and packed up the boat, got it back onto the trailer, took another potty break (we would hate to go more than 3 minutes between bathroom breaks) loaded into the bar and started heading back home. I was EXHAUSTED so I instantly fell asleep after I got comfy in the back seat and took a nice little snooze until I was woken up for an ice cream break in Mill City at Papa Al's. The boys went with chocolate milkshakes except for chandler who went the ice cream cone route (mint choc. chip) and I went with a deliciou scoop of Black Licorice on a waffle cone...mmm. It was delicious. After we made it home we took the boys home, unloaded the boat and I again crashed on the couch for a much needed rest/nap. I already get tired very easily, but the sun especially exhausts me in a hot second...it zaps me dry. So despite having panic attacks for no reason, numerous bathroom breaks, and enduring ocean like waters on a lake it was overall a fun day hanging out with the parents and my nephews. Below are some pictures from our day!

So much to do...so little time

I realized that I have not updated this pretty darn new blog of mine for quite some time. Thank you to my friend Heather for bringing this to my attention. What a darn slacker I am. I will try to cover as much as I can without typing a novel...we shall see.
I have officially been home for around 37 days...aka just over 1 month. I feel like I have been home much longer than that because I have done so much and have felt ever so busy. Since being home I have done/been involved with the following:

-Cousin Claire got married on June 25th when I first arrived in June--glorious wedding and fun fun party!

Claire and I just before the BEAUTIFUL bride made her way down the aisle to get married!

-Many slumber parties and time spent with my nieces and nephews--gotta love movie nights and days at the park or swimming pool.

-A trip to the beach with Katie and Ross where we went on a very fun and beautiful hike. Wasn't a fan of the 3 gardender snakes I saw--eek I hate them!

-St. Paul Rodeo--oh how I have missed you! I think I ate my weight in kettle corn, dippin dots, curly fries and diet coke. The night was finished off with a glorious display of oddles of fireworks!



-Fourth of July with the kids! A fun day with--bbq at home, roasting mallows and making smores, and lighting fireworks in the street. The kids were so excited for the fireworks then we light them an realize that all they really do is screech obnoxious sounds and light up a bit that would at most give someone a seizure because of the strobe effects.

-My dad and I bought Sydney (Peanut) a pretty exclusive swimming pool at Fred Meyer. You too can be the proud owner of this for a mere 15 dollars...its pretty stellar and has the potential to provide hours upon hours of fun!

-Emergency vet appointment with my dog Joe...long story short he had a bone stuck near the back of his jaw which made it a little tricky to breath normal. He would be just fine and dandy then realize that he had the bone stuck in the back of his throat and went loco and would become sooo freaked out! For those of you who may not know--do NOT give dogs (especially labs) bones...they crush them like its going outta style and apparently lodge in their jaws, which is the least of ones worries when you consider the other possibilities. Joe is happy to have the bone removed. ]

-Some glorious days at the pool with my Nana at her apartment pool (who knew?). We have had a fun fun time and much to my suprise and joy I got my Nana in the pool to swim, which she hasn't done for at least 10 years. We laughed so hard and about wet ourselves while doing this. ( One example: it was sunblock applying time and she literally looked like a mime--such a WHITE face.) Needless to say she will not be getting a face burn. We had a wonderful time and laughed very very hard!

-Fun filled trip to the carousel with Nana, Marissa, Abigial and Sydney, followed by some serious playing at the park!



So although I have been back home less than 2 months I have been very busy and have gotten to do many fun things and have gone on a few adventures as well. It has been simply wonderful hanging out with my nieces and nephes as well, but I more than miss my Vargas nieces, nephews and family...boohoo.

Disneyland!

I am going to keep this short and sweet since I have already typed quite a lot over the past 2 days...not to mention Disneyland doesn't need much explanation. So below are some pictures and quick blurbs from the glorious trip to Disneyland with my mom, sister and cousin.
We rode the following rides/Saw the following attractions:
-Snow White
-Peter Pan
-Little Mermaid
-Toads Wild Ride
-Alice in Wonmderland
-Thunder Mountain
-Toy Story Midway Mania (5 times)
-Soaring over California
-Tower of Terror
-Haunted Mansion
-Pirates of the Carribean
-Indiana Jones
-Monsters Inc.
-Small World
-Captain EO
-Main Street Parade
-TRON
-World of Color
-Fireworks
-Mickey Mouse Pretzels with Cheese
-Aunt Selmas Cookies
-Corn Dogs
-Lots of Diet Coke
-Even more water
-Giant Pickle
-Apple Chips
-Milk Chocolate Fudge
-Tommorowland Breakfast
It is safe to say that we kicked some serious Disney tooshy and had a wonderful time!

I'm not so good at saying goodbye...

After completing my final day of Hospital Outreach on Monday June 13th I spent the rest of the week with the wonderful Vargas family, which I consider my family. The kids are my neices and nephews and Heather is like a sister to me so saying goodbye to this family was more than difficult to say the least. From June 10-15 or so they were at The Painted Turtle for the first session of the summer (Liver,PIDD and TPN) because Jorge is a pediatric gastroenterologist and volunteers his time to spend a week at camp so that we are able to provide medical care to our campers if they need it. Because he gives his week to volunteer in the Well Shell (on-site hospital) he is able to bring his family. The 3 older kids were able to be apart of the entire camp experience because they were able to be in the cabins with the other kids since their was space available. So needless to say the 3 older kids were in heaven. The younger ones stayed with their mom and were still able to enjoy all the fun that camp has to offer, but just under the supervision of their mama. Well while they were at camp I was in charge of taking care of the Vargas family menagerie which includes 2 dogs, 1 beta fish, 1 guinea pig and 1 bird. I was a busy gal, but I really enjoyed hanging out with the little critters and it is always nice to hang out in a house that feels like home and has more space then my wee little apartment.
They got back home on the 15th and they were kind enough to let my stay my last 2 nights living in Los Angeles at their house since I had already moved out of my apartment and didn't want to spend anymore money on rent. We had a very fun 2 days with eachother and tried to accomplish as much as possible and basically just spend time together since it would be quite a while until we saw eachother again...boohoo. Although I was very sad to be leaving camp, California and all of my friends that I have made I was most upset about leaving the Vargas family. As I have said they are more than just my friends...they are my family and I love them with all my heart and will miss them like crazy. On our very last day together we went to a yummy dinner at CPK where we just chatted, caught up and the kids taped little videos saying goodbye so that I could always remember them. We also took some snappers so that I could have some recent pics of me with the kids so that I could look at them as often as I wanted so that I could feel like I was still with them. Although it will be hard not having the ability to just stop on by the Vargas house whenever I want I am excited that when I visit them I will once again be a house guest and I will be able to spend all day and all night with the fam. We will have a grand time. I know that I will be visiting them as much as possible as well as some other families that are also dear to my heart.




Another friend that I was so lucky to see before I left was my sweet little friend Grace and her glorious mom Clare. I met them while Outposting at UCLA and the 3 of us immediately hit it off. Miss Grace and I became fast friends and she and I ended up having quite a bit in common, therefore we were able to chit chat about our experiences and share stories. They were very kind and invited me over to their wonderful home to just hang out and say goodbye before I left for Oregon. It was a beautiful day and we just hung outside by the pool and Clare and I were able to chat and catch up while Grace and her brother and brothers frined were able to enjoy themselves in the pool. It was a very fun day. Below is a picture of me and Gracie Girl. I feel so blessed that I was able to meet this family and also become friends with them. I look forward to visiting them when I come to California for a visit hopefully in the nearish future.

Back to my last day with the Vargas Family: After we ate at CPK and said our very tear filled goodbyes we took a few pictures with me and the kids, which I love very much, and I find myself looking at them a few times each day.


So my glorious Vargas family...this is definitely not goodbye, but rather See you later because goodness knows that I will be visiting soon and will ALWAYS consider all of you as my family. I will never be able to thank you enough for the unconditional love, support and kindness that you have shown me over the past 5 years. I expect you to visit me in Oregon, and I am excited to come back soon and visit all of you so we can just start where we left off. As you know (since I have said it millions of time) I love you all very much and have cherished every second that I got to spend with you.
xoxo
auntie mandy