Angie Windheim

Joe always enjoys life to the fullest and his birthday is no exception. He gathered 4 of his best friends (plus Sam) for a birthday sleepover and the boys were having non-stop-fun together the entire time.  While I can’t believe that he’s 11 and going into 6th grade, I’m so impressed with the great kid he’s become and look forward to seeing him continue to blossom in middle school.

After Joe’s buddies left, we journeyed downtown to Powell’s and searched for good book deals. Joe found 3 that he liked. Then, we continued on to the Deschutes Brewery for Joe’s favorite wings. Now we’re home and chilling before we head out to Joe’s baseball game. We’re hoping for a win in honor of his birthday 🙂  Chances are good. Joe’s team is #1 in the District and hopefully on its way to a place in the State Tournament!!!

Love you, Joe.

Joe’s 5th Grade Promotion celebration was a great finish to a fabulous year at Edy Ridge Elementary. A surprise highlight of the morning was his receiving the President’s Award for Outstanding Academic Excellence.  I am so proud of all that Joe has accomplished this year.  He’s shown himself to be a self-motivated, lover of reading and learning. That’s going to take him far in this world. Many thanks to his teacher, Kelsey Moore, for creating such a strong sense of community in her classroom this year. The kids were incredibly  bonded with her and each other. All of them are well-prepared for the next challenge…middle school!

My grandma, Mavis Hamel, will turn 80 years-old on June 4th. What a great reason to celebrate!  My mom hosted a family brunch on Saturday and all of the local Hamel clan was able to attend.  I think everyone had a good time. My boys are always excited to see Noah, my cousin Danielle’s 3 year old.  All of their cousins are older and spread out across Oregon, so Noah is a real treat.

I tried out another excellent recipe from the What Can I Bring? cookbook by Anne Bryn. Tomato Pie was delicious and will be a great addition to my cooking arsenal when the tomatoes in my garden overwhelm me.  I’m thinking it could easily be a zucchini pie as well.

And, of course, I took photos. I’m really happy with the photos of Grandma and various members of the family. I even snuck into one for the group shot. Thank goodness for timers. We had a little technical difficulty with my new remote control so we had to use the 10 second timer. Next time we’ll have the remote ready to roll so I don’t have to run back and forth.  However, I do recommend going back to check the photo in the viewer at least once to make sure you can see everyone and that you like where you are in the photo. I’d love to be tucked away in the back next time 🙂