Guess what's new? If you guessed herpes (shingles), you are right.

Just wanted to let the family know that mom has herpes on my face. Maybe we will post a picture; Dad says I look like I've been beat up. The bad news is it's contagious so until the leision heals, I have to be careful to keep the sore covered and I can't hug and kiss children (good thing there are no grandchildren yet), people with low immune systems, and older, frail people. The good news is it will only last a couple of weeks and then I will be good to go. I guess I should have taken better care of myself during the move. I got sick and kept going (I'm good at that) and my immune system reached a low enough level that I broke out on my forehead. I didn't go to the doctor right away because I thought it was something that would go away with a little soap and water and ointment. Boy was I wrong about that. Anyway, just wanted you all to know before you heard something through the grapevine. I am taking the right medicine, putting ointment on the sore, taking advil for the discomfort and getting a lot of rest. :)

High Waters!

Well, this is the little ole creek in our backyard. It didn't worry the landlord at all, he hasn't seen it flood and they've had the property since '48. But boy did it get high!

We had what was classified as some type of tropical storm....some may just call that a hurricane. The winds hit the triple digits on the coast and the waves hit as high as 45 feet. Dave wanted to drive out to see the surf but the roads to the coast were all closed due to down trees and downed powerlines and and flooded roads.... Portland just got a lot of rain and some wind. The news said Salem had high winds clocking in at 55 mph! But today, Tuesday, the sun is shining and I even wore my sunglasses as I walked across the bridge downtown! Good Times!

december

caroline.. which days is best for yall the 12th or the 13th? were planning on leaving early on the 14th. have a dinner to go to.

happy thanksgiving!

wish we could make it up to portland! as for our thanksgiving, we both work so we had ours tuesday night wiht brians parents and some of our friends. our first thanksgiving turned out pretty good! lots of yummy food and good company. too bad mom and dad didnt make it up. still havent heard anything from any depts at my old hospital about wanting me back, but theyre having some pretty big budget issues so maybe its better i got out while i could. from what im hearing a lot of people are lookign to get out and not too many places to go anymore. ill keep yall postedwith that one. as for brian he has his interview with cal fire ( formerly cdf) december 3. hoping he passes it! would be nice for him to have a change of scenery and better job. hes looking forward to it. i miss everyone!

becky (and brian too)

Happy Thanksgiving!

Hello Everyone!

We'll it is definitely fall here in the Pacific Northwest. It has be raining all week but we have a forecast of sun for the holiday. Dave and I have been busy entertaining and preparing for the big feast. My dad is in town for the festivities and we are expecting a big McNary turn out so we've been busy.

School is going well, I am much looking forward to the holiday break. 3 more weeks! Dave's been trying to squeeze in some time in his shop between guests and most of that time was spent organizing. He is almost happy with the garage and is getting ready to get to work on a table for my sister Liz.

Happy Thanksgiving! We are grateful to have such wonderful family. You guys rock!

Lots of love,
Dave and Becky

what....

is mike and carolines start date at memorial?

what....

is mike and carolines start date at memorial?

It's almost time

Well, we leave in a few days and are just trying to soak up Homer. Had an unexpected visit from Jeff and Louisa last week which was fun. Crazy to have people visit in October as it was pretty cold etc... Looking foward to spending time with Dave and Becky as usual! That is what makes the transition a bit easier! These are a few pictures of their visit. Mostly from the few days we spent at our friends house on Yukon Island. Love you guys!

more of the visit...

Well... it seems Dad and Mom are busy packing up their lives to move down the street, so I will post more China photos for you all to enjoy... since I, on the other hand, am at the most low-key point in my life (that is, no work, little study, and few friends...).... :)

This is one of my favorite pictures of Pops. As is evident, he is about to burst into laughter. He was trying to just stare at the camera expressionlessly, but I insisted he look happy... heehee.... quite a handsome fella! (he is in a famous garden in Shanghai)

The last day of their stay in Beijing, I took them to the Temple of the Sun, a beautiful park area and we just hung out. It was great to notice the sign above the bathroom door......... nothing like a two-star toilet!! When Dad came out, he said he ranked it a negative one or two stars... teeeeheee!! You really cannot understand until you have seen them and had to squat next to a stranger to pee in a hole.... luckily with two stars, you at least get a little wall.... others just have a row of holes in the ground!!! Like camping.....










Another great Great Wall picture. :) Gotta love it! Quite a wall. :) One of the now, 12 (I believe?) wonders of the world.






This is Mom petting a lion who is about to devour her.



:) In that same famous garden in Shanghai.










And this is mom holding up a crab just before we ate a 18-plus course meal! We are in Xingcheng, a tiny town in northeastern China. Dad and Mom have friends in Long Beach whose parents live in this town.... so we went to visit them. They treated us like royalty.... This is where Dad and Mom began to gain weight. :) Out the window you can see the ocean... on the other side of it is north Korea. This city is where the Chinese navy is trained.

Welcome to my world! At least Dad and Mom were here to help off-set the severe racial imbalance in this country! :) Here we are with all the relatives of the people Dad and Mom know in Long Beach (at the same dinner in the picture above). The man on the right of Mom is the dad of their friend in Long Beach. He seemed fascinated by Dad's watch, and I told Dad that maybe he should give it to him as a gift (because they spent TONS of money entertaining us). Well, Dad did, as he figured I know Chinese culture and perhaps if someone complements you on something it is best to offer it to them (which is true in most cases). Oppsss.... after he gave it to him, I remembered that it is REALLY rude to give the Chinese a watch as a gift. They superstitiously believe that it means your days are limited and it is sending you to your death. You give a watch to an enemy! Oppss!!! Goes to show you one year hasn't been enough for me. :( Soooo... we hope the poor guy is doing okay today.

Much love to everyone! Thinking of you all! I still cannot read or comment on any of the comments.

Tami (and Billy)

the visit

Ok... here they are. Dad and Mom had an awesome trip in visit us! We enjoyed it thoroughly! We spent 7 days traveling to other places (both to northern China and southern), and then 5 days in Beijing.

This first picture is Dad and Mom in front of a Chinese junk on Tai Hu in Suzhou, China (the south~~about 4 hours car ride from Shanghai).
I think we all remember the story of Dad and Mom's first year of marriage when Mom gave Dad a model junk and then Dad said, "Thank for the junk!" Mom of course, not knowing that these Chinese boats are called "junks", and thinking that Dad was making fun of her gift, burst into tears! :) Here they are with a real junk!

This second photo is of Dad and Mom at the Summer Palace in Beijing. The Summer Palace is where the Emperors and Empresses would head to stay cool during the Beijing summer. It is only a few miles from our house. It has beautiful grounds and a lake (Kunming Lake) which we wandered around for several hours.

This is Dad and Mom in the Forbidden City. Mom enjoyed wandering around the grounds, as she taught Chinese history for so many years. The Chinese people we met all thought it was funny to meet an American Chinese history teacher. At the Forbidden City, Mom learned that she had taught students for so many years that the last dynasty was called the Chin dynasty (pronounced "Chen"), but actually the last dynasty was the Qing dynasty (pronounced cha-"ching"!). We all found that pretty amusing!

This last picture is Billy and I on a pedestrian bridge by our house. Our apartment complex is the white one behind us... you get a great feel for the pollution... it wasn't an overcast day, just a typically polluted one! :)


Hope everyone is well! If anyone else wants to visit, you have five months left in which to do it! :) We'd love to have any of you!

Much love~~~ Billy and Tami

china

we know mom and dad are back from china.... we want pics!!!!

One month left!

The first picture is for the Davidson's benefit, just in case they happen to be around! Had a great birthday spent out on the bay with friends on a boat watching whales! Picked and ate some blueberries on the other side of the bay. Quick drink before and after and the Dawg. It was perfect! Now we're just relaxing (well at least i am) and Mike is working on his boat as long as time permits! It's become fall/winter overnight with temps in the low forties to fifities. It's awesome though. We're going on lots of walks and eating halibut, scallops and salmon til we can't take it anymore! Looking forward to seeing everyone in Portland and Long Beach. And Hello and love to China! Hope you are having a great time! Love you all!

I can't believe it!

I missed SURVIVOR last night! I totally forgot to set the timer. I need my husband here so he can tape it for me while I'm teaching. Oh well.
becky

Happy belated BIRTHDAYS!!!

I can't believe the days past and I didn't get this post up!

Happy Birthday Caroline!!!

Happy Birthday Mom Ross!!!

Here's hoping you had a great day and a wonderful year.
Lots of love,
becky and dave

Happy Late Anniversary Mike and Carol!

We love you. Sorry this is a day late! WE are lucky to have YOU! Looking forward to spending some time together again in Long Beach. We should be arriving around Nov 7th we think. Love you!

Just to say Hi There

Dad and I are so fortunate to have all of you! Mike and Caroline, David and Becky, Billy and Tami, and Brian and Becky! Thank you for a great summer! We love you all and are thankful that we had some special time with each of you this summer. Dad and I are leaving for China a week from tomorrow. We will be gone for 2 weeks. We are getting ourselves prepared for the China adventure. We promise to post some pictures.
Love, Mom

Hey David and Becky!

Would you give us a call when you can? I'm starting to think about buying our plane tickets to come down and wanted to touch base with you on dates. One of our cells is usually the best way! Love you!

Facial Treatment

While Tami was here, we met with Linda to get a full skin-care facial thing. It was a lot of fun. Thanks Linda for answering all of our questions. When Mom gets back from China, she is going to sign up to get us all 50% of our purchases so if anyone is interested....

These are some pictures of us learning all about Mary Kay and just how to in general pamper our faces!

We had a lot of fun. It was great to see Tami... We look forward to seeing her and Billy again in February on their way up to Seattle...hint, hint ! :)

new job

so i started my new job last week. just orientation crap but so far i really like the hospital and my new manager started in the unit as a new grad and has worked his way up so he knows whats going on... as opposed to the manager at my old hospital that had never been an icu nurse.. anyways we will keep you updated. everything else is going well....

BORING

tami

i know tamis been at mom and dads... why dont we have pics?!

New Boat Pic

I'm running out of time (and warmish weather)and not going to get the boat in the water this year, but it should be pretty close to finished by the time we leave. You can kind of see what the end result is going to be. The little round windows are cardboard - still trying to figure out where everything should go.

new job

so i finally got my official job offer from sutter roseville. i go in this week to fill out my new hire paperwork. my start date is sept 10. and i will be working in neuro trauma icu. im way excited! hope everyone is doing well!

finally!!

finally found reception pics on my computer....looks like mom wasnt so into posting them!

What Dave's been up to

Isn't it a beauty? Dave's work just keeps getting better and better.

This is a frame Dave made for our friend Jeff. Jeff is working on a painting for it. It will have to be a masterpiece in order to compete with the frame. We leave for hiking tomorrow. After a quick stop in LA to drop off the frame and to see my family, we head for the Sierras for a month or so. YIPEE!!! We are going to go cross-country for most of the time with the goal of hitting as many peaks as we can. (easier ones that don't require ropes or technical skill of course... we have no skill other than walking!) We'll be in contact loosely. We don't really plan on going into town very often but if anyone needs to get a message to us, email will probably be a good but slow way of get a hold of us. My school begins September 24, so we'll be done hiking by then. Have a great rest of summer everyone!!!!

Love you guys,
becky

PS. still waiting on those reception picture posts!!! Carol, Becky....everyone is dying to see them!

Bubba Lee sighting!

We just had Bubba drop in on Monday and stayed with us through Wednesday. Had a great time. Are you guys off hiking yet Dave and Becky. Not yet right? Still waiting for some reception posts??????????? Love you guys!

Happy Tuesday!

Birthday Banana Split!

We had a Banana Split dinner/party with friends for Mike's birthday last night! YUMMY! We all layed around afterwards disgusted with our actions! Will look forward to some blog pictures of the reception on Saturday. Good Luck!

That time of year again!

Well it's canning time again. I'm trying new recipes this year and I'm at jar fifteen and counting.
We only have three more weeks until the Sierras so it'll be a short year. I'm still trying to decide if I can squeeze in a batch of saurkraut. I'm sure your all eagerly awaiting the outcome.
Dave

OPPS...

Happy DAY Mike! I think I missed it... :) Hope it was a happy one! Getting up there! :) Thinking of you guys..... on the day after your birthday..... Thought I'd send you a little advice thanks to a trash can located on the Great Wall ("Sleep Slope Is in Frontage! Please walk slowly!")... It's pretty much all downhill from here... heehee.... Much love!! Tami (and Billy)

happy birthday mike!!!! thanks soo much for everything!

Thanks Pops!

A little more fun!

Can only post one pic at a time! ARGH!!

Wedding Pics

Wedding Pics Test

Happy Wedding Day!!!!

We wish you two the best of luck in your new life together. Brian, we can't wait to meet you! Welcome to the family. Happy Wedding Day!

Love, Dave and Becky

CHEERS TO BECKY AND BRIAN!!!

Alaska

Hi family~~

Sorry I haven't posted in a long while... Blogger hasn't been working for more than a month here... anyways, using a proxy server helps. :)

Just wanted to wish everyone a WONDERFUL time in Alaska! Wish I was going! Happy Wedding Brian and Becky! :) Here's to a great beginning!!

Much love to all~~~
Tami

Salmon Salmon Salmon! and a trailer

Finally we got the trailer for Mike's boat! Very exciting! And also got 12 Sockeye salmon over in China Poot this morning.. Dusting off the smokers and canner. Woo Hoo... hope everyone is well..... love you guys