Seriously Savage

The Sage Rat Run

2010-05-29T18:36:00.000-07:00

Last weekend Ryan participated in his first 1/2 marathon. He did so awesome. 13.1 miles is a long way to go. The race route went for the Wal-Mart in Sunnyside to the Chamber of Commerce here in Prosser. Ryan finished the race in 1 hr 40 min and 10 sec for 16th place.

Ryan with friends Jared, Mary and Lydia

Ryan on the course

at the finish line.

Arena Football

2010-05-28T18:07:00.000-07:00

This spring Prosser was asked to participate in one of the first youth arena football leagues in the country. The league is based out of Yakima and all of the games are played at the Sun Dome. Cameron plays the Safety position and is very good at it. He enjoys putting a good hit on someone and has had a few of his opponents carried off the field.

If you are not familiar with Arena football, it is a high scoring, fast paced game. It's very fun to watch. Another positive feature would be the constant 70 deg inside the dome.

So far Prosser has remained undefeated. Last weekend they played Sunnyside, the last undefeated team, and they beat them 48 to 6.

Cameron #26

Kickoff Receiving team

2010 Track Season

2010-05-27T17:30:00.000-07:00

This year Colby participated in Middle School Track. He had a great season. He competed in the 800 meter, the 1600 meter (the Mile), and on a relay team. It was so fun attending all the track meets and cheering him on. You got to love the track season. The wind either blew like crazy or it was sunny and beautiful and we got sunburns.

Colby running the 1600 meter.

First leg of the relay.

Colby and his friend Cody.

What are little boys made of?

2010-04-11T14:46:00.000-07:00

What are little boys made of?
Frogs and snails
And puppy-dogs' tails,
That's what little boys are made of.

You better add rattle snakes to that as well, and here is the proof.

On Easter my family had gathered together at my brother's home in Kennewick Wa. I was thinking it would be a nice relaxing visit with family catching up and reminiscing about fun things we had done as kids. (one of our favorite things to do) That was abruptly cut short when our boys came back from their walk with a dead rattle snake in tow.

We were quickly informed of the exciting events that had just taken place.

While on their walk, the boys were stopped short by a sound that they had thought was a hissing sound. Upon further investigation they realized it was not a hissing sound, but a rattling sound that was coming from this snake that was only a 3-4 feet away from them.

Cameron & Dawson (apparently the only ones with any brains) immediately took off and put some distance between themselves and the snake. Colby and Evan however took aim at the rattler and opened fire. And in a hail of bb's that rattler drew its last breath.

Needless to say, as this story unfolded I was hyperventilating at the thought of my little boys facing such dangers. Their dad on the other hand thought it was the coolest thing ever.

And I wonder why I have to color my hair every 6-8 weeks.

Spring Break 2010

2010-04-10T19:00:00.000-07:00

This spring break we decided to take a couple of days and head down to my parents beach house on the Oregon Coast in Rockaway. We stopped off in Salem for the night on the way down to spend some time with my Grandma and Grandpa. We were welcomed with Grandma's turkey and homemade noodles. Our favorite.

My uncle Joel is the Fire Marshall in Keizer OR so the next morning we headed down to the fire station for the grand tour. It's always cool to see other fire stations and how they operate.

Without further delay we were off to the coast. We spent the week just hanging out and spending time together. For the most part it rained the entire time with the exception of the morning we were getting ready to leave (figures). That's just the way it goes this time of year at the coast.

Ribbon River Run

2010-03-22T17:41:00.000-07:00

On Saturday March 20th Ryan and Colby competed in the first Ribbon River Run in the Tri-Cities. The Ribbon River Run is a new fundraiser for the Tri-Cities Cancer Foundation. The event was a 5k race that took place at Howard Amen Park.

It was Ryan's first race since the Hood to Coast relay we participated in last August. Colby however had run the weekend before in the Shamrock run.

I am pleased to announce that they both won first place. Ryan placed first overall and Colby placed first for the youth. It was a very good day for team Savage.

A Basement Update.

2010-01-11T19:29:00.001-08:00

We have been at this basement remodel for a while now, and I have good news to report. It has been a very productive weekend. We rented an industrial grinder with a diamond grit head and sanded the cement floor down nice and smooth. It was a very messy job. I thought drywall dust was bad, but it had nothing on concrete dust.

Ryan is in there somewhere.

After the sanding we started staining the floor with a new product called acetone stain. You mix a powder substance with a gallon of acetone. It smelled just like fingernail polish remover. We applied it with a simple weed sprayer.

We let that dry for a day and then began to apply the sealer. We discussed this whole process with a few different people, but not one of them told us about the intense odor that came along with the sealer. We had to leave the house for about 6 hours. Thankfully Jill and Dustin took us in for the evening.

I must say it was all worth it. We love the finished product.

Ryno brings Keoni home to meet the Savages.

2010-01-05T18:48:00.000-08:00

Ryno has been gone to Boise now for about 4 months. He has been dating an "amazing" (that's what Ryno says about her) young lady named Keoni. She is attending the same college, they met in his photography class. He was just dying for us to meet her so he invited her down and she didn't know us well enough to decline.

Ryno & Keoni

They got here and we had a couple of hours to visit before we met up my brother Jake and his family in the Tri-Cities for Pizza and Bowling. We figured if we were going to scare her, we might as well scare her big time.

Jake & Steph

The dudes figuring out the score.

Sooooo Cute.

The pressure of the game is just too much.

We had an awsome weekend with all our boys and Keoni. We hope we didn't scare her too badly

Christmas 2009

2010-01-01T17:11:00.000-08:00

I am one of those people that just can't wait for Christmas to get here. I start planning for it and decorating for it way before it's politically correct. I would start even earlier than that if Ryan would let me. He keeps me rained in.

This year was as busy and crazy as usual. The festivities started on the 23rd with the Savage family gift exchange. We decided to change things up a little and we had Italian food. That was kinda cool.

On the 24th we had the Raines family(that's my side) Christmas at my sister Jill's house. My Parents came down from Nampa ID for a couple days. It wasn't near enough time, but it never is. My Unlce Dave, Aunt Sandy, Cousin Crissy, Jenny and her new husband Jared and baby daughter came by for dinner. We had a wonderful Prime Rib that Jill and Dustin made. It was sooooo gooood.

Finally the big day had arrived Christmas Day. The day that the boys get to open all of their gifts. The hard part was that we had to wait for Ryno to get there. Colby and Cameron only had to wait about 15 minutes, but you would have thought it was a couple of hours.

This is a picture of Colby & Cameron showing me their impatient faces.

Colby's surprised face.

Cameron's surprised face.

Ryno's version of the surprised face. They all need a little work.

Basement Construction Has Started

2009-12-11T20:55:00.000-08:00

We have lived here at 1918 Benson Ave for almost 2 years now and have wanted to finish the basement since the day we moved in. Well the time has finally arrived. It has been just a couple of weeks now and things are looking good. We (I mean Ryan) has put up some walls to separate off an office area and another storage room. We( I mean him and I) hung sheetrock on both the walls and the ceiling. If you have never hung sheetrock on a ceiling it is an experience, one that we do not recommend doing with your spouse. We ( I mean Ryan ) are now down to taping and texturing. Things are looking good.

The walls are up.

Sheetrock and Tape.

Getting ready for texture.

Fire!!!!!!!!!

2009-12-01T19:53:00.000-08:00

A couple of times a year the fire station burns a vacant house down (on purpose) to learn more about fire and how it grows in a structure. This year I was invited down to take pictures of the event. The fire crews involved included the City of Sunnyside Fire and Yakima County Fire Dist. There were a lot of fire fighters there.

What they do is set a fire in a corner of the house and watch how it grows. When it starts to get large, they put it out. Then another group goes in and they do it again in another corner. Once everyone has had a chance to watch the burn, they let the fire take over the house. Very cool.

Ryan and his friend Chad getting ready for their turn in the house.

Them coming out of the house.

Time to let it burn.

Ryan's shift.

Fire fighters don't usually stand around and take pics while a house is burning down.

My very own HERO!!!!

Day Of The Notables.

2009-11-22T22:23:00.000-08:00

Day of the Notables is a right of passage for those attending the 5th grade at Prosser Heights. For those of you who are not familiar with this, it is a day that every student in the 5th grade dresses up and gives a little 50 word speech about a notable person in history. Cameron chose Benjamin Franklin. He did a great job. His class spent a few weeks before their presentations researching their notable person.

The day of the presentations (aka The Day of the Notables) each student has an assigned area in the halls that they stand and when you give them the password (a word listed on their poster) they begin their little presentation. It was very cool and quite informative.

Cameron as Benjamin Franklin

Cameron's friend Taylor Giles as Henry Ford.

Cameron's friend Logan as Albert Einstien.

Getting in the Christmas Spirit.

2009-11-15T21:55:00.000-08:00

So my sister Jill and I decided we needed a little shot in the arm to get this Holiday season really rocking. So we planned a morning to hit all the fun Christmas type places. We first hit Beaver Bark. If you have never been there, you should check it out. They have some of the cutest home decor stuff. You would never know from the freeway, but it is very cool.

Jill and I in front of a tree that looks like it is covered in giant candy at Beaver Bark

Second we hit the Heritage store over by Costco. They have a bunch of Christmas trees all decorated up. We just couldn't resist taking a few dorky pics. We are such rebels, the hole time we were afraid we were going to get caught and kicked out.

Jill striking a pose with the safari tree. Totally not practical, but very cool.

Here I am hugging a huge tree covered in all gold ornaments. It was awesome. What this picture does not show you is that when I went to step back away from the tree, I stepped on my own foot and about knocked the whole thing over.

We only had a half of a day, so we decided to round out our morning at Costco. After all who can resist Christmas in bulk. Not to mention Pizza for two for lunch for under $7.00.

Colby's Hair Cut

2009-11-10T21:33:00.000-08:00

Believe it or not, he finally did it. Colby cut his hair. It was the darnedest thing. He just came home from school one day and said he was ready to cut it off. Not just a little trim, but a real hair cut. I must admit it was a little hard to do it. Part of me had gotten used to all that hair.

The good new is he can still play his guitar like a true rocker and he is as handsome as ever.

Minutes before the big cut.

Wow that is a bunch of hair.

Colby after. Did I mention that he is as humble as ever.

Child's Play

2009-11-04T20:44:00.000-08:00

Today had to be one of the most beautiful November days ever. I couldn't get enough of the sunshine and I don't think the boys could either. Fortunately for them they had early out from school and that gave them an extra hour of play. They wasted no time taking advantage of their precious sunshine.

Colby and his friend Allen spent their time playing a little one on one.

Cameron and Taylor were doing a little skateboard skiing.

It is so wonderful to live in a community where our children have such great friends.

Hard At Work

2009-11-04T20:16:00.000-08:00

Well it's that time of year again, the time of year I get busy working on vinyl. The Christmas bazaars will be starting soon and people will be thinking about Christmas gifts.

Wanted to share some of what I have been working on the off season. We have a local Winery plaza that I have done most of the exterior signs for. I guess you could say that I'm in the wine business. Just kidding.

This was my first sign out there.

I have a friend that works there and she got me the job.

This was number two. These people were awesome.

This one I just finished.

I thought the M was going to be the death of me.

Girlfriends 1/2 Marathon

2009-11-03T17:30:00.000-08:00

As many of you know, I participated in my first 1/2 marathon in October. I allowed peer pressure to get the best of me and I regretfully paid $60 to run 13.1 miles without any good reason what so ever. I guess that is not totally true, I got to spend the day with my good friend Jodi Wrathall (my peer who pressured me). I however would have rather spend that day at the mall or something. The upside to all of it is that not everyone can say they ran a 1/2 marathon.

The marathon was called the Girlfriends 1/2 Marathon and it was in Vancouver Wa. There were 1,500 competitors and we finished in the 640th place range. We were hoping for better, but at about mile 10, we got over it.

The event was awesome and it was a blast to be with that many women who love running like we do.

We look so chipper!!

That's more like it!! Can you say 13.1 miles!!!!

After a shower and a massage...

Mustang Football

2009-11-02T19:33:00.000-08:00

Cameron had a heck of a football season this year. He played on a team made up of all 10 year olds. They basically split the seasons wins and losses, but It was enough to make it to the play offs. There they met their demise against Richlands Cowboys.

Cameron played on both offence and defence. He was very fun to watch, but he is glad to have the season over and have a little more free time on his hands.

Cameron #26

Cameron going for the tackle.

Cameron got him. Nice job Cam!!!!!

Purple Belt

2009-10-31T11:47:00.000-07:00

Colby has been very successful with his Teakwondo. He tested for his purple belt and actually kicked through a board. It was very exciting.

Here he is going through some of his basics.

Here he is working through his form.

Here he is demonstrating his "One-steps"

He breaks through the board.

Receiving his new belt and award.

Colby and his teacher.

Friday Night Football

2009-09-10T13:53:00.000-07:00

Fall is here again and what would a Friday night be without a high school football game. This crew chose to spend last Friday night in Umatilla at Ryan's old stomping ground to watch his nephew Taylor play his first game as a senior and the starting quarterback. It was a great game. Taylor played awesome as he led his team to their first victory of the season.

Taylor #25 (starting Lineup)

Taylor getting ready to pass.

Taylor running the ball in for a touchdown!

The Hood to Coast Relay

2009-09-09T20:18:00.000-07:00

So it has been just over a week since Ryan and I ran in the Nike Hood to Coast Relay. It has been about 3 days since we have been able to walk without crying. 197 miles is a long way to run, even if you are sharing it with 11 other runners. It still works out to be aprox. 18 miles per person. An accomplishment that I still can't believe I managed.

Our team was named Team Dragginass. (Get it?) It consisted of 12 members. 6 members per van. Van #1 (our van) began at the Start Line at Mt. Hood and each of us ran our first legs. We then handed off to the first runner of Van #2 and they took over. Their runners each ran their first legs, and so on. The cool thing about having 2 vans, was that it gave us a few hours off the course to eat and rest a bit.

It worked out so that we ran about every 10 to 12 hours. You would think that would be plenty of time to recover, but that was certainly not the case. It was just enough time for the stiffness and sourness to set in.

Van #1 at the Start Line.
We obviously had no idea what we were in for.
Ryan's first Leg. (What a view)

Me handing off to Michelle after my first leg.

Getting ready to hand off to Van #2 that Ryan's Sister Soni and Brother CJ are in.

I know that it sounds crazy, but even with all the pain and lack of sleep, we can't wait to do it again next year. There is just something about doing something that you never thought you would have been able to do.

The Water Park

2009-08-19T18:40:00.000-07:00

Of course it would take my sister Jill and I until the end of summer to decide to go to Moses Lake and check out their water part. Her and I are the biggest procrastinators that I know. At least it was worth the wait.

My friend Kari's son was having his 13th birthday and they invited us up for the day to celebrate. Moses Lake is a bit of a drive from here, but they have a few attractions that Hermiston and Pendleton don't offer.

Cameron

Colby

Dawson

Kayla

Jill

Me.

We all played way to hard. It was all we could do to stay awake long enough to drive home.

Taekwondo

2009-07-26T18:05:00.000-07:00

Colby started Taekwondo a couple of months ago and is doing really well. He has already advanced to his yellow belt and will be testing for his orange belt tomorrow. He attends a dojo here in Prosser a couple of days a week. It is very cool because not only are they teaching him about taekwondo, but they are also teaching them how to listen, follow directions and respect for others. It has been fun to watch him participate.

Yellowstone National Park.

2009-07-24T19:31:00.000-07:00

While vacationing at Island Park in Idaho we decided that we may never get that close to Yellowstone again, so we should make the short drive to see Old Faithful. A couple of car loads of us headed out. It was fun because we got to take Ryan's cousin Haley with us (Haley is Ryan's cousin Rickie's little girl). Not only was I not the only girl in the car, but it was fun to have someone who has been there many times to give us the grand tour.

Ice Cream at the Yellowstone General Store

Pritchett family reunion.

2009-07-24T18:36:00.000-07:00

I know I'm a little slow at posting this, but over the 4th of July weekend we went to Island Park Idaho for Ryan's Mom's side of the family reunion. If you have never been to Island Park, it is about 20 miles from the west entrance of Yellowstone National Park. Very Cool!!!! We took off at 7am on July 3rd and drove straight threw. It took us about 10 hrs. I have to say that I was very thankful for all of the modern electronics that kept the boys entertained.

The reunion consisted of Ryan's Mom and her sister Sandy's families. All of Ryan's siblings made it except for Cory and all of Sandy's kids made it except for Ryan's cousin Casey. It was quite a crew.

Ryan's cousin Ricky has a vacation house there that sets on the dog leg of the 3rd hole of the Golf course. Yes I said golf course and Ryan was in heaven. They golfed every day and when they were not golfing they were betting on the poor golfers making their approaches to the green.

It was a great time and we loved catching up with cousins we don't get to see very often. Already looking forward to next time.

Ryno's Graduation

2009-06-15T18:22:00.001-07:00

So I am not sure why, but I have been putting off posting Ryno's graduation. I am not sure if it is because I am in denial about the whole thing or what. The graduation was wonderful. He only had 19 in his class and so it was very short and intimate. I am pretty sure that Ryno had more family there than anyone. When that kid stood to get his diploma, the whole room erupted in applause and hollering. I really thought that I would cry, but I didn't. I don't know what that says about me, am I heartless, or just excited for him.

Isn't he handsome.

Ryno and the Dudes trying to get everything on straight.

Right after the graduation, Ryno's Dad hosted a little shindig over in Echo in Ryno's honor. There was lots of his Ramos family there and a few from our side. It was a very nice party.

Ryno, myself and Ryno's Dad

Ryno porking out.

The following morning we had another party at my sister Jill's house in the Tri-Cities. We were very fortunate to have had lots of family and friends from all over Oregon and Washington. Good food and great company. All the ingredients for a wonderful party.

Ryno and Cake #2

Grandma and Grandpa Savage & Their Gift.

Jill(my sister), Me, and my friend (Geneva)

Play Day

2009-06-03T16:22:00.000-07:00

Today I spent the afternoon with Cameron's class at the 4th grade play day. I was responsible for the inter tube relay races. It was very fun. Fortunately my event had partial shade and I did not have a heat stroke or anything. Cameron and his buddies had a great time. That is to be expected though when there is water involved.

Cameron & his friend Logan

Cameron in the Tire Relay

Mr. Bray spraying the kids in the water relay.

Pine wood derby

2009-05-28T16:37:00.000-07:00

Tonight was Cameron's Pinewood Derby. It was a bit of a sad evening for Savage Racing because this would be our last go around. We were thinking back to when Ryno started racing and we have been at this for about 10 years. Needless to say we have figured out a few things.

Cameron did very well. He finished 1st in the Webelos(10 year old) and 3rd place overall.

An update on Colby the Rocker.

2009-05-11T18:08:00.000-07:00

As many of you know Colby started playing the guitar in late November or early December. I posted a video of him back in February doing a song on his acoustic guitar. For his birthday a couple of weeks ago we got him an electric. That was what he wanted in the beginning, but we wanted him to work up to that. We promised him that if he would work hard on the acoustic we would check into the electric.

We thought he plated that old guitar allot, that was nothing to the amount he plays this new one. Then to top things off, my Mom and Dad got him a microphone for his birthday as well. Now you can actually hear him sing too.

So here is a clip of his latest song. It is by Green Day. Some of you may recognize it.

My first 5K race.

2009-05-09T19:18:00.001-07:00

As many of you may know, a so called friend of mine (Jody Wrathall) convinced me to sign up for a half marathon that will be held in October. In a moment of weakness I agreed. I started to train for it in February and have been running on a fairly regular basis. I decided that it would be good idea to try and run a couple of shorter races before to measure my progress and get a feel for the whole competition thing. I have not raced competitively since High School. We will not discuss how long ago that was.
Today was my first race in Hermiston. It was a 5K. For those of you who do not speak kilometers, that is 3.1 miles. I prefer to say 5k because it sounds like more. I really only had 3 goals going into the race:

1) Finish under 30 minutes
2) No vomiting
3) No walking-run the whole way.

I have to consider the race a success. I managed to accomplish all 3 goals. My race time was 29:06, I felt like vomiting, but I held it in, I considered walking but there was an old lady(older than me that is) on my tail and there was no way I was going to let her pass me.
It’s time to get serious on the training thing now. My next race will have to be a 10K (7.2 miles). After today I am very aware that I am not even close to ready.

Thanks babe for the new outfit. I look like I know what I am doing.

It's a good thing you can't see my face here. I think I might have been crying.

Uncle Roger Came to town.

2009-05-07T17:50:00.000-07:00

Thursday my Uncle Roger came to town from American Falls Idaho. Ryan and I spent the morning golfing with him. I was only able to hang with the two of them on the first 9 holes. I am a bit of a fair weather golfer. Believe it or not the two of them only golfed another 9 holes after I left. If you know the two of them, that would surprise you too. After golf we headed back to our house and Roger and Colby had a mini Jam session for us. It was very cool. I didn’t even know my uncle played the guitar until recently.

Cameron's 10th birthday.

2009-05-05T17:40:00.000-07:00

My baby turned 10 today!!! I can’t believe it. Cameron had a great turnout at his birthday party. He had boys from church and from his football team. His big gift this year was a new bike. He picked it out himself. He has already gotten lots of miles on it.

Colby turns the big 12.

2009-04-29T16:35:00.000-07:00

Colby is finally the big 12. He celebrated his 12th birthday by having a group of boys from school over. They had a great time and were a hoot to watch. It's Kinda sad to think that this will probably be his last friend birthday party. They grow up so fast.

Ryno's Prom

2009-04-25T20:24:00.000-07:00

Well another milestone achieved for Ryno. He and Kayla attended his senior prom. I just can’t believe that will be his last one. Kayla’s cousin took these pictures just before the dance. They are so cute.

A new engagement.

2009-04-25T18:51:00.000-07:00

So I spent a couple hours last Saturday with Ryan's niece Kasondra and her fiance Michael. They will be getting married in September and wanted to create save the date cards and have a pic for the news paper, so they asked me if I would do the pics. I was so nervous. It's on thing to boss your kids around when you are taking pictures, it's another to boss your grown niece around. It was fun though and She was happy with how they turned out.

We're Back!!!!

2009-04-25T18:45:00.000-07:00

I’ts been a rough couple of weeks, but we are back up and running. There are only a few things I can think of that are worse than being computerless. For those of you who did not know, our computer decided to retire itself to that big computer heaven in the sky. Why does that always happen at the worse times. Here I am in the middle of trying to make a video for Ryno’s graduation party and I had two vinyl signs that needed to be completed by this weekend. Crazy I tell you.
Well now that the drama is over I hope to be able to do a better job of keeping the blog up to date. Sorry Mom and Grandma:-)

Will work for accessories

2009-03-29T20:27:00.001-07:00

Recently I had the opportunity to cut some vinyl for a little boutique here in Prosser. Some of you may know it Get A Grip. I stopped in there one afternoon, just to check things out and discovered that she had not done much in the way of decorating. I gave her my card and we got to visiting. The next thing you know I am doing my first window display for a business. Very exciting!! We found that we both had something the other person wanted so we decided to work it out in trade. I got the cutest little purse and pair of flip flops. Hope she needs more vinyl in the near future. There is lots more I would be willing to trade for.

Cousin Dawson's Birthday Party

2009-03-28T20:09:00.000-07:00

We had fun today with Cousin Dawson at his birthday party. It was held at Hubby’s Pizza in Kennewick. Dawson really raked it in receiving all kinds of cool gifts like air soft guns and air hog remote control toys, oh and did I mention a cell phone. The older they get, the more complicated their toys get.

We had the opportunity to meet some of Jill and Dustin’s friends. They were all a very nice bunch of people.

Cameron earned his Bear Badge

2009-03-26T19:46:00.000-07:00

It was a big night for Cameron as he earned his Cub Scout Bear Badge tonight at our Pack Meeting. It’s always such a relief to get a milestone accomplished in the Cub Scout program. The sad part is it only gets harder from here.

He worked very hard to get it all finished before his birthday. The Bear Badge covered lots of cool things like folklore, things he can do to take care of our planet, being ready for an emergency, what makes America special and much more. He had lots of fun, and is ready to move on to the Webelos program in May.

Great Job Cameron!!! We are proud of you. :-)

2009 Firefighter Stair Climb

2009-03-12T15:58:00.000-07:00

The 2009 Firefighter Stair Climb for Leukemia Lymphoma in Seattle Wa. was this last weekend. 69 flights of stairs in full firefighter combat gear, weighing approximately 50 lbs. I had the opportunity of attending this year as the Sunnyside team photographer. It was so awesome. There were firefighters there from the U.S., Canada, Germany and New Zealand.

There were approximately 1,550 firemen. Ryan finished in 19:00 min flat. Very cool. He ranked in 423rd place. More importantly thanks to friends and family Ryan was able to raise almost $500 in donations for the Leukemia Lymphoma foundation.

As team captain Ryan convinced 4 other Sunnyside firemen to join him this year. For only having 13 paid firefighters, 5 climbers is pretty exciting.

A day with Ryno.

2009-03-04T20:04:00.000-08:00

Friday I spent the day with Ryno taking more senior pics. I went to Echo so that we could take pics on his home turf. We laughed and laughed and had a great time. The pictures were taken out on the Ramos’s farm and around the little town of Echo.

For the love of Golf

2009-02-20T19:15:00.000-08:00

You know you are desperate for a little golf when you are willing to put on 4 layers of clothing to keep from freezing just to enjoy 9 holes.

Saturday we decided we wanted to play a little golf, so we thought we would change things up by heading out to Cherry Hill. The sun was trying to shine off and on, but the wind made it way colder than it looked from my heated seat in Ryan’s truck.

We had a great time and I actually didn’t play as bad as I thought I would have considering I have not played since September. I have to admit the best part of the afternoon was the homemade pepperoni pizza we ate there afterwards.

All in all it was a great day with the family.

Slam-Dunk

2009-02-15T16:24:00.001-08:00

Well last night I survived another mile post in this journey of motherhood. Ryno had his Basketball Senior Night. I did real well until I was walking out onto the floor to get flowers from him and I looked UP into is not so little face. 18 years of his life passed before my eyes. All of a sudden my eyes started to water and I had a hard time breathing. I am just not sure how we have gotten to this point already.

Ryno played an awesome game. He had 12 points and who knows how many rebounds. The great news is that he had no problems with his shoulder & Echo won their game.

Can you say "Slam-Dunk"

Blind Leading The Blind.

2009-02-15T16:05:00.000-08:00

Ryan can fix about anything when it comes to the house. Give the guy a hammer and nails and magic happens. On the other hand anything automotive is just out of the question. I can’t blame the poor guy, he came by it honestly. His dad Melvin is the same way. That is why these pictures are so funny.

We had a little automotive problem this weekend when we went to Hermiston for Ryno’s last home basketball game. Something to do with some linkage thing-a-ma-bobber. Anyway Ryan and his dad thought they were going to take a look at it themselves.

Ryan didn’t have any work clothes with him so he borrowed a pair of overalls from his dad. When I looked out the window I thought I was going to die laughing. Needless to say the jokes started flying and we had Mel & Mel working on our car. (Very Scary)

Mel & Mel

"I'm not getting under there!"

He has no idea what he is looking at.

I'm Yours.

2009-02-11T19:47:00.000-08:00

For the past few months Colby has been taking guitar lessons in the mornings before school. The poor guy gets to school at 7:30a.m. every day accept Wednesday.
The guitar club thing worked out really well because we had no idea if he was going to like it or not. So with no financial investment Colby has gotten an awesome jump on his new favorite hobby.

Last night I was in my room folding clothes and I could here him practicing. This is no surprise, he plays constantly. What the surprise was, I actually recognized the song he was playing. So tonight I got the video camera out and made him play for me again so that I could share. I think it’s pretty impressive for an 11 year old that just started play a couple of months ago.

Valentines Came Early At The Savage House.

2009-02-11T19:20:00.000-08:00

Tonight at about 6:50pm we herd the cutest little knock at our front door. When we went to answer it though, there was nobody there. There was however a Valentine for both Colby and Cameron from their “Secret Admirers”. You should have seen the look of surprise on their faces. Whoever it was, was very sneaky. By the time we got to the door they were long gone.

The Valentines that the boys got were so cute. They were made out of Hershey Kisses and Reese’s hearts.

I also took lots of pictures because you never know when you might need some bribery material.

It Sounded Like A Good Idea At The Time!

2009-02-10T21:47:00.000-08:00

So Saturday afternoon Ryan and I decided that we would start a project that we had purchased the materials for quite some time ago. We decided we would cut a hole in the ceiling and install one of those retracting ladders, so that we can access the space in our attic. It sounded like a good idea at the time.

Let me tell you, it did not seam like a good idea at 8:30 that evening when we were only half finished. We ended up having to finish it on Monday afternoon. Don’t get me wrong, it felt awesome to get it in and done but it was a royal pain.

I would have to say I did learn a couple of things from this little venture, and that would be 1.) Take the completion time line they give you on the box and double it. 2.) Don’t start a project requiring power tools after 2:30pm.

What have we done!

Power tools after 6pm. Not good!

Whatcha-doin?

I've Lost My Marbles!

2009-01-23T17:53:00.000-08:00

I knew that it has been coming for a long time now, but I just thought it would have come on a little more gradual. Not full blow insanity in a matter of minutes.

It all started last summer. My friend Jodi tried to convince me to run with her in a best friend’s half marathon. Back then I was still sane enough to laugh at her and tell her she could forget it. Yesterday morning I was checking my e-mails. I received an e-mail from Jodi and there was the notice that the registration for the Best Friends half Marathon was coming up. I’m not sure what happened, but at that moment I blacked out. Before I knew I had responded “Let’s do it” and had hit the send key.

After regaining my wits about me I spent a moment or two hyperventilating and then decided that this was going to be great. I am sometimes the kind of person who needs to be motivated to accomplish something. I have been wanting to start running again and there is nothing like a pending ½ marathon in your future to motivate a girl to get moving.

So I need all of your help. I figure if I tell everyone that I am going to do this, I will be even that much more motivated to accomplish this.

Wish me luck!!!!! Oh and if you see me lying on the side of the road-call 911.

Thanks Jodi I owe you one.

The Poop Scoop!!!!!

2009-01-23T17:45:00.001-08:00

Well here it is. Ryno had his Dr. Apt. in Portland yesterday about his shoulder and he got a bunch of good news. The Doc told him that he could play golf this spring for sure with no problems. He also told him that he could play basketball the rest of the season if he wanted to. (We all know what his decision was on that one.) He continues to run the risk of it popping out again, but the damage has been done. Apparently with a little physical therapy he could be as good as new. If he wants to later have surgery on it he can, but he is looking at a 6 month recovery period. A 6 months recovery period at this point in Ryno’s life is completely unacceptable. So tonight Ryno is on his way to Maupin to play in his first game back. Keep your fingers crossed!!! Tomorrow I will go to Echo to watch and report back to you.

A Weekend of Basketball

2009-01-12T18:57:00.000-08:00

This was a big weekend for basketball. It all started Friday night in Echo against Dufer (it always makes me giggle when I say Dufer). Echo went into the game a little nervous because they knew that Dufer was going to be one of the three hardest schools they would play during the regular season.

It was a tough game just as they had expected. They played battled for every point. At the beginning of the fourth quarter it was all tied up at 50 points each. I didn’t have any nerve that was not frazzled by the end of the game.

During the fourth quarter Ryno went up for a rebound and had 3 rather large players from the other team come down on top of him and caused his should to temporarily dislocate again. The good news is that it popped right back in. It still hurt pretty bad and caused him to be out the rest of the game. The good news in all of this is that Echo won by 2 points in the last 10 seconds of the game. I am telling you between Ryno getting hurt and how close the game was, I am sure I have twice as many grey hairs as I did going into the evening.

Saturday we were not planning on Ryno playing. This was very concerning for Echo because they had to face a private school out of Hood River that because it is private usually has a pretty stacked team. They seam to recruit some awesome players and tend to dominate the league every year. Echo was not expecting a win, but was hoping to at least compete with them this year. That is before Ryno got hurt.

Ryno had plans of his own however. After the game Friday night he and his dad got on line and researched possible braces that might allow him to play with more protection to that shoulder. After hours of research they were able to locate a brace in The Dalles that happened to be on the way to the game. The bus topped and they picked it up. To make this very long story shorter Ryno got his brace and played in the game. He only had 8 points, but was excited to get to play at all. Echo lost the game that night, but only lost by 6. We will probably see that team again in the play-offs.

Go Ryno!!!

2009-01-04T17:59:00.000-08:00

The football season is over, but the awards are still coming in. Ryan had his fall awards banquet and received some very cool awards. He received 2 awards from the Big Sky Conference. He was named to the all conference team on both offence and defense (Very Cool). Ryno was also named to the East Oregonian news papers All Star Team as a receiver. The Local news paper looks at all the players in the surrounding schools including Hermiston, Pendleton, Umatilla, Stanfield and others. They then name one player to each position based on stats. Ryno was the only player named from a single A school(Again Very,Very Cool).

Christmas with the Raines Family

2008-12-28T15:05:00.000-08:00

This year my side of the family(The Raines Family) decided to get together on the 26th. Sometimes it's hard to gather everyone together when we have two emergency room nurses and a fire fighter in the mix. The upside is that if anyone gets sick or chokes we got it covered. My parents drove up from Nampa ID on Christmas day(Mom worked Christmas Eve). They said the worst part of the drive was between Pendleton and Umatilla.

Myself, Jake my brother & Jill my sister

Mom & Dad

The Boys are ready

YEA!!! I got to buy for girls.

Kayla

Sami

Merry Christmas

2008-12-26T21:02:00.000-08:00

This year Ryan had to work at the fire station on Christmas Day, so things were a little out of order. Our family has always opened gifts on Christmas Morning. This year however with Ryan working, we had to do it on Christmas Eve. I did get to sleep in on Christmas Morning. That was cool. Of course I would not have wanted to sleep in if we had not been up till after midnight playing with our new Wii.

Every year Ryan does everything he can to try to surprise me with something for Christmas. This year my Christmas present was a new camera that I helped to pick out. Of course this could not be good enough. He thinks I always have to have a surprise. So this year he got me a kitten. Her name is Izzy. She is the perfect kitten. She eats and sleeps and that is about it.

We spent Christmas afternoon at the fire station. Ryan and the other fireman baked a ham and the wives all brought sides. It turned out very well. Of course afterward the other firefighters couldn't wait to break out Colby and Cameron's new present the Wii.

Christmas Eve Eve

2008-12-23T20:20:00.000-08:00

This year the Savage family decided to exchange gifts on December 23rd. That way everyone could spend Christmas day at home with their children. The festivities took place at Grandma and Grandpa Savages house in Umatilla. Ryan has 5 siblings who were all able to make it accept his brother Cory. He was home sick with the flue, but his wife Sammy and the kids came without him.

We started the evening off with the children exchanging their gifts.

Cody, Maria and Layla

Kennedy unwrapping her gift

Ryno tucking in his gift card

All the Grand kids accept for Ryno.

Kasandra, Jesamine, Cody, Taylor,Colby,Kennedy, Maria, Preston, Cameron &

Kaylee

After the kids are finished, the excitement really gets started. For the past few years we have been doing a gift exchange where everyone brings a gift and then we draw numbers out of a hat to see who gets to pick from the pile first. When your number comes up you can pick a gift off the pile or steal a gift from someone else. It can get a little crazy sometimes but fortunately no one was hurt.

Bowling with a bunch of Savages.

2008-12-23T19:33:00.000-08:00

One thing the Savage family loves to do together is go bowling. In the old days we used to be able to get 2 lanes and that would be good. One with bumpers and one without. Not so these days. We had to have four lanes. Three with bumpers and one without. Just kidding!!! One with and three without. Boy when you get us all together these days with husbands, wives, boyfriends and girlfriends, we are quite the clan. Probably a little scary to those looking at us from the outside.

Ryan's little brother C.J.

Ryan's other brother Spencer and his wife Amber.
Ryno and his girlfriend Kayla

FIREFIGHTER OF THE YEAR

2008-12-13T20:53:00.000-08:00

Late December always means the end of year party for the Fire Department. Everyone dresses up. Women put on their bling and the guys try to remember how to tie the tie they haven't worn since last years party. This year however a couple of the guys decided they were going to have their own theme. I have not yet narrowed down what that theme was, but they dressed up for the occasion in their own special way.

The big news of the evening was Ryan winning the Firefighter Of The Year award. What an awesome honor. Captain Bill Harris (the winner of it last year) gave a wonderful speech about Ryan and did the presentation of the award. Bill even got a little choked up when he was giving his speech.

Mickey, Tony, Ryan & Me

Bill Harris Presenting Ryan's Award

Ryan & the Chief.

Me & the Firefighter Of The Year.

Echo Plays Irrigon.

2008-12-11T18:04:00.000-08:00

Thursday Night Ryno and the Echo Cougars played Irrigon. Some of you may know that Ryno went to school in Irrigon when he was just a little guy. It was kind of weird e said playing some of those kids. Echo did very well winning by 10 or so in the end. Ryno was lead scorer with 15(Good Job Ryno).

We went over early that day to hang out with our friends the Timpy’s, whose daughter Jessica goes to Irrigon High. We had Pizza and I helped Geneva get her blog all up and running.

Ryan’s parents Mel & Karen met us at the High school for the game. So Ryno had quite the fan club as usual.

Ryno wins the jump ball.

Fighting Scott for the rebound.

Colby & Cameron meet the mayor.

2008-12-09T17:39:00.000-08:00

Tuesday night Colby and Cameron had the opportunity to go to City Hall and open the City Council Meeting by leading the pledge of allegiance. After that they got the chance to meet the mayor.

They were so nervous. They talked on the way over about how they had butterflies in their stomachs. The cool thing was it only took about 10 minutes and we were out of there.

Dinner with the Matthews Family

2008-12-08T21:22:00.000-08:00

Tonight we had dinner with my sister Jill and her family. Dustin made his famous spaghetti that was totally awesome. While we were there we took pictures of their family with my new camera and helped her get her Christmas cards ordered.

This is the only one that I am going to blog because I am sure she doesn't want me to show them off before she gets the cards in the mail.

Oh ya and this one. It didn't make the card.

Sunnyside Christmas Light Parade

2008-12-08T15:19:00.000-08:00

Saturday Night, Sunnyside put on their annual Christmas Light Parade. The Parade is started off with a group of runners that run the route (about 1 mile). This year Ryan and his co-worker Mickey decided to run it in their full firefighter gear. That includes their air tanks. The whole get-up weighs about 30 lbs. Ryan finished with a time of 8min and 7sec. That’s pretty good even without all the extra stuff. The funny part is they got a trophy for best costumes.

The rest of the parade was great too. Many of the farmers and businesses in town decked out their equipment with lights. Some of them really went to extremes.

This one thinks he is Rudolph

Check out the Santa hat on this guy.

Coca-Cola pulled out all the stops.

Ryno plays Stanfield

2008-12-03T21:33:00.000-08:00

Ryno’s first basketball game of the season was last night in Stanfield. Ryno had an awesome game. Unfortunately they lost, but it wasn’t because Ryno didn’t give it his all. I have no idea how many rebounds he had, but I do know he had 16 points that included two 3 point shots. The team suffered from first game jitters. That caused them to only have 6 points in the first quarter. 3 of them were from Ryno. I am sure if they could have come out of the blocks stronger, it would have been a different outcome. Ryno had a great game though and we had fun watching him. We are excited about the season and can’t wait for more.

Ryno is #12 in the white.

The Plan of attack.

Wow!!! Those other boys don't stand a chance at that one.

The foul shot.

For 3 from the sideline.

The rebound.

Oh Christmas Tree Oh Christmas Treee.

2008-12-01T20:59:00.000-08:00

Decorating the Christmas tree is a big deal at our house. We picked up the tradition from my side of the family. Every year we plan a night that everyone is home and we put up the tree. We start off by going and picking out a great tree. Then there is the battle with the tree stand. After the tree is up and the lights are strung out comes the food. We put out all kinds of munchies from veggie trays to little smokies. I am a little disappointed because this year I forgot the sardines (I think Ryan didn’t remind me of that on purpose). We munch out while we hang all the ornaments on the tree. Then after the boys have gone to bed, I re-hang all the ornaments on the tree so that it’s even. I wonder if my mom did the same thing?

That's a nice look on you Colby.

I have no idea what that is about.

I overate again..

2008-11-29T20:32:00.000-08:00

What is it about the word Thanksgiving that makes me think I have to eat until I am ready to explode? Why is it that the pumpkin pie is barely put away and I think I have to have a turkey sandwich? Then there are the hours of discomfort, the unbuttoning of my pants, and the inevitable triptafan induced nap. Man if I were anymore thankful someone would have to shoot me and put me out of my misery.

All joking aside it was a great Thanksgiving. We love spending time with friends and family.

I don't feel so good!!!!!

Kaylee liked it.

Cameron and Preston

Turkey Ball

2008-11-27T20:07:00.000-08:00

It has been Savage family tradition to play basketball on Thanksgiving morning for at least as long as I have known Ryan. That’s at least 16 years. We start out about 8:00 or 9:00 in the morning. We usually have enough for two teams and sometimes three depending on the number of family in town.

This year was probably our sparsest year in a long time. Ryan had a brother and a Sister that spent this year out of town. Colby and Cameron played for the first time though and that helped us to get our 5 man teams.

There is nothing like a competitive game of basketball to give you a reality check about your level of physical fitness. Fortunately we played at the church in Umatilla and it’s smaller than a full gym.

Of course it would not be true turkey ball if we didn’t finish the morning off with homemade scones and strawberry freezer jam made by Ryan’s mom. That of course does not help my level of physical fitness.

Ryno's 18th Birthday.

2008-11-21T18:40:00.000-08:00

I just am having a hard time believing that my little boy can be 18 years old. It seams as though our conversations these days are all about grownup things like college and career choices. (heavy stuff)

It does not seam like it was that long ago we were talking about pokey man cards and GI Joes. It’s kind of sad and kind of cool all at the same time.

We don’t usually make a huge deal out of birthdays, but we figured that 18 was a milestone so we decided to get the clan together and celebrate at Hubby’s Pizza in Kennewick.

We had a good turnout. My parents and Ryan’s parents came. My brother Jake and his family Steph, Sami and Evan. My sister Jill and her family Dustin, Kayla and Dawson. You put us all together and that makes 18.

We had a great time visiting and laughing at a photo album that Ryno put together of his favorite pictures when he little.

Boy's will be Boy's

2008-11-19T21:03:00.000-08:00

So I decided that I had such a good time taking Ryno’s senior picture that I would take Colby and Cameron down and take theirs too. Boy was that a dumb idea. They complained the entire time. “How many pictures do you have to take”? “Why do I have to wear this shirt?” “Are we done yet?” You would have thought I was making them clean or something.

Needless to say I won in the end. It was not however as pleasant an experience as it was with Ryno. Maybe if I start putting them through this on a regular basis they will start getting better about it.

A Night in the Emergency Room.

2008-11-09T20:34:00.000-08:00

I know that as far as mothers of three boys goes, I have not spent near as many hours in the emergency room as most. However any time is too much time as far as I am concerned.

Ryno’s first playoff game was held Friday night in McMinnville Oregon. We stopped off in Salem and picked up my Grandma and Grandpa "B". It started out rough. We got lost on our way to the game. We missed the opening kick off, and it went down hill from there.

We were behind by two touchdowns going into the second quarter. Then the quarterback threw Ryno a long pass that he caught. Just as he caught the ball, he was tackled hard. It seemed like it was taking him a long time to get up. When they helped him off the field in the general direction of the ambulance instead of back towards his team, I figured it must be bad.

His shoulder was obviously out of its socket and he needed to go the E.R. We opted to drive him ourselves (mistake). By the time we got there Ryno was hurting pretty bad and just wanted to be put out of his misery.

They had to knock him out to put his shoulder back into its socket. Sorry I don’t have any pics of that. Ryan of course had to be in on that procedure.

After our evening in the E.R. we all went back to Grandma and Grandpa "B"s for the night. By the time we got back there Ryno was feeling pretty good and just enjoying visiting with everyone.

The after affects of his injury have not been too bad. He had to wear a sling for a couple of weeks but is feeling good and excited about starting basketball practice. (By the way we lost the game)

Ryno's Fans

Ryno and Grandma and Grandpa "B"

A Night With The Gillette Family

2008-11-06T18:50:00.000-08:00

Ryno’s football team made the playoffs so we had to go to McMinnville Oregon for the game.

We decided to stop off on Thursday and spend the night with Ryan’s sister Cherie and her family in The Dalles. We had a great time. The kids did what kids do and ran around like crazy till bed time. We had a great time catching up with the Gillette clan.

Friday morning we woke up and Cherie made chocolate chip pancakes. The boys thought they were in heaven. (Me to for that matter)

Special thanks to 3 year old Cody for these Pictures.

He stole my camera and took most of them.

He was having such a good time we didn't want to stop him.

My First Show of the Season.

2008-11-02T19:23:00.000-08:00

I had my first show of the season and had a great time. Of course it’s always better when you are working with friend and family you love.

It was held in Hermiston at the Oxford Suites. Ryno and his girlfriend Kayla were there to help me. I probably could have handled it, but it made the time go buy much faster having them there to help.

I did pretty well. I did no sell lots of boards, but I took my vinyl cutter with me and cut quite a bit of special order stuff.

I got to spend some time with my friend Jody. That’s her in the picture with the feather boa. (Don’t ask were she got that)

I am looking forward to my next show the first weekend in December in Sunnyside.

It's Show Time

2008-10-29T18:39:00.000-07:00

Well, it’s that time again. It’s the time of year that I get absolutely crazy with my vinyl lettering business. Between people doing holiday crafts and the Christmas bazaars that I do, I have been staying pretty busy. I wish I could figure out a way to keep things rolling year around, I guess I will just have to take it when I can get it.

Today I spent about 9 hours of the day preparing signs for my first bazaar of the season. It’s November 1st in Hermiston with some friends. I think it will be lots of fun. It should be rather small, a good way to kick off the season.

If you have any great ideas for signs, let me know.

Halloween with Sami

2008-10-25T18:57:00.000-07:00

Saturday Night Colby and Cameron were invited to a Halloween Party and their cousin Samantha’s Gymnastics Gym. It was kind of a last minute thing, so they had to throw together some costumes. Cameron decided to go with a skeleton and Colby wanted to be Franken Stein. Sami was Mr. Potatoe Head. Steph(My sister in-law) made it. How creative is that. They all looked very cute.

They had a great time at the party. They competed in a costume contest, decorated cookies, played a game called wrap the mummy (Cameron was the mummy). They also played on the Gymnastics equipment. Their aunt Steph was one of the chaperones, and she went dressed as Velma from Scooby-Doo. Very Cute!!!!!

Ryno's Senior Homecoming Football Game

2008-10-24T22:02:00.000-07:00

A senior homecoming football game only comes around once in a lifetime. Ryno’s was perfect. It all started off with the introduction of the senior football players and their parents. The seniors write a little thank you to their parents, that is read aloud to everyone and then they share what that senior plans to do after finishing high school. Ryno’s said that he was planning on attending Boise State and majoring in Criminal justice with a minor in Psychology.

Ryan, Me, Ryno & Paul(Ryno's Dad)

They played the Ione Cardinals. Ryno had 1 touchdown and 1 point after touchdown. That’s pretty good considering he only played half the game. They were winning so badly they put the second string in after halftime.

Of course Ryno had a huge fan club at the game. My parents came up from Nampa ID, my brother and his family came over from Kennewick, Ryan’s parents were there from Umatilla, and of course there were many members of the Ramos family there as well.

The Grandpas

Nana, Unlce Jake, Aunt Steph, Ryan, Sami, Colby & Grandma Savage

Cameron & Evan

Nana & Unlce Jake
Ryno's Grandma Ramos and Aunt Jan and Chris.

The only down side to the game was Ryno’s cousin RJ on his dad’s side plays for the Cardinals. RJ is a junior this year. He played very well. The two boys shook hands and hugged after the game, so all is still well.

Ryno & RJ

That's a lot of ice cream!!!

2008-10-02T17:53:00.001-07:00

I didn't know until Ryan was hired with the fire department, but apparently when a firefighter gets his picture in the paper, there is some sort of unwritten rule that he has to buy ice cream for everyone at the station. I'm not talking about the kind that comes in the box, it has to be the good stuff in the round containers. The guys on Ryan's shift hit the jackpot this week. Ryan was in the paper 3 times. Can you believe it 3 times. They were doing a special rescue training learning about rappelling, running a tag line to raise and lower victims, and using throw bags to try to help floating victims. He said it was an awesome class, and he learned allot. My question is how do you get in 3 out of 3 pictures posted in the paper? I am going to have to start budgeting for that much ice cream. Ryan said we should consider ourselves lucky. If you make the TV news, you have to buy everyone steak.....

Ryan Rappelling

Ryan is one of the guys on the ground running the tag line.

Ryan is the second guy from the right on the shore.

The Great Prosser Balloon Rally

2008-09-27T21:13:00.000-07:00

I had never been to a balloon rally until we moved to Prosser. It's very cool. I think even if you have been to a balloon rally you have not experienced it the way we did this weekend. There were 30 balloons that attended the rally this year. They air up at the airport and float down the river toward the Tri-Cities. I'm not sure were they land, but I don't think they do either until they get there.

We get up about 6:30 am on Saturday and go down to the bridge and watch the balloons take off.

This one came over the bridge and sat itself down on the water.

On our way home from town we found this balloon that landed at the playground of Cameron's school.

So tell me if this has ever happened to you. I am standing in the bathroom blow drying my hair. I turn the blow dryer off and I here this blowing sound coming from outside. So I run out the front door to see what the sound is, and there is a balloon right over the top of our house. He was close enough that we could have yelled up to him.

Crazy huh !!!!!

Heritage Days field trip

2008-09-26T20:28:00.000-07:00

I always loved going on field trips when I was in school, missing a hole day of school, not having any homework that night. Spending the day with your friends and eating a cold lunch you packed. Those were good times.

You know it's just not the same when you are 30 something and your on a field trip with a bunch of noisy, wild 8 year olds......... I had fun anyway.

We went to Sacajawea State Park and there were all kinds of displays set up that you could visit. We first visited with a mountain man. He had a shelter set up and all of the supplies a mountain man would have needed to survive in the wilderness. The kids really got a kick out of him.

Next we went and visited these two twin brothers from Seattle that sang traditional music. If you don't know what traditional music is, you are not alone. Apparently traditional music is the type of music Luis and Clark would have sang and played while sitting around the camp fire. They used banjo's, fiddles and guitars.

Next we were off to see the fellows from Sportsman's Warehouse. Believe it or not they gave a very interesting little talk about how technology has changed. Some for the good and some for the not so good. We talked about the changes in guns, bows and arrows and even the evolution of the compass to the g.p.s.

Last but not least we were off to see the dutch oven cooking exhibit. Some of the kids were totally amazed. They had never seen biscuits baked in a pot before.

Wipe Out !!!!!!

2008-09-25T20:26:00.000-07:00

So Colby and his friend Taylor Giles were out jumping bikes and trying to get some gnarly footage of the action when Colby got a little out of control and had a wipe out of the major kind.

Colby of course took the injuries like a man. We here in the Savage household live by the motto "Chicks dig scars"

Thanks to Taylor for the video footage that you are about to see.

Warning - This video may not be suitable for all audience. Parental discretion is advised.

P.S. Colby said "Don't try this at home!!!"

How does this happen?

2008-09-25T20:10:00.001-07:00

So I am talking to Ryno yesterday about the order he is placing for his senior announcements. I start thinking to myself "How did this happen?". It was only yesterday he was just a little kid that always wanted to know WHY? Why this and why that. Now he is almost 18 years old and about to be finished with high school. He never asks why any more because he is a teenager and he knows everything.

Oh I wish that I could have those days back.

Baby Ryno

Little Ryno @ the park.

Ryno the Senior.

Pictures of Ryno

2008-09-14T16:30:00.000-07:00

Well I have never been much of a photographer, but I decided that I would try to take a few pictures of Ryno and maybe save some money on senior pictures. Saturday we got in the car and headed out across town looking for some cool places. I had never done that before. It's harder than you would think. We had to take allot of pictures just to get a few that we thought turned out pretty good. Let us know what you think.

Cougars VS Leopards

2008-09-11T21:25:00.000-07:00

Cougars Take Loss Hard
Ryno's team the Echo Cougars played a good game last night against the Cove Leopards, but in the end lost 14-20. Ryno had a reception and touchdown in the first quarter and some awesome tackles. He did not play as much tonight as he has in the past because of his hip injury from last week, but hopes to be fully recovered for next weekends game. During one of his defencive tackles, he hit the runner from the opposing team so hard that it popped the kids helmet off. (Cool huh!)

Remembering 9/11

2008-09-11T13:16:00.000-07:00

Remembering 9/11

Ryan makes the Daily Sun Paper

A ceremony to mark the seventh anniversary of the 9/11 attacks in New York City, Pennsylvania and Washington DC was held at Harrison Middle School this morning. In the photo, Sunnyside Police Officer Sam Ramos prepares to salute as Sunnyside Firefighter Ryan Savage raises the American Flag.

Fire Calendar

2008-09-11T13:00:00.000-07:00

Sunnyside Firefighters Calendar

The Sunnyside Firefighters are having a calendar made for charity.

Each firefighter was responsible for a page of the calendar. They could do a page of just themselves or a page with their family. I was fortunately gone to the coast on my sisters weekend trip, so Ryan and the boys posed for his page. They did a number of poses including him and the boys on the firetrucks, them playing in the back of the ambulance, and them posing with their golf clubs beside the trucks. The calendar is not done yet, but I thought the proofs were cool and wanted to share them.

Cameron's First Fooball Game

2008-09-06T22:30:00.000-07:00

16 - 6

Cameron's first football game was on Saturday. They played in Pasco against the Seahawlks. Cameron did very well. He plays wide reciever, safety and defensive end.

Cameron #26 as one of the team captains. Just like big brother.

This is video of Cameron #26 making a tackle.

Ryno's Friday Night Football Game

2008-09-06T21:31:00.000-07:00

Ryno had his second game of the season Friday night in Pasco Wa. They played Tri-Cities Prep. The game started off with a bang. Echo received the ball on the kick off and Ryno made their first touchdown with a long pass reception. They got the extra point as well and then on-side kicked to the Tri-Cities Prep. They got their own kick back and went down for another touchdown and extra point. Shortly after that it all went down hill. Echo's best running back broke his wrist and had to go to the ER. Tri-Cities scores a few times and were back in the game. shortly before half time Ryno took a helmet to the hip and was put out of the game. It got swollen and he couldn't walk on it. By the end of the game it was 50 something to 20 something. Echo had lost. The good news is Ryno should be back in action sometime this week and it was not a league game. Better luck next time Cougs.

Ryno #8 with the other team captains going to the center of the field for the Pre-Game coin toss.

Starting Lineup for the Echo Cougars Ryno is #8

Ryno's fan club.

NaNa, Aunt Steph, Sami, Evan, Aunt Sandy, Cousin Jenny, Aunt Sami, Preston and Kaylee.

Better Luck next week Ryno.

Colby is in the Paper

2008-09-03T21:16:00.000-07:00

Labor Day is a big deal here in Prosser. They also celebrate what they call States Day. They track visitors and locals original states of birth. They had 229 people sign up from 37 states. We have a parade and carnival and all kinds of things going on in town. This year Colby and his friend Justin Munn went to the carnival and while they were there they got their picture taken and put in the paper. I guess when you are at the carnival for 5 hours and ride the GRAVITRON 25 times, the odds are in your favor that you would be the one to end up in the paper.

Nice way to start the Season!

2008-08-29T20:11:00.000-07:00

48 - 6

That's a nice way to start a Football Season.

This is him #8

My Ryno is a senior this year!!! I am really struggling with that. I have not had a hard time with any of my birthdays so far, but I am struggling with this whole my child is a Senior in High School . What do you do? Just accept it I guess.

So Ryno had his first football game of the season and they won 48 - 6. They played the town of Spray. Ryno is playing wide receiver again and had two TOUCHDOWNS and an extra point. He is one of the captains of the team and of course is very optimistic about this season.

He will play Tri-City Prep next Friday night at Edgar Brown Stadium in Tri -Cities at 7:00.

All the Kids are in School

2008-08-29T10:15:00.000-07:00

So what do you do when your kids go back to school?

You Golf of Course!!!!!

In celebration of the kids going back to school, Ryan and I hit the golf course. There is nothing like playing 18 holes and having all day to do it. We played the first 9, stopped at the club house, had lunch and headed out for the back 9.

A friend of my Dad's is a teacher and ex-pro baseball player and he said that he thinks kids should go to school year around. He claims they would loose less knowledge over the summer break. They would get 3- 3 week breaks throughout the year but no big summer break. After a day like today I am starting to see it his way. (Don't tell my kids I said that.)

Back to School

2008-08-26T16:00:00.000-07:00

Does it seam like school starts allot earlier than it used to?

It does to me!!!

I'm OK with that though. I am ready to get back to "the daily grind. " I am ready for a schedule. Ryno is a big Senior this year, Colby is starting middle school, and Cameron is in the 4th grade. I got one in every stage. We took these pics of Colby and Cameron the first day of school. It's a tradition at our house to take pics in the morning before school and go for an ice cream cone after.

During our ice cream run we get the scoop on how their first day of school went. All reports were good. Colby liked all his classes and never got lost(that's a relief). Cameron liked his teacher and his friend Logan is in his class.

I would have to say the hardest part for me was when I went to wake Cameron up for the day and asked him if he wanted me to walk him to school, help him find his class and get settled in and he said " No - that's OK." My little babies are growing up. I remember when I used to actually have a say in the clothes they picked out for school and how they did their hair. How time flies.

Cameron's Football Jamboree

2008-08-23T18:50:00.000-07:00

And so it begins.

We started this football season off with a bang. Cameron's team played in a jamboree on Saturday in Pasco Wa. I don't know how many teams were there, but I can tell you I had to park 3 blocks away. Crazy!!! The Mustangs(Cameron's team) had to play against 3 teams that day. They played 10 minutes on offense and then 10 minutes on defense.

Here is Cameron playing Right tackle.

Cameron is #26 in the Red.

He did very well. He got allot of playing time both on offense and defense.

Here Cameron is standing with his team waiting for their next game.

The Mustangs won all three games today. They won the first game 4-3, the second game 4-0 and the last game 1-0 thanks to Cameron.

This picture is of Cameron making an awesome tackle. He was playing defensive back during the last game and the score was 0-0. It was the last few seconds the opposing team was on offense and there runner had broken through the mustang line on the right side of the field and was heading for the end zone. Cameron ran from the left side of the field and caught up to the kid for the tackle and saved the Mustangs undefeated record. The Mustangs went on to score only one touchdown against the Seahawks.

Crab Boil

2008-08-21T18:20:00.000-07:00

After a successful day of crabbing what else can you do other than have a real Louisiana Crab Boil? It was so good. We Boiled Crab, Shrimp, Corn on the cob, Potatoes,Onion & Aundui Sausage in a Zataran's Crab Boil Seasoning that a friend of my dads brought from Louisiana. You then throw it out on butcher paper and eat. It was so good. It was quite spicy, I had to apply chap stick a number of times throughout dinner. The boys kept putting their lips in there glasses of milk.

Here is Ryan, he has such table manners.. Mom and Dad invited their neighbors Bob and Lanna. They are a couple of retired school teachers from Portland. Bob played baseball for the Baltimore Oriels in the 60's. The stories he told were cool. The boys just loved it.

It was a wonderful evening and as you can see a beautiful day. We spent the rest of the evening enjoying our full bellies and talking till the sun went down. It was a perfect ending to a perfect day.

A Day on the Ocean in the Sherl K.

2008-08-21T14:41:00.000-07:00

We could not have asked for better weather on Thursday.

Thursday we headed out to do some fishing and cabbing in the Nahalem Bay. We Boarded the Sheryl K about 11:30.

For those of you that know my parents, yes Sheryl K is my Mom's name. My dad is that smooth. Ryan asked me after he herd about my Dad's new boat if he could get a new boat if he promised to name it the Heather A. I told him it was too late. It had already been done.

Here is my Mom driving the Sherly K. She had no idea how good my Dad really was until we were talking about all the fancy equipment that he had installed and he said "Nothing is too good for the Sheryl K." Ryan turned to him and said man you really are good. Could you teach me some of that.

My Dad just smiled and told him it took years to perfect it but he would do what he could to help. I told them that it was too late. I was on to them now.

We dropped 3 crab pots in the Bay and and were fortunate to catch 4 crab. That may not seam like much, but this time of year that is pretty good.

Coast Trip

2008-08-20T15:10:00.000-07:00

Tuesday morning after Ryan got off work we headed to Salem and spent the night with my Grandma "B". We had tuns of fun. We of course ate way to much food and stayed up late playing a fun domino's game called chicken feet. Wednesday morning we got up and headed to my parents house down on the Oregon Coast in Rockaway Beach. Mom and Dad were there for 10 days, so we thought it would be fun to catch up with them.

Wednesday on the beach was pretty ugly. It wasn't until after 4:00 some time that the weather broke and we could take a walk down to the beach. That's OK though. We had great company back at the house. We enjoyed spending time visiting with my parents and Grandpa and Grandma "B" came up for the day.

We made a good size sand castle. It is allot harder than it looks. We will be appreciating the ones we see down on the beach from now on. Mom and Dad came down to watch the masterpiece under construction.

The Class of 1988

2008-08-18T23:11:00.000-07:00

The Class of 1988

Lanna, Becky, Eric, Heather, Ila, Lindy, Travis, Kevin, Brent & Blain.

The class of 1988 and our families.

Ila and I at Nookies

Well I can't believe it. It has been 20 years. The class of 1988 graduated 20 years ago. I feel way to young to say things like this.

It was so much fun. We had 22 in our graduating class and 2 have passed away. We had 10 show up to the reunion. That is 50%. Not to bad. We started off on Friday evening with a little get together in Hermiston at Nookies. It would have been a quiet little gathering if the Hermiston graduating class of 1988 had not decided to gather at the same place at the same time. (crazy) It was still cool though because those Hermiston kids were the kids I went to school with before moving to Stanfield my freshman year. Saturday afternoon we had a BBQ at the school. We invited a few teachers and enjoyed a fabulous BBQ.

We are only going to wait 5 years next time. Hopefully we will get more of us to show.

Happy Birthday to my friend Teresa !!!!!

2008-08-12T21:40:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday Teresa. We won't mention how old you are. My friend Teresa had her birthday today and a bunch of us girls got together to help her celebrate. You can always count on this crowd, especially if there is some form of food involved. he he!!!!

That's a great look for you Teresa !!!!

Do we know how to party or what???

Football AHHHHH!!!!!

2008-08-11T22:23:00.000-07:00

Holly Smokes it's that time again. Football season has begun for the Savage Family. Cameron and Ryno both started practicing today(dad's helping to coach). I don't think it gets much more grooling than football conditioning. 100 deg. temperatures in full gear. That's right even Cameron at 9 yrs old is playing in fool gear. These Prosser people don't mess around when it comes to football. I will be sure to keep the football pics coming.

Coach Kelly Bowen and Ryan trying to sort through the Kayos.

Handing out the plays...

I think maybe we need more coaches...................

Ribs with the Giles Gang

2008-08-09T21:17:00.000-07:00

MMMMM..... I want my baby back baby back baby back Ribs.....

Paul Giles on the BBQ. I don't know about you, but there is nothing better than BBQ Ribs. Especially when you don't have to do the cooking.. Thanks Giles family for the great food and awesome company..

Kamille wasted no time digging in.

Kamille is still eating?????

White Water Rafting!!!!!

2008-08-02T16:03:00.000-07:00

What a great Time. Cameron and Ryno loved every minute of it. Colby was more content just to hang out at camp with all the other kids and jump off the cliffs into the water.

These next two pictures are in sequence. I don't know how well you can see our facial expressions, but we are all about to have heart attacks. It always takes a couple of trips down the river to get your sea legs.

This picture is taken just after we had gone through devils hole. And it is as bad as it sounds. It did not seam to phase Cameron, but his little buddy Carson is not sure he is ready to look out yet.

This is part of the crew. Ryno and the Brodericks had already left by the time we remembered to take the picture. So 8 of the crew had already left. We are a rough looking bunch, but thats what you get when you live on the river for 5 days. It was all worth it.

The guys here cooking breakfast for us. You got to love that.

The kids playing on the rafts after the sun had gone down.

Well we lived to tell the tail. Another year of White water rafting the Dechutes River under our belts. We had so much fun with all our friend from Hermiston. The Wrathalls, Royers, Brodericks and Petersons were all there. We would start each day with a large breakfast made by all the men before hitting the river. We had 2 rafts and 3 kayaks. I think the kids had more fun in the rafts at night when they were strapped to the trailer, then they did during the day. Ryno was up for a couple of days of the fun, but had to leave on Thursday. The video is short, but as you can tell this is us hitting the hole(Oak Springs) just right. The boat just about fills up with water. It takes a minute to get your bearings after a drop like that.

Ryno Basketball Tourney in Grandview.

2008-07-25T22:04:00.000-07:00

...............................................................

Today Ryno played in his first game of a 3 day tournament just outside of Prosser in the big city of Grandview. It's kinda cool because it's only 5 minutes away. Makes it nice to have him playing so close. They lost pretty badly, but Ryno did well. They played a team from the reservation so it was a little bit scrappier ball then they are used to.

Sisters Weekend

2008-07-25T21:33:00.000-07:00

Wow what a great weekend!!! Had the opportunity to spend a weekend with my Grandma, Mom, Sisters, Aunts, Cousins and Nieces. How cool is that.

We all went down to my Moms house in Rockaway Beach Oregon. All 13 of us. Not all of us were there though. 9 female family members could not make it. Hopefully next year.

Spent the weekend walking the beach, checking out Seaside and BBQing. You just can't ask for much more. Great food, Great family and Great conversation.

In attendance was Grandma B, Mom, Jill, Kayla, Steph, Sami, Susan, Deana, Holly, Carrie, Me, Sandy & Diane.

The 3rd of July????

2008-07-05T07:26:00.001-07:00

When you are a professional firefighter, yes you celebrate the 3rd of July and work on the 4th!!!

We had a great time though with other firefighter families. One of the guys Ryan works with has some land outside of town with a 3 hole golf course.

He hosted a heck of a party. There was golf, Slip n' sliding (140 ft worth) great conversation and of course tons of illegal fireworks. We ate so much that night that I didn't have to eat the next day.

When looking at the pic of Ryan on the slide you might be thinking "Is that a white shirt he has on?" but no it's not. That is what the Savage family calls a well earned golfer's tan.

Hope you all had a fun and safe 4th.

AAU Golf Tournament

2008-07-04T20:06:00.000-07:00

Yes believe it or not, they even have AAU Golf. This year the boys have decided to compete in AAU Golf tournaments that are held around the area. One was held last Saturday at our club Black Rock Creak Country Club and Colby took 1st place in his age group and Cameron took 2nd place in his age group.

They are having lots of fun and learning all about the differences between playing for fun and playing in a tournament. It is fun to watch them. They are so competitive.

Ryan and I get to be their caddies and give them pointers along the way.

The guy in the pic shaking Cameron's hand is Jeff our golf pro and the organizer of the local AAU program.

Ryan and I figure we are investing in our future. he he.....