tribute

so this past year was so much fun, but it wouldn't have been the same if it weren't for our great friends. we were blessed to have met the Starkey's and mattices who helped make this transition to oregon so much easier. so this is a tribute to them and all the fun we had. we will do this top five style:

5. Volleyball- with the help of a few regulars, we got a good turnout for volleyball games every tuesday night at the church. with it raining so much, we needed to find some fun activities to do indoors, and volleyball became our escape. with justins jump serves, ryans big blocks, brians miralce hits, brookes clap before the serve, clara's ability to hit the ball in the right direction after a while, and kelly's hand-eye-jump-spike coordination (actually lack there of) we had quite the games. it turned out to be the perfect release .

4. so to also pass the time and do it indoors, we had these themed nights. now let me explain. we used to have family dinners several times a week together and after a while they needed some spicing up. so we would dress up often. some of the highlights are our super hero camp fire night. one weekend we had wanted to go camping and eat tinfoil dinners, but of course it was raining. so we relocated to our living room. with plans to set up our tent inside and have a big sleep over, we also decided it would be appropriate for our inner super hero to come out. so thats exactly what happened. another great night was our adult prom. our church sponsored a modest prom for all the kids in the area to come and enjoy if they didn't want to go to their schools. so since they had the gym all decorated nicely for the kids, they opened it up to the adults the night before. so of course any excuse to play dress up we took advantage of. we got all dolled up in our all black outfits and went to a fun night of dancing and laughing.

3. so coming in at number three would have to be our fun sayings. we had so many inside jokes and fun sayings that would stir up a ton of laughs and memories every time. a few of the best are: said "Draw up my plans" heard "drop my pants", "is no good" in thick japanese accent, SHHWWEEEETIE, "PRRRFFFF", Brooke's sound effects- *Frink*, Pachow pachow, wapaw, "I will bring wood!"-brooke, "Thank you or coming to my party, may i please have your money now"-brooke, "your chizzled abs wont help you now"-brian about ryan, "lets all get naked and spank brooke"-brian, "roasty toasty"-kelly, "that's nice"- kelly, "all day baby! all day!"- kelly, "asians smell like incense and rice"- kelly, "eh hoser", "ya mon" is apparently what the canadians say...right brooke.

2. so for my number two spot, i am going to have to give it our adventures. the best part of oregon is when the weather permitted us to go enjoy the all this state has to offer. we had bonfire at the florence coast complete with tinfoil dinners, a burnt peach cobbler in the dutch oven, and a photo shoot. a weekend spent camping in silver falls state park (see previous blog). temple trips with every intention to going inside, but for one reason or another it happened to be closed. so we would go to cheesecake factory instead. on beautiful day with all the boys busy with their school, football, or building a model, the girls took the opportunity to head to the beach. we had fun in florence, getting the best ice cream at bj's ice cream parlor, and then heading to the beach to check out the tide pools. girls game night also became a weekly event were we would get together and play an arousing game of settlers of catan or ticket to ride. typically with janyse winning, however, an occasional upset would make our night. for justin, my little surfer boy, if we ever got a chance to head out to winchester bay, we took it. knowing how stressful law school can be, he needed to release by riding some waves. now the coast up here is not at all like the one back home, as in it is rarely sunny and always cold. so instead of laying out on a towel, i would be bundled up in a blanket watching him be corralled by the sea lions. so we found this good little restaurant in Winchester bay that has the best milkshakes in Oregon, and we would stop every time for lunch.

1. and for number one... i would have to say our birthday parties were the best!! we had one that fell every month from january to july, so we did them up big. for justins in january we all got dressed up in 70's attire from the local vintage store and headed out to dinner. then we headed up to my aunts house for some delicious bbq ribs and football. for brians in march we celebrated on st. patricks day and took full advantage of it. we got dressed up in all green, ate green breakfast (complete with green milk), and went rollerskating. for kelly's in april and brookes in may, we combined the two and went to a club dancing. we were some of the first ones in there and had the whole floor to our selves, which is just the way we like it. for ryan's in june, we had a big steak dinner on brians handy bbq and went to the movies. since clara's birthday is in july and we were all going to be gone, we had hers the night before ryans and made it a surprise game night with the frerichs for one last time. i have to say, these were some of the best birthdays.

so thanks to our friends, this year will be one for the record books. we had the funnest year, and it wouldnt have been possible had it not been for them. thank guys.