composting

The Moore family is trying their hands at urban farming. We set up a composting system to help me feel less guilty about all of the fruit/vegetable scraps that were going into our regular garbage, and do a little something good for the earth. It's easy, therefore, it will most likely be successful. We have the canister on the counter to collect materials for composting---coffee grounds, apple peels, egg shells, etc, etc. It has double filters in it, so there are no smells involved.
Today we set up the bin which was a rubbermaid container with shredded paper, the compost from the pail in the kitchen, and WORMS! We bought them at a local shop called Pistils. Dan said that at $25.00 per pound, they're probably better than filet mignon! Let's hope they are good eaters and workers.
Nate and Chris are excited about the whole thing, and will definitely be very involved in the process. They love the worms, and look at them as their 'new pets'.

very Portland

Old Town Pizza recently opened in N.E. Portland, so we went to check it out today for lunch. As we pulled into the parking lot, Dan and I both had a good chuckle.........only in Portland will you see parking spaces reserved for HYBRID. We had to park our gas guzzlin' SUV in the next spot over.

our favorite fishing hole

We took the boys fishing at the Rainbow Trout Farm this morning. It turned out to be a beautiful morning to catch some fish! Of course, a good time was had by all. Lesson #1 was how to put the worm on the hook. Both boys were very successful.
Here's Nate danglin' one of his prize fish.

oops!

I forgot that this video was on our camera....I just re-discovered it when I downloading some pictures. Last week the boys and Dan were outside doing their usual baseball throwing/catching after dinner and I was sitting on the porch taking pictures. Chris missed a catch which ended up in the bushes near me, and as he went to retrieve it he said, "Oh Shit!" (?!!??!) I asked him what he just said, and he got a little bit embarassed. Dan called him down to have a little talkin' to, and I was filming....kind of cute. Gee, I wonder where he learned that word?

$3.95 per gallon....and rising

I stopped to do the dreaded 'fill-up' on my car this morning (which, by the way, still had about 1/4 of a tank left). To get my 17.8 gallons, I paid $70.52! (that's $3.95 per gallon) These prices are crazy, and I fear for what the future holds.........this amount may be chump change by this time next year! Crazy, isn't it? I'm ready to downsize or go hybrid.

biking for a cause

The boys participated in a bike-a-thon last weekend at their preschool to raise money for Cystic Fibrosis. They rode really hard and did 80+ laps! Thanks so much to those of you who sponsored Chris and Nate! They raised 70.00 toward the preschool's total of 2500.00! They were really happy to participate and they experienced the joy of working for a good cause. Chris and Nate with Teacher Maggie. Her son has CF, and she was very appreciative of everyone's hard efforts!

take me out to the ball game....

The boys had another 'manventure' today. (that means no mamas allowed!) Dan took them to their first real baseball game at PGE park where the Portland Beavers play. It was a sunny day complete with peanuts and popcorn. They loved it! The only thing that would have made it better is if it were the Cubs playing. Outside PGE park---two tired, sweaty boys who did not catch any pop-flies. I'm certain that there will be many more games to come!

Oscar is finally sporting the short pants!

It's crazy hot here in Portland today!

feelin' hot hot hot!

It was a scorcher in Portland today! We got into the mid 90's, with a hot weekend ahead. Check out these new swim trunks...perfect for my boys. Can you guess who is who?
Chris is the orange and blue (go gators!) and Nate is in the 'bee' attire. Rather appropriate, if you ask me. :) We spent the afternoon in the pool in our backyard.
Chris with his 'don't mess with me or my chocolate ice-cream bar' look.
Nate beatin' the heat.

mama's day

What a lucky mama I am! We went on our second annual Mother's Day weekend trip to the Oregon Coast...this time we were in Newport. We went to the Oregon Coast Aquarium, Rogue Brewery, swam in the pool at the hotel, and spent some time on the beach. It was very fun!
What a thrill to sleep in the same bed with a brother! These boys were so tired, but yet they somehow managed to stay awake and watch Toy Story in their cozy bed. So much fun!
This was my favorite thing from the weekend. Chris was doing some writing in the sand. When I actually took notice of what he was doing, it made my Mother's Day. He drew a heart and the word 'mom' in the sand.....all on his own. He told me that it says "love mom". Pretty sweet, huh?

Happy Birthday, Auntie Leann!

What do you get for a very special Auntie who seems to have everything? Art! Dan came up with this idea, and the finished products were very cute. He painted Chris and Nate's hands with acrylic paint and then made a print. Finishing touches made those hand prints into a mahi and a pelican.....two of Auntie Leann's favorite creatures in Florida. Happy Birthday, Auntie Leann!

politics in the morning

Christopher got the newspaper for me this morning. He opened the door and I heard, "Hilary!" "Barack!" I've trained him well. :)

the boy is obsessed with bees

Why? We don't know. But what we do know is that Nate is obsessed with these creatures right now. He talks about them constantly, and wants to hear everybody's story from yesteryear about their stinging experiences. "Tell me the time a bee was in the pear, mom!" "Daddy, how many stings have you had?" "How do the bees make the honey?"....the list goes on and on.
He acts worried about going outside because of the fear of a BEE being out there. He sees gnats and runs inside in fear of them being bees.He isn't just worried about them, he really wants to know and learn about them. We google them on the internet. Tonight there was a bee in the front yard. With a little coaxing, he got right close to it and did some observing. Nothing bad happened. No fierce stingers came out. He actually thought the bee was kind of cool.

out and about

It was a sunny and beautiful day in Portland, and we ventured to the zoo for our Sunday morning outing. It was great to be back there...the first of many visits we will have this Spring and Summer. There is so much construction going on, so the animals were few and far between, but just cruising the grounds was fun enough for us! The boys got the do a 'cranker' as we were leaving. It's great that they always have a hat on their heads...the perfect catching device as the treats come out of the machine! Nate opted for the m&m's, and Chris was the recipient of a load of Mike and Ike's. :)

Happy May Day

The boys made May Day flower bouquets at preschool yesterday and "snuck" them home (I didn't even see these lovelies that they hid behind their back all the way home and into the house! :) and put them on my bed for a May Day surprise. Very sweet. Very stinky. Very wilted. Very wonderful.