cousin time in Seattle

I've been very negligent in my postings lately...maybe it's because i'm having so much fun catching up with old friends on facebook.
The boys and I went to Seattle last weekend to celebrate cousin Caroline's 4th birthday. Lots of fun 'cousin' time, and hardly a fuss out of any of them. They just have so much fun when they're together they forget to fight with each other.

A real Cubs fan!

How cute is this? Chris drew this picture of his Cubs playing baseball...at the top it says "top of the 6th" (double click to see his 'guys' better. Don't mistake them for spiders!)

taste test

Tonight we had Mike, Phillip and Alex Perry over for dinner and some good times. For dessert, we had a special 'taste test' with some jelly beans. But not your average jelly beans. They were the Harry Potter Bertie Botts Flavor Beans, and trust me some of the flavors were absolutely disgusting.
Starting the taste test. The worst ones (in my humble opinion) were vomit, earth worms, and rotten eggs. We all did the same flavor at the same time.
Nate with a bad flavor in his mouth. Between 4 little boys all with coughs/sneezes, and spitting out the gross flavors, the table was quite a sight by the end of the experiment!
Here are the flavors listed on the back of the box. (double click on the picture to get a better view)

recycling at it's finest

Chris loves to make stuff out of our recycling...especially boxes. Sometimes I have to just sneak things into the recycling bin before he sees them, because I tire of all the projects.
Yesterday he found a capri-sun drink box in the recycling that was from our camping trip. He was determined to make a carrier for his stuffed animal Sizzle to ride with him.
Well, Dan helped him out and they came up with this design. Complete with a hole for his tail in the back! Nate got the other half of the box, and it was just right for Apple Panda---2 holes up front for his stubby little legs. It's nice to have a friend along for the ride.

more camping...at Silver Falls State Park

We spent the weekend camping at Silver Falls State Park campground. The weather was beautiful, and of course, we had tons of fun. This very well may be our final trip of the year.
It wouldn't be a blog entry without the boys roasting their marshmallows. Seriously, you wouldn't believe how perfectly they can roast them! Golden brown, the color of caramel.
It just so happened that this weekend there was a big 75 year celebration at Silver Falls. The rangers had special presentations, a plaque was presented, and there was cake for all of the visitors in the park this day. We partook in the cake part of the program. If you look closely, you will see Chris and Nate standing on the pillars at the front of the lodge. After the picture was taken, we were walking away and Chris said, "we are like the lions at those houses." After a little bit of thinking Dan and I came to realize that he was talking about the lions that adorn the front of some fancy houses...one on each side of the entry. roarrrrr.

A view from the top of the falls. We walked the trail all the way down to the bottom. Since there wasn't much fence after the first part of the trail, this was definitely a (firm) hand holding adventure....especially with two punchy boys who didn't have a whole lot of sleep the night before.
In the falls, holding up billions of pounds of millions of year old rocks. A little bit claustrophobic for me.
Chris the tree climber. This tree was at our campsite and the boys were really into tying ropes and making 'traps' for the wild animals. They never did catch anything.
Dan challenged Chris and Nate to be in charge of making the fire on the second night. They've watched it enough times, and he explained the basic design to them. It worked! Their criss-cross sticks (like Lincoln logs) with paper in the middle works like a charm! Chris was especially proud of himself. Nate blew on the flames to get them going.
They are OUT! Cozy as can be for the cold night ahead, with lots of layers and a warm hat. Right after the boys went to bed, we had some guests arrive at our campsite. Two women who we had met earlier in the evening came by our campsite offering some cold beers to us, and they brought their red wine. Linda and Ellie (?) were from Alberta, Canada and were on their annual 'Thelma and Louise' trip, this year it was camping their way throught the Pacific NW. (although they said that they had not gone off of any cliffs yet!) They both are nurses, married, and new grandmas. We thoroughly enjoyed our visit with them around the fire. It's fun to meet people that randomly pop into our lives for some reason. We hope they have safe travels home this week.

The Hula King

Here's a cute video of Chris' latest skill....hula hooping! He is really good. His movements crack me up. His record to date is 71 rotations.

what were you doing 7 years ago today?

September 11, 2001. I remember that day as if it were yesterday. I guess that's what a little bit of trauma will do to a person. But, who doesn't remember that day?
I was living quite a different life then. I was single, owned my own cute little house, had a cat named Sadie, drove a VW Jetta, and was enjoying life. Dan was an unknown entity at that point in time. (little did I know that we would find each other exactly 2 weeks later!) I was just starting my fifth year of teaching first grade at Aloha Park. Life was good.
I was one of the millions of Americans who first learned of the events unfolding from Matt Lauer and Katie Couric on the Today show. I remember getting ready to dry my hair at 6:03 and they were just starting to talk about the reports of the airplane into the first tower. I (being the news junkie that I am) kept checking back on the t.v. as I got ready for another day of work. Lunch in hand, I got in the car to make the 25 minute drive to my school. Do all of these people around me know what is going on? Are they listening to the radio? (I sure was....KWJJ with Mike and Amy) People, this is some crazy stuff! I recall looking at the other drivers' faces as I headed West to see if they were at all aware. Some people had 'the look'...others did not. It was an unsettling way to start the day.
Once I got to my school I remember tripping and falling on the way in the building..I think I was trying to get inside so fast so that I could continue to follow this story.
Teachers started arriving and everyone started talking. My teaching partner, Guillermo, had a t.v. in his classroom, so that's where everyone started to gather around. We were glued to the t.v. It just kept getting worse. The towers fell. The Pentagon. The plane in the field in Pennsylvania. We were all starting to feel very worried and freaked out, but had to pull it together because kids would be arriving in our classrooms in the next few minutes. The morning had to march on as usual. I remember at the end of the school day just wanting to get out of there and be home. Nothing felt safe.
Today kind of feels like it did 7 years ago...sunny, warm, and crisp with beautiful Oregon weather in September. I bet the never ending pile of pine needles is covering the sidewalk at the old house on 67th, just as they always did in early September. It's a day that we will never forget. I guess sometimes it takes something like this to remind us to reflect on our own past, and dip into the ol' memory well. That day stamped a feeling that comes around once a year, clear as can be. So, what were you doing 7 years ago today?

first day at pre-k

Today was Chris and Nate's first day at Vernon for pre-k. They were so excited! They have a great teacher and a classroom filled with diversity. I really didn't think that I was going to get misty-eyed, (I know, I know...i'm such a softy) but right as I was saying goodbye to them my eyes welled up with tears.....they've just grown so darn fast and have been my sidekicks for pretty much every day since they were born 4 1/2 years ago. Yes, they're growing up and spreading their wings.
We're off! One of the great things about attending your neighborhood school is that you can walk there! It takes us about 8 minutes from our door to the classroom door. I think it's going to be a great year!

Go, Dog. Go!

I think these boys are more than ready to start pre-k on Monday. They're both reading easy reader books....the favorite right now is Go, Dog. Go! (who doesn't remember this classic?)We discovered this recently when Chris picked up some of his cousin's Bob books while on vacation. He just started reading them. I was blown away, because although I knew that he knew his letters and letter sounds, I had never sat down with him and tried to see if he could really put the sounds together and read. Well, he did.
But don't think it's only Chris' thing....Nate read the whole Go, Dog. Go! book to me this morning! Reading is a HUGE milestone in development. I guess that is why I am so excited because I remember many of my first graders who really struggled, and could barely read at this level by the end of the school year.
Maybe Cat in the Hat next? Who knows. Looks like we need to take a trip to the library to find more books! Way to go, guys.

What is the grossest thing that YOU did today?

Me? Sorting through and digging out hundreds of red worms out of my worm compost bin. It was full of brown, mucky and somewhat repulsive mush, larvae, and whatever was left of the vegetables. Remember back in May when I started this thing? Well, let's just say it's been a huge success. The worms have been very busy eating all of the vegetable/fruit scraps from our household and it really has made a difference. Plus, it just makes me feel good that we're not just dumping all of the waste in a landfill. I highly recommend starting your own bin. The only downside.....I can't get the smell out of my nose from today's work. yuck.

shoes for sale

This is what I love about 4 year-olds. They are so imaginative! Chris set up a 'shoe shop' this evening. He even brought the little shopping cart up from the basement to add to his shopping ambiance, and make our shopping a little bit easier. Nate and I were his only customers. Nate bought the rubber boots, I bought the cross-trainers.