Memorial Day

Be happy while you're living, for you're a long time dead.

~Scottish Proverb

I was explaining to the boys what Memorial Day was all about, and why we were having a 3 day weekend. Christopher had a great idea, and asked if we could go to a cemetery. Both boys have been curious and wanting to go to one for a few years now, so this seemed like the perfect opportunity. We visited the Rose City Cemetery.
We roamed the grounds, read the names, found markers with flags, and headstones with flowers. Believe it or not, it was a lovely way to spend the afternoon, and a great reminder to embrace every day on this earth, and love those in my company. We sure don't have forever.

Grace

I remember May 27, 1999 just like it was yesterday. It was on that day that life changed for me forever~before that day I didn't know that I could love a little human-being so much.

I was there at her birth and from the moment she popped out, I instantly loved her as if she were my own. Yes, I was an over-the-top Auntie who would drive from Portland to Seattle every chance that I could, just to get my hands on her. She was also named after me~ I am Kathryn Grace, and she is Grace Kathryn. How special is that?

Grace was such an adorable baby, and has grown into an even more beautiful young lady. She is an amazingly loving, smart, thoughtful, and well-rounded girl. This world is truly blessed to have her.
Happy Birthday, Grace! I love you.

May at-a-glance

Here are some of the highlights of the month:

Chris and Nate had their first overnighter at Uncle Greg and Aunt Susan's house. They had so much fun, and we can't wait to do it again!
Car fire in the 'hood. We were just sitting down to our Mother's Day rib dinner, and realized that the sirens were getting closer and louder. Sure enough, a car at Mr. Nate's house caught on fire and was engulfed in flames. Serious neighborhood excitement!

Gutted. This was very exciting to investigate after dinner.

Nate's manatee-knee got a nose.

Portland's Sunday Parkways was in our neighborhood and we the whole family did the loop together. I love this event!

We all had double-layered cards in the spokes, so we sounded like a pack of Harley riders as we came down the street. brrrrrmmmm...brrrmmmmm..brmmmm

Backyard BBQ at the McDonalds following a fun day of bike riding.

What a great Portland day this was!

The t-ball team went to PGE Park and watched some real baseball together. Lots of fun, but unfortunately we didn't catch any foul balls!

T-Ball action

These boys love this game!

Nate.
Chris.

A taste of the Chris and Nate show.

the cat's a superfreak

Harry was in a playful mood and was jumping super high. These pictures are fantastic, but I think that Dan underestimated how high he should aim the lens. Wonder-kitty.

would ya' look at this?

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Wow.

This boy can write.

Christopher wrote this short story this morning.

listen to the whispers

Ever since this day, we have been continuing to work on Nate's fear of the wind. It is still a highly emotional thing for him, and can instantly make him unsettled and upset when he sees the wind outside.
At Vernon's multicultural event last night, the evening ended with a raffle/prize drawing for several fun items. The first number was called out, and nobody answered. They dipped into the basket to choose another ticket in hopes of a match. 4-3-1-8-2-1. "It's me!" Nate exclaimed and went to the stage proudly to claim his prize of a Chinese kite.
It wasn't until morning when we were putting it together that I explained to him how the world was talking to him in a whisper. I explained that sometimes, if you're paying attention, you will get and understand a message that comes your way without any words~there was a reason that he, out of all the kids there, won the kite.

It's because kites need the wind in order to fly.

Without the wind, this kite would be good for nothing.

Most people would just consider it a kite. nothing more.

But for Nate, it was different.

kite:wind:good

He clearly understood the message.

What has life whispered to you lately?

We love our earth!

Earth Day is this week and Christopher is taking it very seriously. He has not turned on a t.v. or played the Wii since Monday, because it's good for the earth. Today after school we made these little earth necklace balls out of Fimo dough, and we will string them and take them to school~ one for each kid in their classroom. We love our earth!

It's all just stuff

It doesn't take much to entertain me. So it shouldn't surprise you if I told you that one of my very favorite things to do is to head to Goodwill to see what treasures I can find. But even more importantly than finding things that our family can actually use at a smokin' good price, I love the reminder that each trip gives to me about all the stuff. We all have too much of it, and really, in the end it will most likely just end up on a shelf with a $4.99 price tag attached to it. Here are some examples:
In the 'framed art' area was this scenic painting, signed by Lee Allie. Who was Lee Allie? Why did he paint this picture? Was it his greatest masterpiece, only to be stacked among old cross-stitched plaques for a new baby, or Nagel posters from the 80's? Where did this picture hang until it's fateful trip to the Goodwill? All that hard work, and here it just sits now.

There is also an over-abundance of kitschy things like this little statue. I hate this kind of stuff, to be real honest. This was definitely from the early 70's, and was probably a token of love to someone special. Where was this tucked away for the past 30 years?

For only $7.99 you can have these bronzed first baby shoes that were made into bookends. I'm certain that at the time these shoes were transformed to a keepsake, they were about the most important thing in the world to some mother out there. Her baby was growing up. Now, they sit with a rubber band holding them together, waiting for someone to want them.

I peeked inside one of the shoes and found this old birth announcement, which I'm certain was for the baby who first wore those shoes. How old is Roberta Jean now? Does she know that her shoes are sitting at the Goodwill in Portland, Oregon?

And who are these two gentlemen? Obviously they were very important people, to have their picture enlarged and framed for all to see. What kind of business transaction were they signing that it was documented with a photo? Must have been a very important day!

One of my favorite parts of thrifting is the quick stroll down memory lane that is provoked at least once during each trip to Goodwill. Today it was these wooden ladybug magnets. Not overly thrilling to the average shopper, but I remember that my granny had these exact magnets on her brown refrigerator. The minute that I spotted them today, I was right back at her house, heading to the fridge to take out a bottle of sprite. That's what she always had.

It's not always a diamond day at the Goodwill, and many times I leave the store empty handed. But what I do always take with me is the reminder that really, all of this is just stuff~and that the most important things to you at this very moment in time will someday become just stuff, too. It's really all of the other stuff that matters the most in this life.

the gift of an ordinary day

"No picture, or home video, or diary entry can begin to capture the nubbly texture, subtle tones, and secret shades of a family's life as it is from one hour, or day, or season, to the next. It has taken a while, but I know it now~the most wonderful gift we had, the gift I've finally learned to cherish above all else, was the gift of all those perfectly ordinary days." ~Katrina Kenison

I received this book for my birthday from Dan and the boys. I just finished it today. It was wonderful. I feel like I got a sneak peek into my future from another mom's experience, and the message that she shared is what I have always held close to my heart. Maybe that's why I liked it so much.

The Windy First Game

Can you guess who is who? New numbers this year on the Neil Kelly team.

Today was the first game of the t-ball season. With how much these boys love the game of baseball, you would have thought it was going to be an incredibly awesome day.

But do you remember this?

Today was a really windy day here in Portland. Nate could hardly control his fear and anxiety during the game, and wanted to sit out after the first inning. He played at the pitcher position and made some awesome throws to Chris at first base....but all the while he cried, and held onto his hat for dear life so that it wouldn't blow away.

He was having total PTSD from the stormy night in the yurt, and the wind was more than he could take. It was heartbreaking to watch this little boy who loves baseball more than just about anything, sobbing uncontrollably, sitting on my lap, hiding under a blanket, and begging to go home or sit in the car...not typical behavior for Nate, at all.

He hates the wind now~and I can't blame him, because that night in the yurt was really crazy scary and loud.

We will get through this with lots of love and reassurance. But darn you wind--just chill out, will you? This boy needs to play ball.

Mark and Clark

Well, not really. It's Nate and Chris. I have never been one to match em' up, so whenever we dress these two as 'twins', Dan and I refer to them as Mark and Clark...the ultimate geeky twin brothers that match all the time.
It was 'twin day' at school today for spirit week. They went all out with matching socks, shoes, jeans, shirt, and explorer vests. Even put matching moles on each face. It was all cool getting ready, but the minute that we got in the car, Christopher said, "I don't want to be a twin." Sorry, buddy..this car is already in motion.

Once they got to school, it was all fun. They really looked alike. And, to make it even more awesome, two of their top gals, Sylvie and Pearl, had coordinated their outfits and hair, too. They are a fierce foursome.

See you tonight, Easter Bunny!

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update: Chris was heading to bed tonight when he realized that he hadn't written anything to the Easter Bunny like he did for Santa. That didn't seem fair, so he quickly wrote him this note. We sure hope that he finds it tonight!

How much fun can one weekend hold?

Our friends, Carrington and Christine, invited us to spend the weekend with us at their getaway house outside of Hood River. I figured it would be a mountain cabin that we would all cozy up inside of. Boy, was I ever wrong! This place is straight out of the pages of Sunset Magazine. It was fantastic!
This house was designed with fun and friends in mind. It is situated on 16 acres of remote wilderness, and has the East fork of the Hood River flowing through the property directly behind the house.

Simply beautiful, and sustainably built by Carrington, who clearly has a knack for this type of thing. The beams, dining room table, and other parts of the house all have a story to tell. My favorite feature is that they designed the living space to have an oval track where the kids (and big people!) can ride plasma cars. Totally kid friendly and family friendly. So much room to roam, it was unbelievable!

This picture of the North side of Mt. Hood was taken from their huge back deck. The house is situated on the edge of a cliff that goes down to the river below, so the deck is massive in order to have room to play.

Out front was an amazing forest yard with a tire swing and other fun stuff to do. My boys went very high on this thing. Of course, I wanted to try it too!

Wheeeee!

Hiking down the trial to the water.

Chris and Nate throwing rocks into the raging river. It was gorgeous, but very swift and very cold.

Bailey, Dan, Chris and Nate trying to move this boulder. No luck.

Another very cool thing about this property is that the Mt. Hood Scenic Railroad goes right through it! We spent lots of time walking the tracks, and looking for loose ties.

The highlight of the trip for Dan was putting coins on the track. The train went by on Saturday afternoon, so we knew that it would be returning within a few hours. Pennies and nickels were flattened as souvenirs. Dan said that he has wanted to do that for 40 years! Check that off the list....

The Barrs-Olson family.

Chris and Nate's favorite part of the weekend was doing all the 'work'. They helped chop, haul, and stack wood, move rocks, build a sandbox, construct a fire pit. It's fun to be a workin' man.

This is their dog, Bailey. She is a way cool dog.

So mellow and loving. She slept with the boys the second night. They loved that!

Sydney. She is hands-down the cutest and smartest 3 and 3/4 year old I've ever known. I just adore this little girl!

I shared my shiny lip-gloss with her, and that connected us like you wouldn't believe.

She had such a fun time with Chris and Nate~it was fun having two 'big' boys around.

Carrington giving rides as they move on to the next project. Chris, Nate, Sydney, and Ole.

On Sunday morning we blew out eggs, and then painted them to make a bowl of colorful eggs.

The end of a very fun day. We sat around the fire pit, roasted marshmallows, then called it a night. What a great getaway!