The Big Burn

The deck at the Slater household needed to go. Anyone who was a regular at our household growing up knew that many evenings and summer days were spent out on that deck with a gentle breeze and a view of the Willamette Valley.  But like everything else in life, it's time had come to say goodbye.  Brother Mark and his buddy Jim said that they would take care of it.  Today was declared as the day for the deck to go, and the big burn.  There were 2 massive piles of yard debris from our work party last summer, plus all of the decking wood.  It made for the perfect storm. 

 Burn pile #1.  This was a very impressive fire.  It only took about 1 1/2 hours to burn all of the wood that made up the deck and benches.  Was I freaking out?  Yes.  But Mark had it all under control.

 Oh yah, Mark.  Hot, hot, hot.  Feel the burn!

 This was burn pile #2 which was very large, but ended up with more smoldering due to all of the grass clippings.  Chris was excited that he got to light the fire with a flare.  G'ma was happy for all of the help.

 Yep.  I'm really helping to keep the flames where they belong with my big hose and massive water.

Mark Tebowing with Jim.  Raging fire in the background.  Dorks. 

While we're on the topic of fire, have you seen this video on You-Tube?  It went viral a while back and Dan showed it to the boys.  Nate must have found it again online, because he has memorized Sweet Brown's words.  Ain't nobody got time for that!

There's a new horse (and cowboy) in town!

Remember our neighbor horse, Clyde, from a post back in September?

Well, shortly after that picture was taken, there was some sort of a terrible accident, and Clyde was smashed to bits.  With a little bit of TLC from his owners, Tom and Judy, Clyde was able to make a full recovery (minus some hip and other bits) and a grand reappearance at the curb about a month ago, tucked safely behind his corral made of twigs.  

What fun it was today when a white horse appeared beside him without anyone seeing him make his way there.  A mystery horse.  When neighbor Judy discovered it, she thought we had done it...but we hadn't.  

Chris went out to chat with her about the horse, then returned home, and disappeared into the basement for about 10 minutes.  He came upstairs and had a little cowboy made out of construction paper, markers, and staples.  The perfect sized cowboy. 

"Judy said that she wished Clyde had someone to ride him" he told me.  Chris knew how to solve that problem.  Out he went with his scotch tape and attached him to the back of Clyde.

  I think that this cowboy and white horse companion made Clyde's day. 

 I think that it made Judy's day even more so.

Lincoln City getaway

Beach combing in Lincoln City!  Chris found lots of sea glass....a new favorite!

  

The boys spent lots of time in the pool, and I was able to sit poolside and read my first e-book, 50 Shades of Grey. Was it really hot and steamy in the pool area, or was it just the book I was reading??

 We went to the Oregon Coast Aquarium.  The boys looking dead from the shark attack.

 Look at that face.  Love.

 Family photo taken at arms length.

 A highlight of the trip was our visit to the Candyland store in Lincoln City.  Such a great variety of fun candy!  The boys bought (with their own money) a piece of taffy for each friend in their class.

 We  played a round of putt-putt golf  at the Putt n' Bat on Hwy. 101. 

 Totally cheezy, totally homemade, and totally awesome!  Dan whipped the 3 of us.  A little slice of Americana for sure.

Nate acting dramatic because he was (for once in his life) "TOO BIG" to play the basketball shot game!  Only for children 48" and under.  He has waited for this day to come, since he has many times been just a smidge too short to participate.  This sign made his day!

Mothers Day & Sunday Parkways

Ah, hammock time. Nothing beats snuggle time with each boy, as well as making goofy faces to the camera overhead.

Today was Mothers Day and Sunday Parkways. To top it off, Portland's temperature reached 90 degrees, so we acted like it was Summertime...with the hammock, grilled Gartners ribs for dinner, and lots of outside time.  It was perfect!

Sunday Parkways was in our neighborhood this weekend.  It is an annual event in Portland neighborhoods where streets are shut down to car traffic, and it's all about bikes, scootin' walking, and getting out in the community.  It's awesome.  The boys and I went on a ride when it started at 11:00, but then it was time to get to work.

This year, they wanted to sell water and try to earn some money.  They had the perfect product, on the hottest day of the year.  The crowds went wild and they sold out of 120 bottles of ice cold water!  Of course, there was time between sales to cruise around on bikes.

  Oh, and it wasn't like they were all greedy with their earnings.  They told their customers that 10% of their proceeds would be donated to charity.  They chose Safe Routes to School, since it's an organization that promotes bike riding, and getting kids to and from school safely.  Seemed fitting for today's event.  I'm sure that the CEO over at Safe Routes will be thrilled when they present them with their $6.00 donation.  :)

Where it all happened....on the corner of 23rd and Ainsworth.

Good times.  I'm lucky to be their mama.

Sometimes it's the little things in life....

 ...like this little green worm.

I was at my mom's house this week and we were cleaning out a room and going through old stuff, and you can't imagine my surprise and delight when I came across this little fellow, stashed in the bottom of an empty flower pot on the top shelf. 

 This little green worm spent his entire life sitting in my Granny's kitchen window plant. He was always there, peeking over the edge with that silly grin. 

 How could you not love this quiet and unassuming little worm?

Now he's mine, and I couldn't be more thrilled to have him. 

 I know that Granny would be thrilled, too.

Sunshine!

 What a gorgeous day it was!  It was Portland first 'hot' weekend after lots and lots of rain, and it felt great.

Even Harry soaked his fur in the rays that came through the front window early this a.m.

He added some stripes to his already very stripey fur.

I love this picture.

I didn't intentionally take it, but I was thrilled when I found it on my phone.  Somehow I snapped the photo when I was lying on a lawn chair in the backyard this afternoon.
Amazing rays.

Dan thinks that I am crazy, but do you see the little white speckle in the upper right corner?  Well, I think that's an orb of someone's spirit.  Maybe I've been watching too much of the Long Island Medium, but hey, it works for me!

Concordia Cavaliers #1 fans!

Who needs Wrigley Field anyways?
Just 4 blocks from our house at Concordia University there is a brand new, beautiful baseball stadium where the Cavaliers play college level baseball. Dan and the boys have adopted the team as their own, and have made this their favorite new place to hang out.

They attended the grand opening celebration in February, and have become the #1 fans at all of the games. They even got this packet of soil that was taken from the old pitcher's mound and have since buried it's magical dust in our backyard. They said that it would bring them 'good luck' at all of their baseball games this year.

They have made friends with some of the player's families, the players, and other locals at the baseball field and today when they got to the game they were in for an amazing surprise. Each member of the team had signed a baseball for their biggest (little) fans!

As you can imagine, they were beyond thrilled.

Eat your heart out Babe Ruth, Joe DiMaggio, and Mark Grace. There are new players in town....and my boys are smitten.

Watching the game and cheering on their team. Go Cavaliers!

Happy Easter!

Time to dye the Easter eggs so that they're ready for the Easter Bunny!

We had a lovely Easter day celebration at the Slater household. There was lots of sunshine, yummy food, and great company with the whole family there! As always, there is nothing better than cousin time!

Gratuitous photo of the boys with their Easter baskets. Every year when we pull them out we say, "Remember when they were so tiny that they could fit in the baskets?"

So tiny. So cute.

Nate doing a thorough review of his loot that was found on Kenny Lane.

When you're 8 years old, it is fun to melt your chocolate bunny with a magnifying lens and some sunshine.

It's baseball season again!

Today was opening day for the Wilshire-Riverside baseball league. Lots of sunshine and happy kids who are ready to play ball!
We finally have beautiful tulips that are bursting open in our front yard.

Yay, Spring is here!

Bits of March

Saddest birthday cake ever.
Shortly after the birthday party sleepover, our household became an infirmary. Both boys and myself were really sick~high fevers, non-stop coughing and were completely checked out from the world for about a week. Unfortunately, sickness struck on the boys' actual birthday, and neither of them even wanted a piece of cake to celebrate.

What else...oh, my gnome was 'stolen' from the front yard one night in early March. The good news is that he was returned about 3 weeks later. I never did find out who was guilty of gnome thievery, but I did see some pictures of him partying late night at some bars on Alberta. I hope he had fun, and I'm happy that he's back safe and sound.

I love thrifting. It was truly a 'diamond day' when I came across this brand spankin' new leather chair that was in the furniture section for only $69.00. Oh, but with my GW Club Card, I got the additional 10% off. What a deal! What a find! Oh, and it reclines. :)

The sun was out this a.m., so I got away from all of the germs that returned to our household (Christopher sick with round #2) and did some yard work. Harry was howling from the window, so I put on his leash and he got some outside time. Happy cat!

Turning 8

This year, instead of a big themed birthday party like Survivor or Minute-to-Win-It, the boys decided that they wanted to have their very first friend sleepover. So they each invited one best buddy, figured out what kind of food and fun they would have, and got to it. Turning 8 with special friends was really fun! (and very easy for the mom!)

They got to choose where to go to dinner. They all agreed that a classic burger at Stanich's sounded good, so that's where we went. The picture above was taken before diving into those juicy burgers and fries.

....and this picture was taken shortly afterwards. They were stuffed and in a food coma.

All were very good eaters!

After dinner we returned home and they were able to play a little bit of basketball before the sun went down.

Cake and candles time! Except, Chris and Nate didn't want cake...they wanted Ding-Dongs. So Ding-Dongs it was...along with puffy Cheetos, Ginger-Ale, and a few other only-at-birthday-party treats.

Both friends got them Beyblades as a birthday gift, so of course, there was a Beyblade tournament in the basement. Let em' rip!

Much of their time was spent in the basement, I mean, the 'man cave.' Lots of Wii.
That's what 8 year old boys do.
They claim that they pulled an 'all nighter,' but I think they were asleep by about 10:30.

After a good night of sleep it was breakfast time. Again, they decided on the menu: crispy bacon, eggs, and Cinnabon cinnamon rolls out of the tube. mmm

Back down to the man cave for more gaming.

They took a break from the Wii and built some cool designs with marshmallows and toothpicks.

Chris, Sam, Nate, Aidan...the party animals. Happy Birthday!