Happy Birthday Suzie!

Happy Birthday Regina!

Katie and I couldn't wait to give Regina her presents,

so we did it first thing this morning.

Yes, we went to Jared...

Lively Weekend

Last weekend we enjoyed the company of Courtney, Mel and their 14-month-old toddlers, Jack and Avery. They drove down here from Seattle on Friday afternoon and left early in the afternoon on Sunday. On Saturday, we all visited Fort Clatsop to learn about one of Courtney's favorite subjects - Lewis and Clark.

Below is a 3-minute video of some of the footage I shot during their visit with us.

Wooden Shoe Tulip Farm

This afternoon Regina, Katie and I headed to Woodburn, OR to visit the Wooden Shoe Tulip Farm. They are hosting a tulip festival since they are in full bloom right now, so we decided to visit.

Below is a short video followed by a few photos. Enjoy.

Spring Has Sprung

Monday and Tuesday this week in Portland were very warm - in the 80s! Fortunately I had packed Katie's soccer outfit last time we were home, so that's what she wore to school on Monday. That night after dinner, we all went out to a local park down by the Willamette River. Regina and I walked while Katie rode her scooter.

Time for Some Pampering

And I'm not talking about diapers! Thankfully, we don't have to deal with that anymore.

We're spending the weekend at our yet unsold house in the Seattle area. We decided to invite our sitter over to spend the afternoon with Katie while we went to the Spa at Willows Lodge in Woodinville for 90-minute facials. This is only the second facial I've ever had and I don't know why I don't go for it more often. It's so relaxing and your skin looks and feels great afterward.

Baby Suzie Video

This is a 2-minute video clip of me as a toddler. I'm guessing it was the summer of 1965. I was in Great Falls, Virginia with my parents, of course, at my paternal Grandparent's farm. At that point in my life, I was the only grandchild. It's not that exciting, but if you can hold out until the end, it's worth it. The last 25 seconds or so show what happened one time when Grandpa was in charge of watching me. At least that's the story I've been told.

Need a Cell Phone?

Cell phones are the subject of Katie's drawings lately. She cuts them out and folds them in half, like the real ones do.

Katie's cell phone drawings.

Katie has also asked some interesting questions in the last couple of days. She usually brings things up in the car when I'm driving her to or from school.

Yesterday, she wanted to know if there is also a "seeing part" on the back side of our eyeballs. She thought that if there were, she should be able to see what it looks like on the inside of her head! Good idea, I told her, but our eyes have a "seeing part" only on the front.

This morning she wanted to know about how the world began. After I finished explaining my take on it, she wanted to know if the world will ever end. I said yes, but not in our lifetime. It's not something we need to worry about. However, she reminded me that she plans on living forever, so she will be around to see it, but would rather not see that happen. So then I proceeded to talk about how we all die, but many people believe we will be reunited in heaven. So, although our bodies die, we live on in heaven, with all the people we love. She liked this idea. Then she wanted to know how we get to heaven. I said although we don't know for sure, there are some people who have died for a few minutes but were saved by doctors, and they all talk about a tunnel of light that leads us to heaven.

This was one of the few conversations where she actually let me talk, uninterrupted, while she listened. We're still working on teaching her that interrupting is not ok, so usually I don't get to finish what I'm saying. Except for today. She actually wanted to hear my answer! Tough subject, though.

Home Again

Yesterday was our travel day. We caught a 6:30pm flight out of Washington Dulles in Northern Virginia and arrived in Portland at 9pm pacific time. Because of the 3-hour time difference, we were tired. It really did feel like midnight when we landed. But anyway, we're home safely after spending last week with family. We had fun.

Katie's cousin Josh (my brother's 8-year-old) gave her a t-shirt from his school and she specifically asked to wear it today to her school. In this picture she is holding pink silly putty she got from the Easter Bunny and with her other hand she's holding out five fingers to show us she is 5 years old, just in case you've forgotten.

Happy Birthday Betty!

(Birthday flowers from Sue, Bob and Andrew)

She's Number One

Last night and tonight, Paige (Edy's eldest, age 12) had a softball game, so we went to watch. Her number is 1 and she plays left field, or is it right field? Anyway, she was in the outfield between 2nd and 3rd bases.

Paige in the outfield, ready for some action.

Waiting for the pitch.

Focused and ready.

Poptart and Popcorn

Well, I woke up this morning with a headache again, but not quite as severe as yesterday's. It still required an imitrex to relieve the pain, unfortunately. But, it worked.

We just hung out around the house this morning. I packed up and showered, while Katie played with Justin and Josh. We ate lunch, took some photos and by about 2:30pm Katie and I were on the road back to Regina's parents' house in Waynesboro.

Below are some of the pictures I got of Katie, Justin and Josh before we left. Oh, and the bunnies, too. The dark one is Josh's and he named him Poptart. The white one is Justin's and he named him Popcorn. They're really sweet. I shot some video of them which I'll post next week after we get home.

Katie and her cousin Justin

Katie holding Popcorn

Josh holding Poptart

Justin holding Popcorn

Justin giving Katie a ride.

Josh holding Poptart,
Justin in the back
and Katie holding Popcorn

Ugh!

Darn it, today I woke up with a pounding headache. Right behind my forehead. Katie woke me up at 6:41am, which surprised me because so far on this trip she's been sleeping in until 7:30am - 8:30am. I promised her that most likely nobody else was awake yet, so she climbed into bed with me and fortunately, slept for another hour or so. I managed to take some caffeine tablets (no-doz) and Aleve, because they were within reach. But what I really wanted was an imitrex which was all the way downstairs on the first level and I was on the third level. I just couldn't bring myself to make the trip so I decided to lie down in bed for a while longer to see if the caffeine and aleve would do the trick.

When Katie woke up, I realized my head was still in a lot of pain, but I had to get up with her anyway. We went downstairs and I quickly took an imitrex and grabbed an ice pack out of the freezer. Katie, Justin and Josh watched a movie for a little while and I managed to eat some breakfast while holding the ice pack to my forehead and visiting with Peggy. Within an hour or so, I began to feel better.

The combination of pills I took made me feel pretty out of it, so I ended up sleeping most of the afternoon. I was bummed about that because the sun was shining and it would have been the perfect day to be outside with the kids.

Fortunately, when I woke up, I felt pretty good. We then went out to dinner with our twin Aunts, Sharon and Karen (our Dad's sisters) who live in the area.

After returning home, we enjoyed some homemade vanilla ice cream Peggy had made earlier in the day. We topped it with strawberries, whipped cream and blue sprinkles. That was quite a treat!

The kids were exhausted and went to bed at a pretty decent time, allowing me to watch LOST, which was an awesome episode, by the way, and I can't wait to rewatch it as soon as I get an opportunity.

And now, everyone else is in bed, but because I slept all afternoon, I'm not quite tired yet. Even so, I should go lie in bed. Maybe I'll surprise myself and actually fall asleep.

View of tonight's sunset from Kenny and Peggy's house.

More Cousins...

Today after lunch, Katie and I drove to my brother's house to visit them for a couple of days. He and his wife have two boys, Justin and Josh. Katie's excited to be here visiting her cousins and getting to know her aunt and uncle.

The first thing we did upon arrival was to open a whole bunch of wonderful presents they had for Katie. One of the presents was a t-shirt with a black velvet image on it which she got to color in with markers. She put it on immediately after completing it and it took a lot of convincing to get her to take it off for bed time. She loves it.

Katie's cousin Josh helped her color the t-shirt they gave her.

And here she is, modeling the finished product.

Later, at bedtime, Josh offered to read Katie a bedtime story. From his extensive library of books, he chose The Little Engine That Could.

Somebody's Watching Over You

That's what Jim the plumber said after inspecting Regina's parents' broken water heater, "Somebody's watching over you, that's for sure."

Regina and I had noticed that when showering, we would run out of hot water before finishing. We didn't remember that happening last time we visited, so we figured we should investigate. The first thing we thought of was to check the temperature on the water heater. Maybe it was set too low. Well, this water heater didn't have a convenient, well-marked dial on the outside, but rather it had two panels secured with screws. We suspected the temperature control was behind one of those panels, but we weren't sure. We also couldn't find the manual. So, I looked it up online and learned that this particular model is old enough that the manufacturer didn't have its manual online anymore. Regina suggested looking at the manual for one of the other similar models. Why didn't I think of that? Good idea. I learned that the temp control was indeed behind the secured panels. I removed both panels and found a bunch of wires, screws and jumpers, protected by a plastic shield and on top of that was a layer of insulation. I couldn't figure out how to increase the temperature, but I did notice that there was a lot of corrosion. That prompted me to call the manufacturer's tech support. He suggested calling a plumber to replace both heating elements.

Jim the plumber arrived at about 2pm and took a look. He said he could certainly replace the heating elements, but his recommendation was to replace the whole thing. He proceeded to show us how the wires were falling apart and there was evidence of fire inside the unit that had burned the plastic shield and the insulation. He said we were lucky it didn't burn the house down and that if we hadn't called when we did, that's exactly what would have happened. Needless to say, Regina's Mom took his advice and replaced the whole thing and upgraded to a higher capacity heater. So now, we're back in business. Hot showers for all!

Sunshine and Yard Work

On our first full day here, Katie played with her cousins continuously, after having spent last night over at their house. Tomorrow, "the cousins", as Katie calls them, have to go to school even though it's their spring break. They are making up for snow days earlier in the year. So, because it's a school night for them, Katie couldn't spend the night at their house. Tonight when they left after dinner here at Regina's parents' house, Katie cried and cried because she was so sad she wasn't with them. I got lots of cuddle time, which I don't often get anymore, but hated to see her so sad.

Regina, her sister Edy, and Edy's husband decided it was the perfect day to do a little landscaping in their parents' backyard. So, while the kids ran around outside in the sunshine, they dug up old, unwanted plants, tilled the dirt and planted a couple of dogwood trees and a bunch of plants and bushes. They did all this work in the area of the backyard where there used to be a water feature. Regina's Mom had it removed a while back, but never did put anything in its place.

The next and last step is to add mulch, which will happen another day this week. Of course it'll look better in a year or two when the plants have had time to flourish. But, here are a couple of pictures of their hard work today:

Regina transplanted some petunias in the planters on the deck outside the master bedroom and she also hung some flowers as well.

We ended the day by grilling hotdogs and hamburgers for dinner. Katie was exhausted and went to bed easily. Yay!

Heading Back East

Our 4:45am wake up call was brutal, but necessary to catch our 7:45am flight from Portland to Washington Dulles. Almost immediately after takeoff we got a nice view of Mt. Hood, so I snapped a few shots of it.

We arrived in Northern VA without incident, although our landing was rather tipsy due to high winds. I've been a frequent flyer since early childhood and this was the first time I worried that we might not experience a safe landing. Fortunately though, the pilot was able to stabilize the plane before we hit the runway.

Within about an hour after landing, we had claimed our bags and were in a rental car, heading south toward Regina's parents' home. About three hours later, we arrived safely.

Katie is spending the night with her cousins, so Regina and I are enjoying a bit of peace and quiet as we wind down from a long day of travel.

Supervise Your Children, or Else!

I'm sitting here watching a recording of yesterday's Oprah, featuring Michael J. Fox, and suddenly I recalled something I read the other day. It made me laugh out loud, so I thought I'd share it.

A couple of days ago when my Mom was here and we drove along the Columbia River Gorge scenic highway, we stopped at the Crown Point Vista House. I needed to stop, primarily to use the bathroom, but while we were there we visited the gift shop (of course) and admired the spectacular view of the gorge. What made me laugh out loud was the sign they posted inside the Vista House which read:

Unsupervised children will be given

espresso and a free puppy.

Grandma's Visit is Over

This morning I dropped Katie off at school and then dropped my Mom off at the airport. She caught an 11am flight home to Kansas after spending 10 days with us. Last week, Katie's school had their Spring Break, so she had plenty of time to pal around with her Grandma.

Next item on our agenda - 8 days in Virginia visiting family.

Road Trip With My Mom

Tolovana Beach State Park, Northern Oregon Coast

My Mom and I left the apartment at about 10:30am and drove a 235-mile loop today. We took highway 30 west to the coast where we turned south on 101 and spent some time at Fort Clatsop learning a little bit about Lewis and Clark and their Native American guide, Sacagawea.

We continued south on the Pacific Coast Highway 101 and ended up in Seaside, Oregon. We walked on the beach, browsed through a couple of the shops and ate dinner at Dooger's Seafood and Grill.

After dinner, we made our way to Tolovana Beach State Park where we photographed the gorgeous sunset over the ocean.

Highway 26 east took us back to Portland and we were home by about 8:30pm. It was a good day, but I'm exhausted and ready for bed! Signing off ~

Sure Is Quiet...

... when Suzie is busy! I haven't talked with Suzie or Katie since they headed up to Seattle. And, very little texting or emails either! I am sure they are enjoying the space, neighborhood and Suzie's Mom. They head down here tomorrow -- long drive along the coast -- I think. I will do my "no rain" dance... I only do it when we really need sun shine in the Pacific Northwest!

Katie Just LOVES Her Cousin Abby!

Cousin Abby stopped by for a quick visit before driving back to her home in Southern California, after spending three weeks at Hedgebrook for a writer's retreat. Hedgebrook is a rural retreat on Whidbey Island where woman writers gather from all over the world to write, rejuvenate and be in community with each other. It's quite an accomplishment to be selected as a participant and we're so proud of our Abby!

Katie and I drove up to Seattle on Friday, March 20th, picked up my Mom at the airport the next day and we're planning to stay here for the majority of the week. It's Katie's Spring Break, so no school for her. Abby spent last night with us, which was a treat since we don't get to see her all that often.

We had a lazy morning, while we waited for the refrigerator repair man to arrive. After that was fixed, we ate lunch and took Abby to see Snoqualmie Falls. At about 4pm, she continued on her way. Katie was especially sad to see her go. From the moment Abby walked in the door yesterday, Katie was all over her! I think it's safe to assume she's looking forward to the next time we get together.

Hokies Out

Well, March Madness ended for the Hokies as the fell in round 2 of the NIT tournament today. They could not buy a basket. At least for me, still a little bit of excitement as I head back out today to watch the second round of the NCAA tournament here in Portland. We have a lot of folks who have attended three of the four schools playing today - University of Washington, Gonzaga & Western Kentucky! So, I am cheering for UofW in game 1 and Western Kentucky in game 2!

Had a great time on Thursday but boy was it a long day. I can't complain as I was sitting in a box suite. Today, much more manageable!

Another Interview with Katie

1. What is something Gina always says to you?

"Ouch", when I pull her hair.

2. What makes Gina happy?

When I wrap something in a box, with paper and ribbon and I let her open it up.

3. What makes Gina sad?

When I pinch her.

4. How does Gina make you laugh?

When she tickles me, and I laugh.

5. What was Gina like as a child?

She was funny.

6. How old is Gina?

29

7. How tall is Gina?

4 tall

8. What is Gina's favorite thing to do?

Her favorite thing is to play with me.

9. What does Gina do when you're not here?

She likes to run around the house. And she goes to work to get money and stuff.

10. If Gina becomes famous, what will it be for?

Earning lots of money.

11. What is Gina really good at?

She so good at earning money.

12. What is Gina not very good at?

She not really good at sewing.

13. What does Gina do for a job?

She does nice things.

14. What is Gina's favorite food?

Phish Food (Ben and Jerry's ice cream)

15. What makes you proud of Gina?

If she runs just like me, but faster than me.

16. If Gina were a cartoon character, who would she be?

Horton

17. What do you and Gina do together?

We do races.

18. How are you and Gina the same?

We both are going to the same place.

19. How are you and Gina different?

When we go to our rooms, but not the same room.

20. How do you know Gina loves you?

Because she says, I love you, to me.

21. What does Gina like most about your other Mommy?

When she gives her a present.

22. Where is Gina's favorite place to go?

Work.

Men's March Madness!

Wow! It has already started... Go HOKIES! While they didn't make it to the big dance, they got a #2 seed in the NIT tournament and won in double overtime to win the first game.

Tomorrow, I spend the day at the Rose Garden watching the four games set to play in Portland, OR for the NCAA tournament! We are taking clients and sharing a box suite with two other companies. Everyone is excited because it is the first time the tournament has been played in Portland and we got Washington and Gonzaga. Even though they are not Oregon schools, they are considered "local" favorites! Unfortunately, Portland State (located right here in the city) was sent to Idaho.

I've never been to the big dance and I don't think I have watched that much basketball at once, either! We head out at 10:00am and will more than likely get home at 10:00pm as I think we have the last tip off at 9:55 Eastern. And, that's not all... we head back on Saturday for the last two games!

I want upsets and close games!

Happy St. Patrick's Day

I picked up Katie today at school and here's how our conversation went driving home:

Me: Did you do anything for St. Patrick's Day at school today?

Katie: We had green milk for lunch. But, I didn't like it. My teacher finished it for me.

Me: Were you the only one who didn't like it?

Katie: No. Everyone at my table and even the kids at the other table didn't like it either.

Me: Well, why not? What did it taste like?

Katie: It tasted like poopy.

Me: What? Poopy? How do you know it tasted like poopy? Have you ever tasted poopy to even know what it tastes like?

Katie: Well, yes I have.

Me: No you haven't.

Katie: Yes, I have.

Me: Oh really, well when did you taste poopy?

Katie: Well, one time when you and Gina weren't home and it was just me there, a bad guy came in and he made me eat poopy.

Me: A bad guy, huh? Whose poopy did you eat? His, yours, or did he bring someone elses?

Katie: He made me eat his.

Me: So, how exactly did that work? Did he poop right there in front of you and hand you a piece?

Katie: Yep, and he made me taste pee, too.

Me: What did that taste like?

Katie: Pee.

Me: Hmm, ok. So, how did you finally get rid of this bad guy?

Katie: Oh, I killed him.

Me: Really? How did you do that?

Katie: Well, actually, I didn't kill him. I just chased him out of the house with a broom.

The Oregon Coast Aquarium

Today we felt like a road trip and Regina had heard good things about the Oregon Coast Aquarium in Newport, so we all buckled in and headed out. It was a rainy, yucky day, but we were able to forget about that during our visit to the aquarium. It was totally worthwhile.

Katie's Colorful Playdate

Today after school, I picked up Katie and took her over to her friend's house to play for a while. She was excited to also eat dinner at her friend's house, because that's what big girls do.

After I dropped her off, I drove over to pick up Regina at her office and we went shopping for a portable gas grill. Regina had done some research online and found one she liked, made by Coleman. Living in this apartment, we really miss being able to grill meats for dinner, so Regina thought we should buy a portable model for while we're in the apartment and later we can use it when we go camping. We found the one we wanted and bought it. At that point, it wasn't yet time to pick Katie up, so we went out to dinner, all by ourselves! What a treat!

After dinner, we picked up Katie and discovered that she and her best buddy had drawn all over themselves with red magic marker! Oh my goodness, they got it everywhere, and I mean EVERYWHERE - you know what I mean. Crazy girls.

After laughing about it and taking pictures, it was time to get serious about cleaning it off. Regina put her in the shower and began the process of scrubbing it off. She wasn't having much success and asked me to look online for solutions. Of course, every parent has a "magic marker" story, so google turned up numerous suggestions for the most effective method of removing magic marker from skin. Each person swore that their solution removed it like magic, although we failed to have the same magical results! We tried bath soap, dish soap, olive oil, sunscreen, toothpaste and A&D ointment. It was also suggested we should try baby wipes, alcohol and makeup remover but we didn't have any of those in the house. Actually though, we think the toothpaste worked the best out of all the things we did try.

Now she's ready for bed, minty fresh and with only the slightest evidence that just a couple of hours ago she was pretty messed up.

An Interview with Katie

1. What is something mom always says to you?

She always says to "go potty" when we leave.

2. What makes mom happy?

If the key been broken and we called someone to fix it, and then we screwed it back together, put it in a box, and gave it to Mom, then she would open it up and hug me. Then we would tell Gina about it.

3. What makes mom sad?

When you hit her and then stick your tongue out.

4. How does your mom make you laugh?

When she tickles you, and then you laugh.

5. What was your mom like as a child?

Sweet.

6. How old is your mom?

Five

7. How tall is your mom?

A hundred ninety tall.

8. What is her favorite thing to do?

To take pictures of me.

9. What does your mom do when you're not here?

She works.

10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for?

For a rocking show.

11. What is your mom really good at?

Getting me dressed into clothes.

12. What is your mom not very good at?

Not really good at climbing houses.

13. What does your mom do for a job?

She help Gina sometimes.

14. What is your mom's favorite food?

Ice cream.

15. What makes you proud of your mom?

If she gives me a stuffed animal, like a teddy bear, and wraps it in a box, gives it to me and I open it up.

16. If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be?

Mickey Mouse.

17. What do you and your mom do together?

We go to the park together. The one that has the dinosaur bone.

18. How are you and your mom the same?

We both wear jewelry.

19. How are you and your mom different?

We don't wear the same clothes.

20. How do you know your mom loves you?

Because she loves on me.

21. What does your mom like most about your other Mom?

Her curly hair.

22. Where is your mom's favorite place to go?

To Disneyland.

Katie Portrait

We went to downtown Portland today to check out the Portland Saturday Market. It wasn't quite what we'd hoped it would be, so we didn't stay long. I did however, find a brick wall I liked and had Katie stand in front of it for an casual portrait. And here it is...

Extreme Spring Forward

While we were busy advancing our clocks one HOUR last night, Katie seems to have advanced hers by about 10 YEARS! Our little "teenager" has either outgrown most of her clothes, or she has holes and stains in the knees, so we went shopping yesterday for her. At Old Navy she picked out these low-rise jeans with a belt (which she loves - she always pulled her pants down below her waist anyway...) and a cool cat t-shirt. Her white leather shoes are new too and you can't tell in this picture, but they are Mary Janes. She needed something other than dirty sneakers to wear when she dresses up.

This Little Piggy Went to Market

And we'll be hollering "Yay, yay, yay, all the way to closing!" With any luck. Hmm, we'll see.

Yes, the house is going on the market today. I've been preparing the house for the last couple of days and then tonight I'll drive back to Portland.

Last year when we tried to sell, our realtor staged the house, which is something we've never done before. After seeing what she did, we realized we loved how it looked. So this time, we staged it again, but on our own. I thought I'd share a couple of pictures of what we did.

In the foyer, we never could figure out what to do with this space. When our realtor staged the house last spring, she put a small table with a lamp and artificial flower against the wall. So, we figured we would just do that again. But, last week we were browsing a furniture store in Portland and saw this combination of two chairs and table which immediately seemed like the perfect thing to put in the foyer. And, to make it even more fun, it was all marked way down and in Oregon we don't pay sales tax!

This is the kitchen table all set up.

And here is a closeup of the setting. We already had the gold chargers. The plates, napkins, and napkin rings all came from the clearance shelf at Pier One. I absolutely love these plates and loved them even more when I realized they were marked down 75%.

This is what we did with the dining room table.

And here is a closeup of the setting. We already had the white plate, but bought everything else at Pottery Barn at about 80% off. Well, not the napkin rings. Unfortunately, they are new this season so we paid full price. But, I loved them and really, really needed them. The placemats were a steal because they were considered Christmas merchandise. If you look closely, you can see a pattern on the surface. It is made of gold seed beads sewn on. Really gorgeous.

Okay well, I have a little bit of cleaning left to do before I start my drive back to Portland. Gotta go...