Union Station

Emmi got to come along with my preschool class to Union Station for a tour of the train station. She loves to be part of my class.


Hee, hee, hee... the toilet is in the shower!

Spring Kindergarten Program

Stefan performed on Wednesday morning with his Kindergarten class. They acted out "The Little Red Hen" where Stefan was a dog. They also sang a few very cute songs about Moms, Dads and restaurants. Here are a few pictures...

Whaaaat?

So, I turn on the morning news and hear that Ridgefield School District will be 2 hours late today because of Vandalism. I think... no, not our little school district; but I have to stay tuned to find out more. After a few commercials, I find out that someone let the air out of all of the bus tires and they have to refill all of them. So, Joey is thrilled, Stefan is still in bed (and doesn't have school today) and I will have to rush around when I finally get to school. Oh well.

Roller Skating

I've never before taken the kids roller skating until yesterday. We met our friends, The Hills for a fun afternoon. By the end, everyone was happy and can't wait to do it again. We skated at Oaks Park, which has the oldest wooden floor skating rink. With a pipe organ with a real human playing it. Very cool!

A very tired little girl.

Play, play, play

A few pictures of the kids playing at the baseball field.

What does your handwriting say about you?

What does your handwriting say about YOU?

The results of your analysis say:

You plan ahead, and are interested in beauty, design, outward appearance, and symmetry.
You are a shy, idealistic person who does not find it easy to have relationships, especially intimate ones.
You are affectionate, passionate, expressive, and future-oriented.
You are a talkative person, maybe even a busybody!
You enjoy life in your own way and do not depend on the opinions of others.

Road Trip

Here we go... the three kids and I bound for Tacoma to watch the state Softball Tournament. Wish us well. I'm leaving the dogs behind; I'm just not sure what to expect. The kids are VERY excited. I was up at 6a and Joey was already up and going.

Edited: Unfortunately, The Lady Thunder lost the first game which meant the best they could place would be third. They were determined to make that happen. They played the second game without jitters. They had fun, talked each other through the game and won (which we watched). It was an awesome game. The boys watched without making a move. They played a third game that night (we didn't stay as it was getting late). They lost 1-0; which meant that their journey was complete. They were sad and disappointed. They triumphed as they made back-to-back state appearances; which hadn't happened for Mt. View before. Two of the three seniors will go on to play at the collegiate level. The pitcher (and one of Lesley's best friends) will play for Portland State, Lesley is headed to Utah as a short stop.


Lesley, playing shortstop.
The boys were incredible. They watched not only Lesley's game, but we had time to kill between games, so we watched another game (people we didn't know) and they sat through it and loved it.

Emmi with Auntie Lesley.


Emmi with her new t-shirt. She really wants to start playing "sports" now.

I love them!

Emmi declares about Oma & Tante! She thinks that you should see Molly and Jeep. They got their hair shaved... they are so soft AND they smell good. Their dog friend, Cassie, went with them to the dog groomer. Cassie is a sheep dog... Just imagine the scene. Three kids and three big dogs piled into the suburban... oh, three excited/nervous dogs. What a sight!

Photos by Joey (both pictures are Jeep).

Look at my baby sister...

Lesley's softball team, The Lady Thunder from Mountain View High school will be playing for the state championship this weekend. Last year they placed 2nd, after being defeated in the final game. The local paper, The Columbian, did a story on the team and little Lesley made the front page! Very exciting.

Click on her underlined name to go directly to the article and her picture! On the website, her picture is to the right of the article.

Baseball Fun

Above picture sequence is Stefan on 2nd base. He was pretending to pitch the ball as the other coach pitched to his team. The pictures don't do the "cuteness" of it justice. I was giggling with delight.

The boys had a game last night. They played 4 innings (which is a lot at this level). They are both improving with their hitting and fielding. Auntie Deena and Uncle Raj came to watch... I'm pretty sure that they were entertained.


Here is Joey in Right Field... waiting. He did a good job fielding the ball.


Miss Em... playing with her new friend. They played through the entire game. Emmi's friend is Hawaiian and beautiful. They are the same age and Emmi is a "head" taller than her. She better get used to it:)

A gorgeous weekend and no photos!

We had a gorgeous, hot weekend and I didn't take the camera out, not once! The Edgefield was great. We walked the grounds, enjoyed the scenery and ate dinner at the Black Rabbit. It is one of the restaurants on sight. It was very good. The kids stayed with Auntie Allie. They were tired as they had already had a super soaker fight. We're missing on soaker, so Emmi got the hose. Lucky girl.

Sunday was low key... a few errands for Em and I. Joe and the boys played every sport after Joe cut the grass. We then headed to a friends birthday party. Everyone enjoyed themselves.

Now, we begin another week. You don't even want to see the schedule, it will make you cringe. Just throw in two early release days to send my world spinning! Oh, we'll make it and it will be fun and usual.

11 years married, 14 years together....

Joe and I have now been married for 11 years. Can you even believe it? Crazy... crazy good. We have a sitter coming this evening and since it is such a beautiful day I think that we will drive to Gresham to the Edgefield

We love to walk the property, sample wine and talk. It should be a nice evening.

Hhhhhot!

Well we reached 96 degrees yesterday! Whew... it was a hot one. Joey got one of his headaches at school, so I brought him home early. He took his medicine and slept for an hour and announced that he was fine.

The boys had a baseball game in the heat. Joe was adamant that he was going to play, so he did. They stayed hydrated, and played well. Joe pitched for 2/3 of the game. We've hit the half way mark in the season so it is now the "three strikes and your out" rule. Before they got 6 pitches and then could hit off the tee. Stefan was unable to get a hit, but tapped it a few times for a foal. Joey hit well; especially off of his dad. They had a great time. Emmi stayed in the shade and found a new little friend to play with.

After the game we headed to Papa Pete's for pizza with the Nesbitts and a few other friends to celebrate Nicollette's 12 birthday. I forgot my camera, so no pictures. But we all had a great time.

We're just back from swim lessons and (drum roll please....) Emmi swam on her own! She is so excited, as are Joe and I...

Ear Trouble

Poor Stefan woke in the middle of the night sobbing about his ear. I knew immediately that he must have an ear infection, but there isn't much one can do at 1:30am. So, I gave him 1/2 of an ibuprofen (which he can swallow... you know what a mile stone that is) and held him for 15 minutes so he could calm down and let the medicine kick in. Then it was back to bed for him.

Off to the Doctor this morning and I mention that he complained of his throat hurting. They sent him to the lab for a strep test. None of my kids have ever had this done (amazing since I had them done frequently as a child.) He gagged and cried and I promised him a milkshake. Then back into the office, where they confirmed the ear infection. Doctor thinks it has everything to do with how back allergies are this year. So, he spent the afternoon with Daddy. I made it to work with only 5 minutes to spare. What a day.

In all of the middle of the night excitement, the tooth fairy forgot to come. Yes, Stefan lost another tooth. That is three teeth in 1 week. This one is from the bottom. Maybe the tooth fairy will have better luck tonight!

Almost 12

This is Nic... at least4, but I think 5 years ago with Joey at the Oregon Zoo. She will be 12 this week. What a lovely young lady she is growing into. I lived with her parents when she was born. I remember trying to sleep with the telephone propped on my chest, waiting in anticipation for the call. She is now ready to babysit for us... hard to believe.

Tea...

The preschool celebrated Mother's Day with their customary tea. The kids create all of the decorations, gifts, much of the food and sing a few songs about Moms and Grandmas. Here a couple of pictures of Emmi this year... Yeah! she sang :)

See that cute little boy by Emmi? Do you think he likes her? They are friends. Her "other" boyfriend is the red head... you can only see the top of his head.

I'm a little flower, short and sweet. I love my Mommy today is my treat. Someday when I grow up I hope you'll say that you have always remembered this day.

Skidamarink a dinkadink, Skidamarink a doo. I love you. I love you in the morning and in the afternoon. I love you in the evening and underneath the moon. Skidamarink a dinkadink, Skidamarink a doo. I love you.

She was able to serve all of the food to us without spilling! She has talent.

Happy Mother's Day!

After a very leisure morning, we headed to Jeff & Cheryl's for playing and dinner. Grilled steaks, baked potatoes and salad... don't forget the dessert... all was delicious. We then headed outside to brush horses, ride horses and bat. All of the kids loved riding. Check out Stefan's toothless grin! I'll post pictures of the boys' batting, but I need to clean them up a bit. For now, here is a picture of the big guy taking a swing... carefully swinging... watch your back. He found his groove and the balls went sailing!

New Project

Edited to add: This new garden area will house vegetables. In the bricks along the back (oh, I guess I need to take another picture) I am transplanting some strawberries. I also have zucchini, tomatoes, cucumber, and green peppers. I'm looking forward to adding lettuce, cilantro, basil and Italian parsley.
I decided I was ready for a new, sunny garden spot. I took out the trusty hose and decided on the shape (with Joe's help) and began to dig. The digging only took about an hour, but it was a lot of work. I headed to Home Depot to get the bricks for the edge and called to have sand and dirt delivered to the house. The sand and dirt arrived before I'd finished with the edging. The kids helped with the sand, with most of it headed to the sand box.

I'll post the final pictures as soon as I take them.

Joey's Photos

Joey got his first digital camera for his birthday from Auntie Allie. Now that I think about it... I got my first camera (film camera with a HUGE flash) for my 8th birthday. He's had a lot of fun taking pictures. He's learned that if you delete the pictures, because you're out of space that you loose those pictures. Here are a few of his photos...

Whew... what a week!

Somehow, I think that I've said that before! It is all fun, but boy was I excited for a Friday with NOTHING on the schedule. Oh, there were things that I wanted to do... but I didn't! I was rebellious. Joey headed off to school. Stefan slept until after 9a. Then he and Emmi just chilled. I made massive phone calls... fall soccer, fall soccer coach, summer soccer for Emmi, Sand/Dirt delivery, whew. Then Joe called... we decided to meet for lunch. The four of us had lunch at the Bamboo Hut... it's healthy Asian cuisine. Stefan had fried rice w/ yummy chicken. Emmi shared my rice noodles and chicken and Joe had another type of noodle and chicken.

Joe headed home and the kids and I wandered across the parking lot to the library. We gathered our books and headed to the bank and then to the Goodwill drop off truck. Next stop the video store... Joey really wants to see Indiana Jones. They didn't have the first one, so instead we rented Flushed Away, again. Finally, home (we were only gone for 1 1/2 hours).

Joe was asleep on the couch. Emmi and Stefan snuggled in to watch their movie and I headed to my bedroom to watch a movie, but instead slept. I had a ton of stuff I should have done, but that nap had to be the best ever. It felt so good. I putzed around the garage for awhile, got Joey from the bus, helped make dinner and the boys headed off to baseball practice. What to do... cut the grass. It was long and little damp, so it took awhile. Then I edged. Emmi played happily in the sandbox.

What a day... tomorrow brings swim lessons, baseball pictures and a baseball game. Then I get to build a new planter bed. The Yard store delivers my sand and dirt on Sunday. I think I'm in for a little work!