Day 86: Packing...

We're off to San Francisco tomorrow to celebrate David's brother's wedding - we are so excited! We're also looking forward to an extended family reunion. I haven't been well today (sore throat, headache) but have been cleaning the house for our lovely friend who is dog-sitting for us and trying to get packed so we can make an early start. It will be a twelve hour drive...

I don't know if I will be able to post while we are away, but I'll be taking pictures so there will be a bumper update sometime next week!

Day 85: Spring soccer training

The boys have played soccer every fall for a number of years now but this is the first season we have signed up for spring soccer. We went up to Vancouver, WA for some extra training this morning and it didn't rain as much as was forecast - hooray!

Day 84: Finished at last!

Remember this? Yeah! I finally finished it today, just in time for Noah to wear it to his friend's pirate-themed birthday party. He was so pleased...

Day 83: Blossom

There are so many gorgeous trees in bloom right now and I have been determined to get a picture of one of them. This was taken in the Target parking lot while we were running errands this afternoon.

Day 82: Best lemon cake. Ever.

Maybe the best cake ever. Great job, Johnny!

Day 81: Wildwood Trail

We are trying to get a good balance of work and play this Spring Break. The children and I spent the morning spring cleaning and the afternoon hiking at Hoyt Arboretum. It was beautiful, but we all agreed that we should go back in a couple of weeks when the trees are in blossom.

Day 80: Snow-covered lake on the first day of spring

I went for another snow hike today, this time with some of the wonderful girls from church. This picture is of Trillium Lake, in which we love to swim in the summer. Today, we probably could have walked across it on the ice. On a clear day, the summit of Mt Hood is right there, at the far end of the lake.

Day 79: Putting on a play

The kids invited David and me to a play this afternoon that they had been rehearsing with their stuffed animals. They told us that the play was called "Panda and the Dragon", but Daniel quickly added that the story was a retelling of the Greek myth: "Bellerophon, Pegasus and the Chimaera". In the scene above, Panda is informing the King (Lemur) that he has slain the dragon and is entitled to marry the princess.

Day 78: Air Hockey

I actually had quite a few photos to choose from today: the boys and I built one of two raised beds for vegetables that my parents bought for us and I have a nice pictures of Johnny carrying lumber; I also got a reasonable shot of the "super-moon" tonight, but really needed a tripod. Anyway, I took our middle school youth group to the nickel arcade this afternoon - close to my idea of hell, but the kids had a wonderful time. The highlight for me was playing air hockey with my friend Danika - great fun for four nickels.

Day 77: No school today!

Today was the first day of Spring Break and what better way to spend it than having friends over and dressing up as princesses (and a fire fighter)!

Day 76: My own pot of gold

There were some fabulous rainbows around here this St Patrick's Day but I did not capture them for my blog as I had hoped - I was either driving or didn't have my camera when they appeared. So here is the nearest we have in our house to a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow: my jewelry box. I really don't wear much jewelry at all but the things in here were all gifts and have sentimental value: my first cross; some of the wild earrings I used to wear in my early teenage years; my music badge from school; the nurse's watch I used to wear when I was a nursing auxiliary during my college vacations. Anna loves to go through this collection and never fails to remind me that all this shall be hers when I die. Although she would love a sister, she does regard the inheritance of my jewelry, clothes and even make-up as being the biggest benefit of being the only daughter. I am flattered that she thinks so highly of my things!

Day 75: Ballet performance

At the end of each term, Anna's ballet class puts on a performance for parents and friends. This sequence was set to some beautiful music that brought tears to my eyes. I also feel a little emotional because Anna is going to switch from ballet to gymnastics after Spring Break next week. It is not as though I had imagined she would do ballet forever (although, of course, she could always come back to it) but I sense that this may be the end of the road for Anna as far as ballet is concerned. It has been a very enjoyable activity for her for the last three years and I am thankful for her wonderful teacher, the lovely Miss Erika.

Day 74: Oregon Spring

I DID take this yesterday, March 15th, (although I could have taken it today - the view is exactly the same) but didn't post it because our internet went out at 10.30 pm and has just come back on (18 hours later). Oh my goodness, I felt as though my right arm had been cut off! I am WAY too dependent on the internet! March 15th was the fifteenth anniversary of the day David proposed to me and we were reflecting on the fact that, back then, neither of us had an email address! Anyway, it poured with rain yesterday as this picture shows, but if you look closely, you can see my daffodils are blooming - a pretty typical Oregon spring day.

Day 73: Monday morning walk

Most Monday mornings Noah, Tilly and I go for a walk with my friend Erin, her two daughters and their labrador. Noah wanted to hold the leash today - but the risk of Tilly seeing a cat is always pretty high and she needs to be held quite tightly.

Day 72: Book report

Johnny's book report is due tomorrow and, believe it or not, this curious creature features in the report. As part of his presentation, Johnny has to produce five 3D objects that appear in the story. Daniel was extremely helpful - those two are a good team!

Day 71: My campaigning companion

So today I had a brand new life experience: canvassing door-to-door, informing people about the school bond measure and encouraging them to vote yes. I can hardly begin to describe how greatly I dreaded this task. It is so odd to me that I am completely comfortable standing up to speak in front of large groups but the thought of walking up to a stranger's door and knocking has literally given me nightmares. So I took Johnny along with me and couldn't have asked for a better partner. He held the umbrella (it was POURING with rain), handed me leaflets at the right moment, fed me trail mix and remained cheerful throughout, even when it got so cold that I could hardly hold my pen, and so wet that my papers started disintegrating and our socks and shoes were sodden. He was wonderful - and it was a great civics lesson for him, which led to a great discussion about democracy and government over lunch. And the canvassing really wasn't too bad - most people didn't answer the door, but I had some good conversations, a couple with people wildly enthusiastic for the bond, and only got the door slammed in my face once. I don't think I'll have any more nightmares...

Day 70: The joy of Costco

Another annoyingly busy day but at least we had time to stop for some frozen yogurt at Costco.

Day 69: Yes for Parkrose

I am currently involved in a political campaign to pass a bond measure that will build a much needed new middle school for our district. This whole experience is completely outside of my comfort zone but I am hoping my contribution will help the bond pass!

Day 68: Ash Wednesday

You can barely see the ashes on their foreheads but Johnny and Anna went with David to the Ash Wednesday service this evening. I really like the discipline of Lent but I still haven't decided whether to give something up this year...

Day 67: Walking home from preschool

We had a chaotic morning before school today and Noah couldn't find his backpack, so he cheerfully grabbed Anna's old Dora backpack. This guy is man enough to take a pink Dora bag to school and to wheel it all the way home.

Day 66: Driveway Art

I think Daniel, Anna and Noah all contributed to this art project today.

Day 65: Any day now!

Spring is just around the corner...

Day 64: Chocolate covered strawberries

I made forty-five of these today for a birthday party, but, oh, how I wish I could keep them all to myself... (well, maybe not the white chocolate ones).

Day 63: Waiting to fill up

This picture does not begin to convey how many cars were lining up for gas at Costco today. But I guess we were all happy to wait since gas is still 25¢ per gallon cheaper here than anywhere else. I had three kids in the back of the car, we weren't in a desperate hurry, and we were listening to ABBA, so it was all quite enjoyable.

Day 62: What a great book!

It was Book Club this evening and it was my turn this month to pick the book. I chose "The Book Thief", given to me a couple of years ago by my dear friend Lizzy, and I was relieved that my fellow readers, in general, liked it as much as I did. I had the distinction of owning the British version of the novel - the general consensus was that the British cover is better than the US one. I really enjoy our Book Club - a wonderful group of ladies and such great conversations: deep, honest thoughts and lots of laughter.

Day 61: My hair

This post should ABSOLUTELY not be about my hair. It has been a busy fun-filled day - in order:  my eighth graders did a fantastic job reading to the kindergartners this morning; Noah and I had an enjoyable trip to the store and a great discussion about whether bears live on the moon; my sixth graders and I had a lovely Greek feast (pita bread, olives, feta cheese and baklava) after lunch to celebrate the start of our study of Ancient Greece; my own kids had piano, ballet and soccer this afternoon; their school had a wonderful book fair and Authors' Night this evening at which I got to read aloud fairy tales to a delightful audience; I led a Bible study on Romans 2, had a great discussion about sin and laughed harder than I have for weeks; and I made a late night run to Burgerville with a friend. ANY of these things could have resulted in a great photo - but I failed to have my camera with me all day. So it is five minutes before midnight and I have taken a picture of my new hair clip - because I am very excited that my hair is getting long again. Anyone who has known me for any length of time knows that I am never satisfied with my hair and am always either growing it longer or planning to cut it short. For everyone's sakes, I must take the camera out and about with me tomorrow...

Day 60: Making progress

Slowly. Remember this? I just want to get it done... lots of other projects lining up!