Day 149: Memorial Day Hike

We spent a wonderful Memorial Day at Oxbow Park with dear friends. We had an exciting game of soccer and then went for a four mile hike, which included an off-the-map- detour which was also exciting. The forest was beautiful and the kids were troopers. Here are some of them, charging ahead, close to the end of our walk.

Day 148: Evening hike

I committed one of the cardinal sins of photography today: I brought the spare battery with me for our hike - and then left it in the car. This is one of two photos I took at the beginning of our family walk before the battery died.

Day 147: Ordinations

We had two ordinations at our church today and wonderful photos were taken at the service - but not by me. I was in charge of childcare during the service and I entrusted the camera to Johnny. He did a marvelous job and this was just about the only photo I took, before the service began.

Day 146: Strawberry galette

An incredibly busy day, but I did manage to make chocolate lava cakes and a strawberry galette for a friend's daughter's birthday party.

Day 145: Planting beans

Noah was a huge help in the garden today!

Day 144: Planting tomatoes

I miss having babies and toddlers about the house but it really is pretty awesome to have kids who love to help in the garden!

Day 143: Rhododendron

Good thing I took this photo today - the only other pictures I took were of the huge rat that we discovered pottering about outside our back door in broad daylight - ugh!

Day 142: Math project

There were two pages of requirements for this math project of Daniel's - to his delight, he was given the option of creating this map using his beloved lego.

Day 141: My walking buddies

To my great regret, I have had to take a break from running, since finding that my knees and calves really were not happy. So instead of running three mornings a week, I have been making an extra effort to take a long and brisk walk every evening. Here are my walking companions - spending half an hour just with Johnny each day is an additional benefit. We have the best conversations!

Day 140: Triple Falls

The boys' last soccer game of the spring season was this noon, an hour away east in the Columbia Gorge. Johnny, Daniel and I enjoyed the breathtaking drive out there along the river and, on the way back, after a hard-fought game, stopped for a hike. Our goal was to see a waterfall we have not yet visited and it was well worth the two mile uphill climb.

Day 139: Profits

The book fair is over and seems to have been a great success. Here are just some of the books we were able to "buy" for our school with the profit we made. My hope is that these books will be given to students who really need reading material for the long summer break and who may not have the means to purchase them themselves.

Day 138: Book Fair

My friend Allison took this picture back in February at our elementary school book fair. I have spent this week running our middle school book fair and if I had any doubt these sons of mine shared their passion for reading, here is proof. Johnny WAS helping at the book fair, but whenever there was a lull, he would grab a book, sit on the floor and read...

Day 137: Harvest

Remember this? And this? Now we are benefiting from the fruit of our labors - Anna and Noah pick us a beautiful bowl of salad leaves every evening for dinner.

Day 136: Last track meet of the season

Johnny's last sixth grade track meet - I am so proud of how hard he has worked in shot put, hurdles and distance.

Day 135: Gifts

Just a selection of some of the wonderful and thoughtful gifts I was given for Mothers' Day: lovely soaps, a handpainted tile and the New Testament in Latin. The boys also planted me a herb garden; Anna gave me a cookery book written by her class; Noah gave me a t-shirt with his hand prints painted on it and David bought me a new crock pot - I feel very loved...

Day 134: Mother's Day Brunch

We have an annual Mothers' Day Brunch at church which is prepared by the men for the benefit of the women - this year, the young men were especially hard at work chopping up fruit and this mother, for one, felt very appreciated.

Day 133: In memory

Today I was asked to take photos before and after the memorial of a dear friend's mother. The service was  beautiful: honoring to the selfless life of a wonderful woman and glorifying to God.

Day 132: We are UPSET (Underfunded Parents, Students and Educators Together)

The kids and I went downtown after school for a march and rally to protest state funding cuts to education in Oregon. The weather was gorgeous, the kids had fun and I felt we were participating in something really worthwhile.

Day 131: Tryon Creek State Park

It is always a treat to be asked to chaperone a field trip. Today I went with Daniel's class to a state park for a guided nature hike with a very knowledgeable guide. The trees were very tall and very beautiful and my group (ten 4th and 5th grade boys with a lot of energy) had a great time.

Day 130: More teacher appreciation

Another week, another teacher appreciation lunch. This time I was in charge of the lunch at the elementary school. We ordered a wonderful catered "Fajita Fiesta" which was thoroughly enjoyed by the phenomenal teachers at our school - we hope they felt as appreciated as they truly are.

Day 129: Swimming lesson

These kids do love their swimming lessons! It helps that they have terrific teachers - we have been especially fortunate in Daniel's teachers who work extra hard to help him, since he can't wear his hearing aids in the pool and consequently hears nothing while swimming.

Day 128: Lilacs

Day 127: Tending the fire

Day 126: In goal

Johnny and Daniel have been playing spring soccer since the beginning of March but, for some reason, I haven't had a picture of them on this blog. The big change this season is that Johnny has become the principal goalkeeper for his team. He has been doing really well and made some terrific saves!

Day 125: At last!

Anna has had a wobbly tooth for a long time now so she was thrilled that it fell out today - the first of her baby teeth to be lost!

Day 124: Sprinting for the finish

Another track meet at Parkrose High School and a remarkable burst of speed at the end of the 1500 m race.

Day 123: Teacher Appreciation Lunch

Thankfully the teachers' strike was averted, but this has certainly been a tough year for the wonderful and hardworking teachers of our school district. It was a great pleasure to put on a lunch for the Middle School staff in appreciation of everything they do for our kids.

Day 122: Our piano man

Daniel played at a "National Federation of Music Clubs" music festival today and received the highest rating for his performance. No cameras were allowed during his class but I took this picture while he was practicing this morning.

Day 121: Learning to read

Looks as though we are six for six as a family of book lovers. Noah is learning to read and loves poring over books by himself as much as he enjoys reading with one of us.