Day 1 - Honolulu

Woke up early this morning to make our flight to Hawaii. A long layover in Honolulu allowed us to spend the afternoon at Pearl Harbor. Wow!!



The names of those who died that day.


The memorial is built directly above where the USS Arizona still lays today. Of the 21 ships destroyed that day only 3 of them never returned to service.


Gray enjoying his turn on top of the USS Bowfin submarine.


Of course Sean couldn't resist touching.


So many shiny knobs, buttons and thingy-ma-bobbers I wanted to touch and take pictures of.

What an amazing piece of American History that I ashamed I didn't know more about.

Argyle Friday

Stephens Margolin's first argyle Friday.

Too cool

Sean's latest addition to his argyle collection and on his way to his first Diwali party. All on a Saturday night.

Twilight

Tonight we are enjoying a candlelit dinner by a Grayson original.

Tacos!

Since I am a super lame mom I'm using another photo from my friend Gretchen. She took great photos of our kids on Halloween. Here's a picture of Bryn and her good friend Morgynn.

Bryn's costume may warrant a little explanation. She is Gir from Invader Zim in his dog costume. So basically her costume is a cartoon character's costume. My head was spinning when I was told by Bryn that she wanted me to make her Gir costume. Despite my reservations it worked out perfect. Hunter's old neon sweatshirt was the perfect base. We took the zipper off and sewed up the front and then added the felt pieces. She can even where it as a sweatshirt now that Halloween is over. The girl has vision.

Caaaaannnnndddyyyyy

zombie #1. the picture is by our good friend gretchen.

Braaaiiiinnnnnssss

zombie no. 2

The Rabbit and The Fox

Bunny and Foxy.

Tower power

Hunter's Wednesday Dixie Cup project.

Kickin It

Picked up these new kicks last week. Tried them out last Thursday and it hurt so bad. Did I really run a marathon a few years ago? Looking forward to another attempt tomorrow. My buddies Nirvana and Shakira are coming along for the ride.

Bill Clinton

President night at Cedar Lodge. Hunter pulled of Bill Clinton but the accent could use a little work. Hunter's favorite fact was that Bill likes fast food. He's also up to date on the whole Monica situation.


The evening was incredibly fascinating. So many presidents I knew nothing about. McKinley was the biggest surprise for me.

Silly bands

Oh silly bandz..... Oh silly bands.... How I despise you silly bands. Consuming my life. Oh the conversations I've had with my children about the economics surrounding you or how so and so has the Halloween glow-in-the-dark 24 pack. I now use you as bribes and incentives. I know.. I know... I'm such a bad mom for not hunting down the desired silly bandz pack of the week. The one glimmer of hope is that in 20 years my children will be having a generational conversation with others of like age and they will reminisce over the perfect silly bandz trade they made in 4th grade. The black penguin for the purple pixie. A perfect score. So, I've heard.

Beautiful September

Not too many of these afternoons left. I'm finding myself cherishing every second of this amazing autumn weather and at the same time dreading the moment we realize it's all over until next year.

Girl Scouts

Last few moments as a brownie.



Officially a Girl Scout.

Cooking with Laura

Bryn's school library pick this week. She's been waiting months for this book. It's a highly coveted book among her classmates. What to make first?

Amazing Days

What an amazing summer. We used every drop of it. Sad to see it end but enjoying getting into a back to school routine. Sean and I survived middle school orientation. Hunter is thrilled to be at Mt. Tabor. Bryn and Gray are just going with the flow.

Surprise Ball

Surprise balls are way too cool. I found this one on etsy for Bryn's birthday. It was a blast to see all the treasures hidden inside. I'm contastly looking for items to try and make one sometime soon.

Birthday girl

List of Birthday 9 Love for Bryn...

...that ice skating is her new passion.

...that instead of a birthday party she wanted time with her grandparents.

...that for her birthday she asked for Oregon Humane donations instead of presents.

...that she's growing her hair out for Locks of Love.

...that she's asking to get her ears pierced.

...that she can't decide if she wants to play the guitar or drums.

...that she tries to get her little brother to play school with her.

...that she loves her puppy (a little too much).

...that she will still cuddled with her mom and dad even though she's nine.

Happy Birthday Bryn.

Reading nook

I'm head over heels for white. New reading nook in the living room. It's right where the full length mirror used to be so quite often I glance at the wall of books for outfit approval.

Color

When we bought our house 8 years ago all I wanted was color color color. I wanted each room a different color. Flash forward and all I can think about is neutrals. Soft whites, cream and maybe a little latte. While Sean and Hunter are in Japan I'm taking a giant step and painting the living room. I've struggled with the color and the final was not among the initials ones chosen. It will be a surprise.

Goodbye spring

We spent last weekend basking in the shine, playing ping pong, and saying hello to garden surprises.

Good-bye spring I will really really miss you this year. But sister summer is calling my name.

The Uniform

In my Oregon rain induced funk I've been wearing my uniform of jeggings, Nike sweatshirt, and boots (or black converse). I actually had an event to attend last night and afterwards realized I wore my grey wool dress. June!!! I wore my grey wool dress in June!!! Looking forward to sunnier days.

Book Buddies

Perfect Oregon rainy day for the 5th grade / Kindergarten zoo field trip.



Ellison, Grayson and Nathan



Johnathan, Leo and Hunter

Genius

Don't you just love those moments when you have a stroke of genius? Well they might not come as often as I'd like but when they do I take full advantage of them.


Since organizing the markers, sharpies and colored pencils by color I haven't had one marker pile problem. With an 8 year old artist living in my house it was driving me crazy. There is something theraputic about keeping them all color organized.



The real spark of genius is Math Bath. Bryn can drag out doing her 12 problem math homework for a very very long time. On Math Bath nights it's amazing how fast it gets done and without any help or tears from mom.

I'd love to know of other mommy genius ideas.

Black sky

Driving the kids to school today there were blue skies in front of us and.....





a dark omnious sky lurking out the side window.

Only in Oregon.

An update on Bryn's latest spelling word sentence created for this week's homework. She used 8 out of 20 spelling words and all 5 challenge words.

"A circus character looked at an Oregon cardinal that was afraid of a particular paper dinosaur."

Manic Monday

Sorry kids for posting this pic but had to capture. This was on Monday at 4:15pm. I have a feeling it's going to be "that kind" of week.

p.s. In the back of the car is a small rocking chair with a simple rosette on the back. It's from my great grandmother Flora (we called her Nonna). After 10 years I'm finally repairing the caning in the seat.

What a day

Every morning Sean asks me, "What's on your list today?" In the evening he asks me "What did you do today?" The surly high schooler comes out in me and can only respond with a grumble and a "things" response. Like when your parents would ask, "how was your day as school?" The truth is I'm not that interested in talking about the vet appointment, driving to pick up kids from school and forcing the kids to do their homework. I feel bad for Sean because I think he's generally interested.

Wednesday, April 14th

6:30am - Wake-up

6:45am to 7:45 - Kids dressed and fed, don't forget teeth and hair, dogs out and fed and I got dressed as well somewhere in there.

8:05 - Kids dropped off

8:15 - Wash and vacuum out car

9:15 - Tennis with Mary and Maya

10:30 - Deal with ONK issue

11:00 - Home, take dogs out, check and respond to emails.

12:00 - Shiloh vet appointment

12:30 - Home, clean kitchen, straighten house, shower and dressed, get snacks and soccer gear together

2:00 - Leave to pick up kids

2:15 - Get Bryn and Grayson, make sure Hunter knows that Mary is taking him home after 5th grade performance practice.

2:30 - Drive across town for Bryn's appointment.

3:00 - Fred Meyer for groceries. Forgot paper towels, garbage bags, milk and vanilla ice cream.

3:50 - Pick up Bryn

4:00 - Drive across town for soccer practice

4:15 to 4:20- On the cell phone with US Bank for ONK, waking Grayson up from the car ride, getting Grayson's soccer shorts and shoes on and running to get to practice on time.

4:30 - Handed another piece of ONK news. ugh.

5:30 - Home

5:45 - Make dinner, straighten, kid homework.

7:00 - Read with kids

7:45 - Bath time

8:15 - Check end of day email

8:30 - Kids in bed

9:00 - Fall asleep

...and repeat.... I know... so exciting.

2010 house to do

("gnome" by bryn)

I wish my monthly to do list seemed as easy to accomplish as martha stewart's. Maybe I'll make this my spring/summer to do list...

Call window cleaners for a spring clean

Call ric (handyman)for paint touch up, fix bryn's door, fix coffee table, fix kitchen nook table

Reupholster red chair

Craiglist some random items

Get roofing bids

Call housepainters for south side

After Kuma (brother's dog) goes home have carpets cleaned

Paint living room

what to watch?

around the age of 10 our family tv a 20" zenith was in the shop for a week but it felt like a whole month. our current television is broken and not even sure any of us miss it. we're debating replacing it which at first excited me. the prospect of simplifying our lives but on closer inspection it gets more complicated. there's always the computer, laptop, ps3, hulu, netflix, downloads and iphones. missing the simplicity of my family's 20" zenith.

what I'm watching right now (via hulu, netflix and the power of a download)....

lost... I've got to know how it ends and desperately hoping I'm not disappointed. (abc)

bones... I could watch david boreanaz all day. (fox)

fringe... it's by jj abrams and I like a good mystery with some sci fi thrown in. (fox)

modern family... need a good laugh to even it all out. (abc)

united states of tara... refreshingly unique. (showtime)

caprica... I'll never give up on battlestar galatica. (syfy)

glee... do I even need to say anything? (fox)

reruns (first time for me)...
arrested development & the wire

show i want to watch but can't find via the internet. need a real tv for this one...
american pickers... the reality show follows frank and mike as they scour the country's junkyards, basements and barns for hidden gems. (history channel)

thoughts in hawaii

my love/hate affair with facebook produced these while in hawaii.

...is dreaming of a weekend at the Hana Hotel.

...would like to have the mobility of a gecko.

...is lying on the beach and dreaming of re-designing her living room.

...never gets tired of watching the waves reach the shore.

...wants to spend an entire weekend at Captain Cook with her husband.

...does not like sand that overstays its welcome.

...is thinking of lists to make.

...loves watching Bryn and Gray play imagination on the beach.

Girls sewing

Bryn and Devyn and their reversible skirts they made at Modernspool.

 
Tom and Janell got married this weekend. They were so relaxed and looked like they were having so much fun as they greeted their 400+ GUESTS!!! It was a wonderful weekend full of family and friends.

So tough

Loving my new hair cut by Tiffany at Bliss Salon. Feeling like a bad ass here.

Treats

At that moment in time they had only one thing on their minds. Bryn picked a vanilla cupcake and Zoe a surprising vegan brownie. They got to have some much needed girl time.

Speaking of girl time we are looking forward to Alice in Wonderland.

Mad Men 2

A new twist on some old time favorites. Not pictured are the clam cuddles, marinated mushrooms, yummy blue cheese veggies and chocolate trifle.

Traditional shrimp cocktail.

Fennel Salami Rolls with Boursin

Macrona Crusted Cheese Ball