Monday, April 25, 2011

And yet another reason to love Portland

Vivian and I had meandered up to Faubion School (right up the street from us) on Sunday afternoon so she could practice her training-wheel-less bike riding. We were getting ready to head home, and I noticed a person in a bunny suit riding a bicycle towards us. (It was Easter, so I wasn't too surprised...) but then I noticed another, and another, and WOAH -- about 60 of them! And one bunny on a tandem with a guy in a chicken suit in front.



Vivian and I left the playground while they were still waiting for all the bunnies to catch up. They then biked down our street -- Bret was already out front, and I was able to run in the house so Sabine could come see them too. It was a riot!

Apparently it's a Portland tradition. We'll have to catch it next year.

No more training wheels...

for Vivian! She's very excited.

Thursday, April 21, 2011

I'm baaaack...

...in blogland. I think this has been the longest time between posts since I started. But I'm not going to go back and verify it, I'm just going to dig in.

Got the great news the other day that my dad's cancer appears to be gone! At least that's what the x-ray showed...he will still need to get a cat scan in 4 months, but it looks like the treatments he underwent at Vanderbilt were successful. Great BIG wahoo!

Back in January the girls and I had a fantastic trip up to Seattle with another homeschooling family. We took Amtrack, and it just might have ruined us for plane travel. What a difference it makes being able to get up and walk around, mosey down to the snack car, go to the restroom whenever you want...It's not a terribly practical (or inexpensive) way to travel cross country, but to buzz up to Seattle and back it's perfect.

While in Seattle, we got to see the Harry Potter exhibit that was at the Science Center, go up in the Space Needle at dusk (this was a group favorite!), swim in the hotel pool, and go to the aquarium. We also got to visit with Aunt Jan.

(...somewhere I have a photo of Bret and me in this same spot...wayyy before kids!)

The girls with Aunt Jan -- in front of a totem pole, note the space needle in the background.

I like how this picture juxtaposes the needle and totem.

We've been playing a lot of music with friends, attending weekly Wednesday potlucks hosted by another homeschooling family, having visitors (Bret's mom Joan and brother Kevin were here for the crab and beer festival at the Kennedy School in February - yummmm!), and enjoying our new kitchen/dining/living rooms (just the kitchen is new...but it now opens up to the dining and living rooms).


We went to Great Wolf Lodge in Washington for a 3rd time with a homeschooling group (we get a great discount), painted our living room and hung pictures, and cooked 16 new recipes in 4 days for a friend who's an author and needed the recipes photographed for a Pacific Northwest cookbook she's writing (she also needed photos of kids helping with the recipes...which sounds easier than it was!). The girls have taken lots of things apart...and put them back together again.


Bret and I started the C25K running program (thanks to our friend Allison in Wyoming!). It's been good to get out there and see more of our neighborhood, and exercise...rain (or hail!) or shine!

I re-organized my sewing room, and Bret has been working on several projects, including making a model surfboard.




And that's about it.