rollercoaster

Tomorrow I will take three kiddos on an airplane by myself to San Antonio.  Did I mention that Matt's not coming?  I'm freakishly nervous... (inner calm? Summoning you...)  I did this almost 11 months ago, when Leo was only 5 months old, and I was nervous then.  I'm probably more nervous now - this, in part due to the fact that when Matthew traveled solo with the kids in April, it was kind of a disaster.  Poor Dean got sick during the first leg after consuming all of his snacks in 15 minutes.  There were no bags in their seat pockets, so it was quite a mess.  Leo did not want to be held by anyone (flight attendants or nice grandmothers offering to help) except for Matthew, who needed to clean up the nastiness.  Then in the Phoenix airport, Matthew couldn't find a new pair of shorts for Dean.  Dean ended up with an oversized t-shirt and underwear for the remainder of the trip, and Fiona (probably in a fit over not receiving a new shirt for herself) had to be picked up and carried, screaming, to the gate.  Huh.  So here I am, four months later... what am I thinking...  total dread.

Then, sensing my fear and lack of calm - the worst I've felt in months, frankly, Matthew reminded me tonight of this brilliant scene in Parenthood, the climax and probably one of the best scenes of the whole movie.  He had this crystal clear recollection of it, recounting the whole thing to me - trying to calm my nerves, since I couldn't really remember it.  We found it and watched it on youtube afterwards.  I laughed and cried.  And I realize why my dear esposo of almost 12 years is my other half.  How I will miss him these next couple of weeks!

July Album: more visitors and trying new things

This July, Matt’s sister Ayme came to see us, for what I hope is to become her annual stay.  The kids look forward to her visits, and she has incredible stamina for reading, reading, reading!  So of course, we promptly took her to the library so that we would have some new material for her.

Ayme also assisted me taking the kids to many, many swim lessons.  She took some great shots of them in the water.

     

For July 4th, we enjoyed a lovely picnic at Jenn and Scott’s.  It is our tradition to watch fireworks from their neighborhood, since one street to the north of them, the community rallies and puts together a fireworks display that would rival a suburb.  It is seriously that spectacular;  it never disappoints.  This year, the fireworks started incredibly late – we almost thought they weren’t happening.  But we realized that we think this every year, since it stays so light out for so long, and we wait and wait…

   

       

Finally!  Thanks to the fireworks setting on Ayme’s camera… look at the way the Douglas firs frame the show.  It was stunning.

   

Of course, we went berry picking this month.  Leo was in heaven, helping himself to the harvest.  I don’t understand why he held onto a container at all.  It never had any berries in it.  Clever disguise.

       

Fiona had a little celebration at the end of our mission.  Such a wild, happy spirit.

   

We even made it to the zoo. 

   

And then we had more visitors! Matt’s parents came at the end of the month.

   

These are happy grandkiddos. 

In the “trying new things” category, here are our top 3:

1.  Dean learned to ride without training wheels!  It took about a week. He’s a natural.

   

2.  I painted pottery!  Ayme showed me the tricks of the trade.  I’m making some bowls.  Still haven’t finished the big one, but it’s getting there…

   

   

3. I started running!  What?  The girl with migraines and dehydration?!  I credit my smoovies for this.  It sounds silly, but this is a freaking miracle.  Never before could I do this without paying for it with a headache afterward.  I’m taking a couple of lunch breaks a week and running downtown.  Well, running as far as I can, and then a mixed run-walk back to work.  My incentive is the cool shower at the end.  So therapeutic.  Yay.

   

Summer is here at last.

Visitors!

Before we traveled to Bend, we had a visit from my grandparents (my dad’s mom and dad) and my Aunt Carrie, who were making their way from San Antonio up the west coast to Seattle and then back down through the Rockies.  It was quite an epic trip for them – over 5000 miles with several stops to see their cousins and grandchildren.  Thank you, Aunt Carrie, for driving!  I hope I can be this adventurous if I’m fortunate enough to thrive in my eighties.

Leo took to Grampa – his great grandfather (!), mainly with the enticement of food.  Look how they match, stripes and hair cut!

Aunt Carrie used her creative teaching skills to construct a tree mosaic out of torn paper. 

I drove them out to Multnomah Falls (where else? it’s so lovely) and the Crown  Vista Point.  I had taken them there back in 2008 after my brother’s wedding, but it’s always such a crowd-pleaser.  Plus, Aunt Carrie hadn’t been yet.

  

I also arranged for a personal tour of Portland’s historic Belmont Firehouse.  It was fun to hear Grampa reminisce about his days at the fire station.  I wonder if any occupation has undergone such a transformation over time.  Aunt Carrie documented many of the artifacts.  There is momentum in opening up a similar fire museum near the Alamo in San Antonio, so hopefully they’ll get some good ideas to take back. 

We filled the table!  We love sharing meals with visitors, and there is no greater honor than hosting your grandparents in your own home.  I loved to watch the kids interact with them.  What a gift.

Of course, when it came time for a photo opp, Leo was not in the best mood.  He was wearing his pajamas, so obviously he was ready for bed.  Still a great memory.  (Note, Fiona’s Panama shirt was once worn by me, commemorating my birthplace.)

Such a treasured visit.  How lucky we are.

June Album II: Bend

We headed to the high desert in the middle of June with some friends of ours with whom we go way back – Jenn and Scott, plus Scott’s sister Tracy, and all of their kiddos.  The setting was a nice, sweet breath of fresh air.  It smelled different – a mixture of pines and who-knows-what, some kind of desert brush.  It reminded me of South Texas, except for, well - these mountains.  I love their name, the “Three Sisters”, as if to honor my own family.  I took a photo and texted my sisters, but I think we were too far into the country to get any reception.

  

We stopped at the High Desert Museum, which has a little trail for the kiddos to stretch their legs after the long car ride.  Look at all these kids!  6 total, five and under.  We walked around, learned about raptors (which came in handy during the trip), and had lunch at the café.  I had to take this picture, the first of many meals for our large group.

 

I didn’t start the trip with any expectations, really.  We won the vacation on a silent auction bid back in October, and it seemed like a nice place to look forward to .  Our resort in Bend was so lovely – we hiked every day, went mountain biking, took the kids for pony rides, and enjoyed the heated pools.  It was so wonderful that Jenn and I were depressed about leaving, so we negotiated two extra nights.  I still didn’t want to leave.  Hopefully, we’ll be back.  I am in love with the high desert.  Who knew.

 

 

    

 

We had rituals: we cooked all of the meals and read stories to the kids before bedtime.  Every dawn and dusk, we’d watch an osprey (one of those high desert raptors!) that nested nearby pluck a fish out of the pond where our dining table overlooked.  We spent every night after the kids went to bed playing games and drinking gin and tonic or whiskey.  I busted out the Mexican Train and taught everyone how to play (with Matt’s help).  I was channeling my inner San Antonio, I guess.  I even introduced Mexican Bingo to the kids to get them settled before dinner (though I should probably censor some of those tiles. sheesh.)

The scenery here was sublime – rapidly flowing Deschutes River among peaceful ponderosa pines in a backdrop of lava flow.  The adults took turns with the kids, and we each went rafting one day and hiking the next day.  Ah, some grown-up time!  Jenn and Tracy and I took this serpentine hike along the Deschutes that closely paralleled where we’d gone rafting the day before.  It was refreshing.

   

   

 

Our new discovery in Bend was the pump track!  Seriously, so much fun.  Dean and Fiona had a blast – and I have found my new sport.  It was exhilarating, kind of like skiing without all the equipment.  Matt decided to ride some of the flat trail with Leo in tow. 

 

 

Here’s our fabulous group.  Best. vacation. ever.