Day 915

For Mom's birthday in March, I bought us tickets to see Mary Poppins when it came to town.  We had amazing seats - I bought two singles close to each other as opposed to two seats right next to each other and consequently got center section, 5 rows back seats.  The show was wonderfully done and I honestly can't figure out how they did some of the "magic" tricks.  I've officially added the Mary Poppins books to my "to read" pile, because it will be interesting to compare the play to the movie to the book.

Day 914

Kaitlyn's pretending skills are ever growing.  When she throws her purse on, she announces "I'm going on break." And then she pulls out her cell phone and has conversations with people - usually Grandma.  She must of picked this up from the teachers at daycare going on breaks, regardless, it's too cute.

Day 913

It was crazy hat day at school today.  Crazy hat or not, these two are absolutely adorable when then ham it up for the camera.

Day 912

In addition to getting the decks all stained over the weekend, Les also bought and installed new light fixtures in the front and back of the house.  It definitely  updates the look and lookes so nice with the newly spray painted house numbers.

Day 911

While Les was re-staining the decks at the house, the kids and I picked up Subway for lunch and headed over to Hammerle Park for a picnic.  The kids got to use their new swim wear for the first time because it was finally warm enough to play in the splash zone.

Day 910

While I was working on the computer, Kaitlyn was making sure that both baby Abigail and Superman were tucked in for their naps.  Don't tell Les but Kaitlyn was using his Kentucky Derby pennant as a blanket for Superman.

Day 909

I wasn't feeling well so went downstairs to take a quick pre-dinner nap.  Les and the kids whipped up some delicious French bread pizza's for dinner.

Day 908

Best Thank You Card Ever!

Day 907

The wi-fi in the house wasn't working at a strength Les was happy with so father and son got down and dirty and fixed the problem.  Thankfully Les is a computer whiz because if it were up to me, I am sure that we wouldn't even have wireless in the house - let alone have it working enough to have full strength out on the deck.

Day 906

It was season ticket holder appreciation day for the Timbers today.  Les and Job were able to get autographs from many of the players and have their pictures taken too.  They were also able to actually go down and walk around on the field. 

Day 905

The tutu has once again become a staple in Kaitlyn's bedtime attire - it would go with her day time outfits too if we let it.   Nothing says budding fashionista like a pink tutu and matching pink princess slippers while brushing your teeth.

Day 904

I drove home from the beach, hugged the kids and then Les and I headed out for a Father's Day excursion to see the Portland Timbers take on the New York Red Bulls.  It was my first soccer game ever and even though I hardly knew any of the rules I had an amazing time.  The fans were outstanding and I don't think we sat down the entire game.  I have to say that I only really went because Les wanted me to go, but it was honestly the best sporting event I think I've ever been to.

Day 903

Several of us got up early and went down to the beach during an Oregon drizzle to explore and take pictures.  I had never seen so many whole sand dollars in my life.  We got back to the Lodge totally soaked but ready to listen to Ali speak about being a storyteller.  Our final evening was full of tears, great conversations and a sense of sisterhood that I wouldn't have thought possible in such a short time.

Day 902

Friday was all about self-portraits and seeing things in a different way.  When one of the ladies suggested we all leap off a log on the beach, each of us did it whole-heartedly.  It must of been a sight to see 22 grown women exploring the beach all with cameras in hand, encouraging each other to jump, cartwheel, lay in the sand, make funny faces . . . and anything else that caught our fancy. 

Day 901

After a day of meditation, reflection and writing, we all headed down to Cannon Beach for dinner and a sunset stroll on the beach.  We laughed and did silly things and enjoyed each other company.  Which is just what we needed after a day of soul bearing and story sharing.

Day 900

I am not someone for going and doing things all by myself, so I kind of surprised myself by heading down to Gearhart for a Your Story Retreat without knowing a single person there.  One of the guest speakers was Ali Edwards, a scrapbooker and storyteller whom I greatly admire, so I took the leap and signed up for the event.  I took a half day off work on Wednesday and drove in absolutely beautiful weather to the Oregon coast.  Although it was hard at first for me to jump in and get to know all the women there, by the end of the day Wednesday I felt shockingly at home. 

Day 899

The Timbers Army invaded my office today - as part of their charitable works to raise awareness about some of their youth programs.  They even let Jan hold their Axe, which frightened away most of my co-workers.

Day 898

Just a quick snapshot of the commute home, down on Naito Parkway and Morrison.

Day 897

Kaitlyn has going in to mommy-mode again with her baby doll.  Baby Abigail has moved up from her bottle and now is getting cookies and being spoon fed.  The best part is that Kaitlyn can now both undress and dress her baby by herself.  So that when Abigail "needs" a diaper change (which according to Kaitlyn is all the time), Kaitlyn can do that all by herself.

Day 896

For the first time in 11 years of working a the PBJ, I actually made it downtown to watch the Grand Floral Parade from our deck.  While Les was home doing yard work, the kids and I headed out for the parade.  Along with Mindy, Carrie and a handful of co-workers, we watched the parade pass by with a bird's eye view.  The kids loved all the floats, marching bands and were especially please when some of the equestrians looked up and waved to us.  I was surprised at how well behaved both kids were and that the parade kept their attention (save for a few Mr. Potatohead breaks).

Day 895

We had a lunch time sing-a-long out on the deck at my office (while the publisher's away . . .).  It started off a little rough because we were all coming from totally different music backgrounds and it was hard to find a song everyone knew.  But to end the "concert" we tore the place up with our rendition of White Rabbit by Jefferson Airplane.

Day 894

Although it's hard to tell from the picture, that is my two children enjoying first course of salad before their main dinner course.  Parker has gotten quite sophisticated and enjoys his lettuce with bacon bits, ham chunks, shredded cheese and honey mustard dressing.  While Kaitlyn enjoys a simpler affair with only lettuce and cheese.

Day 893

Summer weather hasn't quite reached the Pacific Northwest yet, but the sun is shining longer into the evenings and the kids have taken to drawing with chalk out on the deck.  You can't really tell in the picture but Kaitlyn pretty much is covered in chalk from head to toe - but clearly loving it.

Day 892

I mean seriously, can Parker be more amazing!?  I am sure I have no bias, but I am super impressed with the amount of detail that Parker put into his drawing of a train.  This was even the first time he'd brought home a train drawing.

Day 891

Another PBJ birthday (Bill this time) lead to a big group lunch - this time at Pastini's.  Due to the shyness of the birthday boy, there was no cake or singing, but plenty of laughter to go around.

Day 890

And so it was time to head home.  But first we walked the main drag in Long Beach where we bought gifts for the kids and visited Marsh's Free Museum - it was Les' first introduction to Jake the Alligator Man.  Then Les indulged me in posing for a photo next to the giant frying pan (there are pictures of me as a little girl next to the same frying pan).   Finally we headed back to town and picked up two exhausted kids who hardly missed us at all because they had so much fun with their cousins.

Day 889

  After eating a delicious breakfast, we headed out to explore the peninsula.  First we went to the Saturday Market in Illwaco, visited the North End Lighthouse and hiked out to Bell's View.  After having a tasty lunch at Serious Pizza near Waikiki Beach, headed out to the Cape Disappointment Lighthouse (pictured), Battery Allen and the Lewis & Clark Interpretive Center and topped it off with ice cream from Scooper's.
    Following a well-deserved nap, we had dinner at The Depot - at the Chef's Table no less.  Then we walked from the B&B down to the beach just in time for the sunset.

Day 888

After leaving work early to take the kids to Aunt Susie's house, Les picked me up and we headed to Long Beach.  We dropped off our things at the Boreas Bed and Breakfast and then headed over to the 42nd Street Cafe for a late dinner (where we convinced our waitress to take a photo of us).

Day 887

Today was Les and my 10th Wedding Anniversary.  My day began with a wonderful bouquet of long-stemmed, red roses delivered to my office and ended with a nice romantic dinner at Bugatti's in West Linn.  During dinner Les surprised me with the plans he'd made for a weekend getaway to Long Beach, Washington.  The kids would stay with his sister and we'd have our first vacation in 5 years without kids.

Day 886

Les had to get up at the crack of dawn to head to the airport for a 8:00 am flight down to San Francisco for a business trip.  Thankfully for us it was just a day trip, but that meant a lot of travel on Les' part.