Reunited

Naomi, Me, Katie, Abbey, Anna, Sara, Naami

 One of the most amazing parts about living in Eugene has been the relationships that I have made with incredible women.  We haven't been able to see each other that much this year because of distance, jobs, and all the other dumb stuff that makes life life.  This past little while we have had the chance to get together to honor Abbey and Sara before they have their baby boys.  These friends fill me up with happiness.  We have always had so much fun together despite the fact that we are very different. We can always find reasons to laugh and are good at bringing out the best in each other.  

We have been hit by a sickness around this house.  It started with Ike and has moved its way through all of the kids.  After hanging out with a fevered Rosy for a couple of hours I said to Brandon, "I guess we know who our most dramatic kid is."  His response, "Was there ever any question."
It was like she took acting lessons for a role as a dying woman.  She moans and whimpers and reminds everyone that she is sick.  She won't watch TV or read books and she refuses to take any kind of medicine.  She is so over the top that it has become hilarious.

Is this a sick child or a zombie?

 Daisy as usual has handled things like a champ.

When I went to get Rosebud in the morning she had fallen asleep kneeling by her bed.

 I put Ike in some real shoes today and all of a sudden he was a little boy.

Rocky and her Play-Doh bug.

A Taste of Iran

 We have the cutest neighbors on the second floor.  Atoosa and Arush introduced themselves right away as they were moving in and were excited to tell us that they were from a far away place, maybe we had heard of it, Iran.
I giggled a little because Iran is a place that we hear quite a bit about.  I was so happy to see how much they love their homeland.  They invited us over last night so she could introduce some of her favorite foods to us.  Of course I was the first in line to taste everything,

 I don't remember what anything is called but I do know that it was delicious.  Hopefully the next time we break bread together it will come with a cooking lesson.


And tonight we had our Friday night movie.  Isaac all of a sudden decided that he is one of the kids.  Well, he sat quietly as long as there was still popcorn in the bowl.  I was thinking that I should share the name of the movie so we could place this moment in pop history but actually tonight they were watching the Care Bear Movie.  That would place us solidly in 1985 and would also explain that my memories of that movie is that it is really scary.  Rosy is the only one that agreed.

Mother's Day Photo

This is probably the best one yet.

Bonus:

Rocky's Baptism

 On April 30 Rocky was baptized.  If I could describe the whole thing I would have to say that it was fun/crazy/beautiful/humbling/exhausting.  We had so much support from family and friends.   Rocky had so much fun playing with her cousins Cambria and Quincy and having both sets of grandparents and Adam, Cara and Jilly here.  It meant so much that everyone spent all that time in the car to be come.  True to tradition my camera was MIA.  I take hundreds of photos of my kids in the bathtub and them doing boring things around the house but when something actually important happens I don't even remember to pull it out.  One day I will enter the present day and take photos on a phone like normal people.  I spent the weekend in a frantic blur of social bliss.  We celebrated Rocky's birthday with her class at school, prepared food, went to Papa's Pizza, Voodoo Donuts and the Saturday Market.  We were able to watch Rocky get baptized by her along with many people that we love and then we celebrated her birthday on the playground with root beer floats and then we got up the next morning to watch the marathon.  It was lovely, all of it.

After about 10 minutes of being at our house Mike was looking for a job.  He headed out into the garden plot next to ours and got it all weeded and ready to go.  Since he did all that work I have no choice but to take it over.  I am super excited to double our space.

 It just so happened that the day that grandparents were invited to the school's book fair coincided with both sets of grandparents being in town.  Rocky and Daisy thought that they had hit the JP because for the first time in their lives they actually got to pick something out at the book fair.  They also both ended up having their names drawn for a free poster.  I know it probably doesn't make for much of a story but it was one of those moments that everything was right in the world.

The cousins had a blast being together.  They are a fun bunch of girls.

 Jill didn't get to sleep in because she had early birds taking over her bed.

 Rocky was glowing with all the attention. I had Jill take some pictures before and then I forgot to take any others until late that night after Adam and Cara had already left to get it out again.

 Kathy made the cutest quilt for Rocky and she put pictures of all her favorite things.  It is something that she will always treasure.

 Brandon and Jody came from Portland and it reminded me of all those years ago when they were the only two people that Rocky invited to her birthday party.  They have been her favorites for her whole life.

 Saying goodbye is the worst part.

 The next day we de a reenactment so we could get some family pictures.

Best Photo Award

 Bonus Pics:

Something is Cool About these Photos

 Our little garden got a late start this year but we are still having fun with it.  After all those rainy winter days there is nothing that feels better than digging in the dirt.  We have such a tiny space that actually growing something is more of a dream than reality.  So far we have rosemary, leeks, peas, cauliflower, carrots and a row of potatoes.  We haven't even looked at the summer plants yet and are already out of room.  I have my eye on the other half of the plot and have already started spilling over into it.  If someone doesn't plant something there soon it is going to be overtaken.

Putting in Potatoes

I know that bath time is something that I have photographed often.  The tub is so full and we are becoming increasingly aware that the days of all the kids in the same bath are on their way to extinction.  The dream is that one day we will actually have more than one bathroom.  Looking at the bath and our garden I can see that we are outgrowing our current life.  I look forward to the growth of the kids and all the other aspects of our life but I know that there will always be a special place in my heart for the days when we happily enjoyed our small space and little kids.

 The girls had a great time with their Fiesta dances.  Rocky's class did the Limbo and Daisy's did a cute little couple dance from Cuba.  They were both as excited as can be and danced their hearts out.  I am pretty sure there were some other kids out there dancing but I didn't notice them because I was too focused on my girls.

 How can I not share the photo of the biggest and smallest Nutella that I have ever seen.  We have been working on the big pot since last December.  The girls polished the little one off in about 5 minutes.

 Bonus Picture:

Snails

 This is what you consider a pet if your mom is allergic to real animals.

 Katie that lives upstairs has three sons and also an amazing ability to braid.  My girls have adopted her as their hairstylist.

A Bribe

 With a generous bribe scholarship from my mom I am the new owner of my own personal laptop.  For those of you who have been living in the present this might seem like not that big of a deal but I have been without a computer for several years.  I have become completely tech inept and have a lot of learning to do.  The deal is that I get to keep the computer as long as I keep the photos of the grandkids coming.  So here are some moments that I have been holding onto for longer than I would like to admit.

The girls had spirit week at school and one of the days came with a challenge to dress like your favorite decade.  Ridiculous!
How do kids that haven't lived a single decade have any idea what to choose.  This is clearly one of those projects that parents are supposed to do and pretend that it was the kids idea.  I asked their opinions and then completely forgot about it until Thursday morning when they were supposed to be getting ready.  Brandon said we should send them dressed like cave men.  I thought that maybe they could wear their princess dress up clothes and say they were from the middle ages but the Elsa and Anna lapel buttons were clearly not authentic.  I did a quick scan of the closet and ended up with a pretty decent plan.  Daisy wore a 'disco' dress that has been handed down from Joanna and Rocky wore a Beatles shirt.  Mom win, right?  Apparently dress like your favorite decade wasn't a win because with the exception of two kids that were wearing their pants backward Criss Cross style every other kid was wearing their regular clothes.  Apparently there really is no time like the present.
Rosy wanted to dress up too.  Lovely.

 Ike participated in a study in the behavioral science lab.  He had to wear a vest for 3 adorable days.  I couldn't help but squeal every time I put it on him.  I got payed some good money for this and all I had to do was let my kid wear a recording device that recorded everything we said and did.
I thought that I would always be conscious of the recording and be on my best behavior but it was less than one day before I was yelling at Rosy and singing and gossiping just like I always do.  I feel a tiny bit of pride in knowing that the grad students that were listening probably got a kick out of it.  I am not sure what they were studying but if it was how stay-at-home moms try to keep from going insane I think they got some good data.  Now I am going to find whoever I need to talk to about how I can sign up to be a grad student that has the job of eavesdropping.  Or I guess I could get a job working in reality TV.

For his efforts Ike got to choose a book.  He had a clear preference for this one.  He went right to it and after he picked it he wouldn't let it go.  All those hours of working as a mobile recording unit really payed off for us all.

Rocky recruited all of her stuffed friends to participate as audience members in her fashion show and put on the dress that I never let her wear.  Whenever she puts it on it seems to fancy for where we are going.  This most likely stems from the fact that we hardly go anywhere and also that we live in Eugene where business casual means that you wear your nicest pair of yoga pants.

 Ike later commandeered the runway for more important business.  This is the one and only time he has ever fallen asleep on the floor.  He has slept in his high chair, his jumper and in a laundry basket but this is the first time in front of an audience.

 He just keeps getting cuter and cuter.  And also he just keeps getting into everything.  He is on constant attack.  No bottom shelf is safe, no toilet paper roll is secure while he is on the prowl.  Keep your cords hidden and your flip flops in a high place because he is worse than a puppy when it comes to chewing on them.  Outside he will sprint crawl to the stairways and eat the neighbors plants if you turn your head for a second.  The neighborhood babysitting club has long since given up on their Ike games because he doesn't ever want to do things the way they do.  He prefers to be on the ground shoving dirt in his mouth which, by the way, completely freaks Rosy out.

 We have completed another season of soccer.  I didn't take any photos because everything looked exactly like last season.  It seemed redundant.  Also I was too busy chasing Ike.
Rocky had a good time playing but Daisy wasn't as into it this time.  She whined about going to practice and games.  We were all counting down the days until the last game.  I told her that she doesn't have to play next season but she does have to finish this one.  The prospect of not signing up in the fall was appealing to me because to be honest being a soccer mom kind of bites.  So there we were in the middle of the second half when Daisy scored a goal and her world changed.  It got even better when her coach gave her a medal.  For the rest of the day she wore her uniform and wouldn't take it off.  She introduced herself at a party as a soccer player and was dripping with the sincerest kind of pride that only kids her age can have.  It was so endearing that I get a little swell in my soul just typing about it.
Damn you soccer!  We are never going to get away.

Same shirt different day

Oh Man!  I can't help but love em.