Another gorgeous weekend..this time the Hood Canal

Weekends like this make up for the rainy winter. In 2 1/2 hours, we are can be in a place that is absolutely breathtaking. I wish I had better photos because the ones I took do not do it justice. We were away for Jim's annual office retreat. All the families meet up every year in May for a weekend of recreation and little bit of work (for Jim and his partners). There are a ton of boys the same ages as Jackson and Sean...you can see the 7 and under posse in the photo above.

Mt. Hood Weekend

NW Portland

These pics were taken before the swine flu hysteria set in. Now I am sure the poor pigs are not getting many visitors!

Recent Happenings in Our World

Sean's favorite part of Opening Day

Just before the official team photo

Jackson and friends at the 3D movie

More baseball

Time for me to learn how to use the red eye reduction feature on our camera

What happens when I attempt to take photos with the boys

This explains why I insist at least once a year we have family pics taken by a professional....or anyone with the patience to try over and over for one decent photograph!

Happy 7th Birthday

Mommy my pillowcase is making me sweaty

At least once a week there is some kind of sleep disturbance in our house. It rotates among Sean, Jackson and Talus. Lately Sean has been waking up in the middle of the night having issues with his blanket. He gets very upset if his blanket is "wrinkled" and finds it impossible to simply straighten it out on his own. He definitely needs the whole house awake to help him with this pressing issue. Last night we had a new twist on problematic bed linens...fortunately, the problem came up at about 9pm and was easily addressed. He generally loves flannel sheets but last night it was just too warm for the flannel pillowcase...once removed, he was back asleep for the rest of the night.

First Baseball Game

Though this picture does not actually show the game...this is what was happening after the game. During the game, I was in charge of the dug out which meant I was in charge of keeping the batters in order, keeping at least 2 batters waiting with helmets on and making sure the other boys didn't get into too much mischief while waiting for their turn. Sean was with me , too, so I also had to be sure he didn't break into the post game snack bag. Which all explains why there were not pictures taken during the game. Maybe next week!!

Cruising in the pink Barbie Jeep

It got up to about 75 degrees yesterday...the first warm, sunny spring day...which of course, warranted shorts and no shirts for the boys in the neighborhood and also meant it was a great day to cruise around. (The Jeep is not ours!!)

Utah ski pics

Lots of snow fell while we were in Utah. It was a completely different ski experience than what we've been doing so far this year. Lots of fun but much more work...which leads to sore muscles at the end of the day. An apres ski beer seemed to help...at least for the adults. The boys loved the heated outdoor pool...it was fun to be outside swimming while snow was falling. We loved our stay at The Canyons. Our rooms was literally 30 seconds to the gondola...truly ski in/ski out. The snow park was lots of fun...we did the giant tubing hill with Auntie SueBee and watched the boys race around on the snowmobile track. Last picture is from Sean's birthday...the Star Wars t-shirt was a gift from one of his friends.
Now we are back in Oregon , tackling the giant mountain of post vacation laundry!

Five Today!!

A Glimpse of this year's basketball season

This captures Jackson's favorite part of the game, sprinting down the court.

Red Velvet Birthday Cupcakes

They tasted very yummy. However, the frosting was a very complicated, multi-step recipe that involved heating milk, cooling milk, mixing 4 (!) sticks of butter, refrigerating for exactly 15 minutes, etc. etc., and the frosting came out lumpy. Still tasted good but next time I will use a different frosting recipe. Most RV cupcakes call for cream cheese frosting but I really wanted something more like butter cream. Not sure which version is the more traditional but since I was the baker, it came down to what I would like best (and I knew Jim would like either).

Last Friday

It was our annual Mom's Day Out on the ski slopes. Fresh snow, sunshine and several hours of skiing while kids were at school and playdates. It was fantastic!

Taking a rest at Nordstrom

Sean thought a few of these chairs would be perfect for his bedroom!

Massage Chairs

After attempting a few quick errands with the boys, I am the one who needed a break in the massage chairs!

Another day at the science museum