The game that Univ. of Oregon did not win...

Good times

Another Thanksgiving celebration of good food, family and fun!

Sleep is a good thing

Finally everyone is better and the entire house has been sleeping through the whole night. Jackson was very sick. His cough got progressively worse and we ended up at the doctor's office again.  He was diagnosed with walking pneumonia and given antibiotics. Hallelujah for antibiotics!!!! Within 24 hours he had improved tremendously. Talus has also resumed his normal sleeping schedule after a long period of post-surgery transition. He is no longer trying to sleep standing up. Jackson started calling it "cow sleeping" since cows sleep standing up...at least some of the time!

Fall bike ride

The week in review

Things started out so nicely...sunny, warm weather  (in November!) , smiling faces....then, bleeccchhh!! Jackson has been coughing and just not feeling well for almost a week. We've already been to the doctor and are trying different things...inhalers, night time cough syrup, cough suppressants. He's been home from school two days off from school and unfortunately will be missing the year end soccer party, a birthday party, etc., etc,. But getting well is obviously the priority.
And then, there's Talus.
He had another $urgery on his tail to remove all traces of infection. Now we are waiting for things to heal and hopefully he will leave his tail alone. In the meantime, we have a whole slew of medications for Jackson and Talus.
Happy Weekend!

Some days are better than others

Apples!!!

We went to an apple tasting last weekend...it was incredible to see how many different varieties of apples were available. Some of our favorites were sold out but at least we can be on the lookout for them at the farmers market. The apple strudel and apple crisp were pretty amazing, too.

First snow

Snow is falling on Mt. Hood! These pictures were taken right outside the entrance to Mt. Hood Meadows. More snow is in the forecast so we are all wondering when the first ski day will be this year... 

Pumpkins 2010

Joy

Two exciting events were unfolding at the same time last night...the first miner was about to be rescued and the Texas Rangers were on the verge of winning their first ever play off series. Plus someone has a new job and we had news of a successful surgery! All in all, a day of joyful things.

Tail trouble

For the last few days, Talus has been licking the end of his tail almost constantly. Upon closer inspection, we could see that he had literally worn away the fur exposing raw, cracked skin. We got in to see our veterinarian and she determined it wasn't just skin irritation but some sort of mass. So, with Sean along with me (thank goodness for Angry Birds on my iphone) we watched as his Tail was shaved at the end, numbed up and then poked with a needle to draw out some fluid.  This all took place in the tiny exam room and following the procedure, there were a few seconds when Talus was wiggling all over the room with blood on the end of his tail. It was not fun. Now he has a new accessory on the end of his tail...notice that it's an appropriate color for this time of year! We are hoping to keep his tail wrapped so he can't do any further harm while we wait for a test (an outrageously expensive test) on the fluid that was in the mass. It sounds like there may be surgery to remove the mass. Right now we are just waiting for test results and watching that Talus doesn't attempt to chew off his tail bling.

The weekend recap

The boys had soccer practice , we ate a really fancy dinner (ha ha) at Pizza Schmizza, we saw our neighbors band perform at the new local Irish pub (till the Irish proprietress chased us out at 8:15 since technically kids weren't allowed), we had 2 soccer games, one rock climbing birthday party, one 20 mile bike ride (me), a relaxed Sunday breakfast, an afternoon at Rex Hill winery and a quiet Sunday dinner.

Things we found at the bottom of the lake

The lake is down about 22 feet right now so the city can work on pipe repairs. Its been interesting visiting the dock and checking out all the debris that is scattered around the area that is now exposed. There has been quite an assortment of objects...lot of sunglasses, CDs , beer cans and bottles and a ton of golf balls. Also, an oar, binoculars, a shoe and a watch. Unfortunately we did not find the Croc sandal that Sean lost 2 summers ago!

And today for breakfast...

Strawberries, OJ and yogurt with some new fancy type of Wheaties cereal that has pictures of football players on the box.

Capturing the moment

So many times, I want to sneak a quick photo but I always am too late. The top photo was an attempt to capture a rare moment of quiet reading *together* by the boys. I walked in and thought it was a very sweet moment...tip toed out to grab the camera, quietly moved closer and -arrrghhhh!- Jackson saw me.
The bottom pic is our favorite morning smoothie...and only way Sean will eat any bananas!

Soccer and a sunset

Soccer season beagn last Saturday and we had a great, sunny day. Jim is helping to coach both teams. Coaching 1st grade soccer requires a lot of patience...and at times 3rd grade soccer can be a challenge. But it's so great to get the kids out running around with their friends.
The last photo isn't anything spectacular but the color of the sky as we drove toward downtown PDX was really pretty.

A Rainy Thursday Morning

Leftover summer projects

The boys need a new paint color in their room. We used this color in our old house and it worked out nicely. In this room, it comes across as too dark and we really need a warm color. (For those grey and dreary winter months).So I asked the boys about ideas for color...their reply was "orange!". I want them to have some level of participation in this project, but orange? Can't do it. I tried to steer them to a more terra cota type of color and they agreed....but it isn't working. Back to the paint store I go....but please look out their window and see the cool new fort Jim bulit...another summer project!

Another school year begins

An end of summer hike

...and a really cool tree!!