A day in the life of Talus

The last pic is what happens every time the UPS man comes to our house.

Presenting the April birthday boy....

Today Jackson is 8 years old! I delivered Pizza Schmizza to him for lunch and then we will have baseball, practice, sushi (his requested dinner) and cake.

We are looking forward to watching our thoughtful, and energetic and creative boy in his eighth year. I love his sly sense of humor, his easy going attitude and his willingness to try new things. I also really like that he is interested in helping make dinner (sometimes). 

He still is crazy about Legos and always building new things. He has a great time with his brother (most of the time), loves to read and is definitely the most solid sleeper in our household.

We can't wait to share more adventures together!!!

Happy Birthday, Jackson!

Some days we have no problems with homework...

....today was not one of those days.

Look closely to see how Jackson was feeling about his math homework this afternoon.

Trying to get at least one good photo...maybe next time?

Kicking off the season

Baseball season has begun! Jackson's game was first so I got to see a little bit of it before Sean and I went to his game at 10am. Jim is coaching Jackson's team again and they have 15 players...fortunately there are at least 3 other dads who are regular helpers.

Sean's team is called the Purple Thunder. They are a very enthusiastic bunch and all the kids had a great time. T-ball is truly entertaining!   

Yeah Baby!

What an amazing game!!

Go Duke Basketball!!

A glimpse of spring break happenings...

Happy Birthday Sean!

Sean is six today! He will have a day of celebrating...at school, tonight at home with the family and then sometime after spring break a party with friends. We will celebrate Sean all year long....his energy, sense of humor and sweetness...his love of all things sweet...his enthusiasm and love of rocks and science...even his stubborness , which I am assured  will someday translate into strong leadership skills!
Happy Birthday, Sean...we love you!

A six year old boy's birthday list....

It's someone's birthday today!

Happy Forty-something to Jim!

More sun..this time while on skis

Can this really be February in Oregon?

We had an amazing weekend of sun and outdoor play...lots  of running around , playing catch, and enjoying the views from all over Portland.

Pictures I find on my iphone when I leave it unattended....

Scenes from weekend skiing

Actually, scenes from just before the skiing....Jackson carefully planning his route and Sean practicing looking like a snowboarder!

Rock and Mineral Field Trip

Last week I went with Jackson's class to a rock and mineral museum.  Lots of interesting things including the "ooh, aah" room where a large case of minerals are energized with UV light and turn all sorts of brilliant colors. (Especially vivid when the lights are turned off!). We also saw one of the world's largest collections of crystals and a meteorite display.

Hair Salon

These are actually from Christmas break. Sean was supposed to have a play date but his friend was sick. So I loaded up with books, snacks and other things and brought him to my hair appointment. Of course, once the snacks were gone, all he wanted to do was play with my iphone. I think he took about 50 photos. But he did capture a rare moment of my hair looking rather fluffy....something I can never recreate once I leave the salon. And , here is one of Sean's self portraits....

Mt.Hood on a perfect sunny day

This is Sean and Jim, skiing down the My-Ty trail which has been our family favorite. We actually skied as a family last weekend. Sean made it for about 5 runs and then he was ready to eat lunch. Jackson, however, could ski for hours and hours.

A week with Ozzie

Ozzie is the kindergarten class pet. He just finished a week with us and Sean was in  charge of recording all his activities in a journal. We kept Ozzie very busy and he even got to go to the dentist with Sean! (No cavities, by the way...). Happy MLK Day!