Samuel's first birthday

Samuel recently celebrated his first birthday.

And you know what that means.



CUPCAKE!!!!!!!!

Hmmm, I don't know about this...

Well, here goes nothing...

*chomp*

Mnarf whrfg mmn glp

Mmmf... hey... this is good

REALLY good.

Really REALLY good! You gotta try some of this, man! Hahahaha WHEEEEE, SUGAAAAAR!

No one-year-olds were harmed in the making of these photos. And those cupcakes (from Sugar Mama's Cupcakery in Battle Ground) were darn good.

Dozer Days

Around this time last year, when we were still flailing about trying to get our bearings after the move and Samuel's birth, we kept seeing signs advertising "Dozer Days tickets sold here". We assumed it was some kind of local festival, but we didn't have the time to look into it. This year, we caught wind of what it was about and bought tickets. The basic principle of the thing is this: you show up at a local quarry with your small children, and they get to operate real construction machinery while sitting on the lap of a volunteer equipment driver.

Isaiah up in the seat of a ... what do they call steamrollers these days?

Eve in the same spot

We expected that kind of stuff. What we did not expect was the SCALE of the event.

There must have been at least 50 pieces of machinery, and lines 20 people deep for all of them

Eve operating a "scooper"

Think she enjoyed it?

Use the Force, Luke...

There were fire trucks too! It was little boy (and little girl) heaven.

OK seriously now, do you think that's actually the fire captain? I'm skeptical.

Astoria

Brian needed to burn some accumulated vacation hours, so in early May he took a Wednesday off and we made a day trip to Astoria, OR. Happily, the weather coughed up a sunny day for us.

The first several pictures were taken from the Astoria tower, which commemorates the Lewis and Clark expedition (Astoria is located at the mouth of the Columbia river, where their long journey finally met the sea.) The sides of the tower are covered with a spiraling pictographic account of the major events of the expedition.

Brian (green shirt) and Samuel in front of the tower

Oh, and did I mention there are stairs inside, and you can climb up to the top? Brian, who is skeert of heights, opted to keep an eye on the small boys, while Eve and I made the trek up. Eve needed a little encouragement at various points, but once we got up there she was as excited as I was.

Astoria and bridge, seen from tower top

Yep, that's some nice scenery, that there.

Brian and the boys are the ants at the apex of the parking lot. Note the "Noah's Ark" tour bus.

After the tower, we drove down Hwy 101 for a bit until we got to Sunset Beach, because Eve in particular had been begging to see the beach.

Did I mention you can drive your car right out on the beach?

We had a really good time and stayed later than we should have, which led to a really nasty car ride back home, but we won't dwell on that. Yay, Astoria!

Clever girl...

Last Saturday the kids and I were eating lunch in the kitchen while Daddy ate his lunch in front of the TV, as is his custom on weekends. The kids are always anxious to be turned loose so they can go see what Daddy is watching on TV. We began discussing why we ate in the kitchen instead of in front of the TV. I trotted out my usual set of reasons, which included how I prefer to enjoy my food without the distraction of the TV.
"But Mommy," responded Eve, "wouldn't you be even less distracted from your food if I was in the living room with Daddy?"
....
"Your logic is impeccable, Eve."
Eve grinned.
"I'm a smart girl!"

[I then explained how I also liked to enjoy the company of my children during meals, at least sometimes, and regardless, no-you-may-not-leave-the-table-until-you-finish-your-food.]

Easter pictures, 2011

Easter pictures! Only about two weeks after the fact. :-/

Now THAT was a good Easter breakfast.

Eve in her Easter dress

All three

This was the best picture we could manage. Every other one had faces being pulled.

Samuel: giving new meaning to the term "munchkin".

A year ago today...

...We awoke in sleeping bags and on inflatable mattresses, in an apartment devoid of furniture, lighting and dishes. Somewhat sadly, we disposed of the leftovers from the previous night's meal at Los Charros. It had been a lively evening: the kids devouring chips and flirting with the waitstaff, the mariachi band wandering from table to table, the always-delicious Los Charros food and aguas frescas. Being great with child, I couldn't sample their tequila selections, but I was content.

Technically, our last day in our apartment was supposed to be Apr. 30, 2010, but our landlords generously allowed us to spend one more night rent-free, and thus we made our move on May 1. We had a 12-hr drive ahead of us, so we made the equivalent of an alpine start -- loading the suitcases in pre-dawn dimness and feverishly checking and re-checking the inside of the apartment for anything left behind, any lights left on, any water running. Brian carefully locked all our house-keys inside the apartment. It was one of those moments of mixed fear and freedom. We were homeless! To be sure, we were in the process of buying a house, and we were going to be staying with my parents in Oregon while we closed on said house, but for a while we would have no keys.

There was nothing left to do after that but start the car, back out of the driveway, and drive the familiar roads out of our neighborhood for the last time. As glad as I was to be leaving CA for WA, I knew there would be several things (and people!) that I would miss, and one of them would be barreling down deserted Bay Area freeways at dawn, on my way to some adventure. After this, our adventures would be down different roads.

....

Brian brought the camera back, so Easter pictures will be coming soon!