ashe & finn

Wildcats January 21, 2012

2012-01-21T23:19:00.000-08:00

LOVE FINN'S FACE (#6 - MIDDLE OF PIC)

click photos to make larger.

Finn's basketball team - the Wildcats - played today. It was quite a lopsided game, in the Wildcats' favor, but it was fun to watch the kids nonetheless. These third graders are great. Dennis (and Shaylee!!) is a pretty good coach :) too.

Jamison reads the before-game Code of Conduct...

The boys line up and repeat after Jamison.

Matthew Tips off for the Wilcats.

Logan sets a screen for Luke!

Sawyer gets the pass.

The boys run up the court.

Finn puts his hand up for the ball.

Looks like Luke's going up for the jump.

HALF TIME!!

Adam takes a free throw.

Finn's on the move!

Nico cuts to the basket.
Is Logan setting another screen?!?

Nico wants the ball...Finn #6 on left.

Caver's 40th at Sam's

2012-01-19T22:52:00.000-08:00

Caver's 40th birthday was January 13th, 2012. We celebrated on the 14th at Sam's Billiards with friends and family. I think Caver had fun.
There was a quiz - 20 questions about Caver - Monica (Caver's college roommate) and Pam (Caver's mother-in-law) tied for first place!!
Some pictures of the festivities below. Love you, Sister!!!

The "Caver 40th Quiz" Winners with the birthday girl (Monica, left, Pam, right)

Top left - Pam & Randy; top right- Sean & Andy; bottom left, Craig, Kirsten, Janice; bottom right Elaine & Pam

Top - Bonnie & Dan; bottom - Janice, Caver, Elaine

Top - Michone & Caver; bottom - Lisa, Andy, Yvette

Sean & Caver.

Cake Time!!

Top - Andry & Michone; bottom - Sandy (Randy)

Monica & Brett

Caver (foreground) Don, Kathy, Lisa, Michone, Andry (background)

Holiday 2011 Activities/Update.

2012-01-02T20:33:00.000-08:00

Santa's cruisin' Centralia, WA's Main Street!
We stopped at the McMenamin's there on way home from Kanye/Jay-Z.

I need to use this more often!! Wanted Caver to see our Christmas and New Year's Eve photos, so thought I'd post them here for all to see.

Ashe and I saw Kanye West/Jay-Z's Watch the Throne show in Tacoma on December 16, 2011. We had the best time. Ashe kept thanking me for taking him and saying it was the best time he's ever had. I don't know if that's true, but I know he really loved it. No pics from the show, but took a few during the trip to Tacoma. Dennis and Finn went up with us to hang out at Hotel Murano (amazing!!). BTW - if you are ever there, be sure to check out their yummy, delicious restaurant, Bite.

These first photos are from the Tacoma trip to Jay-Z.

Finn at the Tacoma Build-A-Bear, since he didn't get a Jay-Z concert. : )

The art at the hotel...really amazing place the Hotel Murano.

VIEW FROM OUR ROOM AT MURANO - 22ND FLOOR - Mt. Rainier..
The Tacoma Dome, where we saw the show, also, on the right.

We had a nice Christmas and New Year's. Mom's health is improving, so that's good. Dad's doing alright for now. No holiday visits to the hospital for either, so that's great!!

The four of us had our Christmas (Eve) with my mom and dad and Caver's family at my parents' house. It was just the ten of us and such a mellow, fun time. Everybody was in great moods. We kept the adult presents to a minimum (which we always SHOULD do), and the four boys had a blast. Caver made some great appetizers; I got a Honey Baked Ham...was so nice.

Caver, Sean, Tuck, Cade @ Granny's on Xmas Eve.

THE FOUR CRAZY BOYS - LEFT TO RIGHT: Tucker, Cade, Finn, Ashe.

Passing out presents.

Christmas morning we woke pretty early. Ashe and Finn looked at their presents from Santa, while we waited for Granny Elaine to arrive. Grandma Janet was in San Diego with Dennis' family. Holly was with her dad's side of the family.

When Elaine got there, we had some coffee and pastry - the boys opened their oodles of presents and were elated with everything.

Dennis worked Christmas and the next night. The boys and I headed to the Hyatt Place at Portland's Cascade Station for a two night in town vacation (I hate that staycation word!!, yet I just said it)...We just pampered ourselves and relaxed and indulged in food and shopping and swimming. Just a blast with my boys!!

New Year's was spent at home with the boys. We stopped at mom and dad's, but mostly spent it at home. Ashe, Finn, Dennis, and I. I went and picked up Cade and Tucker at a party where they were with their parents. We got home about 10 p.m. and they were up til 1 a.m.!! They spent most of Jan 1, 2012 with us and then we had some peace and quiet. Rose Bowl watching today (Jan 2nd) and that's it!!

The "poppers" (bottles that you pull the strings on) - I kept trying to get them and this is pretty good live action. ;)

Finn & Tuck Whoop it up.

Happy New Year Everyone!!!

The Last Couple Months.

2011-11-27T20:47:00.000-08:00

We have had a busy couple of months. Finn's birthday...We had a nice Halloween. I spent some time in San Francisco around my (42nd!!) birthday. We went to Andina for Thanksgiving dinner. It has been action packed and a lot of fun.

Finn had a few birthdays, including a dinner (sushi), friends, and separate family party. His actual birthday is Sept 25. Our 10th wedding anniversary was September 22nd. We ate at Red Star for our anniversary. If you haven't been there, it's much tastier than a "Tavern" as the name says. We went to The Original the next day when the boys joined us for our second night at Hotel Lucia.

We had a fun Halloween at Caver's, as usual.

Shortly after Halloween - around my birthday, I hitched along on Caver's trip to San Francisco. We stayed in Union Square at the Hyatt on Stockton.

The first picture is a view from our hotel. Our friends had this room. Poor us - we had a suite : ) with not quite as nice a view. But the suite was bee-you-tee-ful. My sister and nephews had birthday flowers and gift waiting for my arrival. It was so nice to walk into.

Rusty, Tuck, Cade...Michael & Caver @ yummy, yummy Q Restaurant.

At Barbara & Rusty's Richmond apartment after lunch at Hard Knox. It was the tastiest soul food restaurant.

SFMoMA

Union Square and flying home.

Thanksgiving at Andina Restaurant. No cooking for us!!

Seattle with Grandpa Jul 29-Aug 1, 2011

2011-08-01T22:15:00.000-07:00

http://www.flickr.com/photos/finashe/sets/72157627212865899/show/

SLIDE SHOW OF SEATTLE PICTURES - TAKEN WITH MY IPOD TOUCH (I forgot my camera). There is a small preview of the pics in the slide show below the link for the show.

Photos of the four boys, Ashe, Finn, Cade, Tuck...

Pike Place, Seattle Center, Pacific Science Center, Restaurants & Streets in downtown Seattle.

Finn's Modeling Career and Trip to Vegas

2011-02-23T20:22:00.000-08:00

We went to Vegas last weekend (Sat 19th - Tues 22nd) for a photo shoot with an amazing photographer. You've heard me mention and rave about my friend, Shannon Sewell, who has taken our pictures since the boys were little. She's incredible and I love Vegas, so Finn & I planned a vacation so that Finn could be a model for Shannon's Triple 7 Shootout!! I wanted to see Shannon work and thought it'd be a fun, cool way to spend some time...a few photos of my child (by the talented Miss Shannon) isn't too bad either. :) Yvette, Caver, Tucker, Finn, & I made the trip. Tucker was also a model, and thank god, because it was hard work for those boys. I know that sounds ridiculous, but some of the photographers attending (30 of them) said they were tired at lunch...so I am sure the kids were tired too!!

Anyway, here are some photos of the whole thing and our time in Vegas...during the trip:

1. Yvette & I had up a cocktail and some light appetizers at Japonais in the Mirage, while Caver & the boys had room service and relaxed in the room.

2. Yvette & I got the boys & Caver went gambling at Casino Royale! Yvette, Tuck, Finn, Yvette, & I walked up the strip from The Mirage, where we stayed, to the M&M Store, stopping along the way. We went to the Planet Hollywood Shops, Caesars Palace, & Bellagio's fountain.

3. Sunday, Finn & I spent all day at the photo shoot.
4. Caver & I took the boys swimming for about an hour.
5. Sunday late afternoon/evening, Yvette & I grabbed Happy Hour at Stack at the Mirage.
6. We head to Carnegie Deli, also at Mirage, and go up to the room to get the boys, so Caver can go gamble. Does this sound like a pattern?!?
7. We stayed in the room for awhile. Caver came back, and Finn, Yvette & I headed to Circus Circus. Finn was getting PAID!!! for the photo shoot big time. It was a lot for him and he was such a trooper!!
8. Monday, Yvette & I slept late while Caver took the boys to breakfast buffet.
9. We woke & took the boys to downtown Vegas, with a stop by Gold & Silver Pawn, where Pawn Stars is filmed. We promised Dennis a picture. (:
10. The next part was so much fun: Finn, Tuck, and I ziplined down Fremont Street, from one end of the canopy to the other!!! Such a blast. Highly recommended.
8. Monday afternoon, we had a great meal at BLT with the boys, while Caver was still gambling - she loves it!!
9. Monday night we saw Mystere next door to the Mirage at TI. Not the greatest Cirque du Soleil I must say...but entertaining nonetheless.

10. Yvette, the boys, and I went to the Venetian and the Palazzo to see if we could find anything that could impress Tucker and Finn (they have been underwhelmed by Vegas the entire trip!) and Caver gambled...
11. Swim on Tuesday morning...relaxed in room...flew home...

Krueger's Farm Pumpkin Patch with the Kids

2010-12-08T22:15:00.000-08:00

Not being on the Facebook, I am catching up on some blogs I didn't do. I was using Facebook as my blog, of sorts. I like the blog better and am glad to put Facebook on hold for awhile. (:

Anyway, the boys & I went to the pumpkin patch with Lisa and her girls and Cade & Tucker in October. We rode the hayride and picked out pumpkins, gourds & apples. The pumpkins were quite picked over, as it was a Monday after a busy, sunny weekend in the Pacific Northwest. The weekend had miles of cars backup to actually reach the pumpkin patch so I still think we made the better choice. We got the experience and all teased that we could get pumpkins at Safeway. Love these pictures of all the kids!!

Thanksgiving Weekend 2010

2010-12-02T19:24:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving was a blast this year. Caver and her boys were out of the country. That would have made it perfect, if they were there...but, other than that, it was wonderful.

Lisa, Andy, Gray, & Ella came over. Uncle Sean came for awhile, at dessert time. He spent it with some friends, since his family was out of town. Yvette made an appearance as well. It was so great to see everyone.

Lisa brought her niece, Selena, who's the cutest thing ever. She's smart as she can be too!!

It was a lot of fun.

On Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, Ashe, Finn, & I went to the St. Johns Bridge, in North Portland. Finn's been fascinated by it for awhile and has been asking to go "check it out". Funny, because he was just there in October when we went over it on our way to the Pumpkin Patch. Anyway, I humored him and took them over it. We got out at the park underneath - Cathedral Park - and took a few pics. The boys wanted to hang out there, but it was wet and cold. I forced them to go home. God, it's a beautiful bridge, though...

Ashe and Finn's Summer 2010, Volume II

2010-08-28T14:56:00.000-07:00

CONTINUED FROM PRIOR...

7. Ashe, Cade, and Dennis see Justin Bieber. Finn, Loghan, Tuck and I go out to dinner and then have a sleepover with the Ealy boys.

8. Alex (Erin's son, my nephew, boys' cousin) and Megan (sister-in-law, boys' aunt) visit for a week. We take Alex downtown for a walk on the waterfront and dinner.

Ashe has been having bloody noses this summer...

Aunt Megan with the boys. We all love her!!

9. Ashe and Finn and I go swimming and spend the day at the Sewell 's new place, with Drew and Emmy and Ms. Shannon.

10. Ashe, Finn, and I have a night at Holiday Inn Portland for swimming. Finn's friend, Nico, joins us for a bit.

11. Ashe participates in Summer League basketball, along with the 3-on-3 tournament as the culmination of the league.

molly & bernadette (right with mic) did an awesome job with the league and the tournament. amazing.

BASKETBALL CAMPS.

--Finn attended basketball camp, run by LeRoy Ellis Jr., at the end of June.

--Ashe went to Michael Holton's Basketball Camp.

--Ashe attended Rip City Basketball Camp (at Concordia University) at the end of July. He won the free throw competition award for his group.
--Ashe went to one of Coach Kenny's Sunday bball clinics.

Ashe and Finn's Summer 2010, Volume I

2010-08-01T23:28:00.000-07:00

I haven't been keeping up lately, so I thought I'd do this and summarize the summer in one fell swoop!!

Here's a list of our fun activities, and related pictures.

1. Last day of School, June 15

2. Trip to Mt. Hood's Resort at the Mtn., with Ealys and Sorensens.

3. Dennis takes the boys to Spokane for Hoopfest (Dennis' team takes 2nd place!!).
4. Finn and I go to a Portland Timbers soccer game.

5. All of us with Dennis' mom, Janet, + Elaine go to Timberline Lodge for Holly's (Aunt/sister-in-law) 50th birthday dinner.

6. Fourth of July at the Residence Inn on the Columbia River, for viewing the Ft. Vancouver fireworks.

KEEP AN EYE OUT FOR BLOG #2, WHERE I GIVE YOU THE GLORIOUS PICTURES TO GO WITH THE REST OF THEIR FUN SUMMER ACTIVITIES, LISTED BELOW.

7. Ashe, Cade, and Dennis see Justin Bieber/Finn, Loghan, Tuck and I go out to dinner and then have a sleepover with the Ealy boys.
8. Alex (Erin's son, my nephew, boys' cousin) and Megan (sister-in-law, boys' aunt) visit for a week. We take Alex downtown for a walk on the waterfront and dinner.
9. Ashe and Finn go swimming and spend the day at the Sewell 's new place, with Drew and Emmy.
10. Ashe, Finn, and I have a night at Holiday Inn Portland for swimming. Finn's friend, Nico, joins us for a bit.
11. Ashe participates in Laurelhurst Summer League basketball, along with the 3-on-3 tournament as the culmination of the league.
12. Finn attended Laurelhurst basketball camp, put on by LeRoy Ellis Jr., at the end of June at the boys' school.
13. Ashe went to Michael Holton's Basketball Camp.
14. Ashe attended Rip City Basketball Camp (at Concordia University) at the end of July.

He's Better Than Justin Bieber!

2010-06-25T17:50:00.000-07:00

Here's my little boy...I love that he enjoys singing. He's just so damn cute.

Ashe had Field Day Too!

2010-06-06T23:34:00.001-07:00

Ashe on the rock wall, Field Day 2010

Ashe (5th grade) had Field Day on June 3, 2010. I was assigned to the rock wall for this field day. Ashe was really awesome. I rarely see him in this environment. I go on a few field trips, but this was different. He used to be the kid that would stand and watch the other kids do things - warm ups during p.e. hokey pokey in preschool, etc...In the picture below (with his back toward the camera), though: now he participates!! This is the Chicken Fat dance they were doing as warm up.
Otherwise, it was fun to watch him do some of the activities. It's been the same field day for several years now, so they mostly know the ropes...speaking of, Ashe climbed to the top of the climbing rope. I could never even get a couple of feet up the rope.

Unlike when I was in school, they don't do "real" sports...that is, there is no 100 yard run (any run!) or wheel barrel race or 3-legged race. They don't get ribbons. Well, everyone gets a ribbon when the event is over, that has the school name on it. No 1st, 2nd, or 3rd place. Even in my lame athletic history, the few times I got a ribbon, I was so excited. They should just give ribbons!!

It was fun. I had a huge banking issue to deal with (that many of you probably heard about), so I had to leave the day early. Thanks Dawn C. for being nice about covering for me...It was fun nonetheless.

Multnomah Falls/Hood River Memorial Day Sunday 2010

2010-06-05T00:05:00.000-07:00

We took a short trip to the Columbia River Gorge last Sunday. We didn't do anything for Memorial Day weekend, so this was something to do. Surprisingly, the boys hadn't been there, so we decided to do it. It was a really fun time. Very mellow. The boys liked it. Finn was into it. Really into the walk up to the bridge at the falls. I was surprised. We headed to Hood River after the falls. The Falls was entertaining, because there were stupid, stupid people who were waiting in the parking lot and not going around other cars waiting on spots. We just decided to drive on through and go on to Hood River. We waited behind a bunch of cars for about 20 minutes; started driving through; and, found a spot at the end. If people kept on driving, they would have found spots.

Anyway, I took lots of pics...the ones below are in Hood River. I can't recommend the Big Horse Brew Pub enough. Delicious, delicious food. Probably the best pub food I've ever eaten.

Big Horse Brew Pub, Hood River, OR (Photo from Google Maps)

View from Big Horse Brew Pub

A Couple of Weeks in May (2010)

2010-05-29T23:05:00.000-07:00

Boys after Saturday Market, in the fountain.

This has been a busy month. It started with Mother's Day, on May 9, 2010. We went to Elaine's. We had Chinese food from Mar's Meadows, a place we went a lot when I was a teenager. Caver was out of town, in Arizona, with Lisa...Mom didn't want to cook...everyone knows I don't cook. Mar's was yummy!! Helen Bernhardt's cake and ice cream for dessert. We got about 10 different dishes...dad was home for Mother's Day but went to the hospital shortly after.

Granny with her sons-in-law on Mother's Day

Finn, Granny, Tuck, Cade

About a week later, Saturday May 15, Caver had us over for dinner...she grilled and made yummy food. It was so nice. The boys played and had a great time!! Granny came for a while too.

On Sunday the 16th, there was a Sunday Parkways event that went right through my mom's neighborhood (Concordia) that we were going to attend but we decided not to go. It was raining in the morning and by the time it cleared up, the boys preferred Caver's idea of going to Saturday Market. We met her, Cade, and Tucker there. They had pizza and elephant ears and couldn't have been happier.
All four boys bought cute glass necklaces. It was so much fun. I haven't been there in years. Saw Portland's Elvis even. He was really sweet, giving me a big hug...After we broke off from Caver and her boys, my boys decided they wanted to go in the fountain. I carefully took off their shoes and rolled up their pants, telling them to get their feet wet. They ended up getting their entire bodies wet, which blew me away. Why would I take the time to take off shoes and roll up pants if they were going to do that?!? I just don't get it.

On May 21st, Finn had a great activity at school. For six weeks or so, his class studied insects. Finn told me a few weeks ago that he was a bee. I didn't get it, but that's what he was. Shortly after that, his teacher sent out an email informing us that the students were assigned an insect that they were supposed to study and become experts on. He also had two pupas that he was watching and studying in class...one of his pupas rotted, but the other turned into a beetle. Pretty cool.

Finn on far right

Grasshoppers

Mantids

The insect study culminated in "Insect Interviews", that the kids participated in, with all their parents watching. There were six categories of insect (ants, grasshoppers, mantids, butterflies, ladybugs, and bees). They all made costumes in class in the morning. In the afternoon, the parents came and interviewed them, asking them questions about what they eat; where they live; who their predators are; how honeycomb is made; how far they can jump; etc. The kids had so much information and were so darling, sharing everything they learned. Loved it.

Finn's field day was on May 24th...I volunteered to help. I was assigned to the exciting Marble Pick Up game. It was interesting. It was marbles in a barrel with water. The kids had to take off their shoes and pick up as many marbles as they could with their feet in 45 seconds. It was a somewhat cold day. Totally entertaining to watch them. Finn did most of the activities. He did another water game as well (pic to the left), where he had to fill up a container faster than other kids. It was all fun stuff like that, ending with parachute games and popsicles. The kids had a good time.

Busy May....

New York City, Day IV, 25.Apr.2010

2010-05-10T14:55:00.000-07:00

Luggage display (of those who came through Ellis Island)

I loved my fourth day in Manhattan. It was a lazy day, but I loved every minute of it. The four of us had tickets to go to Ellis Island, but I decided to bag it. I was not up for a ferry ride. I was not up for being on a tour/event that was a minimum of four hours. I wanted to just wing it and have some alone time. I love my travel mates as much as anyone I could have traveled with. I just liked the idea of exploring New York a little bit on my own.

Janet & Elaine at Ellis Island at the very center of this pic

Here are some of the Ellis Island pics that Dennis took.

I slept in...

I walked from our hotel at W. 75th & Broadway Streets to the NBA Store, at 52nd and 5th. I included a map here. It gives you some perspective of the distance, and also notes a FEW of the cool things I walked past in a 20 minute walk. You can really walk from one end of Manhattan to another fairly easily. (The borough of Manhattan, that is. Even the island itself is only about the length of a half marathon. Manhattan borough, though, is very walkable) I enjoy walking in NYC, too, so it's actually fun to me.

The NBA Store is very, very impressive...even for an average fan like me. Check out the picture of just the cool entry. I spent over an hour in there by myself, then another 1/2 hour or so in there with Dennis the next day when we went back together...I just loved all the cool things for the boys there. Yes, I bought myself a Knicks tee shirt (or two), but it was the boys who really scored!!!

On the way to the NBA Store I walked right by the Museum of Modern Art, not on purpose. It was Sunday, remember, so it was absolutely packed. Probably 1000 people (I'm bad at estimating...but it was at least the amount of space - probably more - as the Crystal Ballroom in Portland, OR, and that holds 1000 people.) in the lobby alone!!! Waiting to buy tickets; sitting; gathering; who knows what/why...it was as if they were using it as a meeting/hanging out space. I just was glad this was NOT the day we chose to actually go through the museum as visitors. I was by myself, and just shopping. I bought some cool gifts for people and went on my way. More on this museum for day five's post!!
Walking back to the hotel, I walked by the Jekyll and Hyde Club, which was (coincidentally) on the list of things I wanted to see. I really just wanted to see the building. Make these pictures bigger. Imagine this, just walking down the street, in between regular office buildings. See the Starbucks next door. Trump Tower a block away. Just a strange, strange site. I should have gone in (and would have had the kids been with me), but just took pictures.

We had dinner at Arte Cafe, on W. 73rd, near Columbus. What a treat. Dennis and I saw it on one of our walks, and noted we wanted to go there at some point. It was in the bottom of a building. It was so darling...nice actually. It had pictures of Italians everywhere. Looked to be strictly locals in there. A family. A mom with her daughter. Just very low key. Somewhat out of the way. Just the best. Elaine's mussels were delicious, as was my pasta. The dessert of creme broulee was superb as well . Again, about a 7.0-7.5 on a scale of 1-10 (the creme broulee was a 10!!!) , but well executed. Just not extraordinary.

That's the end of the pleasantly mellow (for me!) day four. Day five soon!! I'm sure these are boring to anyone reading them...mostly my own travel journal. ; )

ELAINE & DENNIS, PROBABLY IN HEATED DISCUSSION!!

creme broulee
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JANET AND I, HAPPILY NOT IN HEATED DISCUSSION!!

New York City, Day III, 24.Apr.2010

2010-05-09T13:09:00.000-07:00

Day three in New York City was as entertaining and great as the first two days. Here is our itinerary for the day, Saturday:

1. Elaine (my mom) and Janet (Dennis' mom) took the Downtown Manhattan Bus Tour...on the touristy double-decker ones
2. Dennis & I go to Tenement Museum downtown
3. Shopped on Spring Street on the way to the Tenement Museum
4. Ate at Katz's Deli, while waiting for our tour time to be called at the museum
5. Saw the Sondheim on Sondheim Broadway musical...at Roundabout Theater, which used to be Studio 54
6. Angelo's (between 53rd and 54th on Broadway, next door to the Ed Sullivan Theater/David Letterman Show) for a late night (11:00ish) dinner after the show.

Janet had never been to New York, so she wanted to do a bus tour one of the days we were there. She wanted to see as much as possible, and a double-decker bus tour is a great way to see a lot in a brief time. They are sort of fun too. I loved it the time I did it. We did both the downtown and uptown loops. It's exactly that: I felt like I saw everything without spending a ton of time. You can get off and on the bus where you would like. Janet and Elaine didn't do that, because they went on a Saturday tour. It was packed. They said if they got off, they may have had to wait for awhile to find a spot on another bus.

Dennis and I started off our journey to the Tenement Museum getting off the subway about a mile from there. We walked down Spring Street, in SoHo, to get there. Great, great shopping - many smallish, local stores, along with chain stores (anthropologie, Pink Berry, Diesel). We found a cool science store (The Evolution Store). It had the greatest stuff!! Everything from skulls to full human skeletons to mounted butterflies to edible bugs to animal teeth...It was a fun way to start the day and a nice entertaining way to walk. I could have spent all day AND my life savings in those stores!!! (the picture on the right is graffiti on Spring Street)

Dennis and I missed the Tenement Museum on Thursday. We had to get Letterman tickets. It also took forever to get to the city from the airport because bridges were closed off for the President's visit.

We made it back there this day, Saturday. We knew the tours would still have the same issue and be at set times, but we had time that day to wait and figure it out. Please don't let that detour you from visiting there!! It's so, so worth it. **Go here to buy advance tickets: Tenement Museum online tickets** You can look up the times online. They change every day. We ended up doing "The Moores: An Irish Family in America" Tour, at 3:45 p.m. From their website: We've carefully restored 6 apartments, including our newest one: the home of the Moores, Irish immigrants who lived at 97 Orchard in 1869. 1869?!? Incredible. I learned so much. Our tour guide was wonderful too.

There is so much to say about this place I don't know where to begin. Making one of the many long stories short - the woman who founded the museum bought the building in 1988 for $700,000 (a run down, uninhabited except for the storefronts, gutted building in Lower Manhattan when it wasn't that cool yet). She just bought another building to add to the museum last year. (from their website: We will continue to grow. In 2007, the Museum purchased 103 Orchard Street, which will serve as a flagship building for our Visitors Center, exhibitions and classrooms.). It's also run down and needs work...there ARE people living on three floors of it (who they are going to accommodate and move up to the top floors), but she wants it because much of it is historically accurate, and she will most certainly find (tenement) artifacts again, as they did in the first building...she paid $10 million for this building...unbelievable! Quite a difference from 1988. Downtown is cool, hip, and desirable now.
We killed time waiting for our tour at Katz's Deli. Wonderful. I love pastrami sandwiches, and I love New York "lore" and places I've heard about and that people talk about. They just had a "Food Wars" on The Travel Channel the day before I came to New York about the best Pastrami in NYC - it was between Katz's and 2nd Avenue - Katz's won. I wanted to see if that was indeed true, but I would not have time on this trip to the city. I would need to sample a couple of others, at least, to form a respectable opinion. 2nd Avenue and Carnegie Deli...Well, I did a very scientific poll instead: I asked the New Yorker who shared our table at Katz's. She told me she lived in Uptown Manhattan. I asked her if Katz's was really the best. She said: "I've tried them all, Katz, Carnegie; and Katz is the best." I said what about 2nd Avenue Deli? She said Katz is the best. So there you have it: it really is. It was delicious.

This is Katz's Men's Room. Check it out and check out the walls and the stuff around it. Quite an interesting place. Not a clean place as my new best friend (who shared our table) also pointed out, but a great, great sand. And jam-packed. A line out the door to get in.

We took the subway back to the hotel. We were seeing Sondheim on Sondheim. We decided we weren't hungry before the show...that half pastrami sandwich filled me up for hours!!...so, we ended up eating after the show. Sondheim was wonderful. It was at the location of the old Studio 54, so it was cool to get to see that piece of New York history. It was a great production, that I can't even explain - lots of video and not much else. Vanessa Williams is very talented and was perfect in this. Dennis is a new found fan of her's. He always thought she was beautiful, but now he's a fan of her talent too. It's hard to get him to be a fan sometimes.

We ate at Angelo's. There are pics of my calamari here. The pic of Janet and Elaine is also from Angelo's. It was a good place. It was a nice, late after show dinner. The cannoli there was delicious as well...but there was no restaurant where I ate in New York that was even close to some of my favorites in Portland. I didn't seek out really good restaurants really...but I like the quaint local places we chose. I liked Arte's Cafe the best, which is in the next blog. :) Day IV.

End of Day Three!!

New York City, Day II, 23.Apr.2010

2010-05-03T22:45:00.000-07:00

Our trip to the best place on earth continued on day two, Friday, April 23, 2010. The activities for day two were the following:

1. Walk Central Park, eventually getting to the Whitney Museum
2. Unexpected visit with the lovely Zola and the wisteria
3. Walk back to hotel through the Park
4. Dinner with Wynelle (Elaine's long-time friend, who lives in Harlem)
5. Subway to see The Addams Family musical on Broadway
6. Subway back to the Beacon Hotel
7. Stop at Gray's Papaya for a late night snack

First let me say that I have spent lots of time at this place - Fairway Market - when I visit NYC. It's where we get supplies, mostly food and drink. It really is the best grocery store on earth. I don't even know how to describe it. The closest thing I know to it, and this is only going to reach a niche audience as well, is the old Nature's Grocery Store in PDX, before it was bought by Wild Oats and Whole Foods.
(Photo Credit: http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/d-SMgF3Q-Asc7N2SdR-M4Q)

The gang (my mom, Elaine, my mother-in-law, Janet, & Dennis) always woke before me. That is par for the course. Luckily, they were eating bagels from Fairway and coffee from Starbucks both nearby, so they enjoyed just "waking up in New York"...as my mom would say. They would have happily jaunted off without me and left my sleeping a** there, if they wanted to. :)

This day started with a walk through Central Park to get to our respective museums. We showed Dennis' mom the Dakota Apartments and Strawberry Fields along the way. Dennis and Janet were going to Guggenheim and my mom and I were heading to the Whitney Museum of American Art for the day.

On the way to the park, we met Zola, who I described in detail here...Love her. See these pics of she and my mom and the "spectacle" of a wisteria she went out of her way to show us.

It was the Whitney's 75th Biennial (this links to images/information about the art in the biennial itself - it was all art done in the last two years), and I had already visited the Guggenheim, where Dennis and his mom were going. I'm not a huge art person, but it's that old cliche': I know what I like. I do enjoy museums, but there are very specific ones I want to visit and things I want to see. I am so surprised I waited so long to visit the Whitney. Whenever I am in the city, I have a person in my party who goes to the Whitney, but I choose not to. How disappointing that I have waited this long! I really, really loved that place. I cannot believe how interested I was in each piece there. Thankfully, it's relatively small, so I could easily get through it and spend as much time as I wanted.

I don't even know where to start with the Whitney and I don't intend to go into detail about my favorite things at Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) later, because I could take pictures of them and I can post them here so that you can make your judgment as to why I liked it. The Whitney allowed no photography of the exhibits/art.

The Whitney was started by a Vanderbilt as a place to show living American artists. Obviously, museums don't tend to show many living artists or American ones. Much more so now...especially with the popularity of small local galleries..but not in the 30's when Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney started this one.

I loved some of the more "regular" art like Edward Hopper's Early Sunday Morning. But I also liked (maybe not liked, but was intrigued by and glad I saw) some of the different stuff, like the 10 foot or so (in circumference) sculpture made out of African-American hair...and the vinyl, life-sized, toilet.

The most poignant installation was about 12 photos hung on a white wall around two halves of a room. Women...horribly mutilated...I won't go into detail, but some of them so badly, they didn't look human. I don't typically like "shock art" (for lack of a better term - I admit I don't know art/terminology), but I think this was just something people need to see to slap them into reality of what is going on around the world...and especially in these extreme circumstances.

O.k. enough said about the depressing stuff...but incredible. Check out the yummy sandwich (Applewood-smoked Turkey & Gouda). I had it at their cool cafe. I love the Whitney!!

My mom is the cutest thing ever: she doesn't love walking. She's like me and will walk more in NYC than anywhere, but still doesn't love to walk. She asked me to take a cab home with her. I hailed her one, and decided to walk through the park by myself. Damn, I LOVE that park. It really is incredible.

We met up at the hotel with Dennis' mom and Dennis. They loved the Guggenheim. I was disappointed that they didn't get to see the huge canvas of dead flies. It was about 8 x 8 and was black. When mom & I saw it there, I thought we were walking up to a black canvas, until we smelled the smell a few feet away. As we got closer, we realized it was a black matte of dead flies. So sad they missed that experience. Wish I did!! I digress...

We went to dinner with a dear friend of my mom's named Wynelle, who we all love and who always takes us around whenever we visit. I was so neglectful in that I didn't take a picture of her at all this time!!! How lame am I?!? Anyway, I love that lady. Dennis' mom even commented how gracious and giving she is. She takes the subway to our hotel; takes us around; rides with us to make sure we get to our show on time; and, then turns around and rides the subway back home (to Harlem)!! She's darling as she can be, too!!

We went to see The Addams Family Musical. It was definitely fun and entertaining. It is what you would expect it to be. I'd give it a B grade. We had fun. Bebe Neuwirth and Nathan Lane on Broadway: I had to see that once in life. :)

After the show, we shopped on Broadway and bought tacky souvenirs at the tourist junk shops. Subway back to the hotel...walking there, we needed a snack. Another thing I had to cross off my list was right off the subway stop (W. 72nd and Broadway): Gray's Papaya Hot Dogs. I'd seen it on t.v. before, including this Anthony Bourdain episode. Molly told me I had to try it as well...I must say I LOVE hot dogs. They were good - as good as the "everyday New York" ones on the cart. Unlike the traditional NYC cart hot dogs, I like that Gray's are grilled and have char marks on them. This was the perfect night/time for it. One a.m. on Friday night after a show. What a great first two days & nights. More to come.

New York City, Day I, 22.Apr.2010

2010-05-01T23:01:00.000-07:00

We flew into JFK Airport at about 7:30 a.m. on Thursday, April 22. It was perfect for me, because I slept most of the flight. I felt great. It's probably a one hour drive to the hotel under regular circumstances, but we got to the hotel at about 10 a.m. It was a 1.5-2 hour ride. The Queensboro bridge was closed, so the cabbie was trying to go around it. He ended up going in circles several times, and we had to wait in TONS (!) of traffic anyway. Thankfully, the cab fare from the airport is a flat amount of $45 + tolls. We found out later that President Barack Obama was in town. The prior blo g includes that story..

To peak your interest - Dennis & my activities for this day were:

1. Tenement Museum attempt
2. President Obama's motorcade

3. David Letterman Show ticket pickup
4. Sheraton Hotel to kill time and watch guests heading to the NFL Draft
5. David Letterman Show taping
6. Walk from 53rd and Broadway to 75th and Broadway to hotel

-Columbus Circle and Alice Tully
Concert Hall along the way

7. Dinner at Manhattan Diner with Dennis' mom, Janet

We got to the Beacon Hotel and left our luggage, and headed out to do some things. We won tickets for David Letterman Show later that night (they called me and asked me a very easy trivia question). They HAD to be picked up between 2 and 3 p.m.

We went downtown to the Lower East Side, to see the Tenement Museum. I was hoping to walk across the Brooklyn Bridge as well, but we didn't end up doing that. The subway is my favorite form of transportation in NYC. Over the years, I have finally learned (well, DECIDED this when I was there in 2004) that the subway is the best thing for my short attention span. It was great going there and taking cabs every single place we went...but, the subway beats it all. It's nice to see the sites and the buildings and the places you hear about on every single corner in every single block. Since EVERYTHING is in NYC, everywhere you look there is something to see...but, even so, I'd rather get to my destination than chance getting in NYC traffic. We got off the subway (#1) and had about a mile to walk to the museum. We got to the museum and realized they had scheduled tour times, which weren't going to work with our Letterman ticket schedule. We left and figured we would go back there later on the trip, which we did on Monday Apr 26. Next we had our "Obama experience".

We took the subway to midtown, so that we could end up at Letterman (W. 53rd and Broadway) at 2 'o clock. We ate at the Heartland Brewery right in the most tourist-y part of the city (Times Square/Theater District/Broadway). It was fine, though. It wasn't wonderful, but good. I had buffalo chicken spring rolls (picture, right) served with sauces of blue cheese and buffalo wing sauce. They were definitely yummy, but just bar food.

We went and picked up tickets to see Dave. We had time to kill so walked over to the Sheraton Hotel one block over from the Ed Sullivan Theater. There were many families there checking in, that were obviously going to the draft later that night. The first round of the draft was right down the street from there at Radio City Music Hall. There were families with special guest NFL stickers, and larger-sized (many black) young men...I like Sheratons/Westins/W Hotels and we stay at them often. We earned an hour of loitering in their lobby until Letterman's taping began. Like I say, the NFL Draft-related people watching there was priceless. :)

Dave's guests on 22.April.2010 were David Spade, Broken Social Scene (music), and the current head of the EPA (Lisa Jackson). Jackson was there because it was also Earth Day. It was fun. Dennis and I both agreed that we don't need to see Letterman live again. It was, without question, much more entertaining when we were there in 1998. The stage was much more cluttered and view obstructed this time.

The taping ended by about 5:45. We decided walking to the hotel would be just as easy as getting on a crowded subway at rush hour. It was a beautiful, nice, fun, site-filled walk!! We walked from W. 53rd and Broadway to our hotel on W. 75th and Broadway. The blocks are actually very short heading that direction in Manhattan. On our walk, we passed Columbus Circle. I wanted to see the remodel: Time-Warner Center...the mall, Jazz at Lincoln Center...I didn't need to go in the mall (which we ended up doing two days later for dinner, when we ate dinner at Whole Foods :), but it was nice to see the renovation. Dennis salivated at the cool huge Apple store...I was excited to see Alice Tully Hall, so got that taken care of on that first day's walk as well. (I saw an hour on Charlie Rose about Alice Tully and it's remodel and what an amazing piece of architecture it is.) We walked by Lincoln Center buildings...the Metropolitan Opera (that's it, just above).

Dennis' mom and I wanted dinner, so the two of us went to Manhattan Diner. I ate there several times when I stayed at the Beacon in 2004...it's my favorite kind of diner. The epitome of a diner!!!

NYC 2010 Travel Journal: Expect the (wonderfully!) unexpected, especially in New York City

2010-04-29T00:18:00.000-07:00

2010.04.22
Expect the unexpected

Keith Haring Bathroom Room 210

I love Manhattan. I don’t ever know where to start when I go there. There’s so much more than just a vacation. I always have people I want to talk about and stories I want to tell, in addition to the wonderful things I did and sites I saw. It’s so hard to know where to start. I am going to start with my unexpected experiences.

(For the record, I am thinking of this more as a travel journal. So, it may get a little bit windy, but read if you want, otherwise don’t! I should do this chronologically, but I am going to do it as I want to. Putting my stories in an order that seems appropriate inside my quite kooky mind)

One of my favorite things happened by chance the last day I was in Manhattan. Dennis and I were on our way to the Highline. We stumbled upon the Keith Haring Bathroom. I thought I would miss both the Highline and Room 210 on this trip, but we had a 7:30 p.m. flight so had all day to spend.

We got off the subway that morning, walked about two blocks and there was the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, & Transgender Community Center. I was shocked, because it was on my list of things I wanted to do there. That list had so many more things than I knew I would ever get to do that I thought I wouldn’t get to the center. We spent three of our six days in Lower Manhattan…but with a very specific itinerary. I love it downtown, but the last couple of times we’ve been in Manhattan, we have not spent much time there, because it’s so freaking crowded!! We stay uptown and as much as Manhattan can be: it’s more neighborhood-y uptown. I love it uptown...but, I digress.

We walked by, and I saw the rainbow flag. I saw the center’s name. I turned to Dennis and I said: “That’s where the Keith Haring bathroom is.” He was interested, but didn’t think we’d go in. He’s great and never complains, but a lot of the walking we did was because of me. I wanted to see the Highline, so here we were traipsing down to the Highline and I’m adding on extra site stops! The Highline ended at 18^th street and to his credit, he walked way farther than the end of that park. In total that afternoon, we walked from the subway stop - 14^th street to 42^nd - before we caught another subway. His ankle and hip and knee are all f’d up, but he keeps on trucking. Again, I digress.

I asked if he wanted to go in and he said it was up to me…but I felt like him: I was thinking we should get to the Highline. Hell, it would only be a few minutes to see a cool piece of Haring art not in a museum. I went in and asked the guy at the front desk if we could see the Keith Haring bathroom. He said it “Sure, it’s Room 210”. We walked up the stairs, and I was so excited, and opened the door…and there was a man in there with his computer set up, working away. Yes. I was surprised!!!

I knew going in that it wasn’t an in-use bathroom and was now an “art piece” of sorts, but had no idea I’d see a man working in there!! I thought the guy at the front desk would have at least told us!! It ended up being a very pleasant surprise actually. We talked for a few minutes….but, this bathroom. Wow. Dennis and I love Haring’s stuff, so we were into it…but it was a thing of beauty. I thought, when I’d heard/read it was not in use, I thought that it was still outfitted as a bathroom – with toilets and sinks, etc. But no, it’s completely empty, with the white bathroom/subway-looking tile, and then the entire top half is painted by Mr. Haring himself…(well, the guy had a fold out table he was using as a desk and it had outlets, equipped enough to handle his computer, apparently)

The gentleman working in there was out of work and was doing volunteer work for the center…a six week project. He was great, saying “I’m so lucky that I get to have this as my office, right?” Dennis and I both heartily agreed. I took photos. He asked where we were from and when we told him Portland, he told us he lived in PDX for three years. He lived in NE Portland!! He told us we were lucky to live in such a great city. I told him the same thing about himself!! He also thanked us for taking the time to come by and see the art/bathroom. It was our pleasure, certainly!!

It was awesome. I loved it. I loved that we stumbled upon it by accident. I love that there was a man there to talk with. I loved that he happened to know parts of Portland, Oregon where I live. There’s just something about New York City.

Zola.

Zola, and her Wisteria Waterfall.

We met Zola on the second day in the city. We were walking down 74^th toward Central Park West and a woman overheard us talking about the way we wanted to go (to show Janet, Dennis’ mom, the Dakota Apartments and Strawberry Fields) – we weren’t lost, just deciding to cross which street. She offered directions, then said “Come with me. I want to show you a spectacle. I want to show you a wisteria. It’s beautiful. It’s a spectacle.” She walked us about three blocks down and there was the most beautiful, full wisteria I’ve ever seen. The base/stalk was so thick, it was tree-like. Pictures of both Zola and the wisteria are here/above. She described it as looking like a waterfall. The cutest lady ever!! :)

We chatted with Zola. I asked her where she was from. Argentina. Later, I found out she’d been in NYC over 40 years or “longer than I can remember”. She was so cute and sweet and gracious. We didn’t ask for directions, but she gave us those and more. After we talked for several minutes, she turned around and walked back the other way. We realized that when she told us a few minutes prior that she lived on 73^rd street it was the other way on 73^rd. She just went that way to show us the “spectacle.”! New Yorkers. The best.

President Obama.

We saw the Presidential motorcade. I have never seen a Presidential motorcade. It wasn’t spectacular, but when you DO get to see the President’s automobile, it’s sort of cool to me I have to admit. Indirectly, you are seeing the President, right? You don’t know you’re seeing him, but he’s looking out one of those tinted windows. I’m SURE he waved at me.

(We were walking to the Tenement Museum, from the subway stop. Yes. Walking from the subway stop is a common theme here. I didn’t take one cab the entire time in New York. Dennis had Janet and Granny with him to go downtown to Ellis Island, but they also ended up in very few. I only rode one from and to the airport. Otherwise, we rode the bus once. It’s not an economic, or “I’m so New York, I use the subway” thing. It’s because there is no traffic down there underground. I guess that’s stating the obvious. It’s so quick!! I’m ADD, so I’m impatient. :)

Well, streets started closing off as we were walking. More and more police were gathering. They eventually put up barricades and wouldn’t let people cross the streets. Dennis knew exactly what it was, once I told him the President was in town. He had seen a Bush motorcade before. I won’t draw this out except to say that this was a fluke too – seeing this. Since Dennis told me it was uneventful seeing one, we decided to continue to the museum. We had to pick up Letterman tickets by 2:00 p.m. that day. This was about 11 or so. Well, we got to the museum and there are scheduled tour times. They don’t allow you to just walk through it yourself. The times didn’t coincide to allow us to get Letterman tiks in time, so we walked back (about a mile) to the same subway we took to get there and, hopefully, get to our hotel if we had time before the show.

We got back walking down Housten or Bowery or Delancey – one of those big streets in that part of town - right when Barack Obama came. Dennis pointed out his car, because it always has the Presidential flags. It was cool and something I didn’t expect to see on my trip…or ever, for that matter…and there are pictures to do the rest of the explaining on that one.

Expect the unexpected, especially in New York City…More to come. I think it will be food-themed. I had two very, very good meals there, but both different from each other (7-8 on a 1-10 scale). No spectacular meals there, and lots of just good food (solid 6’s). I took pictures of it all, though.

Happy 11th Birthday Ashe Pollard II

2010-03-28T22:10:00.000-07:00

We had a lively dinner at Applebee's tonight for Ashe's birthday. He is having more of a "party"-party in a week or so, but tonight was his actual birthday, so he wanted to go to Applebee's. The Ealys joined us and so did Granny. We all had a very fun time actually. Totally entertaining.

The only thing that Ashe asked for was a Carmelo Anthony jersey. When he actually received it, he was astounded and shocked and so incredibly happy. I assume he knew he'd get it, since that's the only thing he really asked for, but his reaction was still one of shock. I loved his reaction.

He also loved the iPod he got from his Granny (Elaine) and Grandpa (Ole). He went to bed listening to it tonight. :) Cute, cute boy!!

Happy 11th Birthday Ashe Pollard

2010-03-28T00:01:00.000-07:00

Ashe turns 11 on March 28, 2010 (at 8:21 p.m. to be exact). I love you, Ashe. Happy Birthday.

Finn's Van Gogh Night and Ashe's Science Fair

2010-03-21T20:47:00.000-07:00

Finn, Ashe, Cade, Granny (l to r)

The boys had some big things going on in school for the last couple of months. Both have worked on them for quite some time before the actual presentation of each occurred. For Finn it was a cool thing called Van Gogh Night. His teacher, Ms. Martin, has done this for four years now. She teaches the kids an enormous amount about Vincent Van Gogh -- his life and works. She talks about his mental illness. She talks about him cutting off part of his ear and sending it to a woman. She laughs (but is serious) when she says that she's managed to teach it all these years without mentioning that the woman was a prostitute. It culminates in a presentation to kids' families at Science and Art Night at the school.

Finn's knowledge has impressed me. He knows things all the way from recognizing several of his paintings to his art dealer being his brother to his tragic death and the location of his residence during each of those significant events in his life. I'm so thankful for Ms. Martin's furthering Finn's love of art.

Finn in middle, blue shirt

The video is footage of the amazing recreations the 1^st graders did of Van Gogh’s pieces. Finn is at about 15 seconds giving his Van Gogh quote, which was quite difficult as the teacher acknowledges. :)

Ashe has been working for about six weeks on his science project. He was to design an experiment to test a hypothesis of his choosing. His interest is almost entirely in basketball, so he chose a basketball-related hypothesis: I will shoot more baskets when I am rested than when I have exercised for a half an hour. He proved himself right, but was hesitant to say he came to a conclusion. I thought the results were statistically significant – overall rest won three of the five trials. In addition, in total he made 52 baskets after rest and 46 after exercise. I think I computed that as a 13% difference. Ashe insists this is not statistically significant. :) Photos of Ashe's work below.

Ashe's Highlight Reel? (Lions game 2/27/2010)

2010-03-02T22:57:00.000-08:00

Last Saturday, February 27, 2010, Ashe had a basketball game...he plays for the Lions (formerly the Chargers). He's been on this team since 2nd grade...there have been a few roster changes but not many. As with most kids, his goal for every game is to score as many points as possible. He's a good hustler, and he tends to get more rebounds than anything else. I love to watch it when he's on top of his defense (he has a near steal in the third play in the video below 0:19 seconds in). No matter how well he does defensively and helping in other ways on his team, he's disappointed with only two points a game. He had the best time scoring *eight* points :) in this game, so I put together some highlights. Ashe has #2 on his jersey - dark blue on white. Please excuse my poor camera skills!!

Finn the Bush Deer in "Anansi the Spider"

2010-03-01T15:33:00.000-08:00

Thanks to Run for the Arts (where kids run laps for pledges per lap/or a flat amount), the boys have had some fun, art-related activities in the years at school. Most recently, Finn participated in a puppet show at school. It was on February 12, 2010. It included everything from casting, puppet-making, rehearsal, and, finally, presenting the play to family members during the school day. The video shows a clip of Finn's "part". He was a Bush Deer. There were several of each animal in the play, except for the main character Anansi the Spider (just one Anansi). The artist who helped them in the play is the voice talking throughout the clip. He thanked Run for the Arts for keeping artists like him at work.

It's sort of cute. I had a much longer clip, but truncated it a bit, just to give you a flavor. Finn is in the purple Lakers shirt, 2nd from the left.

Finn's Got a "Basketball Jones".

2010-02-22T18:59:00.001-08:00

Finn pointing to the man he's defending. Blue shorts/yellow trim.

Finn's playing at Montavilla Community Center, through the Portland Parks, this year. His first game was Wed, February 17 at the Center. This is the first year he's actually wanted to play basketball. We only made him last year, so he could try it. We weren't going to force him again. It ends up the kid is as addicted to basketball as his brother. His dad took him to see the Lakers play the Blazers earlier this year and he came home completely obsessed. Love it!!

He's still unsure about a lot of the rules (no back court defense, for instance), but he's a hustler. He leaves it all out on the court!! So cute. Hopefully he can work on his skillz over the summer. Dribbling is difficult to for him to master. Like some kids his age: he's so focused on getting to that basket that he forgets to dribble. He gets in the zone. ;) It was fun. (no score to report - they don't keep score)

Finn with his hands up defending in middle of shot.

Harlem Globetrotters 2010

2010-02-21T19:36:00.000-08:00

We saw the Globetrotters at the Rose Garden last night. What a fun time. The boys have seen them twice, and they still enjoy them. This time, they were sometimes riveted, with Ashe even fretting when the Washington Generals got too close to the Globetrotters in score. Do the Globetrotters ever lose? We brought Cade & Tucker with us, and that was fun...Pizza Schmizza first, then the game.

THE BOYS ENJOY THEIR VARIOUS TREATS

DENNIS HOLDS UP TUCKER TO SEE THE ACTION

THE GLOBETROTTERS AND GLOBIE CHECK THE COMPUTER FOR SOME INFORMATION

THE Y-M-C-A

LADIES AND GENTLEMEN...THE HARLEM GLOBETROTTERS

GLOBEY

Maybe I'll do another blog or two before too long. We'll see. ; )

November Events: Cade & Tucker's Birthday & Thanksgiving 2009

2010-01-10T23:42:00.000-08:00

All the boys at the head table :),
including Cade & Tucker's cousins, Jake & Max.

the ealy family - caver, sean, tucker, cade

My previous statement stands: I have been horrible about updating the blog of late...so here I am playing catch up, again.

Cade & Tucker turned eight and six, respectively, in November. Cade - Nov 21 and Tuck - Nov 26. Caver had a hilarious location for the party: Sayler's Country Kitchen, in SE Portland. I have nothing against Sayler's at all!! It's just a more "traditional" location. The clientele, even when I was a kid (1975-1985, when I frequented there with my parents), is on the mature side. Caver always loved it. She loved salads and steaks (prime rib) as a kid, so she chose it. She told Cade and Tucker of her childhood love for the place...and her childhood birthday parties there...on a recent visit with them. They decided to have their birthday party there..in the banquet room. :)

cade & tucker's uncle randy and cousin claire.

granny, cade, and tucker

Great fun was had by all. It was banquet-like, :) complete with bowls of salad dressing on the tables to spoon over your salad...everyone could also choose an ice cream flavor. There were no 72-ounce steaks attempted in this crew...we aren't that daring. In case you don't know, if you eat the 72 ouncer, and the side dishes that come with it, it is free, and you live in infamy on the walls of Sayler's.

the banquet room at the country kitchen!

Also in November...we spent Thanksgiving at Elaine & Ole's with my sister's family. Caver often goes to Grants Pass to spend that holiday with Sean's family but this year they stayed home.

A Few of My Favorite Things.

2009-12-28T12:19:00.000-08:00

We had a mellow, mellow Christmas. Everyone was out of town, so Christmas morning Granny (Elaine) came to our house, to watch the boys open stuff. We had Christmas dinner at Granny & Grandpa's...it was so nice that Grandpa came up for dinner.

I got a Flip video camera for Christmas. I've been wanting one, because I feel like the boys' life is passing me right by. I thought the Flip would be a wonderful way to capture little snatches of it.

I asked Ashe, Granny, and Finn what their favorite gifts were. Here they are (as filmed with my new camera):

1. Ashe's favorite thing:

2. Finn's favorite thing:

3. Granny's favorite thing:

Happy Holidays & Merry Christmas!!

2009-12-24T13:26:00.000-08:00

HAPPY HOLIDAYS. Here's our 2009. (click to make bigger)

Sorry this scanned-in version isn't as clear. I had this done in October (except for my birthday photos) and I still haven't gotten it mailed to many of you. Soon. Very Soon.

Ashe and his Blog: A Boy's Life

2009-12-13T23:08:00.000-08:00

How can you not love this kid?!?

So, I can't tell you how cute I think it is that Ashe wanted to start a blog. I feel like it can't do anything but help his writing skills and give him an outlet for his thoughts, likes/dislikes, ideas...I don't know if this online world is necessarily the best for kids (or anyone, for that matter), but if I monitor it, I think it'll be a good thing.

I know. It's just a little blog...but it's his. He can do what he would like with it. I told him I wouldn't touch it or tell him to change it (as long as it's appropriate)...even capitalization and spelling are up to him. :) Please take a look. Leave a comment. Tell him what you think. It's so sweet and I hope it's good for him.

http://aboyslife1999.blogspot.com/

Finn's Thoughts: My brother, Ashe.

2009-12-07T19:47:00.000-08:00

From Finn:
I love my brother, Ashe. He makes me not feel scared when I'm scared.

The Cutest Blue Metallic (!) Shoes Ever.

2009-12-04T00:44:00.001-08:00

Yes. I said blue metallic shoes. I got blue metallic heels. It seems very weird...o.k., they are a bit funky, but I am a bit funky. They are beautiful. Love them.

If you want a better look at the color, click here, but if you are interested in actually buying them - in a more reasonable :) color (it doesn't bother me if you think my color is ugly!! :), they have them on sale at zappos, click here.

Forty. Yes, I'm really 40.

2009-11-28T23:20:00.000-08:00

I had a lovely 40th birthday. It's weird that I'm really 40. I don't feel 40. That's a good thing, but I REALLY don't feel 40. I feel about 20. Every year gets better for me. I'm happier every day. I'm luckier every day. I have friends and family who are way too good to me. I have the best kids. I have a good job. Life is really grand (knock on wood, right!).

I had a fabulous party. Dennis organized it all. He set up a dinner in the Wine Room at Jake's Grill. We had two nights at the Heathman Hotel in downtown Portland. A suite. The boys came for one of the nights. He is a thoughtful husband. As I said before, I am lucky. He was very modest about it all.

I only celebrated with a few friends and family. I didn't want a big celebration. I get too overwhelmed. (I can visit with each of my friends in time - it's nicer for me one-on-one.) My family was there: the boys and Dennis, my mom, dad (with me in the fifth picture from the bottom - it was really special he was able to come), and Caver's family. Lisa's family (third from last pic) was there. Sandy (bottom pic, with my mom) and Yvette (second to last picture with Lisa) also came. That was it.

Thank you everyone who sent birthday wishes. It felt so good to be appreciated.

Catching Up! First up: Finn's 7th Birthday.

2009-11-25T13:29:00.000-08:00

Finn & his Star Wars cake.

Whew. I have been a bad blogger lately. I typically enjoy it, but haven't felt like blogging lately. I figured, why force it? It's not something I HAVE to do. I definitely like the idea that it's a diary of sorts...especially like that my kids may have something to look back at. Instant memories (even when you don't remember!!). ; )

Finn turned seven years old on September 25th (yes, two months ago!!). He's Mr. Social Butterfly, and wanted to invite all his buddies to his party. We invited about 14 six-seven year old boys to our house, for a traditional birthday party with games, snacks and cake. Dennis thought I was crazy. I knew that's what Finn wanted - nothing fancy, no going to lazer tag or jumpy houses, or pizza...he just wanted a regular 'ol party. About 12 friends/cousins came to the party.

We had a pinata and played a version of musical chairs, pin the tail on the donkey, and telephone.

The boys were great (crazy, but great!!) and had such a fun time. Happy birthday, baby. I can't believe my littlest boy is seven. It's wonderful - because I love the little person he's become, but it makes me sad - because I miss the little boy he was. It really does get better every day, though!! Love you, Finn.

Scooter Town 2009

2009-09-21T15:58:00.000-07:00

finn goes through the car wash.

Finn had Scooter Town at school today for PE. Every year, his PE teacher does this. I'd never been invited, though. Ashe did it, now Finn's doing it for the second year. She's great. It's really

cool how she sets it up for the kids. She even has a working stoplight that points two directions. She has a train crossing, where they have to wait, if the train is crossing. Here are photos of some of the fun!!

Ms. F. controlling train.

Finn waiting at stop light.

Listening to directions from Ms. F.

Finn's First Futbol Game 2009

2009-09-14T21:22:00.000-07:00

Finn had his first real soccer game last Saturday (the 12th). He had the best time! He played soccer last year. No games in kindergarten soccer (last school year), so this was his first soccer game ever. Finn is not really into sports, and sometimes fights going, but after his second practice, stated he loves it. After this game, he was sold!! He says it's his favorite sport. I believe it.

He scored a goal too!! Yay for Finn.

(click on photos to make bigger)

It ended up being pretty hot. Finn, taking a water break

Coach Arve

Finn, on right

Finn, facing camera.

Nico, one of finn's closest buddies

I Don't Wanna Be Learned

2009-09-09T20:29:00.000-07:00

Tuesday, September 8, 2009...the boys started school yesterday.

Finn is a 1st Grader. Ashe is a 5th Grader. Growing up WAY (!) too fast. I could gush about the wonderful teachers they got. It's so funny how you get caught up in that. I have never been one of those parents to freak out about that, simply because the kids' school has great teachers in general. This year, though, I wanted Finn to get a certain teacher, because of her art focus. Finn loves art. I don't know where it came from, but he does. I want to foster that love. He got the teacher I wanted him to get.

Ashe's teacher is well thought of, but I know less about her. I think Ashe is honestly smitten with her. He wanted me to come up and "see" her...he didn't want me to meet her, he wanted me to see her. It's sweet. I hope it helps his interest in school, ;) rather than interferes with it.

Here's to a great 2009-2010 school year.

Down on the Farm

2009-08-23T23:32:00.000-07:00

We had a great vacation last week (Aug 14-Aug 19). We went to the Sierra Foothills (Garden Valley, California, 47 miles from Lake Tahoe, CA), where our friends, Barbara & Rusty, have property. I went there every summer for much of my youth. When I didn't spend it on their farm, I went to their Bay Area home.

I wanted the boys to experience what I did as a kid. I wanted them to be able to see something other than a major US city (they've been to Vegas, San Francisco, and Seattle, Palm Springs). It's fun for me, being in cities, but I knew they'd enjoy something else. I also was sentimental to re-live my childhood, in a sense. I mean, I have actually spent time with the B&R in recent years. I see them all the time, but I think the last time I was on the farm was 2002.

Matthew brought Cornhol(io :), a game that people like to play in the city (SF in Chrissy Field)

The boys got to roast marshmallows; "sleep" in a tent; see the sheep; paddle the boat on the pond; and, spend some time with my oldest friends. Barbara was my babysitter from the time I was two years old, and I grew up with her, Rusty and their three boys. One of them lived with my mom when I was a teenager. I love B&R as if they were my mother and father. I adore them and their boys, and their boys' families. Again, the luckiest lady on the planet I am, to have such great people in my life!!

Elaine drove to the farm with us, and Dennis flew down to meet us for a few days.

Evening Art Project - Piggy Banks

2009-08-09T11:08:00.000-07:00

I promised the boys a "toy" today. They had a good night last night (we spent the night at my mom's), so I told them I'd get them something...Finn was cute in that he said I could surprise him. Usually, he and Ashe want to go with me. They want to look at every single action figure; fondle each one; and, make me crazy waiting for them to pick SOMETHING. Today, Finn allowed me to surprise him: "Just don't get me any Star Wars Action Figures." Funny that he would specifically exclude those, but good enough.

I got them some cute little piggy (Ashe's was actually a cow - but Finn's was indeed a pig) banks. They were ceramic, came with paint & paintbrushes, and the boys painted them. The boys were VERY excited and started them immediately after receiving them. Yay! It's hard to find something, not associated with television or video games or some weird character (Bakugan - Pokemon - Ben 10), that these two monkeys like.

Summerteeth

2009-08-01T23:31:00.000-07:00

Finn looks so freaking cute with these teeth missing!! He had a loose tooth since before school ended. He really wanted it out, but was nervous about messing with it too much. Finally, last Saturday night, we were at Sean's (Caver was out of town - in Lake Tahoe at a Yoga and Meditation Festival - Wanderlust - which is hilarious to me in itself, but, I digress!!). The boys were running through the sprinkler. Finn and Tucker had a collision and loosened BOTH of Finn's front teeth to the point where they were hanging. Luckily - they were baby teeth!!!

Tuesday the first tooth came out, and he most likely swallowed it...it came out in Finn's sleep - so he drew a picture of it for the Tooth Fairy. The second came out on Wednesday. He had that one in his hot little hand when he walked into my room and woke me that morning...sweet little thing. Isn't he so cute!!??

Ashe finished up summer league b-ball last Wednesday as well. His team won the game, 30-15. Ashe scored eight points!! He had a sweet hook shot that made it (see pic on the right - ashe is in blue to the left of the basket with his hand in the air as if he just shot a fresh hook shot ;) !). Wasn't the best shot selection, but he didn't have many options. Thankfully, it went in. I'm so happy he had fun in this league.

There are a couple of more pictures of the boys below from the day of the game, and the tooth losing...

Ashe shows off his beautiful choppers.

Finn before the second tooth loss - snaggle tooth.

Triops. The Grossest Thing Ever.

2009-07-21T22:43:00.000-07:00

My son found these last month at a toy/novelty store in Spokane, Boo Radley's (a wonderful store - like a better Spencer's Gifts). It is literally a necessary destination for us on our annual trip to Spokane. The directions said they would hatch, and we'd have these great, prehistoric creatures called Triops. I thought of Sea Monkeys. I wasn't sure what to think, but Finn had to get them.

Dennis was completely skeptical and I pretty much was as well, but believed, because Finn believed.

Well, damn, if the stupid things didn't hatch. Now I have the grossest things on my hands. I have to clean the tank, and look at these things. We left for five nights to Kahneeta and didn't have anyone come feed them. The frickin' triops lived!!

Anyway, here's a link to a disgusting pic of one "in the wild"....Thank goodness our's are nothing even close to these...but there's no question they're the same species....Below are pics of Finn's triops, and my nemises.

Would anybody like them??

Three of them. This shows the lovely red underside (the triops on the right) of these awful creatures.

Another view of three (of the five) triops.

Kah-Nee-Ta 2009

2009-07-20T22:27:00.000-07:00

Gorgeous scenery and beautiful boys!

For most of last week, we were in Kah-Nee-Ta. It was a very relaxing time. Our original plan was to stay 3-4 nights, but we stayed for five: Wednesday - Monday (today). The Ealys came along as well. Caver was in Grants Pass for a few days prior, so she met us there. Sean rode with us...Caver ended up staying the fifth night with Cade & Tucker, but Sean drove my car home. He's such a workaholic!!

Kahneeta pretty much has swimming and a bar or two. There's "gambling" of course, but it's such a teeny tiny casino. It looks like no fun. I just went inside the casino for the snack bar and the tasty, tasty hot chocolate. I got addicted to it!! Got Finn addicted to it as well. The food choices are bad; and, the night life is a crack up. Thirty to fifty-something's living it up like they were in Vegas. They were a bit obnoxious (pathetic??).

The restaurant

We spent a couple of hours at the "big pool", the Village Pool. The one by the teepees, that can be used for day use. The one at the lodge was only for guests. It didn't really matter, though. Both were very crowded. A fun relaxing time.

The slide at the Village pool.

Dennis, top of stairs - checking to see if Finn made it down

Finn - coming off end of slide

Finn's First Phone Call

2009-07-13T21:38:00.000-07:00

I don't know why I felt this was a milestone of sorts. It also struck me as sort of humorous. Finn's friend, Matthew, called tonight and wanted to talk to him. It was the cutest conversation ever. He's spoken with family on the phone but never to a school friend. It was cute to watch him talking on the phone and lying there like an adult would. At one point, he said "what should we talk about?" He didn't get it at first but they ended up talking for about ten minutes. Just like little old men.

Pictures From a Summer Walk

2009-07-12T23:25:00.000-07:00

I took these the other night walking to Ashe's basketball game. I thought they were cute and wanted to share.

Update: So happy for Ashe.

2009-07-12T02:07:00.000-07:00

This is an update on the previous blog: the stats are available. He had 14 points, 8 rebounds, and 5 steals. The final score was actually 24-18 (corrected from below). Wow. I'm proud of him, but I'm so happy FOR him. He felt good about himself. He felt confident. He finally knew he could do it in a game. Even though he can do it playing three-on-three with his dad and dad's friends - it was great that Ashe had confidence enough to step up and stay in the game. Good for you, Ashe.

14 Point Shoot Out

2009-07-08T21:41:00.000-07:00

center in white, #24

Ashe had another game in his summer league tonight. Ashe's team won 22-16. Ashe scored 14 of his team's 22 points!!!! He had several steals and several rebounds. I don't know the exact stats yet. I couldn't believe it. I mean, I believe he's a good player, but this was a "career game", as Caver said. I'm so proud of him. These are from tonight's game.

ASHE IS NUMBER 24.

very corner of pic, far, far left

Explosions in the Sky

2009-07-05T23:01:00.000-07:00

This was right before the craziness ensued.

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Our fourth of July was quite entertaining. Our plan was to do what we did last year - stay at the Residence Inn at Jantzen Beach to get a view of the big fireworks across the river. When the Fort Vancouver fireworks were canceled, we chose to stay home and do fireworks.

It was fun & interesting. The police even showed up. All of our's were legal, but our house (somehow!?!?!) became the place for our block to light off ALL fireworks - legal AND illegal.

The police showed up (near night's end - around 11:00 pm) in two unmarked vehicles (SUV and car) and were really nice. We all enjoyed the show, whether or not we were the ones actually lighting the wicks, so all agreed we'd pitch in for any fines (there were none). It put a bit of a damper on the evening, but was fun nonetheless...

Looking at these photos, it's no wonder we had police presence!! Also below are a few pictures of the groups of neighbors & their respective friends to give you an idea of the pah-tay.

Granny came to enjoy the fun with us...

Ever since Finn was really little, this was his favorite holiday. He just loves it. He confirmed last night that it still is.

This was our ALL LEGAL stuff...

Finn chats with Paul about his LEGAL fireworks.

These may or may not be legal (ahem).

Finn was beside himself.

Ashe was playing it pretty cool.

Tigerbomb: Hoopfest 2009

2009-06-30T23:29:00.000-07:00

Hoopfest 2009 was fun. It was year 12 or 13 for Dennis (he started in 1997, but I think he skipped a year in there??). Tigerbomb as a team is in about it's 10th year. Tigerbomb is (l to r, below) Dennis, John, Leo and Sean.
It was not as exciting as last year, where they took second place in their bracket to a VERY good team. It was a hard bracket this year. Their first game was against a team (P Town Connection) that took first place in their bracket last year. They lost to them and and to their next opponent - close games and totally hard fought.

Dennis (white shirt, above) played hard
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The second game they lost in the most physical and confrontational game in all of Tigerbomb Hoopfest history. One of the guys on the team was just really, really angry and seemed to want to fight. Tigerbomb are a nice group of guys - they typically don't call fouls. When this team started calling fouls from the first play, it wasn't a good sign. I get stressed out and can't watch close games. In addition, I could sense the confrontation. I'm glad I left. Caver ended up having a "discussion" with the idiot...Yes. Sounds lame that a wife got involved, but like she said - as a human being, you can't see that go on and not say anything.

Finn and Jill
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Otherwise, the guys didn't do great - ended up in the "Loser Bracket" and didn't finish well there either. Like we told Ashe - they always go there to play hard, but never expect anything. They won one year and they came in second last year. Every other year - it's been all over the map.

Another funny story was when a big, black guy Dennis was guarding told Dennis to take it easy on him because "I'm old." Dennis said: "I'm old, too. How old are you?" He said "40". Dennis laughed and so did the other guy when Dennis told the guy that he was 46!!

Fun, fun. We had a combined birthday party for Elaine (75!!) and Dennis while we were there. More to come on that.

Ashe, Tom, Tucker, Finn, Cade, Jill in front
This montage shows Ashe "not hitting" Jill. ;)

Ashe Summer Basketball Update

2009-06-29T23:15:00.000-07:00

Ashe is having so much fun in summer basketball. Last week (June 24, 2009), he showed more energy and was on his game. Here's the league's little write up about his game:

Game # 2 – White Level - 6:50 pm
The second game of the night felt fresh with a few new faces in the mix. It was an exciting game with both teams scoring in bunches. Coach Krishna Balasubramani’s White was passing well to sharp shooting Simon who finished with 14 points. White’s Ashe contributed well with 6 rebounds, 4 points and 2 steals, Brogan also played well. Coach Kevin France’s Blue kept the game competitive with Tristan grabbing 15 rebounds and sinking 12 points. Cambrya and Luca combined for 10 points.

Ashe's Summer Basketball League

2009-06-20T22:45:00.000-07:00

Wednesday of this past week, Ashe started his summer basketball league. In the picture on the left, he's #24 with the fresh sweat band on his head!! Molly and two other mothers from his school are running it. It's not a "camp". It's a league, with no practices. The intent is for the kids to improve their skills and play in actual games. They play seven games (one a week) in the summer. They tried out to be placed on the most appropriate team. Not many kids got cut. The coaches did it that way to place them on a team; and, ensure they sincerely wanted to play.

Ashe's game play is interesting. He's got natural skill, and he's an acknowledged good shooter (acknowledged by his coaches and teammates), but he's not aggressive and gets so distracted, he sometimes has a harder time than he should. Anyway, he has fun and that's what matters. I'm proud of him too. He found something in life he really, really enjoys.

Ashe is #24. Hmmm....I wonder who his favorite NBA player is?? ;)

His team played the first game of the night. They appeared to be way over matched, with the half-time score being 20-2. They ended up outscoring the other team in the second half, but still lost the game 32-20. It was sort of a cool second half comeback, though.

It's a great summer so far!!

Scorpios in Seattle

2009-06-18T21:10:00.000-07:00

Once again, I'm going to say it: I'm so, so lucky. I have the best life. I don't constantly say it to brag, but to remind myself of it. It's so easy to think of what I don't have or what I wish I had or who I wish I could be...you know, I've got more than most. I've got THE BEST people in my life - friends and family. I don't know how I could ever complain.

Well, my last weekend was another example of this. Molly and I went to Seattle to celebrate our birthdays. Three years ago, we started a tradition that we go to Seattle as our presents to ourselves/each other, since our birthdays are only five days apart. Mol's is Nov 5, and mine is Nov 10.

We go for one night (about 36 hours). We stay at a nice hotel, eat good food, and shop. If we went for a longer period, surely we'd broaden our activities, but it's just long enough to get in good eating and shopping.

We got there early on Saturday, had lunch at the Red Fin. We've been there before. It's a yummy Japanese place in the Hotel Max. Delish!!

We shopped at H&M. Molly and I have the same fashion taste. Not similar - but pretty much the same. Last year in Seattle - I basically brought stuff to her dressing room and she purchased it. :) I sold Molly on H&M and the bargains there. I'd been to the ones in San Francisco and Chicago, but she'd never been. She got like 52 things for like 12 cents. ;) Not really, but pretty close. But seriously, when we went to Sway & Cake, a cute boutique just doors down from H&M, Molly couldn't even bring herself to buy anything there. Like myself, her clothing taste tends toward the expensive, but even she had to lay off after all the bargains at H&M...

We made reservations a week prior to eat at a place Caver recommended - The Purple Cafe & Wine Bar (hmmm...RED Fin, PURPLE Cafe...there's a theme here). Just check the website. It's too amazing to even describe: an extensive small plates menu, and many regular dinners. Molly said it's the best by-the-glass wine list she's ever seen. She and her husband (especially her husband) are really big wine people, so that's a big thing for her to say. IT WAS INCREDIBLE. Amazing. Thanks Cave. Included here is a picture of our tapas.

from l to r: crispy pork shoulder, crab and fennel salad, hummus with carmelized walnuts (the best tasting hummus I've EVER, EVER had - the hummus itself, not necessarily the walnut garnish), we also had a chorizo empenada, that i realized is not here. the cheese plate is at the front of the photo...everything was soooooo great.

Our meal lasted until 11:30 or so; and, then we went back to our room at the beautiful Hyatt Olive 8. We loved the Grand Hyatt a couple of years ago. This was just as nice. We got a corner room, so huge and lots & lots of windows. Just perfect.

After eating at Gordon Biersch and buying our kids a few little gifts, we enjoyed a leisurely drive home. It's nice that we get 36 hours a year of uninterrupted time to get caught up on everything we've missed during the rest of the year.

Thanks, Miss Molly. I had the best time. Can't wait 'til next year.

They Are Two Little People.

2009-06-10T13:17:00.000-07:00

Today was the last day of the school year. Ashe is going to be a 5th grader next year and Finn will be in 1st grade. It's hard to believe I have two little boys now. No more babies. The coolest thing is that they are little people. Both of them really. They are both at a level now where I can have conversations with them. I don't want to fall into that trap of being their "friend", but I do enjoy them. They definitely know I'm the mother - especially when Finn says "This is why I hate parents. They don't let you play video games every time you want." That's not an issue. I just like to hang out with and talk to them.

Ashe had a teacher that was nicknamed "Indiana Wilson". She's very adventurous and in her former lives was a long-haul truck driver and an Iditarod teacher. It was a great fit for him. His last six weeks of school have probably been his best in any grade, ever.

Finn's teacher was also Ashe's kindergarten teacher. We love her, and, to put it bluntly, she loves us. :) She said how she was glad to have Finn since he's such a creative, outgoing little boy. She added, though, that she likes having us there as his parents too. Finn's day included a moving up ceremony.

Finn with class (dark/light blue pullover)

Finn gets certificate (Ms. Becic right - Shelley left)

Ashe & Finn's last day parties ended up at the same park.

Finn's closest buddy, Matthew. These two: they chose this pose.
I had NOT ONE THING to do with it. They crack me up.
They think they are funnier than anything on the planet.

Ashe P.!!

Great school year. Great kids. I'm a lucky, lucky lady to have such great kids. They are lucky kids to have such a great life!!

Fun in the last few days...

2009-06-07T23:33:00.000-07:00

We've had quite an eventful last few days.

Tuesday. We picked up Ella from school. This was a treat for the boys. We don't pick up people at other schools very often. Andy told her teacher we wouldn't be there right after school, yet, when we got there Ashe was so cute, telling Ella he was sorry we were "late". So sweet and thoughtful - Ella's teacher even commented on it. It was crazy hair day at Ella's school. This picture of Ella is AFTER we took out the 16 braids that Caver put in that morning (Lisa & Andy were out of town).
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Wednesday. The boys got out of school early, for the Rose Festival Children Parade. We did not attend the parade. In past years, certain schools in our district have been released early for the parade. Ashe, Finn, and Cade's schools are in this group. This year the district decided not to release them early, but it was optional. I chose to have the boys excused, because of the traffic nightmare trying to pick them up. Caver let me pick up Cade and Tucker (since she was working) so the boys could spend the afternoon together.

You never know how the boys - all related to each other and, well, being boys - will play together. It was quite interesting, though, for this entire afternoon they played so well together. It consisted mostly of video games, but for about two hours, they played board games!! Shocking. See Ashe and Cade in a heated game of NBA-opoly.
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Friday. Elaine/my mom turned 75 years old (June 5, 2009). She's so incredible. She always amazes me. We took her to New York City for her 70th, so we figure that's her big "party" for life. ;) Our family gathered at her house for dinner and cake. It was very, very nice. And mellow.
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Ashe (far left) and other party guests watch as Tom (seated) opens gifts.

Saturday. The boys and I went to Tom's birthday party. He's our friend's son, who I have known for about 15 years. Dennis plays ball with his dad every summer in a huge 3-on-3 tournament in Spokane (for the past 11 years). The party was at Hollywood Bowl. The boys had a blast.

Finn hasn't been much of a bowler whenever we go lately. So typical of Finn with everything - he has to do it his way!!

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Sunday. I took Finn to a birthday party at Normandale Park. It was for his closest friend, Matthew. He LOVES Matthew. They are two peas in a pod, and Finn does everything Matthew does. It's just hilarious. Pinata chaos photo to the left.

Finn & classmates at Matthew's park party.

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Needless to say, an eventful week. We're ready for the last three days of the school year!! Woo Hoo!! Gonna love freedom and no schedule.

Cute Boys Inside Out

2009-05-28T16:11:00.001-07:00

It's Spirit Week at the boys' school this week. Since Portland Public Schools have gone mostly Kindergarten-8th grade, many of the things I did in middle school, they are getting in grade school (e.g. student government and Spirit Week). Today was Inside Out Day. Dennis took this cute, cute picture of them when he picked them up from school today.

Sunshine Daydream

2009-05-17T21:59:00.000-07:00

Sorta fun to have some sun this weekend. People that know me know I live in Portland for a reason: I don't like the sun...necessarily. I enjoy it on weekends like this one and the one at the beginning of April. I like it when it's unseasonably warm; it comes unexpectedly; it's only a few days in a row; and/or, it's the very beginning of summer. Any other time, I am waiting for the rain to come back. I am an indoors person, and I also enjoy wearing warm clothes - jeans and boots.

This weekend was quite busy actually. The best day in the sun was yesterday, Saturday. I ran all over the place, including some visiting with my parents. Finn, Tucker, and I stayed the night at my parents' house. My dad's recently home after his accident, so the boys have wanted to stay there. Finn likes it when I stay too.

Before going to Elaine and Ole's, I drove Caver and Cade downtown to stay at The Benson Hotel. They had a date that night at the Taylor Swift concert (so cute!!), so Caver got them a hotel for the show. When we drove them down, Finn and Tucker came along. We went for a slice of pizza at Pizzicato downtown and then walked to the Waterfront. I just wanted to get in a little time in the sun. They were ecstatic to look at the half-assembled Rose Festival Carnival rides. I didn't mind them even trying to climb on them, but thought the Funtastic people would frown upon it. I could see it as a serious liability and was surprised that they didn't have more obstacles in place to deter little six year old boys! :)

Oh yeah, Finn said several funny things over the weekend. One of the funniest (and most clever) was when he said: "When I try to rhyme things with Tuck Tuck [his cousin's name], I sometimes almost say a bad word." Yep. He's right.

It was a beautiful weekend in Portland. So many people were out. Just nice.

Luckiest Mother In the World

2009-05-14T21:57:00.000-07:00

I had a nice Mother's Day Weekend. My family is so good to me. My parents and sister's family are the best. We are lucky we're so close. My mom has said a million times that we don't wait for a special occasion to be together.

Since my dad has only recently been home after his automobile accident in January, we had dinner at my parents' house. I got beautiful flowers from everyone in my family. Literally. Tulips from my sons and my sister. Roses from my parents. The picture is of the white tulips that Ashe & Finn got for me.

I am a very lucky person. Truly, every day is Mother's Day for me, because I have wonderful kids. I have such freedom to do what I'd like - because of Dennis - but also so much love and support in my friends and family. I couldn't be luckier.

We also went to a birthday party at Finn's friend's house. I've never been to a 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. party!! They went all out - bouncy house and millions of toppings (see small photo) for the cupcakes. Such a nice little party.

Hope everyone had a Happy Mother's Day.

**Update on Ashe's Accomplishment (blog below). He got 20 out of 15 points, meaning, he got extra credit!! His teacher said it was one of the best books in the class. I am so proud of him. He worked so hard on it.

Ashe's Accomplishment

2009-05-04T22:36:00.000-07:00

Ashe has been working for the last couple of weeks on projects for school. They are larger projects. This one seemed a little bit easier than the last one he did, but it ended up taking him many, many hours. Probably about 20 hours!! Poor kid. It's an "ABC's of Oregon" book. He had to pick a significant Oregon "thing" (person, place or thing) beginning with each letter of the alphabet and write a sentence or two about it. He also had to illustrate each item with a colored pencil drawing.

I thought the picking of the items would be easy, and the drawing would be hard...well, both parts were difficult for him. He started the project telling me how much time he had and how he could do it "tomorrow". Once we got down to the wire, though, he really put his nose to the grindstone and worked his butt off. Posted here are two of my favorite entries. Since the text for the "P" entry got cut off, I'm challenging you to figure out who the drawing is?? :) The entry to the left is for the letter "P". Leave your guesses in comments - or email them to me at janiceordal@hotmail.com.

Go Blazers!

2009-04-28T22:44:00.000-07:00

Ashe and I were lucky enough to go to the Blazer-Houston first round playoff game tonight (Game 5). We had a great time. This is Ashe from our great seats.

Permissions for www.janiceordal.com

2009-04-27T20:06:00.000-07:00

Sorry for being a pain and asking you guys to all join to be able to view my blog. I never know about putting so much stuff on public websites. I know it's probably not the smartest thing to do, but it's nice for family. It's also fun when people stumble upon us through the blog.

Blogworthy.

2009-04-26T21:35:00.000-07:00

I haven't done these as regularly lately. I notice they trend upward when the kids are on vacation and we are doing more - holidays, Spring Break, summer. So, in a couple of months, I will be all over this I am sure.

I took a couple pictures of Finn all wrapped up today. He wanted to hang out with me in my (basement) office. It was very sweet and cute. He's a good looking kid...even if I am his mother.

Another Birthday for Ashe

2009-04-05T21:17:00.000-07:00

finn, tyler, ashe - they appear to be such little angels.

We had another of our (in) famous In Town Vacations this weekend. Ashe had a hotel night, instead of a birthday party. We stayed at the Marriott Residence Inn on the Willamette River in downtown Portland. Much more palatable for me as well. Laser tag or Bullwinkle's just weren't something I was aching to do.

It was around 70 degrees all weekend in Portland. The hottest days of the year. We walked on the promenade along the river; we got pizza; the boys swam; we went out to dinner; and, the boys had copious amounts of video game playing time. Ashe's friend, Tyler, came along, as Ashe requested. It was a good time, and Ashe had a great time - which is all that matters.

view of street car and downtown buildings from our balcony.

Happy Birthday, Ashe

2009-03-28T11:40:00.001-07:00

Happy 10th birthday to my first born, Ashe. I love you little boy.

Decade

2009-03-26T14:24:00.000-07:00

Tuesday night we had Ashe's 10th birthday party. He will be 10 years old on Sat, March 28. It is, of course, hard to believe that my oldest child is almost a decade old. He's such a great kid. I'm so lucky to have him. I love my Ashe P.!!

His birthday party was just our family, Yvette, and the Sorensens. In a couple of weeks he gets a night at a hotel (on the Willamette in downtown Portland), with his best buddy, Tyler, in lieu of a friend party, per se.

Crazy. I'm old.

And the Award Goes to...Everyone!

2009-03-16T22:20:00.000-07:00

Kids' sports are funny these days. I'm not saying any one child should be singled out in a basketball team made up of kindergarten through 2nd grade kids, but it does crack me up that every kid gets a trophy. Finn would have died had he not received one, as he's seen his brother receive one for a few years in a row, but I don't know if it's a good thing for kids. I know it sounds hardcore, and maybe it's obvious, but in life, everyone does NOT win.

Anyway, on to the positive...Finn finished his first basketball season as a Brown Bomber. He had his last game and pizza party last Sat, March 14th. It was so fun for him. He had mixed feelings about actually playing on the team and going to practice. Half the time he liked it and the other half he hated it, but overall, he must have enjoyed it because he says he wants to do it again next year. He was on the perfect team, because most of the kids there were just like him: they just wanted to have fun and hang out with their buddies. Finn could have cared less if he ever touched the ball, and at times, some of the children ran from it! The one girl on the team, Claire, was really knowledgeable. There were a couple of other kids who knew what they were doing, but for the most part, they all were just havin' fun.

Oh, and those of you who know Finn will appreciate this: The coach's comment about Finn, when he gave him his trophy was that Finn did everything with a smile on his face. Yep, that's him!! Also, Finn's biggest excitement for each game was the fact that they used his ball as the game ball, every single game...he said they "liked the gold lettering".

Best Friends Forever.

2009-03-11T22:49:00.000-07:00

I've mentioned Ashe's friend, Tyler, before. This guy is such a great kid. He's so good to Ashe. Ashe says that he and Tyler are "best friends forever". I love that. I love that Ashe has someone he considers a "Best" friend. It's been a long time coming.

Last Saturday, after Ashe's game, Ashe went to Tyler's 10th birthday party at neon putt putt golf, in the Hilton Downtown Portland. Such a great time. Tyler's mom, Becky, is always so good about including Finn too. We really like their whole family. Just nice, good people.

Jacob, Tyler, Ashe

Jacob has such great form!!

My little Picasso?

2009-03-01T20:56:00.000-08:00

Finn is a crack up. He goes from one extreme to another: he's obsessed with Wii. Anything video game-related is heaven to him. He gets way more pissed off when we make him stop playing than Ashe. He loves art as well, though. He will go to his art table (he calls it his "Art Center") and work on something when he's bored. During the holidays he would randomly make ornaments for the tree. One time he made a "Brain Sculpture". It was a crumpled piece of paper, with colored pipe cleaners wound all around it. Pretty creative I must say.

His concepts are great. Picasso he's not, but he's very creative. Here's his latest creation. I don't think he intended it to be an homage to (advertisement for?) Nike, but that's what it turned into...both in the materials used and in the form it took. Here you go. Notice the b-u-tiful jewels. :)

At the Mountain on Snowmobiles and Tubes.

2009-02-22T21:40:00.000-08:00

We joined Ashe's friend, Tyler, and his family at Mt. Hood on Saturday. Tyler used to go to the same school as Ashe and we try to see him regularly, when he's in town visiting his mom. He has twin brothers as well.

We spent the afternoon on innertubes, snowmobiling and playing on the indoor play structure at Ski Bowl. They provide nice nylon covered tubes and a rope tow. The play area is included with it. There's a great snowmobile track for kids (120 lbs or less - I soooo wanted to do it, but couldn't convince the guy that I was only 120 lbs :)...It was a lot of fun. Here are some pics of the boys on the mobiles. Will post some tubing pics when I get them. I recommend it...it's $25 for all day and $15 for 2 hour pass. I'm cheap, so that's more than I think it should be, but you do get to get towed up the hill. Skiing at Meadows is like $65 now, so I guess that's perspective...God, I sound old.

Movie Night.

2009-02-14T21:17:00.000-08:00

Yes. It's been awhile. I had a "complaint" from a regular reader today, so thought I should post something. :)

We're not big Valentine's Day people in this house. Dennis probably has his reasons (probably the same reasons most men don't like it), but mine are: a person shouldn't wait for a special day to tell someone they are loved; and, I'm not much of a romantic. I'm very emotional, but candy, flowers, wooing, candlelit dinners, holiding doors open - that does nothing for me.

Our day was fine but not focused on the "holiday". We spent it at the boys' basketball games and with Cade and Tucker visiting us at our house. Dennis did surprisingly get me flowers - but we don't celebrate this day!! The boys got a teeny piece of chocolate and, are watching Madagascar 2, happily.

I probably shouldn't have even bothered posting...but at least it's something. Here are the boys watching their movie. Hot off the presses. :)