Sping Break 2010

So, it's official.  Spring 2010 is here!

On Friday Jon, Larissa and I had lunch with Dad.  We chose Japanese.  Tim ordered a dish with tofu, and shared it with Jon.  Jon really liked it.  It's so nice that he is too young to realize that eating tofu is probably not "cool"! 
To compensate for a healthy lunch, on the way back home, we stopped at the bakery store and bought some doughnuts.  As you probably guessed, Jon had a sugar powdered one.

Saturday was a busy day.  I started my morning with a long run, then loaded a couple of mountain bikes into my truck and took Larissa to a Tour De Cure training ride at the Hagg Lake park.  The weather turned out just perfect.  I little chilly, but sunny and peaceful.  My only regret is that I forgot my camera and missed out on some beautiful shots.  We opted to do "out and back" ride rather than a full 12.5 mile circle, which ended up being about 7.3 miles.  Not bad for Larissa's first ride!
Larissa only sustained a couple of minor injuries during the ride, so it was a good one.

Sunday turned back into a typical Portland gloomy Spring day.  Not much desire to play outside, that's for sure.  Instead, we went to the library, where Gabe and I read Jon some books, while Larissa was choosing her literature.

Right outside the library is a nice park with lots of ducks and geese.  We brought some bread to feed them.

At first it was pretty exciting, then the birds got loud and demanding.  Jon didn't like that too much and quickly run away.

March 20th weekend

On Friday night we went to the Insomnia Cafe for the Java Rock night.  There weren't any scheduled performers and a young man did a little impromptu performance.  He was Ok, but I wish he didn't try doing high notes.  Up to that point I leked him, but after that all I could think was "Tiny Tim..."

Kids got hot chocolattes and "big kids" got more sophisticated drinks.  Right away, Jon spilled his drink.  Goof boy!

Kids found a bunch of board games, mostly with some missing peices, but enjoyed them anyway.

We had pretty good time and looking forward to another fun night.

Saturday marked a beginning of a Spring Break 2010, for all the kids.  Tim and I are splitting the time off from work, so that kids would be supervised at home the entire week.

What a better way to start a fun weekend than do a little dreass up game.  Jon and Larissa wore mom's clothes & shoes and claimed to me "Mom".  Tim wore Larissa's stuff and claimed to be her.

Rest of the weekend went by too fast.  Couple of trips to the Gem Fair, making some bracelets, watching TV.

Happy St Patrick's Day 2010!

Made Gabe a necktie last night.  He looks so official.  A little sleepy this morning, but ready to face the day!

Lacrosse is on!

First day went pretty well.  Gabe has two kids he knows from school on his team and I met a couple of parents on the sideline.

March 13th weekend

I can tell that school year is near its end.  We have more and more school shows / activities to attend.

On Wednesday Larissa's school had a 2nd & 3rd grade performance.  We got to hear a few songs, some accompanied by a guitar.

Larissa was very worried that she wasn't "dressy enough"...  I think she did just fine!

On Friday I took a day off from work and first, had breakfast with Jon at IHOP, before dropping him off at daycare.

Then, I went to the Winningstad Theatre to see "The True Story of the Three Little Pigs" play with Larissa's class.  Most kids behaved very well, but I think I got the best set.  None of MY kids were trying to be loud or annoying. 

We had a blast!

Friday night Gabe and went to volunteer at my a LAN Party at work.  We helped checking players in.  Registration table was located at the front lobby, so we didn't get to see too much action, but we did a few trips into the play area and got to see a lot of very interesting systems.  Some had lights, some had cool graphics and some even had a fish tank with live fish in it!

On Saturday, after our swimming classes, we took Miranda to the MAX station so that she could go hang out with her friends, then Larissa, Gabe and I went to a Rock and Gem Fair.  We had lots of fun bidding on rocks and ended up bringing home a rock pile.

Sunday was the day to adjust to new time change.  We spent most of the day shopping.
First at Target, where girls spend a good hour or so in a makeup aisle.

Then at ROSS.  Larissa insisted that I need to buy a red bag on wheels that she brought to me, and I kept saying that it was too big for what I needed the bag for, then...  I realized that I wasn't seeing Jon anymore!  As soon as I got ready to panic, I heard a laughter...  coming out of the red bag...

I now know that I "could" take Jon as a carryon!

A few minutes later we found a perfect helmet for Jon, for a fraction of a price compared to Target.  Jon put it on and didn't want to take it off.  Not even for getting it scanned at the cash register!  I am thinking it's a sign that he WILL wear it while playing.

To finish the weekend, Jon and I did some yard work and took a walk around the block.

Gabe's concert!

On Monday we went to a rehearsal for Gabe's School Band at the Liberty HS gym. All the Hillsboro Elementary schools and one Middle school were in the group.  I t was so impressive to see 72 kids (the largest performance group they ever had) get together and create music.  Ok, so they could really use some practice, but for 10-14 year olds, not too bad!

Jon was very patient, watching a "very scary movie" called "Gremlins", and actually jumped a couple of times out of scare and grabbed my hand...  He has watched this movie a few times already, but is still surprised by the scary parts?..

Tuesday!  Big night!  The concert!  Everyone is excited! 

First was a performance by all Elementary schools, followed by two bands from a Poynter Middle school, then a performance by the Liberty HS band.

Everything went very well, kids looked great, what a great night!

March 6th weelend

Great weekend, filled with lots of sunshine!

On Friday night we attended a Bingo night at kids' school.  For $5 we got 6 bingo cards, and for ~$12 more we got a variety of foods and drinks.  We had quite a few exciting moments when we needed "only one more" number to win the prize, but time after time someone got their number first.

Finally, out of blue, Larissa yells "Bingo!".  At first I thought she was mistaken, but she was correct.  Her prize was two boxes of candy and two movies, "Karate Kid" & "Free Willy".  Oh, boy...  I know what we are going to watch when we get home.

When we got home, the night was still young, so I took Miranda and her friend to a local coffee shop, where twice a month they have a "teen night" with local teen musicians performing.

On Saturday was a typical "run out the door just in time for swimming class" morning, then I had a volunteer commitment from noon to 4pm, which happened to be the same time Miranda had a choir practice, so that worked out pretty well for a carpooling.

Afterwards, Miranda's friend came over for a sleepover.  Oh, joy, TWO teenage girls in the house!  LOL.

On Sunday I took Jon and Larissa out for doughnuts.  We chose Krispy Kreme, because they are much closer to our house.

Nothing beats really fresh doughnuts!

February 27th weekend

We are getting all set with signing up Jon for Kindergarten for next school year. One thing that was missing is his health/immunization form, so I made an appointment for both boys to see their pediatrician on Friday. Jon was very concerned that he will be getting a shot, but I couldn't lie. Instead, I told him that he will get a $1 if he "behaves himself".

Gabe ended up getting two shots and Jon got FOUR! Poor child was trying so hard to keep his tears from pouring out. Nurse suggested he sings his A-B-C's to get through.

This is when I wish I had a video camera rolling... Jon was trying his hardest to get through all the letters in order, while taking breaths for sobbing. He did very well.

On Saturday I volunteered at a work's Community Garden build. At the last minute I decided to take Miranda along. She didn't have any plans

Ground was extremely muddy and everything was a little disorganized, but we beat the rain and got a big meal served by Rio's Ribs.

I don't know about Miranda, but I am still sore two days later. Digging post holes got to be one of the hardest jobs...

On Sunday we were going to go a few places, but still feeling tired after all the digging, we shortened our travel distance to within a couple of miles from home.

We stopped at the Shute park and found out that all the "big kids" swings are taken off...

We also saw some damage to the swing poles that look too much like a bullet hole. Not cool, whatever it is...

It turned out to be a pretty nice partly sunny day after all the rainy predictions. Kids sure enjoyed playing outside.