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I have a few more gulps remaining in my Frida...
June 29, 2007 by Adam in Family
 I have a few more gulps remaining in my Friday Mocha. I'm not quite sure what I'm going to do once I move offices - pick up something on the way? Make it at home? The impending office move looms ever closer. Yesterday I pulled off all the stuff from my cubicle walls and drawers, stuffing them in four boxes. It's feeling increasingly drab and clinical, working away in these gray walls.
Sam had a great time in the pool yesterday. Emma got too chilly, like before, but Sam toughed it out and we ended up doing a little photo shoot of him jumping out of the water. His hair has gotten really long, so it sprays nicely. These are a few of the more choice shots.
I think the transition to the Summer months has been a little bumpy for Jamie. The kids were both a little wacky when I got home last night. The kids briefly pretended to surf on couch cushions while I played surf music. Eventually that broke down and we played with Magnetix, building odd, magnetically attached constructions.
As for the weekend, we'll probably do the usual swimming and library stuff. I have a hard time convincing the kids to go to the library with me these days. Even a trip to Humble Bagel doesn't cut it. Maybe after Sam finishes his Harry Potter book, he'll be up for it. At the rate he's going, he might finish in a couple weeks.
Emma's last day of baking camp is today. Yesterday she brought home cookies and two kinds of cheesecake. If she did this all the time, I'd end up the plumpest parent on the block.
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I had a lot of fun last night
June 28, 2007 by Adam in Family
I had a lot of fun last night. Sierra, one of Emma's teachers from the Little French School, came by to watch the kids. They had a great time together, with even Sam talking a liking to her. Jamie says glowing things about Sierra and it sounds like she'll be a recurring babysitter over the Summer months.
Jamie and I went for a long walk, having dinner at Turtles, a local bar and grill. It was nice to just chat about odd things and hold hands, a pleasant reminder of how fond I am of my wife.
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The kids tried out the swimming pool for the ...
June 27, 2007 by Adam in Family
 The kids tried out the swimming pool for the first time yesterday. It was still pretty cold, though I think the outside temperature was in the 80's. Sam stayed in the longest, with Emma quickly getting too chilly. She then played with paddle boats, trying to run into Sam as he pretended to be a giant sea creature.
Sam was up late again, reading Harry Potter until 10 o'clock. He'll easily finish before the movie and last book come out later this month.
Emma returned from baking camp yesterday with pineapple upside down cake and white chocolate mousse. I restrained myself and only had a nibble.
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We're now proud owners of a swimming pool, 3 ...
June 24, 2007 by Adam in Family
 We're now proud owners of a swimming pool, 3 feet deep and 12 feet in diameter. Toys R Us had a sale and we picked it up for $70. Since we're both nervous parents, we laid down various rules, especially to Emma. I feel pretty good about things, as she's tall enough to stand up in the water. Nothing beats parental supervision, though.
It took all afternoon to fill and takes up a sizable portion of our back yard. The kids were pretty excited about it, with Emma trying to convince us that it wasn't freezing. We ended up breaking out the paddle boats that my dad made for the kids. Sam ended up trying hard to capsize his with massive waves.
Tomorrow we begin the Summer routine. I've got endless e-mail to catch up on once I return to work. Emma starts a week of cooking camp with her French School. Sam and Jamie will get some rare alone time, hanging out together for much of the week.
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Saturday came and went, with it finally feeli...
June 24, 2007 by Adam in Family
Saturday came and went, with it finally feeling like we're settling into our old routines again. Jamie made crepes for breakfast, which I coupled with a hand-made Mocha. Afterwards I went to the library and Saturday Market, returning home with goodies for the mind and body.
At noon I took the kids swimming. After our trip to Bend, swimming every day, Emma has become extremely comfortable in the water. Her days of floaters are behind her and can swim short distances without help. My favorite thing was watching her go under water, a big smile on her bubble-covered face. Her new big thing is swimming to the bottom to touch it and go back up to the top.
The afternoon and evening was filled with cooking. I decided to make a six-course meal for her. Initially it was going to just be for Jamie, then Jamie and Sam, and then Emma decided to be part of the fun. They watched The Song of the Thin Man while food arrived. As dessert rolled around, we transitioned to Emma, the movie with Gwyneth Paltrow.
First was shrimp cocktail, the first time I've cooked with meat in ages. Afterwards came a fruit dish, served in a half-pineapple. Fresh French bread was next, hot out of the oven. The main dish was spaghetti with fresh herbs and tomatoes. Next was a salad in the continental style. Finally I brought out the cheesecake, made the night before. Wine was served throughout, with Sam pouring for Jamie.
It was a fun activity for the day, though I probably don't have the energy to repeat it any time soon. Today will likely be simpler fare, along with running errands. We might try and get a small pool for the backyard. We'll see how it goes.
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We're back from our trip
June 22, 2007 by Adam in Family
 We're back from our trip. There's so much to say that it's hard to know where to begin.
Sam in particular had a great time in Bend. We explored lava caves with Dave and Josh. He got to ride a horse for the first time and is pretty excited about doing it again some day. Sam went fishing with Jim, and he was the only one to catch anything - two Rainbow Trout, which he actually ate a little for dinner. Sam and I also rented a tandem bike and rode around the grounds at Eagle Crest. Hopefully that'll translate to him learning to ride a bike.
 That's not to say the rest of us didn't have a good time. It was extremely relaxing and lazy, especially with other people around to entertain the kids. Nearly every day I'd take the kids swimming. Emma learned some new tricks and is more comfortable in the water than ever. Even though I lathered on the sunscreen, I've returned with a tan. Bend had gorgeous weather every day, plus the great view of the Cascades.
We also saw Brant and Wendy's new place. It's a barn with a kitchen, utility room, and bedroom tucked away to one side. They're raising some grain for a cash crop. Sam got to help move the irrigation thingies. We also had a funny moment, trying to jump the creek and failing miserably. We got very wet but had a good time.
 Still, it's nice to be back. I'm planning on making a fancy meal for Jamie tomorrow. We went out to eat at Jen's Place in Sisters, which it turns out won the Bite of Bend. It was a five-course meal, crazy expensive, but also crazy good.
I did have a bit of Internet withdrawl. Plus adamandjamie.com was down for part of it. Fortunately Dave, Kirsten, and Josh came home early. Josh walked over and rebooted the poor server. It's nice having Josh in town again, though not just for his fine computer skills.
I need to unpack some more, mow the lawn, and run to the store for basic food stuff. We'll try to put together a little movie of our activities and post it here.
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Well, I just rebooted our main work computer,...
June 14, 2007 by Adam in Family
Well, I just rebooted our main work computer, so I'm twiddling my thumbs for a few minutes while it comes up. Since today is my last day at work before the vacation, I've declared it Mocha Thursday. The sweet elixir is bubbling away next to me on my desk.
I had the kids to myself last night while Jamie went out to Angie's. I decided it was a movie night, so the kids and I went to Flicks and Picks, returning with Deja Vu for Sam and I, along with Polly's World for Emma. There were also a bunch of $1 used movies that I snapped up. Catwoman, even for $1, stayed on the shelf.
Tomorrow is the big day, packing, having lunch with my mom, and getting ready for the trip. I'm excited to have so much leisure time. Maybe I can actually be lazy for a change.
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Well, adamandjamie
June 11, 2007 by Adam in Family
Well, adamandjamie.com is back from the dead, after a night of being off the Internet. I think my old DSL modem gets overly warm sometimes. I left it off overnight and everything seemed fine this morning. Time to buy a new modem.
The kids have only a few more days of school this week, and then we're all off to Bend. It'll be nice to be away from it all, hanging out with the kids and playing outside. Eagle Crest is a golf resort, though fortunately there's a pool and some hiking trails. Maybe we can load up Sam's bike and teach him to ride.
Rumor has it that Sam's cousin Josh is returning to Oregon with his family. Dave mentioned it in passing to Jamie, though I know little details beyond that. Josh used to walk to our house after school when he lived here, playing with Sam and generally entertaining us. We're awful fond of him.
Last night Jamie and I went to Bel Ami and sat by a fireplace, chatting away. It was nice to sneak away and just visit, something that seems a rarity these days. We discussed frivolous things, such as Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. We came to the mutual conclusion of "Well yeah, but so what?"
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Sadie had her Royal Tenenbaums birthday party...
June 09, 2007 by Adam in Family
 Sadie had her Royal Tenenbaums birthday party last night. It was quite the event, reenacting various scenes from the movie. Seraph in particular looked great in her role. The kids and I wore our red track suits and I'd periodically yell "Emergency! Emergency!" in my role as Chaz.
Unfortunately I had pretty horrible allergies and everyone fussed over me. I went home, took a bath, popped some Advil, and went to bed. This morning I'm much improved, though perhaps my arsenal of allergy medicine helped. And the mocha, a real one this time.
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I just finished my morning coffee drink, whic...
June 08, 2007 by Adam in Family
 I just finished my morning coffee drink, which was annoyingly enough not an actual mocha. The coffee lady put in some weird sugary stuff which wasn't to my liking. Curse you, coffee lady! Fortunately the caffeine was just fine.
It's been a whirlwind couple of days. On Wednesday, I spent the day with Sadie. In the morning we spent way too much time with her and my dad at breakfast. They chatted about helping the underprivileged, that common bond they both share these day. After breakfast, mom, Sadie, Janet, and I all went shopping for costumes. Sadie's having her Royal Tenenbaums themed birthday party tonight. The kids and I ended up with red track suits. Afterwards we made jam, recorded Sadie's voice for my game, and played with the kids. It was a great day.
Last night was the carnival at Sam's school. Sam held his own in the squirt gun arena. Emma got her hair colored and ate bubblegum snow cones. I sneezed at the allergies.
Today the kids are at school and I'm trying to catch up with things. I ended up volunteering myself as an administrator for a new system, so my life should be rather exciting over the next few days. Yippie.
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It's Sunday afternoon
June 03, 2007 by Adam in Family
 It's Sunday afternoon. Sam's stalking about in a Death costume, while Emma convinces him to dance about. With Jamie in Portland, it's been a rather full and exciting weekend.
We did our usual Friday swimming routine, with Emma nearly falling asleep in the parking lot as we went in. She perked up, had a good time, then pined for Jamie as she took an hour to go to sleep.
On Saturday we had a hearty breakfast, went to the library, munched at Humble Bagel, played at the park, hosed the kids off in bathing suits, and went to my dad and Yayoe's for dinner. Today we had breakfast with my mom, watched movies, and played until Jamie returned, right in the middle of typing this.
As for the rest of the day, I'd like to sneak in some alone time. Jamie's returned with various antiques from her grandmother's house. Emma was trying on clothes that Ray got for her.
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I just finished the last of my mocha
June 01, 2007 by Adam in Family
 I just finished the last of my mocha. I'm chomping down on carrots and trying to fix a weird computer interface issue. After scratching my head for a long while, it turned out someone had just turned off the job that's supposed to move data around. Oopsie.
The kids and a great time in the backyard last night. Sam did his job for the day and I got them into their swimming suits. Then they chased each other with a hose, getting wet and having a great time. Eventually we moved to the front yard and discovered every neighbor kid had the same idea. I think I counted seven kids playing with hoses, squirt guns, and slip-n-slides.
Today's the big day for the kids and I. I have the weekend pretty planned out. Tonight is getting movies and going swimming. Saturday is the library, Humble Bagel, and dinner at my dad and Yayoe's house. Sunday morning is breakfast with my mom and hanging out unti Jamie returns. I'll try to schedule a little fun in there somewhere.
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