Sunny Days with Cousins

June 29, 2010 by Adam in Family

Emma got to spend time with Isa yesterday, having a wonderful time. I picked them up from mom's house after work, feeding everyone dinner and taking them down to the park afterward. Sam and I practiced our ninja Frisbee on the snake. There was much giggling and laughing. Emma shot milk out her nose from laughing for the first time. My little girl keeps growing up.

Sam played Sims 3 a bunch yesterday, his Sim family having twins and then triplets. He finally gave up, declaring five toddlers and babies as too chaotic. I had to explain where Sim babies come from over dinner.

Emma picked up a Zelda manga at the library, and I've been reading it to her at night. This morning she decided she was going to finish it herself, which she did quite well. It's been awesome watching her get so good at reading.

Tonight Joanna and her kids come over for their usual Tuesday sleepover. Once Joanna's brother Christopher arrives, I'm not sure when we'll manage to get together for a few weeks. The summer schedule is event-filled and it's sometimes challenging to coordinate everything. It does keep life interesting, though.

Boxes, Bikes, and Nautical Disasters

June 28, 2010 by Adam in Family

It felt like the first weekend of summer, full of adventures and play and laziness.  One of my favorite moments was laying squished up in a hammock with Emma, listening to her read her Ponyo book all by herself.

Friday night Joanna and I went to the Graveyard Club, a quirky play in Pleasant Hill.  Community theater at its finest.  In the morning I picked up the kids and took them home, Joanna and her kids arriving after lunch.  We had a lazy day of play and running around outside.  Everyone but Sam went to the park to ride bikes.  Emma's graduated to Sam's old bike and is right on the edge of being able to ride by herself.  Berry was very enthusiastic, despite the scraped knee.  Duncan's slowly getting more comfortable himself.

I managed a few projects, washing the car with the kids, emptying and moving the compost tumbler, and putting up a second hammock.  Emma and I did a fast library run.  I still have bark-o-mulch to spread and a rope ladder to build.  It's fun watching the back yard come together.

Mythbusters was sadly a rerun, though we watched How Its Made with our pizza.  Joanna, Sam, and I watched the Doctor Who finale, which was surprisingly good.  We've decided to switch to Glee as a replacement.  Sam has really gotten into it lately.

Sunday breakfast was the usual massive affair, followed by musical events in the basement.  Joanna and her kids went to church while I took my kids rafting at Alton Baker Park.  Sadly we overinflated one of the chambers and burst it, but the raft still worked relatively well.  We watched Canada geese, nutria, and other aquatic creatures.  There were showers all around for our return.  The rest of Sunday was lazy, with a forced reading session on the hammocks.  Emma's turning into a very good reader, and it's fun to hang out with her while she reads.

This morning Dave came to watch the kids, which they were both excited about.  Josh is back in town, and my mom should be here tonight.  Summer is proving to be an interesting mix of relaxing and busy.

Rafting the Mill Race

June 25, 2010 by Adam in Family

I took yesterday off work, letting Jamie get a work day in and letting me spend more time with the kids.  The morning started off very lazily, stopping by Target, dropping off cold medicine for Joanna at work, and then going to Dick's Sporting Goods for a raft which was on sale.

I got the kids from Jamie's and headed home.  The first order of business was to try again with a climbing net.  Unfortunately my beat-up hammock made for a pretty lousy one.  I'm to the point where I'm going to simply buy a real one.

Next off was playing with fire.  I tried to make match rockets, but they must have changed things since I was a kid.  The tinfoil wrapped around the match simply melted through rather than containing the ignition and turning it into thrust.  Hopefully they learned some science from the failure.  Sparklers were passed out as a reasonable substitute.

Next was getting the raft set up, inflated, and driving it strapped to the roof down to campus.  It was a little exciting, but didn't fly away, and we found some quirky parking.  The kids were pretty excited to get it in the water, and we had a great time puttering about.  Sam in particular liked the industrial feel of the millrace, with odd garbage, bridges, and machinery strewn about.

Unfortunately the raft got poked by a downed tree on our way back.  I put the kids in and crossed the stream before it deflated, sinking knee-deep into the mud.  Everyone made it back to the shore and I required several showers before feeling truly clean again.

The rest of the afternoon was pretty lazy.  We patched the hole, watched movies, and played on computers.  I took the kids back and went down to Corvallis.  Joanna fed me snap peas fresh from the garden, though sadly was still up much of the night coughing.

It's mocha Friday, and I'm well caffeinated.  Tonight Joanna and I are seeing a play in Pleasant Hill.  Tomorrow I'm collecting the kids and promised Emma more rafting adventures.  Good times.

Odd Middle of the Week

June 23, 2010 by Adam in Family

It's been quirky the last 24 hours or so.

• My rope ladder in the back yard didn't pan out particularly well.  I may have to buy a real one.
• Joanna's cough continues, and she was up most of the night, exhausted today.
• Her car was broken into by a polite thief, removing only $2 in change.
• This morning Jamie arrived amidst the chaos and tentatively asked, "You're not expecting me to watch all these kids, right?"  I laughed and replied, "What's a couple more?"
• When Berry decided to change her dress at the last minute and ran into trouble, Jamie nicely assisted.

Like mom used to say, some days I feel like I'm gathering material for a novel.

Swings and Loose Teeth

June 22, 2010 by Adam in Family

I had a long, lazy three-day weekend, generally pleasant and sunny.  The kids continued to be sniffly but are on the mend.

Sunday we hung out with Joanna and her kids, with Emma in particular helping entertain Berry.  When the rain came, they retreated to the shed for snacks and games.  It's nice to see that space finally used for something.

Sam tried to spend Sunday night at John's house, but returned home after not feeling well.  Monday we walked down to Metropol for treats, and started making a rope ladder next to the swings.  The weather was gorgeous, fitting for the first day of Summer.

Jamie's watching the kids today and tomorrow, and then I'll take Thursday off to watch them.  I'm not sure what's happening next week, but hopefully we can handle it before our normal babysitters arrive in town and the summer schedule begins for real.

Happy Father's Day

June 20, 2010 by Adam in Family

Happy Father's Day, all!

I'm entertaining Emma and Duncan with Fimo clay.  There were Doras, goo balls, and hearts with angel wings.  Time to paint.  Joanna's still sleeping, her cold continuing on.  Hopefully it will distract little people long enough to get breakfast started.

Everyone was under the weather yesterday.  Sam and I put up the second swing, this one far more real than the first.  It's very secure and we managed to do it without drilling into the balcony.  The rest of the day was spent hanging around the house or puttering in the garden.  Sam and I worked on his computer game some more, which has a man-versus-nature theme.  Emma watched Pirates of the Carribean, declaring it was a pretty good movie.

Hopefully we can get outside a little today and enjoy the weather.

School's Out

June 18, 2010 by Adam in Family

It's mocha Friday for me, the second mocha in two days. Everyone seems to be sick lately, Sam wrapping up his cold and Emma starting in on one herself. Thursday night Berry was up screaming for an hour, clearly not feeling very good. I required caffeinated assistance come morning time. Sam and Emma had their last day of school yesterday. The afternoon was filled with Field Day, a series of outside games to wrap up the year. Sam had been sick all week, but was there to enjoy the festivities. Emma had lots of fun, exhausting herself at the end. They bid their final farewells and headed to Jamie's house. As for this weekend, Joanna and I are hanging out as usual tonight, and tomorrow everyone descends upon my house. With everyone feeling under the weather, it may be a movie marathon weekend. I'm taking Monday off to watch the kids, and hoping we can rent canoes at Alton Baker Park. This year Sam gets his own, as there's too much negotiation with two children in one boat.

Bob Marley

June 17, 2010 by Adam in Family

It was an odd and interesting day.  Sam was sick again today, missing his graduation ceremony.  I took Joanna in for a quickie medical procedure, and then returning home to keep an eye on everyone.  Joanna slept most of the afternoon, in between Desparate Housewives.  Sam played video games.  I wrote interfaces between Oracle and SQL.  Somehow I think I got the short straw between the three of us.

Toward the end of the day, I made Sam go into the basement and play some big ball.  It seemed to perk him up and he was in good spirits as we dropped him off at Jamie's house.  Hopefully he's well enough to go to his last day of school tomorrow.

I went to Joanna's house to help entertain children and tidy up.  After dinner we had some impromptu Bob Marley in meow language:

Carnivale

June 15, 2010 by Adam in Family

The annual Crest Drive carnival was last night.  Sam missed it, as he's been sick, staying home a second day this week.  I'm nervous leaving him alone, but he's been doing relatively okay.  Yesterday he made himself waffles and microwaved pizza.  For dinner he requested "something that can't be prepared in a minute."  I made him ravioli.

The carnival itself was the usual blend of fun and madness.  Emma loved getting tickets and redeeming them for a weird mix of Made in China trinkets.  The duck scoop in particular was quite lucrative, as the volunteer operator wasn't given any reward instructions.

Joanna showed up with Berry and Duncan, and the three kids ran about eating, playing, and showing off their treasures.  Emma and I went home tired, but content.

Water Slide Madness

June 14, 2010 by Adam in Family

I'm back at work, trying to get into the swing of things. Sam's home with a lingering cough, but generally okay. I dropped Emma off at school and left her with a yearbook she was cheerfully looking through. It was a good weekend, overall. The kids continue to all get more used to each other. They had a great time on the water slide and breakfasts were full of tasty good conversation. There were the occasional worries and breakdowns, but they seem less common. Saturday night was pizza and Mythbusters, and then another Doctor Who for Sam, Joanna, and I. The next day was puttering around until church. I'm not sure when I'll make it back, as my mom's out and I've been wanting to spend some alone time with Sam. I may end up doing things like bike rides with him while Emma plays with my mom. In the afternoon I took Emma to buy an air rocket and swing equipment. I haven't figured out how to attach the official swing, but I improved a rope swing with a seat that the kids thought was pretty awesome. More work is needed. The evening was pretty quiet, the summer heat seeming to sneak up on me. I ran about in shorts and opened windows. The sun is amazing.

Summer's Here

June 12, 2010 by Adam in Family

I realize we have another week of school, but it's feels like summer has suddenly come upon us.  I took Friday off and played with the kids all day.  It was a little cloudy, so the kids and I went to the library and both of them got library cards.  We puttered about all afternoon.  Sam and I played computer games together.  At the library, both kids got free books as part of a reading program and Emma read hers to me off and on all day.  She's got the reading bug now, going through most of a chapter book by herself.

Joanna, Berry, and Duncan arrived that night.  We'd thought about going swimming, but Joanna had a migraine and Emma and Sam didn't want to go.  We settled for playing, reading bedtime stories, and going to bed early.  Sam and I stayed up and watched Stargate Universe, decrying yet another "To Be Continued."

This morning everyone seemed much improved.  I made my usual massive breakfast of crepes, bacon, sausages, and gluten-free blueberry pancakes.  And whip cream.  Far too much whip cream.  It's a massive undertaking, but fortunately cafe mocha makes it all possible.

We headed to Target where Emma bought herself a purse and toy with her birthday dollars (thanks, dad!)  The rest of the crew stocked up on house supplies and Sam finally got new shoes.

Returning home, I broke out the slip-and-slide, hooked it up to the warm water off the water heater, and had an hour of four kid sliding madness.  Even Duncan, who's a little cautious around water, got in on the action.  Eventually we had to call it quits and feed everyone lunch. 

Oh, and yesterday Emma burned some gnomes.  We covered the safety rules, as usual.

The Last Music Performance

June 09, 2010 by Adam in Family

The kids had their end of the year music performance at Crest Drive today.  Emma was so excited to have me there, leading me to her classroom and having me sit behind her while we waited for the performance to start.

I had heard some of the songs before.  Last night, Emma led Duncan and Berry in a song and dance routine while they ate tacos.  Emma seemed pretty cheerful throughout, while Sam seemed a little too cool to sing songs in front of everyone.  He did crack a smile when his friend John got to play the shunned kid for one song.

Wednesdays are always a little bittersweet.  Joanna and I plan on going to the movies tonight, followed by a fun-filled shopping trip at Target.  I miss the kids already, though fortunately I get to see them on Friday.  Jamie's going to Bend and I'm taking the day off.  The plan is to get them library cards so Josh can take them to the library once per week.  I'm also hoping we can enjoy the weather and hopefully go swimming.

Tuesday Odds and Ends

June 08, 2010 by Adam in Family

It was nice visiting with Yayoe last night. Both kids enjoyed her cooking, and I got a few brief moments to chat with her. When we got home, books and games had arrived, courtesy of Sam's gift cards from his birthday and Christmas.

I continue to strive to organize my life these days. Both Joanna and I are in a state of weird financial limbo, unsure of how much savings we have or what our adjusted incomes will be. Optimisically, we put together a budget, though it has a lot of missing numbers. Hopefully the influx of unknown dollars will be more than the outgoing unknown dollar amount.

Both kids have really loose teeth. I'm expecting them to pop out any moment, so I hope I have some dollars handy. Sam's also getting a physical and shots this July. Evidently he hasn't had a checkup for seven years.

Tomorrow is the kids' musical performance at Crest. Friday I'm taking the day off to watch them as Jamie goes to Bend to see her new nephew. I hear the name is Finn, according to Emma. It is indeed strange that I don't talk with that side of the family anymore. I hope they're all okay.

Everyone is getting together for tacos tonight. Once again my vegetarian self will be cooking the meat. Hopefully my childhood cooking skills will return to me.

Fun-Filled Weekend

June 07, 2010 by Adam in Family

I'm much relieved about Emma. We had a good weekend and she happily played with Berry, Duncan, and Joanna. There were lots of hugs, reading at quiet time, and general cheerfulness. Joanna led an effort to interview everyone and create some house rules. Emma in particular seemed assuaged, and relieved when kids were moved to their bedrooms when screaming broke out. I also tried to spend a lot of time with her, which she seemed to appreciate. As for the rest of the weekend, Friday afternoon I saw Emma get an award at her school. Later on both kids tried to Skype me at once and I had to take time switching between them. That night I made dinner for Joanna and we went down to the public library to listen to music and pick up a few books. Saturday morning I scooped up the kids and played until lunch time. Joanna, Berry, and Duncan arrived for Phad Thai that I'd whipped up, and later on they headed out to play in a park and go food shopping. Emma and I made bread. The kids and I went to another park to practice bike riding and play frisbee. Eventually everyone regrouped for pizza and Mythbusters, followed by bedtime. Sam, Joanna, and I watched our weekly Doctor Who. Sunday was the usual massive breakfast, which miraculously wiped away all crankiness. We barely made it to church, with me dropping my kids off at my mom's house. Once again we regrouped at home for lunch and playing. Joanna and Emma worked on the house rule posters. Duncan and Berry played off and on throughout the day. Towards the end of the day they headed home and I took the kids to the park. We explored Amazon creek, returning muddy and tired. Emma picked flowers and Sam failed to build a bridge across the creek, sensibly deciding not to jump. His shoes had to go through the wash as they were completely gross. Dinner was leftovers, pizza for Sam, Phad Thai for Emma, and cereal for me. Emma and I chatted at bedtime, going through her worries and trying to find ways to make sure she's okay with the upcoming changes. If I keep engaging her and making time for her, I think it'll all work out. The evening ended with Sam and I watching Stargate Universe, and heading to bed. Good times.

Mid-week Changes

June 02, 2010 by Adam in Family

Sam's presentation went well.  He accidentally referred to Richard Feynman's "one eye" as opposed to his "own eyes", which produced lots of laughter.  Still, my impression is that the presentation was fine.  It's hard to believe that the kids have only two and a half weeks until summer vacation.

Joanna took most of the day off yesterday, as she was under the weather.  She very nicely came over early to make burgers and mac and cheese for everyone.  After dinner we had an epic hide and seek session, even getting Sam and I to hide in closets and behind curtains.  Joanna couldn't help giggling, which gave her away more than once.

I drove the kids to school, with Sam chatting happily about his game idea for his first programming task.  I'm going to have him work with Josh this summer to see if I can get him learning the basics of programming.  Sam asked if he could work on concept art while at his mom's, and I cheerfully agreed.  The kids are off to Jamie's for a few days, though I'll see at least Emma occasionally, as she has several end-of-year presentations going on.  Coyote Kids is tomorrow, and awards are this Friday.

As for tonight, we'd normally go to song circle, but we're both a little under the weather.  We might try to go out for a little while if I can find something interesting to do.

Birthday #2

June 01, 2010 by Adam in Family

Emma's second birthday was both more wild and subdued.  Everyone over sixty congregated in the living room, sipping tea and chatting.  Everyone under twenty descended into the basement and played loudly.  We few in-between folks ran back and forth, making sure neither group got into too much trouble.

In terms of the rest of the weekend, it went generally pretty well.  Sam and Joanna were sent out for pizza on Saturday.  A chicken tractor was delivered Friday night, making a great place for kids to play until occupied.  Joanna dug out her Donkey Kong board game and we all played together.  Sam and I finished watching Lost Monday night.

Joanna and I both came down with colds, so we were a little draggy on Monday.  Still, we managed to hold down the fort.  Joanna and her mom went apartment hunting.  The plan is that by August 1st, Joanna and her kids will be moved in and Collette will have her own place.  There's a lot of details to go through, but it generally seems to be going well.

As with all these life changes, mostly I worry about the kids.  I'm not expecting perfection, and issues do come up on occasion.  Emma wasn't particularly happy about getting lip gloss applied to a bunch of things in her room.  Berry has gotten bumped once or twice while playing.  Still, I'm surprised at how well they do get along.  Emma likes having people who will play pretend with her.  Sam is amused by Berry and likes to help Duncan do his computer puzzle games.  We continue to work on house rules and resolving conflict.  As I pointed out to Joanna, "The Brady Bunch was a pretty funny show."

I'm picking up Sam and Emma shortly, and then we all descend at the house for dinner, homework, and bed.  I'm curious as to how Sam's research project turned out.  I made him practice in front of us last night, but he'd only do it if he hid behind the coffee table.

Birthday #1

June 01, 2010 by Adam in Family

I put together a video of Emma's first birthday, along with the elaborate work that went into the birthday cake. 

Joanna and I planned the cake in advance, bringing home all we'd need to make a guitar-shaped cheesecake.  We had two cheescake circles, one with a gluten-free crust.  The guitar neck was made of organic chocolate cake, and a thick layer of chocolate was poured over everything.  It was a huge hit and by the end of the long weekend, the cheesecake was gone.  Friday night we spent hours baking, and finished it up the next morning.  Ironically, Emma decided she'd rather have vanilla ice cream.

I picked up Sam and Emma Saturday morning, and Joanna, Berry, and Duncan arrived shortly afterward.  We did our usual playing around and getting ready for the party, with guests arriving at 3 p.m.  Emma had a great time, with a lot of Taylor Swift themed music playing and singing along.  The girls got dressed up and their goodie was a picture of them together to take home.