Saturday has come and gone

July 31, 2005 by Adam in Family

Saturday has come and gone. Sam's running around without his two front teeth now, adapting fairly well to the gap. He even ate corn last night.

I took Emma out to the library, where she had a great time. She has this uncanny ability to charm everyone around her. A total stranger ended up giving her a pair of sunglasses simply because she looked cute.

We had the neighbor kids over briefly, which Sam thought was great. Emma managed to give Sam a nasty poke under the eye with a toy. Needless to say, there was a long talk afterwards. Jamie and I managed to finish watching Ocean's Twelve by staying up far too late after the kids went to bed.



It looks like the loose tooth saga is over, f...

July 30, 2005 by Adam in Sam

It looks like the loose tooth saga is over, for now at least. Sam's second tooth has been dangling by a thread for a couple weeks now. Last night Jamie spent an hour with Sam as he fiddled with his tooth. Finally he just grabbed the thing and yanked. Now he's free of his tiny front teeth and the new ones are coming in, looking much bigger.

He also finished up with Wizard camp yesterday, playing a Quidditch match and getting his diploma. He very much liked the entire experience.

In this picture, you can see the lightning bolt tattoo on his forehead from the class, along with ice cream on his chin from our morning's trip to Lonepine Farms.



Mocha Friday

July 29, 2005 by Adam in Family

Mocha Friday. I'm suitably caffeinated and ready to go. It's been incredibly hot this last week, and every night seems to be a complex arrangement of fans, open windows, and air conditioners. Afternoons are spent outside in the pool or in the basement. Fortunately it seems to be cooling down.

Sam lost his tooth yesterday, knocking it out while playing at camp. Since he couldn't find it, we wrote him a letter saying "Dear Sam, I spent an hour looking for your tooth in the grass. Next time just leave it under your pillow. - The Tooth Fairy." He sounds pretty strange and is very sensitive to having his other loose tooth touched. Hopefully that second one will come out and he'll look weird but otherwise act fairly normal.

The weekend is strangely empty. We have various house projects to do, but otherwise we might actually get some time to relax. I'm sure Jamie will want me to take the kids for long stretches of time, giving her a well deserved break.



Sam's tooth finally came out

July 28, 2005 by Adam in Sam

Sam's tooth finally came out. Unfortunately it wasn't the loosest one. He was playing in the hose at camp today when he ran into the back of another kid. One of his front teeth popped out and was lost in the grass. Evidently it was fairly bloody, though it didn't hurt at all.

Now he's talking very strangely, which makes it easy to make fun of him. He doesn't want to touch his empty spot with his tongue or lips, so he's making a funny face all the time. Hopefully he'll get used to it in a day or two. I'd also bet that other tooth was out by the weekend.



Work is busy, busy, busy

July 28, 2005 by Adam in Adam

Work is busy, busy, busy. I've decided that my latest approach is to simply ignore work in hopes that it will be forgotten by the requestor. I worked through lunch so I'm feeling a bit stiff now that I've reached the end of the day.

I had Emma this morning, who was wonderful. I was carrying her to our normal bagel visit when she spontaneously hugged and kissed me. Very sweet.



Clearly, no guilt or pressure

July 28, 2005 by Seraph in Cortez

Clearly, no guilt or pressure...



Seraph might busy with work and school, but t...

July 27, 2005 by Robbie in Cortez

Seraph might busy with work and school, but that doesn't mean I'm not having any fun. Yesterday, Isabell went to a friends house. A very well to do family who live in Southwest Portland. I went to pick up Isabell at five, and end up staying, drinking champagne, eating fancy cheeses, and enjoying the high life. Someday, we'll enjoy life like that.



HOLY MOLD!! HOUSE FOR SALE! We just discoverd...

July 27, 2005 by Yayoe in Yayoe

HOLY MOLD!! HOUSE FOR SALE! We just discoverd MOLD in our attic. A general contractor came by to check it out for me and found it. There is no ventilation to speak of and he said it was 140 degrees up there. When he crawled out of the attic he was driping wet. This Friday a mold inspector/remediator is coming to tell us how bad it actually is. A friend, who is a physician said, "sell the house right now!" He said a physician friend and his family have multiple health problems from mold and the house was relatively new. SO if you know anything about the subject or friends who have had to deal with it please call or write. This explains why my allergies have never resolved or as my allergist said to me, "you gotten worse since I've know you." I've been on shots 5+ years and so many drugs that I feel like a junkie with no relief. Meanwhile, I've put the house up for sale but don't tell Lohring. Look on e-Bay for the listing under MOULDY HOUSE FOR QUICK SALE. MUST BUY SIGHT UNSEEN. NO QUESTIONS ASKED EXCEPT FOR THE PRICE!
OWNERS MOVING TO PSYCHIATRIC FACILITY FOR THE MOLD IMPAIRED.



I think I've found the edge of the earth (yes...

July 27, 2005 by Seraph in Cortez

I think I've found the edge of the earth (yes, it is flat), and realized it's a very far drop! Well, ok, life is not yet that bad, but it does seem like I'm hanging on by my toe nails on some days.
Summer classes are in full swing, and I'm already feeling behind. But, as my friend Binny says that just puts me on par with everyone else. Darn those high standards!
The play I've been working on runs next Thur, Fri and Sat, and I'm about 1/3 of the way done with the costumes. This means that I have bid farewell to my family for awhile.
It was great seeing everyone last weekend. Maybe I'll make it down again before the summer ends!



I think Jamie and I have come down with a tou...

July 27, 2005 by Adam in Family

I think Jamie and I have come down with a touch of something, as we're both feeling a bit under the weather. Of course, all those winters of being constantly ill have toughened us up and these minor ills are shrugged off easily.

Sam's great tooth saga continues. I'd expect that today is the day his first baby tooth pops out. I keep suggesting that we collect them in a dusty bottle, starting a collection of Voodoo paraphernalia.

Emma is fun as always. I had her at work yesterday, taking her out to a bagel store where she charmed all the patrons. She's so chatty that it's hard to get a word in edgewise.



Sam's first tooth is about to pop out

July 27, 2005 by Adam in Sam

Sam's first tooth is about to pop out. He's been wiggling it back and forth endlessly for the last couple days. Yesterday at Wizard's Camp he spent his swimming time with a friend who was giving pointers as to how to get it out.

Speaking of Wizard's Camp, Sam loves it. It's got a Harry Potter theme and the main teacher is a magician and actor in his own right. He's been doing tricks and getting everyone playing various Wizard themed games. Yesterday he got his broom and they were running it through an obstacle course. On Friday is a Quidditch match.



More news from Anna: she is very well, enjoyi...

July 25, 2005 by Sadie in Sadie & Greg

More news from Anna: she is very well, enjoying the rural life with lots of family and friends in Bukhaweka and Namirama, and says this about the school project's status:

"Workers have dug the foundation for the school (even though I have not yet paid them), and the transport man tried to bring "hard core" (big rocks) to the site on Saturday. Everyone is very eager! Unfortunately, one of the bridges that he must cross to get to Namirama is not yet finished, so workers are hurrying today to complete it. Apparently, someone contacted the government to say that we needed the bridge fixed so that we could get building materials to Namirama, so this is why they are working on it now. Otherwise it would have remained broken, because it was not in the budget for this year. Although communication is very slow here (not many telephones, very few cars), people seem to manage. The concept of messengers is still very real here."

Wonderful news, in my humble opinion.

Williamstown is beautiful, and I'm furiously redecorating the entire house before Anna comes home and puts here two cents in. I'm aiming for a country pirate look.



Emma is a joy to be around

July 25, 2005 by Adam in Emma

Emma is a joy to be around. She's polite, funny, and extremely smart. She'll hurt herself and I'll give her a kiss and she'll say "Oh, thank you." Admittedly, she can be a handful as well. She's very curious about the world and how it works. Making pizza together is more of a messy art project than a cuisine-related activity.

This particular photo is showing off her trademark grin, a funny little thing that no one taught her to do. She does it when she's being a little coy or shy about something. It might vanish as she gets older, something I'd dearly miss.



Yet another Sam tooth update

July 25, 2005 by Adam in Sam

Yet another Sam tooth update. The last posting's picture was taken a week or so ago (despite the posting date). This one was really taken yesterday, so you can start seeing the difference. If you look closely at the second front tooth, you can see a new one starting to poke out there too. As a side note, someone let me know that the previous picture of Sam's tooth grossed them out. Sam was duly impressed.

Sam starts wizard camp today. It's got Harry Potter themes and hopefully will be lots of fun for him. It'll be strange for Jamie to just have the one kid for most of the week. A preview for Fall when Sam goes to first grade, I suppose.



The weekend has come to an end

July 25, 2005 by Adam in Family

The weekend has come to an end. It was pretty good, as weekends go, full of family and kids.

Saturday morning the kids and I went shopping while Jamie visited with friends, heading to the mall and Toys-R-Us to buy frivolous things for people. I'm not sure it was related, but Sam was in an exceptionally sweet and helpful mood that morning. He ended up picking up a new Lego set and Emma got some squirt guns which were put to good use later that day. Sam immediately assembled his new toy during lunch and we played with it during Emma's nap.

The afternoon was spent hanging out at my mom's house, the whole family assembled for food and conversation. Sam and Isabel played the whole time while I followed Emma from place to place. My mom and I shared blowing out a birthday cake and good time was had by all.

Yesterday seemed to be more of the same, though with Jamie's family. Her dad and Josh came by early in the day. We went to Costco where I ended up getting a cart full of cereal. Sam and Josh played togegether for the rest of the day. Later that night Dave and Kirsten came by for spaghetti and watermelon. Emma loved the watermelon.



I wanted to do a quick post of Sam's teeth, s...

July 22, 2005 by Adam in Sam

I wanted to do a quick post of Sam's teeth, slowly popping in. It's been strangely fun to watch his two front teeth gradually sticking forward while the new ones pop in. I suspect it'll still be a few more weeks until anything comes out as they're not particularly loose.

Sam also got a postcard via "owl post" yesterday (that's what the stamp said anyway). He's going to Wizardry camp next week and they gave him a list of things to prepare for. One of them was to pick a wizard name, though I'm not sure we were particularly helpful. "Samuel Picklebottom" didn't get quite the reaction I'd have hoped for.



It's another Mocha Friday this morning

July 22, 2005 by Adam in Family

It's another Mocha Friday this morning. It feels like cheating since I was only back at work yesterday, but I'll take any excuse I can get.

I watched The Ring last night, a Japanese horror film that freaked me out. I rarely watch scary movies, but I felt a strange compulsion to get it along with the others I checked out at the library. After freaking myself out, it took awhile to get to sleep. In the middle of the night we had a huge thunderstorm which woke both me and Emma up. After Jamie put Emma back to sleep, I made her pat my head and whisper reassurances to me too.

The only big exciting plans for this weekend is Saturday for my mom's birthday. We were talking at dinner about Seraph coming down and immediately Emma started talking about playing with Isabel.

The house continues to be painted. Hopefully everything will be finished by next week. It's been amazing watching the trim going down as the white is so much whiter than it was before.



I just talked to Anna for about five minutes,...

July 21, 2005 by Sadie in Sadie & Greg

I just talked to Anna for about five minutes, and she's alive and well in Mbale, Uganda! She'll be moving to Bukhaweka soon, so will be without electricity while she works with the even smaller and more rural Namirama village community. I suppose our plan to send Williams computers to the new school isn't quite as practical as I had thought. Life is dreadfully dull and hot without her, but I'm trying to do exciting stuff at work to keep me (and the administration) on my (and its) toes. As far as I'm concerned, if I don't get one tentative East Coast warning that I may be pushing the private school town gown barrier a little too far, I haven't done my job.

My friends Alexis and Kelly are probably coming west from Boston for a little vacation and art extravaganza in early August. Hooray!



It was a nice day back before the onslaught o...

July 21, 2005 by Adam in Family

It was a nice day back before the onslaught of work this morning. The kids and I went hiking in the morning at Hendrick's park, stopping by Humble Bagel on the way back home. After lunch the three of us played with playdough for literally an hour and a half, which was completely amazing. The day was wrapped up with a water fight in the back yard.



I'm taking a short break from wading through ...

July 21, 2005 by Adam in Adam

I'm taking a short break from wading through piles of e-mails now that I'm back at work. It's amazing how much has happened since I left. One of my coworkers had her baby, along with some stressful complications. Since their family is web savvy, they've started a blog about it. Best wishes to her.

26 e-mail messages to go, along with three voice mail messages to deal with. Sigh.



May you live a hundred years, may you drink a...

July 20, 2005 by Sadie in Sadie & Greg

May you live a hundred years, may you drink a hundred beers, don't get plastered you baaaad boy, happy birthday to you!



We're back from the beach, safe and sound

July 19, 2005 by Adam in Family

We're back from the beach, safe and sound. It's my 36th birthday today as well. I don't think anyone remembered until lunchtime at the Newport aquarium. Quick update: we had a great time, our house has been painted yellow, and there's lots to still unpack (but at least my computer is plugged in). More later . . .


It was a good few days at the beach. Dave, Kirsten, and Josh kept us company and helped entertain the kids. We made sand castles, went swimming at the nearby pool, and generally had a relaxing time.

We returned home to a cheery yellow home. The painters aren't quite finished, but they're well on their way. The kids ran about, trying to keep cool on this very hot day. My favorite part of the day was picking up fresh blueberries at the store and making smoothies. Very tasty.



HAPPY BIRTHDAY ADAM!!!! (How old are you anyw...

July 19, 2005 by Seraph in Cortez

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ADAM!!!! (How old are you anyway?)



Is there anything wrong with tortillias and p...

July 19, 2005 by Seraph in Cortez

Is there anything wrong with tortillias and peanut butter? Personal favorite among students as well!



I'm sorry to hear about your friend, mom

July 19, 2005 by Sadie in Sadie & Greg

I'm sorry to hear about your friend, mom. He sounded like an important part of your life, even if he was only a short-term gift to you.

Anna is safe and sound in Kampala, overstuffed by the glorious international airplane staff and her kind and attentive host, Michael. I will keep you updated on her progress with the school. I can't believe the amount on her plate with this project- who is expected to build a school in five weeks? Of course, there is no real expectation for the school to be finished when she leaves, but she is expected to establish the process, far more complex than the actual building of the school, in my mind. Such an exciting, difficult, and worthwhile project.

I finished the new Harry Potter yesterday, the only nice thing about living as a bachelor again. My ability to fend for myself in the kitchen has, of course, fallen short of Anna's recent creative cooking endevors. I haven't had popcorn for dinner yet, but I don't think it will be too long until I'm chewing on dry tortillas covered in peanut butter.



A short Sunday night entry

July 18, 2005 by Sue in Wielesek

A short Sunday night entry...I stayed overnight on Thursday at the nursing home; the staff was wonderful, and helped me push the extra bed in the room over so I could reach Steve's
hand.His mom Pat is having hip surgery in three weeks, so she couldn't really stay, even though she would have liked to. By Friday morning his breathing was very labored, and he died shortly after I got up.
Bob took off work at noon, and he and Ron, Bob's cousin,(and the third musketeer of the group), took Pat to the funeral home. The boys apparently complained loudly and at some length about the shortcomings of the funeral home (to the funeral home lady, who I had dealt with earlier, and who did in fact seemed quite put out - nay, more like Pissed Off - that so many people had the nerve to die at the same time).However, Pat got through the business part in fine shape, and I think the guys performed their support group roles with great panache.
And joy of joys, Seraph and Robbie came down for the weekend - Seraph to make curtains for me, and Robbie to take his former Sunday School class to Barnes and Nobel for the Potter party, then back to the church to camp out. They were the perfect support group for me. So love to all, and happy almost birthday to Adam.



We're heading off to the coast in a bit

July 16, 2005 by Adam in Family

We're heading off to the coast in a bit. Hopefully we'll return home to a nicely painted house as the painters are supposed to finish it up this weekend.

It was fairly quiet yesterday. We went swimming and generally hung around the house preparing for our trip. I'm not quite packed yet, but hopefully will be soon.



I'm sitting in a fancy hotel in St

July 16, 2005 by Betsy in Betsy

I'm sitting in a fancy hotel in St. Ignace, Michigan on the tailend of our vacation. It has been an eventful trip. Last Friday as I was heading to the office at the end of the day a young man backed into my truck. When I got out it wasn't really bad but when the 20 something said "Oh. It's O.K. even though it was your fault for failure to control your vehicle." I couldn't deal with it so I called the cops and they gave him a ticket and got his insurance info. That set the tone for the rest of the trip, Wills braces broke, Patrick lost his glasses and the truck broke down in the middle of nowhere. We spent several days in Paradise, Michigan waiting for parts but everyone was wonderful and we had a beautiful campsite. Paradise is on Whitefish Bay where the Edmund Fitzgerald was headed for when she sank. Beautiful place. Headed back to civilazation tmmorrow. Love to all



I'm sitting in a fancy hotel in St

July 16, 2005 by Betsy in Betsy

I'm sitting in a fancy hotel in St. Ignace, Michigan on the tailend of our vacation. It has been an eventful trip. Last Friday as I was heading to the office at the end of the day a young man backed into my truck. When I got out it wasn't really bad but when the 20 something said "Oh. It's O.K. even though it was your fault for failure to control your vehicle." I couldn't deal with it so I called the cops and they gave him a ticket and got his insurance info. That set the tone for the rest of the trip, Wills braces broke, Patrick lost his glasses and the truck broke down in the middle of nowhere. We spent several days in Paradise, Michigan waiting for parts but everyone was wonderful and we had a beautiful campsite. Paradise is on Whitefish Bay where the Edmund Fitzgerald was headed for when she sank. Beautiful place. Headed back to civilazation tmmorrow. Love to all



This last two weeks have been strange, moving...

July 14, 2005 by Sue in Wielesek

This last two weeks have been strange, moving from the land of the living to the nursing home, a shadow land of the dying and those people who have ceased to exist because they have no memory. It also seems beyond the Oregon Statutes - when Steve was first there, he wanted marijuana for pain, rather than medicine. We asked the staff, who
told us to close his door and open the windows. It surely seems to me that docs should be able to prescribe marijuana in end-of-life situations, rather than having us elderly
leading a life of crime. Steve is in the stage when all I do
is hold his hand - although I sang Blanket Bay to him this morning,with its amazingly effective calming effect. Glad everyone is well, and prayers for any readers who aren't.



It's Mocha Thursday for me today, since I'll ...

July 14, 2005 by Adam in Family

It's Mocha Thursday for me today, since I'll be out tomorrow. It's looking like we're not actually going to head to the coast Friday as we need to open the garage for the painters Saturday morning. Of course, that means I can pick up a new hard drive that should be arriving that day, along with watching the new season of Battlestar Galactica that's on late Friday night.

It's been a quiet week - no camps, t-ball, or other activities. Mostly the kids and I just play together each night. I think Jamie's going to bring the kids in a bit so we can go to a kid's play that's being shown on campus. Fun, fun.



I've had a lull in games as of late

July 12, 2005 by Adam in Adam's Games

I've had a lull in games as of late. Mostly I work away on my game campaign and fiddle with the occasional older game. Sam's been replaying Half-Life 2, which he enjoys greatly. Josh was also excited to play it for awhile.

The next batch of games I'm looking forward to are F.E.A.R., a survival-horror game with lots of guns and a creepy little girl, as well as Oblivion, which is a fantasy game. Oblivion will likely cause me to get a new computer as there's lots of new graphical goodies and more. They've incorporated the Havok physics engine as well, which is something I enjoy immensely. For some reason, it's extremely entertaining to push boulders down upon your enemy or shoot an arrow into a hanging bucket and watch it tilt realistically.



Last night Emma was watching videos of Sam as...

July 12, 2005 by Adam in Emma

Last night Emma was watching videos of Sam as a kid as she'll often do. She saw the one where he was riding his bike around and she decided that was exactly what she wanted to do. We put on her knee pads, elbow pads, and helmet, then rode down to the park.

Once there, she lost all interest in actual riding, instead wanting to show off her bike and equipment to the oblivious teenagers playing in the sand. After awhile we returned home, with me pushing her back up the hill as she enjoyed the ride.



Sam's new teeth are slowly coming in

July 12, 2005 by Adam in Sam

Sam's new teeth are slowly coming in. Last night we were giving him a bath and I got to see one of his new teeth poking in behind his old ones. It looked quite odd.

This has been a summer of camps for Sam. He had his swimming lessons and his cartoon camp. He really liked both of them and probably kept him from being completely bored. Pretty soon he'll have Wizard's camp and then likely another round of swimming lessons. T-ball is over as well, so we're in a lull between the various activities.

He's also turning into an actual reader. Most of the early reader books are overly cute or silly, but I managed to find some ones that were actually funny. I left them by his bed after I got them at the library. The next day he reported that he read them both, all by himself.



Another weekend draws to a close

July 11, 2005 by Adam in Family

Another weekend draws to a close. Saturday was wonderful, a series of surprises one after the other. Jamie arranged for her folks to come down, so they arrived right before Sam's last T-ball game and took them away until the end of the day. We headed out to the countryside, eventually coming to King Estate Winery. We tasted wine, admired the view, and headed back home. We picked out recipes, went to the farmer's market, and watched Life Aquatic. Soon enough, Jamie's friends started arriving bringing dinner goodies. Eventually the kids returned and things returned to normal.

We all had a big breakfast, though the kids were done in a couple minutes. Jamie put Jim to work hanging up a couple mirrors. After they headed up to Portland we had a fairly typical rest of the day. I took the kids to the playground. Jamie took Sam to see the Emeralds play baseball. Emma and I got groceries and played about the house.

I'm off to work tomorrow, counting the days until the grand beach trip next Friday.



The most bizarre thing happened last night

July 09, 2005 by Betsy in Betsy

The most bizarre thing happened last night. It was dusk and there had been a storm brewing all afternoon. It's very common to get pop up thunderstorms here, normally late afternoon from the heat. It had been 88 degrees and very sticky so I battened down the hatches and was at home working on getting ready to take Patrick to camp. I was in the living room when I heard what I thought were big rain drops hitting the skylights in the kitchen. I went out to look and there was hail coming down as big as quarters. Of then the storm hit with hail and rain in sheets so heavy I couldn't see past the edge of the patio. The hail lasted about 15 minutes and when it was done I went out and it was piled someplaces 3-4 inches deep! The temperature had dropped significantly and places where the hail was in puddles and on the ground it lasted about 1/2 an hour. Everything was O.K. but it made me wonder.
The boys are with Mike this weekend and we leave for our annual trip to Michigan on Monday. Hope all are well and enjoying the summer! Love, Bets and the boys



Today is Jamie and I's tenth year anniversary

July 08, 2005 by Adam in Family

Today is Jamie and I's tenth year anniversary. It's her turn this year, so I'm really curious if she has anything exciting planned. Now that we have kids, it's pretty hard for us to drop everything and go someplace exotic. It may just be a quiet at-home anniversary.

The week has been fairly uneventful, other than the London bombings. I talked to my mom last night and it sounds like all our extended English relatives are okay.

Sam has one more T-ball game before the season is over. I'm not quite sure what we'll do with the boy after that as I don't think there's any sport activity until soccer begins in the fall. Sam also continues Cartoon Camp, with today being the big art show. I'm going to see if I can sneak out of work a little early so I can attend.



Goodmorning all! I called Mom this morning a...

July 07, 2005 by Seraph in Cortez

Goodmorning all! I called Mom this morning about contacting Sandie, Cousin Mary and the other UK family to see if any of them were affected by todays bombings. Please keep them in your thoughts.



Greetings this lovely July! Here's newz from ...

July 07, 2005 by Yayoe in Yayoe

Greetings this lovely July! Here's newz from the old folks home. Lohring is off to the wild blue yonder tomorrow (New Hampshire) for another 11 day NAMBA race. He's also planning to visit with Sadie in Massachusetts. Those little New England states are so close together that it's easy to just drive here and there and meet up with folks. Hard to believe I use to live in Cambridge, Mass. schlepping back and forth to graduate school and wondering if it was worth the effort to study study study and slave. Here it is 35 years later and the answer to the question is YES!

Lohring will be doing his first sealant clinic at LCC when he returns from New Hampsire on the 18th. He's excited about this public health approach to saving children's teeth.

I'm still plugging away at my ukulele and found 3 wonderful women in my neighborhood to play with during the month. I'm still doing my volunteer activities and enjoying the summer.

Dorothy will be returning to Eugene in September. She's going to Washington to help her sister Caroline, who is scheduled for cardiac surgery. I'll be in touch with you folks about dates for getting together.
S0 enough for now!



Hi, love to all, and you should know that Sad...

July 06, 2005 by Sue in Wielesek

Hi, love to all, and you should know that Sadie has been
"referenced". Remember when she worked on a book that one of
the professors(call her Pollywog, as I can't remember her name) at Smith was writing? Anyhow, the book was
published, and Sadie was named as one of the authors. An article on the same subject was published recently. It referred to "the work of Pollywog and Miller". Ah, what amazing people you all are.
On a sad note, Bob and I have been spending a lot of time at a nursing home, where his old budd Steve has been dying of brain cancer.



Sign Oxfam's ONE campaign petition

July 06, 2005 by Sadie in Sadie & Greg

Sign Oxfam's ONE campaign petition.

We believe that, in the best American tradition of helping others help themselves, now is the time to join with other countries in an historic pact for compassion and justice to help the poorest people of the world overcome AIDS and extreme poverty.

We recognize that a pact including such measures as fair trade, debt relief, fighting corruption and targeting an additional one percent of the US budget towards providing basic needs -- education, health, clean water, food, and care for orphans -- would transform the futures and hopes of an entire generation in the poorest countries.

We commit ourselves -- ONE person, ONE voice, ONE vote at a time -- to make a better, safer world for all.



The Fourth is over and I'm back to work again

July 05, 2005 by Adam in Family

The Fourth is over and I'm back to work again. I had Emma for an hour this morning as Jamie worked out. We wandered around work and then had our morning bagel. She was very cute and chatty with people who wandered by.

Sam went to his first day of comics camp. I'm dying to know how it's working out for him. Jamie reported that there were lots of nice kids, so hopefully he'll make some friends. He also gets to go swimming today as well, then Jamie will pick him up around four.

Monday was pleasant and laid back. We worked hard on finishing the upstairs. Sam managed to give himself a very mild shock changing out the outlets. His job was to test each first and then remove two screws, but he forgot to properly test one. He said it felt like the screw was vibrating a little. Fortunately we managed to turn off that breaker and switch it all out. As a bonus, a light switch that had done nothing before now works. All the purple paint is on the walls too. Very pretty.



Happy Independence Day! We got back from an ...

July 05, 2005 by Seraph in Cortez

Happy Independence Day! We got back from an overnight camping trip at Champoeg State Park, after which I took a long nap. We're now making a nice dinner to eat out in the sun. There has not been a decision about wheather or not to head out to watch fireworks tonight. Isa's not yet at that age where it is required, and the traffic up here tends to be considerable.
We hope everyone else is enjoying their time off!



Happy Fourth of July to all of you

July 04, 2005 by Adam in Family

Happy Fourth of July to all of you. It's been a fun-filled last couple days, a pleasant weekend made even better by the fact that I don't return to work until tomorrow.

On Saturday I took the kids to Amazon park in the morning where we played on the play structure and hiked around. Sam had an especially fun time leaping over Amazon creek and later returning back over a thin raised bridge. In the afternoon we went to Jerry's to get supplies. I spent most of the afternoon with a paintbrush or roller in my hand, working away at painting our bedroom purple.

I also stopped by a new game store that opened up and picked up a board game called Captain Clever. We played over lunch and I managed to barely win with Samuel right behind me.

Sunday was quite similar in some ways. I took the kids to Hendrick's park, Emma in a back pack. We rediscovered a secret trail that Sam and I took when he was four. He kept saying "Dad, you're a genius!" as evidently the discovery ranks up there with lost Mayan cities. We stopped by Humble Bagel on the way home for tasty treats.

Upon our return and after lunch, Jamie started in on painting while the kids and I broke out the slip-and-slide for some afternoon water action. We finally wound down with a tasty dinner and some after supper sparklers.



Mocha Friday, with a three day weekend ahead ...

July 01, 2005 by Adam in Family

Mocha Friday, with a three day weekend ahead of me. I'm hoping it's fairly quiet. Jamie's picked up some paint for the bedroom, so I'll likely do a fair bit of painting. Sam already has his "alone with dad time" planned out. Emma's happy enough with whatever time she can get.

Last night we went down to Sam's T-ball game while Jamie went to Pat's to watch a movie. My mom showed up, as did our neighbors as Sam was playing against Edison. Sam also ran into his old preschool friend Jake, who Sam reported as having a different face and voice. It's strange how half the parents of Eugene look familiar to me now. My mom arrived as well and helped entertain Emma and cheer on Sam.



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