Haloween

October 31, 2015 by Lohring in Lohring

My costume. Expect protesters from the American Dental Association.



New phones

October 31, 2015 by Seraph in Cortez

Hello all! We all have joined the 21st century and got cell phones. My new number is 505-901-8609. Let me know if you want Robbie or Isa's



Mocha Halloween Friday

October 30, 2015 by Adam in Family

The kids all dressed up for Halloween this morning.  Joanna was rocking a sexy Minion costume.  Berry was a banana.  Emma was a spellslinger.  Duncan was some Minecraft character, I think.  As for me, I'm going as a Providence Rebranding Specialist.  I've been handing out Providence logos to tape over the PeaceHealth logo.  It's funny because our new CEO is from Providence and her first announcement was a new co-owned clinic with Providence.  Or maybe it's terrifying and sad.  There's a fine line.


The week has been busy.  I drove up to Vancouver for meetings that were more stressful than useful.  The rest of the week I've been trying to deal with the crushing amount of work that's been put on my lap.  Evenings are spent on housework or helping Sam with homework.  At least I know a lot more about Greek philosophers than I did last week.  

Joanna and the kids have been generally doing well.  She and I have both had a touch of the cold, which I've managed to beat back with painkillers and mochas.  Tonight we've got a hot date somewhere.  I'm dressed in a suit and tie, so maybe we'll go somewhere nice. 



Busy Weekend

October 26, 2015 by Adam in Family

We all had an exciting weekend.


I spent a good chunk of time driving Emma around.  Friday night was activity night at her school - she played Magic with friends and cleaned their clock with some of my old decks.  Saturday I left her at Saturday Market with her out-of-town friend, picking her up at their hotel room which was filled with pre-teen girls.  Sunday was similar, off to a birthday party at eleven and returning home late afternoon.  Emma had a great time being social, though it was a little quiet without her around so much.

As for the rest of us, Friday night Joanna and I took Duncan, Berry, and our neighbor Flynn to the YMCA Halloween party.  It was completely insane with children.  I followed Berry around - she got her face painted yellow with sparkles.  Eventually we escaped home to the relative quiet.

Saturday morning I took Cecilia, Berry, and Duncan around Saturday Market for a little while, bringing home goodies for lunch.  Berry really wanted a knitted octopus, which led to tears when it wasn't made possible.  Ironically the glass sphere that Duncan absolutely had to have a month ago was far less interesting once he had all his cash with them.  Cecilia went along for the ride, unsuccessfully looking for a present for her cousin.  Joanna ran errands, kindly mailing the updated Canadian citizenship forms, this time with two forms of identification.

Sam arrived and we hung out - he invented a new sport that involves complicated balance moves on exercise balls.  I was exhausted that night, as the whole thing was surprisingly strenuous.  He moved on to showing Berry after she came back from her soccer game.  That night we watched a new BBC science show that was actually pretty good, along with tasty pizza and Joanna made for us.

Sunday morning I helped Emma and Berry carve pumpkins while watching Vin Diesel play D&D.  Emma thought it was pretty awesome.  Later Cecilia joined in the festivities, making a Cheshire Cat pumpkin.  I got Duncan and Joanna's pumpkin's ready to go, and roasted a ton of pumpkin seeds.  We should be relatively ready for Halloween.

As for the rest of the day, it was pretty low-key.  I worked on the endless laundry and dishes and played some computer games.  The piles of kitchen compost got wheelbarrowed out to the compost pile.  Joanna brewed more cider and a tasty stuffed pasta dish for dinner.

Sam got a 96% on his last pre-calculus test, bringing his C up to a B.  Tomorrow I'm off to Vancouver, which is always a long drive.  Life moves on.



Love from Greenfield

October 26, 2015 by Sue in Wielesek

If any of you ever believed Sadie when she said she didn't want to have children, she was lying! Last Wednesday at 6:00 pm, Simon took a tumble from his climbing structure right onto his head. Sadie scooped him up, saw a big goose egg bump, grabbed Greg, and they checked into the ER at the nearby hospital at 6:04! Sadie was still wearing her apron, for which she got a certain amount of the kidding from the staff. Simon wasn't really the worse for the experience, though he's more cautious about scaling heights. What they did have was a really perspective doctor who reassured them kids fall all the time.

It's nice to be reminded once again that you kids and your spouses are good parents and that my grandkids are flourishing for all of that good care. I don't really give you guys much advice, not because I'm some New Age grandma, but because you don't need it.

Anyhow, I have to tell you that Simon is cute as a bug's ear. and I wish all you other Grandmas,
Yayoe and Anna and Hanni, could come back to visit with him. He is learning so much so fast!

We've been talking about next summer's vacation. Sadie and Greg are fine with a National Park -
I will at least check on whether there is any availability in the lodge or the hotel at Yellowstone. Or we might look north to one of the Canadian parks. Thoughts?





Mocha Friday

October 23, 2015 by Adam in Family

We have a busy weekend ahead.  Sam is hosting a D&D session for eight of his friends.  Emma is playing Magic with her friends at her school's activity night.  Duncan and Berry are planning on going to the YMCA tonight for a Halloween thing.  That's just tonight - tomorrow things get even more exciting, with one of Emma's friends coming in from Florida, Berry's soccer games, and so on.


The last few days have been pretty routine.  Joanna and I went out on a date night Wednesday, ending up at a vegetarian Chinese food place after discovering Off the Waffle is closed at nights now.  Duncan and Berry have been a little under the weather, though I think they're off to school today.  Sam and I have been studying for his math test - I gave him a "good luck" note and chocolate covered espresso beans this morning.

As for me, I just keep working away - at home and at work.  All is well.



Halfway to the Weekend

October 21, 2015 by Adam in Family

It's been a typical quiet start to the week.  I've been working away during the day and spending my evenings helping Sam with philosophy papers, doing dishes, and folding laundry.


Berry and Joanna had a bit of a bug, keeping Berry home and out of soccer for a day, though she seems to have mostly recovered.  Joanna informs me that I've received both a new Loot Crate as well as Sam and Emma's ID cards.  Theoretically that's the missing piece for getting their Canadian citizenship papers.  Hopefully that can get sorted out soon.

Sam has a math test this Friday, so we'll be studying the practice test the next couple days.  He pours a ton of effort into his European Literature class (where he's getting 110%), though we need to make sure he doesn't neglect the other subjects too badly.  He's also been going gangbusters with his computer class - he's currently designing websites.  I think the magic of how the internet works has faded now that he knows about the man behind the curtain.

I was also saddened to hear that Mythbusters' next season will be their last. Maybe we'll have to watch D&D with Vin Diesel instead.

Joanna and I are going out for dinner tonight, so that will have to be enough for now.



Monday Again

October 19, 2015 by Adam in Family

We've all gone off to our various places of work or school, leaving the weekend behind us.


Sunday was relatively entertaining.  I took Emma and Berry to the park to ride bikes.  After some resistance they went along and had a pretty good time.  Later we fed everyone lunch and I took everyone but Sam and Joanna to the library for a lengthy trip.  Cecilia got a library card and a volunteer form, just in case.

Joanna took Berry to her soccer game where they lost to the best team in the league.  Cecilia, Sam, Emma, and I watched Mad Max: Fury Road to make our afternoon as exciting and intense as possible.  The day wrapped up with family dinner with my mom, delicious as always.







Midway Through the Weekend

October 18, 2015 by Adam in Family

It's a quiet Sunday morning.  Emma's on the couch with a tablet, but otherwise the only sound is me rushing about cleaning and doing laundry. 

Friday night we took Berry and Duncan to Old School Eugene, despite Berry's complaints, and went to dinner at Cornucopia.  Dinner was tasty, followed by a stroll over to 5th Street Market, and when we returned to get the kids it turns out they had a great time.  Berry was hastily assembling her hamster art project and Duncan had made an emoji out of Lego bricks.

Saturday morning we picked up Emma on our way to Lone Pine farms.  We did our usual horse-drawn trailer ride to the pumpkin patch where we ran around finding the weirdest pumpkins possible.  This was followed by a trip through the corn maze where Berry and Duncan took turns directing us through.  We returned home and I fetched Sam for the rest of the weekend.



The afternoon was pretty low-key, with everyone doing their own thing.  We played video games, threw the ball around in the basement, and chatted.  Cecilia read her book on beheading Mary, Queen of Scots.  Joanna took Duncan to a sleepover and Berry to a soccer game.  I got really tired and achy at the end of the day, but feel much better today.

I'm not quite sure what we're up to today.  I'd like to take the girls to the park to practice their bike riding.  We'll see how it goes.



Berry's Half Birthday

October 15, 2015 by Adam in Yvonne

Berry had her half birthday yesterday.  Joanna made pumpkin pie and got her an artist's hand.  Berry hasn't quite used it for anything artistic yet, unless you count pointing it at everyone and yelling "J'accuse!"



Helping Hands

October 13, 2015 by Adam in Yvonne

I'm not quite sure how this came about, but over the weekend Berry and her friend Audrey decided to sell food to raise money for FOOD for Lane County.  Joanna made a bunch of tasty muffins and they did pretty well.  Someone wrote up their activities, which you can read all about.



Busy Monday

October 12, 2015 by Adam in Family

I somehow stumbled my way through the day.  Joanna's been reporting on her busy schedule as well.  By the time I get home, she'll have left to take Berry to a soccer game.  Theoretically I'll be putting together a soup and cheese sandwiches for the little kids.  Joanna's such a good cook that it's hard to follow her.


Sunday was pretty low-key.  After getting Berry bike riding a bit by herself, I took Cecilia and Berry to a walk by the river and past the secret hobo camp.  Sadly Sam bailed on us to work on an essay, though we still had a pretty good time.  There were a couple guys working on a dirt bike path in the "gray area" of land management.  They were pretty funny and warned us of some homeless campers down the way.  We instead walked onward and enjoyed the warm fall day.

Upon returning home we ate lunch and I coaxed a couple board games out of the kids.  Endless laundry was done.  Joanna worked in the garden some.  I helped Sam with his essay.  My mom came over for dinner.  Emma arrived and told us all about her trip with Kate.

Life is busy but good.



Sunriver Trip

October 12, 2015 by Adam in Emma

Emma returned from her weekend getaway with Kate and her family.  They went to their cabin near Sunriver where they hung out, played games, watched movies, and went for a six mile hike along the river.  She had a great time and took a bunch of pictures.



Bike Riding

October 12, 2015 by Adam in Yvonne

Berry decided she wanted to practice riding down at the park today.  She's getting pretty good and can ride without help for short distances.  I think with a few more times she'll be able to generally stay upright and can do longer trips by herself.



Weekend

October 11, 2015 by Adam in Family

Where to start?

Thursday evening the kids all descended upon the house.  With Friday off, it's been a weekend full of activities though we still have today to round out the weekend.

Friday I hauled Sam and Emma to the DMV to get ID cards.  I need their second piece of identification for their Canadian citizenship.  They dutifully sat through two hours of waiting, hopefully preparing them for future visits in the future. After lunch we went to Hendrick's Park and ran around.

 Emma was picked up that night by Kate's family to take her to a cabin.  While I miss her, I know she's always wanted to go.  Sam headed to his mom's after a slightly destructive play session with the little kids in the basement.  Duncan went to a friends.  The three girls and I had a pleasant little dinner, watched the sunset, and headed for bed.

Saturday was fairly exciting.  I ran around doing chores in the morning, putting away the air conditioners and putting up cloches over the garden beds.  Berry had a soccer game, so I drove over and watched the last half.  It was pretty amazingly good - two undefeated teams playing - and of course they ended in a tie.



I worked on Sam's old laptop, which seems to be on its last legs, and picked him up from his mom's house.  We all puttered about for a few hours, with Joanna running a few errands.  I convinced everyone but Duncan to see the Martian.  He went across the street to Flynn's house while the rest of us marveled at Matt Damon's space hijinks.  This was all followed up by a hasty pizza and Mythbusters. 

Cecilia got a call from her intern friends to go out to Taylor's for a drink last night.  I think she eventually returned.  She's been feeling a little lonely, so I'm glad she got to go out with more exciting people than us lot.

Today I awoke to a dysfunctional computer.  After unplugging a faulty USB port it at least turned on.  I've got a ton of laundry to do and I need to push Sam towards finishing an essay, but I'm hoping we can all get outside for a hike today.



Wednesday Update

October 07, 2015 by Adam in Family

The week has moved along relatively uneventfully.  I had fun chatting with my mom and Ilona about trusts Monday night.  Sam and I worked more on his Linux box - he's learning website administration these days.  Emma had a cold on Monday.  


Cecilia continues to fret about her life.  Her parents are suggesting she stay in the US and go to school.  We'll see how it turns out.

Joanna has been doing her usual rushing around, taking Berry to practice and keeping an eye on the little kids when they're out of school tomorrow.  Joanna and Emma are both reading House of the Scorpion, chatting about the plot.

Berry is sick and a little grumpy, though has generally been cheerful.  Duncan was the only kid at dinner last night, so he endeavored to make up for the absence of the other kids.  He's generally pretty funny and politely laughs at my apocalypse jokes about alpaca lips. 



Indie Weekend

October 05, 2015 by Adam in Family

It was a generally pleasant weekend, the usual mix of insanity and joy, coupled with a zesty dash of frustration.


Friday night Joanna went off to be formally thanked as part of a church thing.  I took the little kids and dropped Cecilia off at a restaurant to meet up with  some of the other interns.  They had a great time, headed over to the arcade, and came back late.  The rest of us met up with Joanna at Dickie Jo's.  Berry and I watched the baseball game and I enjoyed my cider.

Saturday morning I had a touch of the cold that's been going around, successfully beaten back with Advil and espresso.  I fed waffles to all and Sam and Emma arrived late in the morning.  Emma was whisked away to Kate's house.  Sam and I walked down the hill to go to the Eugene Indie Game Con for a couple hours.

We had a great time and I got to see a couple interesting talks.  The first was by Chris Avellone, one of the writers for Fallout 2, Neverwinter Nights 2, and a bunch of other games.  The second talk was on virtual reality, which fascinated Sam.  We also wandered around the booths, checking out the semi-local indie game scene.  I'm glad I had the chance to take Sam, as I think exposing him to different industries is a good way for him to start thinking about long-term jobs.

I returned home to Joanna working in the garden, planting bulbs.  I made a store run for family dinner, picked up Emma, picked up pizza, and we wrapped up the day with an old Mythbuster episode.  Cecilia headed out with her friends to the haunted corn maze.  Apparently she likes scary things, and was suitably frightened.

Sunday was pretty crazy.  I made Dutch babies for breakfast.  Emma, Berry, and I went to the art supply store in the morning, picking up assorted goodies.  Later we did art and watched more Titan's Grave.  I was working on alchemy jars, putting shrunken heads in jars and the like.

I promised Sam some quality video game time, so we played Blood Bowl together.  I somehow managed to win.  Joanna dyed the hair of the little kids, with Duncan's hair turning an amazing shade of red.  Eventually I realized I had to get ready for guests, so I folded clothes and cleaned up the living room.

We had a good crew for dinner, with John, Yayoe, Jenny, and mom.  We ate great food that Joanna made, chatting away.  

Emma was sick this morning and is staying home from school.  I have a bunch of things going on, from getting together documentation for the kids to working on my mom's will.  It's certainly never boring around here.



Somber Mocha Friday

October 02, 2015 by Adam in Family

Yesterday was pretty rough with the shootings in Roseburg.  It brought back memories of the Thurston shooting as they starting bringing people into Riverbend.  This morning the office seems pretty empty - I think people mostly decided to stay home today.


Fortunately all the kids where home last night and it's hard to stay down with their crazy energy and general enthusiasm.  I arrived to Sam doing somersaults over an exercise ball in the basement (from experience, it's harder than it looks).  Joanna went to a writer's meeting after dinner, so I cycled kids through bedtime and chatted with Cecilia on trying to figure out what she wanted to do with her life.  We wrapped up the evening with a superhero show, which was perfect.

Life is full of little tidbits.  Joanna's weird job may continue for years to come.  Sam and Emma's citizenship paperwork was rejected because I needed another form of identification.  I probably need to call Canada.  In a pinch I can get them Oregon ID cards, though I'd like to save the $100 if I can.  I pulled a splinter from Duncan's foot after we recommended it's time to stop wearing sandals.

Hopefully we have a relatively quiet weekend. I'd like to go see the Martian.  There are endless house projects and chores.  Family dinner should be fun.  Life goes on.



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