The weekend continues to sneak up on us

June 30, 2005 by Adam in Family

The weekend continues to sneak up on us. It's the kid's last day of swimming lessons. I think next week is cartoon camp for Sam. I think t-ball ends fairly soon as well.

Emma, Sam, and I walked down to cheese park last night where Sam played his t-ball game. Emma leads me all over the place at these things and last night was no exception. We found various little girls that Emma immediately started referring to as her friend. Unfortunately at this age everyone's attention span is pretty short. Sam was pretty tired after the game and I almost had to carry him back home.

The only other exciting news is that Dave and Josh are moving into a house that Victoria rents, just a few blocks away from us. We'll probably have to promise not to go over and bug him every day. Brant's still hoping to sell his current house to finance his great Bend real estate adventure. Ah, the joys of change.



Wednesday already

June 29, 2005 by Adam in Family

Wednesday already. Jamie was off at Sharon's house last night while I entertained the kids. Sam, Emma, and I somehow survived, playing outside, drawing, and taking baths. Jamie returned at bedtime with painted nails and dessert for the kids.

Alex continues to work away on the outside of the house in preparation for painting. Jamie's getting the paint for our bedroom tomorrow and we'll probably finish painting this weekend.



Sunday was filled with family

June 27, 2005 by Adam in Family

Sunday was filled with family. I took the kids to the library, both of whom were fairly grumpy throughout. Sam's new phrase is "I'm bored", which is driving Jamie and I nuts. Jamie went off to help get Brant's house sold. I think there's a plan afoot to get Dave moved into the house Victoria rents, which is only a few blocks away.

We all went over to Jenny's house for the afternoon where I kept an eye on the kids. I gave Jenny and Sadie my odd little gifts from the Haunted paper toys site, along with some safer soaps and lotions. My dad was given some chocolate covered espresso beans, one of which he gave to Emma and the rest he ate himself.

Later in the evening Anna and Sadie came over, which almost made up for the day I was sick and missed them. They brought a guitar, fiddle, and banjo, and proceeded to entertain us and the kids with music and stories. It was wonderful and I spent most of the time smiling at Emma "helping" play the banjo.

There's some more mundane excitement going on as well. In theory our house is getting painted this week, though the weather is horrible. I think we settled on a bright yellow, which should keep things cheery. Jamie's also painting our bedroom "Awesome Violet", which I never tire of saying. Busy, busy.



It was quite a whirlwind day today

June 26, 2005 by Adam in Family

It was quite a whirlwind day today. It started with Emma waking up early and Jamie and I sharing a cup of tea for awhile. After breakfast I mowed the lawn and tore down parts of a massive clematis that was growing beside our house. Since we're having someone come on Monday to start the prep work for painting, we've got lots of things to get ready, not to mention picking a color.

Sam and I played on the computer while Emma napped, then Jamie went off until dinnertime. The kids and I walked all the way to Saturday market where neither had been before. We met with Seraph, Robbie, and Isabell and enjoyed the food, music, and people. Emma was very quiet at the beginning, in awe of all the strange people wandering about. After Isabell shared her hat and magic wand, she felt better and they played together for a long while.

Afterwards we walked all the way back with a short stop at the library to cool down. Once we got home, we dug out the slip-and-slide and layed it down on the hill (movie). The kids went nuts, Sam especially, and had an extremely good time. Soon enough it was dinnertime and I had them watch the end of Beauty and the Beast while I made pizza. The kids got cookie-cutter pizzas, I got pesto, and Jamie had traditional cheese and pepperoni.

The evening's wrapping up. Jamie's reading to Emma. Sam's watching the House of Flying Daggers which I previewed last night. I'm looking forward to some time to myself.



It's Mocha Friday and I dragged myself to work

June 24, 2005 by Adam in Family

It's Mocha Friday and I dragged myself to work. I actually feel reasonably okay at the moment, other than having my stomach feel a bit wobbly. I probably managed to sleep around 12 hours yesterday and last night combined. It's beautiful outside and I wandered outside to get a haircut. Hopefully the weekend will stay like this.

Swimming lessons continue for the kids. Emma thinks it's great and keeps talking about it at dinner. She was evidently quite good at jumping off the side.

I got to visit with Emma briefly this morning, who was very cute. She was eating her bananna yogurt and chatting away. The plan is that Jamie head out with Sadie tonight until past the kids' bedtime. We'll see how that all works out.



I was sick as a dog today

June 24, 2005 by Adam in Family

I was sick as a dog today. The worst part is that it was the same day Sadie and Anna were slotted to play with me and see the town. I took the day off of work, Jamie made an elaborate breakfast, and I was very excited.

I had my usual cough again last night, taking cough syrup before I went to bed. I slept fairly well, waking up at my usual time. Unfortunately I started getting a headache in the morning and it quickly went downhill from there. I hardly touched my breakfast when Sadie and Anna arrived. I took a nap, went with everyone to 5th Street Market for lunch, and then came home for another nap. I got up, took a bath, napped, threw up, and finally felt a little better.

It's the end of the day. Jamie was wonderful with the kids, taking them off to T-Ball while I slept like the dead. Sam had an odd little pain this evening tonight, but hopefully it'll be better in the morning. We'll see if I can manage to go to work. It doesn't appeal to me much at the moment.



My annoying cold continues

June 22, 2005 by Adam in Family

My annoying cold continues. I was up late coughing, so I downed some cough medicine and am my typical spacey self this morning. I predict lots of caffiene in my future.

We had Gavin and his mom Louise over for dinner last night. The two boys spent the entire time climbing on anything climbable in our yard, along with causing great distress and distruction to any snail they could find. Emma mostly follwed them around, with lots of trips to the kitchen sink to wash off odd sticky bits.

I'm taking tomorrow off to hang out with Sadie. I'm quite excited.



My cough continues, though I'm hoping these a...

June 21, 2005 by Adam in Family

My cough continues, though I'm hoping these are the last few days of it. It's been so many months since I was last sick that I've forgotten what it was like.

Swimming lessons started in earnest yesterday. Sam's been doing it by himself, something he's quite proud of. He's also pretty good at it and is wanting to move to the next level after his current lessons (I think he's currently in the Angelfish group).

Emma's in the Starfish group, with Jamie helping out. The instructor ended up using her as an example, showing everyone how to float on your back and go underwater. Jamie had a good time along with everyone else. The weather's been gorgeous which helps too.

It looks like the next great house project will be to paint it. Jamie mentioned the desire to eventually paint our house to her dad, who found a nice young man to send down and get things organized. Odds are it'll happen fairly quickly. We picked out a few promising colors yesterday and will probably do some painting over the next couple days. Busy, busy.



The weekend is coming to a close

June 20, 2005 by Adam in Family

The weekend is coming to a close. Happy father's day to all you dads out there. I got a present from Sam that had a crayon picture of me along with his favorite things about me. Evidently I'm good with computers and tell Sam I love him a lot. Made me tear up.

Yesterday was fairly uneventful. Dave, Kirsten, and Josh came over for awhile, much to the kid's amusement. Today we took a trip over to Hendrick's Park to hike around, then stopped by Humble Bagel for lunch. The afternoon was play time with kids. Sam and I played with his new pirate toy. Emma is non-stop singing and dancing and playing.

Now it's off to work again tomorrow. Hopefully tonight I can catch up with sleep. I got the cold that everyone has been getting and it's keeping me up at night.



Yet another Mocha Friday

June 17, 2005 by Adam in Family

Yet another Mocha Friday. Sam's out of school now, so it's a bit of a challenge for Jamie to figure out what to do with both kids all day long. I think they're going to get a fish for Sam's new fish tank this morning, and perhaps come to visit me this afternoon.

Emma's got a bit of a cold and has been feeling lousy. I watched her as Sam and Jamie went off to a T-ball game at cheese park (a.k.a. Washington Park). Emma and I watched movies of her as a baby, made some Spaghetti, then walked down to watch the final moments of the game. A quick bath and then everyone was off to bed.

Hopefully this weekend will be a bit slow. I'm excited about Sadie's arrival next week.



It was a fairly busy Monday

June 14, 2005 by Adam in Family

It was a fairly busy Monday. Jamie and Emma stopped in to bring me flowers from our garden. I think Jamie was a bit frustrated that Emma decided not to nap and wanted a little backup. We wandered around campus for awhile and we showed Jamie all the cool places we hang out when Jamie works out in the gym.

Later that night we went to one of Sam's T-ball games. I was woefully unprepared, trying to entertain Emma for an hour and a half. On Thursday when we do the next one, I'll be sure to bring a bag of toys and snacks.

After the kids went to bed, Jamie and I sat on the couch and watched the sun set. It was a nice end to the day.



The weekend has come and gone

June 13, 2005 by Adam in Family

The weekend has come and gone. Sunday was a very nice day. In the morning we headed off to the library and played around. Jamie was very nice and let me find some books for myself. Sam got a couple that he was excited about, sitting down and reading them during lunch all by himself. It's cool that he started this school year barely able to read and now he can read most simple things by himself.

We played with the kids during the afternoon, most of it outside. Sam's allergies are acting up a bit, even with Claritin. Eventually we headed inside and my mom came over to watch the kids for a couple hours.

Jamie and I took a leisurely walk down to a restaurant near Humble Bagel. It was excellent food and very nice to spend some quiet time with Jamie.



Yesterday was packed, from morning to night

June 12, 2005 by Adam in Family

Yesterday was packed, from morning to night. I played with the kids as Jamie made breakfast, then we all went off to Sam's back-to-back T-ball games. He had a good time and their team played reasonably well. Sam got to play on the pitcher's mound, so he was fielding all the balls for one game. I took Jamie and Emma home in the middle of the second, and my mom joined me in the middle of the last one.

After T-ball, Sam and I stopped off at home briefly then went to South Eugene to watch Treasure Island. We got there a bit early, so we wandered the halls of my old Alma Mater. Some of the murals were exactly the same as when I went to school there nearly twenty years ago. It was very nostalgic, even the smell was the same.

The play was fun and Sam enjoyed it immensely. We got a "pieces of eight" song stuck in our heads afterwards. Then it was home where we wound down and headed for sleep.



Sweet, sweet Mocha Friday

June 10, 2005 by Adam in Family

Sweet, sweet Mocha Friday. I've got a bunch of "to do" e-mails sitting in queue today, but I've decided to take a short breather before I dive in. Work has been extremely productive over the last few days, especially since I've been avoiding meetings like the plague.

Last night we went to the carnival at Sam's school. It was lots of fun, with endless games, activities, prizes, and auctions. Sam drove cars, threw balls, had a squirt gun fight, and returned with assorted plastic treasures. Jamie won an auction for a basket of tea goodies. The entire production is to raise money for the school's art program, so it's for a good cause.

The weekend is shaping up to be quite busy. It's a good thing we didn't end up going up to Portland. Tomorrow we have three baseball games and then I'm taking Sam to see the Treasure Island musical at South Eugene. Should be a fun though exhausting day.

Perhaps we can rest Sunday and have some quiet family time together.



Work was pretty busy yesterday

June 07, 2005 by Adam in Family

Work was pretty busy yesterday. I have an all-day meeting today as well, though I'm sneaking out a bit early. Jamie's planning on going to a four o'clock step aerobics class, so we'll do a kid hand-off and I'll entertain them until she's done.

Sam had more T-ball practice last night. Though I mostly watch Emma, I'll occasionally glance up to see him make a particularly good hit or catch. He also seems to be having a good time hanging out with the other boys and running around, which is the main point of these things.

We were planning on going up to Portland this upcoming weekend, but that fell through. It sounds like we'll be seeing Treasure Island, the musical, which one of the neighbor boys is in. We're a pirate-loving family, so it should be the height of entertainment.



Another weekend has wrapped itself up

June 06, 2005 by Adam in Family

Another weekend has wrapped itself up. Sunday Josh and Ray came over to entertain us. Most of the time I was in the basement with the kids while Jamie and her dad talked and watched a movie.

Josh was great with the kids, as always. It also sounds like he'll be around for awhile this summer before heading off to Tennessee to live and go to school.

In the evening, the kids, Jamie, and I went to the rose garden to pass the time. It was beautiful out and the overcast weather kept most people away. The kids chased each other through the rows of roses. Jamie and I held hands. It was a nice ending to the weekend.



Today was launch day

June 05, 2005 by Adam in Family

Today was launch day. Yesterday after work the kids and I went to Eugene Toy and Hobby to pick up a rocket. Sam and I worked on it last night and again this morning, gluing all the little pieces together so that we'd have something to launch with my dad today.

The maiden voyage didn't go very well. After the engine burns, it blows out a short burst from the other end to shoot off the top and extend the parachute. Unfortunately the parachute wasn't glued in tightly enough and it flew out, causing the rocket to land hard and emerge slightly bent.

Fortunately we had a second one handy and launched that five or six more times. Getting excited, we picked up a two-stage rocket and returned home for lunch. My dad managed to super glue all his fingers and inappropriately glue the rocket several times, but an hour or so later we returned to the field by Roosevelt school and had an incredible launch. We thought we'd lost it as it was completely gone for about ten seconds, then we spotted the upper stage slowly returning.

Unfortunately the second launch ended up with the top stage not separating out. Instead it burned in place, causing a fairly large hole. We decided to call it a day and vowed to continue our experiments at a later date. The kids were both ecstatic about the whole thing.

I had the kids in the evening while Jamie went off to her friend Gillian. She's a nice English woman who's a grandparent of a classmate of Sam. The kids and I made pizza with cookie cutters, much to their amusement.



It was a fairly quiet day yesterday

June 03, 2005 by Adam in Family

It was a fairly quiet day yesterday. Jamie and the kids played with John, Natalie, and Sharon at the park. Sam had gym during kindergarden today. Emma ran around being excited and cute.

Work is somewhat exciting today. I've got my mocha and rebooted a server, all before 8 a.m. There's some mysterious problems I'm trying to solve, as well as a fair amount of project work on my list. At least it's rarely boring around here.



The week is winding down already

June 02, 2005 by Adam in Family

The week is winding down already. I took Sam to T-ball practice last night, mostly following Emma around as she explored the playground and visited with assorted people.

She's incredibly friendly, going up to people and asking their name. Everyone's amazed at her verbal abilities at such a young age, easily charming them with her witty reparte.

I'm hoping it clears up this weekend as I'd like to shoot off rockets with my dad and assorted children and nephews. We'll see if we can arrange it. Jamie's dad is also coming to town to spend some time with us. The other day Emma said "Grandpa Ray's my favorite guy." It was very cute.



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