We made it to Portland, safe and sound

December 27, 2008 by Adam in Family

We made it to Portland, safe and sound. The roads were clear right up until we got off the freeway and into the residential area. After that, there was lots of melting snow and slush. Josh, Sam, Emma, and I spent the afternoon rolling massive snowballs and making snow forts. I was cheerfully tired by the time we opened presents and ate Christmas dinner.

Today I think we'll try the local park and see if we can turn a cardboard box into a makeshift sled. Jim and Judy are taking the kids into the city to see the lights, and I think Jamie and I are having dinner somewhere by ourselves. Such a treat.

It looks like we're about halfway through our...

December 26, 2008 by Adam in Family

It looks like we're about halfway through our various Christmases, which is increasingly a multi-phased holiday. Yesterday we went over to my mom's house for brunch. There was huge amounts of food and people, and presents scattered everywhere. The kids returned home with vast quantities of goodies, and I managed a few of my own. My personal favorites are the spoon lightsaber and the ventriloquism book. Awesome.

Afterwards I pretended to be a teenage girl and we all went to see Twilight. It was pretty much everything I expected, with my favorite part being sitting next to Sadie who informed me when I was supposed to squeal and giggle. Good times.

We're off to Portland today, though I'm not sure for how long. Because of the weather, we've put off Jamie's family Christmas until now.

We celebrated our Christmas yesterday

December 23, 2008 by Adam in Family

We celebrated our Christmas yesterday. Since so much is going on, we've been doing things early for several years now. The kids immediately opened their stockings, running around with their walkie-talkies and having fun. After breakfast, they dug into their presents and played with them.

I didn't really get much for Jamie, though she liked the digital picture frame I got for her and Emma. There were video games galore, so they kids tried a sampling of them all. I got some great stick figure warning stickers from Jamie that the kids quickly stole a few from.

For the rest of the day we hung out and didn't do much. Our plans for today were to go to Portland, but that's all up in the air with the weather so bad. We'll see what happens today.

The week is coming to a close

December 19, 2008 by Adam in Family

The week is coming to a close. It snowed and schools were closed again. I decided to throw in the towel and not try to go to work.

We headed out into the winter wonderland around ten, though Sam was reluctant to leave the warmth of the house. We made our way to Metropol, everyone's spirits perking up as we frolicked through the snow. I gobbled down a bear claw and downed another mocha. Afterwards I managed to sneak in a hair cut and Jamie picked up groceries.

After we got home, Sam played with the neighbor kids and I had some time to myself. Tonight Seraph and Sadie come for dinner. I can't wait.

It's been a bit crazy the last couple days

December 16, 2008 by Adam in Family

It's been a bit crazy the last couple days. Yesterday was fun and I opted not to try and work. Sam in particular spent a ton of time in the snow, ending the day tired, sore, and happy. We are now the proud owners of a snow fort in our front yard, complete with an arsenal of snow weaponry.

Today has been a bit more strained. The kids didn't have school again but I've been trying to work. Everyone is a little on edge after so many days inside, plus we didn't have hot water until I went out with a blow-dryer to melt the pipes to our gas hot water heater.

Now Sam's playing with the neighbor boys again and the girls are taking a walk through the snow. I'm trying to get on top of e-mail so work doesn't get too crazy. I did promise the kids I'd let them open one Christmas present if they were on their best behavior. Desperate times call for desperate measures.

Saturday we went out into the wild and bagged...

December 15, 2008 by Adam in Family

Another Friday, another mocha (soon, anyway)

December 12, 2008 by Adam in Family

Another Friday, another mocha (soon, anyway).

I woke up at 4 am with a huge list of things I needed to accomplish for the holidays. So far, things are coming along fairly well, with all the assorted electronic gizmos bowing to my will. I can feel my stress levels going up these last few days as my lack of time becomes even more pronounced.

The shed is coming along nicely. They turned off the power for part of Wednesday to get lights and power to the shed and hook our main power to the roof. The shed now has a door and single window, with another soon to come. We're doing the painting ourselves, so I suspect I'll be out some cold weekend mornings with a paintbrush in hand.

Emma continues to have a cold, though I think she's on the mend. We have a fairly busy weekend ahead of us, though hopefully we can get a Christmas tree, do our assorted events, and have a little time to relax.

It's Mocha Friday, though I'm still at home g...

December 05, 2008 by Adam in Family

It's Mocha Friday, though I'm still at home getting ready for the day. Soon that delicious elixir with be mine.

The big news of the week is that we're having a shed built in our back yard. I'm a little freaked out about the cost, but I suppose we're helping out the local economy and have been talking about it for awhile now. It's going up pretty quick and hopefully will be a useful addition to our back yard. Next is to replace our rotting balcony, though visions of dollar signs are dancing in my head.

Everyone's had a bit of a cold this week. Sam and Emma stayed home from school yesterday and Emma was complaining of a sore throat this morning when she woke up early. Hopefully she'll feel better when it's time to get out of bed.

Jamie went off to a Christmas party with her friend Victoria. The kids and I had a good time together, with both of 'em pitching in to help make dinner. At bedtime, everyone cuddled up in Emma's bed and I read them a story about bugs.

As for the weekend, I haven't thought that far ahead. I need to start making my assorted Christmas presents, and probably buy a few more. I'm not going quite so gung-ho this year and focusing more on event-type presents, handmade things, and buying locally. Well, mostly. I still spoil the kids horribly.

December already

December 01, 2008 by Adam in Family

December already.

Thanksgiving with Jamie's family went quite well. They were all well behaved, except when Nebraska was having problems in their football game. Fortunately they won, so Jamie's family was the model of polite behavior for the rest of the day.

I took the kids out swimming both Saturday and Sunday. Yesterday we went to the wave pool at Splash! and I practically had to drag them away. By the time we got home they were starving and tired, so Jamie's dinner was exceptionally well loved by all.

We had a good Thanksgiving yesterday

November 28, 2008 by Adam in Family

We had a good Thanksgiving yesterday. Sam woke up at 3:30 in the morning for some crazy reason, though he was mostly functional all day. Jamie went to see the Festival of Trees with the kids the day before, and they returned with a giant inflatable hammer and bat. Sure enough, the first thing they wanted to do in the morning was hit each other. As expected, it ended in tragedy.

After breakfast, we were all quite lazy. Sam and Emma played with Sam's new Brickarms Lego weaponry. I think there was a series of zombie attacks or something. Emma helped me make dough for dinner rolls while Sam played his new scary computer game. Eventually we wandered over to my mom's house to help cook and supervise the kids.

Emma and Jordan hit it off immediately, playing a variety of games together. I was occasionally pressed into service to deliver letters that she'd write to different people (and animals, in one case). At one point, they decided to bury Destin in the laundry chute. Ah, the joys of youth.

In any case, it was great to chat with Seraph before her grand New Mexico trip. The food was good and Sam had a second birthday party and cake. Eventually we returned home for movies and quiet time.

Now we get to do it all over again, this time with Jamie's family.

It's Mocha Friday

November 21, 2008 by Adam in Family

It's Mocha Friday. I said goodbye to my family, headed to work, and finished off my delicious beverage. I'm trying to fortify myself for Jamie and Emma going up to Portland, leaving Sam and I to fend for ourselves.

Last night I noticed the Wii blinking for attention, ran the system update, and decided to play a few songs in Guitar Hero. Soon enough, everyone was getting in on it. Sam had enough computer time left over to play Barracuda. I played a song by Superbus (in French), Paint it Black, and a couple others. There's something deeply satisfying with throwing up the horns and shouting "Rock and Roll" after the end of a particularly challenging song.

It's been a good, if uneventful week. Sam worked on fencing yesterday while I entertained Emma. He's gotten his technique down pretty well. Whenever I watch him, I get this burning desire to get back into fencing too. Maybe we can do the Eugene Fencing Club together one of these days.

Emma's really gotten into reading and writing. They teach spelling phonetically at her school, so she's always sounding out the syllables of things I say. She's also really gotten into having her own web site. I'm going to see if I can snap up Emmatopia while I can.

As for what Sam and I will be doing this weekend, I'm not sure. He's got a birthday party tonight, leaving me alone in the house for the first time in ages. If the weather is nice, I want to ride bikes and see Quantum of Solace. Swimming is always a plus too. Fun, fun.

The weekend is coming to a close

November 17, 2008 by Adam in Family

The weekend is coming to a close. The kids are playing, Jamie's out at a friend's for dinner, and I have a few minutes before I need to start cooking.

Yesterday was a very pleasant, with crepes and omelets for breakfast. I went off to the library and then took the kids swimming. The afternoon was a lazy affair followed by a quiet dinner.

This morning Sam finished Fallout 3. After breakfast we headed to the back yard to chop down the butterfly bush in preparation for the shed building tomorrow. Emma loved sawing and dragging limbs around. We got it all cleaned up and headed in for snacks.

Emma really wanted to learn how to ride her bike, so we went to the park. Jamie and I took turns holding on to her seat. Sam got in some practice as well. After a good long while, we went home where Emma watched Kung Fu Panda and Sam and I fiddled with the computer.

It's Mocha Friday

November 14, 2008 by Adam in Family

It's Mocha Friday. I'm sitting at my desk, having drained the last of that wonderful elixir. Already I feel my fingers typing with the strength of ten men.

It's been a quiet, uneventful week. Work hasn't been crazy for a change. The kids have been healthy. Yesterday I watched Sam fence while entertaining Emma. On Wednesday we had Josh, Dave, and Kirsten over for an elaborate asian-themed dinner. The only big thing was that Emma is now doing chores, excitedly part of the same check system that Sam has. Her chores are simpler, and I find myself helping her a lot, but it's great to see her wanting more responsibility.

Jamie's talking with the first of the builders as we embark on our grand backyard project. Basically we're replacing the rotting balcony, adding a shed, and extending the patio. I'm freaking out a little about the cost as we go into the recession, but I always freak out when I see the bill, so I'm getting used to it. Jamie's previous remodels have turned out well, so I keep telling her I trust her judgement.

I can't wait for the weekend. My favorite times each week are swimming with the kids, going to the library, and having a hearty breakfast.

It's just me and the kids

November 09, 2008 by Adam in Family

It's just me and the kids. I've been feeling a little under the weather this weekend, so I haven't been up to my usual excitement. Last night we did a lot of reading. Sam read Ripley's Believe It Or Not to Emma. Later we picked our favorite animals out of Emma's library book.

Today I made crepes and sausages. We played in the basement until Sam wanted his computer time. Emma and I played Sorry. Eventually we headed to the library for books and bagels. Upon getting home, it was quiet time. The kids watched movies and I played Fallout 3. Later we all went outside to dig in the dirt. We managed to stick around through some of the rain, but eventually it drove us inside.

The kids played well together for awhile, but eventually things went downhill. Dinner was basic, not fancy like Jamie, but they finished it up. Emma made a birthday card for Seraph. Amazingly, she spelled some of the words all by herself.

Tomorrow we hope to swim and go to Seraph's birthday party. Everyone is looking forward to Jamie's return as well.

After a contentious election, there's nothing...

November 07, 2008 by Adam in Family

After a contentious election, there's nothing that brings the country together more than Mocha Friday. Republicans and Democrats can unite around that delicious caffeinated beverage, sagely discussing the finer points of ground coffee beans.

It's been a fairly typical week. I got to watch Sam fence yesterday while Josh watched Emma. He's getting quite good. Every time I watch him I have this urge to grab a foil and try it out myself. Maybe when he's older we can go to the Eugene Fencing Club together.

Jamie's going off to the coast today, with me watching the kids. I don't have anything particularly exciting planned. I'll try to go on a hike if the rain stops for awhile. I'd also love to go swimming and visit the library. Otherwise a lazy weekend sound perfect for me.

It's been a weird day

November 05, 2008 by Adam in Family

It's been a weird day.

Jamie was really sick last night, basically unable to do much more than lay around and feel miserable. I jumped into primary parent mode, making breakfast, getting the kids to and from school, and spending most of the day watching Emma.

That was combined with playing a new game called Fallout 3, where I roam around a post-apocalyptic Washington D.C., plus the elections. Tonight a tired Emma was sitting in the bath and turned to me saying, "I bet Obama's going to win." I could just smile back and sleepily nod.

The weekend has come to a close and I'm back ...

November 03, 2008 by Adam in Family

The weekend has come to a close and I'm back at work again, loving how the time change makes me feel like I'm lazy.

Saturday I did my usual library trip, and took Emma swimming afterwards. Jamie went off with Pat and Carlanne in the evening, so the kids and I watched a bunch of Pixar shorts.

Sunday morning we all went up to Mount Pisgah for a family hike. Sam was reluctant to go and reluctant to leave, as usual. The views were gorgeous, with the trees taking on all the colors of Fall. Eventually we headed back into town for lunch at 5th Street, then home for quiet time. I got Emma the new Pixie movie, which she adores. Sam watched the Korean monster movie The Host, which he said was good.

In the afternoon Sam had Sophia over and Emma went to a birthday party. Jamie made gnocchi (which I can never pronounce right), and it made for a tasty dinner.

All-in-all, it was a great start to November and I'm looking forward to a month filled with Seraph and Sam's birthdays, as well as Thanksgiving.

The kids had a lot of fun for Halloween last ...

November 01, 2008 by Adam in Family

It's Mocha Friday and Halloween, a winning co...

October 31, 2008 by Adam in Family

It's Mocha Friday and Halloween, a winning combination. Yesterday an e-mail went out at work, saying that the manager had to approve all costumes. I asked Glen if I could wear my sexy nurse outfit, but alas he never responded.

The kids are getting their costumes ready to go. Emma is cute as a little kitty, as always. Sam's going as a zombie, deciding to take a pair of scissors to some clothes of his. As for me, I think I'm going with Klaus, which mostly involves the right accent and goggles.

Hopefully we can have a quiet weekend. Library and swimming are high on my list of fun. With the new James Bond movie opening up, I'm thinking about seeing it with Sam. Maybe we can get outside and enjoy the weather before it gets too cold.

The week has been moving along at a good clip

October 29, 2008 by Adam in Family

The week has been moving along at a good clip. Poor Sam was sick yesterday and today, sniffling away.

We're still trying to nail down our Halloween costumes. I think Sam and I are going Steampunk, but we haven't really invested much time into getting things we need. Perhaps we can go shopping for vests and pocket watches.

We had a great weekend

October 27, 2008 by Adam in Family

We had a great weekend. After so much travel, just hanging around with everyone was blissful.

Saturday morning was filled with Dutch babies and coffee, a personal favorite. Afterward we walked down to the library and then over to Saturday market. It took awhile, but we returned loaded down with books and fresh vegetables. After our return, Emma and I worked on her pumpkin, and Jamie printed out skeleton parts to assemble for our front window.

Saturday evening Jamie went off to Angie's house. I called my dad and we went out to dinner and hung out. We got the kids in bed before they got too wacky.

Sunday had crepes, omelettes, and coffee once again. Jamie and Sam walked to get Halloween supplies while Emma and I played assorted games. I took the kids swimming and then we returned home for an afternoon of movies and relaxing. Good times.

It's mocha Friday

October 24, 2008 by Adam in Family

It's mocha Friday. I was listening to the economic news and wondering if it was time to tighten my belt, but decided that espresso could be one of the luxuries I continue to occasionally indulge in.

The kids are out of school today. Jamie had parent/teacher conferences this week. As expected, both our kids are smart and nice. Sam's teacher recommended Stanford for Sam. When I heard the news at dinner, I loudly declared that Sam was going to be a Yale man.

I'm slowly catching up at work, with yesterday not being quite as frantic as the first of the week. Hopefully I can get caught up today. I also got my flu shot yesterday. I can't tell if I'm being a big wimp, but I was really sore afterwards. I woke up early this morning and had to take some more Advil before I could get back to sleep.

It's been very busy these last few days

October 22, 2008 by Adam in Family

It's been very busy these last few days. Sunday was wonderful, hanging out with the family again. The kids were pretty worn out by the end, getting a little cranky. Sam went to a birthday party where they had laser tag, and he thought that was the best thing ever.

The rest of the week has slowly things move back to normal. Sam was sick on Monday with a cold. I've been digging through piles of work, still not quite caught up. Jamie's been trying to work and watch kids as they have a lot of half days and Friday off entirely.

Last night the kids and I had lots of fun in the basement. We made up a game that involved them getting on their hands and knees, then seeing how much stuff we could pile on their backs. I stacked assorted pillows and cushions all the way to the ceiling with Sam, which was entertaining for all.

It feels so good to be home

October 19, 2008 by Adam in Family

It feels so good to be home.

I'm in Canada, successfully checking into the...

October 16, 2008 by Adam in Family

I'm in Canada, successfully checking into the Delta hotel in Edmonton. It's been a long day, with the San Francisco flight being delayed somewhat, though I was still able to eat a lunch of corn chowder and sourdough bread before I left for Canada.

The immigration folks were very interested in the fact that I was born in Canada, asking a whole bunch of questions about my trip. They eventually told me I should apply for Canadian citizenship and decided not to stamp my passport. Very odd.

Now I'm off to dinner. I already miss my family terribly.

I'm headed off to Canada today, still fiddlin...

October 15, 2008 by Adam in Family

I'm headed off to Canada today, still fiddling with my packing and trying to decide what to take. Maybe I can just wear all my clothes at once.

Everyone in the family has been very nice to me before I leave. I marked the times I'm leaving and coming back on the calendar next to Emma's bed. We've been counting the days and seeing just how long I'll be gone.

The kids' school went to the Hult Center to watch ballet yesterday. Emma really didn't want to go, but Sam though it was pretty cool. When they got home from school, they played this incredibly long and complicated game involving magnets on the refrigerator. It involved Emma building up a great empire by mining ore and defending her village.

It's my last day in Eugene

October 14, 2008 by Adam in Family

It's my last day in Eugene. Tomorrow I'm headed off to Canada for my all-expense-paid trip to visit Bioware. Hopefully I can survive the harsh northern winter weather and don't have to eat my cohorts when the food runs out.

Emma's been visiting with me at work today while Jamie goes off to a doctor's appointment. My coworkers have been very entertaining, taking pictures and offering up their cubicle toy collections. She's been very charming to everyone and thankful to all. I'm glad we had this chance to visit before I go off for four days.

Even though it's a Tuesday, I decided to make it a Mocha Tuesday in honor of my upcoming trip. I'll run extra hard at lunch today.

It's been a very full and exciting weekend

October 12, 2008 by Adam in Family

It's been a very full and exciting weekend. Saturday Jamie went to a wedding and Sam went to see the City of Ember movie with a friend. Emma and I went swimming and went to Humble Bagel. Eventually Sam returned and we all got into a pillow fight. Around evening time Jamie returned and Emma and I went to the park. She had a great time walking over with her lantern held high, collecting chestnuts, and playing in the sand.

Today Seraph came over for breakfast and playing with the kids. She and Jamie went to King Estate Winery and I took the kids hiking Spencer's Butte. They both kept asking to turn around, but once we got to the rocky peak, the excitedly rushed to the top.

Everyone was pretty beat afterwards. Sam and I finally played and finished his zombie game. Jamie took Emma out for ice cream. Seraph headed home and Jamie left for dinner at Pat's house.

Only a few more days until I head off to Canada. It should be very fun, though I'm going to be happy when my travel is over for the year.

It's another mocha Friday, though I've been d...

October 10, 2008 by Adam in Family

It's another mocha Friday, though I've been drinking Mochas nearly every day this week. Yesterday was pretty strange - I'd get a caffiene-fueled burst of energy, then crash and want to sleep. Somewhere in there I managed to run outside for five miles. Work kept paging me even though I wasn't planning on working. I eventually gave up and put in a bit of time.

I was surprised to see Sam's hand in a bandage when I arrived. He fell on the road when running to Sophia's house. Unfortunately it kept him out of fencing yesterday, though hopefully he'll be better soon.

Jamie's off a bunch this weekend, so it looks like I'll be spending time with the kids again. I'm looking forward to breakfast with Seraph and hopefully I can get the kids to the pool sometime.

I'm back home again after my long work trip t...

October 09, 2008 by Adam in Family

I'm back home again after my long work trip to Bellingham. I flew in at 11:55 pm last night and blearily drove home to crawl into bed next to Jamie. The kids were happy to see me at breakfast. I gave them both tv trays, which is a bit of a joke as every time I cook for them, I put the food in our one set of green tv trays. Sam got the pirate-themed one, and Emma got one with ballerinas.

As for today, I may try and work a bit. Emma wants to play with me and Jamie wants to go to Costco. I'm still pretty tired out from not much sleep. The coffee in me says I should go run around, but my brain tells me to lie down and snooze.

It's been a very full and busy weekend

October 05, 2008 by Adam in Family

It's been a very full and busy weekend. I didn't have any particular plans going in, but every moment quickly filled up. Jamie went off Friday at noon. The kids and I played until it was time to send Sam to John's house. Emma dutifully went to get a hair cut with me, and I treated her to ice cream afterward. Swimming was next, with Emma spending most of her time with her friend Erikya. When we got back, Emma was so tired that I barely got her dinner before she fell asleep.

Saturday morning we had a quick pancake breakfast, got Sam, and then my dad came over. We had a long outing to the art supply store, Humble Bagel for lunch, and the gaming store. My dad spoiled the kids, getting a zombie game for Sam and a memory game for Emma. We returned home and played our various games until it was time for me to take Sam to Zach's birthday party. Emma and my dad played the Sims while I was off buying groceries. I returned home to manage them both, eventually sending him off and getting Sam from his birthday party.

As usual, it was quite the affair, with a Lord of the Rings theme. Dwarves, elves, and humans dressed in medieval clothes were everywhere. We hung out for a little, then eventually returned home with assorted plastic weaponry. Next it was dinner, bath, and bedtime for all. I was pretty beat.

As for today, we're going off to breakfast with my mom shortly. After that, my dad wants to race electric boats. I'm not quite sure when Jamie returns today, but we'll likely return home around lunchtime and hang out until she returns. Busy, but fun.

It was a Mocha Thursday for me, as I'm off wo...

October 02, 2008 by Adam in Family

It was a Mocha Thursday for me, as I'm off work tomorrow watching the kids who are out of school. Jamie's going to the beach with Pat and his family for the weekend, so I've got to come up with interesting things to do with the kids. Fortunately Sam has a sleepover and birthday party to attend to, plus my dad has promised to do something with us on Friday. Hopefully I can make it through to Sunday.

I ended up getting another Nerf gun related injury last night. Sam and I were having a duel in the basement, and of course Sam wanted the lights off. Sure enough, we crashed into each other, Sam fell, and I stubbed my toe fairly badly on his gun. I may end up skipping running today as it's still fairly sore. The level of Nerf gun violence in the Miller household can certainly be shocking.

The next couple weeks are non-stop travel for me. Next week I fly to Bellingham to do a team meeting. I'm not especially thrilled, but there's a running track near the hotel. The week after I fly to Canada. The always-amusing Bioware folks informed me that I should bring a warm jacket, along with a rifle for the snow wolves that savage the countryside. Should be fun.

It's Mocha Friday

September 26, 2008 by Adam in Family

It's Mocha Friday. I'm off the wagon again, another delicious mocha cooling beside me.

Poor Emma was sick this morning. She woke up Jamie with a "Mama! Emergency!" and had to have her crusty nose dealt with. I kept her company for a little while before turning her over to Jamie for the day.

It's been a good, if uneventful week. Work was very busy yesterday. As usual, I was playing the hero and scurrying about. Jamie called me home early a couple days since the kids were sick. Every year when school starts, the waves of illness sweep through our family.

We're lining up events for this weekend. Both Jamie's dad and Seraph are in town on Sunday. Sam has a long play date tomorrow. Emma really wants to go swimming. Hopefully we can fit it all in.

It was a good, if mostly uneventful weekend

September 22, 2008 by Adam in Family

It was a good, if mostly uneventful weekend. The high point for me was taking the kids swimming both days. They had such a good time and I finally got over being sick, so we played until we were exhausted. For Jamie, she had a birthday party every day. Friday night I got Thai food and assorted Metropol cakes. Saturday she went to Pat's house and his wife made a huge hors d'oeuvres spread. Sunday we had dinner with my mom and got yet another cake.

Otherwise I played a lot with the kids. The kids have both been playing Spore. Sam's been using rolls of black electrical tape to assemble an intricate gun out of junk laying around the garage. Emma got to play with her friend Sahve down the street. Good times.

It's Talk Like a Pirate Day

September 19, 2008 by Adam in Family

It's Talk Like a Pirate Day. If anyone needs assistance, here's a documentary to get you started:

The week has been moving along

September 17, 2008 by Adam in Family

The week has been moving along. Yesterday Emma was up at five o'clock with bad dreams. I sleepily went over and tried to get her back to sleep, to no avail. I read her stories, got her something to drink, and eventually gave up and took her downstairs. She was pretty tired later that night.

Sam had fencing, which he seemed to enjoy. Emma has karate tonight, which I'm excited to hear about. Hopefully Jamie took some pictures.

I had a great breakfast with my mom yesterday, filling up on pancakes and drinking lots of coffee. It was a great way to start the day.

The weekend has come and gone

September 15, 2008 by Adam in Family

The weekend has come and gone. I had a great time with the family, visiting the Eugene Celebration and generally running about. Saturday Jamie made Challa French toast with blueberry chutney. Later I took the kids to a free karate lesson, with Emma having a great time with the instructor. Later we watched the parade, sadly missing Yayoe's ukulele march. Afterwards we wandered into the celebration itself, where we ate, made robots at some art place, and ate some more. Eventually we all went home and took it easy for the rest of the day.

Sunday we had crepes, then went off again. Sam and I went to the library where he spent nearly an hour reading a book about the National Enquirer. The girls went back to the celebration. Eventually we met up at home for a little lunch and quiet time. Angie whisked Jamie away for massages and hot tubbing, while I played with the kids. The highlight was playing in the sandbox and getting quite messy. Eventually Jamie returned as I was getting Emma to sleep. Good times.

Mocha Friday is back

September 12, 2008 by Adam in Family

Mocha Friday is back. I've started in on another of those delicious elixirs, though I may try to get a sugar free one next time, as this seems a little sweet to me.

This last week at work I've been hunkering down and finishing a high visibility project. The longer it went on, the crazier it got, so I decided to finish it fast, work with my main customer, and ignore everyone else. So far, so good.

It's also been the first full week of school for the kids. Emma seems to be enjoying things, and she shares her latest alphabet signs and songs at dinner. Sam's having a good time with his friends at recess, and enjoying the books they're reading in school. Time seems more scheduled for him, with his chore, homework, packing lunch, and occasional fencing class. Of course, he continues to find time to play Spore, which is his new favorite game.

Jamie hasn't exactly been relaxing while the kids are at school. Mostly she's going shopping or heading in to work. So much for watching old movies and eating bon bons.

I feel a little weird having two trips next month, one to Bellingham for work and another to Edmonton the week after. I find myself being extra nice to everyone, and strangely excited and nervous about my trip to Canada.

The bachelor weekend with Sam has come and gone

September 08, 2008 by Adam in Family

The bachelor weekend with Sam has come and gone. We had a pretty fun weekend, filled with boy things. On Saturday we tried to go canoeing, but sadly they were closed. We watched a movie, did some filming of our own, and did a few chores.

Sunday morning we went for a run, made a fun little movie where things went backwards, went swimming at noon, and played Spore until the girls came home.

Emma had a great time seeing the baby elephant at the zoo. It's nice to have everyone home again.

It's another non-mocha Friday

September 05, 2008 by Adam in Family

It's another non-mocha Friday. For some reason, I keep driving past the Starbucks on my way to work and settling for tea. This weekend I'll make up for it by making my own mochas at home.

I try to get some picture for the Friday posting, so I grabbed the camera and the kids and I did self-portraits in the mirror. The auto-focus failed horribly, and I couldn't really switch to manual with the kids running around. So much for being artsy.

Jamie and Emma are going to Portland this afternoon. I delayed leaving for work so I could say my goodbyes. I'm not quite sure what Sam and I are doing this weekend, but hopefully we can do some hiking and canoeing before Fall appears in force.

Emma had her first day of school yesterday. I think she generally liked it, though she got into a bit of a "boys versus girls" scuffle on the playground. With her starting Karate soon, hopefully future events won't result in her giving anyone a bloody nose.

Sam informed me he was sort of excited to go back to school, though mostly for recess. Then he added that he's excited to finish the salt-dough Oregon maps they're making. Today they get to paint them.

We had a good day yesterday, the kids gatheri...

September 02, 2008 by Adam in Family

We had a good day yesterday, the kids gathering up all their rocket gear and heading to Amazon park with my dad. Emma was really into it at first, but then the loud noise of ignition made her scared. We ended up in the car, watching Sam and my dad launch until they couldn't launch any more.

Next was lunch across the street, and a quick stop at Evolution Gaming to check out all the nifty old school games. We returned home, empty-handed but generally happy.

Jamie was off for awhile with Angie, while I played with the kids. Later Emma, Jamie, and I made tamales. For dinner Sam's friend Sophia and my mom came over. The kids weren't that into the tamales, but I loved them and will probably be eating them for lunch all week.

Sadly I'm back to work now, with way too much to do.

We're back from the beach, a little tired, bu...

September 01, 2008 by Adam in Family

We're back from the beach, a little tired, but glad to be home.

Our grand adventure started Friday afternoon with everyone in high spirits. I had a laptop for each kid, so they were completely silent the entire trip. It was weird. Once we arrived, I helped unpack and we made a quick trip to the beach while Jamie made dinner. Since it was so late in the day, we wrapped the evening up after watching the first half of My Fair Lady.

Saturday started with a hearty breakfast and a trip to the beach. We built this huge castle, complete with a moat and a river that went all the way down to the ocean. Beside the river were a number of buildings, roads, and bridges. Fortunately the tide was coming in so the kids gleefully got to watch it all wash away. After returning home for a snack, I took the kids swimming for a good long while. Jamie took Emma to Newport to buy crab, which we had for dinner. Eventually we finished My Fair Lady and Sam and I decided we had to make Jamie watch the Buffy musical next.

Sunday was almost exactly like Saturday, with more sand castle building and swimming after lunch. Jamie cleaned like a maniac while I watched the kids, getting the house in pristine state before we all returned to our normal lives.

It's Friday, but strangely not a Mocha Friday

August 29, 2008 by Adam in Family

It's Friday, but strangely not a Mocha Friday. I'm instead sipping tea and eating almonds and raisins. I decided the ultra-sugary mocha wasn't what I wanted today. We'll see if it's just a fad.

Instead of showing off a picture of the kids as usual, I thought I'd give people a sense of what I put my family through. Jamie gets these big Nancy's Yogurt containers with a place on the side for writing what you're putting in it if you reuse it. Jamie prefers the clear containers, of which we have plenty, so I've been writing silly things on them for my own amusement. Last week it was "Body Parts" and this week it's the "Souls of the Damned." Such fun.

The last week of Summer vacation is coming to a close, something that Jamie has been looking forward to greatly. The kids waiver between playing together nicely and trying to kill each other. Hopefully once they're back in school, they'll lean more towards peaceful coexistence.

The week has been fairly uneventful. I bought a couple rockets and assembled them with the kids. Perhaps on Monday we'll try to fire them off. Unfortunately I've thrown out the igniter, launch pad, and parachute wadding, so I may need to send Jamie out to get some today (I'm guessing the store is closed on Monday). The last time we launched rockets, Emma was scared. Now she seems pretty gung-ho, which seems to go along with her new Kung Fu persona.

We head to the beach this afternoon, one last hurrah before school starts. I'm hoping to spend a lot of time building sand castles and swimming at the pool, hopefully giving Jamie some time to relax.

I'm back at work, after a very quiet weekend

August 25, 2008 by Adam in Family

I'm back at work, after a very quiet weekend. Having Sam out of the house was very odd, and the lack of kid squabbling created a peaceful atmosphere about the house. Emma was sweet in the mornings (though she'd often turn to the dark side in the evenings).

Jamie helped me assemble the bench, after having it sit in the driveway for a month. Her help was invaluable. Saturday night dad came over and we hung out together. Jamie also made this wonderful peach pie that I can't resist.

Sunday Emma and I went shopping, where I picked up some running shorts and decorative hooks for my room (Steampunky ones for the WWII headphones and a candle lamp). Later we tried to go to the pool, but they were having dogs swim in it before they did their annual cleaning. I tried to get Emma to bark like a dog, but they weren't buying it.

It's Mocha Friday, with me foregoing Starbuck...

August 22, 2008 by Adam in Family

It's Mocha Friday, with me foregoing Starbucks as Jamie lured me to the kitchen nook with homemade mochas. Sam headed to the coast with Josh, Jim, and Judy last night. I did projects and drawing with Emma while Jamie drove Sam and Josh up to Corvallis to meet everyone. Tonight I'm planning on taking Emma swimming.

Last night the kids practiced their Kung Fu, with me as the photographer. Emma's adoration of Kung Fu Panda continues, though we're trying to make sure she doesn't end up injuring everyone with her wild kicks.

It's great hearing from Robbie on his grand adventure. I can't wait to see pictures!

The week has been slowly moving along, the la...

August 20, 2008 by Adam in Family

The week has been slowly moving along, the last of the lazy Summer days slowly coming to an end. Sunday night the thunderstorms rolled in. I spent Monday morning laying next to Emma (who often calls out for Mom or Dad), listening to the hail plink against the roof.

The kids were tired when I got home yesterday, probably from running around with John and Natalie during the day. We finally settled on a "Master Thief" game involving webcams, and later a bunch of freeze tag. Eventually Emma was so tuckered out that all she wanted to do was play on the Kung Fu Panda site.

We made it back, safe and sound

August 16, 2008 by Adam in Family

We made it back, safe and sound.

It started off well enough, packing up and chatting away for the two hours it took to get to the trailhead. Immediately upon leaving the car, mosquitoes began swarming. I broke out the bug spray, but it basically did nothing. By the time we hiked the half hour to the camp site, I was swearing away and threatening to head back home. Sam wanted to stay, so we stayed.

We set up the tent quickly, leaped inside, and killed whatever mosquitoes had followed us in. Dinner was tasty, as we were exhausted and hungry. Afterward Sam got on his swimming suit and jumped into the lake for awhile. The bugs feasted upon us, so we hid in the tent reading until it was time for bed.

We slept horribly, uncomfortable and continually woken up by the wind blowing the tent around. When dawn came, there was no discussion, just a plan to pack up as quickly as possible and head back to the car. I carried both packs to maximize speed, swatting and mosquitoes that landed on my bare arms. Sam ended up falling and skinning his knee. We finally made it to the car, threw our gear inside, and killed any that came in with us. We were safe.

A couple hours later we were back at home, with Jamie handing me a coffee as I went into the door. We showered, cleaned the car, and reveled in civilization. It was good to be home.

It's Mocha Friday, though I'm at home today (...

August 15, 2008 by Adam in Family

It's Mocha Friday, though I'm at home today (and drinking drip coffee since Jamie prefers it). We're headed up to Indigo Lake, south of Oakridge, for an overnight camping adventure. Sam and I have lists of items, our gear mostly laid out, and a trip to REI planned for this morning. Jamie was planning on taking Emma "camping" in the basement tonight, if only to escape the heat. Jamie and I were fighting over the bed in the craft room, which is the only air conditioned room in the house.

This last work week has been great, and the hospital move went really well. Now it's time to gear up for all the projects we put on hold.

Work was blissfully quiet today

August 12, 2008 by Adam in Family

Work was blissfully quiet today. We have hordes of staff on hand to support anything that went wrong with the new hospital, but fortunately most of the issues were pretty routine. Most of the problems people are reporting aren't computer related, but instead seem to have to do with construction or the phone system.

I took the kids off to Toys-R-Us when I got home from work. Sam wanted to use up some of his chore-acquired checks, and he went out specifically looking for another Nerf gun. He's really excited about this one, as it disassembles into assorted pieces. I let Emma indulge her Kung-Fu Panda obsession and got her a Po doll. It says things like "Ouch!" when you hit it, so it's like the opposite of Tickle-Me Elmo.

Later we went swimming and got completely exhausted before bedtime. Jamie had a few hours to herself, which I think made her quite happy.

Last night Sam had his hair cut slightly, the first time in years. I think he likes it.

Today was my one real weekend day, as yesterd...

August 10, 2008 by Adam in Family

Today was my one real weekend day, as yesterday I'm working pretty much all day long. I tried to fit as much as possible into every moment, as well as yesterday evening.

Friday night the kids wanted to go swimming, so I ditched the baseball game with my coworkers and we hopped into the car. The pool was nearly empty, so we broke out the huge floaters and played a game involving sea monsters. Mostly Sam recreated scenes from Jaws, with Emma alternating between shooting Sam with flare guns and lassoing him with imaginary rope.

This morning Jamie made another wonderful breakfast and we walked to the library. Everyone returned with interesting tidbits, and we headed to Saturday Market to meet up with Summer and Debbie, a couple of out-of-town coworkers. Emma and Summer immediately bonded and Summer spoiled Emma horribly. They ended up getting their faces painted and Emma ended up with a new dreamcatcher for her room.

We headed home, unloaded Sam and Jamie, then I took Emma for a picnic at Hendrick's Park with Debbie and Summer again. Mostly I chatted with Debbie while Emma and Summer chased wild turkeys.

As the day wore down, Sam and I had some Nerf gun fights. We finished painting and reassembling his computer, which now matches his monitor and other equipment. Jamie made yet another great dinner and dessert. A very tired Emma was tucked into bed early while Sam and I played Unreal Tournament 3, gleefully making things explode until bedtime.

I just finished up my pre-move go-lives. Tomorrow I'll wake up at the crack of dawn and experience the madness of the hospital move.

Fun, fun.

It's Mocha Friday, that sweet conclusion to t...

August 08, 2008 by Adam in Family

It's Mocha Friday, that sweet conclusion to the end of the work week. Of course, the work week doesn't really end today as we're moving the hospital this Sunday. Tomorrow evening I have a bit of work to do, and then Sunday I'm starting at the crack of dawn and working until they let me free. I really want to take the kids to a birthday party at Amazon pool that night. We had a great time the year before.

Sam's been a social butterfly lately, playing with Sebastian in the morning and Sophia in the afternoon. When I got home, Jamie went off to work and Emma and I played while Sam and Sophia played with Nerf guns. Eventually we walked Sophia home and threw dinner together as Jamie came in the door.

It's hard to think that in only three weeks, school starts up again and the kids will go to the same place.

This morning I was awoken by a naked Emma and...

August 06, 2008 by Adam in Family

This morning I was awoken by a naked Emma and clothed Sam, coming down to the basement to greet me before I went to work. Emma had horrible nightmares a couple nights ago, keeping Jamie and I awake much of the night (admittedly it was mostly Jamie). Last night she slept great. She had a dream where another kid was trying to drown her in the pool, but she was saved by Tigress from Kung-Fu Panda.

I was slightly injured in a shoot out last night. The incident took place in the basement, as Sam and I went at it with Nerf guns. My feet was a little sweaty and Sam got me in the leg. For the sake of realism, I hopped on one foot and ended up landing hard on the rug. Fortunately only my pride was seriously hurt.

The work madness is starting to begin. I'm trying hard to not do anything too exciting this week and spend lots of time with my family. This weekend I'm going to see if Saturday can be mostly normal. Sunday I'll be working starting very early, but I'm hoping to sneak out to take the kids to a birthday party that evening.

Everyone's home again

August 04, 2008 by Adam in Family

Everyone's home again. The kids are in the back yard, with Emma spraying Sam repeatedly at the hose. Jamie's watching them, periodically yelling "Not at the house!" Yes, things are back to normal.

We didn't do any grand events in Bend. On Saturday I took the kids on a long bike ride. Sam had this weird three-wheeler. Emma and I rode a tandem bike, which she happily helped me ride around. Later in the afternoon we went swimming and returned to the hotel for a dinner in honor of Dave and Kirsten's engagement.

Today we watched Mythbusters in the morning, swam around lunchtime, ate, and came on home. Jamie's exhausted, the kids are rambunctious, and I'm thinking that maybe moping around an empty house wasn't all that bad.

It's Mocha Friday, though I just finished the...

August 01, 2008 by Adam in Family

It's Mocha Friday, though I just finished the last drop a few minutes ago, furiously working some reported problem that turned out not to be my fault. As we get closer to the big hospital move, I find the number of last minute issues and weird problems continues to grow exponentially. I find my sense of humor is slipping up into the "inappropriate" zone in response to stress. I've been wondering lately if claiming my director was trying to kill me was such a keen idea. It was pretty funny at the time, though.

It's been a weird week all around. I had coffee with Dad yesterday, chatting away about his upcoming international speed record for electric boats. As for me, the house has been incredibly quiet. Last night I got the bench nearly finished. I painted the metal, though some touch-up is probably needed. The wood is all sanded and stained. I started to do the final assembly, but got frustrated that things weren't lining up quite right. I finally gave up and ate dinner.

I'm very excited to head over to Bend tonight. I've been missing Jamie quite a bit, and not just because I've eaten sandwiches and smoothies every day this week. I miss our evening chats after the kids have gone to bed and am looking forward to seeing her tonight. In terms of the kids, life seems vaguely pointless without them. I've been planning hiking trips and rocket launches for the weeks ahead.

For now, I'm going to use my caffiene-fueled super powers to try and get ready for the RiverBend opening. The e-mails continue to pour in.

It's the last day of July, the Summer slowly ...

July 31, 2008 by Adam in Family

It's the last day of July, the Summer slowly coming to a close. I've been at home alone all week, mostly staying out of trouble. Monday I ran errands, getting my hair cut and shopping for the week. I'm almost out of fruit for the perpetual smoothies I make myself each day.

Tuesday after work I went to Home Depot and didn't emerge for two hours. While everyone was out, I wanted to replace the wood on our old bench and repaint the metal. I managed to get the store to cut the wood to size. Last night I finally ripped apart the old bench and power washed the metal. This morning before 7 o'clock, I was spraying primer in my shorts. Hopefully tonight I can finish with the painting and perhaps drill and stain the wood.

Of course, I've got to pack for Bend as well. Dave's picking me up Friday night and I get to see my family again. It's been a weird week, so I'm pretty excited to run around with everyone.

The weekend has come and gone

July 28, 2008 by Adam in Family

The weekend has come and gone. I'm back at work and Jamie's busy getting the kids ready to go to Bend for the week. I left them a little note on the table and gave Emma a sleepy kiss before I headed out the door.

We had a fun weekend all around, though I was strangely stressed and grumpy for part of it. Fortunately Jamie was in good spirits, and I'm hoping my apologies made up for things. Saturday was theoretically the day I made a huge seven course meal, but it didn't quite work out as I'd planned. Jamie came back late from her walk with Pat, so I rushed about trying to get things ready. The kids weren't really into some of the dishes, though towards the evening everyone liked the mini-pizzas. Jamie and Sam watched Monty Python and the Holy Grail, while Emma watched her show.

I was in a much better mood on Sunday. Jamie made Dutch babies for breakfast while I put on a treasure hunt for the kids (the final clue led to the breakfast table). Sam and I went to see the Dark Knight, which was great. Afterwards, I tried to take the kids swimming, but it was closed. We then went to Toys-R-Us to get squirt guns, but they were out. We finally found some at Fred Meyers, and then spent the afternoon having shootouts in the back yard. I finally excused myself while the kids continued to have at it. Emma eventually got cold and blue, so they finished up with Nerf guns in the basement.

Jamie returned from work and made dinner for us all. I read Girl Genius to Emma in the bath and watched Sam battle zombies in his game. After bed, Jamie and I stayed up really late watching the season premier of Mad Men. My favorite part is talking about it with her afterwards, which we did for another half hour until we went to bed exhausted.

As for me, I have shopping, hair cuts, and assorted house maintenance planned. Let's see how much I really accomplish while everyone's away.

It's yet another Mocha Friday

July 25, 2008 by Adam in Family

It's yet another Mocha Friday. Sam was up early this morning, wearing this same shirt and necklace as he was wearing last night. Dave returned from Hawaii and showered the kids with goodies. Both got t-shirts and necklaces. Emma wanted to keep playing a game last night where her necklace was magical and I was the evil villain trying to steal it away. It's funny how much joy such a small thing can create.

Yesterday Jamie took the kids to the Harrisburg museum. I think it really made an impression as both kids brought up things they had seen. Sam was amazed by the ancient car. Emma was excited about ringing the church bell. There were also these huge tables and benches made from a single massive tree, that impressed even Jamie.

Sam continues to be a reading maniac. He finished up a long four-book fantasy series that he said was as good as Harry Potter. I forget the name of the series, but the first book is called The Door in the Woods. When I asked him what he'll read next, he sighed a little and said he should probably read one of the Greek books my mom had given him. What a responsible kid.

Jamie and the kids decided that I should do one of my seven-course meals and a movie tomorrow. That's short notice, but I have a tentative menu I penciled out yesterday. I have no idea what the movie will be, but it looks like the meal's general theme is hors d'ouvres and matching beverage (e.g. croissants and tea, or pizza and root beer). We'll see if I can pull it off.

After this weekend, Jamie and the kids go off to Bend. It looks like both mom and dad are off as well, leaving me to fend for myself on a diet of bagel sandwitches and smoothies. Hopefully I'll manage.

The weekend has come to a close and it's earl...

July 21, 2008 by Adam in Family

The weekend has come to a close and it's early Monday morning. I have my tea and oatmeal, and my brain is slowly gaining the ability to reason coherently.

The weekend was great, starting with my birthday on Saturday. Jamie made her usual tasty breakfast, I hit the library, and took the kids swimming for a good long while. Later in the afternoon Sam and I went to Hellboy 2, which was another of the many great comic movies coming out these days. In the evening we had a small birthday party and Jamie served some of the best chocolate cake ever. Yummy.

Sunday was very lazy, with lots of time hanging out with the kids. We rearranged our bedroom so that our bed faced the one great view in the house. The kids played superhero play pretend, only occasionally trying to kill each other. Eventually we headed out to Hendrick's park to chase butterflies and wild turkeys. Emma pointed out puff balls, which we dissected to find wasp pupae inside. Eventually we wandered home for a lazy afternoon of movies, projects, and playing games. Good times.

It's a wonderful Mocha Friday, that delicious...

July 18, 2008 by Adam in Family

It's a wonderful Mocha Friday, that delicious beverage still half full by my side.

Jamie and the kids arrived home yesterday, not quite being able to finish out the week at the beach. The children were like happy puppies, leaping into my arms when I arrived home. Sam in particular seemed to miss me a lot, and was even willing to go food shopping with me so we could chat by ourselves for awhile. It felt great having everyone home, though I definately saw my free time vanish in an instant. Fortunately I'm spending my time the way I wanted, including staying up late to read to Emma and eventually getting her to sleep.

Tomorrow is my birthday, which I'm vaguely excited for. I'm turning 39, which means I only have another year before having a midlife crisis. It's hard to decide how exactly I should attempt to recapture my fading youth. Perhaps skateboarding or salsa dancing.

Yayoe dropped off orchids, one of which I've taken to work to add to my plan collection. I think there will be a very small, low-key celebration of sorts, hopefully with Seraph's potato-chocolate cake. I'd like to take the kids swimming and maybe go see Hellboy 2 with Sam. I've got library books overdue as well. We'll see what I can manage to fit in.

The week is moving along, and it's very quiet...

July 16, 2008 by Adam in Family

The week is moving along, and it's very quiet at home. Fortunately Jamie and the kids have been calling regularly, though it's still weird wandering around in a big, empty house. I talked with Sam yesterday, who reported he found a snake on the beach. They also went to the aquarium and enjoyed the exhibit on strange fish. I may join them this upcoming weekend, depending on how they're doing. I'll probably call tomorrow and see if they're ready to come home.

As for me, I haven't been doing much with my free time. I went shopping Monday. Last night I did laundry and worked on my Steampunk projects. It's surprising how quickly that extra time vanishes.

It's Monday and the weekend has come and gone

July 14, 2008 by Adam in Family

It's Monday and the weekend has come and gone. It was very much a Sadie-filled two days, which I enjoyed very much.

Friday night I was exhausted after running six miles at lunch, but I hunkered down and took Sam to see Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark at our local park after sundown. I almost fell asleep, but Sam seemed to enjoy it and it was a neat community experience with all the people there.

Jamie went off to the antique show with Pat and his family, returning with a pair of pilot's headphones from WWII in excellent condition. That made my day, though I still need to verify it works and hook it up to the computer.

Later Sadie called, inviting me to a brunch she was throwing for her friends. The kids played together exceedingly well, exploring the recesses of mom's house. We went out to swimming afterwards, having a great time and exhausting the kids.

In the afternoon, Sadie and Anna came over. Emma demanded they reinact Kung Fu Panda scenes. Later we made voodoo dolls out of Sculpey. Good times.

Jamie came back and fixed up a tasty breakfast on Sunday. The kids seemed worn out, so we mostly hung out at home all day. I got an R4 adapter for the Nintendo DS, so I put all sorts of homebrew games and home movies on it. Sam really got into playing Pocket Physics. There was lots of Lego playing, which Emma has started to enjoy. Her character is Lady Woodhouse and she has a trusted martian servant named something or another the third. Somewhere along the way was a nerf shootout as well.

My mom invited us over for dinner Sunday afternoon. Emma and Isabell had a great time chatting. Sam read comic books. All went well.

Now I'm back at work and everyone but me is going to the beach. I'm trying hard not to miss them too much.

Happy Mocha Friday all, and my condolences to...

July 11, 2008 by Adam in Family

Happy Mocha Friday all, and my condolences to those of you who are without that delicious nectar of the gods this morning.

It's been a short week, full of hanging out with the kids and trying to stay cool. I'm not sure how to describe it, other than by giving assorted highlights.

Sam returned from my mom's yesterday with his hair in a pony tail. My suspicion is that his messy hair drove her nuts and Sam politely gave in and washed it. It looked great, though I'm not sure we'll see it too often. I asked him why he kept his hair long and he replied that he was afraid he'd change his mind after cutting it. Ah, the power of regret.

Emma has been playing with Sierra during her last few days in town. Yesterday they assembled an elaborate fairy home out of plants, rocks, and liberal use of a hot glue gun. I did my fatherly duty and played fairies with Emma in her new fairy abode.

After work yesterday, the kids and I spent a long period of time just being silly. We had a contest trying to get the other person to laugh by making funny faces. I broke out the tickle claw and chased Emma about. They were indeed, good times.

Jamie and the kids are leaving for the beach next week, so I'm going to get my family time in while I can. I suppose after that it's strip clubs and drunken revelry. Or maybe I'll just stay home and work on house projects. I haven't decided yet.

I'm back at work after our lovely vacation

July 09, 2008 by Adam in Family

I'm back at work after our lovely vacation. Work's insane, as expected, but I'm sneaking a few minutes to post and drink my tea. Yesterday was our official anniversary, and I had a great day, though strangely spent a lot of time away from Jamie. The day before we were mostly at home, though the drive down seemed a little long.

On Monday Sam and I rode our bikes to Valley River to watch Wall-E. It was a masterful movie, both visually and thematically. I also loved the short cartoon before the movie, and the animated parts of the credits.

Yesterday morning was much like a weekend. We had a great breakfast with blueberry smoothies and crepes. I went to the library with the kids and Sierra, who kept an eye on Emma while Sam and I walked back home. I think Sam and I managed a shootout in the basement with Nerf guns. All afternoon we worked on projects, including redoing the lights in Emma's bedroom.

In the evening before falling asleep, Jamie and I discussed the characters of Mad Men, eagerly awaiting the return of the series later this month. Good times.

I'm at the Hotel deLuxe, hiding out in the bu...

July 06, 2008 by Adam in Family

I'm at the Hotel deLuxe, hiding out in the business center while Jamie sleeps in. We dropped the kids off at Grandma Judy's yesterday. It was nice that they weren't weepy at all, letting us sneak away with minimal guilt.

We started off our Portland adventure with a trip to Powell's. I love being able to browse around without interruption or time limits. I only ended up with one book, but it was fun picking it out. Afterwards we went to our hotel, visited the bar, and watched a little television until it was time to go out to dinner. We went to a place I think was called Wildwood and ate way too much food. It was a nice walk there and back, so I at least got to work off some of my calories.

As for today, we're going to the Portland Art Museum. I'd also like to hit some stores, and perhaps have breakfast at Mother's, which is my favorite breakfast place. It's been very fun and relaxing.

I'm beat

July 05, 2008 by Adam in Family

I'm beat.

I ran the 10K Butte to Butte this morning. I woke up early, put on my running outfit, and headed over to my dad's to drop off my car. It took awhile to get my packet, but that got straightened out and I got to the starting line with the thousands of other runners. The race itself went pretty well, with the run up the hill going great. It wasn't until the last mile or so that I really started to feel lousy. Fortunately I made it through the finish line at 51:30, coming in 997th out of 3,090 and 82nd out of 186 in my age group. I was pretty happy with the results.

At the end of the race there was tons of food and sweaty people. I ate a bunch and then walked to where my dad drove me to get my car. I was tired and hungry, but it wasn't until a few hours after the race that I came down with a nasty headache. I spent the afternoon resting as best I can, though I managed to fit in a Nerf gun fight with Sam and some play time with Emma.

I felt lots better after a nap and we had a small family sparkler adventure before bedtime. I'm going to retire soon and then get packed for our Portland trip tomorrow.

I'd like to think there was a good reason for...

July 03, 2008 by Adam in Family

I'd like to think there was a good reason for Emma to be dressed like a wild savage, chasing Sam around with the newly painted Nerf gun. I'd like to think my intentions were pure when the entire episode ended with the victorious exclaimation, "I shot him in the butt!" Fortunately the kids both had a great time, so I suppose it all ended well.

Today is my Mocha Thursday, since tomorrow I have to be clean and sober for the big race. Yesterday was fairly routine, with work being busy due to the acquisition of a new clinic in Bellingham. I ran six miles at lunch, making sure to stay well hydrated to avoid another headache. I felt file, though I made a lot of trips to the rest room. After I got home, Emma and I made things out of some leather material I had floating around. She was quite fond of her bracelet, which you can somewhat see in the picture.

It's Wednesday already, with this week blazin...

July 02, 2008 by Adam in Family

It's Wednesday already, with this week blazing along. It's hard to imagine that this Friday I'll be running in the Butte-to-Butte and Saturday we're heading up to Portland.

Sam went out with my mom to the Olympic trials last night. I asked him how it went and he dryly replied, "I now know the meaning of the phrase 'the crowd went wild'". I guess he watched the three Eugene runners win a race and everyone went crazy. Sam preferred the javelin throw, though, especially as it looked like a judge might be skewered on occasion.

Jamie took the kids to the reservoir with Sharon and her kids yesterday. I asked Emma how it went and she told me "mostly I sat on a foam platform and cried." Later last night, Jamie said there was a floating platform that the other kids were playing on. Emma swam over and they pulled her up, and later she realized she couldn't see the bottom and the lake was likely filled with toe-eating fish. After a half-hour of coaxing, Natalie helped her into Sam's arms, and he carried her back to the shore.

Monday night was really weird for me. I got a horrible headache when I got home and basically slept until 8:30. Jamie scurried about to get babysitters at the last minute before going to the Hult center. I'm still not sure what it was, maybe running outside at lunch and getting overheated. I might try the same thing again today, but this time make sure I'm well-hydrated.

The weekend is coming to an end, the kids in ...

June 30, 2008 by Adam in Family

The weekend is coming to an end, the kids in bed and I'll soon be doing my nightly stair stepping, this time while watching Resident Evil: Apocalypse. I do the strangest things in the name of exercise.

In general, the weekend was hot and lazy. On Saturday I went to the library and took the kids swimming at lunch. Neither wanted to go, with Emma being especially fearful, remembering an old pool injury. Once we got there, of course, they had a great time and didn't want to go. Since it was so hot, the pool was practically empty, as no one things about going to a heated pool in the middle of Summer.

Jamie went to visit with Angie, while I fed pizza to the kids. It was a great evening for running around, and the neighbor's had a pool out. The night brought thunderstorms and weather so hot that I slept downstairs in front of the air conditioner.

Today we did yard work in the morning, mowing and hauling off yard debris. The kids played on the slip-and-slide, laughing and getting covered in grass. After lunch we went to Fred Meyers and Sam had a play date that kept him busy most of the afternoon. I puttered a bunch, doing frivolous projects and enjoying myself immensely. After dinner, Emma lit a few sparklers after constantly asking Jamie if it was time. She laughed and made faces as she waved them about.

Tomorrow I sadly return to work and Sam goes with my mom to the Olympic trials. Life is good.

It's Mocha Friday already

June 27, 2008 by Adam in Family

It's Mocha Friday already. Being sick for a couple days in the middle of the week seems to have brought this day along pretty quickly. I guess time flies if you're sniffling and caughing as well.

Sam went off with my mom and Dez, collecting things for his Summer school studies about Greece. He was most excited about an orrery he discovered in the map room at the Smith Family bookstore. After I got home from work yesterday, Sam and Sebastian played in the back yard, making a giant mess out of mud and clay.

Emma's last day of baking camp is today. She brought home a huge cake with assorted goodies around it. We broke out the slip-and-slide yesterday, though I think she was mostly looking for an excuse to wear a bikini. Later we visited with the neighbor girls, lipsynched to the That Spells DNA song, and put up new paper lights in her room.

The Olympic track and field trials opened today. I could tell because of all the music and screaming wafting in through our open window while we tried to sleep.

I was sick as a dog today

June 25, 2008 by Adam in Family

I was sick as a dog today. It was apparently my turn after Jamie, Emma, and Sam all got it. Evidently Sadie sent along get well cards for the kids, which I'll horde for myself and write my name over theirs.

Mostly I slept this morning, or tried to. Around noon I arose from the dead and vaguely puttered around with the kids. This evening I've been watching them as Jamie went off to console a friend. Fortunately they've generally been pretty well behaved all night.

Sunday morning

June 22, 2008 by Adam in Family

Sunday morning. I can feel myself coming down with whatever the kids have had. Hopefully I won't get it quite as bad as they did, as Sam in particular was pretty miserable. Fortunately Sam is much improved, though we're still giving him antibiotics. Emma is quite sniffly and spent much of Saturday taking it easy.

Since I have the kids to myself, it's been non-stop kid watching for the last couple days. After breakfast we puttered around, doing various projects and art things. Since we were playing with Sculpey, we decided out of the blue to make a bunch of planets and paint them. They were incorporated into various stands afterwards. Emma made a heart and flowers for Etta's birthday. I helped her spell out "Happy Birthday" for her card.

The party was pretty fun. Sam and I played Frisbee and kept an eye on Emma. Pretty much all of her Little French School class mates were there, and it might have been the last time she seems them all. Eventually it was time to head home, and I had to give her a bath to get all the sand out. Dinner was low-key, and the kids played an elaborate game involving airship pirates afterwards.

Emma declared her hunger after I got her into bed. Though I should have known better, I made her noodle soup. When I came upstairs, she was fast asleep and the soup went back to the kitchen.

As for today, we're pretty busy. Depending on how everyone feels, we may end up canceling or scaling back the day's events. At noon my mom wants us for lunch and from two to six, the neighbors are throwing a birthday party for Todd. I have no idea when Jamie's coming back.

Mocha Friday came and went

June 21, 2008 by Adam in Family

Mocha Friday came and went. I ended up making my own, as I stayed home so that Jamie could leave early to the beach. In the morning I ran errands, going to the library, movie store, and hardware store. Once I took possession of the kids, we went through all my treasures.

I had picked up several things for my room, and things had arrived in the mail. I now have a widescreen monitor which looks great. Emma's computer now has a wood keyboard and mouse to go with her wood computer. I also picked up an oil lamp that the kids immediately wanted to light.

We had lunch in the backyard and headed out to Metropol to get a sandwich for Sam. After that was the army surplus store, which Sam thought was pretty cool. We puttered around briefly at Island park, which seemed covered in a thick layer of goose poop. Needless to say, I was washing shoes upon our return.

The rest of the day was filled with movies, Monopoly, and playing in the backyard. Emma had some trouble sleeping last night, so I was up with her for an hour or so. We awoke to thunderstorms and I'm waiting for Sam to wake up before I start making breakfast.

The week has been slowly moving along

June 18, 2008 by Adam in Family

The week has been slowly moving along. Poor Sam is sick and his ear has been hurting quite a bit lately. He's really bummed that he's missing school as they're doing all sorts of fun things for these last couple days. On the plus side, he's been reading a ton, though I'm going to have to get some more books for him sooner than I thought.

It's strange to think that Summer vacation starts in just a couple days. I'm not sure Jamie is mentally prepared for the day-to-day kid watching, but she assures me she's made a long list of things to do. Sam's goals for the Summer were to get in great shape and watch every episode of Buffy. We'll see how it turns out.

Jamie's off to the beach this weekend, so I'm trying to think of interesting things to do. I'm thinking of taking the kids to Island Park and the army surplus store. Sam would love the latter.

Happy Father's Day to everyone

June 16, 2008 by Adam in Family

Happy Father's Day to everyone.

I already got my present a few days early, a lunch bag that replaced the one from last Father's Day. I finally broke the zipper after trying to stuff far too many fruits in at once.

Yesterday we hung out at Josh's graduation party. He's officially out of school and getting ready for the U of O this Fall. When we told Emma, she was suddenly sad, thinking she wouldn't see him again. We had to reassure her that everything would remain basically the same, and he'd still be living with Dave. In any case, Emma played with Josh's brother, and Sam and I worked in a little badminton. Dave made way too much meat.

For some reason, I was a little grumpy yesterday, perhaps a combination of too much coffee and allergies. I kept apologizing, which I hope helped.

Today was lots more laid back. Sam helped me with my crazy Steampunk projects. Emma went to the rose gardens with Ray and Darrel. I love this Summer weather and got a bit too much sun yesterday.

It's Mocha Friday, and a good thing too

June 13, 2008 by Adam in Family

It's Mocha Friday, and a good thing too. The site is once again under attack by hackers, though I think I've fended them off for the moment. When I get home I need to sit down with the weblogs and figure out how they're getting in. It's highly annoying.

Last night was the carnival at Sam's school. We went a little late, as Jamie went to the doctor with the sore throat that everyone seems to have lately. The kids ran wild. Sam gobbled down junk food and hung out with friends. Emma had fun in the squirt gun arena and had her hair colored. I somehow missed dinner, and ended up somewhat snappy at the end. Sam was hopped up on sugar, coming down to my office after bedtime and making rug angels on the floor (which didn't work very well).

Work is busy, but feels more under control than it has in a few weeks. The weather suddenly got beautiful, and I'm eager to do my run today at lunch. It'll be another six mile one, which should be nice after yesterday's weights-only workout.

This weekend I'm hoping to get out with the kids and enjoy the weather. I'm also itching to put in some more work on my steampunk keyboard. I'm trying to make a 3/8" hole punch so I don't have to individually cut out 100+ circles for the keys. Ah, the sacrifices I make for art.

The week has been slowly moving along

June 11, 2008 by Adam in Family

The week has been slowly moving along. I just finished a six mile run at lunch today, trying to see if I'm up for the Butte to Butte this July. I'm hoping I don't turn into one of those annoying runners that gets obsessed by distance, time, and speed. So far it seems something fun and different, and I really feel the exercise changing my body.

Poor Emma was sick yesterday, the shots giving her a fever. She stayed home from school, leaving Jamie looking tired at the end of the day. I took Sam to fencing by myself, which was a bit of a treat. He has a lot of fun dueling with the other kids.

My mom's coming over to ask computer advise. I think I have things planned most other nights this week. Busy, busy.

It was a pleasant, lazy Sunday

June 09, 2008 by Adam in Family

It was a pleasant, lazy Sunday. Emma and I headed out at the crack of dawn to fetch some Challa bread for French toast. After breakfast, the kids and I played in the basement and did a short round of croquet before I headed out to the library. It's been fun getting books for the kids, and I was barely able to fit them all into my bag. My favorite part is spreading them out before the kids, their eyes wide with glee.

The kids and I headed to Toys-R-Us. Sam's been earning checks by doing chores, and he finally turned in ten of them to do a project. He wanted a steampunk nerf gun, so we picked one up and later started to paint it. I asked Emma to help me pick out an outside toy. She eventually settled on a slip-and-slide, with lots of lobbying from Sam.

When we set it up, Emma was a little nervous and would just crawl down the slide. Once Sam joined in, they were doing assorted crazy stunts and having a great time.

The day eventually wore down. Jamie went for a walk with a friend, Sam watched Buffy, and Emma and I played assorted games in the basement. Good times.

Saturday is coming to a close

June 08, 2008 by Adam in Family

Saturday is coming to a close. The kids are both pretty exhausted. Emma's in a bath that turned pink from her red hair dye. Sam's watching Buffy and nursing a sore finger he squished in a window. I'm pretty exhausted and will likely go to bed soon as well.

The day started with crepes as usual. I got everything together for the race today. Emma got decked out in her cheerleader outfit and practiced assorted moves. Everyone was in high spirits as we drove out to the hospital and got ready for the race.

The race itself was somewhat challenging, and I really pushed myself. After I was done, I wandered over to the tent area to find Emma working away at some pastry. I finished in 23 minutes, so it was basically a short snack for the kids.

Afterwards we went home where I ate way too much food. Next was picking up John and Natalie and heading to Valley River. We watched Kung Fu Panda, with me sitting next to Emma and Jamie going shopping. The movie was quite fun, an homage to all the Kung Fu movies of my childhood. Emma really liked it, amazingly enough. She kept making comments like "the screen is really big" and "it sure is loud."

For lunch we went to 5th Street Market. The kids spend the entire time watching this elaborate fountain that poured water into tipping bell-shaped containers. I got some new running shoes at the Nike store, as my old shoes gave me blisters. When we got home, everyone played until John and Natalie had to go home. Now we're all beat.

It's another sweet Mocha Friday, though I've ...

June 06, 2008 by Adam in Family

It's another sweet Mocha Friday, though I've got some time yet before I head off to work and start my day. Work is slowly getting under control again after my time away. I'm still plugging away at the new phone system, hoping to make it work properly. It's hard to believe that we've only got a couple months before the new hospital opens.

Emma's been a little demon as of late. Yesterday she lost her dessert privileges by kicking in the car in the morning. When she was reminded of it that evening, she responded by biting Sam pretty hard. My only hope is that I remember Sam having a rough phase during preschool and that he's now quite sensible.

I'm running a race tomorrow, a short 5K run on the trail behind the new hospital. Strangely, my family seems pretty excited about it. Emma's going to wear her cheerleading outfit, and Jamie's shopping for pom-poms today. Sam keeps asking what I get if I win. I'll just be happy if I finish somewhere in the middle of my age group.

As for the rest of the weekend, I don't think we have any firm plans. I've given up on swimming. Maybe if it's nice we can run around outside. We'll see how it goes.

This was written earlier and only posted toda...

June 03, 2008 by Adam in Family

This was written earlier and only posted today:
It's Sunday morning here at Black Butte Ranch. As usual, I'm the first person up. Already I took a long walk, made some tea, and am trying to be quiet while everyone sleeps.

Friday was nice, especially as I had the day off work. Jamie and I chatted away as we got ready for our trip. I ran errands, including a trip to a scrap metal place to buy brass for projects.

When the kids got out of school, we loaded up the car and headed out. Emma was relatively good, and I read to her for some of the way. Sam watched Buffy the entire time.

The rest of the weekend was mostly hanging out with family. We spent yesterday afternoon swimming, which was fun. Last night Jenny had this big crew of people doing double-dutch jump rope in the driveway.

All the cousins had a great time playing with each other. Bill, who's nineteen, helped Sam and Destin build an elaborate fort out of fallen longs. Isa and Emma helped cover it in pine needles. Every time they get together, they work on it a little more.

I'm heading home today. I'll miss everyone. At the same time, sleeping in my own bed sounds quite nice.

It's back to work for me today, though admitt...

May 27, 2008 by Adam in Family

It's back to work for me today, though admittedly it'll be a short week before the family reunion next weekend. I'll probably spend today fiddling with phones at work again.

Yesterday was very busy but very fun. In the morning Sam helped me mount the percussion cap rifle on the wall. It had been in the family since before the Civil War, so I felt guilty keeping it up on a shelf. I helped Emma print out a bunch of fairies, cut them out, and hang them from the ceiling as party decorations. Finally the magic party hour arrived and the hordes of friends and family swooped in.

It was great seeing all my sisters in the same room. Sadie made fairy wings for everyone, which ended up being a safety hazard. Jenny was telling us all about her adventures in France, from driving insanely fast to funny stories about waiters. Seraph and I chatted about Steampunk and the impact of world disasters on the price of clothes. I had fun showing off the Audioscope to my dad, and weaseled an offer of help making brass goggles out of him. My mom talked about Ireland and made me wish I had more time to chat with her. Eventually the kids all went down to the play room and screamed and yelled until the party was over.

Emma got quite a bit of loot. I gave her an MP3 player, which she cheerfully blared the Nutcracker from while she did art projects on Yayoe's giant drawing paper. Emma also ended up with a bunch of clothes, so there was the inevitable fashion show after the party.

As the day wound down, we cleaned up and tried to wrangle some tired and cranky kids through their normal routine. Sam was a bit frustrated with the amount of homework he had to do. His Jimmy Carter report is finished, but now he's catching up with his normal math and spelling. Tonight we have fencing, so it'll likely be another busy day.

We went to see the new Indiana Jones movie to...

May 26, 2008 by Adam in Family

We went to see the new Indiana Jones movie today, with Sam and Sadie ganging up to make me wear my "costume". Basically I've got a hat Colin gave me years ago that makes me look like Indiana Jones. The rest of the outfit is pretty standard, but the hat is the key. The movie itself was okay, with excellent action sequences and an okay plot. Sam declared at the end that Raiders wasn't about aliens, and I quietly agreed.

The weekend has been very exciting so far, with another day to go. On Saturday Sadie and Greg came over. The kids immediately swarmed them and gave them a tour of the house. I snuck away and returned with canning supplies. We made apple butter and ginger pear marmalade. Even better was making labels for the jam with made-up names like "Yellow Pony Curd". Very fun.

Today the girls decorated for Emma's party, which is sort of turning into a three-way birthday party for Jenny, Sadie, and Emma. As usual, my gifts were thrown together at the last minute, but they're well meaning. I also mowed the lawns, hoping beyond hope that it'll be somehow sunny tomorrow.

As for the rest of the day, I took the kids to the park, helped Emma play Wii Fit, and did a bit of drawing. Sam really got into Wii Fit, playing an hour yesterday and cheerfully saying how sore he was today. Ah, was a fascinating modern world we live in.

It's that sweet Mocha Friday yet again, my on...

May 23, 2008 by Adam in Family

It's that sweet Mocha Friday yet again, my one day of indulgence.

The kids were relatively good last night. Emma started to throw a temper tantrum when I told her she couldn't use Jamie's pens. I explained that throwing a fit didn't work and it was better to talk about it. She seemed okay with that and settled down again. We'll see if I can use the whole "logic" approach in the future.

Otherwise Emma was fun to hang out with last night. We drew, played dolls, and ran around outside. Sam dug up an old webcam of mine and made up the "security guard" game. The camera was trained on the big jewel Sadie gave him, and the thief tried to steal it away without being caught. Good times.

It's looking like we're going to have a very exciting weekend. Jamie and I have date night tonight, with Sam and Emma going over to Dave's house. Tomorrow Sadie comes to visit and hopefully make jam. Monday is Emma's bithday. Fun, fun!

The week has been moving along

May 22, 2008 by Adam in Family

The week has been moving along. I spent yesterday playing with the web-enabled phones that they're installing at RiverBend. It was kinda fun being able to see my phone number and picture on my phone. Today will probably be less play and more work, as I've got a ton of meetings that I need to actually stay awake in.

Jamie and Emma have seemed groggy in the evenings. Mostly Sam and I have been hanging out and visiting. Last night he watched Buffy while I worked on my computer game, then we'd talk about the episode later. I reassured Sam he wouldn't lose his immortal soul if he slept with a girl in high school, though perhaps there were other issues to consider. It's funny that Buffy the Vampire Slayer is an icebreaker for having "those" kind of talks about high school, growing up, and good and evil.

We had a pleasant Saturday, which continued t...

May 18, 2008 by Adam in Family

We had a pleasant Saturday, which continued to be very hot. After a tasty breakfast, we took the kids up to Hendrick's park where they frolicked in the flowers and chased a turkey around the grounds. We never did figure out why there was a turkey released into the semi-wild, but it gave Sam great entertainment.

Later Sam went to a play date with Chase and Jamie went to help at a garage sale. I took Emma to Michael's to pick up project supplies. She was very good the whole time, quite the contrast from this last week. Afterwards we drew and took it easy.

Jamie made a great salad, out of beets of all things, and we eventually got the kids to bed.

The Starbucks people gave me a free second sh...

May 16, 2008 by Adam in Family

The Starbucks people gave me a free second shot in my Friday mocha this morning. Already I can sense the Heavens parting and the caffeine angels descending down to fill me with bliss. I'll have to be careful to curb borderline inappropriate humor in my e-mail today.

It was smoking hot last night. I ended up sleeping downstairs as our bedroom was so warm that spontaneous combustion was a real concern. I opened the windows at one point and it didn't feel any cooler outside our house. This morning at seven o'clock I would have cheerfully ran around in shorts and a t-shirt.

I watched the kids last night while Jamie went to eat dinner with Barbara. Emma and I played in the sandbox and got very messy while Sam watched Buffy in the basement.

Emma's having some issues lately, lying and stealing and hitting. While some may think those are admirable traits, it does make living with her occasionally difficult. It sounds like she's picking up some bad behaviors at school, as their teacher wrote a letter to all the parents saying the kids were all acting out. I vaguely remember Sam having a rough spot in preschool, so hopefully this will pass as well.

I'll be glad to put this work week behind me. It's been far too busy, and the move to the new hospital is already generating a ton of work. Unfortunately people keep thinking up more things for us to do, which doesn't help much.

Hopefully I can get the kids outside to play this weekend. With weather this gorgeous, it seems a shame to hide inside the whole time.

Happy Mother's Day, everyone

May 11, 2008 by Adam in Family

Happy Mother's Day, everyone.

The kids have been a little wild, but we've generally been having a good time. We picked up some art supplies and have been doing strange and mysterious things. I'm working on an odd Steampunk mp3 player. We'll see if it turns out.

I've also been trying to pamper Jamie today, as best I can.

This morning was far too exciting

May 09, 2008 by Adam in Family

This morning was far too exciting. Fortunately it's Mocha Friday.

When I woke up this morning, I discovered that this web site was hit with an obscure hack called a SQL injection attack. Even worse, my backups weren't adequate, and had carefully backed up the damaged web site. Fortunately I was able to fix the vulnerability (I think) and clean up the data. I feel like a space cowboy, firing off my six-guns at high-tech banditos.

Fortunately the rest of my life has been calm and pleasant. Yesterday the kids were running around outside having fun, Emma wearing her ballet outfit and bunny ears. The neighbor boy pulled Sam over for some programming consulting. Emma and I made a little box for her stuffed bunny. Sam's gotten into Buffy the Vampire Slayer and is watching a couple episodes a day.

Tomorrow Jamie's off helping a friend with her garage sale. If the weather is nice, I'll try to take the kids outside somewhere. Busy, busy.

The weekend draws to a close

May 05, 2008 by Adam in Family

The weekend draws to a close. Emma is asleep. Sam's reading Buffy comics in his room. Jamie better be moving towards bedtime herself, as Emma's been keeping her up at all hours. Bad dreams and growing pains I think.

Friday night John came for a sleepover with Sam. The boys were amazingly good, mostly because we stuck them in separate bedrooms at eight o'clock sharp. The next day we all had a hearty breakfast and I tried to make sure Emma stayed out of the boy's hair. We had a brief break before our second play-date arrived. Sam helped me trim back the butterfly bush so that we could put in Sam's dream shed. We're still not sure what the dream shed will look like, only that it'll take up a lot of room.

Chase came over to play with Sam and I took Emma to the park. Eventually everyone went home and we had a quiet evening.

Sunday began with breakfast and lots of espresso. Sam and I went to Iron Man and thought it was a very good film. Afterwards Jamie made an amazing brunch that we invited Dave, Kirsten, and Josh over for. The scones were to die for.

I took Emma to the Fairy Festival, where she learned about fairies and capitalism. You bought tokens at the front and Emma spend a long while deciding what to spend them on. Eventually she decided on a host of games arranged around a giant Candy Land game board. We waited behind the hordes of moms with their fairy-themed children, finally returning home with a bag of assorted erasers, Slinkies, and bracelets.

Sam, Josh, and Jamie went hiking while Emma and I had quiet time. When they returned, I did a bunch of garden projects. We moved a Japanese maple out of the way and hung up the hammock between two trees. It was an instant hit with the kids. We also tightened up our ancient bench, hopefully staving off disintegration a couple more years.

Tomorrow is back to the daily routine. Hopefully everyone will get some sleep tonight.

I have an important and weird message for my mom

May 04, 2008 by Adam in Family

I have an important and weird message for my mom.

In order to get linens in Lyons, contact Dominique Muller. Her phone number id 04 7890 8682. Her cell phone is 06 7520 9046.

Jamie handed me a piece of paper with limited instructions, so I hope I got that right.

It's Mocha Friday, yet again

May 02, 2008 by Adam in Family

It's Mocha Friday, yet again. I just started sipping away at that delicious treat.

Poor Emma bonked her lip yesterday. Evidently there was a collision between the children and a fall to the floor. I think she's okay now. Last night we continued our grand play pretend story. I think I was a baby deer for awhile, though there were breaks for cereal and drawing quilts. Mostly Emma had problems sleeping last night, getting up with bad dreams repeatedly. Jamie was looking somewhat haggared this morning as she was getting Sam his breakfast and Emma slept in.

The weekend should be somewhat exciting in its own way. Hopefully I can take some kids swimming, though that's getting to be more of a challenge. Sam has two play dates tomorrow, and I'm hoping to go see Iron Man with him on Sunday. I'm hearing very good things about the movie and I'm a sucker for that genre.

May already! Emma turns five later this mont...

May 01, 2008 by Adam in Family

May already! Emma turns five later this month, plus Sadie visits, plus we have the big family reunion. It's amazing how much seems to be going on these days.

Life's been moving along as normal. My usual day is getting up at 5:30, going to work, coming home to play with the kids, and then doing a short workout and show watching before bed. Lately I've been playing pretend with Emma while Sam plays on the computer. Emma's stories involve me playing a host of characters, from Peter Pan to the school bully. It's sometimes a challenge for me, but I know she likes it so much. Hopefully when she's old she'll remember that I spent many an afternoon pretending I was a pirate, Peter Pan, or some other odd character.

It's Mocha Friday and I'm in the lucky positi...

April 25, 2008 by Adam in Family

It's Mocha Friday and I'm in the lucky position of having a nearly full cup o' joe sitting before me. I feel like I really need it this morning, as Jamie was chatting until late last night. It's always a treat to get to talk without children, but after ten o'clock rolled around, I groggily hinted that I needed some sleep and I don't remember much else.

My family reverted back to normal, generally good but occasionally impish. So much for robots and aliens. Last night I tried to keep the kids entertained, though I was struggling keeping my heart in the "play pretend" story they had going on. There was fort building, animal attacks, and escaping the hot desert sun. Ah, the things they don't tell you about parenthood.

I have the kids tonight and tomorrow night, with social butterfly Jamie being off and about. I'd love to go swimming tonight, but it might be a challenge getting them out of the house. Maybe Saturday we can do a movie night. I'm sure I'll think of something.

Something really odd has happened to my family

April 23, 2008 by Adam in Family

Something really odd has happened to my family.

Sam's been completing chores without being prompted, has finished all his homework, and generally plays well with Emma. Emma's been much more cheerful and loving compared to last week. Yesterday she decided that I was going to read her stories and put her to bed, which has never happened, though admittedly she switched to Jamie after she started getting drowsy. Even Jamie has gotten in on the act, writing welcome home messages in our driveway with chalk.

I suppose it's possible my family has been replaced by aliens or robots. If so, well, I guess the rest of you will just have to hide your envy the next time you're around me.

It's snowing at the moment and the backyard i...

April 20, 2008 by Adam in Family

It's snowing at the moment and the backyard is covered with a thin layer of snow. It's such a strange contrast from last weekend when it was 75 degrees out and everyone was in shorts. Maybe I'll take the kids on a walk in the snow if it sticks for any length of time.

The kids and I stayed inside for most of yesterday, as it was raining and hailing away. We did projects, played, watched movies, and generally did inside things. Jamie went off to hang out with Pat. Later in the day I attempted to make chocolate cake. I think the cake part turned out great, but the frosting was a little, er, unusual. The kids loved it, but Jamie decided to take a pass.

Update: Emma and I went out and made a snow person. It was loads of fun, especially going back inside to have cocoa and coffee.

I'm still a few minutes away from that delici...

April 18, 2008 by Adam in Family

I'm still a few minutes away from that delicious Friday Mocha. Soon that sweet elixir will be mine.

Yesterday after work, the kids and I played in the backyard, enjoying the gorgeous weather. It started with Jamie informing me that Emma was being naughty and had things to clean up on the patio. I grabbed her, declared that my real daughter had been switched by goblins, and carried her outside. Only if things were cleaned up could she return to her human family again. I then proceeded to be the goblin guard, trying to keep her from cleaning up her mess. Worked like a charm.

Sam wanted to play a game he did last year, leaping off the wall of the planter bed and catching a Frisbee. He had a great time, though if it went badly, I was to call out "Wipeout" in a cool voice and Emma would run to administer first aid.

If you look closely at the picture of Emma, you'll see her short bangs, as well as the whiskers she drew on her face. What an impish girl.

As for tonight, we're going swimming, unlike last week. I shall ignore the cries of my children and haul them off for watery fun. The only other exciting thing on our agenda is to make a chocolate cake. I'm sure the kids will think that grand entertainment.

Our kids were amazingly polite last night, sa...

April 17, 2008 by Adam in Family

Our kids were amazingly polite last night, saying please with every request for more drink, food, or piece of chalk. Emma's grumpy mood seems to have completely vanished, probably due to finally getting lots of sleep.

Last night was date night for Jamie and I. We took a long walk over to our house with our favorite garden, which I stared at longingly. Perhaps some day I can win over Jamie and get a full garden put into our house. My mom watched the kids, taking them through the car wash which she markets as the "Tunnel of Doom".

Jamie's back and the week is halfway over

April 16, 2008 by Adam in Family

Jamie's back and the week is halfway over.

I think the first couple days of the week have been a little rough. Emma's been staying home, though I think her cold is finally over today. I think staying at home has made her a little stir-crazy, as she's been particularly wild. Jamie called me to express her exaspiration. "What did she do, cut her hair?" I asked. Sadly, it turns out she did. Fortunately it wasn't too bad, though I had fun calling her "Bald Emma" for an evening.

Sam went off to fencing last night, with Emma crying the entire way. Once we got there, as usual, she was happy and played games with me the whole time. Funny girl.

I'm exhausted

April 13, 2008 by Adam in Family

I'm exhausted. Sam's watching a quirky British fantasy television show based on a story from one of my favorite authors. "This is kinda weird," he just said.

Emma's running around naked in the playroom, trying on different clothes that used to be Natalie's. Whenever she gets a new bag of clothes, it's like Christmas, but with nudity.

Last night I was planning on going swimming, but decided instead to take it easy. Emma was very much under the weather and is still sniffly today. She was really missing Jamie, and spent much of bedtime drawing a picture of Jamie, along with Emma giving her a flower.

This morning, everyone seemed in much better spirits. I made crepes for breakfast and we played around until it was time for the library. Both complained heavily about going, and both had a good time once we were there. Afterwards, Sam didn't want to go to campus as I'd planned, and complained so much about wanting to stay home that I sent him off for a play date with his friend John.

Emma and I had lunch at Berry's on campus, and proceeded to play and explore until early afternoon. While down in the art store, we picked up Shrinky-Dinks and Sun Print paper for later. When we arrived home, we got a message from Clarissa that Savah wanted to play. Emma immediately put together a gift for her, went went over, and she immediately had a wonderful time. For about five minutes, I was without children, and reveled in the quiet.

Later I got Sam, picked up Emma, and made everyone sit and watch a movie. After that we played with the art supplies. The kids had never done Shrinky-Dinks, and they thought it was extremely cool. Later everyone ate a good dinner, Emma had a bath, and we're slowly winding our way towards bedtime. I'm eagerly awaiting blissful sleep.

Ah, Mocha Friday

April 11, 2008 by Adam in Family

Ah, Mocha Friday. The scent of coffee and chocolate has wafted away from my cubicle and that delicious elixir is sadly long gone. Work's been quirky as of late. I thought for once that things had quieted down, only to discover that all the phones at the new hospital have tiny web browsers in each one, and I'm going to be asked to make a web page for each of them. Ah, job security.

The kids played wonderfully together last night. They had this long and elaborate game where Emma befriended and tamed a wild creature (played by Sam). There were struggles and heartaches, with the eventual death of the creature, who perished defending Emma from wild animals. Fortunately Emma found another creature friend and was busy befriending it when I called them up for dinner.

The weather has also been nice as of late, and promises to be warm this weekend. When I came home from work, Sam was busy creating a weird potion on the patio. Emma was picking flowers from our clematis, making a huge basket of them and filling our house with their heady scent.

The week has been moving along

April 10, 2008 by Adam in Family

The week has been moving along. It's hard to believe it's already Thursday. Jamie's been talking about going off to the coast with her mom over the weekend, so it'll likely just be the kids and I. Like I tell Jamie, it makes for a non-restful weekend, but at the same time I usually have a good time hanging out with the kids. I'll probably stick to the routine of swimming, library, and exploring someplace or another. It might be fun to romp around campus. When they were little and I worked at the hospital, Jamie would drop them off to go to the gym and we'd wander through some of the neat buildings at the university.

Yesterday after work was fairly typical. The kids and I played hide-and-seek throughout the house. Later we played pretend, with me as the horrible child-eating Captain Hook. Good times.

My luxurious, three-day weekend is over

April 08, 2008 by Adam in Family

It's a Mocha Thursday for me, today

April 03, 2008 by Adam in Family

It's a Mocha Thursday for me, today. I'm taking tomorrow off to theoretically spend time with Jamie. I think she's already planning the errands, which doesn't exactly jibe with the romantic gesture side of things.

Tuesday was full, heading straight home after work and taking Sam to fencing. Emma really didn't want to go, crying all the way, but she immediately perked up once we got there and played for an hour in the lobby outside his classroom. We played tag and red light, green light for ages.

That night I was completely exhausted, possibly because I really pushed myself on the treadmill that day. I went for speed, going a mile in 6:40. As a non-runner, I felt pretty good about it, but boy was I tired.

Yesterday I had the kids again while Jamie went to Pat's house for dinner. We played outside for a long while, enjoying the sunshine, then continued the playing inside. Even Emma enjoyed Radioactive Ball, which is Sam's current favorite inside game. Eventually we had dinner, baths, and book reading. As Emma was drifting off to sleep, Jamie returned to tuck her into bed.

We've been a lot lower key these last couple ...

March 30, 2008 by Adam in Family

We've been a lot lower key these last couple days after the excitement of Friday. On Saturday we headed into town and spent a great hour at Powell's books. Sam picked up the Zombie Survival Guide. I grabbed three for myself, and Jamie tossed in something vaguely romantic looking at the last minute. Emma got fairy wings, which she's worn off and on the last couple days.

For lunch we went to Old Town Pizza, which was supposedly haunted. The kids liked to run around and look at things. Emma thought Chinatown was pretty neat. Some day we'll have to take her to the Japanese gardens.

As for today, we were thinking about going to the Pittock Mansion, but never quite got there. We visited Jamie's dad. Sam wanted to see the rifles, mostly from a zombie defense perspective. Emma liked seeing all the Native American things Ray had collected.

Since then, we've been puttering around, getting our last lazy moment in while we can.

We're up in Portland, slowly waking up

March 29, 2008 by Adam in Family

We're up in Portland, slowly waking up. Yesterday we rolled into town and headed straight for OMSI. It seems that a good percentage of families with kids decided to do the same, and we had to park four blocks away. Inside was so crazy that Robbie and Isa decided to give up once they got to the line for tickets.

We had a pretty good time once inside. Sam loved doing the brain teaser puzzles. We also spent a bunch of time in the physics room. With his hair so long, experiments with static electricity were especially dramatic.

As for today, I'm not sure what we're doing. I'd like to go downtown and putter around. It's pretty rare that we go to the city proper. Typically we're puttering around West Linn, taking it easy.

It's Mocha Thursday for me today

March 27, 2008 by Adam in Family

It's Mocha Thursday for me today. We're heading up to Portland tomorrow, so I'm partaking of my weekly indulgence a little early this week. It'll be fun to get out of town for a few days. I'm looking forward to taking the kids to the zoo or OMSI. Perhaps Jamie and I can even sneak downtown for a little while.

The whole family went over to Barbara and Zoltan's last night, getting everyone to bed a little later than normal. I think everyone had a good time. We played Apples-to-Apples and the kids played cheerfully together. I sort of feel sorry for Sam, who's the one person who doesn't understand any French. Though most of the conversation was in English, there was occasional French or German phrases tossed around. Emma was bossing the dog around in German by the end of the evening.

We're loving our basement these days, which looks brand new with the fresh coat of paint. The other day Sam and I had a rousing game of Radioactive ball. The goal is to knock the ball into the other player with a couch cushion. If it hits, that part is considered unuseable, so we're always crawling around on the floor towards the end of the game. Good times.

Happy Easter to all

March 23, 2008 by Adam in Family

Happy Easter to all.

Yesterday we got to color eggs, my favorite part of the whole holiday. With Jamie's ever-vigilant desire to minimize waste, we only got two eggs to decorate. I went all-out and made them into temporary works of art. The bunny breaking out of the egg turned out well, but I was most happy with my watercolor-style egg. I ended up masking off certain parts and then using a paintbrush to add the dye. It seemed a shame to see Jamie turn them into egg salad this morning.

The kids had a good time finding eggs this morning and now Emma is settled with a movie and Sam's reading the book he got. I'm going to start painting soon, the last step in fixing the leaky ceiling. As a bonus, we're patching up other holes that have appeared over the years. I suspect we'll have to do it again as the kids get older, but hopefully it'll look nice for a little while.

Though it's dreary today, I'd like to take the kids outside. Everyone seems in a better mood when they get a chance to run around.

It's Mocha Friday, though that wonderful elix...

March 21, 2008 by Adam in Family

It's Mocha Friday, though that wonderful elixir is gone for now. Jamie called me at work this morning to discuss the replacement of our normal coffee maker with a French press. I waffled a bit, concerned about the volume, though she won me over with the argument that it made stronger coffee. If all else fails, there's always my trusty espresso maker.

Emma visited a dairy farm yesterday, returning home full of facts about udders, manure, and milking machinery. She also got her animal magazine, which prompted us to make a bunny and duck out of pipe cleaners.

I'm looking forward to swimming tonight. It always makes a nice end to the week, relaxing and fun. Watching Emma swim around in the deep water makes me feel kinda proud of her.

It's hard to believe that it's Thursday already

March 20, 2008 by Adam in Family

It's hard to believe that it's Thursday already. The week just seems cruising along, with Spring Break right around the corner.

I had breakfast with mom on Tuesday, and went out to dinner with Jamie last night. We took a pack of cards down to Turtles and played a few rounds of gin. Such rare moments are the bedrock of our marriage these days.

Sam's been playing a pirate-themed game on his Wii called Zack and Wiki. Naturally this led to him setting up this elaborate puzzle in the basement and Shanghaiing Emma and I to play through it. The pirate attire lured me down, but it was fun to see Sam's creativity in the puzzles. Last night when my mom was watching the kids, Sam had her going through paper versions of the game. Quite funny.

Emma's been a little weepy lately, and stayed home from school earlier this week. Hopefully Spring Break gives her a little time to take it easy. We're looking at going to Portland for the end of it, so I'll see if we can do a zoo run with Seraph, Robbie, and Isabell. Fun, fun.

The weekend is coming to a close and I'm plum...

March 17, 2008 by Adam in Family

The weekend is coming to a close and I'm plumb tuckered out. Friday night I took the kids swimming as usual, both of whom seemed to have a good time. I went to the library alone Saturday morning, returning with goodies. I found a Gremlins movie, so Sam would be assured a solid foundation in American B-movies.

For lunch we went to Humble Bagel, but first Sam and I stopped by the Roosevelt gym to see the Eugene Fencing Club's Ides of March tournament. It was fun saying hello to my fencing teaching from twenty years ago. I really want to get into fencing again, though I'm not sure if it's something Sam and I can do together. We were going to go to Barbara and Zoltan's for dinner, but Luka was running a fever and we ended up going out for dinner instead.

Sunday morning we went off to Oakway mall to run around. I picked up a snazzy new shirt I'm planning on wearing tomorrow. Emma got a fairy coloring book, which we worked on for much of the afternoon. Sam got a little 20 questions electronic game that he played all the way home. Jamie got a free coupon for a beverage since they forgot about her bagel order until she reminded them.

On the way home we picked up a whole bunch of soil and bark-o-mulch. When Jamie went to the Hult center with Angie, the kids and I put in a couple hours of landscaping work. I even broke out the power washer and seriously cleaned up after myself. It's looking quite nice.

As the day wore on, I found myself increasingly tired. Sam's been drawing elaborate puzzles, basically 2D versions of a computer adventure game. I sat with him for awhile as he drew keys, frozen in huge ice crystals, and various pools of lava and other obstacles. In addition to being creative, the detail on things like his cartoon cannibal were pretty amazing.

I'm slowly enjoying my Friday mocha, along wi...

March 14, 2008 by Adam in Family

I'm slowly enjoying my Friday mocha, along with my usual snack of almonds and raisins. It's a perfect way to start the day.

Work has been comically busy as of late. I wrote down a list of all the things I needed to do, with multi-hour tasks summarized with single words like "FAX" and "Locums". My list is still far bigger than I want it to be. It's hard being a nerd super-star.

The week has been fairly typical at home. Sam brought home a report on who his hero was. I read it, thinking that of course it would be his father. It turns out Sam's hero is himself, which I should have expected. He explained later that I was his second choice, a sort of hero understudy. Swell.

Emma and I had a little time to play after work yesterday. My role shifted from me being the orgre that captured her in a blanket, to being a prince who rescued her, and then later I was a customer coming into her jewelry store. I don't think Emma lacks for imagination.

The weekend looks to be somewhat busy. Tonight will probably be swimming. Tomorrow night we're off to Barbara and Zoltan's for dinner. Sunday Jamie and Angie are going to the Hult center, so I'll need to find something to do with the critters. Perhaps I can make something up involving lots of duct tape.

The week continues to move along at a steady pace

March 11, 2008 by Adam in Family

The week continues to move along at a steady pace. There's a big hole in the ceiling of our basement. It turns out I guessed the issue correctly (a leaky pipe joint). Perhaps if web development doesn't pan out I could give plumbing a try, though I'm not sure I have the properly low-riding jeans. Today the hole should get patched up and we can put this unfortunate event behind us.

My family members were their usual goofy selves yesterday. The kids break into song at the drop of a hat. Jamie attempted unsuccesfully to be above it all. Coming home after work is like visiting a comedy club on improv night.

I had breakfast with my dad, which was lots of fun. I seem to rarely see him, yet every time we get together we blab for hours. I gave him advice on networking his dental clinic. I also know more about the upcoming family reunion, though it seems much is still in flux.

The weekend is over and I'm running late, get...

March 10, 2008 by Adam in Family

The weekend is over and I'm running late, getting to work. The time change took everyone by surprise and we scurried about setting clocks yesterday.

I took Sam swimming Friday night, as Emma didn't want to go. We had a great time and made up a game involving keeping a ball under water and trying to get it to a goal on either side of the pool. I missed Emma a little, but it's admittedly challenging to play with Sam and prevent Emma from drowning.

Saturday morning the kids went to Dave's house and Jamie and I went on a walkabout. We went to the library and picked up chocolate for my dad's birthday. Next we collected the kids, and headed out to the pizza place. There was singing and running about, and we went home exhausted. The kids were grumpy that night and Jamie was off at Pat's. I finally shuffled them off to bed and blissful sleep.

Sunday was amazing. The weather was warm and sunny and I leaped into shorts and a tank top. Jamie made a birthday brunch for Dave, Kirsten, and Josh with a "pioneer breakfast" theme. The food was incredible and then we all played outside for the afternoon. I spent an hour or so weeding and preparing the garden. Jamie took Emma to the park. Later on Sam and I washed and began reassembling the Lego pirate ship that had been given to us a few weeks ago. Good times.

I just finished the last few drops of sweet, ...

March 07, 2008 by Adam in Family

I just finished the last few drops of sweet, sweet Cafe Mocha. As expected, I now feel like I can take over the world. I suppose I'll have to settle for getting through my e-mail for now.

When it rains, it pours. Last night Jamie was off at the gym and then at Angie's house. I was playing in the basement with the kids, folding clothes, and noticed a funny bump on the ceiling. I reached out and poked it, only to have it pop open and a gush of water pour down. I cleaned up, cut a hole in the rotten part of the ceiling, and put a bucket underneath. Emma hit the nail on the head when she said, "Mamma's going to be really mad."

Sam and I continue to be a little sick. He's got a cough and I have the sniffles. Still, we both seem to be on the mend. Winters are always hard with the sicknesses that wash through our family. I can't wait for Spring.

We have a busy weekend ahead of us. Tonight is swimming. Tomorrow is my dad's 65th birthday party. Jamie's out in the evening. Sunday at noon is a pioneer brunch for Dave, in lieu of a birthday party. Busy, busy.

It's been a rough last few days in the Miller...

March 04, 2008 by Adam in Family

It's been a rough last few days in the Miller-Mellor household. Saturday started fine, with Jamie heading up to Portland for the day to do some antique shopping. Unfortunately by the end of the day both Sam and I were getting bad headaches and weren't feeling so great. By Sunday I was better, but Sam took a turn for the worse. He had a fever for most of the last few days, peaking at 104 degrees. A couple nights ago he was throwing up and feeling miserable. Last night was better, though he wasn't looking at his best when I left for work.

Work has been a little nutty as the go-lives of last week were put off to this week. There have been some bumps along the way, leading to the occasional witty exchanges of dialog:
Pam: "At least you know what the explaination is now."
Me: "Sure I do! The explaination is that I'm an idiot!"

Hopefully Sam will be feeling better tonight. Yesterday after work I just played with Emma while Sam slept and Jamie took a break. There was playing pretend, dolls, drawing, and a little bit of computer games over the many hours. It's rare that I just hang out with Emma, so it was a bit of a treat. I think my "playing pretend" bucket is empty now, though. That girl's imagination is astounding.

It's Mocha Friday and I'm slowly settling int...

February 29, 2008 by Adam in Family

It's Mocha Friday and I'm slowly settling into the day. The only recent excitement was that Sam had bad stomach pains last night. They came on quickly, he didn't want to eat, and it took him forever to hobble into bed. Fortunately he was perfectly fine this morning, so hopefully it was no big deal.

Jamie's off to Portland to an antique show tomorrow. She leaves early and I don't know when she'll be back. It sounds like I'll be feeding the kids a grand breakfast, as well as entertaining them for the day. I suggested a hike, but Sam doesn't want to go with Emma. We may just run around a park instead. Tonight may be swimming as well, if I can convince the kids to go.

All-in-all, life's pretty good at the moment. I'm loving the warm and sunny weather we've gotten lately. It makes me want to putter around in the garden. Maybe tomorrow I can pick up some compost and the kids and I can spread it around the garden.

The week is more than halfway over, already

February 28, 2008 by Adam in Family

The week is more than halfway over, already. It's been a good morning so far. I put on a puppet show via webcam for my coworkers, a technology first I believe. Work was supposed to be insane yesterday, a perfect storm of two go-lives. One was delayed two weeks. The other was screwed up and my work probably won't start until Monday. It's been nice to work on things I've put on the back burner pending a little free time.

The new washer and dryer arrived, which made Jamie very happy. Unfortunately a bit of work was required, replacing the outlet and cutting a new hole for the dryer vent. All was accomplished, though, and I was rewarded with a heartfelt thanks from Jamie.

I puttered around with the kids in the front yard yesterday after work. It was warm and sunny, with Sam trying to convince Emma to put on her swimming suit. They ended up playing with water and pouring it down the hill for a reason neither one of them could articulate. Good times.

Somehow the weekend zipped by, bringing Monda...

February 26, 2008 by Adam in Family

Somehow the weekend zipped by, bringing Monday along for the ride. Nothing particularly thrilling happened, though I felt busy all the time.

Saturday Jamie went up to Portland with Pat to an antique show. I hauled the kids to the library, who weren't too thrilled with me, but enjoyed the books and movies we brought back. I tried to go swimming, but messed up the times, and instead we just hung around the house.

Sunday was my big seven-course meal day. I went shopping, prepared the quiche and chocolate mousse, then took the kids shopping. About half the courses turned out okay. The kids liked the scones, ham and cheese, and Emma liked the fruit dish. The chocolate mousse was a huge hit with everyone. It's fun to do a big blow-out cooking extravaganza every once in awhile.

Monday was pretty busy for me at work, as so much is going on again. Plus I had a customer call me up right before I ate lunch and talked until I was late for a meeting. I think I ate lunch around three in the afternoon. Sigh.

It's Friday already

February 22, 2008 by Adam in Family

It's Friday already. The week seems to have gone quickly, though maybe that's because we were so busy. Sam was sick for a couple days, though not too bad. He stayed home from school and did quiet things while sniffling away. Jamie had one evening where she was feeling achy and tired, and took a rare nap. Last night it seemed as if everyone was finally feeling better.

Sam's latest game is this mix of choose your own adventure and role playing. He made up an adventure about an island city nearly destroyed by a volcano and attacked by giant bugs. It was pretty creative, all-in-all. Now he's demanding I make up a little adventure for him. Hmm.

Emma's activities are much simpler. After work yesterday we colored a "Heart Unicorn" drawing the Jamie made for Emma. As expected, it had a unicorn along with many hearts and flowers. For some reason, Emma loves playing a game where I either tickle her or try to gobble her up. I'm happy to oblige, of course.

As for Jamie, I think she'd like to have an evening watching an old movie. We're shipping the kids off to my mom's for dinner, so maybe we'll make our own dinner together and watch an episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents.

As for the weekend, I think it's pretty open. I'd like to take the kids swimming tomorrow. If it's nice, maybe I can spread more manure around. There's something deeply satisfying with that particular activity. My mom thinks it's those farmer genes of mine, crying to get out.

The weekend is slowly coming to a close

February 18, 2008 by Adam in Family

The weekend is slowly coming to a close. Sam and his friend across the street, Ben, are working on making some computer game involving X-Wing fighters. Emma's upstairs watching Babe. Jamie's out at King Estate with Angie. I'm cooking some rice for dinner. All is calm.

Friday night Jamie and I went out to a tasty vegetarian place. We ordered way too much food, especially the chocolate cake. Fortunately we've been snacking on leftovers since then.

Saturday we went to the Asian Celebration. Emma decorated a Chinese Lantern, Sam played with robots, and both kids drew anime. I liked the massive drums, myself. I had a touch of a headache the entire day, so I took it easy when we got back home. Jamie slaved in the kitchen for Barbara, Zoltan, and their family's arrival. There was great food and conversation, the kids playing on the Wii, and everyone being tuckered out at the end.

Today started with french toast using my home made bread, which was most tasty. Later on I picked up some steer manure to spread in the garden. Somehow I managed to splatter it all over my face, which made for some great one-liners. With the sunny weather, I've been itching to play in the garden.

I took the kids swimming while Jamie went out to lunch with a friend. We stayed for a long time, with both kids having a wonderful time. Emma's getting really good at swimming around, picking rings of the bottom in the deep end. She can go halfway across the pool, though she still needs to be watched.

Tomorrow the kids are out of school and Jamie wants to buy a new washer and dryer. I'm back to work, trying to deal with the last of the details before our new medstaff software goes live.

I finished up my Friday mocha and now I'm sta...

February 15, 2008 by Adam in Family

I finished up my Friday mocha and now I'm starting to dig into the endless tasks here at work. With the new hospital getting finished and being moved into in August, I've got a lot of applications to update and modify so they work properly. Already we're having to get PTO approved months in advance.

Last night I brought flowers to Jamie, who appropriately "ooh"ed over them before heading out to the gym. The kids and I played hard in the basement while she was out. We were superheroes for one part, fleeing from a killer worm in another, and playing with the big exercise ball for the finale. I think everyone was pretty tuckered out when Jamie returned from the gym. After a dinner of Thai take-out, Sam played video games downstairs, the girls watched their rock star dad play Guitar Hero, and another Valentine's Day was wound down.

Tonight Jamie's taking me out to dinner. It's far easier to get babysitters near Valentine's Day, rather than on the day itself. It's also not very fun to go out to dinner on that crazy day, so we're going to a vegetarian restaraunt tonight, just for me.

The Asian Festival is this weekend, and I might take the kids to that. Sunday swimming is another possibility. If it's nice out, I'd love to go bike riding with Sam. We'll see how it goes.

Happy Valentine's Day to all

February 14, 2008 by Adam in Family

Happy Valentine's Day to all. When I woke up to get out of bed, Jamie wished me a Happy Valentine's Day, groggily handed me a card, and informed me I could read it downstairs (presumably so she could get some sleep). It was sweet. Emma is armed with a shoebox full of Disney Fairy themed cards, each one containing a fairy tattoo of one kind or another. Sam, being a boy, opted out of the whole thing.

It was a fairly quiet night last night. Emma's been tired after school, so she's mostly been watching shows or hanging out with Jamie when I come home. We chatted at dinner time, and danced in the kitchen, but that's about it.

One of my more inspired Christmas gifts was a big exercise ball. Sam loves playing games with it, referring to as "Big Ball". Last night we invented "Radioactive Big Ball" where you could only knock the ball around with couch cushions. Scoring points by hitting the opposing wall was really secondary to the game. Way more fun was trying to hit the ball into your opponent, who had to pretend that any touched parts were irrevocably burned to a crisp. Most games ended somewhat horrifically, with lots of laughing.

The weekend is over and I'm heading off to wo...

February 11, 2008 by Adam in Family

The weekend is over and I'm heading off to work shortly. My guess is that Emma will be heading back to school after a week away. She still coughs on occasion, but otherwise seems her usual self.

I took the kids swimming on Friday while Jamie went out. Sam really didn't want to go, but we had an okay time once we got there. Saturday was warm and gorgeous, a perfect setting for Sam and I riding bikes to the store. He got tuckered out, though, so it was up to me to ride to the library and return with assorted treasures.

The rest of the weekend was fairly low-key. We had a yummy family dinner on Saturday, combined with perfect Sundaes for dessert. Sunday we lazed about, heading to Hendrick's Park to kick the last of the fallen snow. My mom came over for dinner, where I got to show off my Guitar Hero skills. I think she was very proud, despite the smirk.

It's that magical Mocha Friday, though I'm st...

February 08, 2008 by Adam in Family

It's that magical Mocha Friday, though I'm still at home, quivering in anticipation. Last night Sam, Jamie, and I were playing Apples-to-Apples. The green card was "Healthy" and I was the judge, deciding which of the red cards was a closer match. I technically didn't know who played what card until later, though it was pretty obvious at the time. Jamie was sensible and played "Salad", while my impish son played "Coffee". Needless to say, coffee won.

It's been a rough week for Emma, who's been a little feverish and coughing all week. It hasn't been horrible, just annoying enough to get her out of school, which she probably secretly enjoys. Yesterday we did projects, played in the basement, and snacked away. It was actually pretty fun for me, and I even managed to get in some important work things during some movie breaks.

As for this weekend, Sam really wants to ride his bike to the library for books and the store for dinner fixings. We'll likely go swimming tonight as usual. I'm horribly excited.

I'm at home today, taking care of a sick Emma

February 07, 2008 by Adam in Family

I'm at home today, taking care of a sick Emma. She's not too bad, but she still had a fever this morning and Jamie wanted to get to work after three days away. Jamie's not feeling too great herself, so I suspect Sam and I get to nurse everyone back to health.

I've somehow managed to get work done this morning, despite taking care of Emma. Work's somewhat busy again, though I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. Emma and I cleaned her play kitchen, worked on craft projects, and had cocoa (with espresso for me). Good times.

It's been a good weekend so far, just the kid...

February 02, 2008 by Adam in Family

It's been a good weekend so far, just the kids and I. We had a great time swimming last night and Emma didn't cry for her mom too much when she went to sleep. Around six thirty the next morning she crawled into bed and we had a nice chat before going downstairs when Sam awoke. Breakfast was crepes and sausage, along with a mocha for myself. The kids only ate one crepe each, so there's a lot of frozen crepes in the freezer.

Afterwards we played, went to the library, and headed to Humble Bagel for treats. Emma was clearly not feeling well, so we went home and I gave her some Motrin. She perked right up and Sam did a great job entertaining her. Now she's watching a show, Sam's drawing zombies, and I'm taking a short kid break. I'll need to get lunch started shortly.

I'm thinking we're going to take it easy for the rest of the day. Hopefully Emma will be up for running about outside by tomorrow.

It's mocha Friday and I just finished up the ...

February 01, 2008 by Adam in Family

It's mocha Friday and I just finished up the last drop of that delicious elixir. I forgot to take a picture as I usually do. Needless to say, Emma is still cute and Sam looks like a mad scientist with his glasses on. Jamie still looks the same as the day I married her, at least that's the story I'm sticking to.

Jamie's going up to Portland, leaving the kids and I to fend for ourselves. I tend to move into "Fun Dad" territory when she's away. We'll probably eat weird things for dinner, go somewhere and get muddy, and otherwise get in trouble. Hopefully the police won't need to be called.

It's been a bit of a crazy week, compounded b...

January 30, 2008 by Adam in Family

It's been a bit of a crazy week, compounded by the weather. This morning I got a call from a horribly excited Emma, letting me know they couldn't go to school because the car wouldn't start. Ironically, today is the day Jamie was going to take it in to get the starter rebuilt.

Things seem very busy. I woke up early, went to work, came home, took Sam to fencing while entertaining Emma, helped Sam with homework, ate, took a bath, and collapsed to sleep. At least work is becoming a little less crazy after some of the insanely busy days of weeks gone by.

It didn't snow much last night, but the roads...

January 29, 2008 by Adam in Family

It didn't snow much last night, but the roads were icy this morning and school was closed. I worked from home and tried to help some with the kids. Now that it's the end of the day, Jamie looks pretty tuckered out and I best go help soon.

The neighbor boys continued to build up the fort. Hopefully these pictures give a good feel for the relative size. The one with Emma climbing the hill behind the fort makes it look massive, but the walls are really only three or so feet high. In the afternoon, we had six kids running around throwing snowballs in all directions. A good time was had by all.

Jamie took Emma on a long walk to Metropol for bread. I've pretty much stayed at home for the last couple days. Tomorrow I'm going to try and brave the weather to head in to work. Wish me luck.

It's snowing! I woke up this morning to a ...

January 27, 2008 by Adam in Family

It's snowing!

I woke up this morning to a thin blanket of snow, which turned into a thick blanket of snow and constant, fluffy snowfall. I don't think I've seen this much snow in Eugene for a long while. Sam's been outside all morning, forgoing breakfast so he can play outside.

I spent an hour or so this morning assisting Sam, Ben, and Sebastian with a snow fortress. It's pretty gargantuan, complete with a window made from a big circle of ice. Initially it was Sam versus the neighbor boys, but building the fortress became a common good that they could all pitch in with.

In terms of the rest of the weekend, I took Emma swimming Friday night. Sam was tired and grouchy, and didn't want to go. Emma's been sniffly, but was still up to a swim with her dad. Saturday I did a library run and Jamie went to the gym. Later in the evening we had dinner with Barbara and Zoltan. Barbara observed a unique quality about the English language - we have a ton of different words for "butt". I guess we're like Eskimos and snow or something.

It's a Mocha Madness Friday

January 25, 2008 by Adam in Family

It's a Mocha Madness Friday. My coworker Summer came down from Bellingham for SharePoint training and she got me a second mocha after I finished my first. I expect I'll soon need a shot of adreneline to the heart, just like Pulp Fiction. I can already hear the angels singing and hope to be speaking to God at any moment now.

It's been a bit of a rough week, with me under the weather for a couple days there. I'd head home early from work, take a nap, pop some Advil, and try to feel semi-normal. Yesterday I felt much better and today I feel perfectly fine. Emma's been complaining about being ill as well, though I suspect that may be a school avoidance technique.

The kids and I continue to play our little games after work. Last night Emma and I played Guitar Hero. She made some pretty good progress at actually playing notes, though she ended up putting on rock star makeup instead. Later on the three of us disassembled the great Lego city that's been sitting on the play table for days. Emma and Sam worked on destruction while I sorted by color. Now Sam's making a moon base, as he explained that the Lego city technology has improved considerably.

Sam did his presentation on Degas yesterday. Jamie and Emma snuck in quietly to watch. They said it went well and Sam pronounced his name perfectly. He also pointed out that Degas and I share the same birthday.

Tonight I'm hoping to take the kids swimming. Tomorrow we have dinner with Barbara, Zoltan, and family. Hopefully the icy cold weather will improve somewhat and we can run around outside a little.

I don't normally post gaming things on the ma...

January 20, 2008 by Adam in Family

It's Mocha Friday and I just finished up with...

January 18, 2008 by Adam in Family

It's Mocha Friday and I just finished up with that delicious elixir. Plus it's casual day, so I get to wear jeans and a black t-shirt to work. It puts me in a "l33t programmer" mood.

Work has been crazy busy as of late. There's a lot of high-profile projects related to the new hospital at Riverbend that seem to be falling to me. I suppose it means people recognize I'm a capable worker, though I could probably do with more praise. Perhaps I can arrange for my coworkers to carry me around on their shoulders through the cubicles while cheerleaders shout out my name.

Emma continues to be as cute as a button. She made a snowman (L'Homme de neige) puppet at school. We took turns hiding behind the chair and putting on shows. Even Sam thought it was pretty cool. Last night I arrived home to find her wrapped up in a shawl, along with an umbrella. I wasn't aware of the storm warning for our living room, but it's good to be prepared.

Sam is his usual self. He finished Super Mario Galaxy, is reading a spy novel, and built a weird contraption out of Legos last night. It started out as a gatling gun powered by a Lego motor. Later it turned into a massage/tickle device that he kept trying to get us to try out.

Jamie's been pretty busy all week, going to dinner at Barbara's house, heading to the gym, and going for a hike with Pat tomorrow. She made some pretty great soup last night, which I'm eager to eat for lunch.

In terms of the weekend, Jamie and I have date night tonight. Tomorrow is the usual library visit. I'm going to see if Sam and I can see the monster movie Cloverfield tomorrow. We'll see how it goes.

It's Mocha Friday and for once I'm still sipp...

January 11, 2008 by Adam in Family

It's Mocha Friday and for once I'm still sipping away as I post. It's been a whirlwind week, returning from Bend, readjusting to ordinary life, and trying to catch up with work.

Nothing much exciting has been happening lately. Jamie got Sam a reading pillow with speakers that he loves. Emma wanted to rough-house with Sam and me last night and she ended up bonking her nose. She's quick to say "I'm okay!" but I still feel guilty anyway.

For the first time in a long while, there's nothing exciting planned this weekend. I'd love to take the kids swimming, go to the library, and do ordinary things. Maybe Sam can do some bike riding and Emma can play at the park. We'll see how it goes.

We're at Eagle Crest, getting ready to head home

January 08, 2008 by Adam in Family

We're at Eagle Crest, getting ready to head home. I've got a mocha beside me and the girls are checking out. The snow is coming down hard and our neighbors mentioned an avalanche in the pass. Looking at Trip Check, it looks like we can make it over, though I suspect we'll be going pretty slowly. If we don't make it back, well, it's been good knowing you all.

Our little trip has been pretty fun. We played a lot of Bookworm Adventures, frolicked in the snow at Sunriver, saw Brant's new house, and visited the swimming pool a bunch. Sam and I watched School of Rock last night, which was sort of awesome by definition.

Tomorrow brings school, work, and the routine of life again. I think we're done with most of our vacations for awhile. A bit of normality sounds pretty good, though.

Update: We took a wrong turn, but made it home. We're all exhausted after being in the car for so many hours.

Happy Mocha Friday to all

January 04, 2008 by Adam in Family

Happy Mocha Friday to all. I actually didn't have a mocha this morning, as I'm working from home. Jamie did fix up a pot of coffee, however, and I indulged myself thoroughly. Josh is in tow with me, supposedly learning how to become a web developer. He did put together a rather snazzy online game with Scratch.

We're getting ready for our big Bend trip tomorrow. I'm strangely excited to play in the snow and generally hang out. I realized I actually don't take that much time off from work the other day, so I don't feel too bad playing hooky a little longer.

Happy New Year, everyone

January 01, 2008 by Adam in Family

Happy New Year, everyone. Evidently mom read my last posting and decided I had to get out of the house. We went to the Hult Center to see the Magic Flute, staying out until fairly late. The production was good, though the story was somewhat obscure. The comedic sidekick saved the show, and people watching was always fun.

I'm busy taking care of all the things I promised Jamie I'd do while she was out. Emma's doll's leg has been reattached with thread and bathtub caulk. The recycling was taken out. Laundry has been done. Now I'm off to do some shopping and fill up the fridge.