Bubbling over

If you haven't had a good laugh in awhile then sit down, buckle up, and get ready.

Carl brought the kids a bubble machine from one of his trips. It is really fun--blows bubbles inside bubbles, the bubbles last a LONG time, etc. The only downside is that the refill bubbles are $10/can (which lasts us about 2 weeks in high bubble season).

So on Sunday we all took naps. Carl, not being a very good napper, woke before me and I continued to snooze. I was awoken by two clamoring children and a husband who was set on making his own bubble solution (instead of having to buy the expensive stuff). In my grogginess he is commenting to me about the vast 'bubbling community' on the internet. Henry is ready and willing to be his sidekick. I sort of wave them out the door and away they go to Walgreens to get their ingredients. The items on their list? Get ready for this.

1. Dawn dishwashing liquid
2. Glycerine

And the secret ingredient?

3. KY Jelly

Are you kidding me? There is something so wrong to me about our children playing with bubbles made with KY Jelly.

But off they go and they return a mere 15 minutes later (the Walgreens is not too far away). Carl notes some challenges in their ability to successfully complete their shopping list. The Dawn was not a problem and was pretty inexpensive. He was, however, mortally embarrassed and uncomfortable sitting in the KY Jelly aisle with Henry as that is also where all the condoms are on display and Lord knows Henry has an inquisitive mind. So he hastily grabbed one and headed to check out.

Lastly, they did not have glycerine in a bottle so he opted for a box of----suppositories. That's right folks, suppositories.

Imagine this picture. Henry at the kitchen table shooting a box full of suppository goo into a giant blue bowl of Dawn and water. I was speechless at this point.

So now our bubble solution is not only laced with KY Jelly, it also has a box of suppositories in it. DISGUSTING.

May I also note that the bill at Walgreens was $22.83 (make that more than 2 of the cans of good bubble solution from Target) and we were not done yet because there was not enough glycerine in the suppositories to meet the recipe. So we headed to our natural foods store where they actually had a bottle of glycerine (another $8).

Even more hilarious? The solution hardly works because in his haste at the KY Jelly aisle, Carl grabbed a KY Jelly oil which obviously must not have the same properties. I can't say I wasn't a little bit relieved. We live and learn....

Funny contrasts

One very funny contrast in our lives is our children's description of vehicles. Henry, of course, can name the make and model of almost anything on the road (he's been working hard at it since he was 2). So I always find myself giggling when to Ava every car is a 'cool car'--no matter what it is--car, truck, tractor, semi, you name it, it's a 'cool car'.

Today we had some sun breaks (and the temp was over 60) so we went for a nice afternoon walk. Henry does very little walking and a lot of running. He is obviously much faster than his younger counterpart at this age, but he has inspired her to try her hand at running to catch up with him. It is currently a mix between speed walking and running but the best part is that as she goes she says 'running, running, running' (always in a set of three). Thankfully Henry is a very good sport and waits for us to catch up!

Lastly, one of Henry's favorite t-shirts is a hand me down Yoda shirt that is navy blue. He wore it to music class today in hopes that we could (and we did) sing hello to Yoda. It makes me buckle over though when Ava points at his shirt and says (exuberantly) 'COW', 'COW', 'MOO'. I've never really though what animal Yoda most closely resembles but to Ava he's a cow.

Uncle Bobby breaks in a new decade

We had the privilege of hosting Robert's 30th birthday family shindig (because Nana has contracted the very bad flu going around). The weather was beautiful and the vegan cuisine was divine! I even baked a vegan cake from scratch (a daring move given my past mishaps) which was quite tasty (and great as I'll need to be making one for Ava's birthday this year for sure). Let me note (lest I forget) that Henry sang Happy Birthday in his own SPECIAL language--some hybrid of German and Hebrew--it was hilarious. We ate, blew bubbles (lots and lots of bubbles), and really enjoyed our company. Post-party the brothers took a bike ride out to the old family farm.

Uncle Robert is so special and we are blessed to have him in our family (his doting niece and nephew agree wholeheartedly). Here's to you Bobby!





Ava with her party blower and hair in her eyes (a common occurence when she removes her clip--which she does often)



The celebration crew



Henry, the present deliverer (and partial opener--sorry Robert!)


Big time bubble man



Ava cracking a smile after making us all roar with laughter with her fake scowl (I'll try and capture it fully in the coming weeks)



The kids and I babysat Bella, Robert's dog, while the boys went on their ride. Ava really loved the 'goggy'.




The boys in all their biking glory

Show and Tell

If you'll indulge me, below is a video (in its entirety as I am learning how to download the videos and post them) of Henry at school this week doing show and tell. His first inclination is always to bring a car, but when I can dissuade him (or his teacher gives a certain parameter) he has chosen a bird. First, the peregrine falcon, and now, a peacock. I had to scour the internet to find a peacock for Henry as they are not readily available in stores. He has been really interested in them since a trip to the Portland Zoo about two months ago where we saw one. Here he is!

Snuggle bunnies

Ava loves her blankets--so much that this week she is even saying. I LOVE BLANKETS! I will try to capture it on video as her intonation is priceless! (She also inserts other things I LOVE ____). She thinks it is especially novel to climb on Henry's bed with a blanket and pretend like she is sleeping. Today, they snuggled together. They really do love each other.

A snowy rendezvous

Carl and I took a spur of the moment rendezvous to Portland this weekend. On a special mission from Nathan, we spent the afternoon doing some research (for his company) and in return were treated to a FABULOUS dinner and hotel stay. We actually stayed at the same hotel where we spent our wedding night (and hadn't returned to since). It was fantastic. We especially relished the morning where we could just lay in bed--no one insisting that we get up or needing to be retrieved from their crib. Nana came and stayed with Henry and Ava and all was well here on the home front. It was glorious--a welcome retreat. The snowy part comes in the ridiculous cold front that hit Oregon. It snowed, hailed, and blew all weekend and the cold front is to continue all week. Brrr!



A self-portrait after an afternoon of research....not the best, but only my sister has mastered digital self-portraits!



Oh so tourist of me...I couldn't help myself. This was my entree at dinner. The best fish I've ever had. Halibut with sauteed leeks and fennel. Carl was so embarrassed that he dissuaded me from having the waitress take a photo of us!

Daily Mass

When we were getting ready this morning, Henry asked if we could go to church. Wheew. The notion of hurrying around in time to take my children to church on a Thursday morning was a bit dizzying (it starts at 8 am and is 20 min. across town). However, I want to encourage their desires toward God and so we scarfed down breakfast and headed out the door. One of the many things I love about the Catholic Church is daily Mass. It has always made sense to my soul that we would have the opportunity to worship together each day and to realize our need for God as a community as well as individually. At our church daily Mass is usually held in the chapel which is very cozy (not a great place for kids to be loud or run around).

We went. The kids were great. We also had the pleasure of having Lulu be our Eucharistic Minister. What a treat! It was a great way to focus on what is truly important in life and eternity and I am grateful my Henry encouraged us to go.

Music together

My mom has been so generous to give Henry and Ava a music class (it's called Music Together and is a national program--I highly recommend it) during the school year (every year since Henry was 2). At first I thought it would be a great activity, but it has been wonderfully enriching to our lives in many ways. We listen to the music and have our own dance parties often and it is something the kids share despite their very different interests. We have an amazing teacher, Mrs. D--who is incredibly gifted at leading the class and whose basement has been converted into a music room especially for this. I finally snapped a few photos this week to commemorate our time there.


Gigi and Ava having fun



Henry and Mrs. D (in brown)



The whole crew

Sweet somethings

Tonight as I was tucking Henry into bed he looked me in the eye and said, "You are the love of God and you will always be with me". I cannot begin to tell you how touched I was and what prompted him to say it, I've no idea. I will, however, tuck that memory into my heart forever.

Oh sunny day!

Saturday was our first day over 70 degrees since October--wow. We have occasionally seen the sun but not the sun with the warmth. Saturday it was 79 and felt just like summer. We celebrated by heading to the Tulip Festival with Grandpa B and Lulu. It is always so staggering to see thousands of tulips in bloom all together. With Mt. Hood in the background and surrounded by fields of green, it was truly amazing. They also had a fun area just for kids and we let each child choose one activity to do. Henry chose the 'air slide' and Ava chose to ride a pony. They each enjoyed their respective choices immensely.

Grandpa B and Lulu treated us to a tram ride around the property where we saw a hot air balloon tucking in for the day, several helicopters, 4 steam tractors and a complete view of the tulips from all directions. We also dined on sausages and curly fries for lunch. Henry cleared a place at the table for Daddy and Grandpa B by spilling our lemonade all over the women on the other side of the picnic table--whoopsie.

There were many highlights from the day--God's natural beauty all around us. However, the day would not be complete without a Chloe story. As I was choosing some cut tulips for our table, Henry insisted on buying some flower seeds for Chloe. The best, though was when he handed them to the cashier and explained, "Those aren't for my real mom (gesturing toward me), those are for my other mom Chloe". Hmmm...try explaining that to a confused teenager who isn't sure she heard quite right. I didn't even try. I just smiled and nodded.



Mt. Hood in the background



Beautiful tulips



One cool dude



Riding the tram with Grandpa B and Lulu



Waving to daddy


Pure joy. Ava LOVED the horses (an animal that Henry skirts by) and she would have ridden them all day long had she had the opportunity. This was her posture most of the ride and she had not even a hint of wariness.



Henry on the 'air slide'. It was really quite high and steep. Look at that concentration! Henry would have spent all day here too (much like his sister and the horses).

The Reptile Man

In April, Henry's class at school is studying reptiles and amphibians. To further enrich their experience, they had The Reptile Man come to school this Friday. He brought 17 different reptiles. Tortoises, a chameleon, a skink, an alligator snapping turtle, an alligator, and MANY snakes--some with fangs, some without. I am NOT a snake person but we went anyway. It was amazing (a little terrifying at moments). The kids loved it and Henry was able to touch a cobra, a rattlesnake, and the alligator. He is a brave boy! We had a great time.


Henry's friend Riley being very brave with a water snake around her neck!



The alligator snapping turtle. This is a baby weighing 17 lbs. They grow to 250 lbs.--are you kidding me?



The cobra dancing around--cool and scary. This was about 2 feet from us.


Henry touching the cobra.



I don't remember the name of this snake but it took six kids just to hold it. Yikes!

St. Louis

(again, my apologies for the turned photo, but isn't she darling!)
I was graced with the opportunity to fly (by myself, that's right, by myself--I know it's hard to believe, even for me) to St. Louis this past weekend for Charlotte King's baptism. Carl and I are honored to be her godparents and I was the family representative! Charlotte is a beautiful and very good natured baby. It was so fun to meet her (see is almost 6 months old!) and to see Cabrini, Tom, Nicholas and the rest of the family that gathered for the weekend. The plane ride was like an out-of-body experience for me. It has been about 5 years since I've flown on a plane without children. I wasn't quite sure what to do with myself. I soaked in the relaxation and read The Kite Runner and half of The Memory Keeper's Daughter--more reading than I've done in months! Tom and Cabrini have a charming home, were great hosts, and the weather was perfect! It was a wonderful weekend (plus I got to go on a special walk with Grandpa B--what an honor as a married-in grandchild).



Cabrini and Nicholas (he was a bit under the weather this day)


Charlotte listening intently to Grandpa B and being held by her Grandma King


The baptism (what a wonderful day!) Their deacon performed the baptism and he was a wonderful, warm man who has six children of his own!

A stompin' good time...

The Kings graced Henry with a stomp rocket for Christmas and due to the wintery weather it hasn't had much use until lately, but boy was it worth the wait! Anytime we see a great expanse of green Henry identifies it as 'a great place to do my stomp rocket!'. Ava is a fantastic cheerleader and is awe struck at her brother's talent!


The set up


Check out that extension!


A high flier


Look at that!


Our golden retriever