Eric

I have a brother named Eric. He lives in Germany. I saw him when I was fifteen years old. Before that I saw him when I was five. And before that when I was one. In the past 30 years since I was fifteen I think I've talked to him once, and if memory serves I hung up on him.
So in the midst of finishing the quilt Aiden and I were making (as the house fell apart around us) I got the news that my sister Angela was bringing him to my house in a couple days! Well we got the quilt finished, the house picked up and I'm so glad Angela got to see our house. She was HUGELY instrumental in the sale going through! Our visit with Eric went well; I'm also so glad I kept one of my Dad's hawaiian shirts all these years as I was able to give it to Eric.


Eric and I went early one morning and saw the eagle nest east of town:

As we got closer the parents started flying about. We didn't want to disturb them so we respectfully left, picking up trash as we went. We also found the remains of a deer (probably) and Eric collected one of the vertibrae. Oh, AND a McDonald's cup!



Then we took him to the Rowena overlook.

(Eric, Aiden and Black)
The Gorge is still abloom with wildflowers.


And then on to Multnomah Falls!

No, no, that's just a PICTURE of the falls. THIS is Multnomah Falls:


Well, ok, that's a picture too.

(Elina, Aiden, Eric)






"I can HEAR some falls...."







Aiden and Eric discussing poetry. Or art. Or language. Or religion. Or....

Quilting

Aiden and I volunteered to make a quilt for one of the graduating seniors of our church. There happened to be a bag of fabric in one of the church closets they said we could use. It had two big pieces of denim, a light piece and a heavier piece more like jeans are made of. There was enough of the lighter fabric for the back. Since most of Aiden's jeans were on their last legs (ha ha) we added those in and got a few pairs on sale at our local thrift store. Aiden designed the quilt and she has a such a great eye for these things. We enjoyed doing the project together and it turned out great, even WITH Jessa's help!

Who, Me??

Day 26

Day 25

Day 24

Realized late at night (again!) that I hadn't taken picture for the day. So I went in the bathroom with the vase of roses off the dining table and a little flashlight borrowed from connor. I put the flashlight in an empty toilet paper tube to sheild the light more from the lens. I think this one was a 30 second exposure.

Day 22

The children have discovered "Due South" on youtube.

Day 20

After getting home in the wee hours, then leading book group and THEN cub scouts...well, not much life for picture taking. But these are my scouts. Aren't they cute?

Day 19

Gage likes to bring me flowers. I think he looks so sweet here, messy face and all!

Day 13

Camping!



















I needed to drop off the van for new tires and an alignment. Since I'd be walking home and Aiden takes Gage and Black for a walk every day, they all came with me. It was a long walk home and Gage was a real trooper, but we stopped at the Donut shop downtown. Hey! We needed the fortification!
We saw the camper on our walk and I thought it was funny.


And now for just an idea of the volume of pictures I take:
We got home from our walk and here is a sampling of the pictures I took in our front yard before walking inside.

Day 12

We took Black to the park and I got to see him on the slide. Such a funny dog.















I showed this picture to Gage and said "in this picture you look tired." "No. I not ired. I yust inking."

Day 11

A self portrait:

Taken in the visor mirror while waiting for Tim. But then Gage and I decided not to wait and went into our insurance agent's office after all. She's very sweet with the most amazing blue eyes. She also had a cool orchid in her office!









The afternoon was one of those breezy, light through the leaves, sweet blossom spring days of perfection.


A great day to go to the park.



A little outrage. That bad slide dumped him on the ground!


With Dad on the kinder, gentler slide.

Day 10

Mother's Day! After church the girls placed a flower wreath on my head and whisked us off to the Rowena overlook. It was beautiful but we didn't stay long as so many other folks had the same idea.














So we traveled on and found a nice picnic spot. Aiden laid out a red and white checked table cloth and we enjoyed deviled eggs, pastrami sandwiches and delicious potato salad. They even brought a bouquet for the table!





















Later in the evening Tim and Gage and I met Aiden, Connor and Black down by the river. I didn't know that there was a cool light display under the bridge!
















Goodnight to a lovely day.

Day 9

A couple days ago Aiden brought me a hair style magazine and said she found a cut she liked. So to the kitchen we went armed with scissors and a plastic cape (tie it in the FRONT Aiden!)
Yesterday I took some pictures of her. The picture we like best doesn't show the haircut much, so I'll post some extras, too ;-)







Lily of the Valley eyebrows!



















Of course the real question is: "How did I get such attractive children???"



It's all in the genes, man.