pacific northwest

we've been in the pacific northwest for a while now... we counted down the days until it was time to leave. this was our first time getting to fly to the west coast with daddy. yeah, i like it much better that way! the kids did great traveling. it takes about 3 days for the jet lag to catch up with us, but i think it's safe to say we're all adjusted to the new timezone.

some highlights so far:

the first day we decided, after doing our homework, that isaiah could see the new pixar movie UP. and we'd let grandma take him to the movies for the first time. this was the first day we arrived. i'll just say it was traumatic for both of them. we were wrong, isaiah wasn't ready, and he spent the last part of the movie on grandma's lap crying. he seems to be unphased by it, no major scaring. and we've just kind of stopped talking about it. i've come to realize that crying and being freaked out at your first movie, might just be a right of passage.

portland eats. wow. all these places we have been hearing about, we hit in the first few days. portland has GREAT food. it just might make me a fan of mom and pop places, not chain restaurants. one morning we had breakfast and no one ate again until dinner. (that's saying a lot for the hendrix') it was so good and so much.

one day consisted of: out to breakfast, straight to OMSI (science center), drop daddy off at powell's bookstore while the kids slept. mommy and grandma grab a latte, kids wake up and get lunch, head back to the 'couv and go straight to a park. ice cream truck comes, grandma treats, home to play with neighbors in their brand new sand box. yes, the kids are exhibiting signs of spoiling.

day at the lake. we packed and lunch, chairs, balls, bikes swimwear. we all headed to the lake for the day. the kids went on a bike ride, played in the lake, learned 'pickle' and volleyball. the lake was calm and shallow. isaiah was brave and walked all the way out to his neck. i was a little freaked. but he loved it. alaythia splashed, sat and crawled through the water and sand. it was a great day.

laker party. yes, one of isaiah's musts for what he wanted to do while he was here. last night we all gathered to cheer our team on to the NBA championship. we had to start the game a little late in the evening due to a meeting everyone had to be at. poor zay man, he fell asleep with about 2 minutes left in the game, so he didn't get to see the lakers be crowned. but he was happy, joining in with everyone.

soccer comes to an end

he's thrilled that he has a trophy to show for it.

it still think it's crazy that i have a son old enough to be playing organized sports...and who has his first trophy...

cheeky

remember when mary poppins is singing her 'spoon full of sugar' song? at the end she walks over to the mirror and is singing. her reflection then goes on and on after the real mary poppins is done. mary looks at the reflection and says, 'cheeky!'

so yesterday isaiah wanted to know what cheeky meant, so i explained it to him as best i could (i thought about calling my english friends to make sure i was explaining it right). i thought in the midst of the explanation, 'i like that expression. i think i might have to include that in my vocabulary.'

at 4 years old, isaiah is a wiz when it comes to the mac. he can get around fine, DJing with iTunes, slide shows with iPhoto, even garage band. but somehow he took garage band off the dock and it's been gone for a week or so. yesterday he asked me if i could find it and put it back. 'of course i can!' i said. 'how mom?' 'magic. just like mary poppins. in fact, i AM mary poppins!'

alaythia was under the table playing with something, she popped her head up and said, 'you're cheeky mommy!'

even i was impressed

yesterday we got a break from the string of hot weather. the rain came, bringing cool air with it. not humid rain, but a cool, crisp rain. it was the break i needed from the heat.

we hunkered in. baked cookies, played games. daddy and alaythia even made it out for a 'date'. while i was getting dinner ready, daddy and the kids started a game of hide and go seek. along with many other talents, one of matt's best, is hiding. often the kids look and look, can't find him, and then come imploring my help. yesterday was no different.

this one even stumped me for a bit. i mean, how many spots can there be in the our little 2 bedroom house? i did find matt, before the kids, and grabbed the camera, because this was a first!



yes, there's matt on the washer...the kids were thrilled! he may be an academic scholar, but i love the little kid in him. and i think more than anything else he's gifted at, he's the best daddy around!

one year

it should be a day of celebrating. it should be filled with her first taste of sugar, candles and gifts. but it's not. it's a day of remembering the time that was lost. the time that we didn't get.

today would be olivia jewel miller's first birthday.

i said it just weeks after she was gone. she changed me. this past year she has continued to. her presence, or lack of it, has permeated parts of my life i didn't think possible. random remembrance that brings me to tears. deep longing to know her and watch her grow. and, almost at the moment i found out sophia was growing inside me, i thought of her. i have struggled and wondered what is to come. i do not take for granted when a new baby comes into the world. i hate to say i'm surprised by it, but how can i expect any different? it was no small thing to lose her.

i woke up today and she was the first person that came to my mind. i prayed for her mom, her dad, her grandma. once again praying that Jesus would meet them in their pain, in ways beyond our understanding.

i look at her face, still, as her picture sits in our living room. little olivia. you are so very missed. your little life left such a huge hole.

update - soccer & sicky

no, no goal. a pretty amazing assist. but no goal. matt came home amp'd because it was such an emotional game.

i'll be honest, it's usually just me screaming on the sideline. but after 3 quarters of the other team cheating, hitting, tripping and no calls by the refs, all the parents were apparently into it. knowing that now, i see why i was at home. my even keeled husband said that i would have flipped out and not been able to handle it.

matt's been in NBA land the last few weeks. so to fight back he tapped his inner phil jackson and called a play, fed his 'kobe' and got the goal. hence the assist. this alone is pretty amazing since most of the time matt's trying to get them stop picking grass or to get their head out of the net.

on the sickie front, poor alaythia has had what i thought was a stiff neck for the past few days. about the time she got sick she started holding her neck and had a hard time turning her head. after not much improvement over the weekend i took her into the doctor today. the doctor literally gasped when she looked in the first ear. 2 severe ear infections seem to be the cause of the hurting neck.

but we're on the mend, antibiotics in hand, ready to take on the next two teams this weekend. both in cheering and in play. that's right, we're moving up. we've got a friday night and saturday game to end the season.