Wednesday, December 30, 2009

A1A


Just a short drive away from my parents house, up A1A:), is the beautiful central Florida Atlantic coastline. Ahhh, seeing these pictures makes me smile, especially b/c there are several inches of accumulated snow outside my window right now.

The first day we went with my dad...














Next time we met my good friend from Oregon, Sheila, who has since relocated to southern Florida:( We met them in the lobby of their hotel which Ben and Owen turned into a battleground and shot "blasters" @ each other while Sheila and her husband Fernando finished breakfast. Thankfully, we were the only people in the restaurant...



Baby Stella in the background; Maya looking dazzling in the foreground:)





We all got some good running in. Ben is very fast.



Sheila taking a photo of her fam...



Maya would scream in delight as she ran...

Building a sandcastle and moat...

The day before we left we went one more time so Woody could enjoy the coast too...Owen and cousin Faith...









We miss you sunshine and warm air...hope to see you soon...

Sunday, December 27, 2009

Home sweet home...



The first item on my to-do list for 2010 is to find a hypnotist. I (still) h-a-t-e flying and am over h-a-t-ing it and I hear hypnotism is an effective strategy. Owen thinks taking off is the coolest thing ever and Maya is somewhat indifferent...I'd take either position.

Anyway, I have over 400 photos from our trip to sunny Florida but I thought I'd start at the end and work my way backwards.

Chilling on the plane from LAX to PDX:


Woody got the row behind us...


The cheerful flight attendants were passing out candy canes to celebrate our Christmas Day flight...

We only had room for one photo on our memory card when we got back home Christmas afternoon.

We had the BEST trip with my side of the family and it was hard to say good bye but we're so happy to be home now:)

Thursday, December 10, 2009

two years ago today (12/10/07)


We're heading to Florida tonight; on a red-eye in a few hours.
This is what OM looked like last time they were @ G'pa Hinson's house for Christmas. OMG!
OM are in the tub, I'm downing my second beer to relax and Woody is happy, pacifier-man trying to keep us all calm and excited. He's coming next week.
I'll be blog-free for the next couple of weeks...to all our peeps:
Happy Holidays. We ♥ you!

Dragonfly Variety Show


Last night I was witness to one of the sweetest and most entertaining variety shows...EVER. Owen's class did a complete remodel on their theater room, with red curtains, professional lighting (that the kids operate) and audience seating. (Those marks on the floor in the brochure are pictures of the kids so they knew where to stand for the last number).

The Emcee, Sophie, was super-professional as she introduced the acts.



First, four friends performed shadow dancing (beautiful):



Next, two friends individually told knock, knock jokes (hilarious):



Next, a magic trick (magical):



Next, four friends danced to They Might Be Giants, Clap Your Hands (groovy):
(get this CD if you don't already have it)


Next, our brave son took the stage to tell his knock, knock joke (hysterical):



Knock, knock.
Who's there?
Dwayne.
Dwayne who?
Dwayne, Dwayne go away...


Way to go Owee!!!!

Then two friends sang Twinkle, Twinkle:

Everyone had a turn @ something. [This is the inside of (half) the program]:




The finale was a group number. They sang the Natural Anthem although Owen referred to it as the mountain song. Both titles are appropriate. Watching Owen concentrate so wholly on his teacher's faces (Teacher Michael has a guitar-gig outside of preschool) to get all the words right and the hand movements was precious.
I'll never forget it. Even Maya was engaged sitting on my lap the whole time. And it was a PACKED house. Moms, Dads, cousins, g'parents, siblings..all cheering, supporting and loving these kids. Super great.

Woody video'd the whole thing on our video camera but I taped a few things on our camera. So, here's part of the finale...enjoy:)

Monday, November 30, 2009

Zoo lights


Last night we went to the Oregon Zoo to check out zoo lights. I've heard about it for years but never imagined it would be so beautiful. These photos do not capture it...it's amazing. It was a cold night but it was dry so we had a great time. Especially on the train. I love seeing Owen so happy, he really loves trains....