Saburday morning...

Sunny bright Saturday morning here at the house... everyone woke up simultaneously at 8:00 sharp. It must be the habits we're all getting with this whole fall school schedule thing. We normally set the alarms for 7:30 -- but only at 8am does everyone really get moving like they mean it...

Lily had a spur to make omelettes this morning, so when I headed down the street to Roth's to get some half & half for the coffee, I picked up more eggs. She's such a little gourmet. Just loves to cook. Quite good at it, too. She makes prettier omelettes than either Elissa or I can. She also makes hand-written menus just before she starts cooking, so that even if she's already decided what to make, you can get a preview of what it will be.

Somehow, while I was at Roth's, a few fresh doh-dohs made it into the basket as well....OH NO!!!

First day of kindergarten for Boy

Well, gee. What is there to say? At times like these, a picture says it all. Here he is at his new desk in his room at Baker Charter, doing the first task of his school career: decorating his name tag with crayons. Such a sweet little guy he is. We don't want him to go, and at the same time, he's so ready for the next step: to learn, play and share with other kids his own age. He was totally cool with it. Went in without a shrug, and came out beaming every day of his first week. It's a little harder on Elissa and me....

Brunch a la Bainbridge

Having brunch this past weekend with our friends the Dunlaps on Bainbridge Island off the coast of Seattle. Isaac worked in Seattle for a couple of days this week, and Elissa drove up Friday with the kids after school. The kids ate crepes with jam, while we had a fancy baked dish with a French name made of ham, eggs and Gruyere, with plenty of mimosas and coffee to go with.... Gabe and Lily (below) didn't know what they missed.

Summer's last fling....

Nigel doing his best Ziggy Marley Sunsplash imitation as he jumps in the line through the mister overhead....

We stole the last hours of summer to hit the Oregon State Fair on Labor Day....walked a million miles with the kids, looking at animals, riding rides, chomping on funnel cake and mouthing cotton candy....

Auntie Nessa come to play

Vanessa came through for a day to play with the kids at our house in Salem this summer, before heading up to Seattle with Isaac, Lucien and India for their first annual siblings weekend. The kids adore their auntie, so here they are showing her how to play Blokus in our living room....

O-Olallie.....Oh-oh-oh....

Et cantare.......woh-oh-oh-oh....

The quintessential camping trip of the summer -- at pristine Olallie Lake up in the Mt. Hood wilderness area....no boats, no motors.....no toilets.

Still, lots of fun, if you can hold it or you don't mind using a leaf. We took a canoe from Elissa's folks, and toured around the lake when we weren't roasting things by the fire. Thompson had fun too, although the first night, he kept going out the tent to throw up in the bushes -- I think the 3-hour ride up backroads must have been too much for his tender disposition.

Chillin' at the Enchanted Forest

Here are cousins Spencer and Hayden Brown with Lily and Nigel at the ever-so-magical Enchanted Forest. Also got valuable celebrity sightings of the 16th president. How exciting. (Don't you think he looks a little like Carson Daly, though?)



Love the Hencanted Froste. Gotta go at least once a year....their gun-totin' grandma demands it....

Musika at the Tin Shed

Ah.....time to catch up a bit....Here we are in mid-summer at the Tin Shed, a lovely outdoor cafe in NE Portland on Alberta, where Isaac's group, the 12th Avenue Hot Club, played several times. Note the extra-cool lighting Elissa captured without the flash.