Spring Break

I should have got a picture of them pulling up the front-yard ivy. I will next time - plenty of ivy remains. Instead I photographed them playing Stratego after lunch. Click pictures for close ups.


Tomorrow we drive to Washington to see Grandma and Grandpa and drop of the kids, then Thursday Susy and I fly to Las Vegas!

OregonMom's Birthday

To celebrate Susy's birthday, we went to dinner at the Cheesecake Factory. Over half the order sits leftover in our fridge. The portions are a little large. Andrew ate almost half a hamburger, and Mali had maybe one tenth of her angel hair pasta. Susy and I managed about half of our dinners, and then all four of us split one piece of peanut-butter fudge cheesecake.
We went to Teavana next door while we waited for dinner. Susy wanted to get some Irish Breakfast tea, and I needed some Maté, which I am now drinking. We came home and watched another episode of Gilmore Girls, as is our routine. Susy said it was a perfect birthday, starting at 2:40 -- the actual time of her birth, and about the time she came home from work and started her nap.

Auction

Last night Alana treated our neighborhood group to dinner at the Thomas Edison H.S. auction, where her kids attend. It's an upscale event where lots of money is spent. Our group was on the frugal side, but we managed to hold our own. Here's a photo of our most interesting purchase, soon to find a home in our yard.

St. Patrick's Day

Mali made her St. Patrick's Day Leprachaun trap at home, since they didn't get to make one at school this year. Usually they are elaborite RubeGoldmanesque constructions. See below for this year's attempt.



Actually, this is a slight reconstruction, as the trap was rebuilt for the photo session after being triggered during the night by "Leppy". Leppy left footprints (some seen above) and a note, reading:

Dear Mali,
Your gonna have to do better than that to catch me. I gave you some candy for trying.
Sincerely,
Leppy

Mali did notice that candy from Leppy matched some seen previously on a dining room shelf. There was also a mysterious similarity between Leppy's handwriting and that of her brother...

Summa day.

Not a lot of details. When asked, Andrew showed me the tree picture he made in first period. The kids were illustrating poems they wrote. Matias complained about his math class. I had him show me the controversial method their teacher is using for solving quadratics, and it made no sense to me. I may teach Andrew (and Matias) algebra over the Summer so that Andrew can skip it and go into geometry. Or not. We'll see.

Off to Summa!

Susy drove Andrew and Matias to Summa this morning. School starts at 7:30 for them. Andrew is "shadowing" Matias today. Details to follow.

Big News!

Andrew is accepted to Summa! We got the letter yesterday.

Last Basketball Game of the Season

Mali had her final game of the season yesterday. She played great, scoring three baskets, two in her final quarter. She had several rebounds, and enjoyed a chance to play point guard, which seemed to fire her up.
Her end-of-season party is tonight at Godfather's Pizza.

Deal, No Deal

Paul brilliantly imagined a "Deal, no Deal" game show with the kids, and we implemented it last night along with a pot-luck dinner at the S' house. A's were also there, along with Doug, Erin, and Natalie (Natalie was also at Mali's birthday party.)
Deal, No Deal is an interesting game of decision making, where the player plays against a banker to try and make the most money from a random selection of 26 cards indicating dollar values of $0.01 to $1 Million. The adults involved in our game last night agreed to offer a top stake of $100.
After the player makes a choice, but no one knows what it is, the player then selects six other cards for viewing. After all six are viewed, the banker than makes an offer based on the average of the remaining cards.
For a better description, check out Wikipedia's article.
(I just did, and also discovered the fascinating Monty Hall Problem.)

Our game allowed for one family member per round. Andrew was our representative, and got the banker all the way up to $26, but continued on, picking the $75 and $100 cards in his next two choices, and settling for a payout of $5. Matias was the biggest winner, getting $33.
It was a lot of fun cheering the kids on. The kids not playing helped run the show. Andrew even played the host (otherwise Paul) for Hannah's turn. Pablo and I played the banker, except when it was our kid's turn.

Mali's Birthday Party

Mali's birthday party is in mid-swing. I'm hiding in my office, looking at photos.
The bear sings a happy birthday song. He has been the running joke of the evening.
Andrew is entertained, and has been entertaining, hosting a scavanger hunt. There's been a lot of laughing. Now they're all watching a movie.



Rachel, Zoë, Savannah, and Natalie watch Mali open. Not pictured: Sara.
Mali conducts another birthday song.

Another great cake from Susy.

Snow!

Andrew got a two hour delay this morning, courtesy the surprise snowfall. Mali and I built the snowman before he was even awake. It has been snowing hard all day, but the warmth prevents the massive accumulation we always hope for.

Mali's Birthday, Take 1

Mali conducts her birthday song, then poses before blowing out the candles on her traditional birthday donut.

Mali Turns Ten!

Today is Mali's Tenth birthday! Few plans: spaghetti dinner, followed by the traditional birthday donut and a present or two. The Big party is Friday.

Last night we went to dinner at Alana's with the neighborhood crowd and watched the Oscars. Jon Stewart was my big draw, and I thought he was great. Mali found the whole thing boring.

Forced March

Mali's team played a terrific basketball game: They tied 17-17, and Mali had a great basket and some super defense.
Afterwards, Mali and I went for a walk with Nancy and Tinkerbell (her oft-pregnant schnauzer). It started small, but we ended up inadvertently going all the way up Cooper Mountain - about 4 miles total, a lot uphill. We stopped at William's, originally thinking that Andrew might still be there, but finally just settling for civilization. We found Larry there alone, and convinced him to give us a ride home.

Weekend

A Very Long week finally arrives at its end. Work has kept Susy and I very busy.

Mali has been wound up over her birthday. Apparently there is a long To Do list waiting for me today to prepare for her sleepover party on Friday. I only know one item: put up her new curtains and curtain rod.
Andrew is spending the night at William's. We had dinner last night with his family. Theresa got very excited over Mali's new sewing kick and gave her some patterns and fabric.
Today Mali has a basketball game against the best team in the league, and the kids all know it. Details will follow.

Sunshine!

That's all. It's just been awhile since I saw it here.

I guess there is a little more:
Susy was up all night working, but now is staying home, and this afternoon we go to the Portland Art Museum's after hours concert, tonight featuring Soul Vaccination.