Home Again!

I just returned yesterday afternoon from a good visit with First Energy in Ohio.
This morning I drive Mali to school early so she can pick up and finish some homework she forgot yesterday.

Our schedule:
Friday (today!): 21st anniversary date - starts at the Portland Art Museum and wanders from there.
Saturday: MaliSoccerGames at 8:30 and 2:30.
Sunday: Another MaliSoccerGame at 11:30, and Susy leaves for San Diego for a conference - returning late Tuesday.
Thursday: Mali's field trip to Jackson Bottom Wetlands.
Friday (next): Last Day of School - Kids home early.

Then I go to Redmond for our User's Group meeting, coming home early Thursday morning to get on a plane to Michigan for Kathy's wedding!

The past two weeks:

The Scleroderma auction was fun. The theme was humor, with a comedian (David Crowe) and everything. It was really great to see folks again: Mary, Amy & Stathis, Mike, Anna & Ashley, Dave & Susan, Grandma & Grandpa. This year we did not even bid on anything, though we bought raffle tickets, and Andrew and Mali sold them again. Ashley helped, but refused to wear the hat.
We spent the night at G&G's house, took a tour of the neighbor's house for sale, then Andrew RUSHED us home so he could get his birthday present from Rian. She nicely gave him the Disney version of Scene It?, because she always wins the regular version and she thought he'd have a chance at the Disney version. Not so much - she creamed him at it anyway. Afterwards we took Rian along to GoGo's for Andrew's birthday dinner.

Mali has started soccer practices, and Andrew is swimming twice a week for swim team. They will both do the Murray Hill team again, which starts soon after school is out. They are both counting the days (10 more to go!)

I went up to Redmond for work Thursday morning (May 22) to catch a lunch meeting. I was only slightly late after it took me four and a half hours to get there! It was a good trip, and work is again both productive and fun. I returned home late Friday night and avoided the Memorial Day weekend traffic.

Memorial Day weekend was non-stop:
Saturday we had a wonderful dinner followed by a fun poker game with Rian, Jason, and Terry at their house. Jason grilled steak, chicken, and shrimp satay, and made a trifle for dessert. Andrew was the big winner at poker, so he was happy.

Sunday we were up early and driving to get to the memorial for my Grandma Lil. I spent most of the first three years of my life at her house while my dad was in Vietnam, and much summertime there later - all of it embedded in memory as the most wondrous days of my childhood. Hers was the hug I most looked forward to.
I will have to write more later about that. The memorial was in Bremerton at my cousin Liana's house. Grandma Lil was the glue that held us all together, so there was a lot of planning of next meetings and events: Jennifer's Wedding, Olympic swimming (We all hope!) and Christmas. Also talk of Tara's turn on What Not To Wear, the televised date will be much advertised here as soon as it's determined. It was really great to see everyone. We will all miss Grandma.

We came straight home afterwards and went to a big BBQ at Deborah's house.
Memorial day we slept in, the kids went to the (now open!) pool, and then we went to Paul and Nancy's house for grilled steak and chicken.

I worked Tuesday but took the rest of the week off. I finally finished painting the kid's bathroom and put up the towel rack the kids accidentally tore down.
Work is busy but again productive and fun, and Monday I fly to Ohio to help some folks sort out some computer applications for upgrade.

I'm home!

I made it home today, after another long day in BC. Mali had play practice - Alana picked her up since I was still at the airport. Andrew had track practice and was able to catch a ride with Eric.
Susy made spaghetti for Andrew, since he will attempt to break the freshman 800m record at tomorrow's track meet. They go against Aloha H.S., and I plan to go watch. Look for an update here tomorrow afternoon.

Heading to Canada

I'm off for Canada this morning for work - setting up the Energy Accounting functionality for BCTC in Langley, BC, just East of Vancouver. I'm flying, since it takes an hour less than driving and doesn't involve me behind the wheel for six hours.

Home from Canada. Insanely busy!

26 hours and counting until we fly away for our Spring Break cruise to the Caribbean!
(Aruba's prediction for Tuesday: 89 degrees)
I have yet to start packing and am instead frantically working away before deserting my friends and coworkers with a project theoretically going online next Friday. The only person packed here is Mali, our little planner.
Not so little anymore, the nurse measured her at 5'3" yesterday, so it's official: she is as tall as Susy now. Mali also got her eyes checked, and it was like a cartoon where the character reads the eye-chart's bottom line, which is the tiny little copyright notice at the bottom. Mali has extraordinary vision. She must have gotten that from her grandfather.
Mali was visiting the doctor to investigate a problem on her forehead. A small black spec that looks like a blackhead, but has taken up permanent residence and is actually under the skin, is really a small piece of rubberized turf field. My theory is that she must have had it driven into her forehead on a header during a game or practice. We will see a dermatologist after our vacation.

More new news below: Andrew's track meet! Mali's report card! Susy's review! My product delivery to Canada! It's all Good!!!!!

Andrew's first HS track meet! My return from Canada.

I stayed an extra day in Canada (everything works!!!), and got home too late Wednesday to see Andrew's first high school track meet. This was in Gresham, with Southridge vs. Beaverton vs. Gresham. Southridge clobbered them both. Andrew ran with the JV and won the 800m (2:08) and took second in the 1500m (4:47), losing to an upperclass Southridge Varsity runner who was demoted for the day because of a missed practice.
Andrew texted me with the news just as I was getting on the plane in Vancouver. I forwarded it to Grandpa, but I never heard back. Also Susy, who had already heard from our happy boy. He hadn't run track for over a year, and was doubting he could match the times posted for last year's JV team. Instead, he beat them! Woohoo!

Mali's First Babysitting Job

Mali babysat last night at the neighbor's house two doors down. It was a small test run, just for an hour while Karen went to her daughter's kindergarten conference. I don't know any details yet - other than it went fine. I'll post more later, along with the photos from Mali's birthday party.
I can't right now because I'm still in Canada.

Poker! First Bus trip! Fly to Canada!

Since we had leftover food and cake from the Mali's party, we invited Rian and her parents (Jason and Terry) over for a poker night. Andrew and Terry were the big winners. It was a great time. Mali played and is getting much better. She took lots of breaks to prepare food for everyone. She made us all cucumber sandwiches that were very tasty. Jason brought a great bottle of wine again: 2002 Sketchbook Cabernet.

Mali wanted to go to the mall with all of her new gift cards. Rian suggested they take the bus. I was all for this idea, since Rian had done it before and the kids had not. I love mass transportation. Andrew refused, and Susy caved into driving them, but they took the bus back from the mall. Without incident. Susy picked them up at the Safeway at the bottom of the hill, since it was raining pretty hard when they returned.
Mali didn't even use her gift cards! They had lunch at the food court, wandered around a bit, and came home.

Today I'm working madly. I get on a plane at 4:30 to go to Canada. I'm meeting Brian tonight near Vancouver, and tomorrow we're going in to BCTC's new control center to train folks on one of the products I work on.

Less than a week until we hit the sunny Caribbean! Woohoo!

Crazy Day, Part One: Morning

6:30 -
Susy got up to start on Mali's cupcake cake, and couldn't find the cake mixes we thought we bought a couple days ago. So I joined her on an early morning trip to the store for cake mix and items for tonight's party as per Mali's instructions and carefully plotted list. That girl loves her lists. Mali was up when we got home and the kitchen was a hectic place to be while Susy tried (and succeeded) to bake a cake while Mali and I prepared our breakfasts (cereal, oatmeal, and chai.)
9:00 -
Mali had to be at play practice and Moose at the vet's office for some shots. Susy took them while I worked and checked on the cake, which wasn't getting done. This, along with several phone calls from work, distracted me so that I didn't think to wake Andrew up (at 9:00 as I said I would) until two minutes to ten when Susy mentioned how he could have cake pieces for breakfast and I looked at the time. Track practice started at 10:00.
10:00 - late -
Susy drives an unhappily scrambling Andrew to track practice and the Jog-a-thon.
11:00 -
Susy, home for 20 minutes working on the cake, leaves for an 11:00 doctor's appointment and trip to the bank.

All this with about a dozen phone calls for me from work. only one (Hi Jim) about my trip to BC Sunday afternoon that I'm scrambling to prepare for.

Photos!

Things have been very busy here this week, with Andrew's finals, Mali preparing for her surprise party (!?!), Susy changing back to her old job (still at Intel), and my trip to Vancouver, Canada for work on/off/on/postponed to Sunday night.
Southridge dismissal is before noon today and tomorrow because of finals, then both kids get Friday off school for a teacher workday. Andrew has Rian and Tiana over here now, eating whatever they can find in the kitchen and calling it lunch.
Andrew hasn't been running track because his ankle has been bothering him, but tomorrow is the time trials for the 400m so he's going to give it a try.

Go check out www.flickr.com/photos/oregondad/ to see lots of new photos, most from Mali's very small present opening ceremony the morning of her actual birthday last week.

Home from Washington.

I'm glad I won't be coming home from Washington tomorrow, since both Clinton and Obama will be there with their security clogging up traffic. There's caucuses Saturday. Today's drive home was very pleasant, and relatively speedy.

Andrew had a carb-loading pasta feed for the swim team before tomorrow's District meet. He has three events tomorrow, and we don't know what on Saturday and Sunday. He made the local Beaverton paper for last week's swim meet, though they messed up and said he got second in the breaststroke, but it was the backstroke. Here's the article: http://www.beavertonvalleytimes.com/sports/story.php?story_id=120240492473525700

Music Man

Highland Park is performing Music Man this year. Mali is going to try out. She thought auditions were today, but they're next week.
Andrew has discovered Texas Hold'em on Facebook, and it's been sucking up a lot of his free time. Saturday is our poker game at Joan's. It will start late I think, since Andrew, Eric, and Rian will all be at the district swim meet until 7:00 or so.

Susy stayed home and in bed today. She's not any better for it, though she's determined to go to work tomorrow.
Tomorrow I head up to Redmond.

Maiara arrives!

I just dropped Moose off with Alana so he can play with Max all day, since I am heading up to Washington for work. Mali is excited to pick him up after school because Maiara will be there too! She arrives from Brazil at 11:00 today with her big sister. Susy and the kids have been invited over to dinner tonight to celebrate her arrival. Sadly, I will miss it. Instead I will be at my work group's holiday celebration tonight, drinking beer and playing darts.

Last night we had dinner at GoGo's to celebrate Andrew's straight A report card. Rian came along too, which made it that much more festive.