Green Hair!

Just like the Joker!

We love May!

OK, so after a few weeks of inactivity, its time for a bit of a photo dump, but with some context.  May has been a fun and busy month, and as we now sit in the middle of a sunny and warm 3 day weekend in Portland, OR, its time to look back a bit on some things we did this month as we get ready for (official) summer!  

Continued thanks to all of our great family and friends who we love spending (not enough) time with!   Enjoy!  ~The Ericksons

This is a new trick, making "paint" out of chalk dust and water, and then doing cave paintings and hyroglyphics on the cement.  A bit creepy but very fun...

Another Superhero Sunday with our good friends the Bruggers: 

Because Sam's birthday is in July, his preschool class teachers have set up special "birthday" celebration days for kids who have birthdays during the Summer.  And on a birthday day, the birthday kid gets a birthday crown to wear all day.  Just so happens that his birthday celebration fell on our snack day, which is nice....

Sarah and Liz took the kids to Multnomah Falls for a nice mid-week hike: 

We had a great visit from Sarah's grandma (GG!)

Sam made Amy a crown, too (it's pink and she liked it):

Hanging out with our good neighbor Molly: 

Dad went to Seattle last week for a 3-day conference and both kids got Ichiro t-shirts.  Ichiro!

Saturday morning painting distraction so that Dad can make waffles and coffee in peace.  Not entirely successful, but fun anyway...

Lunch at Cousin Kaja's house...

Bath time!

Bike trip to Sellwood Park tonight for a picnic dinner, and Amy's new favorite thing...the big red slide.  

This was today, too.  This is hilarious and cracks me up looking at it.  At Sam's urging, the kids dressed up in life jackets, helmets, and sunglasses to be "spacemen".  The kickboard is Sam's spaceship.  He is taking it very cool and seriously, as you can tell...

Crazy Week

We have had a week of lots of Happy to you songs, travels, tears, help from friends and family and then most of all "hold yous". 

Last week we spent the weekend celebrating my mom's 60th birthday at the beach. We had a wonderful time as a family. We met the "new Sarah" who is Court's new girlfriend. I am not sure if she is the new Sarah what that makes me... It was an ideal weekend with tons of fun on the beach and lots of family time. 

As Sunday rolled around, my parents and brother and I left Portland to join my dad's family in California to celebrate my uncle's life. As many of you know he had been sick for about a year with cancer. The service was an amazing tribute to what a wonderful man he was. It was very good to see my dad's side of the family. It had been at least ten years since I had been there and seen a lot of my cousins. How we had all changed. 

Chris and the kids did an amazing job of keeping the house in one piece and everyone very happy. I can't tell you how happy I was to see them when I got home. I have been doing a lot of "hold yous" since coming home.

The link below will lead you to photos of GG's farm (stopped by on the way to the beach), the beach, and the week without me.

 To photos

Mr. Mom

Sarah is away with some friends for the weekend for a long overdue girls weekend, so Saturday was a Daddy solo day, and it looked kind of like this: 

1. Wake up at 6:00am (Sam - told to go back to bed)

2. Wake up again at 6:30am (Sam - no longer worth telling him that)

3. Everybody awake 

4. Snuggle & jump on Daddy for a while

5. Go downstairs, make coffee, eat cereal

6. Play

7. Go to Sam's school (Childswork) for a work party (digging, etc.)

8. Donuts @ 11:15am (59th & E. Burnside)

9. Powell's Books on Hawthorne

10. Hot dog lunch @ Otto's on Woodstock

11. Watch buddies Quinn and Jack play soccer at Berkley Park

12. Nap (Amy)

13. Mow lawn & pick weeds with Sam

14. Amy wakes up - everybody gets Hershey bars!

15. Check mail - new Tessy & Tab

16. Read Tessy & Tab - they are making smoothies!

17. Make smoothies!  

18. 2 games of Candyland

19. Ride bikes to Westmoreland Park

20. Eat pizza & oranges

21. Feed ducks, swing, slide, climb, etc. 

22. Ride home

23. Bath

24. Watch rest of "Cars"

25.  3 books

26. Bed

27. Dad drinks large glass of bourbon & blogs about fun day. 

The End?

Beach Trip!

We spent the weekend at Gearhart a couple weeks ago (happy birthday Papu!) and the weather was incredible for early April...warm, slight breeze, very nice.  We did a lot of beach playing.  Here are some pictures...

The leader in the clubhouse for the '09 Xmas picture...

Find stick...throw stick...repeat.  

Walking the long path back to the beach house.  I took this with my cell phone...technology is amazing. 

Auntie Liz and Sam did a LOT of running together...up and down the dunes about 100 times, then in and out of the water another 100 times...

Cousin Kaja...

Amy taking in the sights...

Kaja, Amy and Sam...they can swim, right?

More recent wonderful randomness (and evidence that our kids kind of like each other)

Not much more than a shoebox dump of some recent favorite pictures and recent activities.  I love being a dad.  Sarah took the kids to the beach this last week with the Bruggers (Spring Break! Yeah!).  Some fun pictures - I'll let her post. 

Got out the paints last night and spread out some big paper.  Good times by all and a decent resulting painting....

Sarah and the kids planted peas, zinnias, and daisies in yogurt cups on the windowsill.  By seed.  And like a week later they are blooming.  

Sam and I took a MAX ride a few weeks ago...this is Sam in the train in the tunnel

Waiting for the train to come (at the Zoo station)

Amy loves Bob (not quite pictured - Bob on her dress - awesome)

Amy also loves cupcakes...

Sam in the big story tree at OMSI...

Mom's day off

About ten months ago my darling husband asked me if I would be interested in going to the NCAA tournament. YES YES and more YES. For several reasons, one, spend the day watching basketball, two, spend the day watching basketball with my husband, and three, a day to be a real grown up. Needless to say once we got tickets from the lottery (nine months ago) I asked Chris who is going to watch the kids. We'll figure it out when it gets closer was the response.

So as of Tuesday night I had it all figured out, (Thank you Amber and the GREAT Auntie Liz). When Sam woke up on Wednesday morning with a "froggy throat" I went into panic. I kept him home that day and figured a day of rest will make him so much better there will be no chance of us missing the games. (OH how I still need to learn how to hope as a mother.) The morning of we took our time going to school and had Sam and Amy dropped off by 10 to get downtown by 10:30. We had a great morning with no phone calls from anyone... Right before the last game we got the call, Amy has a fever and threw up in the car on the way home, and Sam is crabby and went right to sleep (6:30) when he got home. So the wonderful Auntie Liz took care of my two very sick kids so I could still have my day off. 

Spending the day in their "dammies" has helped today and I am hoping with all hope that by tomorrow morning they will be well enough to head South to Eugene so I can again enjoy a wonderful day of Chris, basketball, and some adult time.

Thank you to my village!!