Over the break, Kei and I tried our best to get the boys out of the house each day for some sort of physical activity. Sometimes it happened and we wore them out enough for them to sleep well but other days saw us barely getting out of our pajamas. When it’s dark and cold in Portland, the thought of getting dressed can sometimes seem like just too much effort.

On this day, we braved freezing temperatures to ride our bikes to the grocery store and then onto a relatively new playground near our house. Nothing too thrilling, but family time nonetheless and a reminder than we don’t need to hike a mountain to get out and have fun with the kids. The playground was built to be accessible by kids with disabilities and the boys just loved it. I can’t believe it took us so long to try it out. My favorite part? The fake grass that looked and felt almost real but came without a side of mud. I’m tempted to lay some in our backyard.

Oh, and I know for a fact that we were braving freezing temperatures because it started snowing while we were at the playground. Not a blizzard, but a few tiny little flakes. Still, I live in Portland so calls of “it’s snowing!” soon rang across the playground – most of them coming from the adults. Those calls faded when the flakes stopped falling about 3 minutes later.

Samuel struck a pose for this next photo. Watch out America’s Next Top Model.

I asked him to let me take a photo of his pink cheeks and nose.

Getting to know the locals.

This adventure marked the first time that Thomas rode his own bike on the road. Kei rode up front with Samuel in the bike trailer and then I brought up the rear. We took the back streets but it was still a little terrifying to know that my baby could drift into the street at any moment. I may have sounded a little frantic at times as I reminded him to watch the road (not me) and look out for parked cars and keep to the right. Still, he did a great job and only complained that his legs were tired for the last 15 minutes or so.

So proud of him, although I needed to find a little zen of my own after the stressful bike ride.

Life and lack of motivation have both been getting in the way of blogging lately. I realize it’s usually “wordless” Wednesday, but I’ve been experiencing an overwhelming lack of words lately so here are a few random midweek updates.

• I’ve discovered that both of my boys like to read by themselves at night before turning the lights off. And it’s hard for me to say no when I grew up doing exactly the same thing. (Secretly, I’m happy about it but don’t tell them that).
• I am reading the first Harry Potter book to Thomas which is fun for both of us and may have started a new obsession (and inspired this year’s Halloween costume)
• Also, I suspect that Thomas may be part monkey.

• Samuel has also started a new obsession (for him) – Star Wars. May the force be with us.

• Samuel’s class performed a Japanese bunny dance/song for the parents last week. Pretty darn cute.

• Samuel is settling in well at school, although we’re starting to realize that starting school and soccer at the same time might not have been a wise decision. There have been a few meltdowns during drop off with at least two occasions where I’ve had to peel him off me so I could make a quick getaway. Not the most pleasant start to the day.
• On the up-side, he loves learning Japanese and has been proudly counting from 1-10 (ichi, ni, san…) and singing the same songs over and over and over again until we finally have to ask him to stop.
• Kei spent last week in Toronto on a work trip so I took over his “Little Kicker” coaching duties. In a word, exhausting. It takes a lot of skill and patience to hold the attention of five 4-5 year olds for a 45 minute game while also trying to get your own reluctant four year old in the game with the other eye tracking your seven year old as he keeps himself entertained. Needless to say, there are no pictures. But here’s one from last week…

• After months of sunshine, autumn looks to have descended upon Portland. With it comes plans for Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas. Part of me is excited while the the rest of me is a little terrified of the busyness that comes along with lots of plans.

• And, finally, I was inspired by this article about putting yourself in the photo. I realize that when I put together our 2012 photo book, that there will be very few pictures of me on the pages. I’m starting a new leaf with this photo. (taken with incredibooth for iphone). More to come – although they won’t all be posted here. Baby steps.