Category Archives: Thomas

Summer in Oregon: Lavender Daze Festival

A couple of weekends ago I dragged my family of boys to the Hood River Lavender Daze festival.

It’s easy to be festivaled-out by the middle of Summer here in Portland. By the time we reach August it feel like we’ve already had a street fair in every major neighborhood and festivals celebrating everything from Beer to Blues to Tulips. And just when you think there can’t be anything more to be festive about, you’ll see an advertisement for the Portland Pirate Festival or the Naked Bike Ride.

Not that we’ve attended many festivals this year. The age of my children and my husband’s aversion to crowds means we spend more time being festive in our own backyard than in some hot tent-covered gathering of like-minded individuals. While I might make it to the Zombie Walk one day (probably not), for now I’m mostly content enjoying our own little corner of the city…with one exception.

The Lavender Festival had been on my radar for a while and, this year, I was determined to make it happen. So we set off on a beautiful, sunny, hot Saturday morning to take a road trip through the Gorge to Hood River.

I can quite honestly say that the Lavender Festival is the most relaxed Summer event that I’ve attended in a while. It helps that as soon as you exit the car, you are hit in the face with the most amazing scent of Lavender. The flower is known for it’s relaxing properties and, if I didn’t fully believe it before, I do now. I have never felt more calm and collected after an hour long drive. It’s like I couldn’t even hear the children bickering. anymore Or maybe they weren’t fighting at all. That’s the answer – fill my house and car with Lavender and the fighting will stop. I think I’m onto something.

Did I mention that it was sunny? VERY sunny. Which meant a lot of very bright photographs. Not that I was deterred. I took three or four (or 50).

One day I’ll go back and take a photo of this scene without the people, and the tents and the cars.

We quickly grabbed some lunch after we arrived – amazing wood fired pizza. I started with the cherry and sausage and we all shared the blueberry and lavender pizza for dessert. When in Rome…

Apparently bees REALLY like lavender. It took a lot of courage for the boys to walk (gently) through the lavender fields. Thankfully, no stings.

But lots of direct overhead sunlight.

After lunch I managed to avoid buying anything while we checked out some of the vendors. The boys picked up some free “divination rocks” – cast-off pieces of blown glass courtesy of a very talented glass artist. Then I talked them out of needing a “Lavender Wand” after explaining that it was decorative and not magical. P.S. We’d just come off a week of Magic camp.

Then it was time for some more frolicking through fields of flowers.

Until Samuel declared it was too hot and we took a time out in the shade.

And then picked a bunch to take home.

After about two hours of lavender overload, we headed home – stopping on the way to buy some fruit and enjoy an apple cider slushie (for the kids) and some harder cider (for the adults).

This is also where we took a few crazy photos by the red wall.

And then we headed home. The car smelled incredible and both boys fell asleep. Coincidence? I don’t think so.

Summer in the City: Mississippi Street Fair

Attending the Mississippi Street fair is somewhat of a tradition in our family. I was a little disappointed when we missed it last year – although we were in Australia so that helped ease the pain a little. The year before we took our Japanese visitors and found it to be the perfect opportunity to immerse them in a slice of real Portland – even if this version of real Portland was a lot more crowded and noisy (and just a little more crazy) than the average day. I can’t find our post from 2010 so we may have missed that year as well, but I did find our 2009 visit and let’s just say that I was not prepared to look at photos of my teeny tiny little babies on a Monday morning. I may have to go curl up in a ball somewhere to get over the realization that “Super Why” is about to turn 8!

This year I decided to take the boys to the street fair while Kei stayed at home to work on the yard. Pretty sure I got the better end of that deal. We arrived at 10am to beat the crowds and I’m glad we did because it started to get insane when we left at about 12:30, although we missed a lot of the live music which was a shame. Still, the boys had a great time and were incredibly patient with me as I insisted on visiting every single booth. I love this age because they still like to hang out with their mother and yet don’t need a stroller or other sort of containment device to ensure they stay close (most of the time, anyway).

Here are a few highlights from the day.

Starting strong with a few Mexican wrestlers running down the street because… well I have no idea why.

The ninja nesting dolls that caused me to say “no, we are not buying them” about 20 times over the course of a couple of hours.

An impromptu art opportunity courtesy of OMSI.

I get so excited when my kids use color – it’s a rare occurrence.

Shave ice! (and the last piece of evidence before Thomas lost his cap).

An alien. Note to self: must visit the Pecularium sometime.

This painting was a favorite.

And I wanted that suitcase but have no idea where I would put it.

I definitely DID NOT want to take these home.

A sidewalk shave – comes with free whiskey

So, I feel like I have to explain this next photo. I really liked the look of these hand-painted flasks and I thought Kei would like the Sake one so I took a picture. And then I got home to review my photos and realized that I also took a photo of a really cool rooster with a slightly offensive message. My apologies.

Quick stop to climb some fake trees (notice that the cap has gone).

And a honey stick because they hadn’t had quite enough sugar yet.

We ran into a friend – and bigfoot.

This guy was blowing bubbles off his balcony. Great way to get into the spirit.

And, just before we decided the crowds were getting too much for us, we enjoyed a little music. I love that there’s always at least one person who dances like nobody’s watching. I tried to encourage my kids to dance but they were having none of it.

And that wraps another fun year at the Mississippi street fair.

 

Water Babies

I think we can call 2013 the Summer of swimming, well for the kids anyway. After years of intermittent swimming lessons, we decided this year to enroll the boys in six weeks of daily lessons.

It was risky move given Samuel refused to enter the pool when we last tried this approach. He’d sit on the stairs and refuse to budge despite bribery, threats and pleas.

I’m thrilled to say that, this year, Samuel is like a different child. Or maybe he’s just the same child with a couple of extra years under his belt. He was a little tentative getting into the pool for his first lesson, but as soon as his body hit the water he was all giggles. My stubborn little boy even decided to participate. That’s huge!

Thomas, meanwhile, has been swimming underwater, practicing his freestyle and overcoming his fear of the deep end of the pool. He’s becoming quite the little fish.

So, swimming lessons have been a huge success for us this year. The only thing that would make it better would be if they let parents in the pool on 95 degree days. It’s really not fair to make me watch the boys enjoy the nice cool water while I sweat on the sidelines, although I have managed to read a book or two and, when I get tired of that, I can close my eyes and pretend I’m on a beach in Maui.

100 Years Young

Our neighborhood park celebrated it’s 100th anniversary last night with a 12 hour party. We headed over at about 6pm to eat (bad hotdogs), drink (just a little) and be merry.

I took this first photo at about 6pm. By the time we left at 9, the park was a lot more crowded.

The first thing we did was to join our friends while we ate dinner and listened to some fantastic big band music.

After the kids enjoyed a free ice cream, I took a group of them over to the bouncy house – so we could wait in line for 30 minutes before their five minute bounce.

While I waited in line, the boys wrestled…

…the girls danced…

…and ran around…

…or just waited quietly and watched others enjoy their bounce.

FINALLY the bouncing began.

And then ended just as quickly. The kids seemed satisfied but I felt a little short-changed, even if it was free.

But at least that meant we didn’t miss out on seeing my first ever real-life maypole. I’m not sure I fully understand the concept of the maypole, but it sure looked pretty.

On our walk back to the other adults, we bumped into a crocodile wearing swim trunks (as you do).

We also dodged a few jugglers.

We arrived back at our picnic spot to discover that the music had turned from big band to funk… and that’s when the dancing started.

I wish I had this guy’s moves.

My boys asked me to dance and it was so much fun! Thomas gave up after one song but Samuel and I got our groove on for quite some time until the lure of the iphone became louder than the music. In fairness, they were both pretty exhausted and a little wind down time was needed.

We headed home at about 9pm as the sun started to disappear. We didn’t have the stamina to stay for late night movie.

Good thing too, because I could still hear it playing when my head hit the pillow at 11pm. Such a fun way to spend a warm summer evening and a fitting way to celebrate 100 years.

Goodbye Pre-K…. Forever…

Excuse me while I reminisce a little. Just over a week ago my baby (MY BABY) finished Pre-K. It was an emotional day, not only because the baby years are officially over, but because we said goodbye to a teacher who cared for both of our children during a year when they seemed too tiny to be in Elementary school. Although tears threatened to cloud my strong composure, I didn’t cry. A miracle really because I feel like crying at the end (and the beginning) of every school year. Once those hormones kick in during pregnancy, they never truly leave.

The kids spent the first week of their holiday at Zoo camp and IT WAS AWESOME! I picked Samuel up after the first day and asked him how it was and he said “GREAT!” He rarely says great to anything. During the course of a week, between them they got to touch a rabbit, Australian walking stick, turtle, lizard, boa constrictor (!) and a hedgehog. I was most envious of the hedgehog. They’re heading back to Zoo Camp for another week later in the Summer after Japanese camp and outdoor camp.

Honestly, the logistics are a tad overwhelming. I can’t really complain because I signed up for this in the hope of saving a few dollars. Nanny’s are expensive and that was really the only other option. We’re also restricted in day camp options because rule #1 for me is that both kids need to be able to attend the same camp and there are not many camps open to kids entering kindergarten. Still, the boys seem to be enjoying themselves and I’ll only need to work late into the night for a few more weeks…

But before I completely move onto Summer, I need to look back at the last week of school. It’s almost like if I didn’t blog it, it never happened, so bear with me.

A couple of days before school ended, parents were invited to listen to the first grade kids present their insect project that they’d been working on for a few weeks as well as a Japanese reading. Can I just take a moment to thank the first grade teachers for not scheduling this on the last day of school? I’ve already experienced running between classrooms to give equal time at class parties and I was grateful not to have to worry about it this time around.

First up was the Japanese class where the kids read their interpretation of The Hungry Caterpillar. The best part about the reading is that we were able to witness Thomas’ leadership skills in action. He helped the other kids get into position and assisted them when they had trouble reading the Japanese characters.

He was pretty proud of himself when he finished.

Then he had the chance to read a story he wrote about his family (all in Japanese). His Mum is “very nice” and his Dad is “very fast”.

Again, the best part was the opportunity to witness Thomas’ kindness when he asked if other kids whose parents weren’t there could read their stories to us as well. So, so proud.

After a brief change in location, we headed to the English classroom to hear Thomas present his project on ants, complete with table of contents. It was awesome and I may have learned a fact or two.

He was most proud of his scorpion vs ant picture. I can see why.

At the end of the week I was able to attend Samuel’s year end party. It began with a group story…

…and progressed to sushi rolls. It was chaotic and noisy but so fun to see Samuel in his “natural environment”. That kid has grown up so much in a year that it makes my heart hurt – in good and bad ways.

After we got home we opened report cards and they were… terrible! OK, I’m kidding. They were perfect. I may be bragging just a little but I can’t help myself. We’re so lucky to have such wonderful children…

… and I’ll remind myself of that tomorrow when they’re driving me crazy.

Parenthood is all about the ups and downs, but mostly the ups.

 

Then and Now

It’s the last day of school today which means lots of reflection about how much the boys have changed in just nine short months.

THOMAS THEN AND NOW

  • When Thomas began first grade he was struggling with his reading. We were told that he was within the normal range but it still felt like a hurdle, one that I wanted him to get over mostly because I knew how much he would love reading if it was less of a struggle. At the end of first grade, he wants to read chapter books and our days of spelling things out to hide our conversations from the kids are over. It’s really incredible and I am so proud of how far he’s come.
  • He struggled to write more than a sentence or two at the beginning of first grade but last week read us an insect report that he wrote – more than 10 pages, complete with a table of contents.
  • He started the year with all but one of his baby teeth and now they’ve almost all been replaced, making his smile even bigger with those two huge front teeth. He also asked to grow his hair out (no more buzz cuts) which makes me realize that this is just the beginning of the many decisions he is going to want to make for himself in the coming years.

SAMUEL THEN AND NOW

  • When Samuel started Pre-K he seemed so little. There were many mornings when I had to peel him off me while he cried for me not to leave. Now he gives me a quick kiss and hug and barely looks at me while I walk out the door.
  • At the beginning of the school year Samuel could read some letters and knew how to write a few letters in his name. Now, he can write his name in English without even thinking about it and and even copies his name in Japanese. He recognizes words in books and sometimes surprises me by reading a street sign or book title. I have about 20 letters that all say “I love you Mum”.
  • He GREW – about 3 shoe sizes and almost skipped a full clothing size. He is no longer the smallest in his class (not the biggest either) and his baby features have faded. He is well and truly a boy.

Ahhhh – the bittersweet feeling that comes from being proud that your children are growing up happy and healthy, that they’re learning and developing minds of their own but, at the same time, they’re GROWING and there’s just no stopping it. I don’t have babies anymore. Today, we’ll say goodbye to the Pre-K teacher who taught both Thomas and Samuel. In a thank-you card I jokingly said that we should have another baby just so she can teach that one as well because I’m not quite ready to say goodbye to Pre-K forever.

But I will because I have to and, besides, Kindergarten will be fun too and Second grade is a whole new world we are yet to discover. I’ll just keep telling myself that until school starts again in September.

Visiting Old Friends at the Oregon Zoo

It was a 75 degree Sunday, Kei was playing golf and had to get the kids out of the house. We arrived at 9am when the gates opened and stayed for 4.5 hours, saying hello to every single animal. We’ve had a zoo membership for about 5 years and so now some of the animals are like old friends. It felt good to be back.

Thomas put himself in charge of the map which only resulted in a few arguments.

As we walked around, I posted on Facebook about how grateful I am that our stroller days are behind us. We now have so much more freedom to relax and take our time without having to find ramps or stop for endless potty and feeding breaks (although we had a couple).

I am also grateful that I can stop and take a photograph without the fear that one my kids will run off while my back is turned for 30 seconds

We arrived just as the bears were being served breakfast.

This is the crowd that we had to navigate for a glimpse.

A favorite from the day. Goats are pretty cool – and able to stand still for a long time.

A quick stop to climb some statues.

It amuses me that his fingers are in the Lion’s nostrils. Looks uncomfortable.

Another favorite.

A tip for managers of Zoos around the world – if you want kids to read about animals, put the information on some sort of screen. Printed signs were ignored but if there was a screen around, we stopped Every. Single. Time.

Crickets and Scorpion lollipops. YUM!

This is the first time that we’ve been through the bird walk in a while. Samuel’s verdict? “It smells really bad in there.”

Overall, a wonderful, relaxing, sunny day at the zoo. I’m sure we’ll be back soon.