mi familia

Happy Halloween

2008-10-31T21:46:00.000-07:00

More Halloween photos are here.
Other recent photos are here.

Before I posted these photos, I saw this quote from Barack Obama, about John McCain:
"Just like every year, he's going as George W. Bush."
Scary, indeed.

Summer fun

2008-09-30T18:37:00.000-07:00

School's Out!

2008-06-13T17:27:00.000-07:00

Joseph and I had our last days of school for the year this week. Joseph had a good 6th grade year and he has finished his time in elementary school. In the fall he will start 7th grade at J.W. Poynter Middle School. He is excited to be moving on to middle school, and where he will begin learning to play the trumpet during his band class.

I finished my first year at Portland Community College, and my classes went well (I have a 3.92 GPA, so far). I am not taking classes during the summer, as I really need the break from the stress of finding time for home, school, and work. In the fall I will begin my practicum (student teaching) at the Child Development Center on the Sylvania PCC campus. I am looking forward to getting into the classroom, but I am really nervous at the same time. I have to put in 9 hours a week while I am practium, plus a 2 hour weekly practicum seminar. I will also be taking 7 other credits (4 classes in total), and I will probably continue working at my current job. It is going to be challenging, but I need to find a way to make it work. I don't want to reduce my school credits, and I can't really afford to work less than I already am, but I want to keep up the good grades that I have been getting.

Joseph has a fun filled summer planned. Here's what he is going to be up to:

Week one: Zones day camp, Duck and Cover, which includes field trips to the beach, Laserport, a paintball range, and archery.
Week two: Zones day camp, Artistic Adventures, where Joseph will learn about talking photographs and making movies.
Week two-three: Joseph is going to New York from June 26th until July 1st to visit his uncle Nick. He will be flying there by himself and will have 4.5 days to explore the Big Apple.
Week three: Joseph will be hanging out at our house until the 4th of July.
Week four: Joseph will be traveling to Medford with his sister Emma, to visit his step mom's parents.
Week five: Zones day camp, Waterlogged. This camp will include a trip to Wild Waves, canoeing, white water rafting, snorkeling, and games of Super Soaker tag.
Week six: Zones day camp, Into the Wild, which includes horseback riding, a trip to Bullwinkles, overnight camping, fishing, and hiking.
Week seven: Another week at our house. I am taking most of the week off from work, so we all will be able to spend some relaxing time together.
Week eight: Wilderness Survival Camp at Opal Creek. This five day overnight camp is based in the historic 1930s mining town of Jawbone Flats. This ancient forest area is about 2 hours away from Portland, but it will feel like it is thousands of miles away. As far as I know, the camp does not have road access that goes right up to it, so you have to hike about 3 miles in to get to the camp. It is totally off the grid and will be a wonderful experience for Joseph.
Week nine: Zones day camp, Adrenaline Rush, including a dodgeball tournament, a trip to Mt. Hood Ski Bowl, gladiator jousting, human foosball, and an obstacle course.
Week ten: Joseph will be spending the week with his grandparents in Hillsboro (probably decompressing from the last few weeks of sheer excitement.
Week eleven: Joseph will be spending the week with us again. I am trying to coordinate a short train trip to Vancouver BC. If this does not work out, we may take a trip to the coast or go camping for a few days.

Spring Break

2008-03-29T06:25:00.000-07:00

In celebration of Joseph's Spring Break, and the fact that I was off from school for a week, I took the week off from work. Olivia came over for a couple of days at the beginning of week, and my friend's 8 year old daughter came over from Tuesday - Thursday. It was a mad house at times, but Oliver loved seeing all of the children. We had some nice weather, so everyone was able to play outside. Below you will see an improvised activity that Joseph, Oliver, Olivia, and Kaitlynn could not get enough of.

Rockin' out

2008-03-22T09:32:00.000-07:00

Joseph and I went to the Wonder Ballroom last night to see a band from LA, Dengue Fever. This group mixes 60's style Cambodian pop music with psychedelic and surfer rock. Most of their songs are sung in Khmer by their lovely lead singer, Chhom Nimol. Some of their newer songs also feature English lyrics. Joseph insisted on being in the front "row", which turned out to be a wise choice because of the number of people in the crowd. The lead singer seemed to love seeing a child in the crowd (she said that it was "family style" tonight), and Joseph got a t-shirt from the band (thrown to him by the bass player, he was so excited).

Dengue fever performing their song, Tiger Phone Card.

Book Parade

2008-03-17T06:52:00.000-07:00

Joseph's school had a book parade last week, with all of the classes creating floats based on a favorite book. Joseph's sixth grade class chose The Kid Who Became President by Dan Gutman. You can see him at the very end of the video. He is riding a small tricycle, wearing a helmet and dark glasses (he's part of the motorcade).

Joseph is on the tricycle, behind the flag.

Riding away.

Grandpa and the Grandkids

2008-02-15T23:55:00.000-08:00

Olivia: Monster Truckin'

2008-02-09T23:45:00.000-08:00

Denise took Olivia to her first Monster Truck show last night, and I just love this picture that she took. Olivia kinds looks like Princess Leia. It was so cute, that I had to share the picture.

It's been a while...

2008-01-29T19:40:00.000-08:00

Here are some photos from the last couple of months. Once I increase the space on my Picasa web album, I will upload more pictures to it so. Things have been really busy around here, so I haven't had much free time for blogging. We are going to make an effort to upload pictures more often.

We are all doing well. Joseph and I are back in school. Joseph is doing after school sports twice a week, and Monopoly Club on Wednesdays. I am in the fourth week of Winter Term, which is going by very quickly. Pieter and Oliver have been spending a lot of time in the house because of the cold weather. Oliver is enjoying running in the house, pretending to cook, pushing his cart(s) around, and playing with Hot Wheels cars. His favorite words right now are: cookie (kiki), JoJo, MaMa, DaDa, bye-bye (buh-by), bath (ba), banana (na-na), baby (bebe), and no. His favorite foods right now are beans and rice, oatmeal with blueberries and cinnamon, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, raisins, broccoli (he devours this), bananas, and of course - cookies.

Oliver playing with cars.

Joseph and Oliver in the tub.

Oliver playing with cars on Christmas Eve.

Joseph in the Christmas snow.

Pieter and Olivia at Cassadi's house.

Moving Day

2007-12-12T08:53:00.000-08:00

We have finally found a new house and have moved everything in. The house that we were renting had been on the market since June, and it finally sold. Given the fact that we received our 30 day notice in the last month of Fall Term, right before Christmas, I was not too excited about this new adventure. Luckily, Pieter found a nice new house that is very close to our old one. This location will make it easy for me to take classes at the Rock Creek PCC Campus, which is just up the road. We are still getting settled in, but things are calming down. I will post pictures of our new place once we finish unpacking. Until then, here is a video of Oliver, Olivia, and Kara.

Olivia and Kara thought I was taking a picture, so they are posing for the camera. They are so silly.

Thanksgiving

2007-11-24T08:28:00.000-08:00

The three camo boys

We spent Thanksgiving with some of Pieter's family in Portland. Oliver loved seeing his cousins, E.C. and Kees. He also liked seeing the dog and cat that were at the house. After having a delicious meal, we took a walk up to Mount Tabor Park. It was quite a walk, especially because we had to carry Oliver without the backpack (1/2 mile, mostly uphill). This was a particularly cold day, so we did not stay at the park for very long. When we were finished, I took Oliver over to Cassadi's house to visit with my family for a little while. There, Oliver got to see two more cousins, making the day a big event for him.

"Oh no, I've been caught red handed."

Children's Museum

2007-11-17T20:00:00.000-08:00

To Celebrate Kara's 2nd birthday, Oliver and I went to the Children's Museum with Cassadi, Frank, Olivia and Kara. Oliver needed a little time to warm up, but once he got the hang of it he loved exploring all of the play areas. He especially enjoyed pushing a shopping cart in the grocery store. He also loved just walking around and breaking in his new shoes (his first real pair). We can't wait to come back.

Oliver vs. the duck

2007-11-05T07:45:00.001-08:00

Staring Contest

On Friday, Oliver and I took the Max out to Ikea. He was very excited when we got off the train because the store is right next to the Portland Airport. He loved to see the huge planes above us and said, "Woo", every time one went by. We went to Ikea so that I could get Oliver a small table and chair set. We also found some real kitchen items for him to play with (he really enjoys "mixing" with an empty bowl and spoon). He is getting a kick out of the table and chairs, even though the chairs are still a bit too big for him. (Somehow, I think the duck won their staring contest...)

Happy Halloween

2007-10-31T21:51:00.001-07:00

EC and Kees pay Ollie a visit

2007-09-26T09:11:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Oliver was visited by his two cousins Emery Crispin and Kees! They came all the way from Sheridan and had a great time playing with each other and running around the house.

Trying to walk

2007-09-17T19:38:00.000-07:00

Oliver has decided that it is time to graduate from walking on his knees, to walking on his feet. He was very determined to get it right, but as you can see it was exhausting. He still prefers his knees, but I can see him running in the near future.

Taking a Ride

2007-09-11T21:00:00.000-07:00

A few days ago Oliver thought it would be a good idea to empty out a drawer and use it as a means of personal transportation. Unfortunately the high price of pretend-gas prevented him from getting very far.

Asleep on the job

2007-09-01T00:27:00.000-07:00

Sorry there haven't been many posts lately. We have been very busy - taking naps! I blame the heat, of course, but it probably has a lot more to do with laziness. As you can see, Oliver is no slouch, he's been hitting the books hard. So hard he knocked himself out.

Cassadi and Frank's Wedding

2007-06-28T08:11:00.001-07:00

Cassadi and Frank's wedding was on Saturday and it was a wonderful day! Cassadi looked beautiful and it was exciting to see them very much in love. Joseph was also very handsome as the ring bearer (his suit from India came in handy). The event was at my aunt Lea's house and the delicious wedding cake was made by my cousin Carrie. The pictures that we took can be seen here. I hope to get more from other people soon.

What a big boy!

2007-06-22T23:04:00.001-07:00

Oliver's one year check-up was yesterday. It's amazing to see how much he has grown. He now weighs 21 lbs., 11 oz and is 31 inches tall. He has come a long way in the past year.

Oliver's First Birthday Party

2007-06-17T00:17:00.001-07:00

We had Oliver's first birthday party yesterday and it was a wonderful day! Pieter's brother Andrew and sister in law Katherine Jane came by with their two sons, EC and Kees. They live about 50 miles from us and we do not get to see them very often. (Unfortunately, we did not get pictures before they left...) We had lots of good food: homemade hummus (lots of garlic and kalamata olives) with garlic naan, layered bean dip with blue corn and sesame tortilla chips, banana cakes and brownies. Kara even tried to feed Oliver some bean dip. Joseph and Olivia were a big help: entertaining Oliver and Kara, helping Oliver open presents, putting together new toys. It was wonder to have so many people that I love in the same room. (This is kind of an opening act for next weekend's event, Cassadi and Frank's wedding). You can see all of the pictures from the day here.

Oliver's cake was really cute, but he did not really care for the blueberry cream cheese frosting that I put on it. After he had a fresh banana (and calmed down), he devoured a plain banana cake.

The cakes were in the shape of a star. This made them really easy for his little hands to handle.

Choo, Choo!

Kara helped Oliver try out his new toys.

Kristyn's Graduation

2007-06-16T22:21:00.001-07:00

My youngest sister, Kristyn, just finished completing her GED classes and exams. Her graduation was on Thursday, so Oliver and I headed out to Mount Hood Community College to attend the ceremony. It was wonderful to see her hard work pay off. She is planning entering the Accounting/Business Administration Program at Everest College in Portland, along with one of my other sister's, Cassadi. I am incredibly proud of Kristyn!

Happy First Birthday, Sweetie!

2007-06-14T08:24:00.001-07:00

NaNa

2007-06-12T21:08:00.000-07:00

Oliver's favorite food right now is a banana. When he wants one, or sees one, he will ask for it by name: NaNa. It is so freakin' cute. Watch as he makes this one disappear.

Olzilla, Baby-Lord of the Baby-Wasteland

2007-06-01T12:55:00.001-07:00

The mighty Olzilla looks on benignly as his attendant Teletubby minions offer praise.

Hard-Drinkin' Baby

2007-05-27T12:30:00.000-07:00

The funny thing is, when you try to pull it out of his mouth he won't let go. He's got a jaw like a pit bull and he isn't afraid to use it. I have bite marks all over to attest to that.

Oliver the Diaper Head

2007-05-25T14:28:00.000-07:00

The other day I thought to myself "Gosh, you know what would be hilarious? Putting a diaper on Oliver's head!"

I was right, it was hilarious.

At first he didn't mind having a G Diaper on his head, but then he started to get annoyed with it. Or maybe he noticed I kept laughing at him and taking photographs.

Handsome Young Men

2007-05-25T09:34:00.001-07:00

This is an outfit that I found in in India. It fits Joseph perfectly. He is so handsome.

Oliver is wearing a Kufi, which I picked up outside Haji Ali Dargah.

Joseph is busy reading a comic book.

Mealtimes are fun when Joseph is holding the spoon!

Funny Monkey

2007-05-24T21:56:00.001-07:00

Joseph received a package from Haley, Isabelle and Sophia while I was in India. Inside were some cute Korean stickers and pencils, two Korean coins, a letter from Haley and this wonderful mask. Masks like this are a very necessary item in South Korea because of the pollution and yellow dust. We will be sure to pack it when we visit!

2007-05-09T20:34:00.000-07:00

The weather has taken a turn for the nice here in Portland over the past few days, so today I decided to let Oliver play outside for a bit.

He really enjoys digging through the grass to find dead leaves. Of course he tries to eat them. But I haven't found any in his diapers. Not yet.

Gathering at Leah's house

2007-05-02T08:50:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, we went to a barbecue at Leah's house. It was a beautiful day and everyone had a wonderful time. The highlights of the day were: Seeing Ellie and Oliver together. Pretty soon they will be running around and getting each other in trouble. Seeing Joseph play with a dog. The Parkers got a dog recently and Joseph has been hesitant to visit because of it. It was great to see him playing catch with Cody. Joseph even rubbed him on the back to say goodbye when we were leaving.

Oliver and Ellie (with Danica and Judah)

Joseph playing catch with Cody.

Kyle and his friend Plank.

Oliver, you better lay off the grass.

April's photos

2007-05-01T08:07:00.000-07:00

I have uploaded photos from April to my Picasa Web Album. Click here to see them!

Check out this website

2007-04-21T16:40:00.000-07:00

Click here to see a familiar face.

Saturday ~ the 14th ~ Market

2007-04-15T21:27:00.000-07:00

Joseph, Oliver and I took the Max downtown yesterday for a little adventure. We met up with Denise and Josh (Jr.) at the PSU Farmer's Market. We stayed there long enough to buy some cheese, then we made our way down to Pioneer Courthouse Square to catch a Max to Saturday Market. We came across R2-D2 on our way there.

R2-D2 is now a mail box in disguise

When we got down to Skidmore Fountain, we met up with my Dad, Cassadi, Frank, Olivia, and Kara. It was a beautiful day and we made our way through the many vendors and without spending any money. With an adult to kid ratio of 1:1, it was a challenge to maneuver through the crowd at times as it seemed like everyone was downtown.

A busy day at Saturday Market

Joseph, Oliver and I stayed downtown for a while after everyone else decided to head home. Joseph was enjoying taking pictures and videos of everything while we were shopping in Pioneer Place. At times it was hard to keep up with him (especially because Oliver was on my back). I can't understand where he gets all of his energy from.

A quick snack

I got a little break while nursing Oliver outside one of Joseph's favorite stores, The Fossil Cartel. The woman that runs the store was very nice to friendly. She even took some pictures of Joseph and asked him to e-mail one to her so she can put it online.

Inside a cave (in the store)

Posing with amethyst

Of all the pictures that Joseph took yesterday, this one is by far my favorite. After a couple of takes, he was able to shoot this great photo of himself.

The Legendary Joseph

Spoon Cam

2007-04-05T20:55:00.000-07:00

More visiters

2007-03-28T09:42:00.000-07:00

My sister Jessie and her friend Sarah recently drove up from Palmdale, California for a visit. Last night, Jessie, Kristyn and Sarah joined us for the evening. We had a delicious dinner of spaghetti and meatless balls.After they left, Pieter and I watched "Idiocracy". This movie is about two people think they are going to be "frozen" for a year as part of an Army experiment. When they wake up it is actually 500 years later and the world has become inhabited by the stupidest people that you can think of. Funny thing is, I see stupid people like that every day...

Grandpa, Cassadi & the girls

2007-03-28T09:41:00.000-07:00

We had a special treat Saturday: My dad, sister Cassadi, and her two daughters came over today. Olivia is almost 4 and Kara is 15 months. They have been trying to come out to our house for over a month, but the weather was not cooperating. We finally had a somewhat nice Saturday, so they were able to visit.

Oliver and Grandpa

Oliver and Kara

Meredith and Olivia

Toast

2007-03-26T08:24:00.000-07:00

This one is Oliver sitting in the high chair, right after an accident that required an immediate bath. He is getting ready to enjoy a delicious piece of toast.

2007-03-22T09:27:00.000-07:00

2007-03-20T18:57:00.001-07:00

This is Oliver about a month ago, before he was really crawling well. You can hardly catch him now. If you listen really close, you can hear Pieter and Jeremy geeking out in the background.

Yum!

2007-03-11T09:23:00.000-07:00

2007-03-07T19:34:00.000-08:00

Oliver's new high chair arrived today. It is wonderful to finally be able to have him "eat" a meal with us. His favorite foods right now are banana and sweet potato.

Surgical success

2007-03-04T09:53:00.000-08:00

Oliver's surgery on Thursday was a success and he was able to return home that same night. He was very tired Thursday night and did not have the energy to do anything other than nurse and sleep. I am not sure if it was the Morphine or the exhausting day wore him out, but something helped him have a restful evening. By Friday he was pretty much back to normal. He has not been content just being held and laying on his back. As you can see, he is very happy "crawling" around on the floor. Not bad for someone who has had five incisions in some rather sensitive areas of his body.

2007-02-28T08:51:00.001-08:00

Oliver is going to the hospital on Thursday to have a laparoscopic orchidopexy, which is is a procedure in which a surgeon fastens an undescended testicle inside the scrotum. This is going to be an outpatient procedure and it will take place at Doernbecher Children's Hospital. Pieter and I are understandably nervous about the thought of someone operating on our sweet little man. But my immediate nervousness stems from the thought of not being able to nurse him after 4:30 am on Thursday and not being able to give him any clear liquids after 6:30 am (we check in at Doernbecher's at 8:30 am). I am anticipating a very unhappy camper come 7 am when we leave the house. Hopefully he will let Pieter console him because he is probably not going to be happy with me.
Joseph is also nervous about the surgery. He is very protective of his little brother and won't really let me talk about the procedure in front oh him. Luckily he will be at school during the day and with his father after school. If everything goes smoothly, we will be home from the hospital before he is back from school and he will be able to see Oliver after he is back home.

Oliver's two teeth

2007-02-26T18:58:00.000-08:00

Oliver now has now has two teeth and sometimes he feels a bit "bitey".

look closely...

2007-02-26T18:49:00.000-08:00

"We'll Give You The Shaft - Any Length"

Joseph's letter to Dubya.

2007-02-24T12:50:00.000-08:00

This is a copy of a letter that Joseph sent to the President earlier this month.

February 1, 2007

Dear President George W. Bush,

Hi. I am Joseph. I am writing because it is a requirement of my primary teacher. I do not want to!

US troops are dying. You have to be kidding me. STOP SENDING TROOPS TO IRAQ!!! You are making hundreds of families very sad!!! Please stop!!!

There are more than 3000 US casualties. Consider the following: Start looking for Osama Bin Laden. I abominate you.

Thanks for reading this.

Sincerely,

Joseph

my two wonderful boys.

2007-02-23T20:08:00.000-08:00