Spring Break 2010

2000 miles, 500 photos, 40 hours of driving (all by John), eight inches of snow, five dogs, five cats, four cities, four forests, four Happy Meals, three beaches, three dips in the hot tub, two souvenir t-shirts, two loads of laundry, one bay, one ski area, one lake, no rainy days = a great spring break.

Many more photos in a web album. Just click on the link.

Happy Valentine's Day

7th Birthday

Last Friday night we had 14 1st graders at our house for J's birthday. The theme was "game night," and they rotated through four different games. It was kind of crazy, so I didn't have a chance to take many photos.

On Thursday, J's actual birthday, he opened our gifts. He got a skateboard, which he tested out on the treadmill.

Ski Race!

J did his first ski race today! I think he had a lot of fun. J tells me that he lost on the first run because he fell down. One the second run, he won. He got a ribbon for participating, and that's really all it takes to make a six (almost seven) year old happy.

Then J and Dad went to the Bowl to finish up their day. It was dumping snow, so Dad left J in the warming hut with J's new buddy, Coach Lauren, who happened to be working the afternoon shift at the hut. She let J go up to the loft to play with Pumpkin, the resident cat, and she made him two servings of hot chocolate and some Skittles.

Apparently, all this sugar gave J the energy to go ski Upper Bowl with his Dad. Way to go boys.

In case you are wondering, the girls spent the day watching it rain in Pdx.

And because I haven't posted all fall...

Here are a few shots of the kids with the fall leaves in the background.

Cousins with Santa

This is probably the last time all the cousins will be young enough to sit on Santa's lap together! H was really excited to go; however, when Santa arrived and she caught a glimpse of him, you could just see the expression on her face turn to fear. Somehow he wasn't what she expected! She refused to sit on his lap, so sweet 'ol Santa hoisted up Hay instead. H was a real trooper though, and by the end she managed a tentative smile for the camera with Santa.

First Day of School 9/8/09

Driving...

pink camo

Soccer Season

It's soccer season at our house. J is playing and mom and dad are his coaches. I guess it's going pretty well. We don't actually keep score for this age group, so there's no pressure about our record.

They have two games of three on three going on at the same time, so it's a bit chaotic. J coaches one team, while I coach the other. If I had realized how that was going to work, I probably wouldn't have suggested we both coach since that doesn't leave anyone to watch H. Luckily, she isn't the type to wander away, and she has a few parents that she likes to hang out with.

If I haven't posted much lately it's because work and soccer and all the activities of fall have been keeping everyone busy. Oh yeah, and the weather has been sunny and dry, so I've been outside!

Cash for Clunkers

When J compared the bluebook value on the Montero, 60 some odd dollars, with the Cash for Clunkers rebate, there was no question that "Stinky" was going to have to go.

We took her in over ten years ago when J Riley decided he needed a fresher model. She has tirelessly taken us all over the west...after that first breakdown at Wolf Creek. And she faithfully proclaimed J's interests like "Surf the Turd" and "Save the Tram." So in true Currier fashion, "Stinky" went out with style.

After her makeover, J proudly drove her to the Honda dealer.

I Missed the HS Reunion But...

...When I was in Atlanta I got together with two of my friends from high school. Since we all have kids six and under, we met at Kangazoom. What made it even more eventful was that our moms came too. So there we were, trying to catch up on the last twenty years in a loud, choatic environment. I'm not sure we ever actually finished a conversation before someone had to chase a kid, but it was really fun. And as you can see, M and A both produced some really cute kids.

Cousins--Atlanta Edition

When the kids and I went to Atlanta, we met the newest addition to the the Smith family, Baby O. I'm sure Grandaddy L will be excited when he can pitch some balls to Baby O. See more photos of the Smith family gathering in the web albums.