More Catching Up

Yes, I know. I'm WAY behind. Better late than never, right? If it bothers you too much (NATE ROLLINS!!!!) you don't have to read my blog. So, catching up...


Look who graduated from preschool! Also, look who just rolled out of bed to come to the graduation. (NOT Andrew, the guy behind Claire.)

Baseball, baseball, and more baseball. The good news: Sam's team took first place! This also meant we went to A LOT of games. It was fun though. Sam is finally at an age where the games are exciting (and stressful).

Some of his fellow Phillies.

There he is on third base. As a lefty, this is where he lives. He did a great job.

Here's his #1 fan. She actually watched the games. The #2 fan is on the playground. #1 and #2 were kept happy with a steady supply from the snack bar.

Lauren is always raising the bar on the drama level in our home and the dance recital was no exception. Literally an hour and a half before curtain call she decided to give herself a hair cut. ("It was bugging me.") Lovely! We had to rush to the salon to get it fixed. She didn't seem a bit bothered. In fact, she seemed quite pleased with herself. I think she figured out the quick route to the salon. So much for the bun she was supposed to wear! This turned out to be a dream for Lauren: a trip to the salon, and allowed to wear make-up - all in the same day! I, on the other hand, was a bit frazzled.

Here she is back stage with some friends.


Flowers from Mom and Dad and Grandma and Grandpa Brown. She did a great job. She knew the routines and even smiled!

Birthday Surprise!

For Andrew's birthday I decided to surprise him with a trip. I showed up at his work to whisk him away and the surprise was on me. He WASN'T there! Cam forgot all about the trip and sent Andrew out on some errands. AHH! I was completely freaking out, so when Andrew finally got there I said, "Hey, we gotta go!" Andrew: What? Go where? Me: To the airport, now! Andrew: Why? Me: For your birthday. Now move! (Needless to say this wasn't quite the conversation I planned in my head.) We go zooming to the airport, run to the shuttle, and fling our stuff at the Sky Cap. This is when Andrew FINALLY figures out where we're going. He never even asked on the way to the airport! Talk about trust. Well things just keep getting better because Good News! Andrew's drivers license expired the DAY BEFORE!!!! Seriously, what are the odds? By some miracle the Delta guy gives us the green light and we run right onto the plane before it leaves. At this point I started having bad vibes about the trip.

It was the first time either of us had been to Portland and we were not dissappointed. Check out the view from our room.



We ate dinner at a little restaurant that actually floats on the river. While we ate we watched boat after boat of rowing teams go by. Here's a shot from across the river looking at our hotel.



We wandered all over the city. My one "must" was Powell's. If you are a book lover this is Mecca and you need to make a pilgrimage. We spent a few hours in there and the time just flew by. The only down side was trying to narrow down my purchases to what I could fit in my suitcase. I completely failed to take a picture here. :(

One of the highlights was the jet boat tour. This is way better than an old person river cruise. This thing goes way fast and the tour guide would do spins at his leisure and completely soak us. It was a riot!


Here are the waterfalls we saw...


We also went to the Farmers' market by PSU. We saw flowers, produce and tons of yummy baked goods. We ate our way around this beautiful part of town.




Another highlight was touring around on bikes. We rode up and down the Willamette River. Andrew felt a little uneasy crossing bridges on our bikes. He really didn't like when we had to wait on the bridge while it was raised to allow a boat to go by. There is no gate or anything, just a serious drop off. I had fun pretending I was going to fall over. (Probably mean, but I just couldn't resist.)


We also saw this guy...


The last day we wandered all over Washington Park. Everything was so GREEN!


Before I went to get Andrew I told the kids about the trip. Sam was so upset. To make him feel better I told him that we would bring him back a souvineer. His response? "Oh great! (total sarcasm) What are you going to get me? A piece of poop?" So I am sure you can understand my great pleasure in finding this...



And yes, we did buy it. Aside from actually starting our trip, it was a huge success! We had so much fun and I LOVED surprising Andrew! Thanks to Kelli and Cherie for child care - it wouldn't have happened without you.

Lauren's Dance Pictures

Here's our beautiful Lauren (and friends) in their costumes for the upcoming dance recital. We can't wait!

Major Milestone

Look What FINALLY Happened!

After many months (three) that darned tooth finally came out. I've never seen a loose tooth hang on for so long. It probably wanted to enjoy all the sugar that it receives for as long as possible.




Here it is! Say goodbye. The Tooth Fairy will be coming soon. Sam's tooth pillow (compliments of Grandma Brown) has been patiently waiting to be of use for over six months now. We are SO excited!


So excited that Sam had to call his grandparents IMMEDIATELY! Then he talked me into driving up to the Church where his Dad was playing basketball so that he could share the good news with him too.

I have to admit this is pretty thrilling stuff. We hugged and screamed like we had won the lottery. (Funny since this will actually cost me a buck!) I remember being happy when that tooth came in and now I'm elated to see it go. Looks like my little guy is growing up. I'll be sure to let you know when I spy any underarm hair!

Cruise

So... the cruise. I know I need to post about it in detail. However, my sister-in-law is reporting the cruise so thoroughly and so funny that I find myself asking "Why bother?". I am therefore directing any who are interested to visit Kelli's blog. You can just click on "Dave and Kelli". It's really simple. Just look over to the right a bit. There you go. Soon I will post some additional pictures of our own.



This is the fabulous dress I was forced to wear as a result of a sick and twisted Secret Santa in the Rencher family. When this picture was taken I had already paraded around the ship in this hot number and then performed a killer rendition of Bust A Move at karaoke. But it just didn't feel like enough. Why pass up the opportunity to take an awkward prom picture when wearing an awesome prom dress? I especially like the weird head tilt on Andrew. Remember the dance photographers? "Heads closer, chin down." What were they thinking?

Side note: Not to brag or anything, but I think I look smokin' in this dress. If that's not dead sexy, I don't know what is. Andrew is SO lucky!

A Preview of Things to Come...



I seriously cannot look at this picture without laughing hysterically. Thank you "Dead Lady" for giving me only the BEST cruise memories. I plan to do a thorough cruise review as soon as I can obtain the necessary video clips. Stay tuned!

Some Things We've Done

Christmas in California was great! The Brown cousins and 70 degree weather - a perfect combination.

Andrew and I wasted AT LEAST 20 hours on this puzzle. I might be cross-eyed for life. Thanks Mom!

We tried to take the whole family ice skating. The girls only lasted about 20 minutes. Sam thought he was Apollo Anton Ohno, racing in and out of people. My description? A cyclone. I'm not sure how he didn't crash because he looked completely out of control the whole time. Needless to say, he loved it.

A trip to the salon with the girls. Claire does not follow conventional wisdom and proved two important things. 1. Yes, two-year-olds CAN get manicures. 2. Yes, you can wear your swimsuit on a snowy day. Just add boots.