can't type....

....B is sleeping.

Walter and Bruce's visit plus the girls and I take a spontaneous trip to the beach:

one week just wasn't quite enough...

Blake's dad George and his dear wife Gigi stayed with us this past week. They were the perfect guests! Didn't hear a peep, helped with dinner and cleaned the kitchen every night! They even filled up the Suburban with gas. We tried to sell them on Portland the whole time they were here--of course, it is more complicated but we all do wish we lived closer (they are in Fresno.) Of course, they got to see us in all of our glory--rowdy kids, irritated parents, B and I argued for a few of the days....but George just said "Fuck it! you guys are doing a wonderful job. None of that matters. We had a great time." Aw, shucks....are you sure you can't handle 300 days of rain??

Our itinerary:
Sunday--they arrived, had a nice steak and salad dinner
Monday--we sailed but there was NO wind, me and G took the kids to the beach
Tuesday--Body Worlds at OMSI, then lunch at Bay 13 in the Pearl, Blake gave Mayan bangs without asking me, he slept on couch;-)
Wednesday--stayed home for the 4th, G made jewelry with the girls while I got my botched wax fixed, had ribs, coleslaw and watermelon salad
Thursday--D and G went to Forest Grove to the famous sake maker SakeOne, I played at park with girls then B and I kissed and made-up, went to our new favorite sushi restaurant
Friday--Multnomah Falls and picnic, made quick chicken sandwich dinner then Blake, D, and G went and saw the Moody Blues at the Arlene Schnitzer
Saturday--Blake took D to Music Millenium, then made a quiche for lunch, met with photographer Amy at boat for a family shoot including a lovely windy sail, D made us ppast with leek, cabbage, and fontina for dinner
Sunday--they were gone before we awoke *sob* (that was the plan though--they didn't just disappear!)


Photo highlights:

our guest room is ready to recieve

blake reading an old family letter

scoping and hoping for some breeze

deep thoughts from the bow

a bustling family dinner

D and MG waiting for sushi

a picture perfect lunch

how's your food, B?

the sushi stuffer

a man, his iced coffee, and a waterfall

what a cute pair!

my new favorite Lou-B self portrait

easy, breezy, beautiful...cover girl!

what a lovely mist

i heart nature

sailing slideshow

ha! my first youtube upload.....

this is for you, george.

my father-in-law george is, in my humble opinion, the best father-in-law one could ask for. george loves the finer things--italian food, cocktails, the sopranos, his bmw convertible. george works out, does yoga, and gets massages every week. he emails us self-written movie reviews, the lastest real estate numbers, and new york times articles---but NEVER spam. he talks about the weather. he loves his wife, still give her kisses in public after 25 years. even when he's grouchy, there is a playful twinkle. he calls the bathroom the "head." george calls, but never gets on your case for not calling. he listens, he laughs, he cuts through the bullshit.
george is the one you call when you can't make a decision. even if he's in the judges chambers, he tell the lawyers to wait, "my son is on the phone." his advice is always right on--but he's still got your back if you don't take it. he's available. like he's been sitting poolside with a scotch and cigar just waiting for your call. he's the Judge. to me, he's much more than a father-in-law, he's a father figure.

happy father's day, D.

the perfect afternoon

while blake was at the boat with mayan on wednesday, it stuck me that it might be the perfect afternoon to visit the new Rembrandt exhibit. we became members of the portland art museum on our last to pdx (pre-move) so we can visit for free. i called blake and we decided to meet uo there. i know it was meant to be wen i found a parking spot right behind the museum overlooking the sculpture garden. plus i found a spot right next to mine and called blake to see where he was--he drove by and snagged it just in time!

first we stopped at the cafe and blake and i shared some wine (!!!--for those of you who know, blake NEVER drinks) and a light lunch. then off to see the paintings which were not just Rembrandt but his Dutch contemporaries. we used the audio tour which is great and i love that mayan likes tohear the kids and adult version of the audio guide--she is such an art lover at heart! i learned some cool things, although honestly i find this period to be too dark in terms of color and more interesting to hear about than look at. my favorite was a still life with skulls, a burning candle, and an hourglass, representing lifes frailty.

anywho. i had a moment in the cafe where i realized that even though we have visited museums (and enjoyed thier cafes as well) in many big cities on every vacation, this was the first time we LIVED there. (Great museums including the Guggenhiem, the Met, MOMA SF, Seattle Art Museum--our first museum visit together, and Vancouver Art Museum--twice) i teared up thinking "why did it take me so long to move to a city that gives all of the things we LOVE to do?" it feels so right. anytime, on a whim, we can look at art, bring our sketch books if we are so inclined, share glass of wine, browse the museum gift shop....be the art-loving family that we are, here in PORTLAND!

for the record...

I realize that Blake and I and the girls lead a VERY special, and blessed life. Blake works maybe one day a week, my only true duty is as a wife and mother, and we have basically our whole lives open to pursue pleasures and learning opportunities and adventures...or just be lazy and putter around the house (you would think that with all of that time on our hands my house would be immaculate--but you would be very wrong!) Of course this does not mean we have trouble-free lives, no sir-ee. Do we maybe spend too much time together?--possibly! Do we drive each other crazy?--absolutely! Do I look forward to having a "real" career someday?--hell yes! But for now, we've got a family to pour ourselves into, and this here is a typical weekend:

she's having a baby!.....the breath-taking Helene celebrates her any-day-now status with a family baby shower. we drove to bend on friday so we wouldn't miss it!

the girls got pretty nostaligic on the old house when i went to water the lawn so we decided to camp out there that night. we got some foam pads at freddie's really late after the party and the girls were out in like 30 seconds.

left-over pizza and some House, MD on the portable player--we were set!! too bad the batteries died halfway thorugh the episode. *sniff*

saturday we drive back to portland to catch the MDC picnic in sellwood park. here's blake trying to steal a baby.
just kidding--that's baby kiran, my friend breana's newborn. blake sure does get smilie around babies....i get the hint, honey!

sunday, before sailing we spot the huge carosel at the jansen beach center. we can't NOT take a spin....

blake said he almost barfed. next time he'll take the pictures, i'll watch the kids.

see! you can be safe AND cool at the same time

man, that girl really does have her "sea legs"--MG on the bow sprit. (hard to tell but there's an airplane taking off in the distance--they fly over constantly. i love the constrast of seacraft and boatcraft at this marina!)

wow, a picture with me in it that i didn't take myself!

"we're too sexy for this boat..."

laying on the bow with my feet in the air...'cause it just felt right

ooh, baby, you pull down that sail!

my favorite place to be now, looking out over the bow sprit. maybe by the end of summer i'll have a teeny-tiny bit of color on my legs.....

stopping at a beach on the way home never hurt anyone, right?



xoxoxo