owen's first communion

In May, Grandma Sally flew into Oregon to spend some time with the family and to participate in Owen's First Communion.  The weather cooperated, and Sally had her first sunny visit since we moved from San Diego.  We started the weekend with a trip to the Oregon Gardens, where things were still in spring bloom.

Owen worked all year to prepare for his First Communion.  Part of the preparation was going with me to the mall to get his first suit and tie.  Only one of us was excited about that part (hint: it wasn't Owen).   He looked so handsome!  He did everything that they had practiced perfectly- and was the first one up from his class.  He wasn't fully prepared for the taste of the wine- it will be a while before he accepts wine again.  Clarissa from Zion was also in his Communion class- she's standing in front of him with the black hair.  We returned home afterward for cake and snacks.  It was wonderful to be able to share the day with Owen's Godmother Sally!

spring!

Closing out April.  Oregon is really beautiful in the spring with tons of flowering trees, especially cherry trees and tulip trees around our house.  We opened up the back porch in April, and opened up the sandbox Richard made for the boys.  At some point this month we appeared to have worn out both kids simultaneously.   Plus a few silly pictures from us goofing around on the computer.

Owen prepped all year for his first Communion in May.  In April, he had his final classes and practices, and he and I made this banner to hang in the church.

ben in april

April appears to have been a month of Ben smiling for the camera.  One of his friends from pre-school had his 4th birthday party at a fire station.  Ben loved every minute of it- he got to play with the equipment and go for a ride in the truck.  He and his best friend Sterling (brown haired boy in the middle of the 3) both wore headsets for the ride.  The fireman reported that the boys said "poop poop pee pee" for the entire ride, giggling the whole time.  After I apologized for the potty language the fireman assured me that the language was not uncommonly used by the firemen.

We appeared to have some sunny warm days in April, leading to trips to the parks.  The other pictures... well lets just say Ben is a fun guy to have around.

spring break!

Spring Break '13!  What wild locale did we choose?  Why our friendly neighbor, Seattle.  We hadn't been since Ben was a baby, for Richard's 40th birthday.  It's not a far drive, and there is a ton for the boys to enjoy there.
The theme of the trip appears to be transportation: an elevator to the top of Seattle's tallest building for a beautiful view, a ride on the new ferris wheel, all sorts of planes at the Boeing museum, the ferry to Bainbridge Island, the monorail to the see the Space Needle, the Duck boat/truck tour, and another elevator to the top of the Needle!
We all enjoyed the Boeing museum.  They have a wonderful space exhibit, and an Air Force One and a Concord we were able to walk into.
We went to Easter Mass on Saturday night at a cathedral downtown.  It turned out to be a very long vigil, but Owen was a trouper and the candlelight service was a powerful experience in the large, beautiful church.
Sunday we had Easter Brunch on the Space Needle and fit in our families first Duck Tour- something Richard and I seemed to enjoy the most (we were the ones singing in the back row).

most of march

Well, I really did it this year.  The usual summer gap of 2-4 months became a 9 month gap this year.  I am very sad to say that I am unlikely to remember lots of what has happened.  However.  I will not let this year go unrecorded in the blog.  I will be posting month by month (or event by event) from now till the end of the year and I will catch up!

So based on photographic evidence, it appears in March that Owen and Richard had their Blue and Gold dinner for Cub Scouts.  We went to parks quite a bit.  There was a rainbow over Corvallis.  And Ben and Laurel played dress up.  Sounds about right for March!