Coffee With Elly

Monica's heart's desire (one of them, anyway) was a bike! Michael found the perfect one on Craigslist She told me later that she'd wanted a bicicle with a basket on the front "her whole life." Opening presents with her friend Kylee Spaceman Monica! (At OMSI) Birthday ice cream at OMSI Monica and Kylee examine a "toy giraffe" - made of toys.

The Swing BY  ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON How do you like to go up in a swing,    Up in the air so blue? Oh, I do think it the pleasantest thing    Ever a child can do! Up in the air and over the wall,    Till I can see so wide, Rivers and trees and cattle and all    Over the countryside— Till I look down on the garden green,    Down on the roof so brown— Up in the air I go flying again,    Up in the air and down! Source:  A Child's Garden of Verses  (1999) I'm posting this for my Grandma Mildred, who would have been 96 today. She loved to challenge her grandchildren's minds and relished the time that she spent with them. Most of her grandkids remember her pushing us on her porch swing and saying this poem. I teach it to my children, and hopefully they'll teach it to theirs. Grandma with Judah Ezra and Grandma

Tax season ended promptly on April 15, as it does most years (unless April 15 is on a holiday or weekend). Hooray! To celebrate, we took a day off of school and headed to the beach on Thursday afternoon. We stayed in Seaside, but spent an afternoon in Astoria. An old fashioned arcade in Astoria had a special treat for Doctor Who fans! Judah enjoys roughhousing with his younger siblings! Phinehas rides in a bumper car on "The Boardwalk" in Seaside! Vacation madness caught us and we rented 6-seaters to drive around Seaside. What a blast! Michael said he had to keep telling himself, "It's cheaper than Disneyland.." Elena enjoyed playing in the sand. Phinehas and I built a sand castle! Phinehas tried to help Ella shoot a toy bow and arrow. After attending church in Seaside, we had a picnic lunch in the shelter of a dune by the beach. x Carousel ride in the little Seaside mall. Smile! Phinehas loved...

Easter Lilies for the girls: I think this might be the first year I’ve done Easter Décor. I love the origami eggs that my mom passed on to me. I remember getting them from relatives in Europe when I was a kid. Also, we usually dye eggs at Grandma’s house, but this year they had kind of a lot going on, so I had to step  up and do it myself. Surprise! It was actually kind of fun! Monica did hers, then helped the younger kids with theirs! And yes, the apron was too little, too  late. Phinehas had a great time! Glitter eggs! What will they think of next? Grandma DID get Easter presents for the kids, as she does every year: And finally, all decked out for Easter morning church! Lest anyone forget, I made Elena’s Easter dress. For Monica before she was born! It was my first and last ribbon embroidery project. But every time the girls wear it, I’m so glad I actually accomplished it! Phinehas was really excited about his new spiffy Easter clothes. He gets a lot of han...

When we went to Winco the other day, the kids split off from me for a while to find things to spend their earnings on. Judah bought a six pack of muffins, Ezra bought his own loaf of garlic bread, Monica selected a donut and Phinehas was utterly delighted with his purchase of his own bottle of orange pop.

A couple weeks ago, I took the kids to downtown Portland after school to meet Michael for lunch. He came down and met us outside his building and we walked to Pioneer Square and ate sandwiches and popcorn and celery there. Oh, and some Korean dumplings from The Dump Truck, which just happened to be in the square. Yumm! It was nice to see him during the day and good for the kids to have some time with him, too! After lunch we went to OMSI and explored for a couple of hours. The kids enjoyed the new Mazes section and the Science Playground, especially. We have a membership this year, which makes it so one can go to OMSI without feeling like one has to spend all day there to get your money’s worth. I realize that this isn’t how everybody thinks, but for me at least, it’s nice to have the option of a short and leisurely visit, rather than a whirlwind, “let’s make sure we don’t miss anything in the next 4 hours” tour. We can look at the stuff we missed next time! It was a fun afte...