Masks

Upon graduating from preschool, the kiddos celebrated via a festive party with friends, edibles, balloons, chalk, and face painting. The face painter's skills were phenomenal...

Anders wanted a lion mask.



His first glimpse.



Playing the part.



Jorja wanted a "George the Pink Dragon" mask.



Her first (seemingly hesitant) glimpse.



George the Pink Dragon.



Checking each other out.






The balloon frenzy begins...

When Ideal Parenting Becomes Less of a Priority

It certainly isn't a regular occurrence, but there are moments when I simply acquiesce to the persistence of Anders and Jorja's demands. Evenings at the dinner table tend to be particularly fragile ones...

No underwear? Go for it! Thick, cotton tights in all weather? Excellent choice! A video on our laptop? Why not? But hey, at least they're eating tofu cubes, avocado, and nectarines for dinner.

A Favorite Place

I can't specifically pinpoint what it is about the beach -- and bodies of water in general -- that I find addictive, but I find it ridiculously easy to spend hours there. Whether it's the saltwater, sea creatures, rocks, driftwood, or overall expansiveness of it all, the kiddos seem to be in agreement.

Dirt and Dance

The kiddos have kept us busy this last month with walks through the nearby ravine to scout for worms, dance performances, and general nearly-4-year-old demands, ahem, requests. We've also acquired two additional chickens -- both Buff Orpingtons -- which Anders and Jorja have named Flamingo and Fluffy.

Jorja stream-hopping in the ravine.



Meg and Jorja working on their shadow puppetry.



An early worm discovery.



Searching for bug life.



Dance performance warm-up.



Anders starting a foam antler trend.



Drumming with the foam rollers.



Toe exercises with Teacher Emily.



My dancing girl.



My dancing boy.



At one point, Jorja managed to tuck her dress into the back of her tights and dance around the studio with her hot pink tights in full effect.



Teacher Emily's attempt at staging a photo-opportunity for the audience.

The Ideal Playground

At the end of April we met our friends for a bit of beach exploration.

A favorite beach of mine.



Tyler showing Jorja and Scout how to search for crabs.



Anders dodging the waves.



Tasya and Scout navigating the driftwood.



Jorja -- sans pants -- enjoying her freedom to choose.

Edibles

Hens! We have two -- Buffy and E.B. -- living and laying eggs in their 24 sq. ft. coop in our backyard. The kiddos are having a great time chatting with them, collecting worms for them, and feeding them scraps of our food. The next step is screening in our laurel hedges, so the girls don't wander into the neighbor's yard...

Check out Meg's blog for additional chicken details (i.e. How'd we actually end-up with a coop and hens for $80 and a a six-pack of beer?).

Our first collected egg compliments of E.B. -- followed by Buffy about 10' later.



Jorja telling the girls "Good Morning" and offering them her breakfast food scraps.



Our indoor salad seedlings...



and tomato seedlings...



and the whole indoor seedling gang.

The Oregon Coast

Last week, Meg, Anders, Jorja, and I headed to Portland to pick-up Grandma Ruth on the way to our ultimate destination -- the Oregon Coast. What an entertaining set of memories we created...

Those specks on the beach are Grandma and Meg in the rear -- and Anders and Jorja sprinting ahead.



Jorja taking a moment to inspect the sand -- while Anders continues his sprint along the ocean.



Meg and Jorja "running" from the waves.



Grandma in the midst of sand, sun, and driftwood.



Meg and Anders transporting one of many of Anders' "trees".



Jorja flinging herself -- over and over -- off the rocks into a small tidal pool.



Escaping the waves.



Heading back to the beach house -- sans pants.



Tidal pool explorations during a negative tide.



On the hunt for sea creatures.



High and mighty Meg.



Me and Mom.



Me and Meg.



Grandma and Jorja moving driftwood.



Grandma and the kiddos making a "fire".



Jorja at the park across the street from out beach house.



Hanging out on the front porch.



Lounging in the living room.



Interpretive dance with peacock feathers.



Watching the seals across the bay.



A lay-down revolt against taking another step.



Heading back out into the waves.



Bliss -- Part One.



Bliss -- Part Two.



A final day of wave chasing and retreating and chasing and...