St. Patty's Day Parade!

We took Rowsby to watch Tim and the Sellwood Middle School Marching Band in the annual neighborhood St. Patrick's Day parade. She did really well and the band sounded great! 

Tim's Solo

Tim participated in the district-wide solo and ensemble competition today.  For middle schoolers it's not really a competition just a way to try it out and get feedback on their playing and technique. Tim played a piece for the orchestral snare (I think that's what he called it), did a fabulous job, and learned some things (ask him next time you see him!).

This picture is of him as the judge was talking about the orientation of the snare. Tim's jazz and band teacher came to cheer him on (you can see Mr. Arrayan's notes in the front of the shot). Well done, Tim!

More sledding!

Today we were shown "the" place to sled in our neighborhood. It was a wonderful walk to the hill and loads of fun zooming down it.

 That sled Santa brought several years ago is AWESOME!! 

Tim's toes got cold, but I think he still had fun. 

First Day of School

Joe is already out the door this morning to catch the bus and Tim is still getting everything together since his classes start an hour later.  Overall they are excited to get back to all their friends, with some regret that summer is over.

This all seems to be routine now for us with Joe being a Sophomore and Tim in 7th grade.  It should be a good year, each boy having been at their school a year now, knowing the routines, being pretty relaxed in their environment.  It's a good space to be in.

Waldo Lake

	We went camping at Waldo Lake for three nights last week and of course did quite a bit of kayaking.  Our first trip out we paddled out to one of the small islands.  We had it all to ourselves (maybe 1,500 sq/ft) for lunch, some reading, a couple games of cribbage and no leash for Batsy.  The water is incredibly clear and sometimes we'd paddle and then float for a while looking down at the bottom.  The slide show below has more pictures of us out on the water. When we weren't paddling we did a lot of reading (the boys and Holly), some writing (Steve), sleeping (Batsy), and playing games (everyone).

Tim is Twelve!

Tim turned 12 yesterday.  His birthday celebration was a bit spread out between some vacations and camp, so he had a bunch of friends over a couple weeks ago and took them to Laser Tag, a free Slurpee (it was 7/11), and back home for cake.

This last weekend we got together with family for a BBQ and presents, and yesterday was FINALLY the official day.  We played a couple games (Tim won one and lost won), went to his favorite restaurant for dinner, and finished the night off with cupcakes.

July 4th Morning Paddle

We went out on the Willamette this morning.

Happy 15th Birthday Joe!

Joe turned 15 today.  We had a family birthday party yesterday (in the 96 degree heat) and Joe opened some more presents this morning. 

He spent the day reading some new books, playing a new board game, and playing a new video game too.  To top it all off, we went out for pizza (of course).

Drummer Boy

Tim (in the drum line) and the Sellwood Middle School Marching Band marched in the St. John's neighborhood parade. They won 2nd place.

Piggy Sitting

Steve and the boys are on spring break now.  An added bonus is they get to watch the guinea pigs (Barney and Bam Bam) for some friends who are out of town.   The piggies aren't loud, but makes lots of sounds that roughly translate to:  Feed Me Now! (lots of little squeaks) and Leave Me Alone! (a baby wookie growl).  They give the wookie growl to each other when they're both in the same space.

Joe Placed!

Joe placed in all 3 of his throwing events last Wednesday (discus, javelin and shot put) at his first high school track meet. He was most proud of his discus throw which put him in 2nd place in the JV category.

Thanks to Grandpa Denniston for the pictures.

Welcome to The Ravioli

We got our new car on Friday and said goodbye to the "Super Blue" (our blue Subaru) that we've had since Joe was 3 months old. The boys are quite excited. We're road tripping to Bandon for part of spring break and will put the roof rack to good use with our kayaks this summer!

Now to get the stupid decal off the front.

Lights and Camera

Earlier tonight the boys and I (Steve) played with some of the Christmas lights in the back yard.  We tried a lot of different patterns and ideas, most of them worked out pretty well.  There are more in the slide show below.

Then, when it was midnight on the East Coast, we met the neighbors out front and set off all the fireworks we'd bought cheap last July 5th.
We had a good time saying goodbye to 2012.

The Post-Christmas Post

 We had fun with our multi-day celebration of Christmas.  The best part was spending time with family.  The Denniston clan gathered Christmas Eve (thanks cousin/nephew Jon for the duct tape wrapping jobs!), and the Bullocks on Christmas Day.  Below cousin/niece Sidra shows off her new dress and scarf with Tim's latest moustache.

Hanging out at a coffee shop

Last week the boys' good friend Isaac came over.  Steve was out of town and that was also the only time I could get myself in for a haircut.  Instead of getting an ice cream cone near the salon, the boys opted to hang out at a nearby coffee shop to play Zombie Fluxx. 
-Holly

While Steve was off for a weekend of Whist . . .

 . . . the boys and I had an overnight with Grandpa and Sidra (my mom was off with her friends for a night at the beach).  Sidra and I slept in a tent in the living room, the rest of the party opted for more traditional sleeping arrangements.  We had fun reading Tajar tales, eating pizza and pancakes (and waffles), playing Chinese checkers with the board my great-grandfather made, picking Grandma's kiwis, playing Strawberry Shortcake, coloring fairies and princesses, etc.   


 When we got home on Saturday at lunch, I started painting the kitchen.  Not too bad a color for $10 recycled metro paint!

What!?! Steve is blogging about his writing?

That's right, I'm actually doing some self promotion.   I wrote an essay that was published in Brave on the Page: Oregon Writers on Craft and the Creative Life.  It's a collection of interviews by Laura Stanfill, and short essays by a number of Oregon authors.

The book was released through Forest Avenue Press and uses the Espresso Book Machine to print the books.  It's like a photocopier, only it makes books!  Actually, it's pretty impressive to watch the books being made.

Laura did an amazing job with this book.  She is a smart interviewer, gentle editor, and quite brave herself publishing this book.

If you are interested in picking up a book you can check this map, any place there is an Espresso Book Machine it can print a copy of Brave on the Page.  You can also have a copy shipped through this website.

-Steve

Holly Turned 40!

Holly turned 40 back on September 23, and we had a big party the day before to celebrate.  Family, friends from all aspects of her life, coworkers and neighbors past and present came by to say hi, eat, and visit.  Thankfully the weather cooperated (there wouldn't have been enough room inside!).  Here's a picture as things were getting started. 

The rest of the weekend was birthday and family oriented since Holly's sister was in town (it was their mom's birthday on the 21st).   

First Day of School

Joe started high school this morning and Tim started middle school.  Both had good days and are excited and nervous about the rest of the week.

August was Blog-er-ific (minus the blog posts)

We know, not a lot went up on the blog in August.  So here is a quick run down of what we didn't post about.

• Joe went to Trout Creek Bible Camp and kissed the moose a lot. Thanks to everyone who sent him letters and packages (1 package or 3 or more letters and he had to kiss the moose head).
• Tim finished his first summer of Swim Team and completed a Jr. Lifeguard class.
• Joe is on the Frosh/Soph Cleveland Football team.  This is his first time playing football.
• The tent is set up in the back yard and Tim has been occasionally sleeping in it.  He heard there are coyotes in the neighborhood and hasn't slept out as much since then.
• Steve turned 42.  That's enough about that.
• Holly went to Las Vegas on a business trip, came back and bought a tandem kayak.  Those two things are unrelated although it feels like there should be a connection.