Remember

Ode to my washing machine:

Remember when we got you?
Back in '98
You came into our household
not a moment too late.

Suzi and I (and mom and dad)
had a garage sale in dreams of you
needing something special
to get our clothes looking new.

You weren't the most expensive,
you weren't the cheapest yet,
we invested money into you
you were a fine little bet.

You and dryer came to stay,
and moved many times
never forgetting
how to get out moving grime.

Lots of moves
you held on well
then Suzi heard
her wedding bells

(she chose the N64, I got the washer and dryer)

I got you,
we moved away
two more years
out the west side way.

Then I got married
out to Hillsboro for you
don't worry little maching
I wore something blue.

And now we're up to 2009
marriage, baby and one due soon
but for you, today
you sung your last tune.

You tried so hard to wash those sheets,
up to the very last spin
maybe it was that extra towel
that did your fine self in.

Now you're full of water,
my sheets are very wet
I am looking for a new machine
to wash and soak and set.

Thanks for all your washings
thanks for rinsing too
I must go on, not pout to much
I do get something new!
(and more energy efficient)

Look, up in the sky...

This weekend was the 22nd annual Hillsboro Air Show. Lucas has gone every year, minus three years. Today, Lucas and my dad went (we didn't think Owen would tolerate the long day and loud noises), which left me, mom and Owen to enjoy our day. We went to the zoo, and then went to a park to watch the Thunderbirds fly. Yesterday, Lucas, Owen and I went to the same park and stood in the rain and watched them. (yes, THAT is true love). Today's weather was much nicer.
They move so fast... it's hard to take a picture. Thank goodness for digital cameras, I took a lot of photos.

Owen really loved pointing to the airplanes. He only did the "whole-body-shake-with-terror" once. And I think that's because he heard the planes before he saw them.

ooooh.... pretty.

Here's mom and Owen watching them.

Owen waiting for the planes... keeping an eye out for them.

And then earlier in the day, the Oregon Zoo. We went to the "birds of prey" show. We were right in the flight plan, a vulture's wing actually touched my hair.

Owen, me and a golden eagle.

us and a red-tailed hawk.

Self-portrait. The polar bear was playing with a big white bucket... really fun to watch.

Owen really loved the duck exhibit. He would squeal and say 'qua qua'.

I think the "adult boy" team and the "girl plus Owen" team both had a great day. We finished up with dinner at a Vietnamese restaurant. Very very yummy.

Chickens

We went to our friends Nicole and Mike's house this past Sunday (yes, I'm a few days late posting). They have an amazing backyard garden, full of Brussel sprouts, tomatoes, lettuces and many many other things. They also have chickens. For their eggs, not their meaty breasts.

Owen really liked the chickens. He would point to them an say "chi chi". When we tried to put him on the ground, he would get a little scared. So would we, since chickens poop ALL THE TIME, and Owen like putting objects in his mouth. It was a win-win carrying him.

Here is one of the chickens : Muppet And here is Muppet's egg, fried up by Lucas. I think only Lucas can get away with asking to fry an egg before dinner and getting away with it!

Owen really enjoyed their couches too. They are a little shorter than ours, so he can easily crawl up on them on his own. AND they had a remote control... what a happy kid!

Where's your...?

Owen is getting pretty good at the "where's your _____?" game. So far, he has down "where's your tongue?" He'll stick out his tongue. "Where's your penis?"... sure enough, like any boy, he'll point to his penis. And here is "where's your nose?" Instead of pointing, he'll just shove his finger up his nose... this photo isn't too deep, but he's lost a finger up there once or twice!

Here is Owen waking up from a nap. Usually Penguin stays upstairs, but he decided he needed him yesterday. Currently, he is sleeping upstairs spooning his friend.

miscellaneous

I realize that I haven't posted blogs as fast as I have been taking photos during the past few days... so, here's my catch up of a lot of miscellaneous photos. So, here we go...

Here's my happy boy in his "college" outfit. He seems like he should be sipping on a cappuccino reading up on Emerson in this shirt. Owen loves the boy in the garbage can!Owen and I went to the zoo yesterday. We got there nice and early before the heat and the crowds hit. We had good timing too... we walked right in and had great views of all the animals. On the way out, there was a HUGE line to get in.

Here are the infamous sun bears. I swear, we always look, and this is only the second time I've seen them!

A giraffe and a giraffe reflection... Owen just pointed and screamed with delight when he saw the giraffe! (he must be related to my mom!)

We found some sculptures that we had never seen before. Owen LOVED the wolves. He almost crawled out of his seat to get to them!

Here's Owen eating edemame and a quesadilla. Dinner of champions.

And here's Owen eating breakfast with Lucas. A spoon is great, but the hand is still faster!

Spoons are messy.

I love Geeks

I love geeks. More importantly, I love the Geek Squad, located in Best Buy. I love their dorky... er... geeky uniforms: white shirts, black ties and even their acne, which I don't think is part of their uniform but it makes them that much more geeky... and lovable.

Our laptop computer died. It worked Thursday night. Somewhere between then and when I tried to turn it on Friday evening, it decided to take a "long slumber", a visit to the other side (I wonder if it saw a white light?). I checked all the power sources, all looked good. I gently rubbed the battery, so see if I could give it a little recharge. Nothing.

We went through the grieving process:
Denial: maybe it will work tomorrow.
Anger: damn computer, it's only 2.5 years old. (old for a computer, but young in spirit)
Bargaining: maybe if I use a different plug it will work... maybe if I press the power key even longer...
Depression: I don't have the money for a new computer... What about all my pictures? How will I do banking, post blogs, check my needless, yet addictive, Facebook account without a computer. Will I have to work an extra shift, just to have Internet access!
Acceptance: All right. I'm sure we can get a cheap computer. Back to school specials are going on... we don't need anything fancy. It shouldn't set us back that much.

So, today, Owen and I took our laptop to Best Buy to visit the Geeks. While I still had hope in my heart... I was prepared for the worst. The nice guy took my computer from my hands, and set it on the counter behind him. He shook it... made a bad face, "I hear a rattle". DEAR LORD, MY COMPUTER RATTLES! That's not good. He pushed the power button, just like I had... nothing. "come on geek, do your geeky best".

Then, he took the battery out of the back, pressed the power button again. (uh, geek... even I know my computer needs the battery to work... I got concerned... is this really a geek, or just a guy in a costume). Then, he put the battery back, hit the button again and... and... it turned on! MAGIC GEEKY HANDS! You brought life back to my dead computer! I love you.

Even more love flowed when I asked how much we owed, and he said "nothing... just run away". So, with Owen in the stroller, and my working computer in tow... I walked, with a spring in my step, out of Best Buy into the warm summer air... what a great day!

IKEA

Owen is quite happy we got an IKEA catalog in the mail (so am I).

Cheap Toy

Owen finds things. He finds thing he probably shouldn't play with, but occasionally I feel they are safe enough for him to keep for a while. Items I take away include: pens, screws, coins scissors and electrical cords. Items I let him keep include: wine corks, DVD boxes, shoes, and today... a milk jug lid. You would have thought I gave him a new pony.

"Oh, milk jug lid... how do I love thee!?"

"I love the way you feel on my tongue, my teeth, my hands...the way you make my eyes sparkle"

"I love that occasionally, I don't even have to hold you with my hands."

He took it upstairs with him, through a diaper change, and carried it back down too. Easy entertainment.

Farmer's Market

This morning we woke and got ourselves ready for the Portland Farmer's Market. Owen is feeling much better from his cold/conjunctivitis/ear infections thanks to expensive eye drops and cheap antibiotics...Lucas and I are still nursing our colds. Lucas with generic Day-quil, me with water. Just water... and I suppose some kleenex. (I hate being sick while pregnant!)

They are doing some construction up at PSU, so Lucas took some time to introduce Owen to Back-Hos.

Then to the market. Owen had his super happy face on. Talking and smiling at everyone who would take a gander at him! We ended up getting a nice gathering of ingredients for a nice picnic in the park.

Some pretty dahlias, and of course Owen.

Being so happy can take it's toll... one passed out baby.

A new experiment

I'm going to Quinton Tarantino this story. Tell it from end to beginning... if only to keep you guessing. What on Earth could make Owen THIS upset (besides picking the boogers from his nose)? "I know they taste good, but you can't eat them. I will take away the blue color crayon if it enters your mouth." Yep, I actually said this... and when his teeth got a little blue, I took away the crayon, and made him cry... super hard...like I picked a booger from his nose.

But before the eating incident, Owen found his new color crayons intriguing.

He'd color with the blue in his right hand, and the green in the left.

He actually started with the green one... do we have a south-paw in the making?

Overall, we colored for about six minutes. Not too shabby. And I almost got refrigerator art out of the deal.

Rose Garden

On Sunday, Lucas made a picnic and we went to the rose gardens to enjoy our feast. But, before we left the house, Owen and I both took a nap. Owen, because he needed one. Me, because I had worked Saturday night. I'm pretty sure Owen took the "cuter" nap. We had wonderful "parking karma" finding a spot right away (a challenging feat for a beautiful Sunday afternoon). After the picnic, full of fresh fruit and an amazing turkey-bacon-avocado sandwich, we played in the grass with a beach ball.

What a great face! He just pushed the beach ball back to Lucas.

Can anyone tell what's wrong with this picture? (hint: it's with Owen... and my fault)

We tried to capture his excitement on video. In the first video, Owen is more excited about the MD-80 flying by than the beach ball. I think you can hear the airplane... you can definitely tell that Owen sees it, and points to it! (that's Lucas' son for ya)

A little more excitement in video number two. But I think he still toned it down because he knew we were filming.

On the walk out, we did some rose teaching. You can point, but try not to touch.

Always stop to smell the roses.