The Birds are Back

It got up to 60 degrees today!!!

On my way home from my run to Walgreens, I heard birdsong everywhere. Oh, I am twitterpated, too. I can hardly wait for warmer, dryer days.

Had a good meeting with my thesis advisor at PSU this afternoon. I like using the bluetooth hands-free gizmo so I can talk with kids on my cell phone while I'm in the car.

The trimester seems to be off to a good start. I know my students' names, and they are (so far) a genial, attentive bunch. We'll see if senioritis kicks in over the next few weeks.

We heard today that the school district is going to make up the snow days after all, so our last day of school is now June 14 with the teacher work day on June 15. At least those 2 days won't be cut from our pay checks now.

All in all...good news all around. Looking forward to our phone chat on Saturday--shall we begin the call at 8:00 am this time? General Conference from Salt Lake will begin at 9:00 am.

I See the Moon

David sent this sweet video of Arora today:



I think you (Mom) taught this to me years ago. The grandkids like to sing it with other kinds of trees. (Arora says "coconut tree" instead of "old oak tree.")

David says she was singing the song all by herself in the tub this morning, but then she got shy in front of the camera, so he had to help her a little.

Mike also sent a cute photo of Maddy today. We got to Skype with them in New Jersey this afternoon.

Love you! Hope you have a wonderful week.

Home Safe and Sound

We are home. Had an uneventful flight, good weather, arrived 10 minutes early. Had dinner with Julia on our way back to Oregon City, and now we are settling in. We were only gone for 3 nights, but it seems longer than that. Came home to ants in the kitchen! This might be my third time to have ants in all the years I've lived here. They were attracted to the kitchen garbage can.

Here are some more photos from the trip:

Charlie, Abbi, and Arora waiting for the zoo train.

 Lilly and Grandpa have some bonding time.

 Abbi and Arora are such good friends.

 Charlie on the zoo carousel.

 Lilly with her eyes open.

 Grandpa, Grandma, Lilly

Abbi in her Wizard of Oz dress. Her Grandma Laurie made it for her as a Halloween costume a couple of years ago, and it still fits. She loves to wear it - very appropriate in Kansas.

New Toys

This week was payday, and we had a little left over from last month, so Mark and I treated ourselves to new toys.

I bought running gear: shoes, capris, shirt, at the Portland Running Company store in West Linn. I am very impressed with the quality of the clothes and shoes. Yesterday on my way to the track, I thought to myself, "I am an athlete!" It was a surprising thought for me -- I always thought of myself as more of a bookworm, but you know, it's true. I run, walk, hike, canoe, ride my bike, mow the lawn, work in the yard--I love being outdoors and using my body. I wrote more about this topic in today's post on The Skinny blog.

Mark bought a flight simulator computer program. He hasn't been able to use it yet because he's been too busy with end-of-term grading to get it loaded. Also, the computer store was out of the joy stick he wanted, so he'll have to check back next week after our trip. He's been talking about getting a flight simulator for a long time, and a couple of weeks ago he tried one out that a friend has. I don't think I could sit still and do that, but he really enjoyed playing with it at his friend's house.

We joke about me going hiking and him flying overhead in a gyrocoptor to drop off food to me. :)

Last night Mark camped at a local tree farm with the boy scout troop. It was a little damp, but he had a good tent and a wonderful warm sleeping bag and sleeping pad, so I'm sure he was fine.

I'll post pictures of Lilly and the other grandchildren soon!

2 Drowned Rats

Dorothy and I had a fun adventure yesterday. She was out for a walk and got caught by a drenching downpour. She came by the house to get out of the gale for a bit. I offered to take her home, but she wanted to finish her walk. We chatted for a while until the weather calmed down a bit, then I put on my walking shoes and warm coat and went with her. She was soaked to the skin, I was was just good and damp. We had a wonderful visit, and it was good to get outdoors. After our walk, she sloshed all the way home on her own.

We do like to have adventures together!

You can read more about our walk here on her blog.

Here are a couple of photos of Maddy that Mike sent today. What a little dolly. She sure is growing up fast!

Love you! Happy Monday! Happy pi Day!

Celebrity Hammer

If you haven't already checked out Katie's post today, be sure to read it here. It features the hammer Granddad gave to Bryan a while back!

Hillary

Oops - I forgot to include a photo of Hillary with the last post.

She is such a loving and patient mama, and very down-to-earth. It was really fun to spend time with her and Josh and Ethan last week.