Category Archives: Pictures

Posts With pictures in them

Counting down the days to the start of the season

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3/12/12 is the official start of the Timbers season but there are preseason games starting in mid February and for the boys and I those games can’t come soon enough. I am far more excited for the season to start than the boys are but I know that they want to get back to the afternoon games of the Reserve league. We have been singing songs all winter to help us through the dark days and the EPL games over the computer have helped soothe the wound.

Apart from the fanaticism I have for the Portland Timbers I am most looking forward to the time to get away for reasons that have nothing to do with they boys. Lately my time away from home has been Pre-school Board meetings, PTA nights, and volunteering at the school to raise money. It is time away from the boys but it isn’t exactly time doing something that is refreshing and renewing to my psyche. I need some “other” time and I need it soon.

Popularity: 5%

Forgeries, or encouraging creativity

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There has been a good deal of coloring going on in this house lately. Whether markers, crayons, paints, or oil pastels the boys have been putting color on paper and creating their masterpieces at ab alarming rate. This period has seen some real growth in realism as Primo has a torso on his people now, not just arms and legs coming right out of the head. Segundo has started drawing cars that even have wheels on them, albeit right next to each other in the middle of the blob. It’s progress that comes from repetition and patience. I had an idea to find some pictures on the computer and have the boys recreate them on their papers and this has proven to be fun and really amazing to watch. They take a moment to decide if they are going to match the color or the design or both and then get started copying what they see in their own way. I hear this is how all great artist start, copying the greats. Segundo has little patience for it but Primo really gets into it and wants me to join in. He assigns me quadrants and checks my work at regular intervals. He’s a bit of a micromanager but hes cool with multiple coffee breaks so I can’t complain. In the pictures below you can see the original picture and the one that Primo and I made. This is a really fun way to incorporate art into play and I would highly recommend it for parents wanting to do something creative with their kids.

Original

Primo's Copy

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Meeting Mater face to grill

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The boys got the chance to see some of the characters from their favorite movie in life size form and they loved it. They wanted to climb in and drive them but then decided since they were cars that were alve you couldn’t climb in them. It was a deep philosophical discussion on what it means to be alive.

Popularity: 9%

Tear drops, pontoons, and roasted marshmallows

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Last week the boys and I went with my parents to Central Oregon to go camping for the week. We loaded my dad’s tear drop trailer he built from plans he found in a 1947 Mechanics magazine and headed South East. Along the way we ran into an accident that had Highway 26 closed while they investigated so we took the time to have some dinner in the middle of the road. With no sign of the road opening we doubled back in search of alternate routes and as we drove the back roads to our camp site darkness and rain came in heavy doses. The thought of setting up a tent in the pitch black pouring rain didn’t appeal to any of us so it was hotel room instead of a camp fire that first night. The boys prayed that the rain would stop and the next day we found our camp site on Lake Simtustus.

The camp ground was one that my dad used when he was working out in the area last year and most of the residents still knew him and his unfinished trailer. They gave him a hard time for not making in progress but you could tell they loved having him back. The boys sought adventure so we hiked a rocky hillside down to sandy beach and played in the lake. The whole trip both boys were up for anything and hardly fought with each other. The fresh air brought out the best versions of my kids and probably the best version of all of us. We rented a pontoon boat and cruised the lake end to end stopping to have a swim and grab a drink from a spring coming right out of the high rock walls.

We moved onto another camp site on another lake for a couple more days and did some hiking through the arid landscape. We found caves and looked for rattle snakes before cooling off in lake Billy Chinook. I have written about Segundos aversion to smores before and while that was unchanged on this trip we did find that he is the best marshmallow roaster we have ever seen. He has the patience to slowly spin the roasting stick close enough to the heat to soften but far enough away to keep it from burning. We placed a graham cracker on the fire pit grate with a piece of chocolate melting, then added a bit of peanut butter, and finally topped it off with Segundo’s almost liquid marshmallow for the single greatest smore the world has ever seen. A single tear ran down my cheek as I savored the gooey crunchy creation.

We made it home with no real injuries save a minor sunburn for me and exhausted from a great trip with my parents. We were well feed by my mom’s fantastic cooking, even on a camp stove and grill. On the way home we talked about their favorite parts: riding bikes with grandma and papa, swimming at the sandy beach, riding the boat around the lake, and waking up to a snuggle around the camp fire. We had a fun time and have already started planning our next camping trip. Now if we can only make sure my mom is there to cook and my dad is there to get the fire started and pack the truck with all our gear.

Popularity: 6%

Papa’s got a summer bag

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Now that both boys are diaper free I’m not having to carry a diaper bag around every where we go, but that doesn’t mean the bag stays at home. Having a well stocked bag is key to parent on the go and with summer in full swing we are often out of the house searching for adventure. I’m not one of those anti-diaper bag guys but you won’t find any girly bags in this house. We use a Dickies Messenger bag with patches and pins celebrating the greatest soccer team in the world, the Portland Timbers. Here is the rest of of our summer bag inventory:

  •  Sunscreen for those fair boys and their translucent skin
  • Spare choonies and t-shirts
  • First Aid bag with band aids, ointment, medical tape, daddy’s allergy meds.
  • Wet Wipes, even without the diapers these are must haves for messy kids.
  • Gold Fish or some other snack for emergency hunger pains.
  • Plastic cups for splitting up beverages on the go.
  • Smarty Phone
  • Digital camera

Keeping a well stocked bag makes it easier to get out the door quickly and still have what you need. What do you have in your summer bag?

Popularity: 4%