A Trip to Mt. Hood

We spent the day after Christmas at Timberline... our first skiing day of the season. Here are some photos of the Jubilee crew hitting the slopes, as well as enjoying their holiday gifts.

Merry Christmas!

Christmas came VERY early today. The kids were up before dawn, ready to seize the day! Here's a quick photo album that includes Christmas morning as well as the past few days spent enjoying the season with friends.

That's all for now... time to make more coffee and look for the living room floor! As Emily said in the note she left for Santa last evening, THANK YOU FOR EVERYTHING.

Tis the Season...

10+ inches of snow this weekend has not slowed down our holiday celebrations. On Saturday we braved the elements to attend a German Gleuhwein party. Click here for photos that include our host, Peter, lighting the Feuerzangebowle.

On Sunday, Emily hosted a tea and cookie party for some friends. It was intended to be a mom/daughter event, though she graciously allowed Jake and a couple of his friends to join in... after all, Santa could be watching and Jake did help make the cookies!

4 days of no-school...and counting

It just won't stop snowing! Here are some photos of the kids making the most of their unexpected time off... they've checked out every hill in the neighborhood; built snowmen, igloos and a number of sledding ramps, and continue to check the news regularly for the latest school closure information.


It's been 4 days and counting. If they're off again tomorrow, they won't be going back til the New Year. More snow is expected this weekend. Glad the mailman finally managed to deliver our tire chains!

It's Still Snowing!!!

The kids have been sledding all day. Click here for photos.

We have several inches of snow, making our street a perfect sledding hill... except of course for the occasional car/driver - who for reasons unknown - feels compelled to see if they can make it up/down our street without the benefit of chains or snow tires. They provide a little extra entertainment in between runs, though our neighbor is now missing a mailbox!

Portland Public Schools had reported its closure for tomorrow by 5 p.m., much to the relief of Jake and Emily who had not quite finished their homework for this week!

The kids finally had to call it a day when they lost their daylight... more hot cocoa anyone?

A YEAR AGO THIS WEEK...
We've been checking our boat journal to remind us what we were doing this time last year. We were moored in Vero Beach, Florida, and according to our notes, it was very hot and buggy there. Red tide was passing through the area, so lots of people had developed a mild cough. We were busy stocking up on provisions in preparation for crossing to the Bahamas, and watching the weather closely in search of a good crossing window. We had "snow" of a different sort while in Vero... Pat spent last Dec. 14th insulating Jubilee's refrigerator box. Styrofoam was everywhere! We were also doing a bit of holiday decorating as you can see below. Click here for more photos from last December.

Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow...

It only happens once or twice a year... snow reaches the valley floor. It started early this morning and is expected to continue all day.

The kids have their fingers crossed for a school closure day on Monday. Based on the forecast, they may very well get their wish! At the very least, there will be a lot of sledding and snowman-building going on around here today, not to mention great prospects for skiing next weekend. Mt. Hood ski areas have received more than a foot of new snow in the past 24 hours.


The winter weather held off for dad's office party last evening. Here's a photo album of Pat performing once again this year with the office band.

Click here for another photo album from a recent Destination Imagination parent meeting where the kids gave their moms and dads the opportunity to experience DI first hand.

Coming soon... more fun in the snow photos!

Robots and Recorders

Good news and bad for the Mechanical Hippos... they won a trophy for teamwork, but will not advance to the State Lego Tournament. Programming complications prevented their robot from completing all its tasks, but the boys didn't let this get them down. They scored great on their salmon presentation, got lots of attention for their "hot pink" t-shirts (Drew designed the logo, by the way), and most importantly had fun!

As for Jake and Emily, they've been busy practicing their recorders and kazoos in preparation for the 4th/5th grade holiday music program. It was quite a spectacular show celebrating holiday traditions from around the world. Songs were sung in many languages and there were even a few impressive solos by kids a bit more musically inclined than ours. Maybe next year Jake and Emily will get their big break!

Here's a photo album and another album from the lego tournament, music performance, Bridlemile pancake breakfast and more. Happy holidays!

Mechanical Hippos Prepare for LEGO Tournament

Drew's Lego Team, the Mechanical Hippos, is extra busy this week with last minute preparations for their tournament on Saturday. Here are a few photos of the team practicing their research presentation which focuses on the impact global warming is having on salmon and what can be done about it.

Go Hippos!

Thanksgiving Weekend

The Thanksgiving holiday provided an opportunity for us to check in with cruising friends. They fall into 2 groups.. those still cruising and those planning their next cruise. We found those still cruising scattered from Corsica to Culebra and many points in between. Although it was tempting to "wish we were there", we had a great weekend here in Portland.

Jake was the first to declare the holiday season open. Not one to linger in the moment, he barely waited for Thanksgiving dinner to conclude before raiding our storage area for boxes of holiday books and decorations. He then went to work on his letter to Santa which he organized into categories as follows: "stuff I don't need but really want" and "stuff I could live without".

Here's a photo album that includes our trip to the annual Portland Macy's Day-After-Thanksgiving Parade and a visit to a local tree farm to select our Christmas tree, which we spent the rest of the afternoon decorating.


We also attended the tree-lighting ceremony in Pioneer Courthouse Square on Friday evening, along with 10,000+ other Portland residents who were no doubt drawn downtown by the great weather we're having. Some years, we've done this event in full rain gear! In keeping with the City's strong commitment to being GREEN, this year's tree is lit with energy-saving LED lights.


Emily and mom wrapped up a busy day with a girls-night-out to see a ballet performance of "La Boutique Fantasque".


Drew was hoping his Thanksgiving break would include a trip to Mt. Hood for some skiing, but there hasn't been enough snow yet. None the less, he and his gear stand ready!


Here's the photo album link again. Happy Holidays.

Classroom Fun

It's artist-in-residence week for Jake & Emily. They and their classmates are making masks. Here are some photos of Part 1... shaping the mask and paper mache (other key steps include making a huge mess and recess). Next week... painting.

Bowling, Bouldering & Biographies

It's that time of year in Portland - when it's too early for ski season and a bit to late into the Fall to expect too many visits from the sun. Thus, we find ourselves searching out non-soggy opportunities for fun.

Since Veteran's Day was a holiday for dad and the kids, we celebrated with a visit to The Circuit Gym for some "bouldering" with friends Eli and Francesca. Here are some photos.

Veteran's Day is also Grandpa Carl's birthday, and as Emily pointed out this morning, it's the day before she and Jake celebrate their half-birthdays!

Jake and Emily were hard at work with school projects over the long weekend - October was biography month - and Destination Imagination keeps their creative juices flowing. Drew is part of a Lego Robotics team, but we've yet to capture that work on film... it's top-secret until the competition in December!

Hope you enjoy the photos.

Trick or Treat!

It was a record haul last evening for the Jubilee Crew, pictured here as a devil, mad scientist and nerd. The rain that had been expected held off, making for an extra pleasant evening. We spent it with some Bridlemile friends and enjoyed being able to make the evening last without the stress of having school and work the next day.

Here are some photos of our Halloween activities. Included are some shots from a meeting of Jake's and Emily's "Destination Imagination" team.

Ready, Aim, Fire

Pat and the boys are taking archery lessons these days... it's not the same as spear-fishing, but at least it's keeping their shooting arms in good shape for future fishing opportunities!

Here they are with friends Henry and Eamon at a special kids' Halloween shoot this past weekend.

You'll notice in the photo album that we've also installed a little piece of Jubilee - our hammock chair - in the backyard. It's been sunny and close to 70 here all week, but apparently those days are numbered. Halloween may be a wash-out, but we're thinking positive.

Guess Who We Ran Into...

You just never know who you'll run into around here! We were walking home from the Farmer's Market yesterday when we happened upon this photo opportunity. Senator Obama was a bit "flatter" than we expected, but we enjoyed our brief visit with him none-the-less!

Pumpkin Party

We visited Sauvie Island this weekend to pick pumpkins and take part in Kruger Farm's annual Fall Festival. Here are photos. 

The kids are getting very excited about Halloween... especially Jake. In fact, he kind of goes "mad" this time of year!

Aurora Farmers' Fair

Just returned from a trip to Indiana to join in celebrating the 100th anniversary year of the Aurora Farmers' Fair with Grandma Janet, Grandpa Carl, Uncle John, etc.  Here's a photo album. 

The kids got to enjoy the rides and games with their cousins, Kaylee and Brooke; watch Grandma Janet's class float go by in the annual Saturday morning parade; and take in a performance of an Army drum & fife corp at the local high school.

Special thanks to Aunt Judy and Charlotte DeVille for helping make our visit a surprise. Dad didn't make the trip, but the kids were able to stay in touch via one of the fair webcams.

Reports from the Field: School Projects

Those who have been following the “Reports from the Field” portion of our blog over the past year may notice some improvement in the kids’ writing. Now that professional educators have taken over their training and actual grades are being given out, they seem to apply themselves a bit more! (Photo album included at bottom of this post.)


Early Sunday Morning: The Pearl Harbor Diary of Amber Billows, A Story Timeline by Emily

October 20, 1941 - Amber’s family is going to move to Oahu, Hawaii from Washington D.C. because of her dad’s Job, as a reporter.

October 21, 1941 - The plane ride from D.C. to Oahu was very long and tiring because of the luggage.

November 10, 1941 - Amber meets a girl named Kame at her new school. Kame and Amber are now friends. Kame is Japanese/American.

December 7, 1941 - PEARL HARBOR! PEARL HARBOR!!! Bombs and planes were in the air. The sky was a dark gray. There was no sun light. It was all dark.

December 13, 1941 - To get in to the super market takes 1 hour or more and there is barely any food.

December 14, 1941 - We have to wear gas mask every were in the car, to the store, outside. They sting and they look like mutated elephants.

Epilogue - Amber moves to San Francisco. Kame married and then her and her husband were killed in a freak car accident. Then Amber adopted Kame’s baby Grace.


The Homework Machine, A Story Timeline by Jake

September - Brenton, Sam, Judy and Kelsey are seated together in their 5th grade class at Grand Canyon Elementary School. Their teacher put them there because they all had D’s starting their last names.

October - Brenton invents a “Homework Machine”. It’s a computer hooked up to a scanner that prints out your homework in your hand writing!

November - The four friends make a pact to only use the machine for their homework and keep it a secret.

December - Brenton makes “Red Sock Day” by using computer chat rooms, and every kids was wearing red socks.

January - Sam’s dad gets sent to war. He and Sam play chess by e-mail. Same looses until he had his first draw. Brenton made him better by helping him.

March - April - The kids get nervous because rumors get around about the “Homework Machine” and their teachers and parents get suspicious. Also Sam’s dad was killed.

May - The kids catapult the homework machine into The Grand Canyon, and they did it because it was getting a mind of its own.

P.S. Do Your Homework!!!


My Timeline, a “What has happened in the world since I was born?” timeline by Drew

1996 - I was born in Norman, Oklahoma on March 25 at 11:30 a.m.

1997 - Oregon’s Death with Dignity Act becomes law.

1998 - 1998 is declared the Year of the Ocean by the United Nations.

1999 - My brother Jake and my sister Emily are born in Oklahoma City on May 12 at 6:30 p.m.

2000 - Al Gore loses the Presidential election to Bush in a very close race.

2001 - The Twin Towers are bombed in New York City.

2002 - Packey the Elephant turns 40 at the Oregon Zoo.

2003 - My family moves to Oregon from Oklahoma.

2004 - The earthquake in the Indian Ocean is one of the most deadly natural disasters in history.

2005 - Hurricane Katrina hits New Orleans.

2006 - Ted Kulongoski wins a second term as Oregon’s Governor.

2007 - My family takes a sailing trip to the Bahamas.

2008 - Obama is the first African-American to win a major party nomination for President.

Becoming Naomi Leon - A Character Analysis, by Drew

This week I read the book “Becoming Naomi Leon” which is one of my favorite books of all time. It is about a 12 year old girl Naomi who lives with her grandma and brother Owen in Lemon Tree, California.

After 7 yeards their mother, Skyla, comes back in to their lives. Naomi and Owen are both very excited until things turn for the worst. Before Skyla came back she had been drinking but stopped and now she started back up.

Naomi was very cautious through out the whole book because she wasn’t sure if she could trust her mother or not. For example, Naomi and Owen both had parent teacher conferences and Skyla never showed up and left them at the school til dark.

One of Naomi’s best traits was her bravery. Like when they had to go to court and Naomi had to tell the Judge a reason why her mom couldn’t take her away from Owen and Gram. The author, Pam Munoz Ryan, described Naomi after her court experience as “a mouse with a lioness’s voice”.

Naomi is also a very skillful person. One example of this is she loves to carve soap and is very good at it. Her best carving is of a lion because her last name Leon means lion in Spanish.


Here's a quick photo album from our weekend field trip to the World Forestry Center.
PHOTOS.

Field Trip: Oregon Zoo

Earlier this week, we took time for an after-school field trip to the Oregon Zoo to meet the new baby elephant born there just a few weeks ago. Here are a few photos of the new arrival, as well as the kids hanging out with friends.


The school year is off to a great start for the Jubilee Crew. Jake & Emily are happy to be following in their big brother's footsteps in Ms. Good's class. Today, they're invited to a "new student" luncheon at Bridlemile which they find quite funny. Emily wasn't sure about attending since they aren't really "new", but Jake is going for the pizza!

Drew likes all his middle school teachers and is doing a great job so far keeping up with and keeping track of his various assignments. (Just in case, Mom & Dad like knowing his teachers post all homework assignments online.)

The fact that Drew begins and ends his day nearly and hour and a half later than Jake & Emily has taken some getting used to, but he's starting to find ways to use the extra time in the morning productively... sometimes that means finishing an assignment or reading; more often, it means hanging out with his buddy Gabe. This week, it's been all about perfecting his stilt-skills. He built them himself, with the assistance of our friend, neighbor & favorite architect, Charles.


Although we did not capture the moment on film, Pat participated in his first biking event this past weekend... the 30 mile "Tour de Lab" sponsored by our favorite local brew pub, The Lucky Lab. Proceeds from the ride benefited a local animal shelter, but Pat mostly went for the pizza (and beer)... like father, like son!

Back at it... back to work, back to school!

It's the first day of school! This also is the first post to our new "Oregon Adventures" blog.

It was off to 4th grade this morning for Jake & Emily; the first day of middle school for Drew; Day 2 of work for Dad; and Day 1 of a strangely quite house for Mom.

The Jubilee Crew was up early making sure backpacks and lunchboxes were ready to go. No chance of being late today!

Jake recently read a article about a "backpack fairy" who apparently visits some homes on the night before the first day of school. He decided to try leaving his pack out, as did Emily, and sure enough... tic-tacs and gum were found this morning from a source unknown.

Pat has altered his mode of commuting downtown from bus to bike. He loves the exercise, plus there's lots of "gear" involved!

Here are some photos showing how we spent our last weekend of summer... it was a chilly one, but included a trip to the Sauvie Island Corn Maze and the "Art in the Pearl" festival.