I'm home, but a few more Portland pictures!

Grandma is now back from Portland. I had such a wonderful time visiting, playing, reading books, playing computer games with the girls and helping with moving. Maryn and Lucy are constantly busy and so adorable.

This picture is the first day in the house. The girls are using their new water play toy in the kitchen. These next two pictures are of Maryn. She just fell asleep. I sometimes felt like this. She just got so tired that she stopped and closed her eye.

I love this picture because Maryn feel asleep on the computer while playing a video. She was such a tired girl. The move was exhausting for everyone, even the kids.

Here are Jess and her mother painting. Now they should have been the ones that were sleeping. They worked really hard. By the way, I saw the finished room on Skype today. Jess even installed new closet kits. She is claiming this house as her home.

I love this picture taken in their kitchen. When Jess first arrived, she hung 3 of my mother dish towels on her oven. They were embroidered by my mother. That was a nice touch.

Grandma having fun with the girls

This has been a very busy week. Chris & Jess moved into a house today. Here are some of the things we have done with Maryn and Lucy this week. They don't seemed to be phased at all by the move. In fact, they love the new house. We all do.

Here they are in the play area at the mall. Nothing seems to slow them down. Here they are playing in their water play toy in their new back yard.

Maryn got new in-line skates and took to them right away.

Now this is the amazing picture. Lucy put on Maryn's skates by herself and just stood up and skated on her own. She is 19 months, weights just under 20 lbs., had open heart surgery 1 year ago and is such a go getter.

This video just cracks me up. Lucy is just starting to say words. She loves to sing. So listen to

her sing and dance "Deep and Wide" with sissy as she calls her.

During the move we haven't always had the perfectly balanced meals that we would have liked, but here is proof that we really did remember to feed Lucy. I would show pictures of Maryn eating, but she doesn't eat very much and she certainly isn't willing to pose very much.

Chocolate Brownie * Katie * Maryn * Lucy

Katie (on the right) gave me a wonderful box of make your own brownies at Christmas. They were full of chocolate chips and marshmellows. Yum! It turns out I forgot to bring the box home with me at Christmas, but when I was in Southen California last month, I brought them home. Then Don and I drove them to Oregon and that is how this story begins. Thanks for the brownies Katie. I am eating them as I type. Did I mention that Maryn, Lucy and Jess are all napping? That's where I should be, but I am so called to blog.

Here is Maryn mixing the brownies this morning. She is a very good cook and loves to do it herself. She even posed for a picture and that doesn't happen very often.

Here is Lucy licking the beater. At least that is what it is suppose to look like. Lucy wasn't so sure about licking gooey things.

When it came time to eat the brownie, Lucy jumped right in. It helped that she had taken a nap at this point. Lucy loves her naps and her brownies too.

Ok, I had to include this picture because Lucy is doing "Head and Shoulders Knee and Toes". She love this song on the computer. She is just too cute!We have had a fun day of dancing, playing school, water play, going for a walk, and baking. Grandma is tired and it's only two. I better rest because when Maryn gets up I know we will play many more games. Why can't 60 year olds have as much energy as 1 and 3 year olds? They are just so much fun. I better go, I need to think of a quiet activity for afternoon before I close my eyes for a rest.

Chuckeeeeeee Cheeeeeesssssse!!!!!!!

Grandma and Grandpa took the girls to their favorite place, Chucky Cheese. As we drove to Chucky, I warned DB that Krissy Evans did a blog on taking her kids to Chucky Cheese and the kids loved it and she came home with a headache. Oh my goodness, now I understand what she meant. Wow, was this place chaos. But, Lucy and Maryn did love it. We even left the place with more tokens than we came with, because a very nice young girl gave me her left over coins as she left. Grandma and Grandpa got a taste of this wonderful place, but we think we will leave the left over tokens for Chris and Jess. I know they will love taking their kids there for a treat. So here are some pictures of the fun things they did. Maryn was disappointed that Chucky was too busy with the thousand birthday parties going on, so she didn't get to talk to him. Well, maybe next time.

Both girls are napping right now. That place wore them out.

Walking Fallon

Don and I have our visiting dog right now and Fallon loves to take bay walks with us. Don takes Fallon on bay walks even when I'm too tired or out of town. Today is Sunday and we headed down to the Marina to take our normal walk. So, I decided that I had to take some pictures. It was a beautiful day. This is a good life for Fallon and for Don and I.

See how beautiful and glassy the bay is.

Then as we were walking and the most amazing thing happened. We ran into Helen and Ben. That has never happend before. So, we continue our walk together and of course I had to take a picture of Helen. She isn't really a dog person, but she sure looks like she could do it.

What a lovely Sunday!

Farewell to my childhood home

I just spent 5 days at my mother's house, which was built in 1946, sorting, cleaning and reminiscing. My mother died at the beginning of February at the age of 93.

Today I was sitting in her back yard while two nice gentlemen were loading a bunch of her belongings into a truck to be donated to charity. I started to reminisce about growing up in that tiny house with the big backyard. I noticed a hummingbird come buzzing by some of the geranium that were in bloom. This was the spot that my dad built the playhouse, which is no longer there. We had many great times in the playhouse,. Then a squirrel started checking out the apricot tree while birds were chirpping in the avocado tree that I planted from a seed when I was 10 years old. This house has so many memories. I was there to say my farewell to it.
This is a picture of Steven playing our childhood toy violin where the playhouse used to be. I think he is playing "tiptoe through the tulips". He is actually playing the violin like a guitar.

Here are Steve, Katie and Megan relaxing in the backyard after hours of work last Saturday. Notice the Tito's cup. I ate there 5 times in the 5 days . I guess I over did Tito's, but I don't know when I'll be back. Farewell and thanks for the memories.