Day 147: OMSI Again

May 27

We took a family trip to OMSI today, and right before we left for home we enjoyed watching this kinetic sculpture, called the Gravitram.

Day 133: Another Birthday!

May 13

Every year for his birthday we send Chris on a treasure hunt to find his present.  And each year we have to get more creative with where we hide the clues.

Day 69: Lexi Gangnam Style

March 10

Lexi decided to entertain Chris & Vicki with a complete rendition of Gangnam Style.

Day 54: Hats

February 23

We found the most awesome shop in the mall.  I think this hat looks rather dashing on Chris.

Day 18: The Best Time of Day

January 18

Daddy reads stories best.

Day 360: Merry Christmas!

December 25

It was a very happy Christmas, and that 20-hour drive was definitely worth it.  We even got a robot.  It was, in theory, for the girls, but this picture is a pretty good indication of who is really enjoying it.

Day 328: Video Chat from the Future

November 23

Uncle Britton moved to Australia, which puts him 18 hours ahead of us.

Day 302: Sunday Evening Chill Time

October 28

Watching Mythbusters with the family.

Day 265: Eight Little Girls

September 21

We babysat our friends' five daughters this evening.  Poor Chris was REALLY outnumbered tonight.

Day 252: Nerds

September 8

Vicki is taking Algebra I this year, so, much to her delight, we had to get her a TI-84 calculator.  She and Chris spent over an hour this morning playing with it.  If I'd known she'd be this excited about a calculator I would have waited until Christmas!

Day 149: Treasure Hunters

May 28

We decided to try out hands at geocaching today.  We followed the GPS coordinates to this cache near Wahclella Falls.  The girls loved the treasure hunt!  We were amazed to discover that there are over 900 caches within a 5-mile radius from our house, so this is definitely something we will be doing again!

Day 143: Her Turn for the Magic

May 22

Chris has been reading the Harry Potter books aloud pretty much since Vicki was six, and Ellie has been listening in for as long as she's been alive.  But when Chris told her that he thought she was ready to start from the beginning, she could barely contain her excitement.  Reading Harry Potter with Dad is about the best thing there is in this house.

Day 141: Ready to Walk for a Cause

May 20

Today was the annual Northwest NAMIWalk.  I walked alone last year, but this year Chris & the girls joined me and we walked in honor of a family member who is battling mental illness.  I'm so proud of the girls - 5K in just over an hour and not a single complaint!

Day 136: A Little Light Reading

May 15

Addicted to the iPad.

Day 134: Birthday Treasure Hunt

May 13

Every year since 2004 we've sent Chris on a treasure hunt for his birthday presents.  The fact that we were out of town until this afternoon didn't deter us; we gave him his first clue this morning at camp and made him wait until we got home for the rest, which were hidden all over the house.

Day 100: Bedtime Stories

April 9

Chris took over the bedtime story reading about the time Lexi was born, and now the girls would almost rather go without stories than have me read them.  Usually if he's gone, I'm allowed to read replacement stories, but not chapters from the books they're reading with Dad.  Ellie looks kind of disinterested here, but I think it was just a combination of enjoying the Daddy cuddle time and not really wanting her picture taken.

Day 74: Rainy Drive

March 14

Horrible picture, I know, but it was the best of the three I took today.  I picked Chris up from work and made him drive home because the rain was making me nervous.

Day 63: A Different Kind of Education

March 3

Chris, indoctrinating our girls in the joys of Pinky and the Brain.

Day 7: Chilling

January 7

We spent the day at sea, and it was a little windy outside (and kind of crowded), so Chris and I found some sun-lit couches in the lounge at the front of the ship and read for hours on end.  So nice.

Day 4: Jamaica Zipline

January 4

I can't even begin to describe how much fun I had on this excursion.  We rode 9 different ziplines through the Jamaican jungle, including two that were almost straight down (although the guides sort of lowered us down those two; the rest were closer to free-fall.)  Unfortunately none of my pictures of people riding the ziplines turned out, but I like this one of Chris and me in our awesome hard hats.