School and Golf:

Indy started play-school about three weeks ago.

I didn't say much about it before because we wanted to see how he took to it before we told everyone. If he wasn't ready we would have just pulled him out and tried again next year. Turns out, He loves it! His little girlfriend Kaitlyn, from the old neighborhood (go back to pics of last summer, you will find a beautiful little blond girl... that's her) she goes to school with him. There are ten kids total in the class and Indy is loosening his grip on Katie now and getting to know the other children. So the pic is off Indy, waiting to be chauffeured to his first day of school.

He manfully struggles from bed at 615 every Monday and Wednesday morning for a trip to South Albany high School's child development center. We pick him up around 1230 in the afternoon. This week he will actually be going on his first field trip. The class will be going to see the Linn Benton Community College production of Charlotte's web. The play isn't on a normal school day for him, but he gets to go anyways. Hooray for extra mom homework time for me.

More exciting news from the world of Golf.

We got the call today.

Duck has made it through this round of cuts.

More try-outs Friday.

Keep those fingers crossed, and keeping thinking Varsity thoughts.

We are so proud of him for making it this far through the try-outs.

If he makes the varsity squad as a sophomore, well, even better!

sharing a picture

I just love this picture.

We had popped down to Fiddlers green to play golf and i got a few shots in before and during their round.

We are all crossing our fingers for Varsity Golf Team this year! I look forward to visiting some of Oregon's great golf courses to cheer (quietly... it is golf you know) for my #1 son.

Hes a nice looking conservative republican who plays golf and knows his way around a computer... he's going to make a ton of money when he's all grown up.

chubby goes to the park:

Lets go to the park... park, park, park, park, park.... YEAAAAAAH park! pose for pictures with my boy... then we can PLAY!OH YES! chase, chase, chase, chase, lemme go! i wanna chase the wood ducks...
Oh, yeah... my boy has the right idea.

feed them, lure them in close with food then :

CHASE THEM! Good Boy! Chase the seagulls... chase, chase, chase.

WE LOVE THE PARK!

GRRRRRR, more pictures. I could be in the lake bothering those ducks. Car ride time, it must be time to go home and get my reward...ah, when I am a good boy at the park i get the best treats!

It's great to spend a day at the park.

Jeff Hardy... disappoints.

Jeff Hardy and the rest of the WWE were in Portland yesterday (and today). Jeff was scheduled to sign autographs from noon to 2pm yesterday in Gresham, so we all played hooky and went to the city. We arrived 30 minutes or so before the signing was to start and stood patiently in line in 35 degree temperatures with 20 mile per hour wind gusts blowing Indy nearly off of his feet. At 5 minutes to 1, after waiting in line about an hour and a half, the doors were locked and we were told that because there were so many people he was going to quit signing early. Small children cried outside the door. We watched several Little boys in their Hardy gear, clutching their Jeff hardy action figures sobbing as their mothers dragged them away.

Indy didn't understand how his hero could not want to see him.

Anyhow, after the doors were locked the powers that be decided to let Jeff walk the crowd. Indy and the multitudes began shouting "Hardy Hardy Hardy". As Jeff began making his way toward us, we were pushed and shoved out of the way by several adults and even a few children and Indy wasn't even able to high five his favorite wrestler.

However, Indy was mostly all right when (in this crowd shot, Indy is in the red jacket and Jeff is the fellow with the purple hair)he realized he had come within 5 feet of Jeff. He saw Jeff and got to chant his name.

The wrestling match is scheduled for tonight (it starts about an hour from the time i write this). We couldn't afford to go. Life happens i guess, but it bothers me a lot that a fellow like Jeff hardy, who is an idol to tons and tons of little kids, quits early and just says, "sorry too many people want me". I know that he isn't a role model; i know that just because he is a celebrity he doesn't have an obligation to my child. But i didn't like being the one to explain to my three year old why Jeff Hardy didn't want to say hello to him. Indy didn't want an autograph to sell on eBay, he didn't want a lock of hair, or a commentary on the world. He just wanted the chance to tell his hero how much he was loved by one small boy, how much he was admired for his high flying flips and daring-wrestling-do.

The thing about little fans like Indy, he doesn't care if Jeff isn't the champion anymore. He gets mad on Jeff's behalf when Matt smacks Jeff with a chair. The little fan is in the backyard, leaping off the trampoline shouting "Look at me mom, I'm Jeff Hardy". The little fan is at toys-r-us saying, "no mom, i only want a Jeff Hardy one, i don't like the other guys, they stink!" The little fan says Brian Kendrick is a "darn dirty cheater", because no way he could have beat Jeff without cheating. The little fan has a Jeff Hardy poster over his bed, because Jeff Hardy watches over him while he sleeps and doesn't let the monsters or nightmares get in (Indy says Jeff Hardy beats them up).

I guess , bottom line, is that i don't like that Jeff made Indy feel not important enough. When Indy asked, with tears in his eyes, why Jeff didn't want to see him, we told Indy that Jeff really wanted to see him, but there were so many other people that Jeff just couldn't. We told Indy we were SURE that had Jeff realized Indy was there, he would have made that effort for him, that even Jeff Hardy knows how special Indiana is. We told Indy that it was mommy's fault because she didn't get to the place at 5 am, like the folks in the front of the line. So, Jeff's still a hero and mommy is the bad guy.

that sucks. thanks, Jeff.

Google:

The ferret belongs to Tooti (Indy's maternal grandma, for those who don't know all of our nicknames). It's name is google, because it searches all over the house, like a search engine, for anything that might be yummy and interesting. Indy adores Google. The feeling is fairly mutual... as much as a ferret can adore anyone.

this is what 35 looks like

Enough said i guess: I turned thirty five yesterday, so i got a more "mature" haircut; the first in many years. It is definately short. The salon comped my haircut because i donated the cut hair(totalling slightly over 14 inches) to locks of love!

Middle Age: here i come!

what we've been up to

It seems like family life rolls along quickly some times. Even without foster children in the home now, my time is constantly in demand. School is going well, or as well as can be expected.

Duck got an award at school the other night, for being just an awesome kid (actually it was for being an intern with the school' child development program). I am just so proud of him. Proud of both of my boys... anyone who has read this blog before already knows that, i guess.

Indy has his own moment of drama. He and Duck were chasing around the house when Indy tripped and hit the sliding plate glass door with his head. He survived it without even a bump or bruise but the door wasn't so lucky. The glass folks will be replacing it next week.

Chris is planning for his solo trip home and for the upcoming visit of his friend, now our friend, Richard. we always enjoy his visits as a chance to sight-see in my favorite state (the one we live in!) I love being able to show off my home. Hopefully i will be able to show Oregon off again this summer, but i do have summer classes that may preclude my participation.

So, all is as well as i can reasonably expect. I'm content with that.

wowza:

Well, it seems like ages since i was here, updating anyone who cared to know, on our lives. Life gets so busy sometimes. It seems there is barely time to catch my breath some days. However: Indy and I took some mother-son time yesterday. We just up and left the house, no real destination in mind, no school work or housework following me, no telephone. We ended up at a nearby duckpond. It's no Waverly lake (the duck pond near our old house) but it is a nice area. Officially its called something like "Periwinkle Watershed". It's a nice bike path/walking trail along a canal type stream that ends at Grand Prairie Park. Anyways, the ducks aren't shy. (Sure the pic of Indy isn't the best, but you can really get the idea of how friendly and close the ducks get... they take the bread right from your hand!)

So... what else have we been up to? Well, we went to the bike shop, we go there a lot actually... Chris should be able to get his Ninja soon, so we spend a lot of our limited spare time haunting all of the motorcycle shops in a 100 mile radius of our home. We finally found one we like about 30 miles from us (maybe a little closer) out in Sublimity, Oregon called Power Yamaha. They have only been a cow (Kawasaki) dealer for a short time, but they are our favorite dealership for service, ease of travel, friendliness of staff, and a great deal/price. Woot, I am a testimonial, lol.

We also got out up to the falls the other day. Silver Creek Park is a wonderful place to visit and explore. Some of you may recall the last time we visited (Chris's friend Richard was here... Indy and I went with him and another friend). This visit, it SNOWED on us. We went into the lodge and had a nice hot cocoa and a pastry, and tried to stay warm. Chris and Indy in hoodies and me in shirt sleeves, not even thinking to take a jacket (as it was 50 degrees out when we left home). Anyhow... The volume of water was just astounding. The folks in the lodge said it was the good old Pineapple Express ...

These two pictures are of the EXACT SAME WATERFALL... the tree is the same (the branches in the upper pick belong to the tree in the lower pick)... the difference, a year and a weather pattern. wow! we had fun anyways, playing in the snow and freezing our bums off. I got tons of photos but i am running out of time today... perhaps i can get more picture sup later... maybe i can do a photo bucket slide show or something.

See ya'll again soon!

words of wisdom:

Oobi says "messing up is just life"
Indy says "messing up is just life, that's why i don't have a life!"

wow.

Mommy thinks i'm adorable

Wow...

I thought this picture turned out beautifully. Indy is a great model, but still, it isn't often that i can get one of those shots that looks nearly professional.

Coming later: pics with Santa.

ho ho ho

we have our tree up...

our shopping half complete...

today, we go see SANTA!

(again)

It's that time of year. The tree looks beautiful, but will it survive three weeks? I didn't put popcorn or candy canes on it, so at least the dog isn't trying to eat it. He eats EVERYTHING. Indy doesn't even have nightmares anymore... he says that the dog ate all the monsters and aliens. We are searching high and low for the perfect gifts for our friends and loved ones. i got the PERFECT gift for my girl Arica... when we bought it i couldn't stop laughing. Not often does a gift tickle me this way. So, I am well pleased with hers.... now if i could get everyone else's just right, too.

they say it aint over til its over BUT

OMG...

it still isnt over...

3 minutes to go...

the score?

65-31!!!

WOOT DUCKS!

Duck - Duck- Duck - Duck - Goose!

DUCK ... DUCKDUCK... DUCK... PLACE KICKER!

Duck got to go to a Duck home game! Ducks won!

Civil War is coming!

Indy, being only 3, doesn't understand that Civil War is a football game... he thinks its "Army" WAR...

If the Duck's can beat the Beav's in the civil war, they will stop the Beavers from being the #1 team in the Pac-10 and CRUSH their Rose Bowl hopes. GO DUCKS!

QUACK ATTACK

Shooting at the range!

We don't even let this kid cut his own meat and yet, here he is with a .38

Go Figure.

life continues along:

So, i cant seem to get the camera-computer link thingy right today... so all the sweet pictures i took of the dog, the kid, the house and the leaves will have to wait. in the mean time... i have homework out the wazu, housework that needs done before the heath inspector condemns us, a doc to visit a dentist to fear and well all manner of stuff to attend to.

so much to do, so little time to do it!

So, lots going on for us. Firstly, that small accident i had while playing ball in the park with Duck before i moved... the results of the mri came back today: I have three tendons detached, and since the muscles are not working properly, and i didn't stay off my knee and rest like i was supposed to, i did further damage to my leg, chiefly the fracture of my lower left thigh bone. I go into the orthopedist on the 28th for the next step in my healing plan. I am hoping to avoid arthroscopic surgery, but if the worst happens, so be it.

On the subject of my health... Wednesday the 29th i go back to the dentist for the removal of two upper right teeth (back near the molars numbers 2 and 4) eventually the dentist will remove most, if not all of my top teeth and provide me with either a full or partial plate. The pattern of decay is consistent with radiation therapy side effects, lest anyone think i am just bad at hygiene.

I am full of drugs atm... trazadone for sleep, percocet for pain, vicadin for pain, and cylndamiacin (an antibiotic required before oral surgery... i am allergic to pennicillin)

Ducks health: Brother Duck is allergic to bee stings. SO am I. SO is his dad. So is just about everyone on his dads side of the family. How do we know for sure? His arm, from the tips of his fingers to the elbow is swollen to like 4 times normal size! He will be ok, but they gave him an inhaler and some other stuff and said, holy crap, SEVERE reaction.

On to pleasanter topics... we finalized the adoption of our dog. Bosco is now one of us...

He keeps Indy safe and warm at night!

yet more happening! Our new daughter (well, in some ways we are just so proud of her we could burst into song... like she did tonight at her concert)

We are dealing with some of her issues and trying to make her placement in our home work out for all of us.

And... so of you may know, others may not... I returned as a full time online student at our local community college... current grade: one A and 3 solid Bs.

theres more, but it will have to wait.

there is a season...

I have a legitimate reason for not blogging lately. I swear, I do.

There have been many changes going on for us, and life has gotten so busy. So here it is, the REASON for not blogging in a while: WE MOVED! we got so very lucky, we have the best landlords and a lease/option chance to buy our own home! The house is three doors down and across the street from my mom. So, Indy gets to grow up with grandpa and Tooti so close! I admit, we have been here a week and a day, but with packing the old place and unpacking the new one, getting Ana (We have guardianship of Anastasjia, now) in school, and settled with buses, it's been a busy time.

We also got Indy a dog. His name is Bosco, and we all LOVE him. He gets along with all the people and pets that come in and out of our home (well he doesn't get along with Barbossa, but then, who does). We figure we can gradually continue to introduce the two of them and hopefully one day they can be buddies.

So, anyways, i will share more pictures of our house and our dog and as always Indy and the rest of our "motley crue" later... thanks for your patience!

i'm a horrible blogger... i admit it:

I used to be so good about daily or near daily pictures and commentary on our lives. Lately, i don't know why, but i just haven't been able to get into it. I have some great new pictures, but i just don't get them posted. I have some interesting thoughts, but don't get them put down. I never could keep a diary for thee same reason; fits and starts, ya know?
anyways, here's a picture:This picture of Indiana, his daddy, and our current "foster" child, Anastasia was taken at Historic Nye Beach in Newport, Oregon

Amish Paradise:

My mom drove her pretty car out to Uncle Warren's place where Warren took Indy for a pony cart ride! Spoiled kid.

life flight (reach) helicopter:

This year's safety fair, held lat Saturday, had a BIG BIG attraction... Sure, we still had the fire truck and the police cars, and a K9 cop demonstration and the rescue boats, but this year we had a LIFE FLIGHT HELICOPTER!The crew was ready for Indiana, a helmet waiting just for him...Let's look a little closer at this helmet, just to show you what i mean by "ready": See... it's got his name right on the helmet!

Indy even got to take his turn in the co-pilots seat!

Honestly, it was just awesome! we enjoyed all the events and demonstrations, we learned a few new things... like how to make watermelon salsa! We watched firefighters climb a ladder truck, we watched the county k9 unit run through his commands, we enjoyed a massage from the local YMCA, and laughed our butts off as Oncle Nate put on the "drunk goggles" and tried to run the obstacle course.

On a different note...

Last night we had our neighborhood watch formation meeting... i have lots to do as leader of the new neighborhood, but its all worth it. We have a wonderful neighborhood. Most of the hard work has been done in the last few years, getting the drugs and alcohol out of our park and making it a safe place for our children to play, and all of us who live here have been getting to know one another.