Good news

Oslo- Norwegian police announced Thursday they had recovered two masterpieces by artist Edvard Munch stolen two years from an Oslo museum. Two armed men ripped the paintings - "Madonna" and a version of "The Scream" - off the museum walls and fled in a stolen car in the August 2004 heist. In May, a Norwegian court sentenced three men to jail terms ranging from four to eight years for their role in the theft. The Oslo district court also ruled that two of the men - alleged heist mastermind Bjorn Hoen and co-defendant Peter Tharaldsen - should pay damages of 750 million kroner (121 million dollars) to the city of Oslo for the stolen Munch masterpieces. Three other defendants in the case were acquitted. Munch, who lived from 1863 to 1944, is considered one of Europe's most important expressionist artists.

told you God was a woman

My Mom took Ethan to the visitors info center in Deering Oaks Park in search of bathroom today. When he saw the building he stated that God lives there. Upon entering he asked the woman working there if she was God. She said no, she was not God but a princess and this was her castle.

Later..he brought us in and introduced her as God the princess.

FYI, her bathroom was very clean.

maybe not...

according to this weeks phoenix we may not be getting a hooters downtown.

summer seems to have ended rather quickly this year. I am okay with it, eager to wear long sleeves. A cruel reminder of what lay ahead for the boys though. SCHOOL!!! Since they do like school and have fab teachers it's not a complete tragedy but the end of late night and lazy days is truly a thing to mourn. I gave them all haircuts. All but G's came out how they wanted it. I tried to trim his without cutting off his curls. no luck. the next morning he asked why I gave him such a wierd haircut. sorry G.

One more beach day would have been nice. Yesterday they attempted to swim in a friends pool but it didn't last long.

big heavy SIGH

happy day

Karin's coming home today! I hope Dad, Janice or Micheal meet her with a lovely freah salad. avacado, tomato mmmm.....

it's raining. i am grateful for that. feel like we needed a lazy morning.

The Bus

Aidan, Aaron and G received their bus schedules yesterday. The bus will pick them up & drop off right down the street!! To make the situation even better it's the same time as we usually leave and will drop them @ the usual time we would make it home. Though I will miss the time we spend together in the am, usually listening to a book or music and seeing them walk out of school with their friends. I am so happy to know that there will be days that our car will not leave the parking spot!

I just hope that some of their friends are on the same bus.

R & R camp

rest and relaxation? no...ROCK 'N ROLL. Max had his performance yesterday. Why is it that Max's band is always the best. hmmm.... at first I thought we were bias, but Aidan's friend was with us and he thought so too. while he may also be bias, he is not AS bias as us. So they really just must be the best.



here is yelling over the chaotic noise of his fellow campers to tell me he loves me. "No Mom, I love YOU more..." awwww.... what a nice boy.

his friends waiting for him after the show. btw...it was not raining.

look whose coming to town

no, it's not Santa Claus. It's hooters.

Yes. Lucky Portlanders are soon to one of the many who can boast about having their children's b'day parties @ hooters. Personally, I can't wait. Wonder what's in the goody bags.

Where you ask? right in downtown Portland. behind the Stadium facing Free Street.

now that my headache seems to have passed

So I can finally tell you about Aidan's 11th birthday party. He loved his family gifts. The bike and Ireland/shadow box I made him was a big hit. as were the very, very cool brother gifts. He was SO sad that it was raining and we would not be able to go through with his birthday wishes but pulled it together and spend the morning putting together games. Sports trivia, charades, what is the worst, best, etc. questions seemed to be a hit. funny anyway. Here's a list of the trivia questions:
When was the first World Series played?
Who competed in the 1903 World Series? Who won?
Who was the first African American person to play in the MLB?
Who holds the record for most home runs (career)?
What did Ted Williams hit @ his last at bat?
What football player guaranteed his team winning the super bowl?
True or false? Before 1859, umpires sat in a padded rocking chair behind the catcher.
What was the first hockey puck made out of?
In the 2005 NFL season, what team stops the Indianapolis’s chances of having a undefeated year?
In ancient Roman wrestling what was the only way to be disqualified?
What cool toy started out as a weapon in the Philippine Islands?
In ancient Japan, public contests were held to see who what the loudest and longest. Winners were awarded many prizes and received great recognition.
What do all these athletes have in common? Hank Aaron, Billie Jean King, Robert Parish, Joe Namath, Lawrence Phillips, Carl Lewis.
What is the most attended or watched sport in the world?
Which is the only sport played on the moon - on 6 February 1971 by Alan Shepard?
What do these sports have in common? basketball, volleyball and American college Football?
Why do many baseball players spit into their hand before they pick up their bat?
what color do many tennis players avoid wearing thinking it’s bad luck?
What is the most poplular sport in Thailand?

If you think you know the answer e-mail us and we'll let ya know.

Here is Aidan testing his friends














and not cheating @ the donut game

Who's 11???

Aidan is!! (that's what he is walking around the house singing)


It's raining... how could this happen to him?! How can this happen to me?? 13 10-11 year olders in my house. Why oh why???

Henry's exciting weekend

For a dog who once would vomit if he was in the car more than 20 mins Henry has become quite the traveler. This last week he made it through the White Mountains and to the Cape and back. Go Henry sans the vomit!

Mr. Owl, how many licks does it take to get to the Tootsie Roll center of a Tootsie Pop?

Today we found out. For Max it was 630 licks, Aidan, 574. Aaron and G choose a different method and sucked. It took Aaron 373 sucks and G 450. Ethan alternated between the two and yelled out random numbers.

Chris and Aidan

I wanted to get photos of Chris and Aidan next to each other. We always make a big deal of how much they look alike (it's also the first thing Grandma said to Aidan when she saw him) I wanted to get a photo of the two of them. Here is one of the shots I took.

When they didn't know I was shooting

these are shots I took of the two of them reacting to being told how much they really resemble each other. you tell me...

One Kingdom

is now available !! Deb wrote and photo illustrated this amazing book. go Deb!!

climbing and mining

We had an amazing time in New Hampshire. Best time ever I think. We started off by taking the boys to Lost River gorge & caves where the boys explored caved and panned for minerals. Driving on the Kangamangas was a slice of hell though.

Finally, Ari was able to mine for gems






Max somewhat conquered his fear of heights







Aidan was able to climb every availalbe surface. The little monkey that he is.







Gabriel said it was better than Storyland

I am not going to try to add text to go with each picture. not that it's so hard but I don't have a lot of time AND I am lazy. I figure you can figure out what we did by the photo's anyway.

I would like you to notice the bulit on this Children At Play sign. Guess they grow buff children in the mountains.

We're back!

Still dont' have my head on straight. We got in...Karin called from China...Aidan off to camp...Chris working 'til at least 9pm tonight.

So good to hear from Karin though.The China/food situation is really amazing to me. I figured that as a vegetarian Karin would have tons of options. turns out even the tofu has meat in it!!! Karin said she is happy when sees a McDonalds since there will SOMETHING she can eat. bizarre.

will be back middle of next week. Then off again.



This is fascinating.

Good Morning

While it is not a glorious display I am thrilled to see that my Morning Glories are spreading. I am finding that I am really enjoying photographing flowers this summer. very meditative....forces me to stop.

don't ya hate it when people tell cute kid stories?

your fault for visiting this blog then....

Gabriel has an awful habit of biting his nails (fingers and toes). Yesterday while trying to remove a sticker from an apple I mentioned that having nails comes in handy for such tasks. he gloomingly agreed and said that he has been thinking of stopping. When I suggested that he look at his fathers nails (Chris not been nibbling lately) his mood brightened and asked if that meant he could bite his dad's instead.

Anyway.. I thought it was funny.

So damn hot today. We have no expectations of accomplishing anything.. I did have a meeting this morning and the Portland book is almost done!

know how to send an avacado?!

Poor Karin

I am off to work in the store today and Chris and the boys left for the beach @ 8. They just called to say they are pulled over to the side of the road to watch two deer. nice. :)