Mount Hood beauties

Photo bombers

Last play pic!

This picture, taken by Lisa Hughes, is of the entire cast and crew of about 30 junior highers (and my 9th grade stage manager, Hero Merkle). They did a terrific job!

What a difference 3 hours can make!!

We had only a matinee play performance last Saturday, because Signe (and a few other girls in the play, including Greta) had their Irish step dance recital Saturday night, as well as dance rehearsal that morning. It was a full day! Signe barely got her hair washed and dried after the matinee (she took a loooong shower every night after the play to tame down that rat's nest) before rushing late across town to the Hartung Theater to get ready for the recital.

Zane’s 2nd grade play

My parents came out from Oregon last weekend to see all of the grandkid's activities, although we were so busy I didn't talk to them as much as I usually do. Coincidentally Zane's class play was last Friday morning, meant we had to temporarily clear the stage completely of props and set pieces from the Jr. High play after opening night Thursday night.
It was fun to see Zane perform as The Wine Seller in his play "The King on the Hill" in the morning assembly. He had fun yelling loudly and angrily at The King (his buddy Bennett) for wanting free wine. In the pics he is posing with another of his good friends, Bo Beauchamp.
The play had lots of physical humor; clearly his teacher, Mrs. Wilson, knows what her class of almost all boys would enjoy!

Play pics

More play pics

Signe scared some small children (including her 3-year-old cousin Louie) with her diabolical cackle, frizzed-out hair, warted nose, and penchant for enticing children for "dinner" in to her candy house. She did an impressive job as the witch, and you could hear kids clap and cheer when she was pushed in to her cauldron (which Nick helped build for the set).

A busy busy week!

I never did post any pictures of all that was going on the last week in February, and now that we are half way through our two-week spring break I am going to try to catch up.
Every night of that week we had dress rehearsals or performances of the Jr. High play, which combined the stories of numerous fairy tales and nursery rhymes. It was fun, but also a lot of work!
Greta worked on the crew with makeup and sound, and Theo (aka "Candlestick Maker") was hilariously appalled that I took a picture of his sister helping to do his stage makeup.

Bunny tracks

Gunnar was excited to find a bunch of these when he went out to start the Tahoe in chilly 10 degrees this morning. But that is much warmer than the -6 we hit a couple nights ago.

Before the cold snap hit this week we had been enjoying a Western Oregon-type winter; we were reaching the 50's in early February! All Gunnar wants to do is start baseball season, and the temptingly warm weather was only feeding his restlessness.

Signe scores

Signe scored on this steal and fast break.

Signe scores!

Playing Pullman and Signe scored her first basket.

Mother daughter photo... a couple of beauties...

... if looks could kill, I'd have a deadly, communicable disease right now. (I still like this pic though)

Cowboy day for the kindergarteners at school today.

Cowboy Karsten

1st & 2nd grade basketball

Zane had his first Parks & Rec game tonight. His team made an exciting comeback in the second half and only lost be one point. Zane didn't score, but he did get a few shots off.
Gunnar watched surrounded by a stair stack of cousins Theo, Ransom, and Louie. Jerome is playing on Zane's team, and Uncle Rob is coaching.

Zane played great defense, guarding one of the other teams best players and holding him scoreless. He also blocked out for rebounds which none of the other players at this level did.

The first kid with braces!

It has been a rough couple of weeks! I got some kind of intestinal bug that wiped me out over two weeks ago, and just as I was feeling better the flu (first time I remember getting the flu) laid me out for a couple days. I'm still a little weak and congested, just in time for Nick and Signe to both come down with it.
While they are home (and Signe spends all day watching HGTV reruns like "Fixer Upper"), I took Zane to the orthodontist to get a mouth full of gear. He has an expander in the roof of his mouth that I will enlarge by tiny increments every other day, in order to make more room in his narrow mouth. Zane went back to school drooling like a St. Bernard until he gets used to all the new stuff taking up space.

On the ice... ice fishing soon.

Boys and guns

Abby likes Nick’s new fur hat.

It's an Ushanka-style hat. Muskrat fur.

Christmas dinner panorama.

Christmas dinner panorama.