fathers and their girls...

baby Mac (one month old) and her Papa

wish I had room for one of these...

...it's a bean teepee, looks like

there are some morning glories too...

another idea for next year!

Ribbit!

I found this BIG BOY in Hauser canyon.
No Bullfrogs were harmed in the making of this blog.

new musical obsession...m.ward...

great song, cool animation
and below, the band singing the same song on letterman...

the mystery of reading and writing in English...

Today I read a blog post from friend, Daleth, about her daughter, Bidane, learning to read. English is such a messed up language...so difficult to learn. I realize it more and more as I teach my kids to read, define different words, explain the wiggy rules. Morgan, the worlds best kindergarten teacher, has great techniques and methods of teaching our kids to read. One of them is best-guess-spelling which encourages them to write write write without worry! Here's one of my favorite examples.
Translation: "education shooter it shoots education right into your brain"
Of course what I also love about this is Emmett's attempt to make a gun acceptable to me. The variation of this is "it shoots out LOVE".
gotta love it!

Dad, we are thinking of you!...

On Mother's Day, my dad had a stroke. He's doing ok, staying in St Elizabeths in Lincoln, Ne. I have been talking to him everyday and he's improving. Keep him in your thoughts everyone! Send out some good energy!
Here is a picture of my dad, my brother and me. You can see the Emmett and Silas resemblance!
WE LOVE YOU DAD!

The Tooth!

Emmett's very first Tooth! After a serious incident involving Emmett's chin and Megan's head we were unsure if the newly loose baby tooth would ever come out or just continue to hurt and irritate Emmett...well tonight it came out! Hurray!

And what a tooth it is! We think Emmett is part shark!

just one of the reasons I love my mama...

...she helps me out so much with these babies, even when they spit at her during diaper changes!! (yes, you have to hold him down or it can be a messy situation!)
Happy Mother's Day!!

something for you to meditate on Cami!...look closely...

the miracle of life, agapanthus style...

Resort Time! Thanks Annie!

Annie treated Mac, Emmett, Silas and me to two and a half days at Paradise Point here in San Diego. We stayed in a beautiful room on the bay. We went swimming a lot, we ordered room service, played golf (putters only) and had a great time!




The colorful clan.



Where we spent most of our time....the pool.

what Mother's Day is all about...

thanks Lauren for finding this...

bon voyage...

Aloha to everyone! We are off on our extended tropical vacation to Hawaii. We'll miss all of you. We probably won't be able to call or e-mail or blog due to the secluded nature of our trip but you will be in our thoughts as we hike orchid forests and swim in fern lined waterfalls. Much love...

...actually we will be a the Paradise Point Resort in Mission Bay for 2 days...we are pretending...see you saturday. (And Cami, if you go into labor, we brought the candle with...)

cutie Mabel...a.k.a. farah...

so, we went on this fun fieldtrip to the aquarium and I got some great pictures but it seems my camera ate them...so...here's a picture of Mabel our sweet yet smelly dog who is just such a girl in this picture...

extreme games...watch out!

cool yet cautious. he says he wishes they had ankle guards!

the shrine...

Any day or week now my neice will be born and here is the shrine that our family put together...you see, Cami asked us to light a candle when we get word that the labor has started...so, we got into it, as we tend to do...
the shrine consists of...
1) A three wick large lavender candle for "purity and clarity", the lady said. Three wicks for the family of three and large because we plan to keep it burning throughout the labor!
2) Growing and blooming things, including a miniature rose branch with 49! closed buds soon to open. No idea about the significance of the number 49...maybe the labor will be between 4-9hours...that would be good...
3) A pokemon card: Slakoth (first stage of evolution). That is from Emmett, he knows what that means and it is important! Slakoth gives good massages he says.
4) A silver fork from Mac to wish the baby good luck as is the custom in Finland. (we don't have a spoon)
5) A baby faces book from Emmett to give the baby feelings.
6) A bracelet from Mac to wish the baby health and wealth.
7) A pin from Papas uniform that he usually wears everyday.
8) Two "C" encyclopedias for knowledge ("C" for the words cami, craig and child)
9) Two angel cards chosen at random by Emmett with the words "Openess" and "Willingness" (I'm not kidding!)
10) Just peeking out of the frame...a note from Emmett, "Its a Girl!"
11) And, finally, a happy wooden Buddha 'cause that 's all about love!

so we are ready (are you!!?!!)...just waiting for that call...adding things to the shrine daily...
thinking of you!

oh, but Lauren, there are so many to choose from...

but then again...

and if not... at least...

and don't forget...

because we all know...

and remember...

and for gods sake...

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

there's this face he makes...

It starts as wide-eyed curiousity...

and morphs before your eyes into this. We should have a caption contest for this one!

quote of the day...

From The Sun magazine:

Question: How many Bush-administation officials does it take to screw in a light bulb?
Answer: None. There is nothing wrong with the light bulb; its conditions are improving everyday. Any report of its lack of incandescence is a delusional spin by the liberal media. That light bulb has served honorably, and anything you say about its going out undermines the lighting effect. Why do you hate freedom?

source unknown

up for a chuckle?...

bad video but great audio!

...and check this out while you are at it...

http://www.tellusthemission.org/

legion of doom...cracks me up!...

cynical but funny...

Tales of Mere Existence: How to Break Up
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hfl9e53LX_U

You have to check this guy out. He does a bunch of other little cartoons you can find on you tube easily...all funny! Not so good for kids. And while you're at it, here's another one with an interview of him at some film short festival.

Tales of Mere Existence: Procrastination
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gPR3sRPK2RY

diarama drama...

Emmett is studying the habitat of the anteater.
Thanks to glitter glue, pipe cleaners, and toilet paper rolls.
And of course, the worlds best kindergarten teacher,
Miss Morgan!!
and its for school of coures. (adds Emmett)

b-ball with pop...

I just love watching these two play outside. Mac, Silas and I hung out upstairs reading Harry Potter #6...again (!) listening to papa and Emmett throw the ball around. They are both so happy doing this...

happy birthday nana!!!

Mac and Emmett painted pictures for Nana! They painted them on wood for
her garden. It was a great Earth Day B-Day!

When the rain comes

While all you people are sitting in your comfy armchairs, drinking hot chocolate and reading cozy books, think of me on some foggy mountain side. On this glorious SoCal day it took me two hours to get down "Batman's Ridge". The water in my boots made it worthwhile...

Basketball

Congratulations to Emmett and Benjamin! Both of these fine young athletes recorded their first baskets in a game today. I think that I was more excited than Emmett, but that is a Pop's prerogative. Emmett told me he is going to be in the NBA one day. I told him that he played a good game.

Matt

peace...

...just wish there was more of it.

spy kids...

emmett chooses BLACK!!

do you know why i chowse black? because of cours you dont know why i picked black
ok that is to hard i will tell the anwesir
it is that emil told me because his backround for his blog is black
go look for yourself

Only One More Month, give or take ...

My awesome sister-in-law has one more month left of this gestation business. Time has flown (speaking for myself!) and this is the home stretch. (literally!)
We Love You Cami! Hang in There!
Wish I could be there to take long get-that-baby-the-hell-out walks with you!

the lights are back on at the studio...just in time...

next was the front door! (poor Matt!)

emmett writes: "etchaskech mania [best guess]"....

[After you finished reading look at the picsure carefole and you will see litil lines]
papa[acshalee matt] brought us a...

etchaskech!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! it took us 1hour to fill the hole bord with lines!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I got my teeth pulled!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ok, first we (Nana, Mama, Silas,and I) dropped off Emmett at kindergarden. Then we went home and watched Sponge-Bob Square-Pants. We got in to the car and drove into the dentist place. I got in the chair and they put a mask on my nose it was supposed to make me calm. Then they started talking about the usual like "How is school?" and "do you have any siblings?" They took my blood pressure and stuck little pads on me to see my heart beat. After that they gave me a tooth to squeeze. It was a stuffed tooth and they gave me an..............................................

I-V!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Cold crept up my arm and when it was at my shoulder I closed my eyes. Then when the medicine got to my heart I fell asleep. When I woke up I was in a bed facing this chinese woman. She looked like a vampire because she was pale and she had two things sticking out of her mouth to suck up the blood because she had teeth pulled too. Those looked like fangs. I took the things outta' my mouth to say hello when a nurse told me to put 'um back in. I sat up in bed and a nurse pushed me back down. Then my mom took me outta the stupid place.

And that is my story.Thank you

And here is silas getting some pear juice straight from the pear.

stein farm fieldtrip...

The kindergarten went on a mellow fieldtrip to Stein Farm in National City.

The animals and the open spaces were the highlights for the kids...

for me it was all about the garden...

and we can't forget touching a rooster's comb...

and Benjamin!!

please, no more robin's egg!!!!...

I just couldn't take it! Next is Emmett's choice.
My guess is black. We shall see. Hmmm?!
(this is officially the dumbest post evah!!)

robins egg blue...

It's Mac's turn to pick the blog colors.
This is her favorite!

six months ago today...

...just a newie...

...six months later...well, alot can happen in six months!
Happy Half-Birthday Silas Loyal!!

thankful to great neighbors and SPRING!!...

We are so lucky to have such great neighbors! We knocked on the door of the butterfly house (we've called it that since Mac was a baby) on Easter Sunday to ask if we could "borrow" a few of their caterpillars off their milkweed, as they have shared before. An hour later there's a knock on our door and they've brought not only caterpillars but printed info as well as a chrysalis, perfectly formed and dangling from a delicate handmade structure inside a jar, much like a ship in a bottle. So nice! If we are fortunate enough to have butterflies emerge, after Emmett's class gets to study them, we will release them where they belong...the butterfly house! Thanks Larry, Ayako, and Galen!!

And here are Mac and Emmett enjoying their artsy, craftsy, "puffly" Easter loot. (puffles are the 2007 equivalent of the pet rock!)