PARTY TIME

The infamous Fergus and Effie ( along with the equally exciting Craig and Gillian) kicked the party weekend off, when they arrived Friday night. From there on, it was nothing but fun, laughter, running .. oh yes and screaming (apparently the ghost of Irene moved in for the weekend as well).


On Saturday more good friend arrived and the joy continued. There were rescues to be made, cake to be eaten, games to be played and an endless number of movies to be both created and viewed. I will admit my stomach muscles ache from the sweet sweet laughter.








And after escorting Fergus and Effie out of town with a visit to the Toys R Us .. the boys finally slowed down.

Mitch turned SEVEN!

The day finally arrived after much anticipation. Mitchel was thrilled, excited and itching for presents all day long, The top runner, his new FLIP camera.



The rest of the day was full of video making, tree climbing and lots of loving.

Ninja Boys

You know you are in the right place, when this kind of behavior, is not only welcome but encouraged ! ! ! ! !

Lions and Tigers and Porcupines OH MY!

On Sunday we ventured, to the waterfront in downtown Portland, where we discovered, there was a Carnival, complete with wild animals, rides and causeway games. The boys were jump up and down excited.

We started with a trip to see the Exotic animals.





Bumper cars were up next, Mitch was tall enough to drive and Kin just tall enough to be a passenger. Unfortunately, the angle the ride attendant viewed Kin at for the Ferris Wheel, was a little short, and she would not let me ride. He handled himself brilliantly and took many a photo of dad and brother.




We hit the causeway, where the boys raked in the prizes .. eventually I became the pack mule for all ...

Life REALLY is Good

Once in Vancouver, Washington the fun took off! We were greeted at the hotel entrance by Fergus (who had been patiently waiting for us). The boys quickly vanished in to the hotel, exploring, running, shooting, chasing ... And when they weren't moving at the speed of light, they were crowded around a screen, TOGETHER.




There was pool fun to be had by all. Daddy invented the infamous Pool Noodle Hat. (perhaps inspired by the jube jube brain melding hat).




We danced, to Amy Steinberg's music! Which was awesome! There were plenty of glo sticks to go around, as can be seen by the lovely Effie Model here.



There was tons of time for cuddles, conquests and curiosity!





Fabulous speakers and fantastic footwear!




And there were intense moments combined with creative pursuits.

Trekking to Life is Good

Our first big long road trip, as a family, took us all the way to Vancouver Washington for the Life is Good Conference. We were stoked, to cross the border and hang out for FIVE days with fellow unschoolers. Step one, pimp up the Van so the boys had endless access to video games and movies, for most of the ride they looked like this.




As co pilot, I spent a big chunk of my time, taking pictures out a moving vehicle. My main subject matter was road signs, who knew they would be so different.





They other laughable co-pilot moment, was my sheer shock at how much longer a mile was then a kilometer. I spent some time thinking we were much closer to our destinations then we actually were. All in all, the boys were troopers, Puck drove and handled in coming tech calls with finesse and well .. I took pictures of images speeding past the window.

Here's how Makinley handled the last 20 miles.

Movies in the hood

Here are Mitch and Kin working with our neighbor Brian and his son Taylor to put together a movie. There were many scenes afterwards and hopefully one day a completed film, consider this a trailer :)

Inspired by friends

The boys spent about 24 hours with Fergus and Effie and came home with a whole new collection of ideas, inspirations and projects.

1) Ben 10, such a big hit we had to purchase Ben 10 watches before heading back home



2) Wooden swords are way better then plastic ones, can you make us some?

























3) Questing and adventuring are best done in a wooded area, where the likelihood of being spotted is minimal.










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