First Hair Cut: a bit of a bowl cut indeed

 Though I have not been, I am sure on the first day of beauty school they tell you "You can always take more off, but you can't put any back on." I could have used that advice. Jonah's hair ended up a bit short in the front, but he did great and sat pretty still for us (he got to hold Dad's iPhone and that was a huge help in keeping him distracted). 
 

Late Summer: She keeps on giving!

 Jonah and his friend Penny who is about 1 month older than him enjoyed a lovely evening swing in the park.

 Jonah loves the water be it in the bath or in his alligator swim pool. He would spend hours in the pool especially, but he doesn't have enough body fat for that. The pictures below detail some of his most enjoyed summer fun.

 Here Penny and Jonah exchange thoughts on a recipe they are cooking in the kitchen together. They ended up adding more sugar and boy did it taste great. Seriously it is really special to see the two of them together as they learn how to be friends. I can't get over the joy of children.

Rafting!

Jonah's first time in a raft

 “If you live to be 100, I hope I live to be 100 minus 1 day, so I never have to live without you.”
~The Tao of Pooh

One lovely August weekend we found ourselves in the company of the spectacular Ellingford-Rhodes family floating dreamily down a flat section of the Deschutes River in Central Oregon. We spent our time climbing (well we watched while they climbed), taking bike rides, watching movies, observing a cheerleader camp (a huge hit for Autumn), eating yummy food, and generally enjoying the company of dear friends to the fullest.

Helping on the oars

Cheese

 Autumn was such a great "big sister" to Jonah sharing her toys, hugs, and even her bike trailer with him. The way he looks at her makes me sure that they will have a long friendship because I don't think he is going to ever let her out of his sights.

 Autumn calls the rapids rappers. Above you can see she LOVES the thrill of the river and the big splashes!

Martha the sweetest dog in the world!

After Cristi, Spencer, and Autumn returned home Uncle Hyfte came for a quick visit too. On our way back to Salem we stopped so Jonah could bag his first Geo Cash with Uncle Hyfte. Very cool indeed.

Grandma Frances

I woke her up one night when I was about 7 years old. Shaking her shoulder and saying Grandma, "wake up there is a dragon in our bed!" As it turned out there was no dragon in bed just my grandma snoring. Every time she and Papa came to visit I got to sleep with her on the fold out couch. I remember her wrapping her arms around me and feeling her soft silk wrinkles all around me. This tight hold was mostly about showing me how loved I was, but it was also about keeping my bony knees and elbows from bumping her during the night. I still am all knees and elbows and now Kyle suffers from the same misfortune. Sleeping in the bed with her is more or less where my memories of her begin but from the photographs and stories I know our friendship started well before the dragon in the bed night. She had lived a whole full life before I came along. I will leave it to someone else to write down those memories. I will tell you some of what I knew about her.
She was of the earth and knew encyclopedias full of knowledge about gardening and farming.
She loved her family and she hated to say goodbye. When we would have the car all packed up to drive home she would say just get out of here and shoo us off. She often would not make it outside to see us off. I would cry in the car as we drove away imagining what it would be like to say goodbye to her forever. I was blessed because that time did not come until 20 or more years later, but it has been just as deeply painful as I imagined it would be. She passed away peacefully in her chair with the newspaper in her lap and her blanket pulled up around her shoulders. She never had to say to goodbye to us and for that I am thankful.
I went to stay with them in the summer and take swimming lessons at the Malin pool. She would drive me there every morning and watch in the stands as I learned to swim. I remember picking raspberries in the little berry patch behind their house that summer. I don't think I will ever taste a raspberry without thinking of her.
My grandfather and she bickered relentlessly and I remember making everyone say, "I appreciate you grandma" that summer to try to smooth things out a little bit. She was forever sending my grandpa on errands out to the shed to get this or that.
She was all in all a good cook and kept us all fed one of my very favorite dishes was a cabbage and carrot soup she made with black peppercorns in it. You never knew when you were going to crunch down on one and light your mouth up with spice. It was warm and comforting like she was but also had a mean kick if  you bit it wrong. Grandma had a short fuse. But we forgive her that because she was just so darn much fun. She was always looking for an opportunity to laugh her high pitched exhaled laugh and she found plenty of them. She would tell stories and almost not be able to get through them because she would be laughing so much.
She played cards. . .  any card game. She loved it and she was sharp too. I played a lot of skip bo with her.
She loved Christmas. This was confirmed to me when she moved to "The Home" in Klamath Falls. She only had 3 small storage cupboards and she had all 3 of them full of Christmas decorations. The door around her room as well as half the hallway was decorated in her Christmas cheer.
She was a social butterfly. Any social event I attended with her she would stop and say hello to everyone at the party she never met a stranger.
She had a whirlpool tub that she would fill with bubbles for me to soak in. As a child immersing yourself in a giant tub of bubbles was about the most fun that could be had.  I would be completely covered in two feet of bubbles with my head sticking out like a cherry on top of a fresh batch of whipped cream.
She loved Kyle and welcomed him into the family with an open heart. She would ask him about some of her medical conditions and tease him about how he was forever doing her dishes for her. She loved to make him her rhubarb crisp (it really is the best dessert ever and to bestow it on Kyle really meant something).

Our son Jonah and his Great Grandma Frances have something special. From the minute they met he loved to be held by her and sung to. She would put him down and watch him kick and play with his toys. I know this sounds like what anyone would do with a baby, but I am telling you there was something more to it. Something that matched their souls up. I can't describe it, but it was just something that they knew, a secret language they spoke together. I am devastated that they will not see each other again here, but I am confident that when Jonah gets to whatever comes next Frances' spirit will be there too.
She was forever inventing things or finding new uses for old things. You just never knew what purpose she had found for a  Cool Whip container.
In so many ways I feel like with her passing all this is all gone. There is so much emptiness in my heart and I know I will miss her for the rest of my life probably every day
God Speed Grandma
I have selected two poems for you.

i love you much(most beautiful darling)

by e.e. cummings

i love you much(most beautiful darling)  more than anyone on the earth and i like you better than everything in the sky  -sunlight and singing welcome your coming although winter may be everywhere with such a silence and such a darkness noone can quite begin to guess (except my life)the true time of year- and if what calls itself a world should have the luck to hear such singing(or glimpse such sunlight as will leap higher than high through gayer than gayest someone's heart at your each nearness)everyone certainly would(my most beautiful darling)believe in nothing but love Stealing Lilacs by Alice N. Persons A guaranteed miracle, it happens for two weeks each May, this bounty of riches where McMansion, trailer, the humblest driveway burst with color—pale lavender, purple, darker plum— and glorious scent. This morning a battered station wagon drew up on my street and a very fat woman got out and starting tearing branches from my neighbor's tall old lilac— grabbing, snapping stems, heaving armloads of purple sprays into her beater. A tangle of kids' arms and legs writhed in the car. I almost opened the screen door to say something, but couldn't begrudge her theft, or the impulse to steal such beauty. Just this once, there is enough for everyone.

July and August

Okay, as it turns out having a blog is easy keeping it updated is hard. I am way behind. I will do my best to update.
As I walked through the park today I noticed that some of the leaves on the trees are starting to change. Although we were running the AC just two days ago, tonight I wished we were having soup for dinner and I have had 3 cups of tea today. Times they are a changin'. Jonah learned to crawl this month. As you can see from the video above. He has enjoyed his new freedom and mobility.

Auntie K and Jonah 

And change they did. As I look back on July and August I think of fresh veggies from the garden. We ate raspberries the size of quarters and Swiss Chard until I did not know what else to do with it. Many evenings were filled with sitting on the back porch listening to the sprinklers and drinking Mojitos after Jonah went to sleep.


Olive, Chris, Penny, and Jonah enjoying the skateboarding contest in the park.

 The 4th of July was spent in Waldport for the second year in a row Kyle's sister Kari was there as well. Kyle and I stood on the beach and watched the fireworks in the distance as Jonah slept inside the coast cabin. What a delightful way to celebrate. Jonah sat up all by himself for the first time while we were at the coast too.

We had some great visitors Justus and Becca from New York City came to play with us at the coast. I have to say a special thanks to the staff at the Best Western Inn in Newport Oregon. I had booked our rooms for the wrong days in a crazy fit of mommie brain and the staff gave us the two rooms that they hold for emergencies and gave us the week day price.
Jonah spends most of his time these days crawling, and lifting himself up onto his feet. He is also "talking" quite a bit. He speaks in what we call his dragon voice. This voice is deep and very scratchy. It is a crack up to hear that voice coming from such a little guy.

Jonah with Mor Mor and Papa on the 4th of July in Florence

Jonah's audition for the Lion King as Mufasa of course!

We spent a great weekend camping with some of Kyle's high school friends. On the first night there was a brilliant and thunderous storm. None of us slept through the night, but it was just the right way to introduce Jonah to camping. During the day we enjoyed lots of sun and swimming. Not to mention the excellent company that old friends bring.

CVHS Go fight win! Tami, Kyle, and Amy with the kiddos in packs.

The shirt says it all.

Isaiah, Jonah, and Kyle enjoying some creek swimming.

In July we made the decision after much thought and honestly torture to return to our beloved Tahoe where Kyle will work as a physician assistant.

The weeds out back

 Okay, Mexico really is one of the most beautiful and sunny places in the world and we were there and we have the photos to prove it!

The Kiss

Kyle on our balcony

The pool!

Who doesn't love a little nap on the beach?

*** If you want to see updated pictures and don't have time to read just scroll to the bottom!***
An untended blog is a lot like the weeds out back. You keep meaning to attend to it, but you never do and when you get around to it there is a whole heap of catching up to do. Not to mention some pretty big weeds. In an attempt to keep things simple let's play catch up.

May: In May we celebrated Jonah's half birthday and he got to start eating solid foods. He is quite a gastronome and enjoys everything from rice cereal to broccoli. The only thing he really does not like is squash. May also kicked off the delights of having our own garden that we planted back in March with my Dad and Grandma. We were able to eat bushels of radishes and baby lettuce. It is a joy and a miracle to plant a seed and watch Mother Nature do her thing. I think that must be some of the reason that it tastes so darn good. The month of May also gave us an opportunity to cheer on Kyle's dad in the Pole Peddal Paddle in Bend. He and his team mate Pete had fun and finshed in record time. IT is always such a joy to see Jonah with his MorMor and Papa. Their eyes sparkle and love abounds when they are together. I get tons of help from both of them and they often come over on Mondays and watch Jonah so I can run errands (grocery shopping with a baby is not for the faint of heart).

Late in May we had what may have been our most needed vacation ever after a long spell of Kyle working way too hard and not a drop of vitamin D flowing in our veins from lack of sun. We traveled to Sayulita, Mexico with friends from Tahoe. I felt like the trip did CPR on my soul with the company of friends some sunshine, qt with Kyle, and walks on the beach. There was also homecooked meals prepared in the house we were staying in that we did not have to cook.  Kyle surfed (the only downside was he lost his wedding ring in the surf). It was probably a small price to pay to the ocean gods because I saw Kyle really smile from the heart for the first time in months.

June

After returning from Mexico Jonah and I went to visit my parents in Arizona. My grandma Joyce also joined us there. That was a big highlight having Jonah spend time with his great grandma. Because the sun comes up in Arizona at 4 a.m. that is when Jonah was waking up every morning- YIKES! Luckily for me my parents wake up at 4 too, so needless to say they all got to spend the early morning hours together. Uncle Ty also paid us a visit on his way to his new adventure in Jackson Hole, Wy. Jonah got to show off his love of the outdoors with Ty. We spent some great time with my cousin Bear and his kiddos on a outing that included a roasting hotdogs and telling scary stories around the fire. We also welcomed Bear and Jenni's newest addition Clara to the world! Now Jonah is no longer the baby of the family.



I had visits with old friends and it was amazing to reconnect with people I have not seen since the day I graduated from high school. I am so thankful that I was able to see them and talk about the old times as well and eat some humble pie because I was not my best self in high school and I did not always treat people in a way that was kind. They helped me to remember that there was really good parts of high school too.

I spent two great days in Flagstaff spending time with Beth and Lisa who are both having babies this summer.

It was great to be away and get some sun and family and friend time, but I have to say I could not wait to get home to Kyle. Two weeks apart is just way too long. Shortly after my return we celebrated our 5th anniversary. Kyle made me a wind chime that takes my breath away.

I feel like we are all thriving in the month of June (including the garden). I am in awe of all of our abundance.







How does your garden grow?



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April Showers

I wrote this draft forever ago. Now I guess I can finally post it!
As I look back over the month of April the theme of home pops up again and again. It takes time. (we do still feel a bit "lost" both literally and figuratively from time to time). I think that sense of home(ish) comes from us finding some fun places to get coffee when we walk downtown on Sundays. We have also had the opportunity to meet some of our neighbors now that the rain is falling slightly less. I have also joined two mom's groups. Hearing other about other mom's ups and downs has really helped me feel more at "home" as a mom.

Jonah posing as Rugby Man

The Godfather and Alex come to visit

Breakfast with Aunt Kelsi in Hood River

In April we got to go for a weekend to visit Kelsi. The highlight was getting to eat a hand dipped corn dog.

Papa and Jonah