a la recherche du temps perdu

The pace of life these days is incessantly quick. The fact that I believe most of our family's endeavors have merit leaves very little wiggle room in our weekly schedules. Because of this, occasional getaways are heaven-sent. So, when our angelic friends Wendy and Jason arranged for us all to take off for Black Butte Ranch in central Oregon, I knew we were into something good. Black Butte is the motherland of downtime. Dropping Scout off at the kennel on the way out of town was icing on the vacation cake (I'm keeping mental track of some of the things Scout does/chews up and will soon update you all on life with a puppy who lives inside our house with us--I know some of you must think I was drugged or knocked unconscious while the doggie dealing went down). So, what did we do with all that time on our hands?

Walked in the woods

Sat in the woods

Sat in the woods some more

Stood in the woods

Looked cute in the woods

Ate snow that fell in the woods

Gathered sticks in the woods

Hung out in the woods

Watched in the woods

Used a chainsaw in the woods

Zoned in the woods

Watched in the woods some more

Helped in the woods

Almost lost a hat in the woods

Thought in the woods

Gathered around a Nintendo DS in the log cabin

Challenged Queen Wendy's DS reign in the log cabin

Kept warm in the chilly afternoon

So we may have done a few more draining things (sledding, skiing, swimming), but these pictures capture what I love about Black Butte: getting out in nature, being comfortable with old friends and lounging as much as possible. I can't wait for the usual pace of our life to zoom us forward so we can go there again.

au printemps

I love, love, love the herbs and plants that Jas and the kids gave me last week: rosemary, thyme, cilantro, basil, curry, verbena, snowstorm, diascia, black heart, and so much more. Here they are planted on our back deck.

mais oui, que je suis aimee

These photos may say a thousand words, but I'll help them along with a few of my own (as I am wont to do) to share one of the best days of my life...

From Nadine on the day before Mother's Day

after she visited a farmer's market

Truer words were never printed

The surprise I saw after hiding my eyes

While reading the card

Just after reading the card

The reason for celebrating

More kissing...

And more kissing...

Admiring the gifts

Flowers for Nana

Bingo with Nana

Calling the numbers

A lollipop from his grandma for the blackout win

Maybe for this post the saying should go, "a thousand pictures...and a few words."

oh la la...crosse

Though I can't say that I've used any trig or calculus since I learned them years ago (as most high school math students accurately predict), I do have occasion to use a little mom math. Let me share one equation with you. Spring rain + a grass field + rowdy boys at a lacrosse game in the Pacific Northwest = ? Stumped? It equals every 10-year old boy's dream--a mud bath. Ethan and his buddies were loving it! Ethan played well and scored at least 2 goals that we saw, but Ethan says it was more like 3 or 4. You may think it odd that Jas and I were both at his game and don't know more about his skills, but with the three other kiddos and the white dog there with us, all of whom we were trying to keep as mud-free as possible (an exercise in futility), it was not like we could kick back, relax, and enjoy the spectacle. And what a spectacle it turned out to be. I'm glad I at least had my cell with me so I could capture the moment.

The boy

His legs (those socks are [were?] white)

His gear

His rear

It's a good thing that he didn't get hurt during the game and have to visit the hospital because his underwear was not up to task. After it was all said and done, I spent over 3 hours scrubbing equipment, doing loads of laundry (multiple washes for the uniform) and then cleaning the laundry room. The cleaning is ongoing: I actually just came across the mud splattered water bottle in the back of the car today. I guessed I missed a spot. The muddy melee may have been every boy's dream, but it certainly didn't end up every mom's...well at least not this mom's.

my blah blah blahg

It's been a rare two days--not much on the schedule and no major deadlines looming around the corner. I've been wanting to create something lately, so I've decided to add to the "blah"gosphere. I hope it beats aimlessly searching the web. Although, I have spent almost 2 full days at it (thank you Launa for borrowing Liam), and so far, this is all I have to show for it. And it's not like I created this here blog design. I merely finally figured out how to upload it. Now it's time to play catch up...