Happy Memorial Day

What better way to celebrate the day than to go to the beach and roast a few hot dogs and marshmallows? Maybe go to the warm beaches of Hawaii to do the roasting but that's out of our leage. The Boy Scout in my always leads me to be over prepared. Good thing for Hanna I compromised and left a few things back at the car.

Monkey Bars

Apologies up front for all these photos of Ella but I was amazed she could manage the monkey bars solo. We were at a park where she could safely try this on her own, usually the bars are 7ft off the ground and daddy helps. This day she jumped on from the side ramp. Got steady, then worked her self forward a couple of rungs before dropping.

Today sunrise was 5:29am and sunset 8:48 and like farmers, children are up with the sun. The blinds in the apartment don't keep the sun out. To the point we are contemplating buying shades for the windows. Ella is taking a nap mid day to make up for short nights. One morning both were up early and to let momma get a few more winks I asked Ella to feed Hanna breakfast.

Above see a happy Momma on a California Vacation to a friends wedding. First time in a couple of years she took a weekend off. Actually consider it a partial off weekend since it takes some effort these days to take care of baby #3. Dad had help from J's mom 'Big H' (she is big H because they also have a baby H). They were all hit with a cold mid babysitting that they probably got from us the week before.

This afternoon we went to a carnaval and the kids loved the rides.

Momma's Day

It is Mothers Day and this is the only photo of Anita on the camera. I need to get one, she looks great. We went to Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI). Very cool with a big flavor of Abq Explora. But this is even more informative for Adults. I could have spent a whole day there vs. the three hours we did. I'll be glad to go back with grandma and grandpa. Next time will hit the USS Blueblack, a fast attack diesel sub decommissioned in 1990.





Ella was dancing in the earthquake simulation room. Hanna liked playing with the air tube/foam ball fun time.




Yesterday we went to Alpenrose Velodrome, 1/6th of a mile and 43 deg banked. I road it once a few weeks ago and it scared me so bad I only road the banks at full speed. Anyway Sat am I get the green light to race. We got there right at the end of warm up and registration. We got Ella on the track for a 'kiddie 1k' which was cool fun for her. I however didn't take any practice laps on the track and road a few min on the rollers before race #1 of 3, a points race. I didn't crash myself or anyone else (I wore an old skin suit just in case). I actually settled right in once we started. It was easier for me to ride the track in a group than solo. I also won the race (all be it a Cat 3 race). The last (only) time I raced track was summer of 99 in Colorado Springs. I didn't win the next two and wound up third in the omnium. I won't bore you with my excuses. A guy named Mark Blackwelder destroyed the 1/2 field and lapped them solo in 2/3 races. I had a good time and am looking forward to some week night races.

From Cowgirl to Flower Girl

Look at my little cow girl. Uncle Terry showed Ella that the calf would nurse on her finger but Ella didn't want to offer her finger. They also road around on the tractor. We were no where near the big Tornado that hit but with the storms around it was a topic of discussion and a real possibility. The farm was hit the year before (not the first time) and a few barns were taken out.





We left the Farm for KC for the rehearsal and Ella wore her Cinder Ella dress to the wedding rehearsal. We also saw grandma and grandpa where Ella got a cool truck puzzle. Also at the rehearsal dinner Ella was sung happy birthday #2 with a song and some cake.




Ella succeeded in her walk down the isle and made her momma and daddy proud. The wedding was a great time hanging out with family. It was a picture perfect wedding and a great party for all!








Here the girls rock out, dad was dancing too. I'm pretty secure these days and don't embarrass easy (but notice no photos). I'm married with little kids and the bigger fool I am the more fun we all have. Also check out the partial (Hanna was napping) family portrait, included to show you the beautiful glowing pregnant Anita.







We flew back into Portland and Hoo-Dee-Hoo (Ella's name for J's dad) picked us up at the airport with J. The kids played hard, Hoo-Dee-Hoo grilled and then Ella got her 3rd happy birthday of the week thanks to Hill! But that really put them into full exhaustion and they sacked out early on the drive home leaving mom and dad to do all the unpacking without their help. These two grils, at one and three, already know how to get out of work.

Aunt Jelena gave Birth today to TWO healthy baby girls (yup twins). I don't know details but all are good. Baka (grandma) Vuletic now has to share her birthday with her 6th and 7th grandchildren. Happy Birthday Baka and congrats to Jelena and Kruno. Maybe Aunt J will send us a photo of the girls, she wouldn't send one of herself pregnant.

Vitamin-D and Vitamin-C!

We had to get to NM for some Vitamin D and Vitamin C (Sun and Green Chile for those not in the know)! It was a now or wait to Aug to visit the land of Enchantment. The summer schedule includes a visit from Grandma and Grandpa in June and baby #3 (we don't know the sex) is due July 14th. This blocks out June to end of Aug, but thats OK because these are the best months to be in Portland. Plus I was ready for a trip home so we made a last min decision to spend a week in NM. Apologise to those we missed but we kept it low key.

The sun part was great. The girls enjoy the neighbors trampoline. We did get stuck with a few thunderstorms so it wasn't a 100% rain free trip. I also spent a few hours on the roof trying to fix a rain leak, that only flares up with long hard rain storms and it was leaking Tue night.





We had a small get together and celebrated Ella's 3rd birthday (actual day is Friday). Chocolate cake is always a winner and she was surprised when we pulled a cake and candles out that she got to blow out. So far all she remembers is watching others blow out candles.




We hit Frontier and Sadie's for our Green Chile fix. Delicious! We also fell right back into old habits hanging out in front of the house with our neighbors the Burton's. We saw lots of people and had a great visit. Now we are off to Kansas, late because I had the flight time wrong we get in at 10:30 pm now instead of 12pm. Ella is flow girl in my cousin's wedding on Saturday. Look for more photos soon.



We also hit Abby's one year birthday at the zoo and caught up with the Tater and her Ma and Pa. Dad also got in some mountain biking with Tate's pa to make it a deluxe Albuquerque vacation.