Things I Love Lately

• Molly the barn owl--and her mate McGee, her three hatchlings and one remaining egg (I think)... I'm obsessed. Check out her story here and you can watch her, though I am warning you--it's addictive, here.
• Imagination Vacation. The girlies are on spring break from school this week. Thankfully--for all of us, my friend Gretchen let me know about a little spring break "camp" for 3-5 year olds at her daughter's dance/gymnastics academy. The girls got to sing, dance, craft, tumble, and play every day this week from 9-12 and I got to get a few things accomplished in their absence. Yay!
• Little girls at play. These are Piper's fellow neighborhood mommies playing in the sunshine with their babies. Abby, Campbell and Piper are so much fun to watch together--especially when their mommies are my sunshine-chardonnay-sipping-girlfriends!

• The Magic Tree House children's book series by Mary Pope Osborne. These are our first foray into chapter books. We usually read the girls a couple chapters at bedtime. They are both entertained by the stories and captured by the suspense of what's to come in the next chapter. I'm always really impressed by Geneva's reading comprehension (she does a great job filling me in on what I missed when Daddy has read the previous night's chapters) and Piper's patient listening despite the lack of pictures to entertain on every page. We are up to book 13!
• My girlfriend Charity's clothing line for girls. Her fabrics are adorable and the designs are so sweet! You can find her stuff here: Twirlicious & Company.
• Little ladies on their bikes.

• Pride and Prejudice. My book club is reading classic selections and current novels this year. We just finished Pride and Prejudice, which I hadn't read since high school. I remember liking it then. I loved it this time!
• Watching the girls enjoy the Northwest Children's Theater production of "Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!" We love the Mo Williams book, though I was concerned about how they would turn this simple story into a full-length play. I needn't have worried. It was fantastic. Both girls--especially Piper, loved it. Piper even enlisted the three of us to go on stage when they called for two families to volunteer: "Choose me! Choose me!" she cried with her little arm forcibly waving in the air. Obviously, they couldn't deny her.
• The creepy and funny way my girls ask me to take their picture with mannequins when we're shopping. The ones without heads are especially intriguing.

• Happy Hours--spontaneous and otherwise. I recently had the great pleasure of celebrating my friend Michele's birthday with a handful of my girlfriends. We had indulgent spa pedicures followed by happy hour at McCormick & Schmick's.
• BBQ's with the neighbors. The food is always good but the company is always GREAT. You're probably tired of hearing me say it... but we have the best neighbors!
• Tastes of Spring. I guess when you live in a notoriously rainy place you really appreciate the sunshine. We have had lots of warm and sunny days lately... Of course, there's still plenty of rain to come, but this bit of spring has been fantastic!
• Dance parties:

• The new bedding I just found for our bedroom--it was even on sale (bonus!). I'll be sure to take lots of pictures when I'm finished with our mini-makeover. It's very cheerful and cozy. Love, love.
• Target skirts for $3. They're so stinking cute and Target is practically giving them away right now! The girls have one in every color!
• Life-sized "Operation."

• Discovering that I can shop for myself in the Boys' shoe department. Yep. Size 6--thank you very much!
• My girls singing Cyndi Lauper.
• "Spray Painting" at art class.

• Geneva's attempts at spelling. It's so fun the decipher her sentences. "I em yor frend." Precious.
• Snicker's eggs. This is actually a love/hate relationship. I have always been a fan of Snicker bars. These eggs are even better. The peanuts are saltier, the nougat is softer, the chocolate and caramel are at a higher ratio given the portion-size... They are too good.
• These shoes in the soft grey from Cole Haan. So pretty!
• Finger-painting and getting "wary" messy at art class.

• Family vacations. We had such a nice escape to Palm Desert to visit Grandma Lulu earlier this month. The weather was fantastic, the girls really bonded, and Greg and I had some time together as well. We are so proud of how well our girls travel!
• Rooms at The Nines Hotel downtown. Any special night away is appreciated, but when you get to spend it in a room as lovely as this one... it's extra nice.

• The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein. This was another book club choice that I loved. It's a "dog story" that quickly becomes a "human story." I really enjoyed reading it--and I'm not even a "dog person."
• Making summer plans. The girls are getting so big and so active. I love thinking about all the fun things we get to do as a family this summer. Some of my family is coming to Portland this summer for a bit of a "reunion" and we are really looking forward to having everyone here. I'm also thinking about soccer, tennis, golf, swimming...
• These cards I've recently made. They are embossed, which is a stamping technique that raises the ink and transforms it into a textured, shiny finish. Super cool.

• Updating the blog after so much time away!