Eastward bound / Haddonsfield! / Morris Arboretum

Yes, we're traveling. Got up at 5; Maggie came over straight from the law office and drove us to the airport. Terrifying.

Soon, we were in Haddonfield.  The trip had its moments of Miki kicking Ella, but mostly it was okay.  And soon Ida had a new whoopee cushion.  Here she's patiently waiting for Grandpa Vining to get off his exercise bike so she can put it on his wheelchair.  Relentless fart noises, here.  And we're driving a Mazda 5, a vehicle Ella has long coveted.

A lot of preparations were made to get ready for Sagami.  Which Ida said was a meal she'd like to have every single night, only she'd choose the green tea ice cream next time.

These people are relentless with their exercise bike, speaking of relentless.

The very next day we all cruised out to the "Morris Arboretum," a sojourn proposed by Mr. Vining long ago.

Crazy walkways high in the air, gigantic nests and eggs....

Extremely dangerous rope something or others...

And then an outrageous train display, capped by Thomas and Percy, cruising around!  (Note, while on the east coast Ella is making our girls drinking two liters of Fanta Orange and Sprite a day, rather than milk or water.)

We even spent some quality, very cold time, in the log cabin that the lady Morris used to entertain in.  Toko-san showed some of her stamping and marching warm-up technique, here.

So, we got  new camera and will document adventures as we have them!  Everyone's delighted:

Maggie says, "it is not my sweater but if it was I'd give it to Ella right away, if she promised to always wear it with a scarf"

More soon from Euclid Avenue, home of the "Speed Hump."

Robin Lost an Egg

How'd you like to be on a plane with these two?

Holiday Train! (700th post!)

You know the holidays haven't exactly started unless we've gotten on the Holiday Train (a little different than the Dinosaur Train). So we hit it:

(Ida's new favorite song, which Miki finds hilarious:  "Jingle Bells, Butt Man smells, Robin lost an egg!")

Miki was ready.

The stars were O-U-T.  (I decided not to include Arthur's singing this year, though.)

Theo was sitting across from me and was quite pensive.

But upon news that Santa might be coming, she quickly turned around and began being good:

Ah, Santa!  So much is expected of you, big weird guy!

I'll see you soon, and when I do, I'll be wearing a tie.

Thanks, Holiday Train!

Tree

Yes, we got after it. Yes, we got the spirit.

Last year Ida chose her/our tree right away and had a tantrum when we considered other ones...

...this year she told us she was going to choose 5 for everyone to consider.

Once we arrived at the tree zone, though, she chose her one tree and that was that.

Fortunately it was not a very tall tree.  (I am 6'4")

Now wait a minute, who are those two sister vixens?  A two-headed vixen?

Actually, the Bradfords were there!  (It probably will not surprise you that it takes Arthur three hours to pick a tree, and then he picks a huge one and spends a lot of time anxiously talking about how much bigger it is than ours, and then he finds an old glove and starts talking about a technique called "the stranger," and then slips in the mud and tries to blame Maggie, etc.)  But anyway, before I get carried away, we were working on their Christmas photo for their card.  Here's the options (you can vote).

Option #1:

Option #2:

Champion D'Amatos!

So, yes, I mean no, let's not forget the magnificent effort of the D'Amatos, who came here from Wisconsin by way of Texas, who visited us when many thought they never would, that they would only take their talents to sunny climes south of the border at any hint of a vacation. Fantastic:

This is the first time Sam ever really ate fish.  Salmon, smoked and grilled.  Long may you run.

Man, that was a delicious meal on Martins St; some say Arthur made the wild rice out of a box, but man it was so fine.  Whoa!  Here's my sister, Jen:

I kind of wish I had a nice photo of the two of us together with our arms around each other, but things were just moving too fast.  Not too past to put our arms around each other, just too fast to document every moment.  Fortunately, Ida got hold of the camera to take pictures of us separately.

She also took this fine portrait of Fred.  Here he's drinking a Hop Czar, which unfortunately is not a beverage that leaves Multnomah County.

Ida also took this photo of the game--Cowboys vs. Redskins (RG III!)--Fred was watching:

So the actual Thanksgiving meal was maybe the best one I ever prepared, but not many photos were taken.  In fact, we even failed--probably due to the lack of Grambee or Kathy--to go around saying what we're thankful for. Thankful for you, D'Amatos!

Maggie worked very hard at a) looking good, in Ella's absence (working!) and b) keeping the kids' table happy.

Miki sings a sad song, happily

Sophie D'Amato: the quiet heat

So, yes, Samson was a true attraction, and did help us by distracting the young girls for periods of time. He took a lot of abuse, with good-nature. But did he ever actually lift a finger to help us? Now his fine sister, Sophie, on the other hand, peeled a lot of potatoes! Check it out (photo by Ida)! Sophie's Mom is a powerful lawyer nearing her fifth decade and can't even make mashed potatoes.

Anyway, there are a lot of reasons that Sophie's cool. For one, she is like a state champion swimmer, can swim vast distances, and all four strokes, unlike some famous swimmers in our family. Samson suggests that he could beat Sophie in a sprint, but we can't really even begin to entertain that possibility.

Danger.  Word!

Now why Sophie has a tendency to flash gang signs, I'm not sure. I am alerting my sister, now, that gang affiliation, even amid academic superstar swimmers, can lead to trouble. Tupac!

This is at the OG, Original Pancake House!  Sophie is meditating on whether or not she would even eat a pancake until later when they were her Mom's leftovers in the mini-van.  But whatever, man, teenagerhood is on the horizon.  Sweetness persists:

Miki has a sweet spot for Sophie, as do we all.  Here, a little tour of ReedCo, so much more verdant and quiet over Spring Break.

Sophie, come back!

Samson D'Amato, heartthrob

Okay, so, yes! The whole D'Amato clan came to Portland, which some people said they'd never do. And here they were. It's hard to know where to start--it'll likely take many posts to unravel it--but why not choose the hot center. I mean, Samson is like a magnet to these young girls. They love him (that's Fred back there, who's also magnetic, but doesn't quite work the "kind of a boy, but kind of like a man" excitement that Ida sees in Sam).

Friday night we were fortunate to hang with the Bradfords, and Elsie and Theo agreed that Samson was irresistible!

Later they buried him under a pile of pillows and cushions.  Maggie, who'd just cleaned up the living room, really appreciated this.  (But who could blame them!)

Sam was very patient, and he is also an attractive soccer star.

At the Original Pancake House, he was quite polite and had crepes with whipped cream and strawberries.  It seemed even the waitresses, there, took a shine to him.

The girls are still talking about him!  Ida has some questions about his spelling, for instance.

More about our other adventures, and other D'Amatos, quite soon...

Rebuilding

Well, yes, a rainy Saturday, and Ella had a desire to go up to the Rebuilding Center to look at sinks and such. The girls spent a lot of time measuring things:

We managed to get rid of two cabinet doors, but came away with 5 new plastic stacking kid chairs. So, result of decluttering: -2 + 5 = 3 And then we got a sink at another place while the girls and I were drinking hot chocolate. Ella!

Also at TRC, the girls found this old-fashioned wheelchair. After a spell of playing "Grandpa Vining," they went on this little ride:

Haircuts

Yes. 

 If Ida didn't insist on chewing on her hair, and thereby having really gross sticky knives of hair jutting out and giving her a rash on her face (that's a TANG mustache, today, though), maybe we'd grow longer hair.  But our girls don't roll like that, really.  They're tough.

So, yeah, for us these days something like a haircut would classify as adventure.  After all, we can't all be the LeBlancs.  We have to work all the time, like Americans, even if we are surrounded by culture.

It's true that you get a fancy hot chocolate with pink sprinkles shaped like pigs at Blue Kangaroo if you get a haircut and act like a lady--and these two do not want their parents to interrupt their haircuts; they'd rather chat with their stylists about cats, school, holidays, etc.

Meanwhile, here's a thought-provoking random flier I saw at ReedCo.

conversations with Theo, upon trying to get out the door to get to school (repeated)

Theo:  Petuh, I don't really have a coat to wear.

Pete:  Well, you're wearing one.

T:  But it's not really warm enough/the right color/like Miki's.

P:  It'll be fine.

T:  Can I borrow one?

P:  We're kind of short on coats.

T:  Can I look in Ida's room?  Ida might have a coat I could wear.

P:  We're late.  I have to get to work.

T:  How about that coat, hanging right there?

P:  I think the coat you're wearing is going to be great!

T (beginning to cry):  It's not right.  This coat, I can't wear this coat.

P:  Theo, we can't give you a new coat every morning.

T:  But this coat won't work.

P:  Didn't you choose that coat, at your house?

T:  That was before.  That was different.

Miki:  I have a fleece in my room.

T:  That works for me (throwing her coat on the floor).

P:  Theo!

T (crying):  I'm taking my shoes off, I know.

P:  Keep them on, we're going to the car.

T:  But what about my coat?