ROAD TRIP

This last weekend, Chuck, Jared and I took a road trip to Portland.  I had gotten Jared tickets to see the stand-up comedian Brian Regan as a Christmas present and we have been planning this trip ever since. Brian is such a funny guy.  The kids introduced me to his Youtube clips a couple of years ago, and I love his type of humor. He had another comedian from Seattle as his opening act by the name of Kermit Avelo (spelling?) who was good as well. It is so hard to find stand-up comedy that is family friendly, most comedians these days seem to use a lot of profanity and off-color material.  These two guys were squeaky clean!

We had fun riding Portland's light rail system "MAX" everywhere we needed to go and not have to worry about parking.  We visited lots of funky shops, art galleries and restaurants. We had good weather for sight seeing (no rain) and walked until our feet ached. I visited Benessere Olive Oil and Vinegar Shop and came home with some luscious souvenirs.  I bought two bottles of basalmic vinegar: a black balsamic flavored with black cherry, and a white balsamic flavored with peach. Both soooo yummy!  I also picked up a bottle of olive oil flavored with lime.  It will make the best salad dressings.  I am looking forward to experimenting with them all.

Jared has been having fun with the new Nikon camera Chuck got him for Christmas and takes it every where he goes. He took lots of amazing pictures down in Portland, including the ones above.  He has advanced digital photography this semester at school and is excited to have a new camera to play with.

It was a great weekend, but it was nice to get back to my own bed.

US AGAINST THEM

Us girls have got to stick together!  Kitty (K-2 or Kitty 2.0) and I are feeling overwhelmed in our male-dominated household. The week before Christmas, Sam, one of Jared's good friends from school moved in.  Now, because 2 of the "posse" live here, our house has become "party central" for most of Jared's friends.  Most afternoons I will find 4 or more 17-18 year old boys downstairs killing zombies on XBOX.  Now that Becca has gone back to college for the winter, I have reclaimed my "office" (actually her bedroom), and Kitty and I spend most afternoon/evenings holed up in there in my favorite Papa-san chair against the testosterone onslaught. Notice Kitty is sticking out her tongue, showing her disgust with the situation.

While I am known to grumble and complain, I actually love having a lot of teenagers around.  I love to feed them and give them a chaperoned place to hang out.  When they all start to call me Mom, it feels wonderful. However, I do have my days when it feels like this:

 Sam has been very enjoyable to have around.  He appreciates having a roof over his head and regular meals on the table.  He is the type of kid that will load the dishwasher without being asked. His bed is neatly made every morning before he leaves for school.  If he finds clothes in the dryer when he wants to use it, he will take them all out and neatly fold them into stacks on the counter. So far, he has been a joy to have around.  He and Jared have started taking my dog route every Wednesday afternoon when they get out of school early at 12:30 to earn money. 

Sam loves animals and is lobbying Chuck persistently to let us get another dog, (he doesn't yet realize just how hopeless that is).  He has taken over the care and feeding of our 6 guinea pigs (3 male/3 female).  Sam has spent a lot of time and energy building them a bigger enclosure outside, after the piggies started to tunnel out of the cage that I had made.  Two of the ladies are pregnant and getting bigger by the day. All of us are anxiously on "baby watch".