Lewis Family Blog

Calvin

2012-01-29T14:14:00.000-08:00

Calvin.

My sweet Calvin turns 5 tomorrow. January 30th.

FIVE.

Our middle child.

(this is Halloween 2007 Calvin is 9m w/ cousin Marley and Oscar almost 3yo)

He is our cuddly one. He got that from Darren. Can't ever get enough hugs.Which is fine by us.

Calvin got my palette. He notices when I change 1 ingredient in arecipe. Or when I change brands ofsomething I buy.

And he is our passionate one. He showsemotions with intensity. Love, anger…whatever it is… he is intense about it. He can light up a room with his laugh. Melt your heart with his giant brown eyes. Or make you run for cover if he gets mad (we're working on that one).

(This is last year on his b-day)

Happy Birthday little man. You may bestuck in the middle between your brothers but to anyone who knows you are youare the best.

Winter Storm Watch

2012-01-21T10:01:00.000-08:00

I love how Portland goes into lock down at the site of first snow. Our current house is located in the SW hills of Portland on a VERY steep hill. We actually tried to get out but couldn't. Darren, a Canadian, says he felt like a failure. "No Canadian should get snowed in with only a few inches on the ground". Next time we'll be more prepared. Anyway... the boys had a blast. These pics were taken after the first 1/2 inch fell. We actually ended up getting few inches...... fun times!!

Merry Christmas from the Lewis's

2011-12-01T09:21:00.001-08:00

Looking back at my last several Christmas letters I almostalways start with something like “it’s been a big year”. I’m realizing that they areall going to be big years. Life is filled with terror, adventure, change, overwhelming love, laughter and growth. Every year.

This year has been no different. Maybe when my Christmas letters start getting boring is when I'll finally consent to getting a dog. (maybe)

If you are a regular blog follower most of thiswill be a recap. If you followed the webaddress at the bottom of your Christmas card and are here for the first time…WELCOME!!

Over all our little family is doing great.

Here are some highlights of our year.

We moved. We feltstrongly led to sell our little 1922 Bungalow that we painstakingly remodeledfrom the top down over the last 7 years. And sell it did. We got a goodprice which was a miracle given the market. We tried to buy another house in SW Portland. Two actually. Both fell through, one days before we needed to vacate our old house. We were actually packed up and had the moversscheduled when we found out the seller refused to meet the appraised price. That left no option other than a rental. Thankfully, we found a great house quicklythat was available for immediate move in. We are pretty sure that whole thing was orchestrated by God andtherefore, we look forward to seeing where He moves us next.

Darren started a MBA program at George Fox University. It is a 26 month program and so far he’s gotstraight A’s! Go Darren. As you can imagine adding a master’s programon top of his full time job and husband / father duties keeps him busy. We are fortunate to have him all to ourselvesSundays. And we look forward to seeingwhat doors open for him in the future. He is still with HDR Inc. He nolonger does architectural design in a traditional sense. He’s evolved as more of an “architect” in a theoretical sense in that he assists inevaluating and implementing the specific architectural design software used bythe staff architects in his firm.
Heloves this nontraditional architect role.

Oscar (newly 7) started 1^st grade this year! He is doing fantastic. He also joined the chess club and takesMartial Arts lessons. That keeps himbusy. He loves reading and I am thrilledto watch the world open up to him because he can read so well. He played tee ball for the first time this summerand we found out he has quite an arm and talent for baseball. We can’t wait to see him play next summer. In the last month we found out that he is very sensitive to wheat, rye, spelt andgluten. So we’ve been attempting to goGluten Free.

See my other blog: www.joyfully-domestic.blogspot.comfor more about that journey.

Calvin (almost 5) started a Pre-Kindergarten program this year. It is such a joy to watch him spread hiswings all on his own. Make his ownfriends, learn and take pride in doing well. Calvin also takes Martial Arts lessons. And he got to take a soccer sports camp (his favorite sport) all by himselfthis summer!

Jack (almost 3) gave us quite a scare this year. He fell out of our 2^nd story window20 feet onto the concrete driveway. Hespent 5 days at OHSU. He suffered 9injuries, 7 of which were compression fractures in his spine. When they discharged us they said he “mightSTART walking in a week or two”. They sent us home with a tiny wheelchair and a tiny walker. 3 days after we arrived home he was walkingall on his own. Jack’s survival andrecovery is nothing short of a miracle. Our community supported us in prayer. Our family was brought closer together. If you want more details click here and here (links to blogs I posted after his fall).

Jack is fully recovered and whole. He is our real life superman.

As for Me. I just tryto keep up and hold down the fort as a SAHM who is home less and less. I am blessed with an amazingfamily and some great friends. I get to volunteer in the boys classrooms. I co-lead a Bible study at my church. I do my best to create a home the kids and husband love. I post family type stuff on our Lewis Family Blog. And as I mentioned, recently I'm doing a lot of learning about a GF life. I write about that and other "domestic type stuff" on my Joyfully Domestic Blog.

Now go & have a very merry Christmas!

Love, Darren, Jennifer, Oscar, Calvin & Jack

Calvin Cuteness

2011-11-15T07:45:00.001-08:00

Glad he's learning something at sunday school. The song actually goes "I've got the mighty Messiah that manifests miracles down in the debths of my heart".

So cute.

Oscar is 7!!!

2011-11-13T21:10:00.001-08:00

Oscar turned 7 years old saturday. I can't believe I have a 7 year old. 7 is a great age. He has moments when I catch glimmers of the man he will be one day and moments where he is still just a little boy.

So we let him plan the entire day. Here is what his perfect birthday day looked like:

Chocolate pancakes for breakfast.

It was decided that we all had to wear hats. And make and eat cinnamon rolls.

Then we went bowling:

This was our first time at Big Al's. Wow.

Then off to Red Robin for lunch.

And home to open presents:

He got his first Skateboard. Quite a moment for a boy.

Lasagna for dinner.

And finally a 4 layer chocolate-vanilla-chocolate-vanilla cake with NO frosting.

It was a good day. Love you little man. You changed our lives. Thanks for that!

Saturday

2011-11-05T17:32:00.000-07:00

Saturdays used to be family days. And they will be again... in 23 months when Darren finishes his MBA. Sundays are our family days now. Which leaves saturday my special mommy / son(s) day. The only day I get all 3 to myself with no school. I've been trying to make saturdays special.

Today, we started the day off w/ blueberry pancakes and dancing.....

Then we headed to Home Depot for a project. Today's project was making frames. They got to use hammers, glue, nails, screws, etc. They were in heaven!

Then off to starbucks for a treat!

Once at home we decided to paint the frames they made.

Didn't they turn out great! So proud of my little builders.

And of course, no weekend is complete with out baking something. Today we made the season's first pumpkin maple pie!

Oscar and I played his new favorite game Battleship while the younger boys napped.

And now we are dancing some more. I love these little guys. You can't tell from this pic but they got some moves.

Halloween Party 2011

2011-10-30T20:29:00.000-07:00

So we had ourselves a little Halloween Party......

We all got into costume....

Lots of different characters showed up.

A pirate and a ladybug.

Another pirate. This one is 7 going on 25 w/ his 5 o'clock shadow

A cutie pie and another pirate...

A Gypsy and Buzz

And we also had a Batman, Dash, Superman, Iron man's buddy, a few cats and one more little cutie pie.

Then we all got right down to business..... eating of course.

Cupcake coma.

Hanging w/ friends and playing.

Hey is that ladybug climbing the wall?

We played games. The biggest hit was turning the Dad's into mummies.

The kids LOVED this game.

I think... even the grown ups had fun. Thanks friends and Happy Halloween!

One of those weeks.....

2011-10-24T15:37:00.001-07:00

Have you ever had one of THOSE weeks?

In the past few days we've been to the doctor / urgent care 3 tims for 2 of the boys. Yikes.

Oscar, it seems has something called "virus triggered asthma" or "reactive airways". We thought he was just prone to pnemonia and ear infections. For years we've know that it takes him like 12 hours to go from well to coughing until he pukes. Turns out maybe it doesn't have to get that far every time he gets a cold. We are now working with a pediatrician that specializes in asthma and hopefully this is the last cold where he cough until he throws up for hours before falling asleep every night. HOPEFULLY. We'll keep you posted on that.

And then little Jack. We are *THIS* close to bubble wrapping him. While jumping off an ottoman he sprained his ankle so he's limping around the house. Thankfully he didn't break anything. Not sure I can take another broken bone this year....

So. That is our little update. It isn't as bad as it seems. I maybe it is and we just are the "glass half full" kind of people. We are all in great spirits concidering that Jack in limping around while Oscar coughs up a lung in the background.

Wanna come for a visit? I dare you......

Canadian Invasion....

2011-10-17T21:07:00.000-07:00

You know a Canadian is in the house when you have this..... on the counter.

We've just had the privilage of the in-laws coming to visit us from Calgary. Here they are w/ Darren and the kids.

We had a fun filled week with them. We went to the pumpkin patch... which we were stunned to learn had had the pumpkins trucked in and carefully spread out on nice grass. All 2 feet apart, clean w/ the stems up. No vines anywhere. We've never seen this... it was a bit surreal to take a hay ride to a field w/ "displayed" pumpkins. Anyway - the kids didn't care and we all had fun.

Pumpkin carving.....

Calvin's school had a family fun festival. Bouncy house & all!

We decorated for Halloween! Creepy.....

They stopped to see a friend in Eastern Washington on the way to see us and brought two huges bags of apples. So we made PIES! This pie has 15 apples. No joke. It was awesome!

And now they are gone. It was a lovely visit. Thanks for coming to see us Peter & Jeanette! Until next time.

Gig Harbor

2011-10-10T18:49:00.000-07:00

The kids & I went to Gig Harbor for the weekend. My cousin lives there w/ her family. Cooper (12) and Cassidy (17) are the coolest kids alive in my boys eyes.

Here is Cooper playing LIFE w/ Oscar.

Kristen still has some little kids toys for Calvin & Jack to play with.

Cooper plays football. Here's Jack in his pads.

We went to the local Halloween carnival / fair thing. They had a scarecrow contest.

The boys shot some pumpkins.

Did a hay maze....

We got to see Cooper in action. That was cool.

Here we are. His cheering section. From the left are my uncle & aunt, Calvin & Oscar, my cousin Kristen and her daughter Cassidy and Jack.

We ended the weekend at "Oscar's" for a birthday dinner for my grandmother who turned 90. Yes 90.

More family fun. It is fun to watch the next generation start to play / visit with each other.

There is my grandmother.

This is one of my favorite pictures from the weekend. Cooper was showing the boys the back yard (which is huge). He has some sort of play pellet / air gun. This pic is awesome. Boys.... gotta love them.

So that was about it. Loved our time. The boys are already asking when we can go back.... hopfully soon.

All in a day

2011-09-26T20:51:00.000-07:00

We had the funnest Saturday ever. Oscar's school had their annual carnival / book fair. They had games and food. Calvin ate an entire cotton candy all by himself.

There was "fishing" for prizes.

Golfing for prizes.

Riding ovesized tricycles (for fun... no prizes)

Cake walks.

Giant hammer games.

The biggest blow up thing you ever saw. That's Oscar on his way up.

And to top it off after we went to one of Oscar's classmates house for BBQ / roasting marshmallows. Landon lives on a HUGE "rustic" lot. They boys actually hiked in their backyard for marshmallow stick. Serious boy fun. They were giddy.

I love Saturdays like that.

Boy Crazy

2011-09-15T20:09:00.001-07:00

This was how the boys occupied themselves while I did dishes after dinner tonight.

Good old fashion silly fun.

Smiling yet?

Just some random stuff

2011-09-12T14:38:00.000-07:00

Now that Darren has started his MBA we see him even less than usual. He's tried to keep Sunday for family. This was a special moment w/ all my "boys" observing a catapillar they found on our deck.

Took Calvin & Jack to the zoo one day Oscar was in school. I love the zoo on school days... it's so EMPTY.

They boys being creative. They are playing "turtle".... pretty imaginative I thought.

Oscar and Calvin helping me w/ my "homework". I took a pile of stuff from Calvins preschool to help out the teacher w/. I'll have to email this to her.... I'm not sure this is exactly what she had in mind when she asked moms to help her out with the paperwork......

First Day of School

2011-09-07T13:11:00.000-07:00

This year Oscar starts 1st grade and Calvin starts Pre-K. Yesterday both schools had the open house / meet the teacher day. Jack wanted to wear a backpack too. The open houses went super well. Both kids seemed excited! We LOVE the schools the boys are at so that helps a lot too!

This is Calvin's Pre-K class room. I snapped a pic through the window after drop off to make sure all was well (it was). This is his friend Jack who he's know for a few years. They'll be buddies for sure.

This is Oscar's 1st grade classroom. This pic is from the open house where he's putting all his school supplies away.

Calvin, morning of his first day of school ever!

Oscar, an expert at this school thing now that he's a very big 1st grader.

Sigh. They are getting so big......

Oscar's belt test

2011-08-31T22:01:00.000-07:00

Oscar tested for his Lil' Dragon Red belt today & did a great job.

Here he is with Emma (who is 2 years older and a few belts ahead of Oscar assisting)

He did awesome. This is Zach Dunn, Oscar and Calvin's instructor. He rocks. He's a 3rd degree black belt and amazing w/ the kids. If you are interested we highly recommend him and his wife (they teach together)

He did it! Here he is getting his new red belt. Great job Oscar!!!

The Beach

2011-08-30T21:28:00.000-07:00

We love Cannon Beach. We go there as often as we can. We've just returned from 5 days there. Such fun.

The boys love playing on the local skate park.

We made tons of smores.

Calvin & I climbed to the top of Astoria's column.

We did some hiking. This was the biggest slug we saw.

We visited Fort Klatsop.

More water fun.

Park fun. Vacation Darren even showed up.

Our daily walks from the condo to town.

Cousin Marley showed up on our last day to play.

Until next time...............

Day with Granny (and the dogs)

2011-08-13T14:36:00.000-07:00

Darren had a convention this weekend so we headed over to Grannys house for the day. And what a day it was!
We fed the dogs.Played with the dogs.

Laughed with the dogs.

Watched TV with the dogs. Are you catching a theme here?

We also played w/ squirt guns / watered Granny's plants.

And blew bubbles (with the dogs). I'm so glad Granny has dogs. Maybe I can get away w/ having 3 boys and no dogs? Maybe? They can visit her when they need a dog fix... right? RIGHT?

The Smiths.....

2011-08-09T13:18:00.000-07:00

They moved in across the street several years ago. Being the only 2 stay at home moms on our street we quickly became fast friends. I was honored to be able to spend their last 2 days in Portland with them. Tomorrow morning she heads off on an adventure. She, her husband and her son are moving to Costa Rica for a year! I am so excited for them. What memories they will create! But here on the homefront they will be missed. A lot. Little Myles. He is so sweet. He was one of those high-needs babies. Poor Melissa used to come over and cry while I took a turn holding and rocking him. You'd never guess it now at almost 1 1/2 he's such a good little guy. The boys have had fun playing with him....

He fit right in w/ my brood of little men.

Bye Bye Myles & Melissa (and Morgan too). Skype us please.

ROSES!!

2011-08-06T13:46:00.000-07:00

My mom and I took a guided tour of the Portland Rose Gardens this morning. It was her birthday present. I love my mom. We had such fun and lovely views...... Happy belated Birthday mom!

Soccer Camp

2011-08-01T15:03:00.001-07:00

We signed Calvin up for a soccer camp this year. He sort of gets the short end of the stick a lot.... Oscar gets to do everything first (school, tee ball, etc) and Jack is the one lately who has been getting all the attention because of his fall. So we thought Calvin needed something all to himself. He LOVES soccer and from an early early age we noticed his oddly advanced ability to handle a soccer ball. So we signed him up for a weeks worth of tiny-hawk Skyhawk soccer. He LOVED LOVED LOVED it. There were only 7 kids there. And the "coach" Amy was super sweet. She had them take water breaks every 10 mintues (the whole camp only lasts 1 hour a day).

Notice towards the end the other 3 & 4 year olds had dropped due to lack of attention, stamina... whatever. Calvin is still loving it. Maybe it's just me but he looks like a soccer player... you know how they have a "look"?

The camp is held at Riverdale Grade School. That place has an awesome playground. Seriously awesome. Oscar and Jack had a blast.

Ice cream after.... because it's summer after all. And my little red-headed boys needed some extra cooling off after our fun in the sun afternoon.

Seattle

2011-07-31T16:07:00.000-07:00

Seattle is one of our favorite cities to visit. We were lucky enough to get to go this weekend for the wedding of my cousin Marcus and his lovely bride Heather. We had a blast.Not to mention it gives us the chance to get all dressed up.

And see some Architecture.....

Here is my Grandma, mom & her 3 brothers. Aren't weddings such good family reunions?

Grandma w/ me, my brother and ALL our cousins. There are 9 of us. We haven't all been together in the rooms since Grandpa's funeral 8 years ago. We live all over the country so we had fun re-uniting. Thanks to Marcus and Heather for getting us all together again!

Berry Picking

2011-07-27T12:44:00.001-07:00

So if you know me you will be shocked to hear that this morning was my / the boys first time berry picking this summer. Typically we go at least every other week.... but as you know we've been "distracted" this summer. Anyway - we headed out to Blueberry hill this am but I totally spaced what day it was and it was closed.... so we kept driving and found another farm. Turned out to be super fun. They even had a playstructure near the barn.

You'll all remember Calvin is a great picker..... but not a great saver. He eats them all. His mouth is always always always full. He's always been that way.

The farm had some fun kid stuff....

Don't they look so sweet?

The end of a long morning working on the farm. We didn't pick tons... only about 5 pounds of blueberries. That is more than other times in the past. And no we were not able to avoid using the port a potties. Gross. For some reason little boys need to go whenever they see one.

But honestly with kids this young I go berry picking more for the experience, memories & outdoor time on a farm than just for the berries. Coming home w/ berries is just a bonus.

Ahhhh.... the beach!

2011-07-18T20:04:00.000-07:00

We just returned from 4 days at Cannon Beach. We love the beach! Playing at the city park.

Playing on the skate park.

Silly hat store in Seaside.

Yup even the grown ups got silly.

The carousel at Seaside.

Silly pictures..... yes that is Darren punching a shark.

The seaside aquarium.

Running from the waves. A personal favorite.

The Tillamook Cheese factory. And the ice cream counter of course.....

More silly pictures around town.

Tidepools at Haystack rock.

It was raining most of the time we were there, but we didn't mind. The beach is always a good time. And thanks to my parents (who's condo we stay in) we get to return in August when A) it'll probably be sunny and B) Jack'll have his brace off and we can play in the sand!

So bye bye Cannon Beach for now.... we'll see you next month!

4th of July

2011-07-04T21:21:00.000-07:00

So believe it or not this was our 1st official attempt at a "home" firework show & BBQ since kids. It was a total success.

Our resident pyrotechnician.

The boys developed a "I'm so happy about fireworks" dance.

Safety first. Always watch from a distance. And for those of you wondering that firework is on a rock... not the grass.

Granny was with us. She and Jack had fun "oooing and aaaaaing" over each one. So cute.

It was super fun. Happy 4th!

Happy Birthday To Me

2011-07-03T17:23:00.000-07:00

I turned 39 today! Yea 39! I got to have a party at my mom & dads. And I was happy to share my day w/ my neice Marley (who turned 10 yesterday), my husband Darren who turns 38 next week and my mom who's birthday is the 14th of this month! Busy July Birthday month for my family.
My Brother & I.

Darren & I

Sweet moments between grandpa & Jack.

And lots of playtime for the cousins.

It was a great day!

Time to press "PLAY"

2011-06-26T20:27:00.000-07:00

You know how when you take a vacation it feels like you push STOP or PAUSE on your real life? The past 2 weeks have been like that for the Lewis family..... only we haven't been on vacation.

2 weeks ago today we pushed STOP.

Jacks fall stopped life as we knew it. Tomorrow we will attempt to push PLAY again. But it won't be starting back up in the same place.

Obviously Jacks fall was by far the scarriest thing we have ever been through..... however, in spite of that I feel like the past 2 weeks have brought a lot of blessings.

First and formost God is letting us keep Jack. We don't take this lightly. In fact it has reminded us that all our kids are on loan. It has reminded us how precious all of our children are. Here we are on a walk. Oscar & Calvin got scooters for being so brave and helpfull during our family emergency.

We've watched our community come out of the woodwork to support us in prayer - which was amazing. We've grown even closer to our local family (and we were pretty close to start). I watched my mom & dad and Darrens mom drop everything to be there for us. My brother and his family showed up when we couldn't get things together. They all stepped in when we needed them most. And they suffered with us & were terrified with us. And we are closer because of it. And as for the 5 of us we've been refocused on each other. We've been able to spend the time since the fall doing just that.

Quality boy lego time.....

We also visited the firemen who responded to the 911 call. That was super fun for the boys.

Jack is healing physically way faster than anyone thought. Emotionally we are still dealing w/ sleeplessness, nightmares, fears, etc. Here he is doing some medical "play" to help him work through what happened to him.

Isn't he cute? He gets a little better every day. We all do. Thanks for checking in w/ us. We've been amazed by the outreach and concern from all of you for Jack. Thank you so much!

Why Jack is destined for greatness....

2011-06-17T13:02:00.000-07:00

Last sunday Jack leaned on a screen in an open window that turned out not to be attached at the bottom. Meeting no resistance what so ever, he fell 20 feet onto our concrete driveway below. I was in the hall. Darren saw it happen out of the corner of his eye. His scream, "go downstairs" started the scarriest several hours / days of my life. We were taken by ambulance to OHSU. Jack was given x-rays, CT scans, abdominal ultra sounds, later a 90 minute MRI. Turns out Jack must have landed on his bum. He has 9 injuries (fractures, contusions, etc) starting in his hip / pelic area and up to his middle back. His organs, brains, nerves, everything else is totally fine. He is a miracle. He has ZERO bruising and other than where his IV was put in ZERO open wounds. Yup he fell 20' and has no cuts or bruises. None. Here he is w/ his neck brace in his room at OHSU. He loved visitors. Especially his brothers.

So his treatment is a back / body brace for 4 week to 3 months. Turns out no one really knows how fast little kids really heal so we'll see. We have a tiny walker which we were told he might want to use in a week or two...... He's been home less than 24 hours and has already taken several steps w/ his walker all by himself!

Darren ran out & got him a little chair since all the adult chairs he needs to climb into and obviously w/ pelvic fractures can't do that. He LOVES it! Darren also bought an assortment of super hero tee shirts. Since he is superman and has litteral "armor" for now.....

And we have a tiny wheel chair. The boys love to wheel him around the loop in our house.

God saved Jack. He will have our eternal Praise for that.

We are also trying to get the word out to check your windows / screens. If something like this can happen to us, something like this could probably happen to anyone. KGW did a story that was on the news. Here is the link to that. Here is a web site w/ the same mission. www.stopat4.com

Labels

2011-06-12T07:50:00.000-07:00

We are 2 days into summer vacation. Oscar started labeling stuff this morning. This gives you a HUGE peek into his personality. Hmmmmm I wonder where he gets his lable / listing skills from? Now..... how to steer this into something more productive......

Kindergarten Graduation

2011-06-10T10:27:00.000-07:00

It's official. We have a "grader". Oscar graduated from Kindergarten this morning. So cute.

Tee Ball

2011-04-23T12:29:00.000-07:00

Oscar started tee ball this year. He LOVES it. His team is the Cubs. Today was his first game. Here is his "stance". We all went to cheer him on. Here is part of the Oscar fan club.

Oscar played 1st base. And ROCKED it. Seriously. That isn't just the mommy in me talking either......

Turns out Oscar is pretty good. Here is him hitting. Coach Mike pitched to the team rather than having them use a tee. Which is awesome. They all did great and it teaches them how to hit a pitch which is a skill they'll need in upcoming years, obviously.

It was a fun time for us all. It is so fun to watch 5/6 year olds play baseball. Here is Oscar heading for a ball w/ his buddy Max.

This is what our saturday mornings will be like for the next 7 weeks. We are good w/ that. Baseball. Sunshine. Family time. Doesn't get any better..... right?

Out of our comfort zone.....

2011-03-23T06:50:00.000-07:00

Sometimes God takes the drivers seat in spite of ourselves.

About a year ago we thought Darren would be given an ultimatum from his firm (who had just shut down thier Architecture office here in Portland). Relocate or be gone. So we prepped the house for sale. Either way we'd have to move. Either we'd relocate or we'd have to get by on less (local Architects make less than Architects working for international firms). We WERE going choose relocation. But that door shut. And Darren got to keep his job! That was great news. But we still wanted start getting by on less so Darren could start an MBA program.

We had a new plan. Sell our house & buy a house in SW portland near Oscar's school, the Karate studio, tee ball, etc. Well after 7 months we finally have sold our house. We are to be out march 31st. And it appraised out ok which is a miricle in this market. So that is great great news!

We found a great house we loved in a great neighborhood and made an offer. They countered. We countered. They said no. NO.

We found another great house we loved in a great neighborhood. (We also found a back up house just in case.) We made an offer. They accepted! We went through the dreaded repair addendum phase. Then the appraisal came in $30,000 lower than our offer. Buyers won't match it. We loved this house. They said no. NO.

Our back up house in the mean time sold. Another NO.

Do you ever feel like God is trying to tell you that maybe the path you are on is the wrong one?

So given we have to be out of our house in 7 days we've decided to rent a house. That is our remaining door left open. We can't imagine why He has shut all other doors but this one. Is the house for us not on the market yet? Are we supposed to wait & see what door open to us in 2 years when Darren finishes his MBA? We don't know the WHY...

Darren & I have been scrambling the last 48 hours and have found a house to rent. It has everything we need AND is close to West Hills Christian, Karate, tee ball, the city, etc AND it is vacant. Thank goodness!

It is a little scarry. We've not rented since we first got married. We are planners and this is blowing our minds. But it is a little exciting too. There must be something out there for us that is even better.

Pirates

2011-03-13T16:26:00.001-07:00

The Boys have been playing pirates lately. ARGGGGG.

Snow Day!!

2011-02-24T08:45:00.000-08:00

Yah for Snow Days! Being married to a Canadian we are ALWAYS prepared for snow, ice, storms, being trapped in the moutains for days.... anyway. All our kids have head to toe gear so by 7:30 am we were outside having fun! Darren went into work a little late. All the boys / men made a snowman together.

And since this is the last snow day we'll spend in this house I was happy to have the opportunity for one more shot. Isn't it pretty?

And now - at the time of this blog - 9am it is starting to melt. Our portland "snow day" was actually 2 hours. but it was super fun!!

Little Drummer Boy

2011-02-05T08:18:00.000-08:00

Calvin turns 4!!

2011-01-29T10:52:00.000-08:00

My little Calvin turns 4 today. *SIGH*

We've had a great weekend.

Yesterday was craft day. First the kids used needle & thread to poke pom poms for birthday window decorations. Craft inspired by my friend Jen. They turned out so pretty. And I was impressed that between Oscar, Calvin & I..... I was the only one who pricked my finger with the needle.

Then we made Calvin's birthday cupcakes. Cookie Monster.... can you tell?Today was the party. It was small w/ just family. But it was fun... as always.

Happy Birthday little man!!

WHCS Field trip

2011-01-29T10:46:00.000-08:00

This week Oscar had a field trip to the Portland Center for Performing Arts for a production of "Diary of a Worm, a Spider and a Fly". I got to go. It was super fun. Amazing child actors. All in all a great time!

Oscar's Kindergarten class has 15 kids in it - 5 boys. Here they are.... the boys.

Oh Canada.....

2011-01-12T09:55:00.001-08:00

We just returned from a trip to Canada. Darren's home-land.

Darren's step-brother got married! We were lucky enough to be able to attend. It was in a cute little town just north of Toronto. Here we are at the wedding. Mark, Kate, myself & Darren - all dressed up. Don't we look nice? Kate's dress was even more stunning in real life than this picture shows. Congrats!

Here is the downtown of the cute little city the wedding was held in & Mark and Kate live in. It is called Collingwood. One evening we went bowling. Turns out Canadian bowling is different than here in the states. They only have 5 pins. The balls are smaller w/ no holes. It was really fun!

Also there is a resort called Blue Mountain. It has some ski runs & a "town" at the base with shopping, eating, hotels, ice skating, etc. It was totally cute. People skiied right into the "streets" and stopped for lunch, coffee, whatever. There were ski & snowboard stands outside all shops. It was here we got to eat Darren's childhood favorite food Perogies. See how cute it is? The runs are small compared to what Darren & I grew up on. Myself Mt Hood & Mt Bachelor. Darren on Alberta's Canadian Rockies. But never the less they are super cute & looked fun. Maybe next time we'll take a day to go skiing.

Darren reverted to a total Canadian. It was fun to see.... and hear. After a few days he sounded more like he did when I met him 15 years ago.

We had a great great time. Congrat's to Mark & Kate and thanks for giving Darren and I an excuse to get very very far away from our west coast life in the states. And a special thanks to my mom & dad who watched the boys while we were away.

It was Merry Christmas!

2010-12-29T08:18:00.000-08:00

Wow. What a Christmas this has been. We've done all sorts of super fun things. And because I know you care.... here is a recap of the past week or so.....

There was the Zoo Lights: We were invited to watch the Christmas Ship parade by some friends from their office building where they host a party. Here we are clammering to see. (they shut off the lights seconds after this shot). It was a SUPER fun time. The kids had the pleasure of running around like crazy people w/ 10-15 other kids in an empty office building. THAT was almost too much fun for them. We look forward to making this a tradition!

And we had visits from our neighbors who brought a fresh batch of REAL egg nog (w/ the nog). Which was awesome - thanks Smith's. This is little Myles.

Here is our "just before Christmas morning" haul. You know because it isn't about the presents.

Darren's enthusiasm for Christmas kept us all going... and going.... and going.....

(and yes that is a Canuck hat on Jack - we got our annual dose of Canada gear) Granny w/ Jack

Grandma & Grandpa

Christmas Dinner (minus the photographer Darren)

This year began what will be known as the LEGO YEARS.

This year in addition to our in-town family we had the pleasure of Grandma Net & Grandpa Peter joining us from Calgary.

And a Merry time was had by all. Now off to the New Year's celebrations!

Jingle Bell Rock

2010-12-17T08:41:00.000-08:00

Jingle Bell Rock - a family favorite

It ended when Jack smacked Calvin on the head......

Kindergarten Christmas Party

2010-12-15T16:49:00.000-08:00

Today was Oscar's Kindergarten's Christmas party. Super fun. They got to decorate an ornament, make a gingerbread boy or girl. Decorate (and eat) a cookie. It was a fun time had by all.

Christmas Time

2010-12-12T20:37:00.001-08:00

As you can imagine with three little kids and two not so little ones.... Christmas time around the Lewis house is HUGE. We love it. Everything about it. The music, the decorating, the cooking and baking, the TRUE meaning of Christmas, the cheer. It is awesome.

There is always plenty of baking and cookie exchanges. The boys love to help - no shock since they get to have plenty of tastes...... Darren & I were lucky enough to be at the right place at the right time to see a flash mob. We noticed that most of the people at Pioneer mall were "frozen" in place. There was a snow machine on the 3rd level... then one by one they burst into song. It was cool to see.

And our tree.... we all decorated together & had a super fun time doing it!

Two more weeks to go. Two more weeks of fun! More posts to follow.....

Happy 6th Birthday Oscar!!!!

2010-11-12T00:01:00.000-08:00

Oscar turns 6 today. SIX. I can't believe it has been 6 years since we met him. He is such a blessing to us all. So good to his brothers. So caring & kind. So smart. So cute. So responsible. So brave. So sensitive. So curious. Such a little boy.

Happy Birthday sweet Oscar!

Family Bowling Night

2010-11-07T18:12:00.000-08:00

We went to Hollywood Bowl tonight. It was the boys first time bowling FOR REAL (not on Wii). It was SUPER fun. Even w/ Calvin running a fever of 102 he rallied & had a lot of fun. Darren taught Calvin the proper way..... (he's been perfecting this way for years) ;-)

Silly bowling faces!

Good family times!

And pizza after!

Trick or Treat!

2010-10-31T18:56:00.000-07:00

This year we have a Fireman, a Knight & a Football player! Trick or Treat. It was a perfect night for trick or treating.

Jack was totally into it....

Pumpkin Carving

2010-10-30T18:58:00.000-07:00

The past few years we've painted pumpkins but this year we CARVED. We had a ton of fun!

All my boys...

2010-10-16T17:20:00.000-07:00

Darren is the best playstructure we've found for the boys. All he needs to do is to lay on the ground to "rest" and all 3 boys jump on him for wrestling time. They all laugh & have a great time. Here are some cute shots!

Pumpkin Patch Field Trip

2010-10-06T14:49:00.000-07:00

Oscar's Kindergarten took a field trip to the Pumpkin Patch today. It was SO much fun. Almost fun overload. He got to take his first ride EVER in a school bus. The weather couldn't have been better. Bright sunshine. Ahhh fall.

Thankfully Farmer Don drove us all to a "pumpkin pie" pumpkin patch. Otherwise the kids would have picked pumpkins too heavy for the mommies.

Hayride!

Here is his class w/ his adorable & sweet teacher.

Oscar

2010-09-22T08:43:00.000-07:00

Oscar, sweet Oscar.

At home Oscar is the oldest - he's 5 (and 3/4) after all. We expect a lot from him. To be a "big boy" - whatever that is. To do his chores. To not whine. To do what he's told - quickly. To look out for his brothers.

He started Kindergarten this year. When I drop him off - he hops out of the mini van into a sea of K-8th graders all milling about before they are led inside. He looks so small. I always wish I had hugged him one more time as I watch him bravely walk into the crowd of kids. I want to follow him everywhere & protect him from the scary parts of life.

It is amazing to me how context can change everything. I need to remember when he's home he's just a kid and when he's out in the world he's a big boy - not the other way around.

House For Sale

2010-09-14T13:52:00.000-07:00

Well it's been 3 weeks & still no offer so I thought I'd resort to a blog post....

4 bed, 2 bath. 2800sqft. Walk to MAX, Park, Trendy shops. Want to see more? CLICK HERE

Zerbert Lessons

2010-09-08T16:28:00.000-07:00

Calvin

2010-09-01T22:45:00.000-07:00

Don't get me wrong.

I really do think all my kids are cute. Oscar is adorable w/ his red hair. Jack is the happiest little kid I've ever seen & so cute I want to squish him.

But Calvin is different.... almost "dreamy" cute. By birth order he got the short stick... the middle of 3 boys. But God sure blessed him w/ a way about him that is just soooo cute. I already feel sorry for all the little girls in his future who swoon when he looks at them w/ his GIANT almost black eyes.

1st one is OUT

2010-08-22T06:39:00.000-07:00

Oscar woke up this morning beeming w/ pride. He's lost his 1st tooth. Isn't he cute? Can't believe my oldest is loosing teeth already.

Oscar's 1st loose tooth

2010-07-28T17:22:00.000-07:00

Sunday, Oscar noticed he had his first loose tooth. Man is he excited! Apparently it takes weeks sometimes for them to actually fall out? Oh well. It is still exciting! So when my brother & I were loosing OUR teeth we put them in our very own teeth pillows made by my mother. I thought everyone had them, until I said Sunday... "I get to make your tooth pillow now!" And Darren said.... "his what?" I explained & elaborated that this was not an option... but an awesome tradition to pass down. Anyway, now the pillow is made (simple, not frilly) and I've visited the bank for some cool gold-dollar coins we are ready! Here is the proud boy w/ his TOOTH PILLOW!

Nature Walks

2010-07-23T12:51:00.000-07:00

Today we took our first LadyBug nature walk. Portland Park & Rec has them weekly & I think we'll be a regular attender. They boys LOVED it. Here they are "investigating" mole holes.

After it was done we did some nature walking of our own which was equally as fun. The boys had a great time poking plants, bugs, etc.

I love this pic. I can visualize me taking them hiking when they are 10, 12 & 14.

Our past life

2010-07-21T08:17:00.001-07:00

Darren & I lived in San Diego for about 4 years just after we were married. We remember those as super fun times. Duel income. Cool condo. Good jobs. Sunny weather. Beach every weekend. Great friends. Anyway - while there we aquired a small lemon tree. It was supposed to be a dwarf tree so we planted it in a pot. When we left we gave the tree to some friends who planted it in thier front yard. Last night Darren had dinner w/ them (he's in San Diego on business). Here are some pictures of our little tree. Apparently it produces enough lemons for the entire block! Awesome. And it stirred up some great memories too.

Summer Fun

2010-07-16T08:52:00.000-07:00

I'm totally biased but aren't these 3 of the cutest little boys you've ever seen? They are having a blast this summer!

Happy Birthday Grandma!!

2010-07-14T13:44:00.000-07:00

Today is my moms birthday. We met her at Magnolia park & had a little birthday party there. It was totally fun. Happy Birthday Mom!!

Holiday at the Beach

2010-07-06T08:11:00.000-07:00

My parents have a condo at Cannon Beach... that they happily share. We get to go a few times a year. They invited us down for the holiday weekend. We had a blast.

Here are our happy hosts! And us... the happy recipients!

While there we discovered the pure joy that comes from little boys playing in a skate park w/o skateboards. It was like a ton of super fun slides all next to each other! Even Jack loved it!

Here all all the men (minus Jack) sliding down the bowl.

Oscar should get the credit for this new find. He was the first brave one to think.... cool this looks like a slide!!

Thanks Mom & Dad. The Lewis 5 had an awesome time!!

"new" kitchen

2010-06-25T17:46:00.000-07:00

We just had our kitchen cabinets painted. They look great don't they? MUCH better.

White Belts

2010-06-23T07:55:00.000-07:00

Well it's official. Oscar & Calvin got thier uniforms this week & the first belt... the WHITE belt. As you can see they are very excited. And cute.

Grandma & Grandpa Visit

2010-06-22T07:21:00.000-07:00

We had the pleasure of some Canadian family visiting us this past weekend. Here is a picture of the boys w/ Grandpa Peter & Grandma Net! Thanks for the visit! We'll see you at Christmas!

Karate!

2010-06-14T20:34:00.000-07:00

We've just signed Oscar & Calvin up for Karate lessons. Today was the introductory class where the new kids get to.... ....... wait for it.....Break a board! Oscar & Calvin are hooked!

GOLF!!!

2010-06-13T12:37:00.000-07:00

Today was the beginning of an era. We got the boys a few sets of JR clubs & took them out for the 1st time ever... this morning. A fun time was had by all!!

As soon as Jack saw the driving range he started to run!

Darren, the proud daddy with his little golfers!

Summer?

2010-06-10T08:16:00.000-07:00

So it is June 10th. We have had so much rain I am having a hard time remembering that it is summer-time. I have bunco tonight & was trying to figure out what dish to make.... then I thought of caprese salad. The ultimate summer salad. Bursting w/ yummyness. I mini-sized it. One tiny tomato, one tiny basil leaf, one tiny marinated fresh mozzarella ball. Sprinkled w/ salt. Yum. Hope my girlfriends like them!!

Zoo Field Trip

2010-06-09T12:07:00.000-07:00

Oscar's preschool had a field trip to the zoo this morning. They had so much fun. This is a photo of Oscar w/ some of his friends (along w/ Calvin and a tag along little sisiter).

The weather was really good until the end... when it turned REALLY bad. But that didn't stop my kids!

My Happy Place

2010-06-08T14:09:00.000-07:00

This chair is my happy place. Whenever all 3 boys are napping or resting at the same time this is where I go to re-group. This chair, a cup of freshly pressed coffee and a good book and I'm in heaven.From it I can see the one room in my house that is the most organized... our formal dining room.

In the dining room is one of my most prized collections. 5 generations of wedding china. Mine on the left, my great great grandmother's on the right.From my chair I can see our street which I love, with it's huge maples.

And the piano I need to practice more.

All of this makes our blue chair my happy place. Do you have one?

My Boys

2010-06-03T17:03:00.001-07:00

Raising boys to be men is hard work. I am so often thankful that God made them so cute....

Two down... one to go!

2010-06-01T16:41:00.000-07:00

We potty trained Calvin this weekend. Here he is with his celebratory balloons after his first potty use! Notice we were prepared. The juice boxes in the back, the pile of spare underwear... the extra shirts. Pardon the partial nudity but this pic was too cute. Congratulations to Calvin!!

10th anniversary trip

2010-05-24T10:24:00.000-07:00

Our 10th anniversary was in February. This past weekend we did some belated celebrating & spent 4 days getting to know Oregon wine country. We had a fabulous time! Lots of amazing local, organic, seasonal food. Lots of fantastic wine tasting (and some purchases). Lot of together adult time! The boys spent the 4 days w/ my mom & dad (thanks to them). They also had a fabulous time!

It is off!!!

2010-05-18T11:08:00.000-07:00

Jack got his cast off today. I'll pause for applause!!

They still use the same horribly loud mini circular saw they did when I was a kid. Poor Jack. They turned on the saw & he lost it. He screamed for 20-30m. They got the cast off then I had to hold him down for x-rays. All while he was screaming.

He was so upset the dr couldn't really examine him so she sent us all out to the waiting room until he calmed down. As you can see he did calm down and started playing w/ his brothers. He has to re-learn his balance but he's all healed!! And Oscar and Calvin were SO well behaved.
The doctors last instruction as we all headed out the door was, "don't let him near hazardous areas for 1-2 weeks). I stopped short. What do you mean? She said no parks, slides, etc. Nothing where he might in his wobbly state re-twist it. Nice. So wish me luck keeping my 3 sons away from hazardous areas for 2 weeks. PLEASE.

Too Gross to not share

2010-05-13T09:38:00.000-07:00

First let me say if you are not a parent, PLEASE STOP READING NOW. This is WAY too much info for non-parents.

Background:
Granny's birthday is this week. She is coming over today to babysit all the boys so I can to to my Bunko (Darren is traveling this week). This morning we decided to make her B-day cookies.
Calvin (3) has been VERY opposed to potty training. VERY VERY opposed to it. Good thing he's cute.

About 30m ago I found a brown chunk of something on the kitchen floor. Assuming it was chocolate, I picked it up. Then I noticed the smell. IT WAS NOT. Then I notice other "chunks" too. I immediately track down Calvin. Let's just say he had a MAJOR pull up failure. Yes.... GROSS.

On the plus side... my floors are spotless now.

One more week

2010-05-11T07:20:00.000-07:00

Poor Jack. He has a broken leg... still.

He wants to run but can only hobble. Stump stump stump.

He wants to play outside w/ his brothers in the dirt & sand.

One week from today... he is a free little boy!

My Moms: Happy Mother's Day

2010-05-08T12:31:00.000-07:00

My mom.
I love her.
Everyone does.

She is my mentor, my friend, my mother. I love her more & more every year. Thank you mom for everything you do for me... everything you have always done for me. You are awesome.

I also have an amazing mother in law. She is more than I ever could have hoped for in a second mom. She is thoughtful and caring. Judy - thank you so much for everything you do for us. I love you.

Making memories

2010-05-05T14:11:00.000-07:00

When I was a kid we had weekly spelling test at school. Whenever my brother or I got 100% my mom took us out for ice cream! I have great memories of those times... thanks mom.

This week Oscar was singled out as the "superstar" kid at his pre-K school so I decided to start a similar tradition. We all went out for ice cream! The boys loved it!

Spring Fling at Hilltop

2010-04-30T08:39:00.000-07:00

Oscar's preschool had a "spring fling" event last night.

It was a showcase for the kids. They have been learning about how baby chicks are hatched (we got to see the fluffy babies) The kids also got to show off all thier hard work. It was fun to see all his art, science projects & writing.

Our mothers

2010-04-29T14:02:00.000-07:00

As a kid my mom did things that I swore I'd never do when "I was a mom". Come on.. you know you were the same way. Well now that I AM a mom I know why she did what she did. And I know that they were for great reasons. (And for the record if I could go back I wouldn't change her one little bit.)

That being said, one of the things I remember thinking I'd never do was take food places. Popcorn to baseball games, home-made snacks in the car (rather than the drive thru that called to my brother & I).

Today we were driving to Forest Grove for a playdate. That is 45m one way. I have 3 boys. They need to eat.... constantly. I hate drive thru food. Both because of how un-healthy it is & because of the cost (The 10year old me would roll her eyes now). Anyway after I got all of my kids home-made snacks together & lined them up on the counter I realized that I had become like my mom. Thanks mom for being a good example. I'm proud to be like you!!

my legacy....

2010-04-19T10:10:00.000-07:00

I broke a lot of bones when I was little. I guess I must have been either very clumsy or just un-lucky. Regardless I have apparently, against my will passed my tendacies towards freak-accidents to my children. All of them.

Oscar was 2 1/2 when he broke his arm. He was running, tripped & fell.

Calvin was also 2 1/2 when he broke his arm. But not wanting to be under done by Oscar he did it twice. He fell off a chair & broke his arm, then 2 weeks later fell off a bench breaking the same arm in a different spot.

Jack is 14 month now & has just broken his first bone. And not wanting to be under done by either of his older brothers he broke his 1st bone a year earlier & he broke his LEG ....in 2 spots. Nothing too dramatic really. He twisted his leg falling down a step. But a cast on a 1 year old sure does have a "wow" factor!

Sweet moments....

2010-04-17T08:16:00.000-07:00

The boys love it when Grandma brings new books over. I love this picture.

Starting them young....

2010-04-15T07:53:00.000-07:00

I was cleaning windows this morning. Calvin wanted to help. Then Jack wanted to do whatever Calvin was doing. Before I knew it... I wasn't cleaning windows anymore... THEY were. As soon as they are taller I've got a sweet deal... until they go to University that is.

Grapes!!

2010-04-14T13:07:00.000-07:00

You know how kids go through food phases? They eat bananas every day for months then BANG they won't touch them? Well my kids ended a grape phase the day I bought grapes at Costco. My mom suggested freezing them. Brilliant (thanks mom). So I made a group project out of it. We got an ice cube tray & some toothpicks. Popped them in the freezer for about an hour & ta-da!

Yummy!

Jack eats!

2010-04-13T07:47:00.001-07:00

More specifically Jack started feeding himself this morning. He just grabbed the spoon & started eating!! WOOHOO!

Oscar's 1st Field Trip

2010-04-07T17:03:00.000-07:00

Oscar has his first preschool field trip today. The whole class went to the Northwest Children's Theater & School to watch a production of "Don't let the Pigeon Drive the Bus". It was super fun. I got to be a chaperone & driver. Incidentally I googled the definition of chaperone & it is "an older married woman". Hmmm. Guess that is about right.

Happy Easter

2010-03-31T18:50:00.000-07:00

Oscar learned this song yesterday at preschool & came home to teach it to Calvin. This is them singing it. It is worth listening to the whole thing. We'll call this the "Lewis boy version". Enjoy. And Happy Happy Easter!

Jack's 1st b-day

2010-03-18T13:09:00.000-07:00

Jack turned 1 a couple of weeks ago. I'm a little late in posting pics but here are a few. We love a party at our house... these party hats have been well used!

So after cake Antie Mandy broke out the balloon animals. She was AWESOME & brought the party to a new level of FUN!!

All in all it was a fantastic time & Jack had a blast!

Hair Cuts

2010-03-18T11:54:00.000-07:00

It is hair cut morning! Today was Jack's 1st time. Oscar & Calvin have been customers since thier 1st b-days. We go to an awesome little place called Kuts 4 Kids.

Baby Jack is a baby no longer.....

2010-02-27T06:00:00.000-08:00

Happy 1st Birthday Jack!!

Happy Anniversary to us

2010-02-26T00:01:00.000-08:00

Today (2-26) is Darren & my 10th wedding Anniversary. He woke up today in Omaha, I woke up here with our 3 little boys. He comes home today though. Ya!

Ours is a great love story (I think). We met in 1994. I was getting my undergrad at PSU in Architecture, he was too but was not a senior. Yes the man is YOUNGER than me. I'll wait for the gasp of shock to pass.

I knew immediately that I had to be around him. I was drawn to him. He was drawn to me too. Although in retrospect it might have been becuase in 1994 I was in a micro-mini phase. Anway, we became best friends. Co-dependent inseparable best friends. By the time we figured out that we were more and announced it to the world all we got was, "goodness....it's about time!" I guess that meant they too thought we were sole mates.

We married in 2000. We spent a fabulous 4 years in San Diego before moving back to Portland were we proceeded to have 3 perfect little boys. I am still drawn to Darren. He is an amazing man, husband & father. I can't wait for the next 10 years and the 10 after that and the 10 after that...

Happy Anniverssary sweetie. Hurry home.

My Dad's Birthday

2010-02-16T21:56:00.000-08:00

My Dad turned 65 on Valentines day. We threw a little party for him. He is awesome. He's been an amazing dad, father in law to Darren and grandpa to my kids. Thanks Dad. Here he is w/ Oscar & Calvin. They adore him.

This is part of the reason why he rocks. I have LOVED watching him be a grandpa. All the pressures of "parenting" are gone... only the fun of grandparenting. Turns out he's a pretty funny guy! And Jack is always into a good party. He will love grandpa too. Soon Dad will have 3 little boys who think he is a pretty cool guy. Just like I do.Happy Birthday Dad!! We love you.

Happy Birthday Song

2010-02-07T07:44:00.000-08:00

To help the boys know how long to wash thier hands we have them sing Happy Birthday to who ever in our family has a birthday next. Grandpa is next. He turns 65 on 2-14. Here is the boys singing Happy Birthday to him. Side note: Darren taught them to wash hands together & share the sink. How cute is that?

Calvin turns 3!!

2010-02-04T10:28:00.000-08:00

We LOVE birthdays in our house. It is another excuse to wear silly hats & sing. Calvin turned 3 years old last weekend.

When asked "what do you want for your b-day" he said... CAKE. Later when asked "what was your favorite present" he said.... the CAKE. The boy is all about the cake. Guess I make a good cake. ;-)

And more odd Calvin lunches....

2010-01-03T14:22:00.000-08:00

What IS that you say? Cheese pizza w/ Hollandaise sauce (the grown ups were having it on asparagus).

And THIS is granola w/ sour cream. It was a special request.

Gotta love him don't you!

Calvin's lunch

2009-12-30T08:34:00.001-08:00

Here was lunch tuesday. Homeade granola w/ homeade cranberry sauce. mmmmmm good.
oh - and w/ a banana on the side. Of course.

1st snow of 09-10 winter!

2009-12-30T08:17:00.000-08:00

Our 1st snow of the year! So exciting.

And poor Jack - stuck inside w/ mommy. Next year he'll be outside too!!

Calvin's lunch 12-16-2009

2009-12-29T11:39:00.001-08:00

So we're starting a new segment today. My second son, Calvin has the oddest preferences for food. I'll start sharing them w/ you. Here is his lunch a few days ago. This is Anne's Mac & Cheese w/ ketsup and grapes. Mmmmmm.

Merry Christmas!!

2009-12-21T14:29:00.000-08:00

We've decided to go paperless this year. So I'm posting our Christmas letter here!

So starting at the top. Darren is still with HDR. In this economy we are so thankful he has remained employed with such a good company. He still travels quite a bit, but we choose to focus on the positive which is he has a great job that he loves with a great firm.

Oscar started preschool this year at Hilltop Christian. Now I realize last year's Christmas letter told you that we were going to home school the kids until they turned 8 or something. Well God had something else in mind, at least for now. Who knows what the future will hold but we were led to enroll Oscar in preschool and he loves it. Oscar just turned 5 in November and we are amazed at how old he looks and act. (And we've learned our lesson never to make declarations about what we'll be doing more than 1 year in advance.)

Calvin will turn 3 in January. He has begun to find himself this year. Somewhere around 2 1/2 he started talking. We were a bit worried since that is a bit late, but as it turns out the kid knows quite a bit! And when Oscar is at preschool he doesn't stop talking. As each kid goes through the 2's we think... now this one is the cutest ever. I guess we like that age. So for this letter, Calvin is the ctuest 2 year old EVER.

And then there is Jack. In february of 09 we were blessed with our 3rd little boy, Jack Darren Lewis. He has charmed us. Thoroughly. He gets more joy out of watching his two big brothers run around than anything else. He is such a happy baby and a perfect addition to our family.

So that about sums us up for now. What about Jennifer you ask? I'm still working on my doctorate in home economics at Lewis University. I have decided to become a professional student in that field as I love it so!

Merry Christmas.
Darren, Jennifer, Oscar, Calvin & Jack

Crawling!!

2009-12-14T09:33:00.000-08:00

Jack is crawling!!

And here is Darren crawling too!!

Drive by tour

2009-12-01T10:44:00.000-08:00

So as I'm sure you know we have all been sick here at the Lewis house. Well that means we have lots of "cabin fever" days. Especially on weeks that Darren is out of town. So today I decided to load the kids into the mini van and do a driving tour of some of the boys favorite downtown landmarks as well as the big Christmas trees. Join us!
Jack

Oscar

Calvin

The tree in the Pearl at Jamison Park

The tree in Pioneer Square

The boys point out that this is OUR max (the yellow line)

The big purple octopus

The BIG lions

The little Lions

I'm proud of the fact that my boys can name the pdx bridges by site!

The train station

The grain elevators & silo's. An Oscar favorite.

The industrial train station on our side of the river.

Finally we are home as we drive by "our" max stop.

The Dentist

2009-11-25T10:03:00.000-08:00

We went to the dentist last week. They even gave Jack a toothbrush to chew on!
Oscar getting x-rays. He was a VERY big boy.

The boys getting a cleaning. They both did great!

Typical Tuesday Morning

2009-11-17T08:31:00.000-08:00

Here are the boys this morning. Ahhh. Brothers. Here is Jack. Yes he is standing. Not yet crawling... but likes to stand up to play his toy.

Oscar's 5th

2009-11-15T13:04:00.000-08:00

My oldest turned 5 this week. FIVE. Hard to believe. We had a three day long celebration.

The first day, his actual b-day was a casual at home celebration w/ just the 5 of us.

The second day his preschool class sang to him.

The third day we took everyone to the Belmost historical firehouse. Super fun for little boys btw.

And after that our in town family came over for a party w/ cake!! Here is Jack loving his hat.And Oscar loving his presents! Even Calvin mustered after not being quite recovered from the flu.

Happy Birthday Oscar!!