Tee Ball

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.....

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

The Boys have been playing pirates lately. ARGGGGG.

Snow Day!!

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

Calvin turns 4!!

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

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.....

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!

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

Jingle Bell Rock - a family favorite

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

Kindergarten Christmas Party

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

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!!!!

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

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!

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....