and then...it snowed AGAIN

Greg and I cruised down to Cathedral Park on Monday to check out the snowboarding possibilities. As we approached the park it became pretty evident that Greg wasn't going to want to stay for the originally planned 30 to 45 minutes. It was a snow park! There were little kickers all over the place and the stairs were so covered they made a fun little ramp. I was pretty jealous standing there watching him play. Blah. Oh well...maybe this will happen again...

Greg's backside 180 over a picnic table

Another picnic table 180

Greg and me under the bridge

This last week has definitely been exciting here in the Portland Metro area. I can honestly say that I'm ready for the snow to melt! Even a little rain would be a welcome sight! There is no doubt we'll have a white Christmas this year.

More Snow!

We watched it come down all day yesterday and I can't believe how much snow we have! Greg, Howard, Pema and I took a walk through St. Johns and down to Cathedral Park so that Greg could snowboard the hill. Greg was able to ride the sidewalk from the top of the hill all the way down into the park.

Here's he and Pema cruising down the baby hill in the park.

Me on the St. Johns' Bridge

Greg snowboarding down Seneca in front of our house


Our backyard


Our back porch

Our front porch

It is definitely feeling like Christmas around here! We spent the afternoon making bread and cookies for the neighbors and then I made a yummy rack of lamb for dinner. What a great way to spend a cold, snowy day.

Baby Stiles' Internet Debut

Here are a couple of photos for the fans. Baby Stiles is coming along nicely. Doctor says that the little ninja weighs about 11 ounces and is "measuring long" which makes me wonder if they were looking at the right ultrasound! Top photo is a head profile and the bottom one is a foot. Grow, Baby Stiles, grow!

Yeah Snow! No School!

We received a bit of snow here in Portland on Sunday and yippee it was enough to close school for a day.

Here is the house: Now we have lights all around the porch (that Greg put up in the FREEZING wind last night) and our tree in the front window. It looks very festive.


Greg did a neighborhood walk on Sunday night and took some photos of downtown St. Johns.

The park:

The cinema:


The clock in the town square:


The best thing to happen was our neighbor Gaille and her goats...yep...goats going to the store! She lives across the street and the goats like to go on walks with her and her dog, Lola. Silly stuff!


It is really pretty and I hope that we get the snow they are promising on Wednesday. Maybe I I won't have to go to school on Thursday or Friday, either. THINK SNOW!

Sunday Brunch

Last Sunday we had our friends, the Youngbloods and the Moersfelders, over for brunch and a walk to Kelly Point Park. A couple of years ago the tradition of a supper club started and we try to get together every month for a meal. Life doesn't always cooperate and it had been too long since we were all together. Greg made a strata and roasted asparagus. My contribution was pan dulce from the Mexican panaderia in St. Johns. We had a fantastic time and lots of laughs. Taylor, Mark and Kendall's daughter, had fun petting the kitty and jumping into Pema's bed. She is so fun to be around! Unfortunately, there are no photos of her to post because she slept for the entire walk at Kelly Point Park.

After breakfast the walk was perfect; the sun was shining and we took the dogs with us. The Youngblood's dog, Kihei, had a blast racing around after her rubber chicken and swimming in the river. Poor Pema had to stay on her leash because she is not good at staying with us. Mark, Greg, Stephanie and Spencer found a board and a log to make a teeter-totter with and that provided at least 30 minutes of entertainment.

We had such a nice time and look forward to getting together again with everyone soon!

Dirty 30 and FakesGiving

This last weekend was awesome for us. We went to Seaside to celebrate Darcy's 30th birthday and then came back to enjoy "FakesGiving" with our friends Rob and Jess.

Grant, Darcy's husband, set up a fantastic weekend in a giant cabin close to the beach in Seaside. It was super fun. The ladies took a great walk, Greg broke a kite on the beach, we had delicious fish-n-chips, watched way too much football, played games, laughed, relaxed, and made eggs benedict. yum-e. What a perfect way to celebrate Darcy's "dirty 30". I will add a few more photos of the weekend later...I don't have too many on our camera.

Fakesgiving has become an annual tradition for Rob and Jess. They invite a pile of people to come over for an early Thanksgiving feast. Everyone brings a dish and they provide the turkey. I made garlic mashed potatoes and we enjoyed tons of other tasty food. It was a super fun way to round out a fantastic weekend.

Sí se puede...yes we can

I must admit that we shed tears of happiness last night. For the first time in a long time I feel positive about our country. What an honor to witness and contribute to the election of the first black president in our nation's history. Now it's time to get to work renewing this country and its image on the international front.

In Oregon news, voters smashed down two measures that were of great significance to me: 58 and 60. 58 would have made it illegal for me to teach native non-English speakers in a dual-language Spanish/English program. It was unjust and unfair and I am pleased to see that most Oregonians agree with me. I want students to learn English, but taking their native language away from them is not the best way to accomplish the goal. Besides, two languages (or five or six) are better than one. My Latino students in the dual-language program are closing the achievement gap between them and whites. This is not happening at such an extreme rate in English-only programs. It's awesome and I'll never stop fighting for them.

Measure 60 involved merit pay for teachers. Trust me...the deep down hope for this measure is good. I think that high-quality teachers should make more money. BUT, tying it to standardized test scores is NOT the way to monitor teacher ability. The reality is that folks who teach in high-need and low-socioeconomic schools have different challenges from those who teach in schools where most kids are getting what they need at home. When I taught first grade in Silverton I had students come to school who couldn't identify their name or hold a pencil. It takes a lot of work to get that student caught up to students who started preschool at age 2.

Today is a good day. I know that not everyone is happy this morning; we lived that feeling for the past eight years. Now it's our turn.