start this up again...

Now that I have my little mini computer and I'm a little more stable with a full-time job and things have quieted down around here.... I'm going to try and start doing this again :) It's the best way I can think of letting ya'll know how we're doing!

Sick Day

Nina stayed home today (and yesterday too) because she's not feeling well. Ironically, I think she has the flu! She had the H1N1 vaccine but didn't get the seasonal flu shot yet and I'm pretty sure that's what she's got... The tea cups are Great Gran's.

The Secret Garden

The secret garden "before"...

And... now...

The secret garden is all cleared and the raised beds are in and bushes and flowers have been planted. Even a worm habitat was made...





Brandon was really kind and as a thank you to Hannah for all of the hard work she put into the garden, he gave her half of his box and the plants/seedlings to plant her very own vegetable patch :) Hopefully we'll have an update soon with a photo of how well it's all growing!

The beginning of the Secret Garden

Finally finding a tree that she can climb!!

And it has a built in swing!!

And, a totally cool hollow tree!

The secret entrance to the secret garden!

Some of the neighbors got together and cleared out a space that most of us never even knew existed (between two of the townhouse rows and the road) and started to turn it into a garden. Hannah loves working out in the garden and has spent many many hours digging up weeds and roots and clearing brush. It's going to look beautiful back there :)

It SNOWED in Atlanta!

March 1, 2009 - It started to snow in the late morning and within a few hours we had actually accumulated several inches!! Hannah LOVED it!!

Nina's 7th Birthday Party!!

Everyone enjoying the cupcakes they decorated!

One of Nina's best friends, Lupita, enjoying her creation :)

Not letting any of it go to waste!

Lily, Nina, Lupita, Zoree, Jordan

Decorating the birthday cupcakes

Hooray it's Nina's birthday!!

Getting Ready for the Party!

For Nina's 7th birthday party she wanted an underwater theme so we decorated the dining room with underwater colors and streamers and Auntie Dia made really cool jelly fish. We asked everyone to wear underwater colors or flowy things or anything that made them underwater-ish. We decorated cupcakes and made bead jewelry and played. It was a lot of fun!

Hannah as Mary Elizabeth McCloud Bethune

The 3rd grade class did a waxworks museum. Every child had to pick a hero that they felt added to the rights of people in the world. They researched their person and wrote a speech, dressed in costume as best they could and then stood still as if in a waxworks museum until someone pressed the "on" button and then they gave their speech. It was great! So many fabulous speeches from all the children.

Oregon!!

View of the Columbia River Gorge from the Washington State side.

Hannah climbing through tree roots at Multnomah Falls.

Strudwick Family :)

Climbing amongst the rocks on our hike up to Multnomah Falls.

The girls at the base of Multnomah Falls.

It's a one-mile hike up a very steep climb on a teensy tiny path with no railing...

View of Oregon from the lodge at Mt Hood.

Averag accumulated snow depth at Mt Hood Timberline Lodge is 25ft!! This is the view looking out from the 2nd floor!

Deliciously yummy hot cocoa at Timberline Lodge.

View of the top of Mt Hood from the lodge.

goofball Nina...

One of our many stops at a playground along the way...

Eating hot dogs that we roasted over the fire that daddy built on Cannon Beach.

Happy Sisters (quick take a photo!!)

Sunset at Cannon Beach, OR.

The girls promising NOT to get their feet wet...
Haystack Rock, Cannon Beach, OR.

Beachcombers :)

Hannah LOVES the beach!!

Searching for creatures and shells and rocks and sticks and...

Lunch with Beth and Chris at Mother's Bistro, Portland, OR.

Looking north toward Mt. St. Helen's (?)

Butt sledding on our hike in the woods on Mt. Hood :)


Here are a random assortment of photos from our trip to Oregon in February. We had a fantastic time. We spent the night at a hotel on the beach at Cannon Beach (the place where Goonies was filmed!), went up Mt Hood and played inthe snow and visited Timberline Lodge (built with money from the first stimulus package back when FDR was in office), we travelled along the Columbia River Gorge and hiked up Multnomah Falls, met up with Beth and Chris who came up from San Francisco, met and stayed with new friends Megan, Damien, and Avery (Jeremy hooked us up), and trawled around Portland stopping at playgrounds, OMSI, schools and shops to get a feel for the neighborhoods. Part of the trip was to have fun which we totally accomplished and the other part was to check out Portland to see if we might like to relocate there... Guess what? We loved it and we're now in the process of packing up, cleaning up and getting the house sold. We all found that we fit in and that the atmosphere, the people and the environment were just what we all were looking for. Amazing to find a place that everyone agreed upon! So, if anyone knows someone in the market for a beautifully large townhome in Atlanta, let me know!

The Gigantic Turnip

The first grade put on the play "The Gigantic Turnip".
Nina was a reader and had to do several parts at the last minute because some of the kids were absent. They all did a fantastic job and had a lot of fun doing it :)

Art Project

This is Nina and her bestest friend, Lupita, and the "Me" pillows they made in art class.

Hannah's home-made Valentine's

I just think these are so beautiful!! Hannah designed and made them all by herself :)

nina... >sigh<

I'm catching up with photos and posts... this is from February. This kid is such a goofball!