Dear Prudence

Hello darlings,
I hope you're all well and Sam's arm is not doing terribly.
We have had beautiful weather for the past couple of weeks. Mum just got back from her college-seeing expedition and is glad to be away from the cold of Vermont and to the sun of Oregon.
And nothing else interesting is going on.

Dear Prudence

Won't you come out to play?

Dear Prudence

Greet the brand new day

The sun is up, the sky is blue

It's beautiful, and so are you

Dear Prudence

Won't you come out to play

Dear Prudence

Open up your eyes

Dear Prudence

See the sunny skies

The wind is low, the birds will sing

That you are part of everything

Dear Prudence

Won't you open up your eyes?

Look around round round round round

Look around

Dear Prudence

Let me see you smile

Dear Prudence

Like a little child

The clouds will be a daisy chain

So let me see you smile again

Dear Prudence

Won't you let me see you smile?

- The Beatles

Beauty Shop

Our trip to Amarillo was wonderful. It's by far the best trip for me as a mommy. Danijela slept well & had a great time. She loves Mamaw & Mamaw loves her. I was able to just enjoy being there. Here we are in the infamous beauty shop. Mamaw is setting Ms. Beyers' hair & Danijela is fixing her own hair. I'll post more here & mooncookie.

Mustard, Pickles, and Mountain Dew...

Well, I'm back from my camping trip. Overall it was OK...we stayed in cabins which were pretty bad (I would have rather stayed in a tent). The food was pretty disgusting and unhealthy. However, as you can see in some of the pictures, the nature on our five hour hike was spectacular. We also had a great time hanging out together and I got to see Saturn through a telescope (probably the only time that I will be able to see Saturn's rings).

I felt very lucky to be in such beautiful surroundings. It felt very different
from the nature I'm used to.

We hiked up here and could see miles and miles of beautiful hills. It was amazing!

One evening, we spent time relaxing and playing cards ...

Georgeous!!!

Doesn't it remind you of a band?

Hamburger, Cheeseburger, Lettuce, and Tomato

Baked Ham Bone, French Fried Potato

Hot Dog, Chili Dog, barbecue,

It's got Mustard, Pickles, and Mountain Dew

It's got Mustard, Mustard, Mustard

It's got Pickles, Pickles, Pickles...

And Mountain Dew-woot 'n' Dew-woot 'n' Dew, Dew, Dew!

Perhaps it brings back a few old memories?

Love you all!

P.S. I've been thinking about Sam and hoping he heals quickly. Love you sweetheart!

Krishna Bhakti

That's no fun. You're a very brave boy, Sam! I broke my arm when I was around your sister's age. I hope it heals up well. I'm sending you kisses and hugs.
Nothing interesting happened today, but yesterday my mentor took me to an Indian classical dance ballet called Krishna Bhakti. It tells the story of two famous Krishna devotees, Andal and Meera. The first act is told through bharata natyam dance and the second act through Manipuri. The show was conceived, choreographed and danced in by the beautiful Jayanthi Raman (that's her in the picture). Her daughter, Ramya, who was also in the show, was one of my fellow Young Scholars, and my mentor is a friend of her mother. The choreography was beautiful and Jayanthi is an incredible dancer and performer.
Love you all and keep posting. Get well, Sam.
T

My Day in the Hospital

Hi All,
Today Sam fell and broke both the bones in his forearm. It was around 9am and we were playing on the playground at school. He came down the slide and I guess he stood up on the bottom of the slide and somehow fell to the ground. It wasn't that big of a fall but I guess he landed just right. I could tell right away that it was broken because it had a strange bend to it (bring back memories Taylor?). Anyway, I was without car so I had a friend take me to the emergency room which happens to be very close. It wasn't long before they got us into a room but it was about an hour from the accident that they finally gave him some Morphine to help with the pain. Also, since he had had breakfast an hour before we got there, they had to wait another 3 hours before they could set the break. At that point, they gave him another shot to put him out for a little while so they could manipulate his arm. He was such a brave boy. Of course the social worker had to stop by to make sure Sam had not been abused. She gave him a little stuffed caterpiller to ease the pain. Finally, about 2:30pm we got out of there. Sam is doing well. Doesn't seem to be in much pain but at 7:00pm he is still lolling around on the couch. Should be a long night getting used to the cast in bed. That was my day. How was yours? Love Auntie M

Photographs and Memories

This was in Grammy and Poppy's yard - I thought it was a great subject.

Eating cheese.

Poppy at Sam's birthday dinner.

Danny...what can one say?

The Cutting of the Cake.

Hope you can recognize it. See you soon!

Love, Taylor

Ankle

Hello my pretties,

Update: I still miss you so very much.

I'm sorry to have missed the hot day in Dallas, but the pictures of Munchkin make up for it. Yesterday I started my Monty Python class. Wasn't quite what I expected. All but one of my classmates are 10-13 year old boys. I also thought they would all be die-hard, wisened MP fans who I could perform all the favorite sketches with at break, but it seems all but one of them have seen nothing more than Holy Grail. Oh well, the teacher is very nice and I already have a role in the performance, in the Dead Parrot sketch.

Keep the news coming, however trivial it may seem - it's not to me.

Love from Taylor

Into the woods, then out of the woods, and home before dark!

T and I have decided that this summer we will be doing...

Texas is HOT

You guys came & left just in time. We set a record here yesterday. It has not been this hot in April since 1914. I'm pretty sure it hit 100 degrees. 1-0-0. Danijela's cheeks prove it.

See you later alligator...

Well, tommorow (Wednesday) me and my class are going on a camping trip. We will be back at about 4:oo on Friday, so I won't be posting for the next couple of days. When I get back, I'll tell you all about it and ifyou're lucky, I may even include some photos.
K

Ashley Judd

Alright Angi and Grammy, here it is. You requested that I post some pictures of Ashley Judd my "look alike". Sorry it took me so long to post them.

That's really too bad about the camping trip. It appears Andi is a very tough girl. I'm glad you enjoyed the time you had. Wish I could have been there with you!
Well, we spent the weekend on the coast. Lainie, who you might know (she was a teacher at NVS) throws an Easter party at her house every year and all the "community" come. I got to see people who I love but don't get to see often because of our move, and people who I hadn't seen since before we moved to Seattle, which was really great. And the food was really good.
Oh, most of the pictures I've taken are on discs, so I had to find a random, pretty image. Thus the horse.

I want another slice of rhubarb tart
What-barb tart?
Rhubarb tart
René who?
René Descartes

Love,
Taylor

Home Again

Hi dearly beloveds....we're back from camping. Didn't go too well. Though Andi still didn't want to come home, I finally convinced her that her bed at home would be more comfortable than the sleeping bag in a warm tent. She is the worlds biggest trouper. Always has been. She was probably running 104 temp and pretty listless. We stayed at the campsite for about 24 hours. Sometimes, after loading her up with Tylenol, she was able to be up and about more or less enjoying herself. Outside of that she could barely sit up and was having trouble breathing. But...she still wanted to stay out camping. At one point I was carrying Andi on my back on a hike back up from some waterfalls. Of course Sam, the ever understanding 3 year old, HAD to be carried too. So being the supermom that I am, I carried Andi on my back and Sam on my shoulders. Believe it or not, I really enjoyed myself. It was beautiful and I love being outside. Happily, my kids do too. We got to see a good amount of wildlife. We heard a very loud bird call which was unmistakably a gobbling sound. We followed it and found two wild turkeys which quickly scurried into the forest. We saw a fairly large watersnake which, after investigating in my snake i.d. book upon my return, I learned was not poisonous. I also caught a baby water garter snake. Saw a baby frog, some fish, and heard a loud call of a screech owl in the trees outside our tent. I LOVE being outside! I'm hoping to go camping next weekend again for a redo. I promised Andi we'd go when she felt better. Happily she has turned the bend and only felt mildly bad today. We made Easter cookies which we delivered to friends in the neighborhood. The kids set their Easter baskets out this eve and I guess a bunny will be filling them tonight. Love you all! Auntie m
p.s. here's a couple pics from our last camping trip

Zia

For those of you who don't know Zia, or can't remember her, this is a post about her. We got Zia five years ago, around Thanksgiving, and our lives have been very changed ever since. I can't remember what it was like not having her around, but I know I'm much happier now that we have her. She is an Iggy (AKA Italian Greyhound) if you didn't already know, though, due to the fact that she is extremely outgoing and often chubby, she seems like a breed of her own (we have thus created the term "Diggy"). Her nicknames include: Wujinoo, pigeon pie, Zi Zi Tops, Zi puppy, Zi Puppy girl dog, Zi Doodle Daisy, Zi Zi Wa, chub tub, booboo brain, and Doll Face; Dog Face. Anyways, here are some photos of the head and center of our family:

She often arranges herself in some of the weirdest and funniest positions, this is one of those instances.

I have taken many photo shoots of Zia. One sunny day, I was trying to find Zia. I went into my room and found her lying asleep on my bed, basking in the sunlight (we often call her a sun goddess). I ran to get my camera and got many truly spectacular shots of her.

I took this photo after following Zia out onto our beach deck. We had a mouse that we christened "Mrs. What'sIt". I believe that she was either after Mrs. What'sIt or one of the many chipmunks that eat from our bird feeders.

T took this at our city home. I think it was in the summer and I hadn't started school yet. T's futon was sitting in the middle of the room and Zia came and layed down on it. She was doing some funny poses, so T got out her camera and I helped her with making sure Zia stayed put.

Oh, it makes me mad...

Okay, so I did a post about our beloved dog Zia, but Blogger was mean and didn't put it first. So, if you scroll down, past EVITA, past Knock, Knock, right below "Family Gallery", you will find a post called Zia. Blogger also wouldn't let me switch around the items in the post, so you have to read bottom to top. Sorry for the confusion. Love you!
K

P.S. The title is from Monty Python's Flying Circus.

Oh, And

Sorry, couldn't think of another fitting title of a Beatles song.

Thought I should post some of our Evita photos.

P.S. I Love You

Update: I still miss you all.

Well, Angie, your photography is magnificent. My camera now seems deeply and lyrically crummy.
I hope the camping trip goes well! Don't tell me one of these times you're going to run off in the brush and not come back. Oh well, as long as you send me a rattlesnake bracelet.
By the way, the photo in my last post was of a rain lily in Grammy and Poppy's back yard, which Poppy showed to me, among other plants.
Do tell us when you're coming to Oregon, when you've got the dates.

Love,

Taylor

The Performance

The Evita performance was magnificent.

You two are absolutely amazing.

Goin Campin

I have been reluctant to blog since my camera is not functioning right now and I can't put recent photos on. Anyway, we're heading out to go camping today. I'm taking the kids so Kev can focus on all the projects he needs to finish (and start) for the new house. We're going with a group of families that have kids going to a local preschool. My friend has a child that goes there. It's the school that we went to for the fairy festival. Almost thought we'd have to cancel because Andi is a little sick today. However, she wants to go anyway and being outside will be good for her. She can sleep in the tent if she needs to. . Love you all. Have a fun Easter! Love M.

Welcome Back, Kotter

Assalaamu 'Alaykum ,
(That means "peace on all of you")

This is my first post on the blog. Any blog, ever. I never, ever expected myself to be posting on a blog. But. I will try to post a photo also and see if it works. So this is experimental.
I love you all and miss you all. Being there was too much fun, as usual, and not long enough, as usual, and I just wish you had all gotten to see the performance, even though it was sort of not ready, and even though there was a throat malfunction.
We saw Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat on Saturday - we hadn't been planning to, but we bought tickets just before the show (it's the tour company from Broadway). Interestingly enough, the Narrator was having same voice problem I had, so I really felt for her.
And I hope summer comes fast.

And now for something completely different - a word from Monty Python:
Penguins, yes, penguins. What relevance do penguins have to the furtherance of medical science? Well, strangely enough quite a lot, a major breakthrough, maybe. It was from such an unlikely beginning as an unwanted fungus accidentally growing on a sterile plate that Sir Alexander Fleming gave the world penicillin. James Wattt watched an ordinary household kettle boiling and conceived the potientiality of steam power. Would Albert Einstein ever have hit upon the theory of relativity if he hadn't been clever? All these tremendous leaps forward have been taken in the dark. Would Rutherford ever have split the atom if he hadn't tried? Could Marconi have invented the radio if he hadn't by pure chance spent years working at the problem? Are these amazing breakthroughs ever achieved except by years and years of unremitting study? Of course not. What I said earlier about accidental discoveries must have been wrong. Nevertheless scientists believe that these penguins, these comic flightless web-footed little bastards, may finally unwittingly help man to fathom the uncharted depths of the human mind.

Love,
Captain B.J. Smethwick in a white whine sauce with shallots, mushrooms and garlic

Knock Knock

Knock knock.
Who's there?
Banana.
Banana who?

Knock knock.
Who's there? (annoyed)
Banana.
Banana who? (very annoyed)

Knock knock.
Who's there? (irate)
Orange.
Orange who? (still irate)
Orange you glad I didn't say banana again?

Family Gallery

I posted some gallery images on Moon Cookie because I want all my friends to meet you! Now, these are not official family gallery images until Grammy's final selections. They're just ones that make me smile. I'm learning more about the camera & will be taking more in July. Soooooooooooooo be ready. -- Moon Cookie

Gene Pool

Tried this once before. Mine was the message with no message. ;>))) Anyway, what I wanted to say was that 'though we are all far apart (some farther than others) Grammy and I hold each of you in our hearts and love you all. It was great being together and we really enjoyed visiting with each of you.

Grammy y yo have settled back into our old folks lifestyle. Kevin and Margaret's house is coming along with lots of the stone being up. Looks neat.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxoooooooooooooooooooooo
Poppy aka popski

ON STRIKE!

Okay. I'm on strike until somebody starts blogging with me. I feel like I'm talking to myself on our "family" blog. Until the strike is over you can hear from me on mooncookie.blogspot.com. Where are the silly jokes? Pictures of your rooms? Recounting of your days adventures? I'm not aware of anyone in our family being at a loss for words. What's up? Love you. Coffee anyone?

Evita

Here are a few images from the awesome 2006 Evita performance. Taylor & Kelsey did an amazing job as usual. Thank you!

Nap Buddy

A rare image of Danijela sleeping! The thing around Danijela's neck is called a "nap buddy." But her Tata was also her nap buddy on the way home from Austin yesterday.

Gene Pool

Hello to all of you.......I talked with Mother this morning and she said to say hello! She would love to see all of you. She goes to the doctor tomorrow to determine if hip surgery is needed. Poppy and I miss all of you. What a wonderful family visit we had........love to all of you.

Grammy

aaakkkkk!

Something went wrong on my last post:
Angi: If you highlight the post with your mouse, you can read the message I wrote for you.

Kelsey

Guess How Much I Love You?

I wanted to tell everyone in Texas how much I love you and miss you. Saying good bye to y'all was the hardest thing that I've had to do since the last time I had to say good bye. Y'all mean SO much to me and I can't wait to see you this summer.

One of the pictures I took while in Texas. Sadly, I didn't get very many good ones, but I guess Angi did.

Angi - Where did you find the poem? I had remembered the first three verses and snippets of the other verses, but I'm glad you found it. I love that picture of Andi, make sure Margaret shows it to her. Give Danny and Danijela a hug and kiss for me. I'm so sorry I didn't get a chance to say good bye to them. I love you.

Margaret- Have you given Andi the treasure hunt yet? Love you and miss you.

Love you all so much,
Kelsey

Miss You!

"To me, clowns aren't funny. In fact, they're kind of scary. I've wondered where this started and I think it goes back to the time I went to the circus, and a clown killed my dad."

Thougtht I'd post a little Jack Handey to cheer you up. I hope you made it back safe. We miss you! Love, Auntie M

Blue Steel

Family Tree

The family tree's beginning
Is unfathomable to me.
But right here in all the branches
Is where our family came to be.

A dashing young geologist
Lamp shade resting on his head
Found true love in his bride-to-be
Beautiful brown eyes and lips of red.

Without the two of you, you see,
There wouldn't be the three
Toe headed precious babies
Known as Michael, Marg and me.

Oh, we know it wasn't easy
To raise us on this earth.
Please know we are so thankful.
You built our character & gave us worth.

Time passed and we were blessed
With unions that have grown
And from these new beginnings
Sprouted children of our own.

The love you showered on us
We see you passing on to them
Words can't describe our gratefulness
Or impact on our precious children.

The family tree's beginning
Is unfathomable to me.
And right here in all the branches
Is where our family came to be.

Welcome!

Hello everyone,
Here's our new family blog, welcome!
Love you!