Keeping our Day Jobs

One night in Hawaii there was a "Presidential Ball". As "el presidente" and "first lady" (what we have been calling my mom and dad for the past year), my parents were in charge of the planning. A friend of my father's (a fellow surgeon) Wright Pinson brought his band, the Soul Incisions -from Nashville, for entertainment. Dr. Pinson requested that my sisters, myself and my mom serve as "back up dancers" when they played RESPECT by Aretha Franklin. Needless to say, we were a bit nervous. My sisters and I decided to get some courage through having a LONG happy hour beforehand. My brother-in-law managed to get some footage of our performance....not gonna lie to you...I snorted multiple times watching this. For any of you that know Katie, you will be as surprised as Jenny, my mom and I are about her sudden, flamboyant nature. Guess it was all those ballet performances? Hysterical.

Aloha

We just got back from a once in a lifetime trip. My dad was President of the Pacific Coast Surgical Association this year and the annual meeting was in Maui. At the meeting my dad gave a presidential address (a phenomenal!! speech focused on humanitarianism) and they had a presidential ball. Since we are part of the "first family" we had to go to support him.....really...it was all about him....

IT WAS HEAVEN. We got to stay at the Ritz Carlton (mental note...need to buy a lottery ticket as I could live that lifestyle...thanks Joanie and Jimbo). My sister's families came, so it was one big party. Henry loved the pool and beach, but most enjoyed the golf course (we played three days in row!), tennis and basketball court. Francie loved the pool, playtime with the cousins...but NOT the beach. She wouldn't put her feet on the sand. I tried to put her down and she maintained a "boat" position of holding her feet in the air for over ten minutes. Core workout? By the way, yes - that is a ballet tutu bathing suit. It was classic to see pistol strut around in such a "girlie" bathing suit. Hysterical.

At one point during the trip, I got emotional and very quiet (we all know that is rare) and Henry asked me what was wrong. When I told him that I was just really proud of Papa and all that he had accomplished and that this meeting represented the culmination of his career he grew very quiet himself. We walked a few steps. He then looked up at me, with the most sincere eyes, and asked "Mom, what is a career?".

Tab and Tessy PlayDate

One of Henry's favorite things is Tab and Tessy (www.tessyandtab.com ). They are these great books that come in the mail - addressed to him. The books are about two characters -- Tab and Tessy - and their adventures.

This month one of the books was about Tab and Tessy getting hot cocoa at a coffee shop (Heart on NE Burnside). (http://www.tessyandtab.com/heart/)

Turns out, Tab and Tessy is made here in Portland. Today, they had a special outing (first six kids got to go) where you got to go to the coffee shop where the story is based and meet the characters (who were transformed into a Zebra and Wolf) and see the place in the picture. The kids LOVED it. It was Francie's first hot chocolate and Henry loved making the connection between the pictures in the book and the real-life setting (in the picture above he has the page with the coffee roaster on it and then the actual one is behind him). I loved the Americano....and...not gonna lie to you....the people watching was FASCINATING.

Perfect playdate.

Grandpa Card Dates

Three months post-transplant and with no rejection, Gordon was able to move back into his apartment on Saturday. He is also now able to drive a car...after a year of not being able to...talk about liberating.

Henry was a bit devastated to see him leave, so we made a promise to have a "card date" with Grandpa once a week so that they could still play. Grandpa came over today and the world felt right again for the kids.

Open Gym

Since Henry didn't have school today, he got to go to Open Gym with Francie and me. It was so cute to see them interact with the toys. Henry, of course, spent most of the time shooting baskets and getting a sweaty head while Francie is now able to ride the bike. Crazy.

Papa's Birthday

It was Papa's birthday. Henry was excited as he thinks 63 is a pretty cool number. We made Papa Dinner, got him a yummy marionberry cake (his favorite berry!) and Henry made him two cards. One card was drawings of things he knew Papa loved....and the other was a Blazer game.....at least the kid is consistent.

Francie loved the candles....until Papa blew them out...she thought the smoke was little scarry. Maybe all the anti-smoking rhetoric I have already started is scaring her?

Disneyland

We went to Disneyland. I know this sound cheesy, but it really is a place where kids dreams come true. This year was really wonderful as Henry was a DIFFERENT kid from when we went there two years ago (I was preggo with Francie). This year he went on roller coasters and loved it all. Pistol Francie was still too young for most things, but loved Dumbo and the Winnie the Pooh Ride. The picture above was when Francie saw Pluto....not a fan. The best part was that it was nearly 80 degrees, so when I had to walk Francie around to let her nap in the stroller, I was able to just soak in the sunshine! The funniest part for me was when Francie and Kate (her 3 year old cousin...also a pistol....the twosome will be LETHAL in their teens) went with me to drive the car. They each took a turn at the steering wheel and wow...there was a whole lot of jerking. Still feeling it in the neck...but it was so worth it. We stayed until 11:00 PM.....go rock stars go.....

Griswalds take over....

As you can imagine, when my sister and I travel together it is quite a scene to have 6 kids (Mary- 7, Billy and James -almost 6, Henry-4, Kate-3 and Francie 1 1/2) who LOVE each other and who play hard. Arriving at a restaurant is my favorite...the look of horror on their face. In LA we went to an INCREDIBLE Mexican food place in old-town LA. The staff obviously loved kids. Curiously, they put us in a room with no other people...hmmm.....but we took full advantage. The attached video is just a small clip of the "entertainment" that night. As you can see, I think that Henry is watching the Blazer Dancers as much as he is watching the Blazers. Mark is not happy.

Sunny LA

We flew to LA on New Years Eve. One word -- sun. Not gonna lie to you, the 74 degree weather was magical. The kids loved being oustide with no jackets....amen! Henry got a new camera from Great Grandma for Christmas, so he was VERY excited to use it.

Rose Parade and Rose Bowl

We rang in the new year with a bang by going to the Rose Parade and Rose Bowl. It was magical...and the best part was that we went with my parents (dad is back from Nigeria!) and my sister and her family. My godfather got us tickets (he is the city comissioner) and we were able to see a lot cousins too. Too much fun. Henry loved everything about it....especially that each float had a "number" that was in the program. You can only imagine the joy he found in telling me what "number" we were on and how many we had left. Francie loved the float with the snowboarding dogs....for real....real dogs, snowboarding. It rocked. Even though Oregon lost, the game was still a blast. Even the kids made it through without crying and we didn't lose a child in the stadium. Point parents.