Helping pack up the homefront.

First things first, all the washclothes on the floor. Check
Mom, you forgot your q-tips.
There is probably room for more in this box.

We're Moving!!

Not to California. Well not yet. We still have our eye on that move in a year or two.

For now, we are just moving to Wallingford. Into another boring apartment, but this one is bigger.

So much packing to do. Packing isn't really fun, but try it with a ten month old. Everything I put into a box, he is on the other side, pulling it out. Super helpful.

I'll post pictures soon.

Our moving day is New Year's Day. Its a good thing I can't stay up till midnight anymore, there is a small chance I might be well rested.

I'll try to write more soon. Maybe I'll even brag about my grades. I haven't gotten them yet, so I remain optimistic. I'm just crossing my fingers that I won't have to retake anything. Baby+Grad School=Really Really Challenging.

Reed's First Halloween

The concept was good. I was supposed to be an apple. Reed was supposed to be a worm.

We looked more like Christmas.

A few more pictures...

Hydrangea are beautiful, but poisonous. Don't put them on your wedding cake.

I'm so smart. I move things and then I stand on them to make myself taller.

Sunset.

Hey Run, I'm ready for my audition.

I'm the antibrarian.

An Experiment in Time Management.

I should be working on a memo right now. The memo should be based on a fairly interesting case study about the LA Philharmonic. I should be...

What am I doing instead? I'm watching the trainwreck that is the eighth inning of the Angels-Yankees game. Two errors? Are you kidding me? According to the Angels' current level of play, I am good enough to be a professional baseball player. Not just a professional, but a professional in the ALCS. Just sayin'.

Anyway, I should be memo-writing, but I'm back to procrastinating. Baseball watching and blog writing, not a bad way to pass a Sunday evening. Luckily the memo is not actually due till Wednesday. I am wiping my hand across my brow in relief, even as I type this.

Here are some pictures.

Are you kidding me with that face?

Are you kidding me with that sunrise?

Seriously, the upside of having an early rising baby is that you never miss an incredible sunrise.

Welcome back Fall. We miss you. Please don't lead us to a freezing cold winter. Please.

Reed gets fresh with Lili.

If...

Reed had a facebook page, I would post on his wall:

Please stop yelling at me and go to sleep.

GalOREgon

* I can't get my pictures to post the way I want. So they're a list of pictures*

Two trips to Oregon in four weeks?!

Visits with new and old friends on the beach and the city and the country!

We have been fortunate enough to go on two separate trips to one of my all-time favorite states in this great country of ours. And no, its not because it is called the Beaver State. Well, not entirely anyway.

Our friends Anna and Jon, along with their new daughter Lillian invited us to share a house in Manzanita with them for a weekend. We jumped at the chance. Rob got a couple days off work and we had our first family road trip. I would be lying if I said I wasn't nervous. I imagined a lot of screaming. Primarily from Reed, but also from his parents. Man, was I surprised when he slept for three of the four hours! Rob and I spent those three hours in the front seat and it was almost like it was just the two of us again. Almost. And then Reed screamed. But man, was the drive beautiful.

We enjoyed amazing food, fabulous company, and the incredible Oregon Coast.

And our trip didn't end there. We took Reed to Portland for the first time. Portland is hands down my favorite city and I hope to live there again someday. We met up with several good friends, many from my AFS days. It was so great to see everyone and meet new spouses and children, and visit with old friends, and drink beer in the park. The geese were a bit much to deal with. There were just so many of them.

And then, four weeks later, we traveled to Scappoose, Oregon to celebrate Hill's 28th birthday a week late. Hill moved to the lovely Oregon Countryside maybe four(?) months ago. That is probably wrong. It was a reunion of sorts, with Becca returning from Chile. I think that may become a theme of our lives. Becca will forever be returning from Chile, only to go back once more. Perhaps one of these times, we'll visit her there. I think Reed would really like South America. However, we were one short, with Julia traveling to Denver this exact weekend.

We celebrated Hill with a trip to the Scappoose Sauerkraut festival and Big Pot'o'Meat, which is exactly what it sounds like. My vegetarian husband was appalled. Yum. We followed that up with a delicious, albeit lopsided chocolate cake and valencia orange chocolate sauce. MMMM. It was fantastic to see Hill's parents and meet (again) her new man. She seems happy and relaxed and she can drive heavy machinery like no one's bidness.