The Browns' In White (Salmon, that is...)

Before I write about our White Salmon post, I do have to mention that Elliot has graduated from Pre-K and will be a Kindergartner next school year. I can hardly believe it! Why no graduation pictures, you ask? Well...we were those wonderful parents who forgot their camera and decided not to turn around and get it, because we were running late to graduation and didn't want to miss it. Needless to say, some friends took pictures and made sure they took some of Elliot. The children signed (sign language) to Louis Armstrong's "What a Wonderful World" and I don't think there was a dry eye in the crowd. So sweet! Ok....more about that in another post...

Parents of a student I tutor offered their vacation home to us as a "thank you" and we didn't realize what a wonderful gift it was until we got there.

The house is located in White Salmon, WA, about 1.5 hours from Portland.

The house is located on top of a bluff...
...fun yellow swingy things...
...a tire swing...
...wild strawberries...
...killer views of Mt. Hood...
...15 acres of dog roaming (side note: Yakira is almost 14 years old and haven't seen her this happy in a long time!)...
...fields of wild flowers with a picturesque view of the gorge...
...more killer views, but this one of Mt. Adams...
...playing hide-and-seek with the chickens...
...occasional sun beams...
...amazing wild flowers...
...banjo playing...
...and bouquets for mommy.

We spent four wonderful days relaxing and soaking up all that this beautiful place had to offer. Thanks to some very special people who shared their home with us. We feel so honored to have somebody share such a special place with us.

Oddball #7

With two games a week, T-ball continues to be the happening thing in Browntown right now. Elliot is wearing the #7 jersey for Oddball Shoes. At the last game our friend Bryon brought a camera with a sports lens and got some pretty nice shots. Here's a little taste of Monday's big game against the Timmco Insurance squad.

Ear to ear grin...this kid loves to play.

Getting set...

It's a hit.

In scoring position.

Daddle in Seattle

My longtime buddy Steve was up in Seattle visiting family a couple weeks ago. It's only three hours away, so the boys and I went on a whirlwind roadtrip to see Steve and his girls, Iris and Ella. I got off work early, grabbed the boys and we zipped up to Seattle in time to meet up with Steve and Co. at a Mariners game.

The boys trying to snag a ball before the game (no luck this time).

The next morning we walked down to Pikes market to watch fish get thrown around.

We met back up with Steve and the girls at the market, made an obligatory Starbucks stop, and then we went down to the aquarium. Iris and Elliot became fast friends.

Ella looking sweeter than vanilla steamed milk.

Attentive ducks in a row at the aquarium.

Sunshine in Seattle? Who knew?

We jammed a lot into 24 hours and I think we did pretty well for a couple of dads on the town with kids ages 2, 3, 4, and 5. Next time, some music.

T-Ball

T-ball season is in full swing. Elliot is excited to be playing for the Oddball Shoes team and I am happily helping coach/herd cats. Elliot got a hit that made it all the way to the fence today and was pretty fired up about it.

Holding down first base.

Elliot's fan club.

Enjoying the outfield.

Pasach and Uncle Yossi

Miles loves all bread products and Matzah is no exception. We had a nice short family seder (two year olds don't like to sit and listen while the food gets cold). Elliot is old enough to get into the story and the blessings and of course the hiding of the afi-kommen. Miles really gets into the matzah. The best part of passover this year was a visit from Uncle Yossi.

Uncle Yossi got here just in time for T-ball opening day. A typically wet, cold spring day in Portland.

He and Elliot wrote a story about going to the moon.

The boys made out like bandits with White Sox hats, shirts and Elliot even got a personalized autograph from Gordon Beckham the White Sox third baseman. But I think their favorite gift was getting to hang out with Uncle Yossi.