Word of the Week: Djudjio

Djudjio: (noun) the workroom of an artist

Whenever Brian is gone -- "Is Papa at his djudjio?"

An often repeated story -- "Essherday, we didn't have a car because we didn't have keys so we didn't drive because Papa was at his djudjio and we took the bus so we camed to the Farmer's Market and we had lunch with Papa at his djudjio and Kaleia was in the little stroller and I walked."

How to we spend our Saturdays in the fall?

Rain or shine, playing with the dogs at the lake. The only difference is who is wearing the blue rainsuit.

Magnolia ~ 2009

Kaleia ~ 2010

Words of the Week: Essehrday and Amorrow

Essehrday: (adverb) 1. the day proceding this one 2. a short time ago 3. any time previous to the present

All quotes from today:

"Essehrday we flew to Califoner on an airplane." (This happened two
months ago.)

"I had yogurt and Papa's cereal essehrday." (This happened this
morning.)

"Essehrday we went to a park with a playground and the ocean." (This
happened just a little while ago.)

Amorrow: (adverb) 1. the day following this one 2. a future period of time

"Where are we going amorrow?"

{this moment}

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. If you are inspired to do the same, leave a link to your moment in the comments for all to find and see.

Word of the Week: Poxpoern

Poxpoern: (noun) corn kernels that have been subjected to dry heat and as a result have burst open and puffed out.

"Papa, I'm having poxpoern and watching Nemo with Mama."

Kaleia's "One Year" Shoot

We continued the tradition of waiting to do a "one year photo shoot" until 13 months. This time we hired our friend and neighbor Julie Harrell to capture our little Leia and some of the whole family. We had a lot of fun taking pictures around Bellingham and think she got some great pictures! You can check out more of her work, including more from our photo shoot, on her blog.

Word of the Week: Gool

Gool: (noun) an institution where instruction is given

When Brian wakes Magnolia, usually, her first question is "Mama go to gool?"

Bedtime Seranades...

Or stall tactics. Either way we enjoyed it.


Her song composing went on for over 15 minutes. I tried to cut it down to just give you the highlights, but it is still 3 minutes long.

P.S. This happened at the end of June.

Word of the Week: Flew

Flew: v. (flewed, flewing, flews) to travel quickly through the air or water

After letting go of her helium-filled balloon -- "Mama! My bloon flewed away!"

In the bath, with her foam letters -- "The letters are flewing around in the water."

On our way to California -- "We're flewing on a airplane."

Growing Up, or The Babysat Babysits the Babysitter's Babies (and Gets Married!)

Every few pages, I pause and hope for silence. The little voices in this dark tent have been seriously debating critical choices for over an hour now. Should we go down that abandoned mine shaft? Or not? Now, after a long, fun day with my little buddies I'm ready to leave the world of children and return to the adults. As a teen whose parents' friends all have younger kids, I find myself straddling these two worlds often.

Now, after waiting a few moments to make sure their sleep is sound, I tiptoe over sleeping bags and do my best to silence the obnoxiously loud tent zipper. The river rushes nearby and I successfully escape to the nearby cabin where the Clark parents, whom we’re vacationing with, and my parents, are playing cards.

My teen years, like most people’s, weren’t always the best of times, but I get nostalgic for those summer nights in the tent and cabin. The Clark kids—Sarah, Peter, Becky and Daniel—who made many memories with us at my Grandpa’s river cabin are all grown up now.

The youngest, Sarah, the one I call Little Fred, just graduated from high school. Are those little hands that could barely help make the solar system mural on the back fence during my self-run summer camp, really off to Gonzaga this fall?

Peter, or Pedro -- a nickname I gave him because he always wanted to help with my Spanish homework -- is now a junior at SPU, my alma mater, and a Peer Advisor, just like I was.

Becky, who loved the Pocahontas sound track and candy salad just graduated from Pepperdine and married a Brian of her own!

And I can still see the eldest, Daniel, trying out his favorite Power Ranger moves, a show he made me watch more times than I'd like to admit. Now he lives on his own with his new puppy and works as a bartender and server. I guess it shouldn't surprise me so much...He is 24.

But this summer I have been surprised by how much they all have grown up as I've attended a graduation party, a shower and a wedding. On a couple of occasions these kids also babysat my kids. It all brought so many memories flooding back.

Clark kids, you all have a very special place in my heart. I sure wish we could find that time capsule we buried at Grandpa's cabin. I bet it would bring back even more memories....