Spring Blooms

The following are some photos I took of the flowers in my yard. It is rainy and yucky today, so I thought it would be a good day to post them. I have 2 other rose bushes that have not bloomed at all yet, but the ones that have still have a bunch of buds on them. I am glad the roses grow so well on their own because I sure don't have a green thumb!

Yummy Red Ball

Laying in the Ivy

Thank goodness that ivy is so resilient! Sherman likes flopping down into it. Here he is mindlessly chewing on his red ball while muldoone is plotting how to get it away from him.

Squirrel Spotting

Mt Hood

It was so close I felt like I could touch it. This was on my way home from NY. I took this from the plane window. It was awesome! You can even see some more mountains to the left behind mt hood.

The crazy bed

Note the tree coming out of the wall. It was a little creepy.

The crazy lodge I stayed at in NY

They have landed!

Mom and Dad got here today. I think they were pretty tired of being in the car together. We got the van unloaded and the stuff in the apartment. Mom was a little bewildered by it all. James and I went to dinner with them and listened to the tales of their trip.

Too bad they didn't go through Montana, dad could have taken mom to the montana state prison while it was warmer!

Arial is settling in

Arial was a real trooper on the way out to Oregon, and she thoroughly went over the apartment when she got there. She has settled in and is enjoying the big windows.

Mom and Dad's welcome basket

We got a bunch of stuff together for them so they would be waiting for them. You know... the essentials... toilette paper, plunger, kettle crisps, coke.

We had a hard time keeping it stocked before they got there.

Mom and Dad's welcome flowers

James and I cut roses from our yard and put them in their apartment on the mantel for them.

They smelled so good. I wish you guys could smell them!

Truckin'

Well James and I got in some quality time this weekend despite his class. We enjoyed some nice weather on Saturday. We went to the Round and had coffee outside in the gorgeous weather while we waited for our sushi place to open for dinner. We ran into our favorite sushi waitress, and we told her we were hanging out til we could come see her! We sat outside and had a good sushi dinner!

Mom and Dad made it to Toepeka Kansas last night, and then today they got to Cheyanne Wyoming. They had a bit of bad luck today and they blew a tire. They got it changed with some help, and found a sketchy hotel across from a truckstop. Never fear... they have good ole Arial to protect them.

James had a great week at work. He is settling in just fine, and he is excited about all the cool things he is getting to do. They are completely different from the DOT's - which is great. They really seem to appreciate him. This job is exactly what he needed.

Jill and Victoria are coming at the end of June and I am sooooo stoked! I might have to open a lemonade stand!!!!! I love that people are visiting.

And coming to stay!

The folks are on the road

Mom and dad signed on the house, got loaded in the moving van, packed up the cat, and headed west this afternoon. They are taking the mid route - tennessee, missouri, kansas, colorado, wyoming, and on in! They made it to St. Louis tonight. Pretty good considering they left Knoxville at 5pm.

We are so excited they are coming! James and I went over to make sure their apartment is doing fine, checked to see if the new dishwasher was installed, and open some windows to air out the place a bit.

I spent the day installing a showerhead in my bathroom - that was broken. So I have to get a new one. I scraped up all the paint from the tile, and I made a feable attempt at cleaning the tile and tub with no shower head.

I'm back from NY!

I got back tonight from NY. It was a hell of a trip. The return flight was just one mess after another. I had to change airlines and airports, and I ended up getting home 9 hours later than I was supposed to. I am glad I get to stay home for a few weeks.

James has a training class friday, saturday, and sunday. So our weekend of fun will be slightly stunted. At least this way I can get plenty of sleep and recover!

James' new office

The park across from James' office

Yellow Iris

Mixed in with the purple ones.

Purple Iris

These are out front along the driveway.

Some of the backyard flowers

Boxing Boyfriend

This is a life size boxing dummy that James and I saw at a sports store. He was very "fleshy". And he cost $280!

The Round

This is where our favorite sushi restaurant is. In fact I took this picture while we were having lunch out front. The Round is a cresent shaped building with lofts on top and restaurants on the bottom. The concrete area is where all the kids play. To the left is a light rail stop.

Happy Sunny Pair

This is one of the biggest benefits of us being in Portland... being so close to the ocean. We can pick up any day and drive out. It took about 1 1/2 hours.

What a great mother's day. Next year it will be 3 generations of Reeds out there. Mom and dad, me and James, and the 3 babies!

Thanks for the denim quilts mom!

The dogs passed out on them, and the leather was grateful for the protection.

One of the calmer tennis ball scrambles

Mattie is doing her part

She gave herself a bath, and then she moved onto Muldoone. He just laid there going in and out of sleep while she worked on him.

She NEVER does that. He must have been so dirty that he bothered her.

Tired, sandy babies

The drive home was very quiet.

And smelly.

Heading home

"Where o where is my ball?"

What a good day

Muldoone is a bit cleaner

Only a bit. I can't wait to see how much sand is in there poo this week.

We call him pigpen

He was permiated with sand. Tumbling over and over in the sand with Muldoone, and scrambling for the ball made for a dirty boy.

He smelled bad too.

But I love him.

Cool shells

I'll spare you guys the dead carcasses I found.

Sherman decides he loves the ocean

The first time we took Sherman to the beach was at Nags Head. He was not too keen on the ocean. When we took him to the lake, he was not too keen on the water, but this time he went crazy. He would go in with wild abandon after the ball. I went in with him as far as I could without completely soaking my shorts, but he seemed to not need his mommy this time.

The water was foot-cramping cold!

As per usual...

The boys were rowdy, and matilda snarfed around and remained more or less dry. She did play a few good rounds of catch, but she was mostly interested in exploring.

The funniest thing was when she started noticing the birds. They would fly in really low, and she would take off after them and chase them down the beach.

Whoah!

I got mowed over by the boys right after I took this.

Mattie has the ball...

for now.

James playing with the dogs

Note Matilda snarfing up the dead sea creatures.

Yum!

Happy Boys

When we let them loose, they ran and ran and ran.

Chillin'

Playing fetch

We brought the tennis ball, and it was a BIG hit. Thankfully it floats!

The view from Sterling Point

Looking down to Cannon Beach

James and I went over to the coast on mother's day. It was a gorgeous day to go to the beach. It wasn't crowded, so there was plenty of room for the dogs to run free and play.

Doggie Heaven

Going to the Beach

The babies love the Subaru's extra large sunroof. Muldoone is the only one that is big enough to stick his nose out.

Happy Mother's Day!

James and I took the dogs to the beach for a fun day in the sun. We had a blast! I think we both got a little too much sun.

James starts work tomorrow. I think he is pretty nervous. I hope that it all works out okay. I really want him to be happy.

I am going to NY in the morning, and I am dreading it. I think I might learn to dispise flying. Either that or get so used to it that it won't bother me anymore.

The dog's new sitter will be coming over in the early afternoon to play with them so they aren't stuck in the house too long. They LOVE her so much. Muldoone especially! She has the patience to rub his ears for hours.

Ooooh Yeah!

mmmmm... TOASTY

That describes James to a T.

Shopping for Clothes for Work

Getting rowdy in J Crew