My latest photobook project

2006 photo book

Artistic Endeavors and More Anna

I started temping for a large law firm (Hutchinson Cox) around the last week of February.  I was hired to fill in for someone going on vacation the first two weeks of March. After that person returned, I was asked to keep temping to help the other legal assistants get caught up on their work. And week after week they kept asking me to keep working, which I was happy to do because I really liked it there and was getting well paid.  Finally, around the third week in April, I was offered a "real job" beginning May 1st. That was actually in the middle of Staff Appreciation Week there at the office -- which they really do well.  We got flowers, gift certificates, chair massages, and a painting party at a place called "Vino and Vango" (i.e. like Van Gogh). You bring your own treats, including adult beverages if desired (which is the "vino" part), and they walk you through doing a painting. It's with acrylics because they dry fast. And everybody has to do the same painting, which you choose ahead of time.  I hadn't participated in the selection process because I wasn't a real employee at the time, and I wouldn't have picked the one we ended up doing, but it was fun anyway.

I hadn't ever painted before, so I was kinda nervous.

 

Everybody seemed to be having fun.

 

It's amazing what a variety of results we get when

we're all doing the same steps.

When I brought it home, Clay said something like:

"Wow, that turned out better than I expected!"

(which is kind of a combined compliment and insult, I think). ;-)

 

 

Here are a few more pictures of Anna.

 

She likes a ball just her size.

 

Playing keep-away from Grandpa.

 

Sitting in a rocking chair that was mine when I was a little girl,

wearing a shirt that was Melissa's when she was a toddler.

 

 

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Anna's Birthday (March)

I can see it's definitely time to catch up on the blog.  Here are a few pictures from Anna's birthday in March:

 

 

Trying to feed baby.  Close but not quite correct! 

She snuck Grandpa's phone out of his shirt pocket and was so excited!

But she didn't get very far with it.

 

 Her favorite thing was her birthday balloon.

She wants to move faster than her walking talents have progressed.

 

 

 

She smeared the frosting on her tray, then enjoyed the rest of the cupcake.

 

 

 

And here are some photos from a walk we went on a few days later. It was such a beautiful spring day!

It was a beautiful day in Eugene, and we

decided to take Anna for a walk in the park.

She loved watching kids playing at the playground,

dogs, birds, flowers, skateboarders

(and basically anything else that moved).

 

 

 

 

 

 

Grandpa is pointing out the ducks and geese to Anna.

She enjoyed watching them.

Deep in the Heart of Texas

Because I am jobless at the moment (due to my boss retiring at the end of December), I took the opportunity to visit Melissa and her family in Fort Worth. I had a wonderful visit with them, and they generously let me stay a whole two weeks, which was longer than I had been planning. Since it took Calvin a few days to warm up to me (I didn't want to push it and thereby cause him any trauma), I was glad for those extra days.

 

We had plenty of good weather while I was there, although there were a couple of really cold days. We went on several walks around their neighborhood. The girls took me to the man-made "lake" that's only a few blocks from their house. We enjoyed walking around it in the sunshine, looking at the ducks, and climbing the hill.

 

I was especially trying to show Mira's shiny pink boots in this photo.

 

 

 

We tried to go out to eat at one of their favorite restaurants, but it was closing just as we arrived (mid-afternoon on Saturday!), so we found a nearby Italian restaurant. It was a great meal, so we were satisfied with the substitution.

 

 

Calvin was a really neat eater in the restaurant, but not so much at home.

 

As with many toddlers, he enjoyed playing with the "real" items around the house even more than playing with his own toys. He was constantly emptying certain cupboards and drawers.

 

But sometimes he actually wanted to be helpful, like putting the wet clothes in the dryer (and closing up the dishwasher before I was done loading it!).

 

We had to take advantage of the photo opp at Target (notice Danica's blue teeth from her Icee).

 

 

The sun was shining so brightly that I couldn't get them to look straight at the camera.

 

I was treated to several dancing and singing "shows" while there.

 

Danica snuck up behind Mira during her dance number.

 

This was Mira's expression when she discovered that Danica had "photo-bombed" her big moment.

 

Creative use of a tutu.

 

I'm happy to look foolish to give the grandkids a good laugh.

 

Calvin wants to get in on the fun, too.

 

 One of Calvin's favorite spots is inside the laundry cabinet (thus they've had to quit using it for dirty clothes). He thought it was great fun when Sister got in there with him.

 

I saw a lot of this face during my visit. Evidently it's hard being a baby -- he had a lot to complain about!?

 

If he was sad, he would lay his face up against something -- the sofa, the floor, or even the door if there was nothing else handy. Then he'd wait until someone noticed and paid attention to him. If that took too long, he'd start whining so someone would notice him.

 

Here are the girls in their brand-new robes (Target was having a good clearance sale).

 

 

They were dressed up really cute for "picture day" at school (although really, they looked cute every day!)

 

The playgrounds at River Legacy Park in Arlington, Texas had a nature theme -- with fossils, animals, bugs, etc.

 

 

Calvin didn't seem too worried about his mama being eaten by the dinosaur.

 

Most of the playground equipment was in the form of a bug of some kind. I've heard they have big bugs in Texas, but these were the fun kind.

 

 

 This sign made me laugh (I'm not sure why speed "humps" should be so much funnier than speed "bumps" -- but they are!)

 

We went out to eat at the OldWest Café.  Breakfast with "The Duke".

 

It took a few tries to get us all looking at the camera at the same time, but I'm glad to have this photo.