Sayonara to Summer

Lucy and Mary with sweet little cousin Chiara
Zoom Zoom Zoom....two lead feet behind the wheel!

We are squeezing every last drop out of the summertime days. This week, we've enjoyed a visit with cousin Chiara. Both Mary and Lucy are enamored with their sweet baby cousin. For Mary, this means occasional kisses on the head and smiles. For Lucy, this means life-threateningly tight bear hugs without warning. I won't be too surprised to see Chiara in full pads and a helmet the next time she visits. Poor baby. (It's done out of immense love, though!)

This week, we also finally had a chance to go to Oaks Park. It was my first time there since, oh, 1988 with an 8th grade field trip. Not one detail has changed in 20 years. But, the girls loved it. Rides for an hour, then preschool storytime with cookies and milk. What could be better? Check out those grins.

The Newest Oregonian...or perhaps the Longest Time-Elapsed Returnee?

Last week, I failed to post about a major event here. I don't know how it slipped my mind. With Greta's birthday celebration, I suppose I was distracted.

I spent Thursday afternoon at the DMV, passing (with 97% correct, I must add with pride) the driver's test. Now I am an official Oregonian....again. They had all of my old information in the system, and the DMV clerk greeted me with a smug, "We knew you'd be back. They all come back at one point or another." Another DMV employee, as she was snapping my picture, exclaimed, "You're back! What took you so long?"

Through a small glitch, she forgot to update my record with my married name, so I was a Buck again for just a moment in time....until we noticed the error and had to re-do a few steps. Which was fine by me. I didn't mind staying a few extra minutes because it was the friendliest DMV staff on the planet. I can't quite figure this out. Even the DMV people are friendly!! Does Portland put some illicit happy pill in everyone's coffee drink?

Great-Grandkids Galore

Growing up, the Buck grandkids were very close. We vacationed together and celebrated all holidays, big and small, together. We were one rowdy bunch. Looking back, I shudder to think of the chaos that we must have brought to our parents. The chasing, the running, the rabble-rousing. Oh, my!

Now, many of us have our own energetic (new p.c. term for rowdy) children and can barely find time to eat a meal at a family gathering because we are scrambling after our children as they chase around knocking over fragile figurines. I believe this is the precise definition of the word retribution.

Yesterday, most of the cousins reconvened for the baptism of cousin Kara's twin boys. And for the occasion, all eight great-grandchildren were together for the first time. Mary (at the ripe old age of four) is the eldest of the bunch. It was a madhouse, but also sheer joy.

Just look at these adorable little kiddos. They are, from left to right: Brian & Karen's Luke, our Mary holding Kara & Travis' Carter (I hope! Kara am I right?), our Lucy holding Amy & Tom's Chiara, Mike & Kylie's Holden, and Mike & Kylie's Camden holding Kara & Travis' Tyler (forgive us, boys, if we have your names switched!). You can imagine, or should we say appreciate, how easy it was to coordinate a photo for eight children under the age of five! Isn't it GRAND???

Greta Girl's Big Day

Greta at Riverfront Park with her favorite tennis ball after a round of fetch.
Mary the Baker, with the milk bone cake for Greta.
YUM! (Do you think the neighbors thought we were crazy for singing to our dog?)

Our little Greta girl turned seven years old today. To celebrate, we started the day with a jog down to the off-leash park at the riverfront. She ran and chased balls and sniffed other dogs and even dipped her toes in the river; it was the equivalent of doggy heaven.


Once we came home, Mary helped me mix a "cake" for Greta of flour and oil and eggs, with milk bones for frosting. Then, tonight, we had a grand celebration with both sets of grandparents. After dinner, we enjoyed peach summer trifle while Greta was perfectly content to gobble her own cake (well, not perfectly content as I think she truly wished she had a piece of the salmon we had for dinner). However, she enjoyed her cake and even shared a few bites with Freddy, the neighbor's corgi.


Now, Greta is curled up on the sofa, perfectly content to serve as the armrest for our evening Olympic viewing. Our spoiled, sweet, obnoxious, lovable, smart, aloof girl. She is naughty and amazing in equal portions, which I suppose is how most dogs are. We love her because of and in spite of it all. Seven years ago, we traveled two hours to meet Greta, little "Number 9" in a litter of ten pups. One look in her eyes, and we knew she had to come home with us. We're so glad she did.


Happy Birthday, Gray Dog Greta!

Domestic Goddesses

Mother Nature likes to tease Portland during the summers. As such, we've gone from 100+ degree days to 65 degrees and rain. Yesterday, we were treated to an incredible thunder and lightening storm. While watching, we decided the house was finally cool enough to fire up the oven and bake our first, inaugural batch of cookies in the new house.

The girls wore their new aprons that came in a great housewarming package from the Mullens, and were very attentive bakers (as you can see from their stools placed directly in front of the oven to watch the entire baking process!). Following our baking feat, the girls had hours upon hours of playing with baby dolls. They fed them from bottles, put them down for naps ("in the manger, just like baby Jesus," says Mary as she tucks them between pillows of a chair), and read them stories. Every now and then Lucy would approach me and say proudly, "I such a good mother to dis baby."

Meanwhile, I think I win the award for doing more loads of laundry in a single day than anyone on the planet (aside from maybe an employee of Fluff & Fold). As a start, I had a week's worth of laundry and sheets and towels and swimsuits to wash. Then, Lucy decided to add to my workload. First, she had a momentary lapse in judgment and had an accident in the family room. Towels, washclothes, and her clothes. Then, at naptime (during which we always put on a diaper just in case she has an accident while sleeping), she decided to take off her diaper. Guess what happened? Yep, add crib bumper, crib sheet, three blankets, two pillows, her clothes, and a few lucky stuffed animals to the washing list. At this point, I thought for sure we were done with laundry for the day. Nope.

During snacktime, Lucy dumped an entire cup of water all over the kitchen floor. More towels. Then Mary had to contribute something. She was "washing" her baby's face in the bathroom and in the process, got water all over the vanity, all over her clothes, and the floor. More towels.

So, there you have it, Laundress Goddess. Did I mention how glamorous life is as a stay at home mom?

Dog Days of Summer

It's blazing hot in Portland. It hit 100 degrees yesterday, and today is supposed to top out at 103 degrees. Definitely the dog days.

We decided to cool off at the Salmon Springs fountain that's located on the waterfront in downtown Portland. Coincidentally (I think this was a secret plot of Curtis), the New Belgian Fat Tire Tour de Fat bicycle festival was also happening at the park. Beer and bicycles in the same venue = one happy Curtis.

So, we enjoyed some brew, Curtis signed the New Belgian "car-free commuter" pledge, and we watched the crazy parade of unique bicycles. And then we played in the fountain. A fun way to beat the heat!

Glorious Grandparents

Yesterday was grandparents galore at our place. In the morning, the Loebs came and watched the girls so that I could hold a conference call with the office. Then they joined us for swimming lessons at the pool. The girls love learning to swim (or at a minimum, playing in the water). After swimming, the grandparents joined us for lunch. Then last night, the Buck grandparents brought a picnic dinner to us, and we enjoyed a little evening in the park with them.

It's wonderful to live close enough that we can enjoy these visits. The grandparents have been such a huge help to us since the moment we arrived. From watching the girls to househunting to schlepping stuff, they have been amazing.

We stayed with my parents for six weeks while we were first househunting and then waiting for our house to close escrow. After we finally moved into our new house, I missed my parents so much that I kept expecting to see them when I came down for breakfast. Cooking dinner by myself wasn't nearly as enjoyable. Mary and Lucy missed their presence, too, in our day to day routine.

Which makes these visits now all the more special. And the best part? It doesn't require any airplane travel or 12-hour car rides. We are loving it.