Dance + Basketball

Hannah selfies.

 The kids' friend, Pearl, celebrated her 4th birthday and we were honored to attend. At the end she gifted Hannah with the other half of her "best friends" necklace. These silly girls are perfect for each other!

 Poor buddy was down for the count with a fever for 5 days. He missed 3 days of school last week but he wasn't alone. I was told that half of the Kindergarteners were out. The return of his beloved Kitty Kitty was a ray of sunshine amidst gloom. She was in Canada this whole time!! I SWEAR the last time I saw her, she was sitting on the foot stool in the TV room and then vanished into thin air. I tore this house apart looking for her. Then a few weeks ago I got a message from our friends in BC that they were moving some furniture around and out popped kitty and did I recognize it?! Fantastic news and it was great that she made it back in time to aid in Zane's recovery.

 Hannah with her daycare buddies at swap.

 "I'm a gnome."

 On Friday there was a K-5 dance at the school and both kiddos were super excited to go! I was confused at first when Zane told me he was going to wear his Optimus Prime costume, but once we had a conversation about the different meanings of "dress up" he couldn't wait to wear a tie. So much so that he wore one to school that day along with his snake print hoodie. Zane did his own hair and picked out one of Mason's ties and off we went. They both danced/hung out with friends for the entire 2 1/2 hours and were exhausted when they got home...Hannah couldn't even make it through reading before retiring :)

 Doing the electric slide.

 Hannah had an absolute blast partying with the Kinder girls. They all helped me keep an eye on her, it was great!

Zane's first basketball game was yesterday (he missed the first one due to illness) and he had a great time and made a basket! Having only Kindergarteners on the team makes a huge difference.

Blazers

Over the weekend we went to the Moda Center, but this time it wasn't to see the Blazer's play. Thanks to Zane, we got to be on the court and shoot around for the opening day celebration for his new basketball league, Lay-Ups!! I'm not sure if Mason or Zane was more excited, but it's safe to say we were all in awe (well, maybe Hannah wasn't) and had a great time. Zane made some baskets on the court...so cool! He made some on both the 8ft hoop and the full height :)

 His team will be Kindergarteners only this time and I think more focused on teaching the sport. Zaney's buddy from school, Elijah (the kid in front of him), is on his team and they had a great time during the event.

 Mason drains a 3!

 Wrestling happened...as it usually does.

What a fun time! His first game is next weekend.

Muffins + Biking

Hannah and I made some gingerbread muffins. She was great at stirring and helping to measure...until it was time to put in the vanilla. There ended up being about 10x more vanilla in there than there should have been, but they were still OK to eat!

 Do you ever get the feeling you're being watched?

 We went to the Edgefield McMenamins to COMPLETE my passport! It's all done!!! Now we can enjoy our 3 free night stays, a pair of concert tickets, happy hour prices for a year, and an invite to their "Tripster Party" at the end of the year. Mason says the next two times we go out CANNOT be at a McMenamins ;)

 I love this picture that Zane drew for me. It's a cowboy on a horse wrangling a cow.

 The rain stopped long enough for Mason and I to walk around the park a few times with the kiddos on their bikes. It started sprinkling toward the end and we nearly missed getting caught in a downpour!

Fun with slo-mo.

The kids and I went to a friend's house for a playdate. The two girls had an abundance of dress up gear that Hannah absolutely loved.

 And they sleep (Hannah in one of my sweaters, because why not?).

Garon + Swimming

The night Portland got snow, we also got a lot of sleet. A lot. It coated everything in sight and Zane got an extra 2 days of winter break. The first day was with legit reason, but the 2nd was just Portland being Portland. 

Luckily, we had a friend drop by to entertain us while we were waiting for the ice to melt. Mason's friend, Garon, flew in from Southern California for a quick 2-day visit and we had a great time. We've started reading Harry Potter aloud before bed, so Mason regaled us all with a chapter before he and Garon headed out.

 The next day we took Hannah to Luchia's (because we're competent snow/ice drivers), and then the rest of us did a lot of hanging out with a lovely lunch interlude at a new place in Kenton called Swift & Union.

Z LOVES hanging out with his Unkie G. It appears to be a mutual feeling... :)

 On Tuesday, after Garon left, the kids and I went to swap for a bit in the morning to get out of the house. Hannah loves building "fairy villages" with all the materials in one of the rooms.

 In other news, yesterday was my birthday and I had a great day! After meeting up with friends in the morning, Hannah and I went to McMenamins to share some tots and get my birthday stamp (SO CLOSE to being done with my passport!). After Zane came home, it warmed up enough to ride bikes around the block a few times, swimming lessons began again, and made some pizza for dinner. When Mason got home I opened gifts - The trilogy of Mrs. Peregrin's Home for Peculiar Children, and a group of pinecones from Hannah (that she picked and wrapped in my presence, but it was still a delightful surprise ;) ). I was feeling the love!