Wow! What a summer!

We are back from a long summer hiatus!  It is almost school time and although T maintains that he has not had enough vacation, H and I are ready for school to start again.  I have also renewed my Flickr account and have a TON of photos of our summer hijinks to upload.  I hope you've all had a great summer and are ready for the crisp, bright days of autumn. 

 Hammond Family Campfest at Honeyman State Park, August 2012

 Cousins at Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, CA June 2012

Seattle, WA Waterfront, August 2012

1st annual Puddletown Hall: Seeding, stocking, seasoning, stretching!

Join Puddletown School April 28^th, 2012 11:30-2:30 at Noble Rot for a three course lunch and a culinary discussion. Speaking at this year’s annual event will be:

Marc Boucher-Colbert - Urban Gardener and head gardener of Noble Rot http://www.cityfarmer.info/2008/05/28/rooftop-vegetable-gardener-at-rocket-rooftop-garden-takes-us-on-a-tour/

Katherine Deumling - Cook, Owner and blogger at "Cook With What You Have" http://cookwithwhatyouhave.com/

Mark Bitterman- James Beard award winning author of Salted: A Manifesto on the World's Most Essential Mineral http://www.saltnews.com/

Leather Storrs - Chef and Co-Owner of Noble Rot http://www.noblerotpdx.com/

There will also be a silent auction with items donated by Puddletown families. The price is $65 per person (does not include beverages) and seats are limited so get your tickets soon! Noble Rot is located at 1111 East Burnside Street, Portland, OR,4th floor.

See you there! I know you all want to come!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year! We spent New Year's Eve home with the boys playing games, eating delicious treats and wearing funny hats. I am glad that 2011 is behind us and am hoping for a quiet 2012. Here's to a year of tinkering in the yard!

Tomorrow school is back in session. Sometimes, "business as usual" is just fine!

Almost Christmas!

It's almost Christmas! Yay! Above is the star on the top of our tree. Below is our mantle with the stockings hung with care...


And... our Christmas tree! Lovely!


There are snowflakes and paper chains hanging around the room and lots of snowmen and Santa Clauses are hiding on bookshelves and window ledges. The gifts under the tree are not for us. We never have our own gifts under the tree until Christmas morning. I am so excited. This year, H is really, really into Christmas. He loves the lights and the stories and all the special Christmas activities. It is magical to see Christmas through his eyes.

New Baby!

Guess what! There's a new baby in the family and it's a girl! A's brother and sister adopted a baby that was born Friday. She is beautiful and they are so happy. We were so glad to meet her on Sunday. She is just under 7lbs and 18 inches long, I think. I'll tell you her name if you email me. Welcome, Baby Girl!

Photographic evidence

We were: Wile E. Coyote, Maid Marian, The Road Runner and Robin Hood.

On to November!

Happy Halloween!

Yay! Today is the last day of October and Halloween. The boys are terribly excited to come home from school and get dressed. We are heading up to Aunt Amy's house for our usual Halloween shenanigans. Even though trick or treating will be a little shorter this year, I'm excited for all the fun! Tomorrow I'll have photos of our costumes!