Smattering of 'Day in the Life' for Team Staley

What a fun spring soccer season.  Calvin and Jett played on the Kindergarten team at Piper's school and even though they were the youngest and smallest they did awesome and LOVED every minute.  We saw a dramatic improvement in skills from their first game to their last.  They both seem to have defensive instincts.   With all the one on one soccer happening in our front yard, these are going to be well prepared Kindergarten soccer players in the Fall.

David and I enjoyed a quick trip to AZ for a wedding and were grateful to have Alice come to town to hang with the kids during our get a way.  It was a bit of a blur, but SO good to catch up with a few old friends and we even snuck in a few beautiful hikes in Sedona.  

Alice and I got treated to the Mother's Day celebrations at the kids schools.  Sweet poems, songs and treats, along with big hugs from my monkeys.  I feel so grateful to be experiencing this life as a mother...all the highs and lows, laughs and cries.  All of it, what a blessing!
Thank you to our moms as well for the example, support and love you pour on us and the kids. We love you!

Today, I sold the chariot stroller/bike trailer on craigslist.  This marks the end of an era for us!  We were both pretty emotional about saying good bye to this trusted friend and ally that got us through so many days and adventures over the last 5 1/2 years.  I made this post to FB
"Oh chariot, how we loved thee! You were there for us when we became a family of 5! You kept our bundles of joy warm and cozy, you got us OUT of the house, you stopped the crying, you rolled on..through the pinching and pushing. You cruzed the neighborhood with us, took us out skiing, got us to the Oregon coast AND Hawaii! You enjoyed concerts, you hauled our groceries, you endured snack spills and kept our toys safe. You are a great place for a nap and gave the perfect view to watch the world go by. Thank you for the millions of miles you shared with us. We are forever grateful for the freedom and adventure you allowed us to live over the past 5 1/2 years!"

So we are all officially independently powered while hiking and biking!  This is fun too, all three kids are rocking the mt. bike trails...its gonna be a fun summer!

Cuteness

Piper lost her top two teeth in less than 24 hours.  She let Katie pull out one on Saturday night and I got the honor on Sunday morning.  So cute, I love the toofless smile!

Piper and I having fun on our girl date bike ride!

 This was a big 5 mile loop we did a few weekends ago...raising some strong hikers!

Jett

CJ

Piper

 Family Sparks lake outing...camp spot scouting!

My girl, I LOVE this one!

 Last day of PRE SCHOOL celebration!  

Oh you three, may you always be this close!

Portland, Neighbors, Birthday, Warm winter fun

The pictures are piling up, life is moving forward, memories are continuing to be made...as it should be of course, BUT it has been hard for me to make this next post.  The post that follows the tribute to my Dad.  How do I follow that?  Well, here it is...It is hard to accept that I won't see him again, he still feels so HERE with me.  The profound reality of him not being around is still hard for me to wrap my mind around. I try to let those emotions flow...and so the next post, a worthy follow up...the trip to Portland with my Mom and sister, Garret and Piper.  We had a great time!  Me and Piper rented a car to make the drive, so Dave and the boys could use the van for the 3 soccer games they had while we were gone.  

Simply spending time with each other was the highlight for me.  Piper and Garret get along so well and me, Lisa and my Mom had the chance to just be.  To walk, to eat and to just hang out.  Riding the MAX and snooping the Saturday Market, riding the escalators at the mall and watching a movie.  We filled our day and just about pooped out before the main event of the Portland Thorns soccer game.  Luckily the excitement and energy of the crowd in the stadium charged us up and we had a blast cheering on some of the best women soccer players in the world!  

Clever Artist at the Saturday Market made these gag gifts.

Silver Silent Mime entertained on the streets.

Piper couldn't get enough of the escalators.  It was funny she kept lifting her dress because she was worried she would get it snagged and get pulled into the stairs!  

Tired monkey on our way to the soccer game 

What a great tradition to rekindle, thank you family, we love you.  

The boys even got sent home a present from Grandma...BOW TIES!!!  So handsome!   

 Team Staley self portrait...love this crew!

We have become lucky enough to score awesome neighbors who love living life, drinking beer and letting the kids roam in the alley!  Yay for Sunday Smoke-fest with our dueling smokers we smoked a feast that night and split up the leftovers for easy meals for the week.  And what is a back alley party with out turn tables, ping pong rallies and kids skateboarding and building fairy houses all evening long!

Katie's dessert line up.

Dance Party!

Between the two smokers we had 3 racks of ribs wrapped in bacon, sausage links, chicken wings, a whole turkey, a pork shoulder and a quick stint of mozzarella, tomato, basel appetizers.

Then it was off to Summer Lake hot springs for my birthday/Easter weekend fun.  We rented a cabin with the Grahams and spent the weekend away soaking up the minerals and eating yummy food until our hearts content.  We have 6 kids between the two families and as you may imagine, quite a scene when we stormed into the pools. Luckily our cabin was the furthest way, and so the only ones we disturbed out there were the cows!  We weren't sure how it would all work out, but the Easter Bunny did find us way out there and the kids had a blast finding all the hidden eggs in the brush!  

 Birthday love from my 3 monkeys!

Birthday Brownies, my favorite!

So lucky to have spent 16 birthdays with the love of my life!

This place is kind of funky, but oh so awesome...the pool is in there!

 

A summer-winter?  Well it has sure felt like it a lot of days!  Trips to Cuppa Yo for ice cream and hose blasting in the front yard!

Piper's 1st grade class went to Venice, Italy for this years storyline theme.  They learned all about Venetian glass, San Marco Plaza, gondolas, the music, the gelato and they even put on an Opera themed play at the culmination.  Every kid had at least one memorized line to recite and they all sang songs, it was so cute!

Notice this awesome backdrop to her classroom that the class spent the last several month creating!

More adventures with the Grahams. This awesome abandoned cement building was an exciting discovery out in Tumalo that our friend Jason used as a back drop for one of his spoken word pieces.  Check it out here...https://vimeo.com/108636549  It made for some great pictures, but a little stressful, as the consequences were high if the wiggly crazies were to strike, like they often do with this fun-loving silly crew of kiddos.  We made it out and down to hike the empty lake that once was and reveled in the quiet, wide open space with a view that just kept on going to the mountains.  Awesome day!

  

LOVE

 CJ at Karate!  

Katie invited me to celebrate her birthday weekend at Breitenbush hot springs!  TWO nights of no kids and even more luxurious was ALL the gourmet vegetarian meals were prepared for us!  No deciding what to make, no cooking, no dishes!  It was a wonderful weekend of hiking, soaking and lots of laughing.  Happy Birthday Katie Graham, you are good for my soul!