Boy, Beach, Birthday

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Portland is just a nice ninety minute drive from the coast, but it feels like it’s about 2,000 miles of difference in temperature. Portland, ninety-five degrees, beach, sixty-five. As much as I love the ocean and the beach, and even the beauty of Oregon, this still hardly qualifies for me. … Read More

Eight

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Eight years. I look forward to this little girl’s future, while at the same time I pine for her past. Which, I suppose, is all the more reason to work hard at living in the moment. I could go on and on with superlatives that describe Ouest, but at the … Read More

Six

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This guy turned six. Already. He spent the morning hanging out with his second best buddy. Then made cupcakes with his first best buddy. We tried to keep things similar to our traditional boat/bus birthdays, with balloons and cupcakes, but somehow we weren’t able to keep the pile of gifts … Read More

Making Memories

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Our good friend Xochi turned six the other day, which meant a beach party and piñata.  Xochi doesn’t know it yet, but Lowe has told us that he’s taking her along on his motorcycle trip. The around-the-world motorcycle trip that he and Ouest have been planning for the past few … Read More

Beach Birthday

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There was just one nice day in the 10-day forecast, so with a bit of magic, Ouest’s 7th birthday moved up one week and we headed off to Holly Beach. All birthdays start with balloons. A few of them with a dollar slid inside. When we got to the beach … Read More

Fiver

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We had hoped to be out to New York by Lowe’s birthday, as we had promised him cupcakes at the Statue of Liberty. Both kids are beyond excited over the Statue of Liberty. I hope it lives up to the hype. But, things happen, so instead of Lady Liberty, we … Read More

Beach Birthday

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My mom and her twin sister had a pretty big birthday coming up, so we gathered up a bunch of family and headed for a beach house rental to celebrate. Our timing was incredibly lucky—the weather in Portland while we were gone was 103 degrees, the temps on the beach … Read More

Christmas Birthday

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Today was Ali’s birthday. It was also the day that we would bring in Brownie, our favorite beach dog, to get spayed. That might not seem like a nice birthday gift, but for an animal lover like Ali it was perfect. We had an appointment at nine, but she is … Read More

Six Years Old

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Six years. Like all parents, I’m constantly surprised by the years ticking by. Ouest is a big girl. She’s tall, she’s smart, she’s sweet. At six I think she is still more innocent than any child her age I’ve ever known. Today she came up to me looking upset. “Tango … Read More

Almost a Birthday

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We’d had two days of rain—which is pretty crazy around here in winter, and without a hurricane nearby—and weren’t sure if we could trust the weather forecast for Ouest’s birthday, so we pushed it back a day. I love that our now six-year-old daughter is so carefree about a change … Read More

Lowe is Four—Unofficially

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Nobody in history has ever cared less about their age. Ask Lowe how old he is and he’ll answer—or maybe he won’t, depending on his mood—two, five, nine, eleventeen. So when it came time to give him his first pedal bike—and his birthday was still a month off—we just said … Read More

Five Years

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Ouest turned five today. She has been looking forward to this birthday for months and months. Eventually we had to put up a calendar and let her cross off the days as they ticked by. Part of her excitement no doubt came from us telling her that we didn’t want … Read More