New Year = New Brother-in-Law

Presenting Mr. and Mrs. Jeremy Morse. Married December 3rd, Patricia and Jeremy were wed “in a beautiful chapel, in a castle, on top of a mountain, surrounded by vineyards in the heart of the Chianti region of Italy.”

Most of us didn’t get to go to the wedding, so instead we had a marriage celebration on New Years Eve with friends of the family in Graham. We had a tent and a dance floor and even karaoke! Thankfully the tent had a heater because even though it was 65 degrees just before it started snowing the week before, it was cold on New Years Eve!

Dedicated to the Italian wedding, my Mom made the Doma in Florence for a wedding cake. The photo in the frame is one that my other sister took while they stayed in Florence from the Piazza Michelangelo. Beautiful.

While Trisha was celebrating her new life with her new love, I was burning my old ones. My Mom did a major cleaning and I got to go through my things from the attic that were stored for years and years. Part of my storage was just about every rose I received in school. A red rose or a dozen to prove their devotion…and letters and letters and letters from boyfriends and friends and even enemies-I guess I had them in high school. I thought I would share one letter from a boyfriend-I will leave him nameless so it won’t be too bad—but I didn’t have too many boyfriends, more than 2 though! Ok, here quotes “Jennifer, It’s the day before payday and I was broke. I looked everywhere for some money to come up here and get you something that shows you how I feel. I couldn’t find any so I boxed up my CD player and returned it. After all that trouble and turmoil, guess what, they had nothing that showed how much I care for you. Nothing was large enough. They could have boxed up the whole world and sold it to me and it still wouldn’t have been big enough to compare my compassion for you. I’ve got a great secret to share with you---I love you, XXX” I burned the roses, but there is no way that I am burning the words! I think they are too priceless.

Yes, Alyosha—one day, you too will box up your terabyte i-pod/videogame/mp3/hologram projector/DJ to the MAX player and sell it for the world for a pretty 14 year old girl too.

The whole clan. We are getting bigger! It is wonderful.

Fun time with Friends

We had a get together with some of my former high school classmates and all of our kids. I think that the kids had a blast together playing in the water and hitting the pinata. The adults all chatted together about the past 10 years and where our lives have taken us thus far. Life's paths are so varied-it is amazing that even though we start out from the same spot, basically, we end up traveling in so many different directions and ultimately we end up all back together again. I don't think I have been very good at it, but it has always been important for me to keep up with any friends I have made at different points of my life. I think it is important to have good people around you and to be a good person yourself-the only way to keep good people around you is to keep the good friends you have made along the way. Anyway, it was a fun evening!

Roma dressed up as the "Hula-Monster" to get the kids while they were searching for the pinata. Luka was really afraid and didn't join in the search-although he realized it was papa dressed up he wasn't sure about the game.

The kids made their own ice cream in ziploc bags. It was a great success! It just takes one cup of cream with 2 table spoons of sugar and a teaspoon of vanilla. Put all the ingredients in a small bag and put that in a large bag with ice and salt and viola- after 5-10 minutes of shaking you have ice cream! Add in M&M's and you have happy children!

Our table of food--we had almost 40 hot dogs and about 20 sausages along with cabbage salad and grape salad, watermelon and cantaloupe...EVERYTHING was devoured!

Jacob, Justin's son, helped cook the 'dogs. He did a wonderful job.

The swimming pool turned into a swamp after the kids jumped in and out a million times. But they enjoyed it and it survived.

Slip N' Slide fun again.

Boys and their beer!

What a great week

We have had an exciting and busy week..After the great snow weekend, we had a house guest. Cheryl was able to stop by Portland on her whirlwind travels around the States before she goes back to Vladivostok to save the Tigers and leopards. Alyosha had many emotions while we had a house guest--from forgetting "that girl's" name to wanting to marry her--he finally settled with helping her find a quick fix to save those endangered big cats so she can just stay here in Portland with him. His idea for wild animal protection...build a big, tall, huge wall around the entire habitat and keep the dirty, polluting people out. Maybe Cheryl will make that her own
project and name the wall "Stena Alyosha Kultajev" We are really glad you came, Cheryl, and hope that we can visit you on some wild Zapovednik in Russia someday.

click on picture to enlarge

We surprised Cheryl with a Welcome to Portland Russian Christmas party. Our table isn't quite big enough for everyone, but at a Russian Party, you somehow end up in a circle around vodka and sala...

Cheryl and Alyosha carefully put a pizza together

Alyosha finally got his Spiderman gum...from Grandma in the mail. Oh, the excitement!

Friday night swim night at the SW Community center...Yes, Alyosha was there too, but he was moving too fast to catch on still photography. He went down the slide HIMSELF!! Video to come maybe..