The Obama Inauguration

 
I returned from the Transportation Research Board meeting a hero in my household by bring back Obama t-shirts for the kids. They were a big hit and Abby has taken to chanting O-bam-a around the house. They are going to watch it on TV at school tomorrow, which further makes this a most memorable event for Abby.

Nana and Papa's 40th Anniversary Party

We headed out to Estacada to celebrate Nana and Papa's 40th Anniversary! It was a special occasion because all of the Kishpaugh Kids were helping out with the party. While we were dealing with passing of Parker, Marcy was an amazing help organizing all of the food and most of the logistics that had to happen to get everything ready. She even took the kids with her as Susan was at the vet.

The visit to Estacada wasn't all about the party, the kids got a chance to play in the snow with Grace, Matthew, Scott, and Todd. The sledding on the back hill was pretty good becuase there was about six inches of snow and it was really nice weather during the day. The party was at 5 PM, so there was a lot of time to play with all of the cousins and enjoy the day. Susan and Marcy were busy cooking soup and stew for the 50 people that had sent an RSVP. A total of 70 showed up and it was a good thing that Susan planned for that many.
We spent a log of time getting the Dodge Community Church ready for the guests and borrowed a lot of things from friends and family to have the party all come together.
It was also nice to have Robert and Grandma Baker in attendance from Alaska.

090104 Parker R.I.P.

 

After a battle with age, arthritic conditions, and what seemed like a slipped disc that was causing him significant pain, we put Parker to rest at Dove Lewis. It seems hard to believe how a dog could fit our life with such a wonderful temperament and way with kids. He was the most gentle dog and we're sure to miss the old guy. I'd like to write a few rememberances of him, time permitting, but this is one of the busiest times of year with the Transportation Research Board meeting coming up.

More photos at http://picasaweb.google.com/red.tree.frogs/ParkerRIP#

New Year, A Reflection on Life

Ladies and Gentlemen (of the class of ’99)
If I could offer you only one tip for the future, sunscreen would be it. The long term benefits of sunscreen have been proved by scientists whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable than my own meandering experience…I will dispense his advice now. Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth; oh nevermind; you will not
understand the power and beauty of your youth until they have faded.

But trust me, in 20 years you’ll look back at photos of yourself and recall in a way you can’t grasp now how much possibility lay before you and how fabulous you really looked….You’re not as fat as you imagine. Don’t worry about the future; or worry, but know that worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing
bubblegum. The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that never crossed your worried mind; the kind that blindside you at 4pm on some idle Tuesday. Do one thing everyday that scares you Sing Don’t be reckless with other people’s hearts, don’t put up with people who are reckless with yours.

Floss

Don’t waste your time on jealousy; sometimes you’re ahead, sometimes you’re behind…the race is long, and in the end, it’s only with yourself.

Remember the compliments you receive, forget the insults; if you succeed in doing this, tell me how. Keep your old love letters, throw away your old bank statements.

Stretch

Don’t feel guilty if you don’t know what you want to do with your life…the most interesting people I know didn’t know at 22 what they wanted to do with their lives, some of the most interesting 40 year olds I know still don’t. Get plenty of calcium. Be kind to your knees, you’ll miss them when they’re gone.

Maybe you’ll marry, maybe you won’t, maybe you’ll have children, maybe you won’t, maybe you’ll divorce at 40, maybe you’ll dance the funky chicken on your 75th wedding anniversary…what ever you do, don’t congratulate yourself too much or berate yourself either – your choices are half chance, so are everybody else’s. Enjoy your body, use it every way you can…don’t be afraid of it, or what other people think of it, it’s the greatest instrument you’ll ever own.

Dance…even if you have nowhere to do it but in your own living room. Read the directions, even if you don’t follow them. Do NOT read beauty magazines, they will only make you feel ugly. Get to know your parents, you never know when they’ll be gone for good.

Be nice to your siblings; they are the best link to your past and the people most likely to stick with you in the future. Understand that friends come and go,but for the precious few you should hold on. Work hard to bridge the gaps in geography and
lifestyle because the older you get, the more you need the people you knew when you were young. Live in New York City once, but leave before it makes you hard; live
in Northern California once, but leave before it makes you soft.

Travel.

Accept certain inalienable truths, prices will rise, politicians will philander, you too will get old, and when you do you’ll fantasize that when you were young prices were reasonable, politicians were noble and children respected their elders. Respect your elders. Don’t expect anyone else to support you. Maybe you have a trust fund,
maybe you have a wealthy spouse; but you never know when either one might run out. Don’t mess too much with your hair, or by the time you're 40, it will look 85. Be careful whose advice you buy, but, be patient with those who supply it. Advice is a form of nostalgia, dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than it’s worth.

But trust me on the sunscreen…

http://www.lyricscrawler.com/song/3953.html

40-Year Snow Event

  We're in our tenth day of snow on the ground in what the Oregonian is calling one of the worst snowstorms in decades. Unfortunately, there is still several days to go before we warm up and get out of the winter wonderland.
  We have 13 inches on top of the car in the street and it is an ice sandwich with 6 inches and then another 6 on top of that. We haven't driven for a week and I am a bit worried about the car not starting.
  We went out after dinner and made snow chairs and Abby rode on Susan's snowboard. She was adventurous even wanting to stand up on the board and take a ride. I was surprised.
  Well, it is about to get dark, so we are heading back out to take advantage of the once in a lifetime event?

Snow Storm in Portland

 

I remember getting a call from Susan while I was in Vancouver BC and chuckling that the news outlets were hyping a winter storm for the following week and this time it wasn't hype. We have a good three inches on the ground and took Amelia out to play. Abby was over in Bend for a birthday party for Grace, so it was just us three around the house.

 

Amelia enjoyed the snow overall, but we need to get her snow boots. After about 30 minutes, she starts complaining about her feet being cold. What a wimp!

O Christmas Tree 2008

  It wasn't all work this weekend. We took a quick trip towards Estacada, we stopped at Carver, to get a Christmas Tree. Abby mentioned she wanted a tree in a bucket, so we almost ended up with a living tree, which would have been my first choice.
  The farm we went to had a set price for a tree, so we ended up with an okay deal and a nice sized tree for the front room.

Christmas Cards

 

We went through several iterations on our Christmas cards, but while having to work this weekend I was able to create this collage. Now back to work.

Christmas Lights

 
It was a cold morning to put up Christmas lights, but they have to go up sometime! Our obnoxious brightness has been around since we moved and is a fun tradition.

Even Better than Santa... Benny Beaver

 
We ventured downtown for a visit to see Benny Beaver. It was fun to see Benny fresh after the Civil War loss. Benny needed some cheering up, considering that he is headed to El Paso instead of Pasadena and the Rose Bowl.  It is a busy day for us as we have the Kittelson Company Party tonight and Allegra is coming over to watch the girls.
 

Visiting Santa Claus

We stopped by the OSU Alumni Association to visit Santa. It was a great visit and gave Abby a chance to get her list summarized.  She wants a tea set from New Seasons that is made up of Recycled Plastic. She also wants a front tooth.

The Girls and Santa Claus

The girls went to visit Santa Claus at the Kittelson kids party. Abby gave Santa an earful of ideas for holiday shopping and Amelia was pretty simple... she wants a doll house.

 

Christmas Music

'Tis the Season, it's that time of year for Christmas music. www.pandora.com is a great new find that is essentially internet radio without commercials. Pandora combined with the local radio station blasting out Christmas music is likely to lead to Christmas Music overload for us. I have hit the wall on a couple of occassions, so I recognize the need to pace myself with how much I am listening. Too much of a good thing, is seldom good.

The reason I like Christmas music is that there is such a diversity within a consistent theme. It's mostly good artists of all vintage with an occasionally bad song that makes me think about that era (if I remember it). It's about celebrating a holiday for the most part, something that I am not particularly good at, (the whole taking time off bit is still somewhat foreign because of my Dad) yet I recognize the interest in improving.

Thanksgiving

Lots to be thankful for this year. We had a great Turkey Day and hosted the McConnell's including both sets of grandparents and my sister and her family.

Susan cooked a marvelous 22 lb. turkey that was from New Seasons. We had a busy day of getting the house ready and catching up on the housework since Susan was gone. James was the official photographer of the event and I am looking forward to getting photos from him.

Susan's Back!

It sure is nice to have Susan back home from Hawaii. Every time I look at how tan she is, it reminds me of the trip and how it was a good experience for me to be with the girls alone. I reaffirmed that I can't get as much work done at home (or ate least as much as I thought), that it makes sense that housework doesn't get done during the day, and how quickly the girls are growing up.

The day Susan got back we had a Parent Teacher Conference with Ms. Tursi and we learned about Abby's progress at Llewellyn. It was an interesting experience because I wasn't sure what to expect from her evaluation. Abby doesn't always talk about her schoolwork and based on last year's assessment at Childswork, we weren't sure how she would fit in a traditional school. It turns out that she's doing great, Ms. Tursi has a great sense of what her needs are and the style of teaching that Abby will respond to. The evaluation was very well thought out and it was very neat to see Abby's progression from knowing numbers and letters to words and sounds.

Susan and I cycled over to the appointment which was fun and Grandpa watched the girls as we were gone for about an hour. Grandma Chris took a well deserved break.

Skyping with Mommy

We're talking to Mommy on the internet this morning. Skype is a very cool application. Susan is talking about her adventures snorkeling and seeing eels and octopus. It sounds like most of the time has been spent on the beach and checking out the natural wonders of Maui. She's describing the colors of the fish that they have seen.

Susan is enjoying her vacation, but misses the kids.

Today, Abby was invited to a birthday party during the Beaver game, which makes me Dad of the Year for giving up my rights to watch the Wildcats get beat by the Rose Bowl bound Beavs (fingers crossed!)

The pictures that I sent here are here.
http://picasaweb.google.com/peter.koonce/081124SusanOnVacation1#

Amendment to the post....
Maybe Skype isn't so great. The talk may have depressed the kids a bit. Abby has been a little down today and was pretty pouty when we went to the store and didn't get to bring home a toy (she wasn't listening very well, otherwise it would have been rubber lizards for everybody!) and Amelia was in tears when she was being put down at 1:45, which is early, but she definitely needed it. It looks like Abby rallied from the walk home from the store and is having a nice play date with Natalie.

Abby's Morning Commute

 
One of the best things about Susan being gone was helping Abby get from Home to School every morning. Getting out the door was always a little tricky, but once we were out, it was pretty fun getting to the school with the bakfiet.  
On Friday morning, it was really cold, and fog covered the City. We took a few stops to enjoy the fall foliage on SE 7th Avenue adjacent to the park.  
The sun was breaking in the morning and we went to a damp Sellwood Park to enjoy the play structure. It was quite wet, but Amelia didn't seem to mind. The slippery part was what worried me, especially as she was climbing the bars. We're a lot less protective with Amelia, but still pretty careful. 

Initial Pictures from Maui

 
Susan shared a few photos from their trip and it looked like they were having fun. The Mai Tais were a part of the trip as was snorkeling. They took an excursion and had a great time.
 

I am not sure who the guy in the second picture is though :)

Sunday with the Koonces

 
This whole being a single parent thing is a piece of cake.... If you have grandparents like ours. I haven't been alone with the kids for more than three hours since Saturday. Chris and I actually talked about it a little and it was funny because she felt guilty that they aren't around this month for when I am out of town.  
The girls and I went to church with my family at the First Immanuel Lutheran Church. It was a nice service, although the sermon was a bit of a pitch to give money and one of threadings was describing how flesh would be turned into feces, so I thought that a bit extreme. I consider myself a fan of the more subtle side.
 
Well, tomorrow will be a fun test of what Susan goes through in the morning with Abby. My hope is to get her to school a little before 8 so she can play before she has to get in to class, but we'll see.  

Reflecting on Day 1 with the kiddos

What a great day! Dropping Susan off at PDX, Mia and I drove back to the house and got on the bakfietsen. We went to the library and then to the Columbia store to return a jacket. We picked up Abby and toured through the Llewellyn Holiday Bazaar. Lots of great stuff, but handmade stuff is a little pricey (not that I would buy anything anyway). It would have been nice to support Abby's teacher's dress making company, but $45 is a little bit of a stretch for a dress. Would it get her special attention in the classroom?

We played a bit in the playground, a little tag and lots of running around. We headed back home and I took the kids to Sweetpeas (a resale shop) and was trying to find Abby a coat to replace the $45 I took back from Columbia. Not really anything that fit, but we did get some shoes and a little outfit. Mary Kate got something from a second hand shop it turns out, so we're probably set without having to buy new. Good stuff.

It was great fun to ride on the bakfietsen with the kids. Later on that night it was tough to get Amelia to settle down, she was not ready to get up at 5:40 PM, after a two hour nap and well, that's the day. Natalie came over for dinner and we had leftovers and then some pomegranite for dessert. We read a book from the library and off to bed they went.

I am relieved to be blogging as opposed to working on the Boise proposal like I have for the past week. Every night, so maybe that's why I am still up after 11 PM!

Susan has left the mainland

Well, the time has come! Earlier this year, when Sheila was going for a round of treatments I had the idea that the Kishpaugh women should head for some place warm to celebrate... well, themselves! Obviously, there's a part of me that wished I did this with my Mom before it was too late. It is funny how I can make that happen for her and not for myself (with Dad).

So, they're off. Actually, Susan is on the phone right now and they just arrived on Maui after about ten hours of total flying time. Luckily, she gained an hour. Their hotel is 28 miles from the airport and they haven't eaten (airplane food in coach), so they will likely have a short first night there.

For me, I have the kids for 10 days. It's actually not something I am worried about. I thought I might be, there was some worry about work, but now that it is started I am confident and feeling good about things. It doesn't hurt that Grandma Chris is very willing to help out and they are going to take Abby tomorrow while I go to the Beaver game in Corvallis with Kurt.

I am looking forward to pictures from Susan's trip, I am hopeful they have a great time.

Play Date at Sellwood Park

  It is rare to get a weekend day at the Park in November. I say that and it is so cliche, this weekend is supposed to be great and today was amazing (60 degrees and sunny in mid-November!
 Last weekend we jumped at a misty day to spend some time at the park with Julia and Natalie. We had a great time playing on the structures and walking around the muddy parts of the park.
  We had a little trouble getting the kids to stop for photos, but it wasn't too hard to get them to say cheese once they were stopped. Susan joined Sara and I a little later bring Parker down for a little walk.

Election 2008 - Abby Weighs In!

 
We're not a very politically active family. We didn't buy a yard sign, we didn't volunteer for a campaign, but we do listen to the radio and we do make comments about the current administration from time to time. But I was a bit surprised when Abby could say who she was voting for. I guess they had a mock election at Llewellyn School a few days before and Obama won handily. It is good to see Abby is assessing who her friends like and then going with the herd, or perhaps we have overtly influenced her.