Haynes Family Chronicles

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Here are some photos from the past two months. We've had a longer than normal winter, but sunny days are here. We've been taking advantage of the weather working in the yard, biking around the neighborhood, and staying away from the computer. Sam got a new bike that he loves. I'll try to take some pictures in action. The pictures of the bird were taken after it flew into our door and hopped into our house. I caught it, the kids pet it, and we released it into the wild.....probably to be eaten by our cats. Time to plant the garden.

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So Oregon turned 150 yrs old on Saturday, Feb 14th. We were all congregating at Linda and Dennie's to see Molly's cousin, Joe, and his daughter, Soriah before they flew back to Arizona. A perfect opportunity to bake a cake. And not just any cake, but one in the shape of Oregon, complete with the Cascades, Wallowas, Crater Lake, Eugene, and Corvallis.

The boys and I whipped up a few Valentine cards for Molly earlier in the day. These turned out pretty good. They even beat the, "Look sir, droids" card we made for Molly a couple years ago.

Happy February everyone, is it spring yet? We got a little taste last Saturday and it was much enjoyed. We worked in the yard a bit, played outside, and went for a bike ride. Can't wait for the full meal deal. Only a month or two out.

Patrick's first battle scar, and our first 911 call. Sam and Patrick were chasing each other in the house when out of nowhere the dining room table jumped out from behind the middle of the room and tackled Patrick. Crying, followed by blood, followed by more crying. We couldn't calm him down and didn't know how we were going to get him to the hospital. He wasn't going in the car seat willingly and someone had to apply pressure to his wound. So, we decided to take a trip in the ambulance. Our neighborhood firemen were the first to show up. Patrick calmed right down when he saw them. By the time they left the bleeding had stopped and we could take him in ourselves. Seven stitches later, the boy is like brand new.

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We had a fantastic trip to California for Christmas. So much happened, where to start?

Before we left we made our usual pilgrimage to Zoolights. As you can see, it's hard to find a singe square foot left unlit. Probably not the greenest thing.

The snow storm of the century (OK, 1/3 century) was expected to show up on the day of our departure. We made it a priority to get on the road ASAP. As it was, we passed a few spin-outs and one roll-over crash on the way out of town. But, as soon as we left the metro area the roads improved. After that it was smooth sailing to Redding (big box sprawl), CA. The next day we drove to Marin and spent the day/evening with our wonderful friends and their kids. As usual, a great time with killer food and amazing beers. The next morning we met Gigi, Pappy, Kathleen, Brian, and Ellen at the Academy of Sciences in Golden Gate Park. Check out the pics of the living roof!

The rest of our trip was spent in Menlo Park, playing with the kids. We hit the playground every day. Sam learned how to ride his bike, with a few choice crashes thrown in. The Wii got a lot of action. Brian scored Guitar Hero for Christmas. I think playing a real guitar is easier than that game! And I earned my keep by hoisting Pappy to the top of his boat's mast 3 times to fix it. Gigi kept us all well fed with red beans and rice, crab, and a huge standing rib roast. We all got everything we wanted for Christmas and more.