Never Not A Good Weekend

Thursday was PWCL's big fundraiser, a little early this year but still a great night. Luis and I spent some quality time at the free casino games in the back but still took in all of the activity and got to talk with a lot of people. Luis met one lady at the craps table who he discovered the next morning was the director of the bilingual program at Mason's school. Small world.

I've mentioned my favorite podcast Never Not Funny on here a few times before. Normally these guys record out of L.A. and the show comes through the world of Apple straight to my iPod. Well this weekend, they performed their podcast live in Portland as part of the Bridgetown Comedy Festival. There is no way I was going to miss that.

The show was at the Bagdad Theater so after dropping off the kids at Yaya and Papa Ron's house for a sleepover, we headed back down to the Bagdad for some dinner (Bagdad is a McMenamins theater). They had the doors open since it was a nice, sunny evening, so Luis and I were sitting half inside, half outside. Who should I see walking down the steet midway through my Terminator Stout than my 3 podcast guys, Jimmy, Matt, and Pat. Course, no one who isn't a fan of the podcast would know or care but I hopped up and had them sign my Never Not Funny t-shirt.

We tried to take pictures from the show but it was dark and they didn't come out well so here's the shirt...

I follow Pat (signature on the left) on Twitter and he posted this short clip of Matt (brown shirt) and Jimmy (blue shirt) enjoying Portland: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QUTmX3f84nA

After a relaxing morning of being able to sleep in (Yaya didn't get that luxury), we had a great breakfast at Sanborn's. Sanborn's is on Milwaukie Ave. across from the Avalon theater. It is also owned by the parents of one of my friends from grade school.

Today is Gloria's birthday so we headed to the Spaghetti Factory to celebrate with Luis' family. Course, he hadn't planned a gift ahead of time so the kids and I waited in the car while he ran into the store on the way...

They had me take their picture and then wanted me to take a self-portrait...you'll notice my arms sticking out to hold the camera in the reflection in my glasses.

Anyway, Spaghetti Factory. Here's Jose, Joel, and Luis.

Tia Sara with her kido's - Andre and Kendra.

Jr. and Adrian.

Dulcina (Sara's mom), Gloria, and Mason. Gloria got 2 different cards with shirtless men...is that some sort of sign?

Anyway, back to the grindstone tomorrow but it was a good few days.

Spring is in the Air

This has been the nicest weekend weather we've had all year. The kids finished all of their weekend activities before 11:00 am on Saturday thanks to a 7:40 soccer game and Siena's 9:30 dance class. After that, our only obligations were to enjoy the nice spring weekend.

We went for a walk to the river to feed the ducks. This is one of the kids favorite things to do and we are very fortunate in that the river is just down the street.

For some reason dandilions are very popular with Siena and Mason this year. They like blowing them.
There's Mason's dandilion carcass.
The ducks didn't get the message we were coming with bread as all we had to feed were 2 geese and one duck that showed up later. I wasn't interested in giving 2 geese our whole bread stash so we used a couple of pieces and saved the rest for another day.

Later in the afternoon we went to the park. This is a newer park that just opened last spring down the street. Here's my swinging girl!

I don't have any false delusions about the Blazers making it out of the first round of the playoffs this season with Roy being injured but I'll still wear my Rudy jersey and root for them.

This is the kid that was scared to death of the slide a year ago...now he's a pro!

Each evening this week we've had a family soccer match. On the rainy days we had the game in the family room but on the nicer evenings we took it out on the grass. The kids make up all of the rules but that's fine since its getting them outside and playing. The combo of exercise, activity, and practice, not to mention good family time, makes it worthwhile.

The kids...

After the park we went to dinner at Delta Cafe in our old Woodstock neighborhood. This is one of my favorite places in town and a great choice if you're hungry. Delta is a unique place that serves southern comfort food - catfish, chicken fried steak, fried chicken, pork, etc. Even better than the entrees (which are pretty darn good), they have the best sides. They are the only restaurant I can think of that has casseroles as side options. My two sides were mac and cheese and broccoli casserole. Luis and the kids had tater tot casserole as part of their sides. I should mention the mac is baked casserole style and is soooo good. Nothing like Kraft. Plus the kids liked the Dum Dum suckers that came with the check. To each their own...

Hearts and Karts

After a busy work week in which I gave so many presentations that I was tired of hearing my own voice, it was time for another busy weekend.

Yesterday we went to Joanne and Doug's house to celebrate my cousin Amanda's engagement to Tyson. Course, I forgot my camera. Amanda was going to email me pictures but I'm still waiting...as Mason would say "tick tock, tick tock"....

Today Luis spent his hard earned March Madness winnings on another family toy. Yaya and Papa Ron happen to have the perfect property for Go-Karting. We've talked about it for a while and seemed like now was as good a time as any. Eventually we hope to make a little track in the field behind the shop. The driveway is also fun to drive around.

Luis and Mason go for the first ride. Mason was a little scared the first go-round but by the end of the evening, he was all about speed.
There's Siena and I. The little car goes surprisingly fast - probably 30-40 mph on the straight-away portion of the driveway. Not surprisingly, Siena had no problem with speed at any time.

Luis and Mason examine the inner brake workings...

And from cars to blowing dandilions...

The kids' legs are too short to reach the pedals but they can still steer with someone giving a little push from behind.

Yaya is getting her cataracts fixed on Tuesday, and it turns out to not have been quite soon enough. See where Mason is pointing? Apparently there was a curb that Yaya didn't see.

We have a couple minor modifications to make to the Go-Kart, seat cushions, better seatbelts, and, apparently, an adjustment to the brakes. Luis! Watch out for Yaya's cupboards! Doh.

At least all of her canning jars are kept one shelf higher. I'm just glad I wasn't the first Cruz to crash. I would have never heard the end of it.

Hoppity Hop Hop

March Madness. 20 participants. 1 winner. It all comes down to Duke vs. West Virginia. If Duke wins, Luis takes 1st place. If West Virginia wins, I take first place. Well...Duke won. Lets not dwell on that any longer.

Easter in Oregon is an iffy proposition at best. The last few years, we've had to hold the Easter egg hunt indoors. Sunday started out nice. The sun peaked through and at 3:30 PM, we had yet to see a drop of rain so while I was working on Easter dinner of homemade chicken and dumplings, the Easter Bunny (Luis) hid eggs outside. We were all ready to go then for when Yaya and Papa Ron were to arrive a half hour later. Of course 10 minutes later it began downpouring.

Fortunately the kids didn't care in the least. They threw on their coats, grabbed their baskets, and had at it.

Siena didn't even bother with her hood after it fell down. There were more important matters at hand.
Even Yaya got in on the action, albeit by holding a basket and helping the kids find the last few eggs.

Back indoors the mediator (Yaya) made sure the Easter loot was equally distributed. Smile Mason, this is supposed to be fun.

Siena shows off her LED bunny, and her Easter dress.

Here's Mason with his bunny and his Easter outfit from Yaya.

After dinner and dessert, Luis and I went to see Patty Griffin and Buddy Miller at the Crystal Ballroom. The show was great, the standing room only venue leaves something to be desired. Papa Ron requested a list of the top 5 Griffin songs so here they are. I'll throw in a couple of Buddy Miller's too since he too is amazing. Cousin Craig is certain to despise all of these tracks.

Buddy Miller - Wide Wide River http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3QmdzqJ_K9E
Buddy Miller - Gasoline and Matches http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OxdMQZGfZfM

Patty Griffin - Up to the Mountain http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kh-DgLX4fVs&feature=related
Note that this song is about and inspired by Martin Luther King Jr.

Patty Griffin - Little Fire http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iDJ_BTmBFtQ&feature=channel
This song is off of her recent album which is actually a gospel recording, her only such album. I love this album.

Patty Griffin - Heavenly Day http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8cdnF3NUSCY&feature=related
My favorite of all of her songs. I've posted it on here before but its so good its worth repeating.

Patty Griffin - You're Coming Home to Me - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HhHCA7RzkBI Absolutly amazing song.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KeUBweC0B5Q If these aren't powerful lyrics, nothing is.

Ultimate Spring Break Extravaganza 2010!!!

I may have missed updating last weekend but this blog should make up for it, at least in terms of length.

I can't remember the last time I took a week off from work. Maybe last summer? Anyway, Spring Break seemed like the perfect time and Yaya's beach house, the perfect place. It also doesn't hurt that there's a Mo's just down the road.

Mason's favorite beach time past time is rock climbing. We arrived Saturday afternoon and though the clouds started to come in, the weather was still nice enough for a quick walk.
Sunday we headed north to Seaside, getting there just in time for some lunch on Main St.

After lunch we had to hit the games. Mason only wanted to play car games. His legs are a little short for the pedals so he needed a little help on the accelerator. He did his own steering though.

He was up for some air hockey with this sister in addition to car games. Mason won.

Siena got to play a lot of games too, though sometimes she just had to look on while Mason kept at it.

We had moments of windiness by the water.

You many be inclined to think of Seaside as nothing but a tourist town, but that is wrong. About January 1, 1806, a group of men from the Lewis and Clark Expedition built a salt-making cairn at the present site of Seaside. In honor of this, the city of Seaside has this Lewis and Clark statue at its "turnaround" - also the turnaround for Lewis and Clark's team.

Mason is going through a bit of a "I don't want my picture taken phase", possibly a result of me taking his picture so many times for this blog. I can still catch him in action from time to time though.

On the way back, we decided to veer off Hwy 101 at Tillamook and take the three capes loop. The first stop was Cape Meares.

There are some nice views to be had here.

The lighthouse was first lit in 1890. When it was built, the lighthouse complex included two keeper's houses, two oil houses, and two cisterns. Later additions included an 1895 workroom attached to the tower and a 1934 garage. In 1963, the lighthouse was deactivated and replaced by a newer tower. The two keeper's houses were subsequently demolished in 1968.

The lighthouse is still closed for winter but we were able to walk down to it and catch a family photo in front of it. As you can see, it isn't the tallest lighthouse but based on its location, it doesn't have to be.

The kids took a break on the hike back to the car.

The kids and daddy across from the bench.

Siena has a tendency to get carsick on windy roads. The three capes loop was just such a road. It probably didn't help that we stopped for dinner midway and coaxed her into eating. Sure enough, a few minutes after getting back on 101, Siena threw up. We took her coat and pants off and gave her my coat to use to keep warm. Then we rolled down all the windows (in a torrential downpoar) and did our best to not think about the smell. Siena plugged her nose the whole way back.

Mason had a different odor control strategy. He used his race car to block the smell. After some carpet cleaner to clean up the car (that's the best we could find in the condo) and some air freshner, the car was good to go after a couple of days.

We weren't off and running quite as early on Monday but we were still busy and active. It was so nice and sunny that we went down on the beach to play after breakfast. Siena even ditched her shoes.

Mason worked hard on a sand castle.

Siena gathered water.

We headed south on this day toward Newport and stopped at some of the scenic points along the way. This is Cape Foulweather. Cape Foulweather is a basalt outcropping 500 feet above the ocean. The cape is notable as the first promontory on the northwest coast of New Albion (as the area was then known) to be sighted and named by Captain James Cook, while on his third voyage around the world. Luckily, no foulweather for us on this day though.

And the view from Cape Foulweather is pretty incredible. This is a south look with Devil's Punchbowl below.

Speaking of Devil's Punchbowl, that's where we had our picnic lunch.

The tide was out so we roamed around the tide pools. We got to see small fish, anemone, and starfish.

There was a little stream we had to manuver to and from the tide pools. This bridge wasn't there on our way there. Mason and I got soaked shoes as a result of some poor rock jumping. Must balance to get across...

Now its on to Newport Bay for some crabbing! Here's Siena on the front of our crabbing boat. No, I didn't make her do the "I'm the king of the world" pose.

Embarking on our version of Deadliest Catch. Mason is being camera-shy again. He was actually quite excited to be out on the boat. We got to see a lot of seals and sea lions while out there.

The pots are loaded with bait and ready to go. Luis and I want to invest in a couple of our own to chuck off the dock by Mo's. We also heard that cans of Alpo dogfood work great for bait.

And something you don't see every day, a boat stranded on a sandbar. The skipper and crew were hiding below waiting for the tide to come back in. Clearly recreational boaters.

Mason inspects the bin of too small crabs, from a distance of course.

Luis isn't afraid to get a closer look though.

We may not have caught a ton in the way of crab, but we did catch the biggest sea star I've ever seen. This is its underside. See the hand sizes next to it for scale. The kids all got to touch it. They thought it was pretty cool.

We ended up with a ration for our family of 2 dungeneous crab and about 8 red rock crab. The red rocks are smaller but since they eat things in the bay and do some unwanted damage, all of those can be kept and consumed.

It was pretty late by the time we got back to shore and got our crab cleaned so we headed across the street and had dinner at Mo's. Mo's are named after their original owner Mohava "Mo" Niemi, who was once described as "the stuff of legend in Newport".

Mo's first opened on the Newport bay front in 1946 as "Freddie & Mo's"—a 24 hour restaurant that served the local loggers and fisherman such fare as spaghetti and steaks. In the following years Mo's served more and more seafood, the clam chowder recipe evolved over time as the cooks would vie with each other to produce a better version.

The original Newport Mo's has an unusual front wall for a restaurant. One day a customer accidentally left her car in forward gear instead of reverse while leaving and crashed through the front wall. Mo consoled the woman, saying, "Well, we'll just put in a garage door so we can open it and you can drive in anytime if that's what you want to do". On warm sunny days the door is opened transforming Mo's into a sidewalk cafe. The door itself, pictured at right, remains basically unchanged since its installation and features a picture on its interior showing a woman driving her car through the door, an alarmed look on her face. This garage door is on the opposite side of the wall behind Luis in this picture.

On Tuesday, we went back down to Newport and went to the Oregon Coast Aquarium, which is Oregon's largest aquarium. Here's the kids at the entrance to the outdoor portion of the aquarium. As you can see, its another beautiful day at the beach.

Siena and a bird...

Jaws!!!

Luis and the kids at the touch pool. Mason isn't too shy about touching sea stars after this week.

After the aquarium, we had to stop off at Jamba, our favorite hippie shop at Newport's bayfront. The kids got down and jammed on the store's percussions.

At some point Tuesday afternoon, Mason took over as family photographer and caught this shot of me.

We drove home on Wednesday and ate some of our crab for dinner Wednesday night.

These are the smaller red rock crab. They may be small, but they were sure tasty!

We took the rest of the week at a slower pace. The kids went up to my parents for the night on Thursday and Luis and I went to see the Blind Side. GREAT movie!

I also spent Thursday in extreme spring cleaning mode. I got the kids toys all sorted, organized, and old stuff boxed up for Goodwill.

Yesterday was the annual Easter egg hunt at Jose's work. Luis took the kids down for some tromping in the grass. Here's Siena with her cousin Andre.

Must find candy. Must find candy.

Hummm...must find candy.

In other important family news, Luis and I are head to head in this year's March Madness Tourney. As of today, we're either going to finish me first and Luis third or vice versa, depending on who wins next week's Duke vs. West Virginia matchup. Go West Virginia!!