Rainbow Trout Farm

On Saturday morning, the family packed up the car and made our way to Sandy, OR to the Rainbow Trout Farm. We had never been there before, so didn't know what to expect.

The day started out cold and pretty much stayed that way except when the sun would peek out for a second or two and I was a bad mother and dressed my kids (and myself) for 80+ degree weather. I saw that the weather was going to be 68 and sunny, but I seemed to focus on the sunny and didn't realize that this place would be surrounded by trees, which did not allow the sun to shine on us. The whole time I had Hannah bundled in a blanket and Jae was just freezing. His nose was red and his hands cold as ice. But that didn't seem to stop him from wanting to fish.

So we get there and the lady gives us a brief intro on the ins and outs to the place. We get our poles, bait, and bucket and go on our way. We ended up running into my friends Lynn and Janet and their families, so that was a fun surprise. So we wanted to catch the big fish and head right to a pond that has some larger fish. We didn't realize how easy and quick it would be to catch a fish. Within a minute of casting our pole, we had caught a fish. This happened for Stacey, Bill's dad, and Barb. It was hilarious watching them reel the fish in. It's been so long since I had been with my dad. It brought back a lot of good memories for me.

We decide to move to a smaller pond so Jae could catch some fish and I have to say that I actually put a worm on the hook. I was very proud of myself! Bill helped Jae cast a line and he caught one very quickly. Jae was very proud of his catch and went to catch two total.

We had caught six fish by then and decided that was enough for the group. So we found our picnic spot and set up for a nice meal and family fun. We had the farm clean our fish for us and Eric was kind enough to season them (which meant he got his hands all fishy). We forgot to bring foil and oil, so we went to the Farm's office and bought the foil for $2 dollars and also paid $2 dollars for the USE of their oil. The running joke was that everything in the store was $2 dollars!

The boys put the fish on the grill and then we sat and hung around and chatted with my friends Lynn and Janet and watched all the kids playing together. The fish was done and we got our grub on. There were some yummy sides and we ate till our tummies were full. The brownies were the highlight..unfortunately. =)













It was a great experience, I may do it again, but not for a while. I will remember to pack extra clothes and I would still go in the off season. It wasn't that busy, which I liked. Oh and one more thing...I've decided that I'm not a big fan of trout!

Vote 2008

I don't usually discuss politics, but use your voice and vote!

Jude..and I'm not talking about Law..

So I was listening to my ipod and the song "I do" from Jude comes on. It just got me thinking, "what has Jude been up to all these years"?

For those of you who do not know what I'm talking about, Jude is a singer/songwriter who I first discovered back in 1998 (my college days). The first cd that I bought of his was "No One is Really Beautiful". It was great. I was really into finding different music back then (and still am), but with so many new artists (for lack of a better word), sometimes it's hard to keep track of them all. Anyway, I believe the song that was popular back then was "I'm Sorry Now" and to me, it was new and different from what was on the radio and Jude had a way with his lyrics that were witty/honest, but still had you interested.

I remember going to see him at the Aladin with Stephanie (years ago) and it was a good show and we got him to sign our cd.

But I just had to post about it. If you're interested in learning more about Jude, go to http://www.judemusic.com/.

Enjoy.

The Last Hurrah before Summer is OVER...

I feel as though I've been neglecting the blog. It's been a crazy couple of weeks for me. I had a couple of proposals due and an interview to prepare for. Thursday is here and now I'm back to my regularly scheduled workweek..my kind of show!

The end of August is here and that means BACK TO SCHOOL! Granted my kids aren't part of the public school system quite yet, but it still makes me think that we should at least have one last hurrah before September is here and it's something else that consumes our lives.

So, because I want to make the most of the three day weekend and tire myself and the family out, we've got several things planned.

Weekend Warriors...(including a little of Friday)
Friday - Bill and I are going to my co-workers wedding at the Chinese Gardens. I'm super excited about it. The kids will be hanging out with the Aunties for the evening.

Saturday - The Grunwalds, Poirier's, and Pollingers are going to the Rainbow Trout Farm (www.rainbowtroutfarm.com) out in Sandy to spend the day catching some fish and having a picnic. I'm excited to see Jae's reaction to actually fishing, instead of the playing with plastic fish.

Sunday - The Grunwald's are heading to the coast for a day of family bonding. This will be Hannah's first trip to the coast and Jae will have ventured out there for the first time this summer! I'm excited to take pictures. I know the weather will be just OK, but at least we'll be together.

Monday - This is the day of dread. Why you ask? Because this just means that Tuesday is a work day and summer is over and back to reality. This is the day that tells me that there is only ONE MORE WEEK until Bowling starts..good lord! This is the day that tells me I'm about to turn one year older...BUT on the Flipside of things, this is the month that Stephanie will be visiting! Knowing that Kelcy will be getting married in less than two months and Bill and I will be heading to Maui! And that my favorite season..Fall, will be here soon.

Here's to September..

Cheers!

PS, don't forget..NO WHITE AFTER LABOR DAY!!! who made up this silly rule?

A Visitor...

I just got word today that Stephanie will be in town in September, well, more like Seattle, but she's going to come and stay with us for a couple of days! I'm/we are so excited! It's been almost a year since I've seen her.

Stephanie..all I can say is 'hot wings'

Cloverfield - Movie Review

Bill and I finally watched Cloverfield. A movie by J.J. Abrams (Alias, LOST, What about Brian, and the new show, FRINGE). For those of you who aren't familiar with this movie, it's about a monster that invades Manhattan and wreaks havoc to the City (gee, sound familiar). This movie was filmed in the 'cinema verite' style - to make it look like it was filmed with one hand-held camera (think Blair Witch, but not as extreme).

The movie started slow, the plot, not that great. *SPOILER ALERT* Rob is trying to find the girl (Beth) that he likes and he goes from one part of the City to another. Throughout this attempt, he's got his friends in tow (one that is holding the camera THE ENTIRE TIME) and they encounter the monster and his little 'hatchlings'. He finally reaches the girl whose building is leaning against another building. So they climb 50+ flights of the building that is still erect and cross over to the building where Beth lives. When they find her, she's on her back impaled by a piece of rebar and STILL ALIVE!!! so Rob and his friends miraculously PULL HER OFF the rebar and make their way back to the other building and down 50+ flights and RUN towards the helicopters b/c the government was going to blow up the City in order to kill the monster. I know it's a movie, but WHATEVER!

Anyway, the monster is crazy looking and it made me jump once. The ending was typical in that they left it open for Cloverfield 2. That's a shame.

Here's what I learned from this movie:
a) Not impressed and wouldn't watch it again. Don't think I will watch #2.
b) Odette Yustman - I am SOOOO sad that October Road is canceled! I want to know how the show ends! Who is Sam's dad?
c) This is why rentals are the bomb! I saved myself and arm and a leg by watching it at home.

Saturday

Today was a pretty busy day for the Grunwald Clan.

Jae had swimming lessons this morning. This time he was accompanied by Daddy and Uncle Jake (but not two daddy's). Bill said that he actually did BIG kicks today and put his face in the water (for like 1 second). This is quite the accomplishment for our Jae-man.

The three guys then drove to the Columbia Edgewater Country Club to watch the LPGA Safeway Classic Tournament. Jake (through his sister Anna) acquired some VIP passes to the tournament and was nice enough to extend the invite to Bill and Jae. They had a great time and enjoyed all the complimentary food and beer, seeing all the golfers, and the VIP parking (if you talk to Jake, I think this was the highlight of the day for him)! Jae was tuckered out from all the festivities and slept the whole way home.

While the boys were out and about, Hannah and I had some girl bonding and went shopping! She was such a trooper and was passing out smiles everywhere we went! We met Aunty Barb for lunch and then she got a little fussy b/c she wanted to eat too.

My two monkeys!

So Hannah turned 6 months and she is a new baby! I have yet to see her fuss in a week (knock on lots of wood here). She's been grabbing her feet and just blowing raspberries and smiling and giggling. I can't get enough of it.

Here are the kids goofing around after dinner!

Hannah at Six Months

Well, our little girl is growing up! Hannah just reached her sixth month on this planet!

She had her sixth month well-baby check-up and all is good.
Weight: 17.07 lbs (80% percentile)
Height: 27 inches (90% percentile)

She's met quite a few milestones and Dr. Rosenbloom says that she is growing on target. (FYI..if anyone needs a pediatrician in the LO area, Dr. Rosenbloom is awesome!)

OHHHHH..and my little Hannah Bear was a TROOPER when she got her vaccinations! She barely cried when they poked her..three times to be exact! I was prepared for the worst, but the first poke, nothing; second poke, whimper with small cry; third poke, cry; and then it was quiet! That's my girl.

Matt Nathanson

So, I've been getting into this artist, Matt Nathanson. For those of you who haven't heard of him, his songs have been in rotation on KINK - "Car Crash" and "Come on get higher". I guess if you like Lifehouse, The Fray, Coldplay, Counting Crows, you might like Matt's sound. Check him out at www.mattnathanson.com. He will be in town in November at the Aladin Theatre.

The next Olympian..Ready, Set, Go!

Jae may be the next track and field champion for the United States. At 3 years old, he's already got the form and ready position down.














Maybe he'll be the next Carl Lewis!

Big Truck Day...

Bill and Jae went to Big Truck Day at Conestoga Recreation Center on Saturday. I didn't go because I was home with a sick Hannah. According to Bill, the lines were long, it was hot (it was supposed to be 103 degrees), and there were A LOT of kids! Jae did get to sit on some trucks and he even came home with a construction hat.

Friday

So we had a rough Thursday night. Hannah was/is still feeling under the weather. Her temperature was soaring past 103 and she just looked miserable all night. She is staying home with Bill today and hopefully she'll be back to her old self. She slept in two hour intervals and woke up coughing all night. Bill and I weren't sure what it could be, perhaps she was teething or had an upset tummy? I'm thinking she was teething, but her temp was pretty high. She was putting everything into her mouth (but she always does this) and just drooling.

So needless to say that Bill and I were up pretty early this morning tag teaming the efforts. Jae was such a trooper. He slept through all the crying last night!

As I was getting ready this morning, Jae comes into the bathroom and says that Hannah pooped and it was this big (arms wide open) and weighed a 100 pounds! Wow!! LOL! And we think that relieved her temporarily. But last I spoke to Bill, she was still a little cranky. Poor Hannah Bear.

Thursday...

The day started out like any other day. Today was 'inside out day' for Jae and 'wear red day' for Hannah at school. I got the kids dressed and made Jae pose in his outfit (just so I could post this). Well, I'm at work for a couple of hours when I get the call.."Hi Patty, this is Kris. You didn't want to work today, did you?" Kris is a teacher at Kids Campus. She proceeds to tell me that Hannah has a temperature of 102.6 and that I will have to come and get her. Ugh.

I went to pick her up and poor thing, her cheeks were all red and her eyes just looked so tired. Well, Jae wouldn't let me leave him at school while I took Hannah home, so I took both kids home. This just made for a longer day..with a cranky Hannah and an energetic Jae.

I took some pics from the day. You would never know that Hannah was sick in these pictures!

Hannah is still under the weather as I write this, but asleep. Tomorrow she will be home with Bill and hopefully back to her normal self.

Poor baby.

I heart the Olympics, but...

I love the Olympics. I did not think that I would get into it this year, but after watching the opening ceremonies, I was hooked! Needless to say, the Olympics have been depriving me of my much needed sleep.

I guess I could always just read about the events, but where's the fun in that? I want to watch the emotions on the athletes faces as they complete their events, I want to watch about the come from behind wins, I want to watch about how the athletes overcame adversity to be a part of this elite group of individuals, I want to cry like a baby! Besides, I sit in front of a computer screen all day. I don't want to read from a monitor anymore.

Anywho, it's been more of a challenge to get out of bed these past mornings. Luckily, I've got a 3 y/o who wakes me up and in the most cheerful of ways...from the mouth of Jae.."Mamma, it's wake up time" who can't get out of bed with that greeting? =)

Here's to another groggy morning..

Sitting Up!

Hannah is growing up so fast! She has been developing in warp speed (so it seems) and becoming her own little person. I feel as though she's discovered so many things about herself in such a short period of time. I can't believe that in two weeks she will be 6 months! Sometimes it seems like just yesterday that we brought her home from the hospital.

She has been enjoying rice cereal, green beans and bananas!

She's been rolling around on the floor!

She's been sitting up!

She's still has her highlights and is giggly and cuddly as ever.

But of course I can't forget to tell you that she is also becoming a high maintenance girl! This must be 'payback' for Jae (he was/is one of the mello-ist kids I know). She definitely likes hanging with Mommy and hates to be alone in a room! She loves her Uncle Jake..bounce baby bounce bounce and being sung to. She DISLIKES car rides and will let you know it!

But everytime she flashes her gums, the 'crazy Hannah' disappears.

We love our little Hannah Bear.

Bones and Brew

The day after Bill's b-day party, the family decided to check out Bones and Brew. Located in the Pearl along NW 15th-16th and NW Glisan, it was a chance to just relax and enjoy some bbq and beer (pretty much what we did the day before, but in better weather). We went with the Poirier's + Bennigan, Pollingers + Anna, and Bill's coworker Niels met us there.

This was the first time that we had checked out Bones and Brew and I have to say that we were a little surprised that there weren't more "bones" vendors. But I guess we should have realized this when we read that it was only three blocks. There were (I believe) only three vendors and from what I was told by our table, the food was just "OK". We've had MUCH BETTER BBQ at RUSSELL STREET BBQ (check it out on NE Russell Street and MLK)!!! LOL!

I did not really sample any of the ribs at Bones and Brew..instead, I indulged myself to a hot link on a stick..and boy was it HOT! Then we had a couple of trays of fries (which Jae inhaled) and Jae had a huge Hawaiian icee - grape flavored (this was bigger than his head). Bill wandered around and had some ribs and of course sampled the beer.

There were some stands with various activities and items for purchase. Jake and Jae wrote on the ground with chalk and Bennigan got a bath at one of the stands and sampled some treats as well. It was a pet friendly function so we were able to see all kinds of pets!

The weather was great and it was just a great opportunity to hang outside.

Happy Birthday Bill!

August 4th was Bill's 33rd birthday! We celebrated by inviting our friends and family over to the house and having a BBQ and just hanging out.

Bill and I worked hard to get the house in shape for our guests, and it was all worth it. We had some special guests from California in the house...Bill's Uncle Bob and Aunt Lorraine were up visiting cousin Caryn and were able to stop by and spend the evening with us and Anna and Jake's mom and aunt rode the train up and spent the weekend for Anna's b-day (whichwas a couple of days prior). We had a house full of people. I was amazed that our little house could accomodate so many people and CHILDREN! The house was crowded and there was a lot of talking and little conversations going on and children running around, but I loved it! It definitely shows how we have grown in the past couple of years. But I loved seeing all the kids! They ranged from just two weeks old to six and I can't forget the moms-to-be. Yeah to the Year of Girls!

Jake did a great job working the bbq (Thanks Jake!) and everyone else did a great job of eating all the grub!

Jae particularly enjoyed helping daddy blow out the candles.

It was a long day and I'm glad that my honey had a good one!

Happy Birthday Bill!!!

We Love You!

Meiko

For those of you who don't know Meiko, I advise you to go to your nearest store and purchase her cd or find her online at http://www.meikomusic.com/ (it is myspace affiliated) or on iTunes. She's labeled as Folk Rock/Indie.


She's been around, but I just don't get to sample music like I used to. I found out that she'll be playing at Imbibe on Hawthorne in a couple of weeks.

Mirena

I know that this is TMI (too much information), but I just had to say that Mirena sucks right now!