granmolly

I signed Sophie up for the UO cheerleaders clinic for kids which was held last Saturday (January 19th). While Sophie was attending the pre-game clinic, Lillie came over to visit Jon and me. Lillie arrived dressed for the game. Note the “O” decal near her eye. Sophie and I were also wearing decals.

Lillie in game attire

We took EmX rapid transit bus from Eugene to Springfield for lunch at the Pump Cafe, which is a converted gas station.

Jon and Lillie talking about what to order.

Lillie thought the blue cheese dressing that came with my salad was a great dip for her toasted cheese sandwich.

Sit back and enjoy.

EmX took us back to the UO and we walked up to Mac Court to watch the Oregon women’s team play Washington. Shad and Becky joined us for the game. Sophie was sitting with the other Jr. Cheerleaders in the opposite end of the court. It took binoculars to pick her out of the crown of blond heads and yellow shirts. The junior cheerleaders were the half-time entertainment, so I slipped out of my seat a few minutes early to go down and catch them lining up in the hall, waiting for their entrance.

The line-up

In focus

Making an entrance

getting set for the routine

Strike a pose

Now shake it

Get congratulations from the Duck mascot

It was an exciting game with the Oregon team winning by two points. Lillie and Sophie began to lose interest after half time, but they stuck it out to the end.

Last Saturday Sophie and I took the train to Portland for the day to visit the Children’s museum. We had a wonderful, exhausting day full of adventures. Sophie spent Friday night at our house so we could get up, have a good breakfast and catch the 9am Cascade Amtrak to Portland.

Train depot in Eugene

Boarding the Amtrak train

As we were walking from Union Station in Portland to the closest MAX stop we passed the Chinese garden and couldn’t resist stopping to visit.

When we reached the museum, lunch was our first priority, but after a quick slice of pizza and some fruit Sophie was more than ready to begin playing.

The Aurthur exhibit

The “dig” pit

Face painting (Sophie painted mine, too)

The clay workshop (Sophie is making a butterfly)

Musical instruments

Water play

We took MAX back downtown for dinner at Typhoon, a nice Thai restaurant just a few blocks from Pioneer Square.

We should have called a taxi when we finished dinner, but I thought it would be easy to catch a bus back to Union Station. When we just missed our bus, I couldn’t hail a taxi, so we ended up walking the 12 blocks to the station, just barely making it in time for the train. Sophie was a real trooper, and didn’t complain about the walk, but once we had settled into the train ride home, she was hungry again and ready for the warm coffee cake they had available in the cafe car.

We arrived back in Eugene about 9:30 pm, tired but very happy.

Christmas was wonderful! Jason, Kristina, Noah & Julia arrived December 23rd. Shad, Becky, Sophie, & Lillie joined us for dinner at Ocean Sky Chinese restaurant. We had a great time, but everyone was too busy eating and keeping track of the kids to take any pictures. There was a big lazy Susan in the center of the table with enough dishes so everyone found something to like. Noah, Julia, and Lillie do pretty well feeding themselves, but we left a big tip to make up for the rice and noodles that landed on the floor. We did take some pictures of the walk before dinner to help drain a little of the kids’ excess energy.

The next morning Shad and Jason went out to Tee’s to install some upgrades to her computer as a Christmas present, while Kristina, Becky and I took the kids to Amazon Park.

After swings and the play structure, stomping in puddles became the activity of choice, which was great until they headed to the biggest puddle around and Noah and Julia were quickly in over the tops of their boots. Scooping up wet, cold kids and getting them back to a warm house and dry clothes precluded more pictures.

We dressed up for Christmas Eve dinner. The best pictures were taken by Tee, whose usual photo subjects are horses, birds, insects, wildlife, and inanimate objects. http:mts-arabians.com

Lillie

Sophie

Noah

Julia

My pictures were more random and haphazard.

Shad, Becky, Sophie and Lillie went home to their own house so Santa could come, but Jason, Kristina, Noah and Julia stayed with us.

Christmas morning

Planning for a big Ager family reunion (cousins on my mom’s side) in early August left me with no time for blogging, and once the reunion was over there was one thing after another until now Christmas has come and gone and it’s time to get back to posting pictures before I get too far behind. Pictures from the reunion are available at http://ager_reunion.com

Pictures from the past 6 months:

Noah and Julia’s 2nd birthday–December 14th

Cookie Baking

Climbing Spencer’s Butte–Thanksgiving

Sophie’s 5th birthday–November 22nd

Halloween

October

Lillie’s 1st Birthday–September 20th

September

Kristina brought Noah and Julia to Eugene on Tuesday. Becky, Sophie, and Lillie went with us to Riverpark.

After the park, Kristina and I took the twins to the Eugene Public Library. They loved the outdoor courtyard, the books, and the library toys.