Just my favorite photos...

Addisen and Alexey, Chicago's Museum of Modern Art

Addisen hanging out in Cody, Wyoming

Alexey in Coeur D' Alene, Idaho

Addisen, Stacey and Alexey in Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming

Alexey and Addisen in Yellowstone National Park

Just my favorite photos..

Enjoy

The Singing Elvis

Last week while I was driving home from work and I was talking on the phone (in Oregon we can talk on our cell phones, drive and listen to someone serenade us Elvis at the same time) to my Mom when an Elvis impersonator drove up next to me at a red light... he said, in his Elvis voice, "Helloo Baby"... I'm Elvis and then he started singing "It's Now or Never"... he followed along side of my car for at least 15 blocks, singing and laughing. Every time I'd try to get away... he'd speed up next to me... he even shouted out "don't try to get away from me darlin"... so I listened and then when he realized that he had missed his turn a few blocks back... he shouted out "See you on the Internet". What did that mean? Anyway, it was fun, funny and weird... so that's what they mean when they say... "KEEP PORTLAND WEIRD"

What was great about this is that the Elvis impersonator was freely doing his own thing... he had created his own world... I like that... but I still like the 'original' Elvis better.


Stacey

Alexey... Relaxing in the Pool

Happy Alexey...


Pool therapy

Addisen... beauty meets mischievous

Just a few minutes prior to the beauty shot... this is what Addisen was doing

It's so great to see Addisen when she is calm but I also love this adventurous/mischievous side in her. I guess because it reminds me of myself. I know that this would aggravate a lot of parents but I love it!!! I love that she is floating her sandles down this 'human-made' stream in the middle of Windsor, California...


As Addisen would say ... 'You Rock'

Family, Friends and Neighbors

Addisen at the Warm Puppy Cafe, Santa Rosa, CA

Carolyn and Jaden, Alameda County Fair - Pleasanton

Addisen, Madison and Deanna... B.Day Party at the Bowling Alley

Addisen, Mom, Dad, and Alexey in Windsor, Ca

The past few weeks in California have been amazing and I just wanted to say how much fun it was to be with my family again in California... lots of swimming and hanging out in the sun; meeting up with old friends... we tried to see everyone but didn't get to see all of our friends (sorry) and of course coming home to neighbors and friends at work... thanks for a great time in California

California Peeps - lots of love to Sabina, Mark, Ben, Chris, Kaitie, Faith, Andy, Dad, Mom, Dick, Carolyn, Lawrence, Jaden, Jackson, Deanna, Madison, Melissa C, Dawn, Steve!!! Thanks for the good times!!!!

Portland Friends - thanks Amy, John, Liam and Shawna for taking care of our animals and our house.

Portland SWCA - thanks for all the hugs and 'generous' Welcome Back to Portland I received when I got back into work last Wednesday.



Lots of Love



Stacey, Alexey and Addisen

My Dad, My Other Hero...

So Father's Day is coming soon and I wanted to take some time to talk about my Dad. I know there are a lot of great Dads out there but my Dad is by far the best Dad ever. He is kind, nice, and funny but most of all is alway there for me. I have posted one of my favorite pictures of my dad (on the right) and our family friend Richard... Good Times!!!

The only thing to say is I love my Dad...

Happy Father's Day ...

Sta

So you want to be a Volunteer...

I have always tried to instill in my girls since a very young age the importance of doing volunteer work. Once they started grade school I would tell them each year to pick something to do for someone else. When they were little we did things like visit the SPCA and donate money or for Hurricane Katrina we picked our a charity to donate money too and we also wrote letters to our representatives asking for more funding for Katrina rebuilding projects. But this year, since the girls are now 10 and 12, we decided we wanted to give our time.

So Alexey, Addisen and I decided to volunteer at the Oregon Zoo as Zoo Ambassadors. We volunteered not knowing what we would be doing or when but to our surprise we were lucky enough to have the opportunity to volunteer at this year’s Oregon Zoo Dinosaur Exhibit. Now, I may be an archaeologist and the field methods used might be some what the same but there is a big (no joke intended) difference between Archaeology and Paleontology. So, I was a little worried at first because there was so little that I knew about dinosaurs except for the T-Rex and a few others, but the girls were so excited and they seemed to really be interested in the Dinosaurs that I just went along for the ride. To prepare ourselves to become Zoo Ambassadors, Alexey, Addisen and I have had 16-hours of training at the Zoo over the past several weeks and surprisingly I actually now know what a Compsognathus is as well as what a Pachycephalosaurus and I can pronounce their names too…Amazing.

Anyway, as Zoo Ambassadors we volunteer 4-hours per week at the exhibit as a family from May through September 2008. The best part about it is that it is fun, we feel like we are making a difference in our community and we get to go to the Zoo as often as we like for FREE!!! It really is a great opportunity for the girls to give back to the community but also it is a great chance for them to get to know their local Zoo and to get to know the animals that live there.
The Exhibit Details:

As for the Dinosaur exhibit... it's fantastic and lots of fun. It is when tooth and tale come alive at the Oregon Zoo and where we are given the opportunity to immerse ourselves in the wonders of prehistory, from the safety of the present. I heard a visitor say last weekend … “it’s too bad they have to be animatronics dinosaurs…”… what? what is this guy thinking. Anyway, the exhibit shows the dinosaurs in the ancient rain forest and this is where we come face to face with the gigantic moving exhibit. There is a section to dig for fossils, find dinosaur egg nests, and track a T. Rex, all while making dinosaur discoveries along the way. The exhibit trail is located near the Asian Elephant habitat (which is great as I love Elephants) and throughout the trail there are more than one dozen animatronics dinosaurs that roar, snarl, and move with lifelike ferocity.

Tomorrow, May 24th is our first official day as Zoo Ambassadors. We are really excited and hopefully on our first day it won't rain and the Dinosaurs will behave.
Take some time and Volunteer with your family.

Stacey and Girls...