home away from home

Gray and I visited his parents last week
at their house in McMinnville, Oregon.
Despite a small bout of car sickness
when we drove with Sharon and Tony to the coast,
We had an amazing vacation and came home relaxed.

While in Portland we went to Powell’s City of Books,
which is perhaps the best bookstore in the world.
It is a full city block of new, used, and out-of-print books.

Sharon was convinced I chose to go to Powell’s
to earn brownie points with Tony.
But spending countless hours browsing bookstores
is something Tony and I have in common.

And because I spent the 1.5 hours we had
in the children’s section (our son now has a great library),
I am excited to go back and explore the rest of the store
(Sorry Sharon!)

When we got home, Nigel and Kylie
greeted us in their usual way.

For Kylie – that means giving us big hugs by
stretching her front paws on our shoulders.

For Nigel – that means peeing all over the
floor any time you touch or talk to him.
We keep wondering when he’ll learn to control his bladder.
Until then, beware of open-toed shoes.

These pictures are from Gray's iPhone
so the quality is not the best.
I'll add more pictures later.

Yachats Forest (notice the fog!)


Hazelnut Trees next to the Weddick's home


Park Bench in Yachats


Anne Aimee Winery in McMinnville

baby room

24 Weeks


I think my belly has grown a lot
over the last several days.
Even Sharon noticed the growth
during the time she was here.
My stomach is definitely more itchy.
And our baby's movements are stronger.

We finally finished the baby's room.
The best parts of the room are the
three magnetic chalkboards we
painted on the wall
using specialty paint.
We then made frames using molding.
We just hope our son will learn
when it is okay to write on walls
and when it isn't




After painting the room four different times,
Graham is very happy that
I am finally satisfied with the room.

This is the face Graham makes
when I remind him of how many
times we painted the room.

Hey, That's My Face!

The graphic designers at my work
found my twin on a stock photography website.

Too bad I haven’t perfected my evil seductive look,
Or it would have been a perfect match.