Angie Windheim

Sam’s second grade concert was so darned cute last night!  It was the first concert at Edy Ridge and the kids really put on a good show. Of course, the best in the bunch was Sam. He was front and center, so it’s a good thing he knew the songs 🙂  Sam had special instrument part as well. Unfortunately, we could only listen to that part.  The instruments were on the floor and we couldn’t see over the HUGE crowd of parents.  Anyways, Sam did great and definitely earned his special dessert to celebrate. He picked strawberry cake with vanilla frosting. Yu-um.

Oh, I should give a shout-out to Dani Aldinger, the music director. She is just awesome with the kids. Sam was lucky enough to have her in kindergarten as well. 2 of the best school concert performances ever. The songs are peppy and the kids have fun.

Holy moly.  The Christmas bug has finally bit and bit me hard this week. I think it started with stuffed animal shopping for an Emmanuel Children’s Hospital drive.  Later that day I signed up for the Give ‘N Gobble and loaded up a bag of canned food for that drive. And, then today, I went on the Thanksgiving Day feast shopping trip. I was actually giddy as I pushed that 22 pound turkey around the store. Yay!!!

To celebrate our Memorial Day weekend we headed out for a hike to Ramona Falls (near Welches in the Mt Hood Forest).  We’ve done this hike numerous times, but it had been probably 5 years. We needed Sam to be able to make it on his own two feet rather than on Brian’s back. The hike is pretty long…maybe 6 miles, but it’s beautiful from start to finish.  The falls are amazing. This time around we had lots of extra challenges. First, the bridge was out.  But determined hikers find a way (see the log crossing photos).  And, we ran into some major snow drifts along the trail. Those of us in sneakers had to slip and slide with cold toes quite a bit.  Windheims are tough though. At the end of the journey, all three kids gave it a thumbs up. I think Joe was the most enthusiastic and really seemed to love being out in the forest.

Click here to view some great shots of our hike to Ramona Falls

I looked out my office window to the awesomeness of Spring. A very fat hummingbird was feasting on my flowering cherry tree. He actually sat down to rest a few times because he’s so full!  And, then a pair of finches decided to make out in the tree next to it 🙂  I was lucky enough to have some windows on the addition without screens and got a few pictures without disturbing the scene.

View Album at Shutterfly

It feels like a new America today. I’m overwhelmed with a new sense of patriotism and national pride because we have found (and had the sense to put our faith in) a good, intelligent and thoughtful human being.  Obama will be a positive force leading our country and representing us to the world. I wrote the Haiku below just after the election:

Full of grace and pride

A true leader’s journey starts

America heals