winter photos on Snapfish

scooterrific!

2010-2011 winter - holidays, visitors, silliness

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naomi's life

A day (or two) in the life of Naomi.

sailing

Naomi's winter recital (her song starts at 1:10). She got very fancy, including perfume, beaded braids, and borrowing my scarf. She was confident as always and did a great job! Of course, her favorite part is the cookies afterward...

vienna's great adventures

Presenting Naomi's very first movie! She planned and shot this all by herself, on her own little camera. I helped with the editing, but she sat on my lap and directed. All the titles, music stops and starts, etc. are per her strict instructions. Enjoy!

first day of first grade

Naomi picked out all her own back to school clothes; it's going to be a good year...

We hear Ms. P is a stickler for handwriting, but Omi's been practicing all summer so she's good to go. Naomi's bff's Afton, Story, and Izzy sit at her table, and she gets a pink locker!

short and sweet

Naomi's spring recital! Fast forward to 8:15 to see her play (sorry about the ad).

Christmas photos posted on Snapfish

Thank you, everyone, for a beautiful day!

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annual report 2008

Happy holidays from Leaperville! In lieu of a newsletter, photo, and greeting card this year we are getting back to basics: a postcard and a blog post.

2008 has had its moments. We spent the majority of them in our hammock, built lovingly by Craig out of a spaceship (it's a long story) he created for a movie set. Parents, child, and dog all swung cozily together, suspended between Craig's garden and a very blue sky.

The hammock

Naomi started pre-K this year at our local elementary school, a short walk from our house. She loves school; last weekend she cried because she couldn't see her friends until the next day. The school has a uniform, which has been quite an adjustment for Omi, a girl who has insisted on picking out her own clothes every day since she was two. I must admit, I am a sucker for a uniform and I think she looks adorable in her little pleated skirt.

Omi's first day at school

Craig's business has continued to expand and this year he had the opportunity to design and build several architectural-scale glass works. He is now the proud owner of two kilns and is firing daily. He continues to do organic estate gardening for several beautiful Portland properties, but when the weather is particularly inclement, he is often in his studio. He had the opportunity to attend workshops with several amazing artists this year and is looking forward to more firing and of course, slightly warmer weather for gardening.

I'm currently a senior communication designer here. This year I created an artist catalog documenting the process, inspiration, and work of a master engraver and his student, whose collaboration culminated in this exhibition. I'm also studying for a master of science degree here, in a program that is a technology-focused version of an MBA. I'm very interested in user experiences and my research will focus on experience design for arts environments.

Vienna turned six this year and is having a fantastic time walking Naomi to and from school every day. She is a favorite (and frequent) pre-K visitor and is as ball-obsessive as ever.

Vienna is six

We have lived in Portland for eight years now. This is our home and we are so glad to be surrounded by family this year: the Merrells, the LeaperLoves, and of course, Katielectric. Especially in times of economic uncertainty we gather strength from our friends, family, and community. We wish you all a happy new year.

Peace and joy,

The Leaps

summer fun (photos posted on Snapfish)

Well, it's been quite a summer. Wendie and Jeremy moved up to P-town, so good times have been had. Case in point: Wendie's famous Fourth of July Jell-o Flag, a true masterpiece.


Oh say can you see...

Omi graduated from preschool, a bittersweet event that was celebrated in style at our favorite restaurant.


Omi and Alice at preschool graduation, bff


graduating is delicious

Last but not least, in a burst of housewifery I made three kinds of pickles (cukes, squash, peppers) and three kinds of jam (cherry, raspberry-marionberry, and a new classic - "black and blue" blackberry-blueberry). Summer was sweet.

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a very silly party (photos posted on Snapfish)

Omi turned four in June and we celebrated with a "silly" party. Guests came dressed in their silliest ensembles, ate cupcakes that looked like ice-cream cones, and tried on wax lips. Hilarity ensued, in the form of jell-o tag (i.e. throwing jell-o) and silliest of all...Santa!

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craig + ebay = trouble

Somehow a whole bunch of Care Bears were delivered to our home today.

Did I mention that once I came home and found Craig bidding (and winning) on a CAR?? in KANSAS???

Also worth mentioning: the Care Bears are all lined up because they are doing the "Care Bear Stare" on a very unfortunate (and possibly evil) stuffed pig.

spring has sprung (spring photos posted on Snapfish)

A fruity and rainy easter, a delightful visit from the Harrison grandparents, and baby Opie!

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we heart Wendie

Wendie's visit went too fast, we miss her (and her delicious roasted butternut squash pasta) already.

Wendie is almost ready to graduate from nursing school, and we are hoping (praying!) that a Portland hospital will be lucky enough to snatch her up. Naomi is now the proud owner of a REAL stethoscope, furthering her obsession with giving (and receiving) daily "checkups".

thanks for the beach

The day after Thanksgiving was sunny and warm, so we went to the beach! The Oregon coast makes me happy; Oswald West was full of surfers and dogs. It was actually warm enough for Omi to run around in her swimsuit!

John let me try his surfboard, and now I want to go again. See the tiny spec in the distance? That's me!

thanks for Thanksgiving

Good times!

We are thankful for friends and family who can really cook, Asher who was cute in his after-dinner shirt, and Omi who is shown bemoaning the fact that her stuffing did not have enough apple chunks. 

Wendie and Jeremy, we missed you. Hope everyone had a delicious and happy holiday...

more...Halloween!

Aunt Katie and Omi wanted to be really scary!

Halloween!

how we spent our summer vacation (spring and summer photos posted on Snapfish)

We haven't done much blogging this summer, our digital camera went haywire and now takes only pink pictures! I uploaded the images we did get to Snapfish, including Kim and Byron's wedding, spring in Puddletown, the aforementioned pink pictures, and summer happenings like the Third Annual Roselawn Carnival and fun at Oaks Park.

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We had quite a few visitors in August: the Leaper/Loves came up with Farmer Katie; Johanna stopped by for shopping and a pedicure; and Kendra, aka Aunt Deedee, aka Ms. Santa Claus, flew in loaded with presents galore. If only we a had a camera I could share the fun with you, but alas, we are left only with the memories...

If we didn't get to see you this summer, we are sad. Come and visit any old time, our guest room has your name on it!

happy Easter!

Omi gets a hairdo

This week Naomi paid her first visit to Miss Nicci at a Portland institution, Bishops barbershop. One of her favorite games right now is "salon" (a close second is "tag, you're it!"), so she was pretty excited about going. She was also very vocal about how she wanted her hair: "curly".

Naomi has a suprising amount of girly-girl in her, considering the amount of time she spends playing in the mud with her dad, and also considering the fact that I spend an average of one minute per day doing my hair and makeup. Nicci was so sweet with her, and Naomi was quite taken with Miss Nicci.

I asked Naomi how she wanted her hair next and she was very decisive: "pink".