Plentiful Spring

Even with the weather stubbornly staying unusually cold and extremely rainy for this last stretch of spring, it hasn't stopped the Mather crew from celebrating milestones and experiencing plenty of firsts and fun.

First up is Lily who is now a phone owning 13 year old and will start her final year of middle school this fall.  She spends her time focused on theater,  fashion, and doing well in school.  She spends some time on the tennis court and the softball field but not as much as before.  We're excited for her and her newfound passion of performing and the people and experiences it will bring.

Lily at a day old with her proud parents

Lily at 13 with her even prouder parents

Lily's panto theater crew came to support her performance as Louisa in the Sound of Music at Lincoln High School.

Even Aunt Lolo flew out to support her. Aunt of the year 13 years running.

Elise is busy with karate, Girl Scouts, and piano.  She is now a 5th grader and you'll still often catch her in a robe with a chai tea and an audio book playing.  Here we are with Elise after her first piano recital.

Paul is all about baseball, tennis, and mountain biking these days.  He's also into the music group AJR. We kicked off our family trip to Whistler with a stop in Seattle to take him to their concert.  Witnessing my kids experience new things in such a mind blowing positive way brings me so much joy.

  

We escaped to Whistler for a few days for mountain biking and exploring.  The boys had a blast experiencing so many of the 70 downhill trails Whistler Bike Park offers.  They love to do jumps and tricks and ride fast.  Lily, Elise, and I just can't keep up.  

 

Nate got a little dirty

Girls and I hiked to this cool train wreck in the middle of the forest - it's been there since the 50's.  

The robins returned to our front porch for two rounds of eggs hatching over the course of a couple months.  We named them Lenny and Larry and we like to believe they know our voices because they don't fly away as much anymore when we come or go out our front door.  

Paul surprised us all with doing a solo dance act at the school talent show.  He did the Napoleon Dynamite dance and rocked it.  I'm still stunned that he did it given how shy he can be.

I'll finish this post with a tribute to Nate and my Dad with it just being Father's Day.  

Nate continues to be just as hands on and involved as the early days, if not more so.  I sometimes think I need to be Nate's PR agent to our own kids because he is so humble.  I don't think they realize just how talented he is as an artist, drummer, singing harmony and being naturally musically inclined, and being athletically blessed in any sport he wants to do. His intelligence and quick wit is in some ways the glue for our family.  It's not easy being both the level headed logical thinker and be silly and fun loving to all of us yet he goes for it.  Parenting sure is a wild ride.

I love the look on Opa's face in this picture with his Portland grandkids.  Opa exemplifies what it means to be at peace, comfortable in his own skin, and strong in his convictions.  My sarcasm and naughty humor definitely comes from him...as does my stubbornness.  Happy Father's Day Dad.  Love you.