it's a mcgrail family christmas

We have had Beautiful's family in for Christmas and it has been a full, warm, and fun house. Here we are fresh from opening the mountain of presents with only baby Milo missing. We have people sleeping in just about every inch of the house and the recycling box looks like we had a frat party. The boys are loving having Grammie and Tom Tom to jump in bed with each morning and Aunt Heather has been encouraging the delinquency of a minor with Henry by teaching him to throw his food at a restaurant. Even Ian is getting some extra attention with all the aunt, uncles, and grand parents he can handle. We have been having a good time and so far the full house has seen little to no conflict. That is a Christmas miracle as anyone knows with a large family.

i set about to write one thing, but then wrote another

We live in a great city, in a big house on a tree lined street with lots of kids. We have train right down the street and a park at the end of the block. Our kids are cute and healthy and good natured and funny. We live with fantastic people and have family and friends close by. We are well loved and we are in love, Beautiful and I. We are coming up on five years of marriage and the years have been good to us. There have been some hard times in there and we are in the middle of one now, but when you look at the whole story it is happy one. I am trying to look at the whole story a little more lately. Sometimes I get bogged down in the chapters, paragraphs or even sentences. But the whole story is beautiful. I wanted to write about how perspective tells two stories, the one above and then one that I would write about that was harder times but I don't want to do that any more. That stuff is still there but it is just part of the bigger story and that bigger part is what I want to express. I am thankful for this city and it's lovely festivals and trains. I am thankful for our big house on a tree lined street. I am thankful for neighbors taking the blond one to the park while I finish dinner. I am thankful for the blond one and his polka dancing and the red head who backed away crying and shaking his head when we tried to get him to polka. I am thankful for our housemates and their generosity. And I am thankful for Beautiful and her goofy dances. For the way she wrestles away my tortilla spatula instead of getting her own. For the way cobbles together jobs to get us through this time so that I can be home doing the job that I love. I am thankful for all these characters and scenes in our wonderful story and I am looking forward to the next chapters with hope.

meet the housemates

Have you met our housemates? I am not sure if I have put a picture of them up yet and I am too lazy to look. Plus this is a great picture of them. Meet Jesse, Ian, and Carly. They are awesome to live with and even more awesome to know. I was filling out the census paper work and then talking to a census worker and I was able to answer almost every question they asked about them. You have to list all the people that live in the house and answer some random questions about them. One was "Does Jesse have problems with dressing or hygene?" I had some things to say about his choice of clothes but he's very clean. It has been really great sharing life with their family and I hope we are able to continue for some time.

family photo

This has been the summer for getting together for some family photos. While we were in Indiana we had the chance to get a picture of the extended Mcgrail family and in Arizona we got the extended Rohl family. From Left to Right we have Tobias, Kendra, Ze'nea, Beautiful, Finn, Mark, Simeon, Papa, Grandma, me, Henry, Lyric, James, and Zonda.

back to life, back to reality

It's getting late and the boys and I are heading home tomorrow with Grandma and Papa. It has been a great visit with Mark and Kendra and their baby is beautiful. Getting and opportunity to get to see the community that has fought for them and cried with them and now is celebrating with them has been a real treat. They in amongst great people and the boys and I have been lucky to get to spend some time with them. Finn has had the most fun I think. He has gotten to play with so many kids at so many different house and with so many different toys. Just tonight he was playing with Haley and they were running around eating up imaginary things. He was really great to see that huge social development of imaginative play with another kid. He was gotten a lot of that here and I think he is going to miss that when we go back home. It really underscores the need to get him into a community with more kids around his age. I'm pretty excited to get home and get started with that and now that our roommates both have 9 to 5s it will be one more little man in the group. I will be responsible for Ian as well as Finn and Henry. Luckily we have experience with 3 kids thanks to our wonderful time with Beefy. That was primarily Beautiful's responsibility so this my chance to step like she did. With no more trips on the horizon I am looking forward to getting some sense of normalcy back for the boys. Find our rhythm back in Portland before the rain comes back. Still no full time job for us but we are making it. We are hopeful and having fun and super thankful for our friends and families. You have shown us love and your prayers have helped sustain us. Thank you.

on the tracks

We have made the 10 hour drive down from Minnesota to Indiana and are enjoying some great time at Tom and Kris's with Aunts, Uncles, grandparents and great grand parents. There are 17 total in this 3 bedroom house and it fills full but not crowded. Full houses make the best houses and it is good to see all the cousins together. They are still a couple years away from tearing each other apart but those days are coming. Jake is as beefy as ever in his Wheaton Thunder shirt that is too small around the biceps. Tom and Kris are having a great time with all grandkids, 4 boys now after having 4 daughters. We have a lot of work to do on our house this week and it looks pretty terrible. Once most of the family leaves today we will get started in earnest. We are discouraged by all the work and limited time but that is a worry for tomorrow. Today we are enveloped in family and it feels warm and comforting.

hey brother

This past weekend the boys and I went to my parents to give Beautiful a free weekend. While we were getting ready to leave Finn tackled Henry and started pushing his head into the ground. Henry was cool with it for a bit but then it started to hurt and he got super angry. It made me so mad that Finn would try to hurt Henry like that but Henry immediately wanted to be in the room where Finn was in time out. He didn't want Finn to get in trouble. In the car on the way Finn grabbed a book of animals and started reading to Henry. He asked him what sound a cow makes and when Henry did his best moooo Finn got so excited and said "That's right Henry, good job!" and reached over and stroked his face. I was as moved by that scene as I was by the head smashing and I could see that they were totally brothers. They will have the toughest fights and the closest bond and will continue come back for more. I thought of my brother and how close we were and still are and I felt excited for these two. They are just in the beginning of their time together and there is so much in store for them. If they don't kill each other first.

captured

Please go to Mark's Flickr page and see his pictures from his trip here with Kendra. The dude can take a photo.

I'm 35 and I'm a Mac

Well happy birthday me! I turned 35 this past Monday and it was a great weekend and a great birthday. Mark and Kendra were here from AZ and my parents stayed with us at Casa De Ritroh for the weekend. We had a birthday party on Sunday that had apple streamers, big green apples in bowls and on ledges. Apples and caramel for snacks with Apple Martinis and Cider for beverages. I sensed a theme but had no idea why. Was the 35th year the year of apples? It wasn't until the cake came with the logo for Mac that I knew what was up. I have wanted a mac for some time and this Christmas we got a good portion of the way there with a thank you gift from Scott and Mandy. There was still a ways to go though and through the extreme generosity of my friends and family we got there. On Monday morning we all got on the train and went to the downtown mac store and waited for it to open. I picked out my new MacBook and nearly started to cry. Kate was teasing me that I wasn't as outwardly excited as she knew I was internally. I told her that I thought I might cry if I emoted at all and I didn't want anyone to know that something as silly as a computer would cause me to cry. It wasn't the computer but the wanting and waiting for 3 years for something. So thank you Mandy and Scott for starting the ball rolling. Thank you AZ folks and Mark and Kendra, thank you Tom and Kris for your continued generosity, thank you Jesse and Carly for helping make a great party, Thank you Mom and Bing for your extreme blessing this weekend and thank you Beautiful. Thank you for pulling string, facilitating, and knowing that something so silly and unjustified would mean so much. I love you beautiful.

always a big table

We had Easter lunch at my parents house for the second year in a row and Kate and I were talking on the way home about how we have had some holidays by ourselves like Thanksgiving in Indiana, and Christmas in Hawaii but we have always gone somewhere for Easter. When we were first dating we went on a great trip with Robin and Linsey to Linsey's house in Northern California. We played games with her family, enjoyed the outdoor shower and had a wonderful time with two dear friends that we both miss terribly. We have spent Easter in Arizona with my brother and the whole AZ crew, a couple of trips to Iowa to celebrate with Aunt Barb and family, and the last two with my parents in Clatskanie. We had a great lunch of ham, green beans, potato salad, macaroni salad, and all manner of desserts. We even had our first kids table! Henry was reaching across the table stealing everyones food, though few minded the help in clearing their plates so they could get dessert. Kate decorated the table with old pictures marking the place settings, including one of Bing in the bath with well placed hands. It was a nice meal and a great time spent with family in what has become the most family focused holiday for our new family. There a bunch of pictures up on Flickr to see, though sadly the bath photo has gone missing.

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Whenever you ask Finn where his cars or trucks are goin he says Home Depot. I don't think we go there that often but Finn associates every trip with big orange box store. This weekend we were at Grandma's house plaing with a whole different set of cars then he plays with at home and he had everyone loaded up into the vehicles to pick up some home improvement gear.

Grammi is Here!

Grammi Kris is here and her way back from Hawaii. Portland is an acclimation area that is the mid way point, weather wise, between warm Hawaii and freezing Indiana. Today though is pretty cold here with a dusting of snow this morning so I am not sure it is really a mid way point. We are all excited to see Kris but Finn is super jazzed. He snuggled with Grammi this morning on the couch while we had our coffee. I am home with the sickness that has been going through our house like the plague. I guess when you have four kids in the house all day you will get some bugs now and then. hopefully Kris doesn't catch anything on her trip through. With Kate's birthday coming up soon her and her mom are out on the town shopping the day away. They have no sympathy for me being sick and have left me with the boys while they stimulate the economy. Really I am just napping while the boys nap as well but I want sympathy anyway, some one feels bad for me right? Anyone? Em? Lins? Aunt Jamie?

Cousins

A little look back at me and my cousin Doug. We are one week apart in age but apparently I am gaining weight a little quicker. It may be because I have both spoons though. I think those were Doug's smokes, that's how he stayed so thin, his pack a day habit. Thanks for sharing this picture Aunt Jamie!

Fully adjusted

As great as it was to have family around for the last two months there is something to said for routine as well. We have all been sleeping in until 8 AM and getting some good naps in between. The boys seem to be fully adjusted to Hawaiian time again and enjoying having their own space to sleep. We have had some great beach time and Kate has gotten away on her own to read and have coffee with no kids. We are settling back into the day to day but still trying to enjoy each moment in the last three weeks we have here. Scott and I are going to get out for a round of golf next week and we might even make it out to the big island for a weekend exploration. We are having a really great time after some struggles early on and we know we will look back on this time and remember how great it was for us and the boys (Jake and Scott included)

Thanksgiving Travels

Thanksgiving this year found us back in Iowa at Aunt Barbs house. We drove through the night to get there and had a wonderful dinner on Thanksgiving day. Naps, Wii, and pinochle were enjoyed and a lively game of spoons let a couple in need of new nails. Friday we got back in the car to head farther West to have Thanksgiving with Grandma Weezie and the McGrail clan. It was another wonderful meal and great chance to catch up with everyone. Finn got to play with some of the same toys that Tom Tom played with when he was Finn's age. Saturday the snow started to fall while we did some antique shopping and it continued through the drive back to Indiana. We are almost back home now, well back to Hawaii anyway, we will be back in Portland at the end of the year. We had a great time seeing everyone and getting some nice fall and winter before heading back to tropics.

Fall Forward

Henry is trying to crawl, Jake is trying to walk, and Finn is trying to jump while running. There are breakthroughs afoot here in baby boy land and along with the season of visits there is real excitement in the air. We just said goodbye to Auntie Heather who despite her dislike of diapers was super helpful. She took on the kitchen as her domain and kept that thing spotless the whole time she was here taking a big load off of our plates. She also jumped into the favorite aunt lead with Finn. He loves his auntie Heather something fierce and still needs to have it explained to him where she is and why she can't take him to the Train store. Next up we have my parents coming with Mark and Kendra shortly behind. The boys will get spoiled and in turn Kate and I will get really spoiled as well. I can't even imagine what having four other kid loving people is going to look like, will I still have to change diapers? Will Finn still want me to read books to him? Will Jake still want to wrestle with me? We will see. After my family leaves we will take a trip to see Kate's parents in Indiana while Jake's Grandma Barbara looks after him. These boys are going to be impossible once we are all back together and the doting grandparents and aunts are gone home. I think we all need some doting though so Kate and I are more then willing to endure post visit breakdowns. Excitement is in the air.

We like Hawaii a lot!

Father's Day Weekend

This past weekend we went to the Washington Coast to a friends beach house for a family get together before we head of to Hawaii. The house is in the process of being fixed up and is definitely under construction but it was a great getaway. Kate made crowns for the dads and we walked around Long Beach, listened to crazy Bing Stories, and got a lot of naps. It was a really great, close time for all of us. Sunday we wen to Astoria for the Farmers market and bought a cool spray paint canvas that these great guys did.

Arizona

It is Friday already and because of our vacation in Arizona this has been a short week for me. After the whirl-wind weekend that just past that is a good thing, as is the slow weekend we have planned. We got the chance to visit family and friends in Arizona and Finn got to ride on an airplane with Papa. That might just be the greatest thing that has happened in his young life. When we hit turbulence or had a rough landing Finn clapped and said " One more time?" Neither Finn nor Henry were any trouble at all on the ride out or the ride back and whether you have good kids or not that is amazing.

We flew in early Thursday and went right to lunch with Mark and Kendra. We hadn't lubed Finn up with sunscreen yet and his sensitive skin was turning pinker and pinker by the minute. It was a nice change from the 40 degree rainy days we have been having here in Oregon. We then headed to my brothers house to watch Finn and Tyson run around while we basked in the warmth and napped. For me going to Arizona is like going back to your old neighborhood. Almost all of my friends moved to Arizona so it is a one stop shopping opportunity to catch up. We are all a little thicker now and have much more responsibilities but we still make fun of each other in ways no one else can and know the back ground stories that make current events so poignant.

Friday night we went to a John Mark McMillian concert and got to have some time with my sister Zonda and her husband James. They are doing great and it was so much fun to have that one on one time with just them. We told stories and laughed over Ice Cream and Cheese Cake while Grandma and Papa took care of the 5 kids. Their kids are better behaved then your kids will ever be. I am not sure what they do but it's working, those kids are wonderful.

Saturday we played some golf in the desert heat and I got to ride around and talk to Kyle a bunch. Then Mark and Bing challenged us on the back 9 to a best ball two-some battle which was comparable to the Atlanta-Boston series with Kyle and Playing Atlanta. We held our own out there and only lost on the last hole. James gave away the Laker's score on the way home so I passed on the game and opted to get some much needed rest instead. It is a tough pace those AZ folks maintain and for the last year or so we have been moving at a much slower stride.

Sunday we went to church then off to the Farm for some lunch. Finn played with whoever came around him and Henry was content to be held by all but mostly Lyric. Lyric is his cousin, James and Zonda's daughter, and she held Henry when ever she could. She was great with him and it was great to see our kids together. We went down to Scottsdale for stay at resort and sat around the patio playing cards and eating snacks while the sun went down. That night Grandma and Papa had the kids while Kate and I got to go out with Mark and Kendra and Melissa and Kyle. We went to this bar that had a crazy old coot tending bar. He looked like a dead-head and had us laughing hysterically by the end of the night. While telling us about the Lavosh pizza I asked if they invented it and he said "Well not the cracker, that been around hundreds of year, but we made up the pizza." Yeah, thanks for clearing that up. Kate got his special Mai Tai that he apparently flashes and we all told honeymoon stories and basked in a night free of kids.

Monday was a nice lazy morning around the pool and some naps to recharge. We toured the model homes in Verrado and played basketball with the boys. I thought I was going to die after about 2 points but made a point to run up and down the court on every change of possession. We watched the Lakers finish off Denver and had some great Cilantro Lime chicken with mango salsa.

long winter alone. It is nice to be back home though, the pace of life for those folks is fast and atIt was a great weekend and the sun and people brightened our times ran us over. maybe it's the desert air that gives them all that energy. They helped re-charge us and we are thankful for that.

Our Family