Breaking News...

THE COURTS ARE OPEN IN ETHIOPIA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This news was a wonderful surprise. We thought the opening date was October 9th, so this made our day! Now all those babies can start making their way home...

Here is what I'm working on...the banner pattern. They will be available today at Bolt!

Rhett watches about a show and a half every morning. One of them is when I'm in the shower. When I got out yesterday Rhett declared, "I know how to spell 'pop'." He grabbed a piece of paper and scratched out "pop." I was sooooo proud. You may have to look really hard to see it, but I thought it was pretty great.

Who says kids can't learn from watching tv?

In the spirit of "Stuff on my Cat", I call this "Hat on a Cat"...by Rhett.

Something You May Not Know About Ethiopia

Did you know there are 13 months in the Ethiopian calender? In Ethiopia right now it is the year 2001. September 11th is the Ethiopian new year. Hit the link to read more...

Charity: Water

Today is Dan's birthday. We presented him with his charity page. Now I want to share with all our blog readers. Here is Dan's page...

Watch the video to find out what Charity: Water is about.



THANKS...to all you family and friends who have (and will) donated to this wonderful cause.

A Little Announcement...No, Not a Referral

I'm teaching classes at Bolt!

You will also be able to find my banner patterns available for purchase later this week.

I'm very excited!

Gina has always seemed sort of famous to me...being the owner of the coolest and my favorite fabric store. In the words of Rhett, "This is the bestest, most fun fabric store"...thanks to the random goggles on the kids table. Rhett finds them every time.

Thanks Lupine for the encouragement and thanks Gina for inviting me to teach!

A Dream Wedding In Oklahoma

We are back from our crazy quick trip to Oklahoma. Ryan and Anne are now married! It was a wonderful party and a beautiful wedding.

Here are Rhett and Badger playing in the wedding yard.

Here is Ryan's collection of brews for the wedding. He brewed some special beer for the reception.

These two are ridiculously cute. The ring barer and the flower girl.

The brothers.
Ok, I know I'm totally biased, but Rhett was pretty much the best ring barer ever. He walked all the way from the house, across the yard, down the aisle, and to the front all by himself. He did it with a huge smile all the way. He got plenty "ooooooooos" and "ahhhhhhhhs." Later he said, "When I first started walking I was a little worried, but then I wasn't." He also said, "Sometimes ring barers drop the pillow and that is ok." Yes, he dropped the pillow just as he made it to the front. I could tell he was a little worried about it, but he was proud of his long walk from the house.

The wedding was unbelievably beautiful.

These trees are not meant for hugging, but Rhett couldn't resist poking himself.

The family.

I'm not really a horse person, but the two horses we visited were pretty great. We really liked Sunday. She came over for some alfalfa from Rhett and Abigail.

Fast Food Nation

We Lapours are foodies...we love great, whole, natural foods...

Don't think I'm a snot, but Rhett has never had a fast food french fry in his whole life. He has never had fast food. We don't drill him, but he knows McDonald's is "not a healthy choice for your body." He loves healthy foods. I'm so proud of that.

The other day our neighbor came over and we were talking about the "appetizer" he was eating...tomatoes and raw zucchini with vinegar. She asked Rhett, "Is there any food that would make you say yuck?" I was wondering the answer, because he will eat anything. His answer..."fast food?" I thought that was really funny.

Then today while we were out at a store, Rhett picked up a credit card application. I joked around, asking Rhett if he wanted a credit card. I asked him, "If you could buy anything you wanted, what would be the first thing you would buy?" His answer..."tomatoes and vinegar." Curious...

Here are Rhett and Elliot eating barbecue pizza.

Crepes with Nutella on the back patio.

Fresh farm veggies and strawberries.

Chicken sausage and pasta dinner out camping.

Yummy strawberry and raspberry hand pies at Krueger Farm.

Our Neighborhood Is The Greatest

Saturday was the Alberta Street Fair. It was great!

We got there just in time for the parade. Sure, it lasted 2 seconds, but it was the most "colorful" parade I have ever seen. These drummers were awesome and Rhett loved it!

Honk, honk...
The guy on stilts tried to give Rhett a "five", but Rhett couldn't reach...
Rhett practiced his bike skills and earned his first cotton candy ever. When it was being made he thought it looked like the "fluff" he sees me making baby dolls with...he was a little confused. Um, he sort of liked his cotton candy though.

Then came the entertainment. There were some fun bands and this street performer. He was crazy and weird and we couldn't take our eyes off him. Rhett was stunned and entertained at the same time.

Yes, he fit his whole body through this tennis racket.

Rhett was very concerned about this trick, because the performer kept saying how dangerous it was. Rhett said, "I don't like to watch dangerous things."

He took the money out of a bear trap with his mouth...hum, interesting.

As the popular bumper sticker says, "Keep Portland Weird."

.............P.S. Week 22..........

So It Begins

I released my boy to someone else...teacher Sam. He is a preschooler now. I can't help but think of this song..."my buddy." Everywhere I was and everywhere I went Rhett was with me. It was really weird to drop him off and come home. I'm not going to lie, I got over it pretty quick, but I have been preparing myself all week. And by preparing I mean crying every time I talk to another mom about Rhett going to preschool. I held it together pretty well when I left the school yesterday. The thing that made it so easy was when we got in the classroom Rhett said, "Bye, mom, I love you." He did great on his first day of school...

Rhett loved going up in the loft.

Rhett is making coffee here. He proceeded to a circle of girls and asked, "Gabriella, would you like some coffee?" I guess she eventually said yes, because Rhett came running to me saying, "Gabriella wanted some coffee!"

We went to Kennedy School with Lori and Abe again last night. This time Rhett really wanted to dance with Lori. It was pretty sweet to hear him say, "Lori, will you please dance with me." It took a little convincing, but Rhett was very happy out on the dance floor. I'm going to have to teach him that it is probably not great if he has to beg...
Rhett even got to dance with Abe. He didn't have to beg him, because Abe thinks Rhett is the coolest.

Big news this week! Five referrals! I hope this is just the beginning...

Reminder: The courts reopen around October 9th.

Ethiopian Orphan Relief, Inc.

I'm very proud to announce that my dolls can now be purchased at the Ethiopian Orphan Relief store. All proceeds of the doll will go to improve the lives of orphans in Ethiopia. To play my part, I will be donating a number of dolls to the cause. Please go check out this wonderful organization...Ethiopian Orphan Relief.

This baby doll is for a very special little girl...Mari!

Thanks for your order Jill!

New Blog And The Rockers

We are so excited our friends the Browns have started a blog!

Check out Elliot, Rhett, and Miles rocking out for us.

An Anniversary A Birthday And A Trip To The Zoo

Rhett and I went on a little trip to the Zoo with my Mom today to celebrate her birthday.

I never take pictures of the animals at the Zoo, and honestly, I usually make fun of the people who only take pictures of the animals (sorry, to all you taking the animal pictures). But today there were two great sites. First, this cougar was eating a carcass...a calf. It was so awesome. I could have watched it eat, lick, and bury this carcass for hours, but my mom couldn't look at it and I wasn't sure I was ready to introduce this act of nature to Rhett. He still thinks there are chickens & "eating chickens" and fish & "eating fish."
The second great site was the baby elephant with his Mama.

Here we are with the birthday girl...my Mom.

Then we met Daddy at The Portland City Grill with my Mom for a anniversary/birthday lunch.

Today marks the 8th year of marriage with the best husband and Daddy ever!

Happy Anniversary Dan!

We Have Family In Eugene!

We made a trip to Eugene last weekend to visit Uncle Ryan and Aunt Anne...and Dobby.

Here is a sneak preview of Rhett's ring bearer outfit.
We went on a great hike with Aunt Anne and Uncle Ryan up Spencer Butte. Rhett is quite the rock climber.

Here we are at the top.

This picture is for Lori...a mama and baby mushroom.

What Dan and Ryan do together...beer tasting.

Ryan brewed some of his own beer for the wedding.