rainy Portland

I arrived! Back in the US of A. Arrived almost two days ago, two days punctuated with heavy sleeping at strange hours. This morning at 2:30 a.m. I was trying to hack into Amy and Stephen's computer (couldn't remember the password) and eating mango chicken, after crashing at 6:30 p.m. I didn't have jet lag the whole trip, and now I'm a mess. But after traveling so far, and the last 48 hours only including 3 hours of sleep, I'm ok with that.

Poor Ashton is sick, so his adorable "How can you be mad at somebody as cute as me?" looks are punctuated with some atypical whininess. Or is it because turning two isn't that far into the future?

Avery continues to amaze me - such a bright kid and generally pleasant (though a temper that is awe-inspiring ... which he hasn't treated me with this trip, yet). He's playing Lincoln Logs and dinosaurs beside me now, talking about visiting different countries and architecture. He was totally stoked when I presented him with money from every country I visited. His sweetest moment ... he had heard his dad telling his mom about me getting married, so he asked me about it and I told him about Dayton's daughters and how he'll need to be really helpful because everything will be so new for them. He was very excited to hear that Sissy is 9 - he likes older kids much. Then, later, when alone with his mom, he asked her what she did when she was nine. She didn't know the context, but she explained what she used to do and liked. Avery's already scheming and planning how to be hospitable. What an amazing 6-year-old! Now he's singing about Rikki-Tikki-Tavi, our new favorite story.

And I drove yesterday. It was not good. Traffic was great and all that, but a very tight parking structure has left permanent marks on the truck and bent out a piece on the wheel well. Ugh. Maybe Stephen can fix it, or Susan's neighbor Steve, who does body work semi-professionally. Years ago when I was living with Susan, Steve was getting off drugs and suddenly became Mr. Congeniality. One morning at 5 a.m. I got up to go somewhere and he was washing my car. "I already washed mine - twice - this morning, and I saw yours just sitting there ..." Well, maybe he'll just see the nasty scratches and dents on my truck and feel inspired at 5 a.m. on Saturday.

I am loving Amy and Stephen's new washer and dryer! And good coffee with half and half! And not feeling like I'm in a sauna every time I step outside. And talking with people and them really understanding me. And having control over what I eat. And two cute little boys always entertaining me.

So, tomorrow I'll take off to Eugene, and on to Riverside on Sunday, and start climbing up that really steep hill of academia.