New Bike

Casa Nueva de Hill

Pretty low res, but you can get an idea.

Casa de Hill Parte 1




Parte 2

New bike

2003 Harley Davidson Sportster 1200 Custom

Fence

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Rockin' the Fire Engine

Grandma and Grandpa Parkin gave Audrey a fire engine bike that plays some pretty fun sounds and Audrey LOVES it. She has long since figured out how to push the buttons and has a great time pushing them OVER and OVER. One of the buttons plays a melody that the BM books can be sung to, so Holly always sings them to Audrey when she pushes the button. She pushes the buttons in rapid succession which restarts the sounds. As you might have guessed, we hear the sounds plenty. We've tried to get a video of her doing this, but it is hard to really capture her in action because she notices the camera. In this video, she decided to perform a little, only pushing the button six times, and she does a little prance that is so cute.
Audrey says, "Thanks Grandma and Grandpa!"

Trip to the Coast

This last week we took our first trip to the coast since Audrey was born. It was a little breezy, but we had tons of fun. Audrey was fascinated by the ocean.


We met up with Grandma and Grandpa Parkin in Newport, OR. We went to the Newport Aquarium, walked around town, and just got caught up while hanging out in their new R.V. We had a wonderful time and it was so good to see Audrey get to know them better. Here is a little video of Audrey playing a little game with them.



Here are a few more great pictures. I'll put us some more video later.

A couple more short videos.

Our friends, the Millimans, stopped by yesterday. Audrey loves their three kids. We've known them for almost seven years since they moved to Portland at the same time as us and we were all in the same ward. About a month ago, they moved just three blocks away from us. I also play in a band with Eli, the dad. Well, since they have moved so close, Holly and Audrey play with them almost daily in the park. Their son Moses, can get some pretty good laughs out of Audrey. I think she might have her first little crush.



Grandma Hill has been asking to see more of Audrey crawling. Here you go. She's getting pretty fast.

Crawling up some stairs.

We've had a really hard time catching the cutest things Audrey does on camera. Not only do we not have it around at the right time, but she always knows when it is on and gets a little camera shy. She's crawling really fast now, and just this last Sunday at church she cruised up the flight of stairs. We were surprised since we have no stairs around the house except for the back deck. She's pretty smart and talented.

Virtuoso!

Swinging Time

A very short story I wrote

The Kickball Game

It was the second to last week of summer school, very hot, and the kids were desperately tired of history. To shake things up a bit, I asked them if they wanted to challenge another class to a kickball game on the school baseball diamond. Hands shot up in the air along with a chorus of “oh yeah” and “we’ll kill ‘em.” I was pleased that they were so into the idea, I could use the break myself. As I began to quiet the class, I noticed that the response wasn’t unanimous. Sitting against the wall were two girls wearing thick black robes and hijabs shifting their eyes around the room looking quite uneasy. I told the class that I would make the arrangements with the other teacher and made a mental note to check in with the two girls.

After what seemed to be an unending day, students collected their things and began to file out of the classroom. I stopped Muna and Saleema and asked them how they felt about challenging the other class. Always shy, Saleema shrunk behind Muna’s shoulder while Muna stepped forward making it clear that she would speak for the both of them. With chopped up words and truncated syllables she explained that they would participate as a school activity, but that they would not wear any other clothing. I explained that it wasn’t required and that they could sit and watch or read. “No, no,” she responded, “we play.”

The other class accepted our challenge with similar enthusiasm and the day quickly came. It was eleven in the morning, but the thermometer already read ninety degrees, odd for Portland. The humidity made it that much more uncomfortable. Most students came adequately dressed for the weather, a couple girls however, pushed the dress code to the limit - more dressed for the beach than for school. On the other end of the spectrum were the two Muslim girls still covered from head-to-toe. I worried how they would play. They already stuck out at a time when it is so important to fit in.

A coin toss decided that my class would be up first. We decided on a batting order. The two girls volunteered to go last. As the game got underway it was clear that it would be a challenge. We racked up a few more runs than our opponent in the early innings, and the competitive nature of high school kids swelled to its peak. In the top of the third inning, we were ahead by two. It was Saleema’s turn to kick.

“You’re up Saleema,” I hollered keeping it as light hearted as possible.

Her head sunk. I approached her and could see that sweat had soaked into the edges of her headscarf.

“You don’t have to play,” I reminded her.

She drew a hand up to her mouth and mumbled, “I will do it.” She looked at her friend who nodded in approval.

As Saleema walked to the plate her long robes swept the dry dirt creating a dust cloud behind her. The atmosphere shifted as cheers diminished. With a signal from the shortstop, the opposing team moved in closer, a judgment no kid wants.

Saleema stood behind the plate a little slumped with two fists to her mouth. She looked scared. I remembered the essay she wrote for class about her family’s journey from Somalia. They fled the country due to the violent struggle there, one that took her sister’s life and left her with a scar given by mongrel men. She had come a great distance to now arrive at home plate.

With a slight grunt the pitcher rolled the ball. Saleema dropped her hands to her sides, stood up straight, and relaxed. The ball rolled closer and she moved forward to meet it. She took several steps toward the plate. As she picked up speed, her robe lifted off the ground and exposed a pair of Adidas soccer shoes. Saleema connected with the ball with a loud THWAP and it launched into the air. The defense craned their necks as the ball soared over their heads. My class erupted with cheers as Saleema rounded the bases.