It seems but a fortnight...

O.K. So, I know we have been totally lame by not posting for the last four months. A lot has transpired, and so here is a quick version of the goings on in the Pinoli Family. By the way, Nicolo made me do this blog all by myself (yes, I've become increasingly computer illiterate as the years tick by since leaving college), and so I feel a little more confident now about doing updates myself. My next goal is to try and figure out how to leave comments on people's blogs... anyway...

One of our last hurrahs in San Francisco at the Golden Gate Bridge. Ben was screaming and hiding his face during this picture, which is why the bald guy on the left is staring at us. :-)
Rebekah turned 8 in June! She wanted an ice skating party, so we held it at the rink in Dublin, which (this is totally useless trivia) is where Kristy Yamaguchi (sp?) trained. Rebekah made all of the blue scarves for her friends. Yes, she's much more crafty than I am.

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We were able to visit Nannie and Papa one last time before leaving Concord. We'll miss visiting them, and the kids will miss the rootbeer floats!

Rebekah was baptized in June. It was so wonderful to have the Gunters and the Pinolis support us and participate and make it such a special day for Rebekah.

We moved to Portland, Oregon at the end of June. Here are the kids enjoying the aftermath of unpacking.

Changing to Oregon plates felt a little strange, but I guess now all the native Oregonians (if there are any--everyone we meet is from California) can't blame any bad driving on the "Crazy Californians."
My beautiful sister Elizabeth got married in July! Lizard and Keawe were sealed in the San Diego temple. It was such a wonderful and fun-filled day that I'll never forget. Welcome to the family Keawe!


Oh, what do you do in the summer time, when all the world is green?

Pick blackberries and raspberries...
Find ant colonies in the backyard with new neighborhood friends...
Make a birthday cake for your baby sister (yes, Bekah made this cake) for her 1st birthday...


Soak each other on the bumper boats at the Family Fun Center...
Take swimming lessons...

Play house (poor Ben; he's sandwiched in between two girls--but he's a good sport)...
Go exploring at OMSI (Oregon Museum of Science & Industry), which is the most awesome hands-on museum ever..
Bekah and Ben learning about the inner ear
In the dinosaur exhibit
Bianca in the toddler section
Rebekah started 3rd grade and declared (as you can see if you look closely) that she wants to fix her own hair from now on.
Ben started preschool and Miriam has only had one phone call home from the teacher. :-)
Bianca is just excited to have mom to herself for a few hours a week.
We're enjoying the last bit of sunshine here before the rain begins.
I don't know why I included this picture--I just think it's bizarre that my kids find it so amusing to hide in the kitchen cupboards.

We miss all of our family and friends in California, but we absolutely love it here! In fact, we highly recommend moving here, so please feel free to visit whenever you'd like, and maybe we'll be able to convince you. No pressure. :-)

What have we been up to lately?

Enjoying Bianca's cuteness

Having fun during Easter Exploring Marine World with Grandma Pinoli
Visiting the Lindsey Wildlife Museum with friends

Hanging out at our old stomping grounds in Provo

for Aunt Elizabeth's BYU Graduation

How's the House?

~Wife who live five years in small

apartment will want BIG house one day.~

- Ancient Chinese Proverb

After many years of living in cramped quarters, with nary a spot of earth to call her own, Miriam's wildest dreams have finally come true. Last Friday Miriam's dream house came back on the market, so on Saturday we pounced! Flying to Portland early Saturday morning, we thoroughly investigated all eligible homes and ultimately decided that Miriam's dream house was indeed the house for us.

We are scheduled to close on June 10th and move in on June 18th.

Here is a little picture from the front:

Here is a picture of the back yard:

Entryway:

Formal Dining Room:

Kitchen:

Back from the dead!

The rumors of our demise have been greatly exaggerated...

If you've given up on our blog, don't give up just yet. Our blog went on a brief hiatus, but it's back now, and with any luck will continue to publish on an ongoing sporadic basis.

Here are some pictures from December (and thereabouts) of the kids:




Bianca bundled up for a day out in the California "cold" weather


Rebekah and Bianca in front of the tree

Decorating the tree (the kids insisted on wearing costumes while we decorated)
Ben with a strange look on his face while hugging cousin Gabriella

Rebekah taking a break from iceskating with girlfriends

Ben (again with strange look on his face) with Rebekah at the Jelly Belly Factory

The Pinolis partying hard to bring in the new year
Our little sweetheart sitting up all on her own

Yo Ho Ho Halloween

After some henpecking (not to mention bellyaching at the suboptimal ordering of our blog posts), I have consented to update the blog to address the most recent celebrations on the Eve of All Saint's Day. Leading up to the festivities, we carved a mighty Jack-'O-Lantern, with Rebekah serving as the primary lobotomist/goop-scooper, Nicolo as the chief sculptor, and Benjamin acting as overseer. Our creation turned out rather ghoulish compared to our relatively weak attempts in prior years. Here are a few pictures of Jack:

Following these festivities, we repaired to our ward's celebration, with Benjamin masquerading as a buccaneer, and Rebekah as a corsair. Grandma happened to be in town on her way to the Great State of Texas, so she joined us, complete in her very own peculiar habit. Here are a few pictures of the night:

As a final send-off, the kids went out for a night of door-to-door proselyting as the sugar missionaries. To reduce the chance of mishap, we traveled in a large herd, with several of the neighborhood children and their parents in tow. Here is one of many failed attempts to photograph all of the children in one sitting:

Benjamin's Bodacious Birthday Bash!

Benjamin celebrated his fourth birthday last Saturday, with a smattering of local friends. Although Benjamin initially craved a vampire birthday party, Miriam considered that option to be unpalatable, not to mention patently offensive to the pro-vampire party. As such, Miriam commenced on a coercion campaign to convince him that vampires were no longer as blood-thirsty as they might appear, and therefore would not be nearly as cool as they might otherwise seem.

Eventually her efforts bore fruit, as she convinced him to settle for a an Elmo birthday party instead. Leading up to the big event, Benjamin repeatedly expressed his desire that his next birthday party be a vampire-themed party, and even now he continues to remind us that next time he will not be swayed by his mother's arguments against the merits of vampires.

Despite the major let-down of substituting Elmo for his superior vampires, Benjamin still enjoyed the event reasonably well, as evidenced by the pictures below:

Latest Events

Miriam's parents arrived home in San Diego from their trip to New York on Thursday, and were kind enough to drive up yesterday, as Bianca was blessed in sacrament meeting today. Here are some nice pictures of the event.

Benjamin started preschool last month, and thus far has defied all expectations through his upstanding behavior as a model student. Here are some pictures of his first day of school.