Westmoreland Asays

I had class on Halloween, so I missed trick-or-treating for the first time in a few years. But at least we shared Monday together, carving intricate designs on the pumpkins Aaron and Edward had captured on their three trips to the Pumpkin Patch this month. Apparently our neighborhood is a popular place to load up on treats; Meg saw many people from our ward who don't live in the neighborhood, and she herself ran out of treats well before the trick-or-treaters returned home. Aaron spent most of the night trick-or-treating with a family whose boys (twins in second grade, but they come over and play on occasion) live down the street. Rumor has it that whenever the homeowner offered the kids their choice from the booty bowl, Aaron would first look for some bubblegum. Aaron doesn't like gum, but he got it to share with me, for he knows how much I like gum (although I'm trying to eliminate my habit of chewing all day at work). What a sweet boy. Edward failed to think t...

Despite being a Ducks fan for as long as I can remember, I had never been to one of their football games. But there's always a first for everything. Megan's brother Jared kindly gave me two tickets to the Ducks vs. PSU Vikings game--tickets that just don't come much better. We were three rows from the 37-yard line ; we could easily tell who the players were (including little Megan's friend from McNary, Kylie McCrae ), and if Aaron's voice were any more powerful, he would have had a few conversations with the PSU players. The weather, while a little cold (but which was nice because Aaron was able to don multiple layers of Duck paraphernalia, including Ducks pajamas, Ducks sweatshirt , and Ducks winter coat), was sunny and rain-free (although we were on the shady side of the stadium). I've seen the stadium a million times on TV, so it was so surreal walking up the steps to the concourse, and upon entering the stadium . While it is certainly a large venue, i...

As a family we attended a ward halloween party on Saturday night, where we happened to sit with Aaron's primary teacher during dinner. She told us that while Aaron can really bellow out the words to the songs, he occasionally sings the wrong verse. I think we all do that from time-to-time, but his volume is so great, that the other children often follow Aaron's lead--and remember, Aaron is the yongest kid in primary. We got to see Aaron perform first-hand today, as it was the primary presentation during church. And while I can't recall him singing the wrong verse at any time, everyone seated in the chapel could certainly hear Aaron's distinct voice. I'm not sure why I teared up while watching him perform with such excitement, but it was a very special moment for me. During their last song, "Scripture Power," the kids all thrust their scriptures into the air whenever the sang the words "scripture power." Meg thought for certain Aaron was goin...

When my runs take me through the heart of the city (as opposed to quiet inner city residential 'hoods that are a plenty), I encounter an intense variety of sights, sounds, and scents. I've run into (almost literally) former co-workers, friends from the old ward in Beaverton, and lots of homeless men and women, and certain intersections, I swear, smell just like Japan (i.e., raw sewage is loose nearby); But today was different. Today I was attacked by a dead pigeon--or at least that's what it seemed like. I was nearing the end of my workout, running along the banks of the Willamette at the south end of Waterfront park. Flocks of pigeons were stalking the grounds looking for food, and they didn't like that I was tresspassing through their feeding grounds. So they started flying away, some almost colliding with my trajectory. My focus shifted from keeping pace to keeping pigeons out of my face, when out of the blue some raggedy-looking lady makes eye contact with me, ...

I was dining on fresh seafood and fluffly chocolate mousse in the basement of the downtown Portland Hilton Monday night--in company of co-workers--when unbeknownst to me Meg was rushing Aaron to the hospital. Fortunately, Meg and the boys were at the Booren's house--first, we didn't have to worry about Edward, and second Grandma correctly diagonsed Aaron's symptoms and told Meg to get Aaron to the hospital immediately (Meg's older brother Josh had asthma in his youth). Meg felt somewhat overprotective taking him when he didn't appear to be in any immediate danger, but the medical professionals all reassured her that this decision was imperative to Aaron's well-being. Meg knew that I was going to be working late on Monday, but I never thought to tell her that I was going off-site. I don't own or carry a cell phone, so she had left a message on my office phone around 8:00 p.m., which I wouldn't listen to until after the fact. But, around 12:30 a.m. o...