Roger that, we have silverware.

It's official, we have found the silverware! It only took us six days of unpacking, but we finally freed our little bundle of stainless steel joy from the bottom of a nondescript brown box simply labeled "KIT". Who knew a simple staple of the home could become such a miracle of creation after having completely gone missing for almost a week? Up until now, we've been getting by with the "other half" of our silverware drawer that included the toddler forks and spoons and a random bag of spoons and salad forks that I had squirreled away years ago when I couldn't fit them into our utensil drawer on the farm--cast aside and left for useless until now. You have served your family well, Dora fork and Spongebob spoon. Get some rest, my friends. The varsity team has finally arrived.

Monday, in celebration of successfully getting both kids registered for school before 9:00 a.m., I took the day off from boxes and the kids and I went to the Oregon Zoo while my husband was working. What a lovely place to play hookie. A small, antique diesel engine train takes zoo visitors for about a half-hour ride through the zoo and adjacent Washington Park. I couldn't help but feel all the tension and worry subside while winding our way through the moss laden trees and ivy covered ground. This is a beautiful area of the country, and I get to explore it for a little while. Life is good.

Oregon Zoo ~ Washington Park Railway

The Dinosaur Walk was also another big hit with the kids. With all the robotic dinosaurs and sound effects, it was easy to forget that the 30 foot T-rex appearing as you walk around the bend wasn't actually going to start running after you Jurassic Park style. My daughter was even instructing her little brother to hold completely still so it wouldn't sense our motion and go on the chase. I'll have her on my dinosaur survival team any day.

That evening, my husband and I were watching our DVR selections (and yes, Kristin H. and Jamie B., it has changed our lives) and this strange noise started outside our window. I had to listen for a long time before I realized it was raining. This is the first time I've heard it rain since we've moved here and the first time I've heard it rain here ever--even including when I was to the Portland area at the end of April and beginning of July on our house hunt.  Mind you, I have yet to see it rain, so I'm still wondering what all the fuss is about. The neighbors have requested to revisit this discussion in February. They seem to think "a little snow" doesn't sound too bad after a winter of drizzle and grey. Bless their little hearts. Hopefully my gleeful grin will be seen from space come March when the grass is green, not white, and the trees are budding, not naked skeletons bracing against another late winter squall passing through. I may just turn into Mary Friggin' Poppins and fly a kite.

I'll leave you tonight with a short video from our visit to the zoo. The kids (okay, my four-year-old) had a short attention span for visiting most of the animals, but they were loving the sea lion exhibit.

~Paula