Richard L. Brady (1937-2008)

My Dad passed last week (Dec 12th). The whole family flew home to Portland and arrived the evening of the 11th. Dad had been in the hospital for 3 days already. I was able to be there with him and was able to talk to him about his favorite topics,(fishing, Blazers, etc). Earlier in the year, he was diagnosed with pulminary fibrosis and I guess it finally got to him. This was a bit sudden, but the whole family was able to be by his side. Dad was one of the most sincere and kind people you could ever meet. He loved his family more than anything and everyday of his life put his kids and wife before himself. He was a supportive and loving father. No one could deny his love for children. I can't imagine a better father. Growing up he was my coach, my best friend, my fishing pal, my Daddy, I love you Dad. . .

A memorial service is being held at Rolling Hills Community Church on Saturday, Dec.20th at 11am (3550 SW Borland Rd Tualatin, OR 97062) All are welcome.

Birthday Song

So, many of you may know that Logan our oldest has a speech delay/developmental delay. Well, any sort of communication from him just makes Pat and I so happy. So, the other day I wanted Logan and Sammie to try to sing the HAPPY BIRTHDAY song so they could sing it for Pat. So, thinking I wouldn't get much out of them, I decided to grab the camera just in case. They both started singing. I mean granted it isn't that coherent but because I know what the song is, I was THRILLED!!! The fact that he even tried is great! My kids are the greatest and are my greatest joy. I hope you enjoy this video....this is especially for DADDY!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

So, today is Pat's 31st birthday and I just wanted to write a little something about him on the blog. He is such a great person and I am so lucky to have him in my life. He works so hard for the family and NEVER complains. He not only is a great husband but an amazing daddy. The kids can't wait for him to get home everyday and to see their excitement just makes me love him more and more. I just wanted to wish him a HAPPY BIRTHDAY and let him know that he is the best. Here are a few photos from the past. I thought it would be fun to share.

Special Visitors

We were really excited because my mom and dad were able to come visit us in Ireland. The kids were so excited to have them here and loved playing with them. We were able to show them some sights and explore new places we hadn't ever been. We had a BLAST!


Grandpa, Grandma and Samantha enjoying "pub grub"


Can you believe how huge I am? And I still have 2 months to go...YIKES!!!



Logan and Daddy at the Cliffs of Moher on the West Coast of Ireland



Traveling in Style

Birthday Girl

Samantha just had her 2nd birthday. I can't believe she is so big. Time has really flown by. She is a happy little girl and is always making us smile. I thought I would post some old pictures of her. We sure love having her in our family. HAPPY BIRTHDAY SAMMIE!!!!

Samantha loved blowing out the candles on her birthday cake. It was so fun to see her getting excited about presents and the whole celebration.

Ireland

Taken just outside Dublin in the Wicklow Mountains. If you look closely you can see the sheep.

Adventures in Italy

We just got back from a trip to Italy where we visited Pisa, Florence, and Venice. It was amazing. Being 7 months pregnant I thought it would be pretty difficult but it was better than I thought it would be. The kids were amazing little travelers and we didn't have any huge incidents thanks to dad's great planning and my minimal packing. We only took 2 suitcases for 5 days and so if you see my kids wearing the same sweatshirts it's because we had to keep packing to a minimum. Oh well! Such is life! They don't care. Plus, I probably couldn't take that sweatshirt off Logan even if I wanted to. The yellow Nike sweatshirt is his favorite. Anyway, we hope you enjoy the pictures of our adventures. There are more pictures on the next page too.

Leaning Tower of Pisa

We decided we had to go to Pisa to see the leaning tower. It's funny because when I first was taking a picture I thought it was crooked....duh! Of course it is. It was fun to see it and spend the day there. Logan had a great time eating a panini and Samantha enjoyed a nap.

Boboli Gardens-Florence

We visited the Boboli Gardens which is overlooking Florence. In the background you can see the Duomo. We had a lot of fun up here because the kids were able to run around and throw rocks in the pond. The hike up for the view was a little steep but we managed and were happy that we did it.

Florence

We were walking along the streets of Florence and saw this scene and decided we needed to take a picture. As you can see the scenery is nothing like we had ever seen before.

Santa Croche church-Florence

Here are a couple of pictures we took near the Santa Croche church in Florence. The view was spectacular and we couldn't have had better weather for our trip.

Here is the only family picture we were able to take where everyone was cooperating. The kids were so great on this trip and I have to say, being 7 months pregnant I think I did pretty good myself.

Sienna

Here's dad trying to wrestle the kids for a good picture. We spent a day in a beautiful town Sienna, in Tuscany. It was amazing. It was our favorite place to visit on the trip. It was so much fun walking the streets and seeing new places.

Carousel Fun

Right in the center of Florence, there was this great carousel. The kids couldn't get enough of it. They rode it about 20 times. It was especially fun at night when all the lights and musicians were out. I tried to ride it once but almost got sick so dad took the rest of the turns with the kids.

Click 'Older Posts' for more italy pics

YUM-YUM

One of the best things about Italy was the food. The kids loved the spaghetti and the gelatto....we ate gelatto at least 2 times a day. It was amazing!!!! I was surprised because even Logan who really doesn't like ice cream liked the gelatto. We enjoyed the outside seating at the restaurants and had such a great time. The top picture is when we were in Venice. On that day all of the public water boats were on strike. But, we still managed to have a great time. We ended up getting a water taxi to take us to the airport. It was great! It was like a limo on the water....the kids LOVED it!

So much fun!!

St Mark's Square - Venice

The most popular spot for the kids during the entire vacation. They loved feeding the birds and chasing the birds. There were well over 100 pigeons surrounding us. It was way more exciting than the museums.

These pictures are taken at St. Stephen's Green which is in the center of downtown Dublin. We love coming here to feed the ducks and walk around the shops. The buildings you see in the top picture are on Parnell Street which is a fun tourist area. We love DUBLIN!!

For church we attend a branch(congregation) of about 40-50 people. This picture is taken from one end of the chapel. As you can see it is pretty small. We helped the Senior primary(8-11) plan this Halloween activity. The pinata was the highlight of the night. As you can see, Logan was getting some good swings in.

Here are some fun pictures of the kids. Samantha is happy and all smiles and Logan is conquering the obstacle course at our playground. I can't believe how fast the kids are growing up.

I think this picture speaks for itself. After the playground and the waterfall the kids were pooped. And mom and dad had a quiet drive. It doesn't get any better than that.

We visited Powerscourt Estate which is about 30 minutes south of Dublin in the Wicklow mountains. This is Dublin's tallest waterfall. We spent the afternoon walking around the waterfall and the kids had a great time at a playground nearby. The drive into the mountains to get there was beautiful with all the landscape you would imagine in Ireland.

Logan was Superman for Halloween and dad decided to give him some early practice with flying.

We took a day trip into the country and visited Kilkenney Castle. We had a great time and Sammie almost fell in the fountain. It was fun walking through the town of Kilkenney. It's easy to feel the history as you walk over the stone bridges, walk the narrow roadways, and admire the old cathedrals and castles. It's just cool. We frequently find ourselves asking ourselves, "Are we really here."

Fun at Home

Our living room. We bought the kids this Alphabet puzzle and they laughed and played with it for hours. I love how childrens laughter can be so contagious.

Fun at the Park

Logan is being a great big brother showing Samantha around the park. We enjoyed a great sunny day (they are few and far between). The park is a 5 minute walk from our house and bigger and better than any we've ever seen. We spend a lot of time there when the weather is nice. The kids love it and so does mom.

Birthday Boy

It is so hard to believe that Logan is 4 now. I thought it would be fun to show some old pictures of him. Isn't he the cutest little guy! I think so!!