Monday, June 28, 2010

Weekend Wind Down

What a busy two days! The boys had their birthday parties on Saturday, Sunday we hit the farmer's market and trekked out to Grandma's for dinner, and then we got to play with the Gordon girls while they were in town for a sleepover!

At Grandma's Grace was sneakier than usual, and managed to liberate one of Grandma's dolls from the curio cabinet! She's been plotting the jailbreak for about a year.

She and Hayden played nicely together at the piano. I can't wait for ours to arrive :) (hint, hint Jeff)


Hayden loved having Hannah and Elena to play with. Katie & I loved that they could play upstairs and we could have a chat with only the smallest child climbing on us. We're hoping to see more of the girls this summer - we're heading to Newport for a trip to the aquarium, and they need to come back here to zoo and OMSI.

Friday, June 25, 2010

Learning To Swim

The weather has been fantastic this week, making swimming lessons extra enjoyable for the boys. Bayley is really getting the hang of it. He can kick his way across the pool, and today he jumped off the diving board into the deep end.

Okay, so I had to bribe him with a cupcake and tell him he couldn't pass the class unless he did it, but he jumped! He didn't like it, though. He panics and then fights the water on his way to the top. But, he'll get there...or we won't get to Great Wolf Lodge!



(this is Bayley kicking his way across the pool like a missle)

Thursday, June 24, 2010

Grace & Nick

While Nick was over for a playdate, Gracie was being all cute passing out hugs and saying "Hugs are nice." I got one, Auntie Kim got one, Grandma Terri got one, and then she tried to give one to Nick and bowled him over. He was fine with it, until she decided it was fun to knock him over. Yeah...

She did try and make it up to him, kinda. She showed him her Yo Gabba Gabba's...but wasn't so keen on letting him actually touch them. She looked through all her toys and couldn't see a thing she thought he'd want to play with, even though he was quite enthralled with the play ice cream...

Finally she decided she could show him the underside of the living room rug. Um...Ta Da? Really Grace? Nick thinks you can do better.

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Gracie's First Shiner


Grace had an argument with some steps on the playground at soccer the other day...and she lost. It doesn't look too bad, just like a 7th grader who had too much fun with purple eyeshadow. (And that is Murray from Sesame Street on TV...Murray had a little lamb...Go Murray...)

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Cooper Mountain

We're still working on getting in enough hikes for the boy's Hiking achievement. Yesterday, we trekked to the new Cooper Mountain Nature Preserve. The boys loved the playground, Grace loved all the wildflowers, I loved the quiet, Jeff did not love all the grassy meadows.

Aside from his allergies, I think it was a good hike. Bayley decided that he was going to be the one to decide our path, so it was a great map-reading exercise for him and turned into a much longer hike than we had planned.




There was lots of wildlife - birds, snakes, caterpillars, beetles, and a dead skunk!

Sunday, June 20, 2010

Family Camp!

We packed up our camping gear this weekend and headed out for the Cub Scout Family Camp at Nehalem Bay. We weren't sure how it would all work out - the weather, the supplies, the toddler's sleeping habits...

We think we may have lucked into the best campsite in the entire campground! Most of them were cramped and inches away from neighbors, but ours had a clearing in the brush that allowed up to put our tent a few steps uphil and gave us more room by the campfire. We set up rather quickly - if only things got packed away as fast!

Before most of the other families arrived, we explored the day-use area of the park. It was windy, but warmer than we'd expected. We were excited to see horses on the beach available for rides. We offered the boys, but the thrill of horses is gone for them - Hayden asked if he'd have to clean up the poop if they pooped while he was riding it.

Around dinner time friendly faces appeared. Two of Bayley's best friends were directly across from us, so we didn't see much of the boys from that point on! They claim to have created a kingdom in the trees and bushes behind the campsites, complete with a secret passage to the beach. I think they wanted to charge admission...so I never checked it out.
Grace watched the boys climbing trees and wanted to give it a try, but after toppling on her first attempt she decided to make her own game. she found a tree with two low branches. She stood on one and held onto another and jumped! When Bayley's friend Emily arrive, it was the first thing Grace had to show her!

Things were going well - Bayley had from some shells (including a crab shell, yuck), the boys were climbing trees, everyone agreed s'mores are simply better in the wilderness...and then it was time for bed. Hayden was smart, he turned in early and got an hour of sleep before Grace and I nestled into the tent. An hour later, Bayley and Jeff followed to find Hayden hiding in his sleeping bag, and Grace and I very much awake.

She did try to go to sleep, but it wasn't a bed and there were people everywhere and she's not used to sleeping under blankets (let alone in sleeping bags)...so when she did doze she'd get cold and wake up screaming. When she drifted off and I tried to cover her, she's wake up screaming. So it was a night of - she woke up screaming. All around us were treated to her irreverant song stylings.

The next morning...there wasn't enough coffee to make us chipper and there was lots to do! As soon as breakfast was over, the group took a hike/bike ride to the bay and giant sand dunes. The weather was amazing for the Oregon coast. Bright sunshine, a gentle breeze, and warm! The kids had a fabulous time! They climbed the dun and ran down, buried eachother in the sand, explored the driftwood forts...and then were treated to a baby seal siting and some impromptu clam digging!


We hiked back to camp with some very hungry kiddos. After scarfing down our sandwiches, it was over to the meeting hall for Alka Seltzer rockets, Bingo, and Sibling Olympics!

We learned a bit about our boys during Sibling Olympics - like they need to learn how to do push-ups and jumping jacks. Watch these videos at your own risk! If you laugh, you're volunteering to give the boys a training session!!

Time flew, and before we knew it, we were trekking down to the beach for sand castle building contest and kite flying!

You see, Cub Scouts pack an entire vacation of activities into one day! And the boys thought it was heaven. Most of the boys in Bayley's den were there, so they stuck together for the sand castle building - making a town, a fortress, and Mt. Everest (which won for tallest, by the way). Hayden was kind of on his own since only one other boy from his den was there - so he made sea turtles, decorating their shells with rocks and making holes for their sand eggs.

Once the tide put an end to the sand castles, the boys turned to kite flying - we packed 5 kites...and got 1 to fly. There wasn't as much wind as the day before, so Jeff couldn't get his pteradactyl kite to work. The dollar store kites were a bust (too much wind for them). Luckily, Auntie Terri's kits saved the day - she'd picked them up for the boys because the package said 'duckie'...and the kites were turtles! Too funny.

One of those kites flew perfectly. The kids could get it up and down themselves. The other...got dragged in the sand when Hayden tried to run with it (having missed seeing Jeff take a tumble trying to outrun his pteradactyl). When he skipped the kite over the sand, the top part broke through it's fabric, make it hard for the kite to stay aloft. But the kids got to see their friends fly kites, and shared their's with some friends who didn't bring one so they could all earn a kite segment for their shirts.


Instead of braving it another night with the diva, we decided to break camp after dinner and headed for home after the final campfire. It was a great weekend (minus the lack of sleep thing) and we look forward to doing it again next summer.

Thursday, June 17, 2010

Herb Planters


My friend Nicole did a tiered terra cotta planter and I thought it was so great, I decided to make a couple for myself. Now my dilemma is...so I stack them straight, or do I let them look tippety and overflowing?

Thoughts?

I am leaning toward the tippty look (literally!)

(ignore the dirt mess...I am sure Jeff will jump at the chance to blow it all away with his shop-vac. Frankly, the thing kinda scares me, so he can have all the fun he wants!)

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

Froggy's Band

Hayden's 1st grade celebrated the end of the year by putting on a series of plays. Hayden's was about a frog who wants to win a marching band contest and guess who played the frog? Our little superstar :) Here is the video, but I'll warn you - there was some serious reverb going on with the microphones!

(Hayden would like it noted that he is holding the script because he'd been home sick from school for two days and didn't have as much practice time as the other actors. Seriously, actors.)

Monday, June 14, 2010

Sunday Dinner

Most Sundays we trek out to Grandma Bobbie's and Grandpa Bill's for dinner. It is so routine, I usually don't bother taking a camera. But I am glad I did today - won't Grace be so happy when Daddy finally decides it's a good idea to have a piano in the house?

Daddy was pulling double duty as boy wrangler and transporter of a tired girl :D

Sunday, June 13, 2010

The Birds!

The birds made a new nest...and look at what they put in it!! We discovered the eggs today when we took the hanging basket down to water it. The birds are very small, so Jeff didn't even notice a bird was on the nest when he lifted it off the hook. I watered it carefully so the nest didn't get wet...not sure if the birds came back or not!

Saturday, June 12, 2010

Soccer Clinics

Hayden wants to play soccer in the fall, but since he's never played before I wanted him to learn the basics so he'll enjoy it more.

We found a great eight-week series of skills clinic. The boys described the first day as 'torture', they were so exhausted they wanted to throw in the towel on soccer altogether.

But, the second clinic was much better - Bayley even admitted to (gasp) having fun!

Saturday, June 05, 2010

The Appearance of Spring

Today Spring made a rare appearance! The sun was bright, the weather was warm...and we spent all day at a car dealership! But, Jeff got the new car (GMC Terrain) he's been wanting since we traded his in for the minivan and we celebrated it good-weather style -- S'MORES!

The kids earned it. We managed one dealership visit before Grammo and Pop Pop headed south, but they had to suffer through the second visit. (Luckily, the salesman knew how to make paper airplanes!)

Thursday, June 03, 2010

My First Niece!!

Welcome to the family, Natalie! (I don't think my brother has smiled this much since his wedding. I wonder if his cheeks hurt...)


In every birth, blessed is the wonder.

In every creation, blessed is the new beginning.

In every child, blessed is life.

In every hope, blessed is the potential.

In every transition, blessed is the beginning.

In every existence, blessed are the possibilities.

In every love, blessed are the tears.

In every life, blessed is the love.

Wednesday, June 02, 2010

Nesting

Molly isn't the only one with industrious birds claiming squatters rights - some have taken over one of my hanging baskets. I'm thrilled...and worried how I will water it once they lay eggs!

Tuesday, June 01, 2010

When You're Bored...


tie your brother to a tree and see if he can get out of it.