To The Beach!

Our kiddos are true Oregonians. They do not care if it is cold or even threatening to rain. If they see the ocean, they want to play in it. The forecast called for a chance of rain the next day, so as soon as we got to the hotel, the kids were on the beach.

The boys spent most of their time kicking the surf and collecting rocks and shells. We could walk out to the beach from our room, so they brought shell pieces up by the handful and turned the table outside into a mosaic.

Sea Lion Caves

Our Spring Break adventure started witha  visit to the Sea Lion Caves in Florence. The kids loved it! Even though I made the boys read the information signs posted, they still had a great time. In fact, the boys decided that if ever there was a tsunami in Florence, the safest place to be would be the sea lion cave. Okay.

As we entered the gift shop, they offered the kids popcorn, which is the way to get on their good side. They climbed on the sea lion statues, which I turned into a photo op (of course) then we headed over to the lookout where they could see the cave from the outside and the animals drifing in.

Then it was down the elevator to the viewing room. The kids could have stood there and stared at the sea lions as they roamed about for hours.

They even stayed and listed to the video about the history of the cave. It was the perfect first stop for our trip.

Science Fair

To Melt Or Not To Melt

That was his question...or rather the title of his science project this year. Bayley wanted to know what brand of crayons melted the fastest. And here I thought that Crayola crayon maker they got for Hanukkah was for recycling crayon bits.

He did almost everything on his own this year - except for hot glueing the crayons to the display board. I burn myself with it, so wasn't ready to hand it over. And melting the crayons on the display board for 'decoration' was a team effort. Both of us spent ages in the garage with blow dryers melting the dollar store crayons.

It turns out, we should have done the 'decoration' after his experiment, which found the dollar store brand takes the longest to melt - three times as long as Crayola! Would have been good to know.

OMSI brought all kinds of fun to the science fair this year. Grace loved that they brought the floating balls, Hayden was all about the reptiles, and Bayley really got into showing everyone how to solve the puzzles.

People really thought he was something...and he is...just not about those puzzles. When you take the kid to OMSI a dozen times a year for nearly his whole life...he's going to have enough time to work it out.

They had a great time, and Hayden picked up a few ideas for next year - he might do a taste test of brands of bacon...or if people can tell the difference between brands of soda. I vote for bacon.

Star Wars!

Aunt Christina heard there would be Star Wars characters at the Children's Museum, and knew Bayley would want to be there. Not sure of the tie in with CM2 and their current How Children Learn exhibit, but whatever!


There was a bit of excitement before we even got in the door. Daddy thought they should take a shortcut across the grass. Mommy declined because she had on heels... You see where this is going. He was carrying Grace and slid, dropping her into the mud while he hit the concrete. Good times.

Once inside, we found the characters milling about, patiently posing for pictures with the kids. The hilarious part were the people who came in dressed up, ready to do battle with their light sabers. For a couple of them, I don't think they even had kids with them!


Bayley did a critique of most the costumes, and didn't want his picture with Boba Fett or the storm troppers because they are evil. But he had to get a picture with Darth Vader and Darth Bane. Apparently if you are lethal enough, he doesn't mind as much.

Grace wanted to see Darth Vader, but not touch him. She tried to hug R2-D2 and wanted to pet Chewbacca...but not too much. She was excited to see them, but not enough to risk being captured by the dark side.

The kids spent their time in the water room and the grocery store. It's fun to see how things have changed and stayed the same in the decade I've been taking my kiddos there.

Awkward Family Moments

Hayden burst into my office and screamed, "Mom, stop what you're doing and get your camera right now!"

I scrambled for the camera, then remembered the SD card was in the computer and the battery charging. I put the thing back together in record time and raced to the living room to find this ::

It reminded me of Awkward Family Photos, but the rest of my family found the predicment hilarious. So much so, that Hayden wanted a turn!

Gracie At The Zoo

Grace has been asking to go to the zoo for a while, but always on rainy days. I know how to zoo in the rain, but I save that knowledge for when I am caught by showers. I wait for the sun - and today it came out!

Gram-Mo & Pop Pop were still here, so we talked them into coming with us. I let Grace run the show, since she usually has to compromise with her brothers or girlfriends. Before we left, she wanted the stroller and a snack - so we packed the Joovy and some Goldfish and were on our way.

I have a tried and true path for zoo-ing, but Grace set the order of the animals. Sea lions, otters, fish, polar bears, penguins, pigs, monkeys, elephants, lions, zebras (she refused to stop at the hippos & only barely paused at the giraffes) & tigers.

Thank goodness the zoo thinks to pack in the less popular animals - we got to see how a leatherback turtle can bend its shell.

The highlight photography-wise was when Pop Pop woke up the cheetahs so I could get a better picture of him and Grace. They were NOT amused.

Opening Night

After a trip to Urgent Care yesterday that saw us leaving with an antibiotic and inhaler, we weren't sure if Bayley was going to be up to performing today. But after a day of rest, he had just enough energy. After all, the show must go on.

He had to be at the school early, so I thought  we had a while before we'd have to make our way there. But an hour before the perfomance parents were already staking out the prime seats. Who knew? Luckily, Miss Tina had Grace for the evening. I don't think she could have handled a night that long.

The play, Jack & The Sillies, was put together by the school music teacher. It's light and funny. I think the younger kids enjoyed it most from the best seats in the house - on the floor in front of the stage.

Bayley did his part perfectly. I was excited for him to do so well. He had such a great time with it, hopefully he'll do it next year. But, he says he wants to be stage crew since it is hard to get a non-singing part. Singing is not his thing, apparently. We'll see how he feels about it in 12 months.

He was thrilled that Gram-Mo & Pop Pop came up to see the play, and that Grandma & Grandpa came, and Uncle Tim too. The Burke clan skedaddled too quick for me to get a picture.

Theatrical Debut

Bayley decided to join the school play this year - Jack and the Sillies. His music teacher put it together herself, and it really suits the kids. It's based on a book about Jack, a man who doesn't like silliness, but is absolutley silly himself.

Bayley is a pig tosser. Yes, he actually throws a pig. In his group, they're trying to feed their pig apples by tossing it into an apple tree.

The pig, Stewie, is the star of all backstage events. After every rehearsal Bayley has a story about something that has happened to the stuffed pig. It will be a miracle if he makes it to opening night in one piece.

We're just so proud of Bayley for opening himself up to the experience. He's usually not much of a joiner, but he has had such a great time with it. I think having so many of his friends in the cast really helped.