Burke Brothers Bulletin (and Gracie Too!)

Dinner Dance

2012-02-11T08:33:00.000-08:00

Every year the boys' school has a Dinner Dance...which is really just a fun party for the kids. Dinner is pizza and concession candy. This year there was more dancing than usual. I like to think it will help out when the kids hit 7th grade and attend those awkward junior high dances. Maybe our kids will actually...move it-move it. HA!

My boys requested they have even more tickets for the basket raffles this year to up their chances of winning. We didn't get a basket. So of course they decided this means even MORE tickets next year. I think it would be cheaper to just make them a basket of their own!

The silent auction did well this year - I tried for a movie date with the 3rd grade teachers, front row tickets to Bayley's play, and PE camp. Managed to get PE camp...for the same price I'd have paid for it. But I'd have paid for it anyway, and now the money goes to the school.

My highlight of the night is always the hula hoop contest. I think they've been practicing in PE, because this year the 2nd graders were hooping it up, and that doesn't usually happen until 3rd grade. The teachers had a big bucket of shy and only 2 of them did the hula hoops...I think next year we should turn that into a money dance like at weddings. The kids can 'bid' money to get their teacher to hula. I'm big on the ideas, not so much on the follow through.

Grace had a great time running around and dancing. Once Jeff got there, the other kids running around her made him nervous she'd escape into oblivion, so he took her home. A good thing, since the boys insist on staying until the very end.

It's such a great tradition for the kids...even if the name is deceiving.

Last Flag Raising

2012-02-08T08:35:00.000-08:00

Bayley's time as a cub scout is almost over. In a few weeks, he'll cross over into boy scouts at the blue and gold dinner. Yesterday was the last time the den will raise the flag at the elementary school, and last night their final den meeting.

Lucky for them, most of the boys are sticking together as they join a new boy scout troop. They've spent the last few months visiting troops to see which one fits them best. The parent thought the boys would probably wind up spread across troops in the area, but the boys had other plans. Most of them decided to choose the group they had the most fun with...and the troop is taking them snowshoeing the weekend after crossover to celebrate.

Scouts has been so wonderful for both our boys, exposing them to experiences that aren't on my to-do list. Even if it has made them a little obsessed with archery, BB guns, and slingshots.

Kaitlyn's 4th Birthday - Pump It Up

2012-02-06T11:02:00.000-08:00

It's birthday party season for the baby girlfriends...they aren't babies anymore. Their independence was showing as the had the run of Pump It Up. Grace wasn't comfortable on any of the inflatables alone, but the rest of the girls had no trouble. Even Ava, who's younger than Grace!

I was thrilled that Bayley came along. He's getting so big so fast, I'm not sure how much longer he'll be willing to hang out with the younger ones.

For the group shot...Grace had a huge trantrum. Such a proud moment for me.

At Home With Dad

2012-02-05T11:08:00.000-08:00

While Mom headed to a booksigning...Dad kept the kids busy with chores. They didn't seem to mind, since a chainsaw was involved!

Regional Chess Tournament

2012-01-29T09:44:00.000-08:00

Bayley's team took first place in the regional tournament. He played well, but four of the boys on his team were undefeated, which means they'll be the ones going to the state tournament. Bayley really embraced that they won as a team, which made us quite proud. He was so excited, he decided we just had to go out to dinner.

Buy My Mom's Book

2012-01-29T07:53:00.000-08:00

For Kicks came out last week, and Private Scandal hits bookshelves next week. The boys have realized how these books do is the determining factor in whether they get to go to Disneyland this summer. They keep asking how the books are doing, which cracks me up.

Bubble Wrap

2012-01-20T12:56:00.000-08:00

I did most of my holiday shopping online, so whenever something came packaged in the bubble wrap, the kiddos had a blast dancing on it!

The Doughnut King

2012-01-03T09:29:00.000-08:00

Santa hooked Hayden up with a donut baker...and of course he had to try it out and experiment with toppings. His first foray into donut bliss was a chocolate version, so he opted for powdered sugar, chocolate frosted...and chocolate frosted with Reese's Santa had delivered to his stocking.

We had fun, but the baker is very hot, so I wasn't comfortable with Hayden squirting the batter in.

Breakfast With Santa 2011

2011-12-28T13:01:00.000-08:00

While I was in the hospital, I missed the annual Breakfast With Santa. Jeff remembered to take a camera...but the pictures didn't come out well. I hope the kids have good memories of it since the pictures...are barely blogworthy.

Christmas Dinner

2011-12-26T09:44:00.000-08:00

We lounged about all day, the kids playing with their new toys while Mom rested on the couch watching Hallmark channel holiday movies. When night fell, it was time to head up to Grandma & Grandpa's for dinner.

Everyone arrived...for Grandma's famous croissants. The Christmas miracle is always if they make it to the dinner table without being eaten.

The kids got at the gifts before dinner; Bayley loved his Legos and starting building them right away. Hayden wasn't in the mood for his How To Train Your Dragon book set, so he opted for putting together his Ninjagos. Grace simply liked twirling about, as usual.

Christmas Morning

2011-12-25T16:13:00.001-08:00

By franitcally monitoring NORAD's Santa Tracker, the boys decided Santa must arrive just after midnight. And be in a hurry, since there is so much to do. They told everyone (Grace, Mom & Dad) to be sure to be asleep early so as not to miss their shot with the big guy.

Hayden was in Mom & Dad's room at 6:30, announcing that Santa had been here. We coaxed him into ten more minutes, so he brought in the reserves -- Bayley. We snuggled them until they couldn't take it anymore and woke up Grace. They all raced downstairs, thrilled by the gifts under the tree. Gracie shouted, "Thank you, Santa!" which became the mantra for the morning.

As did "Santa is kind of a pig." Apparently the boys weren't expecting the jolly one to down three cookies AND a cupcake.

Grace loved her new plush horse stable, Hayden his lego boombox and Big Time Rush CD, and Bayley seemed unaffected by everything except the Wii Points. OK, then.

After checking that there were still Hanukkah gifts to be had for the rest of the week, the kiddos started playing. The boys on their DS's thanks to Bayley's Action Replay score, and Grace with her Little Miss Muffins.

Once our cinnamon roll breakfast was finished, the boys escaped upstairs to try out their Skylanders gift from last night, and Grace followed with her new tray of cupcakes to play 'restaurant' with them.

Merry Christmas!

Christmas Eve

2011-12-25T16:13:00.000-08:00

We were late to the annual McCauley Christmas Eve dinner...and it started on time! Very odd, since these events notoriously run on McCauley time.

Hayden attacked the Swedish meatballs, while Bayley was all about the refrigerator rolls. Grace was more adventurous and went after Uncle Jim's rice pudding and Aunt Mary's jello salad (two helpings of each!).

We talked of new jobs and of the cousins who couldn't make it home this year. I'm excited for stories of Colorado & Switzerland when they return.

I think this might be Grace's last year in the family high chair... It's never out of use for more than a few years :)

A Bayley Christmas

2011-12-23T11:28:00.000-08:00

Uncle Matt & Aunt Courtney hosted the Bayley Family Holiday Brunch again this year. Everyone raved over the bubble bread so much last year, Courtney made two this year - one with nuts and one without.

The kiddos had fun running about, dodging the mistletoe, opening gifts...the biggest hit had to be the mustaches. Who knew?

We also took family portraits at the end, trying out our camera skills. The funny part? Dan - with no camera classes at all - did a great job with ours.

Winter Wonderland

2011-12-22T22:56:00.000-08:00

Since I wasn't up for walking around the zoo for Zoolights, we opted to view the lights at Winter Wonderland at the raceway. It was great to get to enjoy the lights and stay warm at the same time.

For the drive up there, we got kids meals and let them munch. By the time we arrived, the chocolate milk had them excited to see anything at all. They gave us a CD of holiday music, a bag of candycanes (because my kiddos hadn't had enough sugar) and let us on the track.

We liked how they had displays for each of the 12 days of Christmas, and some of the sillier set-ups like the juggling dinosaur. about five minutes in, Grace wanted to get out and play, and Bayley had a fit of the sillies, but other than that normal business, it was a hit.

Holiday Countdown

2011-12-20T22:33:00.000-08:00

We had so much planned in the run-up to the holidays...and then, I wound up in the hospital for a week.

Grandma Bobbie rushed down to help with the kids for the first few days, and Grammo & PopPop arrived as reinforcements. The activities in the Santa advent calendar had to be paused...and rethought.

Cookie day didn't have to mean baking, it could mean eating cookies. Walking through Zoolights could be driving through Winter Wonderland.

It was wonderful to have so many friends visit me in the hospital, but as lovely as the distraction was, I missed my kiddos painfully. So much so that I talked my way out of my festively decorated hospital room in time for the first night of Hanukkah.

I have to take it slow and not fall into doing all I normally would, and follow a bizarre diet, but being with my babes is worth the effort.

Christmas Tree!

2011-12-12T00:09:00.000-08:00

A local Christmas tree farm offered a tree to some friends of ours who's son is battling cancer. We wanted to support such a generous place, so headed there for our first u-cut Christmas tree adventure.

The weather was cold, but clear, with ice on the ground that crackled beneath our winter boots. We were after a Nordman, a tree we'd heard of because it doesn't release po
llen (for Jeff) and doesn't drop many needles (for me). We wanted a tall one since our tree last year seemed short.

Bayley selected a great one, but on closer inspection it had lots of brown needles on the inside, so we kept looking. Funny, as we picked trees they seemed to get taller every time. Jeff found the perfect one and got to work with the hand saw while the kids played Marco Polo through the maze of trees.

Lucky for them, the tree had a really thick trunk, so they got in lots of play time while Daddy hacked the tree down. They called to us whenever they found something new - frosty spiderwebs, mushrooms, stumps where people had oddly left the bottom two feet of the tree behind.

Once the tree fell, it was up to Daddy and his soon-to-be boy scout to carry it back to the truck. When we thought about a tall tree, we never considered how heavy it would be. They did a great job, save one point where Bayley fell and the tree did a head stand.

The tree got hoisted onto the roof, and the boys got in some play time while Grace opted to warm up in the truck with a graham cracker. They're not usually into having their pictures taken - OK so Bayley hates it - but they were all about posing for some reason.

Once the tree was secured, we all took off our muddy boots and the kiddos ate their grahams on the way home.

We're all excited to decorate the tree tomorrow!

The Giving Tree

2011-12-11T00:01:00.000-08:00

Every year we find a giving tree and the kids help me pick out the gift the child requested. When the tree in the gym lobby got decorated with tags, I gave the boys the job of picking one out while I was at Zumba.

When I came to get them, they asked if they could both choose a tag this year...and since they already had, plus we've been truly blessed this year, I agreed. The tags they selected were for little boys who'd asked for shoes, which the boys found sad. Some of the other tags were for a kareoke machine and toys, but the boys thought the kids who asked for shoes probably needed a gift more than the other kids.

They wanted to give some of their toys to the boys, but the gifts had to be new. We decided to pass on the toys instead.

Last holiday season Grandma & Grandpa gavet he boys each $20 to spend on charity. I've suggested things throughout the year, but nothing motivated them to give, until the giving tree. They wanted to spend their $20 on a fun gift for their boys, while Mom & Dad sprang for the shoes. Deal.

We're so proud of our boys for thinking of others. They truly have the holiday spirit.

Cocoa With Claus

2011-12-10T07:52:00.000-08:00

Our gym put together an event that wasn't quite what we expected. I don't think it was what they expected either...since they started setting up AFTER we'd been told to be there. Um...yeah. Such a great idea with an impatient toddler in tow. Especially on a day where she'd opted out of naptime.

The boys really enjoyed the giant bounce house and slide. Grace wanted to enjoy it, she was quite excited to look at it, but the idea of going in plain freaked her out. Even Ava and her friend Adilyne from school couldn't coax her in.

Once the gingerbread man decorating station opened, she had something to do. Get sticky. I got the kids cocoa, but Grace was only interested in licking the whipped cream from the top. Hayden declared the cocoa undrinkable, and Bayley thought it was watered down. That's what I get for making Swiss Miss with milk instead of water - cocoa snobs!

Grace was exited to see Santa, not so excited about getting close to the big guy. Bayley decided he's too old to sit on Santa's lap, but he wanted to be sure to get his wish list passed on. I hope I'll get a good shot of all three of them at Breakfast With Santa next weekend.

Jeff's Trips

2011-12-09T07:13:00.000-08:00

When Jeff takes off for a wind farm, he always hopes he'll have time to climb a tower. He loves the view, and talking with the people who work with the turbines in reality, instead of on paper the way he does. I always tell him to take pictures, but he never remembers a camera. This last trip to Mojave I zipped a camera in his jacket pocket.

Most of the snapshots were too blurry to make much out, but these are the few that came through. Now that I know he'll use it, I'll send him with a better one. I gave him the camera Hayden uses in case it didn't make it back with him. And it almost didn't.

They get project jackets whenever they go to site builds, so he and his project manager had matching jackets. They didn't come home with their own. Luckily, all was resolved at work the next day.

Advent Begins

2011-12-06T08:51:00.000-08:00

Last year my friend Paula made the kiddos a Santa Advent calendar. They were excited to bring it out again this year to see which activities had been stuffed into the pockets.

This year, I tried to make the activities easier on all of us. We started off with holiday puzzles, and followed up with holiday movie night, hanging lights, bubble baths, and making snow (science experiement). Outside activities (like Cocoa with Claus, Breakfast with Santa, Nutcracker, Zoolights) count as the activity for the day. Last year, I kept the at home separate and it made me more frazzled than usual.

I'm excited for Write the holiday letter and Mail holiday cards. Not sure the boys are though!

Not Quite Red Velvet Beet Cake

2011-12-05T10:27:00.000-08:00

The mommy-guilt can really get to a writer who's had her head in a novel for an entire month (ahem, NaNoWriMo anyone?). I stepped into the kitchen to try and ease some of the angst the family collected while surviving on skillet meals and crockpot fare.

Bayley is allergic to red food coloring. If you're kid is going to have a food allergy, it's teh one to get. I mean...if it's red, it's not for him. Easy. And he gets a rash, not some scary rection. No big deal most of the time.

He only really mentions it for two things - Fruit Punch Kool-Aid and red velvet cake. Not a lot I can do about either, being red is part of their schtick. Except I got to thinking...what if there were a natural way to color the cake?

I found lots of recipes online, with lots of different results. I combined a few in what I hoped would give me the reddest cake. The cake...is reddish brown. BUT it tastes like red velvet cake. That dense, rich with hint of cocoa flavor. I suppose it's not the best recipe for Valentine's Day, but I think the tall boy appreciated the effort.

1 ¼ cup - sugar
1 cup - (1 stick) butter, softened
3 - eggs
2 cup - cake flour
½ cup - unsweetened cocoa powder
1 ½ tsp. - baking powder
½ tsp. - baking soda
1 tsp. - salt
1 cup - buttermilk
2 tsp. - balsamic vinegar
2 tsp. - vanilla extract
1 can shoestring beets, pureed

Cream the butter and sugar, add the eggs. Sift the flour and dry ingredients. Add the beets to the butter mixture, then half the flour, then the buttermilk, vanilla, and vinegar, then the rest of the flour. Bake as you'd like to serve, we tend to bake in 13x 9 pans (45 minutes).

I frosted it with my go-to cream cheese frosting. 1 brick of cream cheese, 1/2 a stick of butter, 3 cups powdered sugar, 1 t vanilla.

Salmon Release

2011-12-03T22:20:00.000-08:00

Bayley's 5th grade class took part in an education program through the Fish and Wildlife Department where they got to learn about salmon by raising them from eggs. Once the fish had matured enough to lose their yolk sack, they needed to be released into the Tualatin river.

On a chilly Saturday morning, most of the kids from class and their families gathered at a local park to watch the kiddos send their fish into the river.

Their teached helped the kids scoop the fish into a baggie of water, then they took the baggie to the waters edge and released the fish. It was a little murky, but they managed to see them swim away.

Bayley really enjoyed this unit. There were lots of learning opportunities between egg and fry. I remember the kids being very excited by the effect of light on the newly emerging fish. This, and last year's Columbia Gorge field trip, have really taught Bayley a lot about salmon.

Hayden's First Apple Pie

2011-11-29T21:11:00.000-08:00

When Hayden was a baby I read the book Catch a Fish, Throw a Ball, Fly a Kite: 21 Timeless Skills Every Child Needs To Know by Jeffrey Lee and thought it was a great idea. Make an Apple Pie is on the list, and Hayden wanted to make a dessert for Thanksgiving.

He helped me pick out the apples and everything. We looked up a recipe and got to work with me as his assistant. I think he would have done it himself except he wasn't a fan of peeling apples.

I think his favorite part was either dumping the apple mix in the pie, or carving his initials in the top. Okay, so maybe it was when Mom forgot to put a pan underneath it, and it bubbled up in the oven and spilled apple juice on the bottom and it started smoking.

The world moves so fast now, the basics are often glossed over. I think of it every now and then, hoping to make it through the list before the kids are in college. We've actually managed to have fun with a lot of them.

~~Catch a Fish~~
~~Fly a Kite~~
~~Throw a Ball~~
~~Plant a Tree~~ (I'm counting azaela bushes)
~~Bake Bread~~
~~Fly a Kite~~
Juggle
Build a Fire

~~Make a Sand Castle~~

Play a Blade of Grass

Skip a Stone

~~Make a Paper Airplane~~

~~Do a Magic Trick~~

Eat with Chopsticks
~~Build a Wooden Box~~

Spin a YoYo
~~Grow a Garden~~
~~Make an Apple Pie~~
~~Throw a Frisbee~~
Name the Stars

Syndey!

2011-11-28T15:14:00.000-08:00

Uncle Chris brought Sydney to dinner at Grandma & Grandpa's house! I was thrilled to get my baby fix in, and to see how naturally Jeff's brother has settled into fatherhood. Seeing the two of them together was truly beautiful. Chris has always made a point to do things in his life that make him happy, and now it seems happiness is coming to him.

I'm not sure Sydney knew what to make of her crazy cousins. She liked to watch them whirl about, but when they got too insane, she needed Daddy to soothe her nerves.

When she was first born I thought she looked like Grace. When I saw her last night at first I thought she looked just like Staci (Mommy). But as the night wore on I realized...she looks like Sydney. One of a kind.

Annual Santa List

2011-11-27T07:58:00.000-08:00

The boys aren't as fun to shop for this year - everything they want has a high price tag. We've been listening to The Secret and The Power in the car while we run errands, so they've decided to use the law of attraction to bring them a fabulous holiday.

I managed to talk them down to some less spendy items, and get them to agree to a playroom clean-out during winter break. If they haven't played with a toy in 6 months, or if I don't think Grace will play with it, it's going to make some kiddo's holiday a little brighter. Or louder, depending on the toy!

BAYLEY
Laptop
Kindle Fire
Nintendo 3DS
TV (this is a big NO from Mom & Dad)
Lego Death Star
Air Hockey Table
Leatherman
Star Wars Lego Sets
Star Wars Action Figures
Wii Points
Nintendo 3DS games (Pokemon Rumble Blast...this is a 3DS game)
~~Zane DX Ninjago~~
Kai DX Ninjago
Giant chess set
~~Super Scribblenauts DS~~ ~~game~~
~~Epic Mickey Wii game~~

HAYDEN
Kindle Fire
Nintendo 3DS
iTouch
~~headphones~~
Nintendo DS games (Beyblade, Super Scribblenats, Fossil Fighter Champion, How to Train Your Dragon)
~~Wii games (Skylanders)~~
Beyblades
~~Nintendo DS Action Replay~~
Happy Feet 2
Lego Ninjago
~~Pokemon Black & White handbook~~
~~How To Train Your Dragon book set~~

GRACE
dolls, princesses, horses, accessories

Happy Thanksgiving!

2011-11-25T15:59:00.000-08:00

It's Grammo & PopPop's year to host Thanksgiving, but they ran away to Europe to escape the clean-up. We invited everyone to our place so that we'd have leftovers for the rest of the week. Uncle Matt & Aunt Courtney had the European thing going on, and Uncle Chris & Aunt Staci had to work -- but Grandma and Grandpa, Uncle Tim, Uncle Dan & Aunt Christina and Natalie came over to share the holiday with us.

As soon as anyone walked through the door, the boys had to show them the nieghbors tree in the backyard. After that excitment, Uncle Tim dialed in a football game, the girls started playing dress-up and the boys...acted like their crazy selves.

There was champagne and beer - because Jeff has breathes beer, and I wanted to taste the difference between Proseco and Moscato. I like them both. Huge surprise :) We snacked on cheese and Grandma Doris's clam dip until the mashed potatoes were ready and the turkey sliced.

The girls must have played extra hard, because they both loved Thanksgiving dinner! Of course, half their plate was fruit. Our girls are true sweeties.

After dinner we gave Natalie a pair of puddle stompers - as soon as Grace saw her with them on she had to put on hers too.

Bayley wanted to share the candle he made at Webelos Woods...he did this twisty bendy thing and wanted to know if the candle would burn sideways. Instead, he would up with burning pyramids. Oops!

Watch Out For That Tree!

2011-11-24T21:56:00.000-08:00

We had an unexpected and uninvited guest this Thanksgiving. The neighbors tree crashed our yard!

The tree had died and they'd had someone out to get an estimate this summer - we know because the contractor came and told us in case we wanted ours removed at the same time. No thanks, ours are healthy and shady, and with two little blonde children, shade is good.

I guess the tree decided that they they weren't going to cut it, it would do the job itself and went roots up. It's propped up now by our broken fence and the other neighbors shed. Hopefully, everything will be back to how it was by Tuesday.

Thanksgiving Performance

2011-11-23T08:53:00.000-08:00

Grace's preschool had their first performance...but the kiddos weren't into singing. They all wanted to eat pie! And then once they'd had their slice, they wanted to play.

When Jeff came home I asked her to sing the song for him and she said..."No, but Happy Thanksgiving!" She's her own woman.

Shake The Glitter Off Your Clothes..

2011-11-22T08:56:00.000-08:00

We survived the Las Vegas girls-only weekend! The highlight had to be the Katy Perry concert. AMAZING. Totally worth flying to Las Vegas for.

The staging was mindblowing. One set felt like we were in the middle of a video. Plus, she brought out her grandma so she could dedicate Firework to her. I just love Katy.

We'd booked the cheapest package we could find, which put us on Spirit Airlines. It's cheap up front, because they charge for everything. The plane reminded me of Southwest before they made all their money. I'd fly with them again, especially in the big front seats.

Once we got to Vegas, we had a limo take us down the strip so the Vegas Virgins could get their bearings. Then we had our pic taken at the Welcome To Las Vegas sign. Big Bird was there too. Vegas is full of people in old Halloween costumes you can take your picture with for a dollar.

There were lots of giggles on the trip, like when we explored the wedding chapel, spied the sexy Santas, giggled in bed late night like tweens at a slumber party, and when Tina fell off the moving walkway because she was Facebooking from her phone!

I had fun at the ice bar -- which was more decorated walk-in freezer than the igloo-esque space I was anticipating. And the fur coats and hats were made of Muppet fur. I had to laugh at the entire expereince.

We found some favorite restaurants -- RiRa Irish pub @ Mandalay Place and Sugar Factory @ Paris.

I really liked the helicopter ride. I think I'll try to talk Jeff into it when we go to Hawaii or take the kids to the Grand Canyon. It's such an amazing perspective.

We had a special dinner at Pampas, the Brazillian restaurant @ Planet Hollywood. Somehow, we managed to score a private dining room! Such fun having the servers come in our room with their swords of meat. Definitely a place to go when Gabe-fest comes to Las Vegas.

Madame Tussaud's wax museum was more fun than I expected. and not just because I can say I got in bed with Hef. It was silly fun to pose with the statues. Tina texted a pic with the Will Smith statue to her daughter and she saw through our ruse. Which is probably good...otherwise she'd want to go to Vegas too!

I left my phone in Portland on accident, which really showed me how much I depend on it to stay connected. With Matt in the hospital in India and waiting to hear on a book contract, it was quite frustrating. (Matt is in Budapest and on the mend, I scored the book contract). And it made my ADD rage since I didn't have the distraction to keep me centered. I tried to caffienate, but when I forgot my camera battery on day 2, I knew I actually considered picking up an iTouch so I could let the other girls shop while I tried not to crawl out of my skin! But, I made it through. And next time, I'll triple check that I have the phone with me. And will probably drag the laptop along.

Viva Las Vegas!

2011-11-15T13:08:00.000-08:00

OMSI Field Trip

2011-11-08T21:52:00.000-08:00

The 5th grade let me tag along for their field trip to OMSI - including a planetarium show about the sun. Good thing the lights were out, because I could barely stay awake through it! And then the girls in my group wandered. Chaperone of the year, not!

The kiddos had a great time, though. The group had been in 3rd grade to see an OMNImax film about bugs, and it was fun to see how little they've changed. They still hit the ground running, touching and exploring everything.

BodyWorld is taking up two exhibit spaces, and two labs off limits for private classes, there were some frustrations - but in a good way. They were looking forward to the bugs, the animals, the physics lab...because they like them.

The kiddos are headed to Salem for a tour of the capitol in the spring. I wonder if they'll let me go...

Make Your Own Pizza & Movie Night

2011-11-04T22:26:00.000-07:00

Everyone has an opinion...in our house these opinions too often have to do with pizza toppings. Come on, it's pizza! But, to solve the dilemma for my brood of picky pickerton's, we make our own. Even Grace has decided to choose her own toppings.

My grain-free self had pizza stuffed mushrooms. They need some retooling, but it did keep me from reaching for a slice.

Not that there was any left! The boys all at the entire 8-in pizza! Grace came close to them. I have no idea where she put it all.

Happy Halloween!

2011-10-31T23:04:00.000-07:00

Grace was going to be Little Red Riding Hood...and then Cinderella...and then Snow White. But as soon as we got down the costume box to pluck out the Darth Vadar duds...she wanted to be a leopard -- with pink shoes. Since all three of my kids wore it, I think it has to be the best costume purchase ever :) And yes...she dressed up Jeff too. He's a 'funny monster'.

Harvest Party

2011-10-27T20:54:00.000-07:00

Grace's preschool had a harvest party this year and asked that the kiddos dress up like farmers. Well, Grace wasn't interested in being a farmer, but she did want to be a cowgirl! She did point out that she didn't want to ride a cow, she wanted to ride a horse. Funny, since every time Daddy & Grandpa put her on a horse, she wants off!

Tillamook Forest Field Trip

2011-10-26T20:56:00.000-07:00

The 3rd grade headed west for a great field trip about the Tillamook forest. We really like the Forest Center, but the kiddos didn't have time to explore that. Instead, they had a wonderfully interactive lesson in the classroom where they got to act out 200+ years of Tillamook foreat history, and then take a short hike.

They are such a creative bunch of kiddos, they put humor in every skit. Even with the weather fading into drizzle, they were excited to go outside and explore.

The highlight of the hike was seeing a dead salmon in the river, though I was more interested in all the different kinds of mushrooms. Weird!

Fall Firsts

2011-10-25T09:36:00.000-07:00

Grace had two firsts in one day -- a schoolbus ride and a field trip! Her preschool made the jaunt to a pumpkin patch.

She loved the bus. Kids this age are usually tethered to their car seats, so they all seemed to really enjoy being able to wiggle about. Once we arrived...so did the diva attitude.

Our princess wanted to set her own pace. Why stand around waiting when you can look at farm animals? Why wait for the train when you could run to the pumpkins? Why wait for your class to ride the boat together when you could go NOW NOW NOW.

Tons of fun.

There were also yellowjackets everywhere. And when the kids were given fruit snacks? The flying menaces thought that was a good time to crawl INSIDE the little packages.

After the big adventure, we took the girls out to lunch at Pizza Schmizza, a favorite of theirs, and ours because they'll cut the slices into bite sized pieces for you!

We parentals like that the girls got to sit by themselves, which meant...we got to sit by ourselves!

Soccer with old school friends

2011-10-15T17:10:00.000-07:00

Hayden's team played the team of the school he used to go to, which meant kiddos from kinder were there. It's amazing to see them so grown up! One of the boys he has known since preschool. Plus, one of his cub scout den mates played.

The boys had a good game, a little struggle to play as a team at first, but it came together. Hayden had a great game, and so did his friend Sebastian who scored 3 times!

Grace loved getting to run about and pick flowers and play on the playground...but it made for one distracted mommy! Luckily Grandpa was there to keep an eye on the wandering one.

Because I paid attention to the game and Gracie the Explorer, my camera settings were off. Things are over exposed and blurry. Ah, well. There's another game next week.

Soccer Crazed

2011-10-13T12:35:00.000-07:00

The whole family is really enjoying soccer this year. Uncle Matt came last week and got to see how much fun the boys have. Fun is the goal for their coaches, who encourage the boys to play new positions and try their best. For Hayden this usually means pay attention!

At the last game they played a team that is made up of mostly kids from their school. It was such fun for the parents to get to cheer for the kids on both sides. We were the most civilzed soccer parents ever. And getting pictures was twice the fun since I culd name all the kiddos in the shot.

Hayden seems to prefer to play in the backfield, probably because he can watch what is going on.

Fingers crossed this week's game will be a little drier. Those muddy cleats are hard to clean!

When It Rains...

2011-09-27T15:36:00.000-07:00

...set up a teepee in your living room, complete with tunnels to take you to the piano and ottoman undetected!

Gorgeous!

2011-09-17T21:18:00.000-07:00

I came home from a workshop today to find 4 of my favorite children -- my three and Natalie! She is just so gorgeous. Look at those big brown eyes! And she's so sure on her feet, and naming everything she sees.

I think she liked Rogue a bit more than her cousin's this trip. The Burke kiddos were all a bit wild. Grace because she didn't get a nap and the boys...because they are the wild boys of Oregon. What can I say?

Grace seemed thrilled that Natalie is big enough to play with now. She wasn't so sure about sharing, but lucky for her, Natalie hasn't reached the mine-mine-mine phase yet.

The boys even helped the girls sift through the dress up box. Bayley seemed to be into it more than usual.

Natalie even got into it, probably so Bayley wouldn't feel awkward.

Soccer

2011-09-16T21:24:00.000-07:00

And so it begins...soccer practice twice a week, and the weekend games. I love what it does for Hayden, hate what it does for our schedules. Today, Jeff had to take Grace to a game while I was at a workshop -- and he couldn't watch the game because he was so busy chasing Grace around. Maybe next year she will have mastered the ability to watch a game without trying to escape.

Hayden's on a new team this year -- with all his friends! He was thrilled when he found out every practice would be like going to a birthday party!

Jeff & I are both thrilled with how well Hayden is doing. He's taking it much more seriously this year. He is a little timid, but says it is because as the bigger kid, he's more likely to get fouled. Wow. He really though through it!

JETBOAT!

2011-09-11T22:10:00.000-07:00

The weather this summer has been both a blessing and a disappointment. We were lucky the temperatures were so mild, but since it never reached 90, our hot-weather activities were missing. I tell the kiddos that if it hits 90, we can put the pool in the yard. If we see triple digits, to the coast we go!

This year, 90 didn't show up until AFTER school started. The boys were bummed (even though they went coastal twice). But today, as I sat under the Fremont Bridge wating in the heat for a photography class to be over, I saw a jetboat fly by.

Lucky for us, they'd had a cancellation. I raced home to snag the familia, and then back downtown to catch our boat. Bayley & Hayden debated over which seats would get the most wet. Finally, they settled on the middle. Fine by me since I remembered which seats were underwater by the time the trip ended!

We loaded up with Hayden on the outside, Bayley on the inside, and Grace in the middle between Jeff & I. The boys started with their requests to get soaked before we'd even had out life jacket demonstration!

I like the historical tidbits on these tours, while the boys are all about the hard stops and 360s. Grace liked the waterfalls, sea lions, and the eagle.

We were relieved that Grace liked the water play. She was very comfortable on the boat, except for the wind whipping her hair. I pulled it back, but her bangs still bugged her. So, she snuggled into Daddy for the trip down to Willamette Falls.

After Bayley realized Hayden was considerably wetter than he was, he snuck over to the side to share the water love. They both claim next time they'll be sitting on the outside of row two. Um, maybe with Daddy! I got plenty wet in row 6, thanks!

Without even knowing it, the kids learned about the history of the bridges, Ross Island (which is now a lagoon), Willamette Falls, the locks, the fish ladder, Native American hunting patterns, sea lions, eagles, herons & lamprey eels. We even had a great seat for the dragon boat races!

Less Jenna, more coconut

2011-09-09T13:20:00.000-07:00

Since we joined the nice gym, I've been working hard at finally getting back to my normal size. Cutting out starches has really helped, and honestly, I don't miss bread, pasta, or cake the way I thought I would. I miss baking more than I miss eating baked goods. Crazy.

One way to keep gluten out of your diet is to substitute with other grains...but since I'm off starch (save the occasional potato), gummy rice flour isn't much help. Today I learned coconut flour can make a nice pancake!

It's mostly fiber, so they can be on the dry side, but I served mine with organic blueberries I'd simmered into a sauce and cultured butter. Delish. Grace preferred hers with whipped cream.

I had two extra, so I decided to make a sandwich! Without bread, sandwiches have been missing from my life for a while. I did a Monte Cristo with turkey ham, havarti and the blueberries. So good!

I'll definitely be making them again :)

COCONUT PANCAKES

3T coconut oil, melted (or butter)

3T coconut flour

3 eggs

3T buttermilk, coconut milk

1/2 t baking powder

vanilla extract, smidge

salt, pinch

Back To School

2011-09-06T08:16:00.000-07:00

Apparently, we have a 3rd grader and a 5th grader. Not sure when that happened!

Bayley is excited that he got the teacher he wanted, for hot lunch, recess, and PE. Hayden is a little bummed his best friend is in a different classroom, but hopeful that they'll play together at recess and that he'll find more friends in his own class.

Mahoney Girls' Birthday Party

2011-09-02T08:03:00.000-07:00

I miss the days when I could have a shared birthday party at the park for my boys. Thank goodness Ashling & Tara know what a good time it is for everyone, and have picked up the tradition. It's total family fun time.
And since it is for our resident princesses, it's always fabulous. This year, the stars were the very special cupakes.

The kids see this as an opportunity to play, eat pizza and cake, and basically go wild. It's become an end of summer tradition in our little group.

This year, the sprinklers turned on. It was like the kids were at a waterpark. And the weather was so warm, they were completely dry when it came time to load them in the cars.

Happy birthday, Ashling & Tara!

VooDoo Doughnuts

2011-09-01T07:48:00.000-07:00

While staying downtown, Jeff & I made sure to hit VooDoo Doughnuts, the Portland doughnut mecca. We went on a Monday morning, so the line was minimal, giving us just enough time to get in a Keep Portland Weird frame of mind. (They've painted the brick facade with sparkles, got to love it.)

Once inside, we opted to pick our own doughnuts. It takes a bit longer, but there were some we had to have -- like the bacon maple bar for Hayden, the Cocoa Puff doughnut for Grace and a buttermilk bar for me. Yes, a plain, old buttermilk. They're not always about the flash, some of their doughnuts are simplistic perfection.

Jeff had never been in the store, only having seen them from the 'good things come in pink boxes' in the breakrooms and conference tables at work. I think he had a hard time limiting it to just 12.

The kids were thrilled when we came home with doughnuts -- and that was after having feasted on the leftovers from the day before's Krispy Kreme trip with Pop Pop!

She's Blurry. So What?

2011-08-30T21:43:00.000-07:00

Whenever I flip through photos I realize I have very few good ones of Grace. She's just not pose-able. She doesn't say cheese or look at the camera or even slow down.

Today, I wanted a picture of her in her new favorite outfit - her Cinderella costume. I tried everything to get a cute smile. She had no interest.

So, I gave up and the boys started chasing her, and chasing each other. And she's screaching and laughing and having a great time like usual.

I decided to take a picture of that, even though she's blurry. I think maybe if I set up a tripod and used a crazy fast shutter speed, maybe she's be in focus. But even when I push it to the limit of hand-held, my kid is faster than the camera shutter.

My kid is blurry and happy.

Ridin' The Riverboat

2011-08-29T08:04:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure what I expected from a dinner cruise aboard the Columbia Gorge sternwheeler. I think of river boats and my mind either goes to the swanky casino boats on the Travel Channel, or Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn.

This was definitely a middle ground - a much used space with two dining levels and an observation top deck. Most of the passengers were outside of our demographic, but there was one family celebrating a 50th anniversary that had a few people I might find at a PTA meeting.

The dinner cruise was a great way to see the gorge and learn a little about the area. The Seattle harbor cruise we did during Spring Broke was much more informative, as was the drive through the gorge during our snowshoe adventure.

Dinner was okay, you can't really expect much from a galley kitchen. I did think the cheesecake shouldn't be frozen, but what can you do?

I had fun taking pictures and watching the sternwheel spin. Things didn't really line up for the sunset shot I'd hoped for, but that didn't stop me from taking pictures until the memory card filled up!

Wildlife Safari

2011-08-21T21:52:00.001-07:00

To make the trip down to Medford more bearable, we promised our animal loving girl a ride through Wildlife Safari. She wanted to see elephants like at the zoo. We figured the place could totally deliver.

Thank goodness we had something to tempt her with. The kiddo could not understand why we wanted her to stay in her carseat, even with the boys agreed to watch Tangled on the TVs we'd strapped to the headrests. Snacks and promises to see Pop Pop just weren't cutting it.

The ostriches helped out by greeting us just inside the gate. The kids loved being able to release their seatbelts and peer out the windows at the animals. And the boys were thrilled with the ostrich peed. Grace spotted a zebra and we followed it, spying the gemsboks.

What is a gemsbok? An African antelope. Both males and females have long, straight horns that can be made into...well, a horn.

We hadn't been there in a while, and noticed a few changes, like electrical fencing at the lion and bear exhibits. It used to be that they'd just make you roll up your windows. It didn't matter much because it was hot out. The bears and lions were just lying in the shade.

The giraffe's were very friendly, and later we found out why. Wildlife Safari has a special outing where you can ride in the back of a truck and feed the giraffes! It was too late in the day for us to give it a try, but the boys want to try for an earlier start next time.

We watched a group feeding the giraffes and it was hilarious! Everyone wanted to feed the giraffe lettuce leaves, but even the brawniest guys recoiled as the long, black tongue came their way.

The Watusi cattle came into view next. It always seems strange to see cows meandering alongside exotic animals, but the cattle did originate in Africa. And their horns are in the Guiness Book of world records for girth.

After spying the rest of the zebras, rhinosm and more antelope-like African creatures, it was on to the Americas section of the park. The bison have no fear of cars, and better merging skills than most Portland drivers. They walked beside us, and then crossed the road between our van and the one behind us.

As we left the sleeping black bears and brown bears, we were suprised to find an elk standing beside the road. It was as if she were posing for pictures.

The elephants were behind fences and hard to get a good picture of, but Grace liked seeing them anyway. The same happened with the gibbon (monkey). The kids were all thrilled by the camel, and I was excited that I remember the two hump camels are Bactrian (like a B) while the one hump camel is Dromedary (like a D). No one else was impressed by this.

The boys really liked when they could see the animals poop. So...I video'd this rhea ::

Once we'd completed the circut, we explored Safari Village for a bit. Grace was pretty tired by this point, but the boys wanted to ride a camel, so off we went. We tried to put Grace on with Bayley, but she wasn't having it. This camel is Dromedary, by the way. Yeah, the family wasn't impressed either.

Kid Versus Food

2011-08-20T21:08:00.000-07:00

On their way to Camp Hot Tub, we stopped for a quick lunch before heading to Wildlife Safari. Sadly, Jeff and I con only find Denny's in Roseburg. It's an issue we'll work on in the future.

The boys are trying to decide if they want to branch out from the kids menu. Hayden thinks there are better options, but Bayley figures there are better things on the kids menu. For example, Denny's only serves pizza to kids. Hayden opted for the Bacon Slamburger from the adult menu. It's a burger...with a grand slam breakfast on it. Egg, hashbrowns, cheese, bacon...

He made a valliant attempt, and then agreed to just add toppings to the kid sized burger from now on.

Summer is for Sprinklers!

2011-08-19T16:32:00.000-07:00

Whatever Floats Their Boat!

2011-08-18T00:01:00.000-07:00

Summer is winding down, and I'm still determined to make this the 'Best Summer Ever'. I can't slip up now, not when I have 9 'Best Day of My Life' kudos from the boys. To keep the momentum going, we packed up the van (and the Hyppster crew) and headed to Astoria.

I've never actually driven to Astoria. I let Jeff handle that, but since this was a weekday trip...I handled it with a minimum of 'interesting incidents' which shall never be discussed.

The Columbia River Maritime Museum was our first stop. The boys were having a good time before we even made it inside. They took one look at the giant anchor and propeller and thought...I can climb that.

Inside, they started some crafts, but once Bayley had a macaroni crown and Hayden a macaroni necklace (which he ate...uncooked wagon wheels...really) we set off to explore. They had little interest in the history exhibits, but when things were hands on, they were all about it. I tried to work in a few educational facts...here's hoping they were paying attention.

Then we were off to the Lightship Columbia, a decomissioned, well, lightship. It now serves as a floating museum to let us all peek inside what it's like to live and work on a boat. The kids really liked the bunks and the kitchen. I liked watching them stare blankly at the ancient TV!

We hustled our hungry brood across the street to Bowpicker Fish & Chips...where they fry up tuna and steak fries from a gilnet boat! There was a line, but it was worth the wait, even waiting with 2 preschoolers and 3 hungry boys!

It was so good in fact, even this dragonfly heard the buzz about the place.

With our bellies full, we set off to find the shipwreck of Peter Iredale. It's kind of eerie how it surges up from the sand, but the kids love to see it and play in the waves around it.

The boys hit the water as soon as we found sand. The girls...took a bit longer to get used to the frigid temperature. Once Grace got a feel for it, she wanted to be right there, holding Bayley's hand. He was so sweet, he gave up his own play time to be with Grace so she could enjoy the waves.

The weather was perfect, and aside from backseat antics during the drive, it was a wonderful day. (Are we there yet? He scratched me? He took my shoe! Stop touching me! Hi Ava! Hi Grace! Mom. Mom. Mom. I want to go to the beach. He took my hat! Don't punch me! Don't push me.)

No trip to the coast is complete without ice cream...so Miss Tina treated the kids to Dairy Queen. Grace was quite excited for her strawberry shake!

OMSI :: Game On Exhibit

2011-08-17T00:01:00.000-07:00

OMSI's latest rotating exhibit - Game On - showcases the history and evolution of computer gaming. There's lots to learn, but even more to play! There are more video games in the exhibit than you could ever play in a day. Though, trying woudl be Bayley's perfect way to spend the day.

They had some truly antique pinball machines. I was impressed they worked at all. I also showed the kids the video game system I had at their age - PONG. They seemed completely unimpressed as I told them I was lucky to have pong, most kids in my elementary school didn't have a VCR, let alone a video game. Bayley knew some Pong history, which impressed me...and went right over my head. Something about coding.

They really liked the classic arcade games, and I realized after three years of Wii, I can't handle a regular controller anymore. They had a showcase of games by type, another by country, then by theme... There is even a kids game area that has some of my fave games from when I was a kid -- Simon Says and Speak & Spell. I always wanted a Speak and Spell.

There was a section of newer arcade games and then the virtual reality stuff. A little tip, you have to wear closed toed shoes to get in the giant sphere, and that's all I'm sayin! The boys weren't impressed wth the Kinnect, but loved games in 3-D.

As you can imagine, Grace was not at all interested. I think she could have been if the Simon had batteries or she could hear the Speak and Spell...but it was up to the Science Playground for art & sand, her two favorite things. The boys even have a good time in there - maybe because we always seem to hit them on spin art days.

We walked through the Narnia exhibit, and it's gorgeous. Bayley dislikes the Narnia books, so he thought the whole thing was ridiculous until he got to touch the frozen waterfall and set off the trebuchet. Alas, there are no pictures...I wasn't supposed to take pictures in Game On either, but I didn't see the sign until half way through!

Summer is for Pillow Forts

2011-08-16T23:20:00.000-07:00

Bayley's latest 'palace' had interior lighting, a bedroom and a hallway. Grace opted to sleep in the hallway.

Summer Supper

2011-08-15T22:42:00.000-07:00

Whenever it is not raining (and by that I mean raining by Oregon standards, which means you'll be soaked walking through a parking lot, not refeshingly misted) the first thing Grace says when we arrive for our weekly visit to Grandma & Grandpa's is "I need to see my horses now."

Cute, except she repeats this until someone takes her to see 'her' horses. They seem to like seeing her as much as she enjoys seeing them. She's always concerned they are hungry, which is funny since Grandpa has usually just fed them. She likes to rip grass from the ground and have Daddy feed them.

We head inside after Grace gets her horse fix, and the boys have canvased the yard to make sure nothing has changed (which it usually has, but they're not looking for the flowers Grandma moved, they're interested in mole holes and garter snakes). Something occupies us until dinner - cards, chinese checkers, mancala, drawing, wrestling...this weekend it was piggy back rides.

The boys have realized they can carry each other on their backs (Bayley more effeciently than Hayden, obviously) so they try it whenever there is a bench or chair to sit on and lift your rider. Grace has no concept of holding on, so carrying her around on your back can be a challenge. Uncle Tim even got in one the piggy back action...of course, Hayden opted to ride on his shoulders!

Incredible Day

2011-08-12T16:56:00.000-07:00

The boys really like Incredible John's Pizza, and they'd sent us these 10 free credits coupons for signing up for their VIP thing...so we talked the Hyppsters into going with us to share the Incredibility.

Grace immediately went to the dinosaur grabbing machine...but I talked her into waiting until AFTER we'd eaten. After a mess of cheese pizza, macaroni and cheese, breadsticks, cinnamon rolls, mandarin oranges and slushies...it was onto the game floor!

Grace collected a half dozen different dinos -- allowing Ava to keep one since it was a double. She played mostly on the slide and climbing dino, but also took a handful of trips on the merry go round - always riding the zebra.

The boys played as many games as they could manage - including riding Twister and doing Bumper Cars. I was happy they were enjoying themselves so much...and shocked when we were at the prize counter and learned their ticket total!

They'd earned enough to get lava lamps! I had no idea they wanted lava lamps, but they were quite proud of themselves and even congratulated me on having 'saved' money by not having to buy them. Um...yeah....

Grace made my day when she pulled me towards the photo booth and said she wanted a picture with me. I usually have to bribe the boys to do it...I think she actually wanted a picture with her dinos, but hey, I'll take it!

Once the kiddos had exhausted their credits on their play cards, it was back to the buffet for dessert. It isn't cheap, but as long as they keep it nice and clean, I know we'll be going back...often.

Two Buck Tuesday

2011-08-09T22:26:00.000-07:00

I forgot about Two Buck Tuesday until I was in the parking lot at the Oregon Zoo. It's great that the zoo slashes prices on the second Tuesday of the month, but zoo members avoid the crowds of that day like the childless avoid Chuck E Cheese.

But, once you've told your kids they are going to the zoo, they are going to the zoo! We took a different route than our usual and were treated to quite the show from the black bears. There is a new orphaned cub that joined the crew, and this playful little guy entertained everyone.

In the farm exhibit, the kids got to pet a chicken. I was very impressed the chicken didn't peck the kids, especially the loud, grabby one related to me!

The monkeys we travel with put on their own show - deciding to give each other piggy back rides.

Hip Hop Hayden

2011-08-02T15:27:00.000-07:00

In the privacy of his own playroom, Hayden is quite the dancer. There are songs on Just Dance 2 that I'd bet he's unbeatable at. He'll even shake it with me in the kitchen. So, when offered the chance to take a Hip Hop class with his friend Ashling, he went for it.

He loves the music - which includes some of his favorites like Dynamite - and he even shows off some of the moves at home. But when it comes time to free dance, he won't do it. He says he feels silly. Whatever. At least he's trying.

Even if his favorite song at class is 'the one where we jump and jump and jump." Okay then.

Fencing

2011-08-01T14:56:00.000-07:00

After trying to talk Bayley into every sport we could think of, one thing kept coming up. Fencing. At first I thought it had to do with Star Wars lightsaber duels and his fascination would wane...but every time we brought up soccer, basketball, football, golf, swimming, whatever - he brought up fencing.

I decided to wait until summer and find a camp...and then LivingSocial helped me out. Northwest Fencing Center had a deal for $35 for a month of classes! Since it's $110 a month (and $185 when they begin to compete) this was quite the steal. (And now you can see my fencing hesitation. This is a 2K/year sport. That's a lot of investment in a 10-year old.

We opted to wait until August, because of other camps they'd be able to get the most days in. And all it took was a single class and Bayley decided he wanted to do this. In fact, it turns out he started being interested in fencing from watching the Olympics.

The kicker? Hayden loves it too. I wonder how soon sponsorships start? Bayley can have Star Wars, Kraft mac & cheese, and Wii on his fencing jacket - Hayden can have Gatorade, Pokemon, and Nutella.

Must think of a plan to let this happen, because the conversation otherwise is not something I want to have with my sons!

Summer is for S'more's!

2011-07-30T21:43:00.000-07:00

County Fair Time!

2011-07-29T00:01:00.000-07:00

The boys and I got a rare treat -- an afternoon together, just the three of us! With Miss Tina keeping Gracie entertained and Daddy at work, we headed over to the fair to see how Hayden did in the baking contest. After watching him beam with pride and accomplishment, we took in the rest of the fair.

They still liked the kiddo tent. I thought without Grace we'd be able to skip it, but there was a waterpump contraption that sped rubber duckies along and they couldn't get enough. Thank goodness they still know when to be little.

The boys took part in Read to Ride, a program put on by the library and the company who puts on the carnival. If the kids read two books, they get two free carnival rides. Since rides are usually 5 tickets, this is a $10 win for this mama!

I offered to pay for The Big Wheel if they'd ride with me, so we did that first. They've become so brave, I know it was a bit tame for them. But they cheered when we got to sit at the top, which is my favorite thing about ferris wheels. It also gave them time to scout the carnival and make a plan of action for the rest of their rides.

The roller coaster was their first stop. Usually they just have a kiddie coaster, but this was pretty good for a fair. They really liked it, but made sure to tell me it was nothing like what Disneyland had. And when were they going to get to go there?

They went on one called something like The Twister. Spinning around while being swung back and forth. Just watching it made me glad I didn't feed them first!

As soon as they got off they raced to Ring of Fire...this loop of madness you couldn't pay me to get on! Can you spot Hayden's green shirt as they were just hanging out at the top of the loop?

On our way out of the carnival they played one midway game. Proving experts at throwing darts at balloons, they both came home with stuffed puppies.

They both remembered how much fun it was to do the bungee bounce last year, so we headed that way. Next to the bungee station was something we'd never even heard of -- Neptune's Bubbles.

Giant plastic bubbles are filled with air and floated atop a large wading pool. The kids run and roll around in them like a giant hampster wheel. They loved it! I'm not sure I could handle being zipped in a bubble, but I have to admit it looked like fun!

It was a great way for the boys to horse around and burn off energy. They kept trying to bump their brother and see if they could stand up or make big splashes. And the best part? They came out completely dry!

Of course bungee boucing was up next. Again, this looked like something that would be fun for other people. Especially small people of the boy variety.

What trip to the fair would be complete without fair food? They had elephant ears, corn dogs, ice cream, and a brick of curly fries. You could smell the oil in the air!

We had such a great time together. My boys really are fun to be with!

Chef Hayden

2011-07-28T22:38:00.000-07:00

At last year's fair, Hayden was fascinated by the competitions - photography, crafts, and cooking! He's brought it up several times, so when I noticed it was nearing time to submit entries I asked if he'd like to contribute.

He had quite a few ideas. On his list were 4 cakes, two cupcakes, muffins, bread, and 10 cookies. Wowza. We talked and decided to stick to cookies since this was his first year and it's what he thinks he's best at. He even altered the basic recipes to give them a Hayden twist.

HAYDEN'S COOKIES

Cocoa oatmeal (he doesn't like raisins, so wanted this kinda chocolate)
Peanut butter with Hershey chunks (he literally broke up a bar from the s'mores stash)
Cookies & cream chip (with Hershey's cookies & cream drops chopped up)
Coconut balls (think wedding cookies with coconut instead of nuts)
Peanut butter chip brownies (a whole bag of chips in an 8x8 pan!)
Shortbread...he didn't alter this one. I wasn't sure if you can change shortbread. It is what it is.

He turned them in on Sunday and took the leftovers to Grandma & Grandpa's for a taste test. Grandpa predicted the coconut balls would do the best. Bayley voted for the brownies. Grace loved the shortbread.

The fair opened today so while Miss Tina watched Grace, the boys and I snuck over to see the results. Our little baker was shocked by the results.

We discovered he won 4 blue ribbons! Plus a 2nd place ribbon, and of course, a participation ribbon. He wanted his picture taken with every entry.

Here were his results ::

1st - Shortbread, Cookies & cream chip, Peanut butter chip brownies, Cocoa oatmeal

2nd -coconut balls

Bayley was quick to point out that the kids all had their predictions for first place come true. They know their cookies!

Welcome to the family, Sydney Lynn!

2011-07-24T16:22:00.001-07:00

After teasing her parents for 48 hours, Sydney Lynn made her appearance last night. She was full of surprises -- none of us knew if she was a boy or girl, she's a gorgeous 8# 12 oz, and she may have broken her collar bone on the way out!

We got the news, and I knew a trip to Gymboree was in order. For my fellow Gymbo-fanatics, I fell in love with the Sweet Pea line and almost bought it before she was born...

Isn't she adorable? She's just so pretty.

Adventure Cove - Bayley's Cub Scout Camp

2011-07-22T20:40:00.000-07:00

Sunday - We didn't do much except set all of our stuff out and go to chapel, which is like church but shorter. At the beginning of each day we raise and lower the flag. All the dinners were good because if we didn't like it we had the choice of peanut butter and jelly. I had that for quite a few meals because they ran out of food and I was still hungry. We went into one of the fields and all of the instructors lined up and the kids rotated stations to sign up for the things that they wanted to do. Me and Joey forgot to sign up for flag football, but luckily there were just enough spots for everybody. There was a campfire with the whole camp. At the campfire bowl there are two fires.

Once we were at camp, they came around and did a ceremony for staves. It is a hiking stick that I whittled to make it my own. I purposely dropped the handle in the mud to make it a darker brown. Everybody's name is written on theirs. I put a rocket ship on mine. I stayed in a tent with Joey and he said I slept all over the tent.

Monday - I woke up and I was sleeping vertical and Joey was horizontal - on top of me! I didn't want to get up because the tent is the warmest spot in the whole camp, except for the dining hall. We went to two activities as a group. Campaigning where they taught us to decode stuff, and Camp Life where they talked to us about stuff I forgot. Then we did animal tracks at wood craft. I thought we were going to make an animal track, but we didn't. We did the slime science experiment where we got boiling water and poured it over packets of gelatin in cups. The science dude put a bunch of corn syrup in and we stirred until it was kind of like jello. After dinner we had a sand castle building contest at the beach.

Tuesday - We woke up and Joey was partly outside the tent for some reason. We did flags, then went to breakfast and went back to camp. We did field games where we played dodge ball in the field - kids against parents! Before lunch we did the Chivalry station where we learned the different meanings of the boy scout oath. It was the most fun activity of the day because we spent half the class time making fun of the instructor with our leader. After lunch we have BOB time - boys on bunks. We made fruit batteries. The guy kind of embarassed himself because he couldn;t get the light bulb to work using a lemon, so he switched to a Christmas light. We went to archery. I actually got bored of it really quickly because I could never aim. We only got 5 shots. At cooking we saw dutch oven cooking. To make an omelett you just dump the stuff in there. To clean it you can't sue soap or bleach, because that is what you will taste the next time you cook in it.

Wednesday - I learned three styles of fire building, they were actually suprisingly the same as the way you could build your hut -- teepee, lean-to and log cabin. Lean-to burns the fastest, log cabin catches slowest but it burns longest and produces the most heat. For hut building we discussed the hit types, then went down to the beach and collected materials. We took them back and put them together with popsicle sticks and woodglue. I didn't take mine home because I was trying to make a roundish hut with no roof, but the glue didn't have time to set. We did eggspirments. We saw how raw egg and hard boilded eggs spun. Hard boiled spins better because it is solid. The rest of the time we spent trying to break a hard boiled egg with their hands clasped. Only one person could do it. We retired an American flag, which means you burn it.

Thursday - We hiked to Camp Meriwether for the morning session. Most of it was on the beach. It was supposed to be five miles, but I don't think it was. We walked on the hard sand that was so hard when you jabbed your stave in it it didn't even make an impression. We packed sack lunches and stopped ath teh picnic tables to eat lunch. There were giant nests of sand fleas that we had to be careful of or we'd get itchy. Our first elective was smoke signals. We discussed how to make big puffs and small puffs of smoke. We went to the campfire and put a tarp over it, thought it wasn't lit. We did flag football in a big field and just because one person didn't do a scout sign quick enough everybody had to so push-ups.I liked BB guns better than I thought. I got 4 or 6 obvioulsy into the bullseye zone. I got 4 or 5 bbs to connect to the bullseye zone and tear a hole, so I got all those points as bulleseyes. I did that all ona gun with a black lump as an aimer, instead of a green cylinder which shoots better. You got 17 shots. The high score is 15, but it used to be 13.

Friday - I woke up in the middle of the night, I was facing the wrong direction so I had to fix it. When we woke up, the whole tent was normal for once. For breakfast today, the kitchen staff refused to call 4ths. They called, 1sts, 2nds, 3rds, 3rd and a 1/2s, and then all you can eat. We went back to camp and packed up. It took half an hour to pack my pillow into my duffle. I had to have Joey's help. We went to woodcraft and did a nature hike, then we went to science and talked about protons, electrons and atoms. We cleaned up camp, then went down to the mess hall for snack (cheese sandwich and crackers). We hung out with Dad around camp while everyone else went to the beach. I am sick of the beach. Then it was time for the BBQ. I had a cheeseburger and watermelon.

I took a shower at camp, but I hated it. There was a ton of mud on the floor. I was dirtier when I got out than when I got in.

My favorite breakfast was all you can eat hasbrowns.
My favorite lunch was was grilled cheese. I had 3.
My favorite dinner was spaghetti. I kept on getting a bunch of meatballs, and their meatballs were awesome.

Summer is for Water Fights!

2011-07-18T22:36:00.000-07:00

Thanks for the Artillery, Mrs. Tina!

2011-07-15T09:31:00.000-07:00

Bayley loves his suction-cup dart gun...and so does Grace. SCARY!

Summer is for Raindancing?

2011-07-13T23:24:00.000-07:00

After watering the garden, Hayden & Bayley turned the hose on themselves. The shot the water in the air and did a raindance...and it started raining! You'd think that would keep them from spraying each other, but it kind of made it worse.

At least they enjoyed themselves!

Mary Poppins

2011-07-12T16:17:00.000-07:00

Seeing The Addam's Family on Broadway really got me in the mood for more theater. Lucky for us, Travelzoo had a fantastic deal on tickets while Mary Poppins was in town - like 5th row center fantastic! We talked our way into a babysitter for Grace, and took the boys out to dinner and the show.

They loved it! The entire way home was Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious! I loved the parts that reminded me of the movie - including the actress that brought Mary to life. Not so sure about the songs I was less familiar with...like the one on how to spell supercalifragilisticexpialidocious. The little boy who played Michael Banks was hilarious. Such a great night.

Anything can happen if you let it - Mary Poppins

New York Adventure

2011-07-11T14:28:00.000-07:00

Uncle Gabe brought Bayley to New York for his birthday. I was excited to get to explore the the city now that my conference was finished. The boys dropped their stuff off at the hotel, and we decided to walk down to the peir to catch the jetboat to see the Statue of Liberty.

The launch for The Beast is right next to the Air Land Sea Museum aboard the USS Intrepid. I thought it would be our next adventure, but Bayley declined. He decided to sit towards the front of the jetboat, thinking that would be where we'd get the most wet. But, on this boat, all the water sprays on the back seats! We got great views oft he skyline, Ellis Island, and Lady Liberty. I think this is the best way to see the statue with the elementary school set. He loved every minute.

We asked the gate attendant where she went for lunch, and walked a block to a hole in the wall restaurant that served a bit of everything. Greak Greek fare for Gabe and I, pepperoni pizza with bacon for the birthday boy. Since he didn't want to museum, we caught a cab to Rockefeller Center to check out the Lego store and Nintendo World. I was hoping for the NBC Studio tour and the view from Top of the Rock. Bayley declined. He wanted to go back and - get this - take a nap.

Gabe and I wanted to keep exploring, so we compromised and walked back to Times Square. We stumbled upon a fantastic street fair, and even detoured into Toys R' Us. Bayley liked the ferris wheel inside, but didn't want to ride it because he was afraid he'd get put in a girly car. OK then.

While he napped I packed up, and seriously considered leaving him in the room with Gabe while I explored! We woke him up, thinking he'd want dinner before we went to our first Broadway show. (A first for all of us.) But he wasn't hungry, so we walked around and found him some cupcakes. We dropped them off at the room and headed across the street for The Addam's Family.

Such a good choice for Bayley. He laughed all the way through. Gabe and I loved it too. Afterwards, we were all starving. Lucky for us, we were in New York. Right next to the theater was a great Italian place - complete with live jazz music!

The next morning Central Park was on the agenda...until we woke up to rain! We went to the Museum of Natural History - so Bayley could see both locations used for the Night at the Museum movies. It was beyond crowded, and under construction, which made it hard to move around. Once we had our fill of that, we remembered that we're Oregonians and not afraid of rain, and headed to explore Central Park.

The vibe of the city changes in Central Park. The pace slows, and everyone is calmer, even in the drizzle! We checked out the Shakespeare garden, game house, Belvedere Castle, and all the horse drawn carriages. Lovely.

I know Bayley had a great time, and I can't wait to go back to NYC. I wonder when the next writers conference there is...

Burke Brothers' Birthday Bash!

2011-07-11T09:19:00.000-07:00

Once again, I managed to talk the boys into a combined party. It's just so much easier - especially when you go to a party place! Because of my trip back east and the kitchen facelift, a house party was out. Lucky for us, a new pizza & play place recently opened - John's Incredible Pizza.

We took the boys a few weeks back to make sure it was party-worthy, and they just loved it. They were quite excited to bring their friends there. For the last week they've had carnival ride wishes and bumper car dreams.

They have a seperate area to corral the party kids while the adults do the check in, and then they parade them back to the party room to make balloon animals - which with a tangle of eight and ten year olds quickly became a sword factory.

Once the duels calmed down, they marched the kids to the buffet for pizza, pasta, salad (yeah, right), and desserts. They have an option to just bring pizza and drinks to the room...if we go again, I'd do this. It would be easier, faster, and they'll bring the kids whatever they want. Our collection requested the nacho pizza in addition to the standard pepperoni. I think it was just to try it.

None of them pigged out, because the games and rides were right there, calling to them. The party hosts explained about the pre-loaded game cards and the boys rushed out of the room like bulls in Pamplona.

They sampled a bit of everything, from the jump rope game to the laser room. They even got me to go on the twister ride (one of Hayden's friends didn't make the height limit). They played until the money on their cards ran out, then headed to the prize counter to cash in their winnings. The giant blow up hammer was a favorite...and so were the toy rings. Pirate treasure, perhaps?

We gathered them in the party room once more for cupcakes (Portland Baking Company was at Costco yesterday, such a win) and gifts. and then, we timed out. Which was good, because Grace was over the shenanigins.

The boys loved it, and want to go back. As soon as possible!

Summer is for Bubbles

2011-07-08T16:17:00.000-07:00

DC Adventure :: Nationals Game

2011-07-08T14:34:00.000-07:00

the Nationals game was really good. Me and Uncle gabe got there right at the middle of the third inning. There was already one point scored by Pittsburgh, so I rooted for Pittsburgh and Uncle Gabe rooted for the Nationals. The Nationals won by one point.

I discovered that I like baseball peanuts - I got a triple peanut! Uncle Gabe said that usually only Pop Pop gets those.

The Metro back was really crowded.

DC Adventure :: Caverns

2011-07-08T14:30:00.000-07:00

I was a little sick of museums, so we toured two different caves. The first one was called the Skyline Caverns. It had a bunch of different lights that made the rocks light up in different ways. It looked a lot better than the next cavern that we toured.

The Luray Caverns weren't as good because they didn't have as many stops and the stops to see things that they did have weren't as cool.

Both caverns had a room where marriages happened. I liked Skyline caverns more because it didn't have anything mechanical in it for the instruments. You could hit the stalagtites with your hand and it would make a noise.

The Luray Caverns had so many flies, that if I would have just carried around the electric flyswater it would have got like 30 flies while I was standing there in line, not even swining it!

DC Adventure :: Smithsonian - Air & Space

2011-07-08T14:24:00.000-07:00

This museum had lots of artillery including missiles, attack planes, and different types of bullets. The biggest one I saw was four inches long.

I got to work the controls of a battleship. It didn't really do anything. It looked more complicated than a modern one would look like.

They also had this station where you sit on a spinning tool and held a bicylce wheel and someone spun it and when I turned the wheel, I turned on my stool without having to move myself.

Compared to all the other planets, Saturn was bigger than I thought - almost as big as Jupiter, bigger counting the rings.

DC Adventure :: White House & Capitol

2011-07-08T14:16:00.000-07:00

We went on a tour of the White House, but no cameras are allowed. It wasn't as much of a tour as I thought it would be. The White House was very big, but we only got to tour a small portion and couldn't see any of the working part.

While we were walking to the White House, there were police escorts and Uncle Gabe said that since it wasn't a big group, like 5 or 10 cars or so, it was probably Michelle Obama, not the president.

My favorite part would have to be the blue room because it had the coolest stuff, one was an actually cukoo clock which I'd never seen before. But, it hasn't been wound up for 25 years.

The strangest thing was the picture of one of the presidents daughters holding a raccoon.

At the Capitol there were a bunch of pictures and sculptures of leaders and stuff. Before we did the tour of it, there were these security guards, and they wouldn't let Uncle Gabe's water bottle pass through, even though it was empty.

At the start of the tour we watched a video and started touring. I was at the front of the line the entire time. There were these two annoying kids that wanted to push past me at the end.

The dome of the building has a big strip of a story that went all the way around the dome. I couldn't tell where it started and where it ended. It was all pictures, so I really didn't understand it.

DC Adventure :: Monuments

2011-07-08T14:04:00.000-07:00

Bayley -- I really liked the monuments, especially the WWII Memorial where there were a bunch of pillars and on each pillar there was a name of a state. We went the long way to find Oregon, but it was fun doing it like we did.

There was a big pool in the middle of it, and it would be fun to play in it if they let you.

The reflecting pool was a big giant dirt field with a bunch of pipes sticking out of the ground, since it was under repair. I wish I would have brought shoes, and not just sandals.

My favorite memorial was the FDR Memorial because it had a bunch of sayings and life lessons on it. There were a bunch of fountains. And a waterfall. Some of the waterfalls smelled like pee and they were yellow.

The Lincoln Memorial had more steps than I thought it would, and the statue of Abraham Lincoln was much bigger than I thought it would be. On two of the walls, there were some really long speeches. On the left wall there was a long speech, and on the right wall there was another speech, three times as long!

DC Adventure :: Smithsonian - Natural History

2011-07-08T13:54:00.000-07:00

Bayley's update :: I am in the Smithsonian touring the Hope Diamond and crystals section. I've already seen about the dinosaurs, ocean and mammals on the first floor.

These crystals are really amazing. I am taking lots of pictures. There is a crystal in front of us that looks like nachos.

I saw this crystal ball where if you looked at it from the inside it reflected images back and you and everything would be upside down, but if you looked at it from the inside out, images would be magnified and you would have intensified vision.
It was really fun!

DC Adventure :: National Zoo

2011-07-08T13:49:00.000-07:00

Bayley - I really liked the zoo, and I think it is better than the oregon Zoo because there was more animals and cooler ones. There was even an octopus, and I looked at a live shrimp. Did you know that shrimp are blue?

It is kind of a zoo, aquarium, and insect house in one. It has a waterfall in it.

Lizards are shinier than I thought.

Bayley took a lot of pictures of animal butts. Because he was only 9. He claims the animals didn't want to be photographed, and that is why his pictures came out that way.

DC Adventure :: Getting there

2011-07-08T13:43:00.000-07:00

Bayley's first plane trip - a red-eye flight to NYC. He didn't even doze off!

After a morning in NYC (including the Empire State Building), it was time for Bayley's first train trip - from Penn Station to Virginia. Once they were in the right state, it was onto the Metro to Uncle Gabe's condo!

Bayley -- I liked the metro a lot because the seats were comfier than I expected. The only bad part of the plane was when my body got bored of sitting there and during landing my ears popped and it hurt a lot.

New York, New York

2011-06-29T12:11:00.000-07:00

I thought it would be a great idea to take a red eye flight and sleep away the 6 hour flight. Except the tall one had no interest in sleeping his first flight away. I talked him into trying to rest, but once the flight attendant gave him free headphones to watch the seat-back TV, my chances of resting vanished.

After a very smooth flight we took a car to the hotel, but there was no room for us at the inn, at least not until the afternoon. So, we dropped off our bags and set off to explore. We found the Hershey store and a crew setting up for the Transformer’s premier that night – Bayley enjoyed seeing Bumblebee, but not the smoke effects!

We breakfasted at Junior’s Café, famous for its cheesecake. They had strawberry blintz…but their blintz are deep fried. I kept thinking I was eating a cheese filled doughnut.

We decided to trek down to the Empire State Building. We took the SkyRide which gave the basics o f the history of the building and the layout of New York. The motion ride is good, but for the price you think they could make it look more finished. I kept thinking they keep the lights dim because everything was half done.

On the observatory deck we realized the weather was too hazy to see very far. We made it half way around before Bayley got tired of it. Grrreat!

Uncle Gabe arrived and we went to lunch at Joe Allen, a bistro that seemed to cater to the theater set. I turned my Cajun sandwich into a salad, Bayley ate a baked potato and claimed he was too full to eat his mac & cheese!

We made it back to the room and Bayley promptly fell asleep! He was out the entire time I got ready and registered for conference! It was ridiculously hard to get him to wake up so he could take the train to DC!

Report Card Dinner

2011-06-26T00:00:00.000-07:00

When the boys bring home good grades, we take them out to dinner and they get to pick the restaurant. So...even after a Chuck E Cheese birthday party at lunch time, Bayley wanted pizza for dinner. At Out of This World.

I really think our local pizza & play space is a great idea. Especially during our long rainy winters and on days when it's too hot to play outside (plus, on days over 90 the kids get free ice cream). But, I do not like taking Grace there. She's at the chase me stage, and it's exhausting.

So, we made a deal with the boys. We'd take them if they took turns with Grace. And for the most part, they did. They tried to get her to do the things they like, but she's still too scared to go through the blow-up maze to get to the giant slide, or even climb through the blacklight play structure. So they took twenty minute shifts, and when they decided to complain about it, we left!

Loss by Bayley

2011-06-25T07:50:00.000-07:00

LOSS

Loss is the death of an uncle that is very close to you.

Loss is your teddy bear getting shredded to pieces in a wood chipper with no mercy.

Loss is Hades coming up from the Underworld to claim your parents' souls.

Loss is your luckiest lucky coin getting dropped into the Mariana Trench.

Loss is your favorite tree getting sawed into by a woodsman's chainsaw.

Loss is your house getting burnt to the ground by a fearsome fire.

Loss is your favorite dog dying right before your eyes.

And loss is your newborn baby brother falling off the tallest cliff in the world.

How Zoo You Do?

2011-06-24T14:51:00.000-07:00

The Hyppster's, Mahoney's, Burke's and Freeman's gathered at the zoo today for a day of "When do we get to ride the train?" Ahem. I asked them if they wanted to ride it first (and thereby avoid the hill of death at the end of the journey) but they all decided to visit the sea lions and otter. It's like they're in elementary school or something...wait...

I'd thought about taking the kids through the animatronic dinosaurs...but good thing I didn't! When the kids climbed on one for a photo op, Grace and Ava both decided it was time to go home! These are some tough little cookies, but they did not like the dinosaur, or the dino roar!

I think the monkeys were the biggest hit of this trip, that or when the elephant decided to scratch its butt.

Then it was off to McDonald's for a drive-thru Happy Meal (complete with Pokemon toy). Thank goodness for apples in Happy Meals. I think that was the only thing that kept Grace awake on the way home!

Summer is for Snowcones

2011-06-21T17:51:00.000-07:00

Camping :: Rained Out!

2011-06-20T21:02:00.000-07:00

Everyone under 5 feet tall was VERY excited fo rthe Cub Scouts annual Family Camping Trip. Grace told everyone who would listen - I go camping and sweep in da tent in da sweeping bag. Jeff took Friday off so we could get going as soon as the van was loaded up.

We made it to Cannon Beach by noon and had a tasty lunch at Corner Grille at the Cannon Beach Hotel. They let us sit on the patio with Rogue, and even brought him a bowl of fresh water. Bayley said it was the best burger he'd ever had - 1/2 pound Angus patty, applewood bacon, Tillamook cheddar. The kid was in heaven. After eating, we walked the short path to the beach and soaked in enough sunshine to sport sunkissed pink for the rest of the weekend.

We trekked down to Nehalem and secured out favorite campsite. In no time we had the chairs around the campfire and the tent under the trees. The boys went off to explore and quickly found a shortcut up the dunes to the beach. One of Hayden's friends was there and led us to a very tame deer. She let everyone look at her...until Grace ran towards her.

Grace wore herself out hiking the boys' beach path. By the time it started to get dark, she was ready to crash. She and I got cozy in the tent while the boys went off to Bayley's den leader's campsite for glowsticks. I think Grace would have fallen asleep straight away, but they left Rogue in the tent with us, and he did not want to lie down.

Once the boys were back, we all nestled in for the night. It was a little bumpy at first, which is to be expected considering there were 5 of us on the equivalent of two double beds! But most everyone drifted off, including the dog. And then it started to rain. At first I thought it would be a passing shower, but it didn't let up.

Somewhere around 4, Grace started screaming. I figured, hey, she made it this far! Way better than Seattle. Once she was consoled, she went right back to sleep...vertically on the air mattress. Which kicked Jeff into the space between the mattresses! He soon found out what made Grace throw a fit when the wind jostled the rain guard on the tent and a drop of water splattered him.

Just after 6, Jeff was over the entire thing. We thought up a couple of plans...and then decided to go with the fastest retreat. We tossed some muffins at the kids (including the still sleeping Grace!) and packed up everything as fast as we could. Bayley helped out by rolling all the sleeping bags up for us. We strapped the kids in the van, tore down the tent, tossed it in a garbage bag and headed for home!

The kids were disappointed they'd get to miss their favorite activities...but they knew they wouldn't enjoy climbing dunes in the rain! By the time we got home, we saw on Facebook the days events were cancelled. I'm so glad we left when we did!

Watch Out For That Tree!

2011-06-17T14:35:00.000-07:00

Instead of indulging our Cheesecake Factory habit to celebrate brithdays, my girlfriends and I have been having bucketlist adventures. Not swimming with sharks or bungee jumping kind of things. Tamer, mommy-friendly stuff. Paula got a walking tour. Molly got a makeover. I decided to stretch our boundaries a bit with a zipline/ropes course!

I purposely didn't read much about Tree to Tree Adventure Park so I wouldn't talk myself out of going. I had Tina make all the reservations, even getting Helen & prego-Paula to come along as our personal papparazzi. Jennifer & Tonya joined the 'fun'.

The weather was gorgeous, sunny with just enough clouds to keep it cool. We arrived and watched a quick video where Helen spotted someone she knew. BIG surprise, the woman knows everyone in town! Then we wrestled on our harnesses and hit the starter course.

I'd thought the ziplines and leave the rope business to the adrenaline junkies. Not so, you have to do the rope sections to get to the ziplining parts. We started a few feet off the ground to get our bearings. Even so, it was hard to trust the zipline!

Once we'd 'passed' the course, we were let out on our own. There are 4 different courses - green, blue, red and black diamond. On the first course we had to climb across the section on rock walls suspended from the trees. Jen went first on everything, and she fell off! She didn't fall far, and since there is no other way to get down, she had to keep going. I think after this first slip, she was completely fearless. Going first meant she didn't have one of us to pull her up or give her advice. Scary!

We crossed 'broken' bridges, rope bridges, a tight rope...and then this crazy caddywampus ladder thing that we all decided was the hardest part. Then, we were rewarded by getting to zipline to the ground.

The blue course had similar elements. Who knew there were so many ways to build a broken bridge? It also had a swing you step on that brought you to the next platform which was fun, and a tube you had to crawl through that was not. At times, we felt like a highwire circus act without the net!

We waffled over whether or not to try the red course. There are two ways to start, oneby climbing a ladder, or by doing the 'junkyard' which qualifies you to do the black diamond run. Even after a year of bootcamp, spin, and Zumba, Tina and I stood back and let the other girls try the junkyard. It consisted of a ladder, logs, tires, and a rockwall. Vertical. Like...4 stories up. I simply didn't think my arms could haul the junk in my trunk that high. Especially after Jen decided to come back down once she hit the tires.

Tonya made it though! I'm sure it helps that she is about a hundred pounds and a former marathon runner. Hey, we can't all be perfectly plump.

The rest of us climbed the ladder to start the course. We were suprised that some of the elements seemed easy now, but by this point it was our 4th rodeo. There were these ridiculous bouey things hanging down from the segments, and we never figured out what to do with them. They seemed to be castaways from an episode of Wipeout, always smacking us in the face!

All of this was just a set-up. You see, at the end of the red course comes the most terrifying element - the spiderweb! After boosting your confidence, you're supposed to hold onto a rope and swing to the next platform. Except there is a web of rope in your way...and you need to LET GO of the rope you are on and climb the web. I don't know about you, but I wasn't so keen on letting go when I'm three stories in the air! When told to let go, I may have said "I can't! I don't want to die!" Maybe. There is no videorecording of this shining example of my bravery.

After a resounding chorus of "That sucked" and "I'm never doing that again." we got to zipline to the end of the course. the ground never felt so good beneath my feet!

Best Summer Ever!

2011-06-15T17:13:00.000-07:00

The boys and I decided that after all the mucky weather we've suffered through, we're going to have the best summer ever. It sounds like a great plan to me!

To start summer vacation off right, I let them pick breakfast. Bayley wanted cinnamon rolls and coffee cake. Not exactly something you can whip up on the spot (darned bake times!) Hayden was much easier on me, requesting scrambled eggs and toast. He said thanks three times!

The boys think that for every errand they have to go on, they should get to do something fun. So, we went to the library - and then fed the ducks!

Feeding the ducks never seems to get old. Even Bayley likes it. Grace terrorized the poor ducks. They wanted to be as close as possible to the food, but she wanted to chase them away and say "Shoo!" and then she'd feed them, and then she'd chase them. I wonder if ducks need therapy?

Crazy Hair Day

2011-06-13T08:23:00.001-07:00

yes, we buzzed his head to create this 'look'

Hanging Out At Home

2011-06-12T08:23:00.000-07:00

When Mom says no water in the water table... bark dust is a perfect substitute!

Hayden showed Gram-Mo the school yearbook.

Bayley has renewed his interest in the play structure now that he's figured out what to do on the on the trapeze bar.

S'mores!

2011-06-10T06:15:00.000-07:00

The weather is finally cooperating, so we lit up the fire pit for the first s'more session of the year.

While we were waiting for Daddy to turn his mini-bonfire into embers, the kids enjoyed the backyard. Grace is all about blowing bubbles right now, and Bayley has become re-interested in the play structure now that he knows he can do tricks on the trapeze bar.

Baby Girl Brunch

2011-06-09T05:50:00.000-07:00

Miss Tina hosted our last playdate breakfast of the school year. Her house is perfect for it -- they have a kitchen table for the girls, and the dining room table for the mommies! AND she had doughnuts. The baby girlfriends were quite happy with the new locale!

The next day the mom's made it to the rec center by six in the morning to ensure our girls a spot at Busy Bees. Pop Pop showed up even earlier, snagging the coveted first spot in line. It's comforting to know Grace will be at the same school that Bayley and Hayden loved so much.

The Real Story of the Three Little Pigs

2011-06-08T14:49:00.000-07:00

The big bad wolf isn't bad, he was framed! At least, that's his spin on things in The Real Story of the Three Little Pigs. Hayden's reading group put on the play today. We have some budding set designers and costumers in that group. They didn't want to practice, but they were sure into the props!

And ad-libbing. They decided that the 2nd little pig (Hayden) who dies after only two lines and is then eaten...should come back as a police officer and take away the wolf in handcuffs! Actors!

Incredible John's

2011-06-07T08:28:00.000-07:00

When Molly described the new John's Incredible Pizza as Las vegas for kids...I knew I had to go. I have kids, I have an unnatural love for Las Vegas. This had to be my kind of place. And to make it even better...I had a Groupon.

To get access to the play space, you have to buy the buffet. Fine, we needed dinner. I'd say the buffet is....hmmm, on par with Izzy's. The boys loaded up on cheese pizza and fresh doughnuts, Jeff and I waited too long in line for the salad bar. Some of the pizza choices were certainly original - macaroni and cheese, peanut butter and pepperoni - and the chicken seemed to be missing from the buffalo chicken pizza, but hey, that's not why we came.

The boys were in the market for a birthday party locale. My national conference falls right before the holiday/birthday weekend, so I'm not up for a home party this year. As soon as we walked into John's they were sold.

The play area is huge. There is a toddler area with climbing toys that doesn't cost a thing, plus a Twister ride, worthy of any fair and much cleaner! Same with the bumper cars. The games are varied, which makes it great for kids of all sizes. Grace loved the dinosaur grab one, and Jeff loved 'winning' her dinosaurs. I was a fan of Wheel of Fortune, Bayley & Hayden liked riding the motorbikes game.

The boys had a $15 card that lasted about 45 minutes. Chuck E Cheese is cheaper, definitely, but this is much cleaner. Plus, the eating area is separate from the play area. There are themed dining rooms so families can select their level of quiet. The Cabin is distraction free. The Toon Room has cartoons playing on a loop. There is a sports themed room, one with music videos playing, and one kind of like a night club for tweens.

Welcome to the clan, Harrison Joseph!

2011-06-06T06:06:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday, Natalie!

2011-06-03T22:18:00.000-07:00

It is hard to believe it, but Natalie is already a year old! Too soon, she won't be able to hold on to her Baby Natalie nickname. But, for a couple more years, I am sure Grace will make sure it sticks.

Family and friends gathered at Munchkin Playland, an indoor play area for kids, for pizza, playing, pink cupcakes, and presents! The wee ones all had a great time...when they weren't dodging the large kids! Once the pizza arrived, the boys hunkered down for a few slices of pepperoni. Afterwards, it became a tired game of telling the boys to watch out and making them get out of the play area all together. After a while, Bayley gave up and opted to DS. Hayden and Eddie...could have played tag in there for hours.

Every moment of the party was documented, and not just by my camera happy self! There were so many flashbulbs going off as she opened her presents, that I decided to take a picture of the papparazzi!

Oh...and for the record, Bayley's pants did not have a hole in them when we left the house!

Jog-A-Thon

2011-06-02T21:07:00.000-07:00

Only true Oregonian kiddos would be thrilled by the idea of running in drizzly rain! To help fundraise for the school Booster Club, the kids got to run around the parking lot. It's way more fun than it sounds!

I packed up Grace and headed over to cheer Hayden on. Lucky for me, Bayley had decided to give up his recess so he could do the same! With all that support, Hayden ran 13 laps!

Grace thought it was a great idea to run through the kids, but when I took her for a lap of her own, she wasn't as enthusiastic.

The boys headed in, and we girls headed back to the house. After grabbing a snack, we made it back to the school in time to watch Bayley's class run. It had move from sprinkles to drizzle, so I put Grace in the stroller this time. She was not happy about THAT situation.

The upper classmen ran the parking lot loop, which is longer than the bus loop the younger kids ran. Bayley ran 7 laps, which is just about the same as Hayden's 13, distance-wise. It's a little over a mile and a half.

Not bad, considering both of my boys spent much of their 20 minutes visiting with their friends instead of actually running.

Grace

2011-05-30T21:28:00.000-07:00

The Vegas Nosh

2011-05-27T15:48:00.000-07:00

Any city with dozens of posh restaurants is bound to have some haute cuisine (natch). We had a great time tasting as much as we could. We learned the pre-show pice fixe meals are a great deal, and a wonderful way to see what a reataurant is all about. With just a few options for apps, entree and desert chosen to expedite your meal so you don't miss your show, you can get in, get out, and probably come back later for more!

When we saw Phantom of the Opera, we went to Pinot Brasserie @ The Venetian. The pre-show menu was very limited so we ordered the same thing - salad, filet, and croissant chocolate pudding...wait, Jeff opted for ice cream over the pudding. Shocker.

When we saw O, we went to Fix @ Bellagio. This was our favorite restaurant of the entire trip! We decided to order different things from the menu and share. For starters, we had the creamy tomato soup with goat cheese grilled cheese and the Fix version of a Caesar salad. Delish. Next came truffle penne and filet mignon. Amaze. We finished up with cake and shake (chocolate cake & an espresso milkshake) and banana doughnuts with chocolate and peanut butter dipping sauces. Bliss!

Another favorite was Spago @ the Forum Shops. We went for lunch, but instead of getting lunch, we opted for 3 appetisers instead so we could try more things. The quesadilla was our favorite, though both the calamari & chicken sausage pizza were great.

We also made quite the breakfast find in The Sugar Factory @ Paris. Red Velvet pancakes anyone? What about french toast with carmelized bananas and two kinds of chocolate sauce? A brie and ham crepe topped with apples and toasted almonds? Eggs Benedict on scalloped potatoes instead of a soggy English muffin? Next time we're in Vegas, we'll be there every day before noon!

Bellagio Conservatory

2011-05-27T15:22:00.000-07:00

And here I was thinking a conservatory is where Colonel Mustard went with his candlestick.

Vegas - The Secret Garden

2011-05-23T22:46:00.000-07:00

One of the attractions on my to-do list for this trip was Sigfried & Roy's Secret Garden @ The Mirage. I wanted to take pictures of the animals, plus the weather was so gorgeous I wanted to be outside!

We could get amazingly close to the dolphins. They don't have show times, but interact with the trainers and the 'trainer for the day' participants often. Some day, I want to get in teh water with dolpins. But...not in a tank. Maybe in the ocean.

The big cats rotate through viewing exhibits, spending most of their time in their own lair. The white lions were gorgeous, and the white tiger cubs (born at the facility) were quite playful.