Spring Break 2010

Spring break was pretty low key this year. We didn't make any big plans, choosing to just hang loose and play as the wind took us. Fortunately, the weather was pretty nice all week which is rare for Portland. We had very little rain and the temperatures were nice enough that the kids wanted to play outside a lot. We spent a lot of time up in Vancouver, WA with Lisa, Kyle and Keri. It was fun for the cousins to play with each other and for the adults to have someone else to talk to. We went out to Seaside, OR one day with Lisa and Kyle. It was supposed to have been 62 degrees out there, but the wind was incredible. We played for a while on the beach, but the kids couldn't deal with the cold and wanted to come home. (Despite the cold though, Andrew and Marin opted for shaved ice on the way home as their treat. Brrrrr.) Nothing like the Oregon coast to make you appreciate warm sandy beaches. It was still a fun day trip though. Aunt Keri planned for the kids to do some painting one afternoon. They all had a good time making their own masterpieces. Overall, it was a relaxing spring break.

Christmas Pictures 2009

I know, it's the first day of February 2010 and I am just now getting around to putting up Christmas pictures. I have just procrastinated and been a slacker about it. We had a great Christmas in NJ and it was so fun to see everyone there. It was nice for all the cousins to get a chance to play with each other and reacquaint themselves since it had been 2 years since some of them had been together. A lot of growing up has taken place during that time.

Thanksgiving Weekend 2009

Thanksgiving was very low key this year. We decided that we would cook instead of going out. We were going to run a turkey trot on the Salmon Creek trail instead of the Zoo Turkey Trot. I got runner's knee two days before Thanksgiving and then on Thanksgiving it was pouring rain all day, so there was no running to be had. I would have run had my knee been okay but I didn't want to push it. We went to the Harkers mid morning and hung out for a while. A group of us decided to go to the park and play in the rain. Keri and Charlie had a swing jumping contest which ended in a tie. The kids played on the playground and got wet. We then went to the church to play basketball. Unfortunately the gym was already being used for basketball so Keri, Charlie, Norm, and Brendan played against the others who were there. We returned back to the Harkers and sat down to a traditional meal. The meal was fabulous--my favorite of the year. We all probably ate too much and then we just hung out for a while. We had planned on seeing a movie in the afternoon but we couldn't decide which one to see so we stayed home. A few of us went to Old Navy to check out their sale--jeans for $10 for kids. It was nice to get out for a little bit. The kids stayed home with the grandparents. Everyone got along for the most part. We made plans for the rest of the weekend, which included shopping a little and going to Mt. Hood for tubing.

Mt. Hood was a blast. We got up and headed to the mountain early so that we were there when the tubing started. We went to Summit. The kids were a little tentative at first, preferring to go down with an adult. They quickly decided that they wanted to try it on their own and that was the end of that. We had races down the mountain, took a break for lunch and tubed some more. It was a fun morning spent in the snow. Overall, it was a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend.

I have much to be thankful for. I am grateful for my family. We are lucky that Kevin has a great job that he enjoys and that allows us to have the comforts that we do. I am grateful that we are all healthy and able to pursue different passions--taekwondo, running, soccer, etc. I am grateful for so much this season.

Third Grade Urban Walking Tour

So Andrew's class and the other third grade class took a walking tour of Portland. I signed up to be a chaperone. Of course, it was a blustery, rainy, cold day--typical Portland weather. We took the Trimet into downtown during the latter part of rush hour. Let me tell you, there were not very happy commuters sharing the bus with a bunch of third graders. I was assigned a group of 2 girls and 5 boys. They were all boys that I knew well since most of them have been playing soccer and baseball with Andrew for 4 years. In fact, when they saw who their chaperone was, the boys walked over to me and said, "Your favorite boys in the whole school." Our tour guide, Jan, was fantastic. She kept things organized and moving. She took us into as many buildings as possible so that we could get out of the cold and rain. She said that in 6 years of doing tours, this was the worst weather day she had seen. We learned a lot about Pdx as it is fondly called here. I had a great time and I think the kids did too. Although, at the end, Andrew complained that our guide talked too much. I told him that was her job, but he thought we should do more walking and less talking. Ahh, kids.

Halloween 2009

This Halloween was really busy. The day before Halloween, the kids' school had their carnival. I was on the committee to set up and run one of the booths. Marin's teacher also asked me to be in charge of their class party, on Tuesday. She gave me a list of names of parents that wanted to help and let me run with it. Needless to say, I was not thrilled with having double duty that day. It was also the ward Halloween party that night. We went a little late, but made it for Trunk or Treating. On Halloween, both kids had soccer games at 9 am. It was nice to get them over with early in the morning but it was a rough morning after such a late night the evening before. We went trick or treating in a village by our house during the afternoon. Then we went to a shopping center for trick or treating. We arranged to go with the kids in the neighborhood at 6:00. It was a pretty good group of kids that went together. The parents all socialized while the kids ran from house to house. Fortunately, our neighbors are really great at supporting all these trick or treaters. After going around the hood, we went over to Keri and Charlie's house for more trick or treating with Emily. One of Kevin's clients prepared one of those plastic pumpkins full of candy for each of the kids, in addition to all the other candy that they got. I think my kids ended up with about 10 lbs. of candy each. It was an insane amount. Marin kept complaining that her feet hurt--she didn't wear her ruby slippers because they weren't comfortable enough. In fact, she hardly wore half her costume--Dorothy. I carried Toto in his basket, she left her shoes in the car and her hair was not braided. Oh well, there's always next year. Andrew really looked like Harry Potter. In fact, he even wore the tie the next day to church. I think it's going to do the trick because he has balked at wearing ties to church previously. All in all, a very fun Halloween.

Pumpkin Patch 2009

This year we were actually fairly early in getting to the pumpkin patch, however it has taken me a while to get around to uploading my pictures and writing a blog post. We took advantage of a bye week in soccer and great weather and went out to Lee Farms. It was a beautiful day. We had fresh apple cider donuts, the kids went through a hay maze and down a slide multiple times, they pet some farm animals, we picked out a few pumpkins and had a good time together as a family. We still haven't carved the pumpkins but I think that may be what we do this week for FHE.

Cape Lookout

Our friend had reserved a cabin at Cape Lookout State Park that she couldn't use. She asked us if we wanted the reservation and we jumped on the chance. These cabins book up 9 months before the rental date right after they are open to reserve. The cabin is right on the beach near Tillamook, OR. We stayed over a Friday and Saturday night. I am a cabin convert. No more tent camping for me. This was the way to go--heated cabin, three separate rooms, heated shower, flushing toilet, microwave, dvd/vcr combo, refrigerator. Need I say more. Oh, there was a gas BBQer as well as a firepit. It was wonderful. They sleep five. We played on the beach, hiked a trail that warned of bears, went into Tillamook to see the Tillamook cheese factory and have some delicous ice cream, roasted marshmallows and made S'mores, had the kids race on the beach and much more. It was very relaxing to get away and spend the weekend with just the family. I can't wait to go back again.