Sunday, May 22, 2016

Spring Breaking in Bend

Back it up -- back it up.  Now that I have the pics uploaded, I can't resist posting about our trip to Bend to meet Papap and Grandma for spring break.  They had never been to Bend before so they flew to Portland and met us there. We went on a walk as soon as we arrived...Wyatt is on his walkie talkie.

 Avery found my phone and took a few selfies.
 Then she tried to beat Grandma in a game of Spot It.


 I think I lasted in the pool for 12 minutes before I got in the hot tub.  The pool was heated but it was COLD outside-I mean, look at the lifeguard in this picture.  So my parents and I bailed and drove into downtown Bend and Geoff and the kids managed to stay in the pool for five hours!
 Because there was a slide.  The kids had so much fun they didn't care if it was cold.



 Look at those faces!  Geoff said they just kept hopping out and SPRINTING to go again.and again.and again.  We managed to get them to meet us for dinner at Deschutes Brewery.  Yum.

Geoff took the kids skiing one last time for the season and Grandma endured a lesson.  I say "endured" because it was not great weather that day at Bachelor.  Really cold and windy and there wasn't great visibility.  
 But she did it!  Go Grandma!! (that is her below all bundled up in my ski gear)
 Dinner fun.


 Avery was so worn out from skiing....can't you tell?
Book store stop!

 Rainbow-changing lights in the hot tub.


 One morning Geoff wanted to fish at the pond at the resort.



 They were all patient and both boys caught a fish!  I happened so fast and was catch and release so Geoff couldn't get a picture of the fish.  I had walked to the lodge to get carrots to feed the horses.
Or the one horse that was left by the time we got to the corral.  The rest must have been out on tours.
 Even though it was cold, Jack still said "this place is amazing.  They bring us food and anything we want."

 Super fun trip - thanks Mom and Dad for traveling to meet us!  xo

A Year and 2 Months Later.....

I keep thinking to myself "I need to get those 5,000 pics off my phone onto my computer" "I need to get back to my blog" and "I need to get my SLR camera out"...and bam...almost a whole school year has passed.   I have posted on instagram but that's about it.  I wanted to return to blogging because I love looking back at the blog and reading what the kids said in a certain moment or to see how much they change and to remember what we did on a day-to-day basis.

Like when I went downstairs the other night to check on the kids and shut their lights out before I went to bed.  When I opened the door from the boys' room to the bathroom, the door squeaked, and Avery sat up in bed, pointed at me and shouted "who is it?!!!" Then she saw me and said "ahh you scared me to death."

Or Geoff took all three kids and their friend Owen to run errands.  One stop was Albertson's to pick up ingredients I needed for a recipe.  He gave them each a couple of items to find in the store as quick as they could.  Jack was looking for hoisin sauce.  He ran right to a store clerk and said "where is the poison sauce??!!"  The clerk just looked at him and said "I think you will need to go to another store for that."

The boys are quickly approaching their 10th birthday.  TEN!!  They are doing great at school and just finished a 6-week soccer season.  They are really improving and most of the season they played the whole game (on a big field) because they didn't have enough players for subs on their team.

Avery has a few weeks left of her first year of preschool.  She goes Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday and isn't really fond of writing quite yet (just like her big brothers).  She likes to take her time to eat her lunch and is always the last one eating at the table with the teachers.  Her legs have stretched out recently - and her hair grows like a weed.  It is almost to her waist right now.  She played soccer too.  This was her second season but the first time she really wanted to play during the games.


Some of Jack and Wyatt's favorites now are Star Wars Clone Wars (or anything Star Wars), Star Wars Rebels and Minecraft.   They are really into chapter books and nerf guns.   They like to play "tackle tag" and tag in general.  Avery still likes Paw Patrol and she just discovered a show on Netflix called "Masha and the Bear" that makes her laugh out loud.  She wants to play with her big brothers and is so excited if they include her.  Just this morning, they were all running on the deck in their pajamas playing Star Wars with nerf guns.  Wyatt had his clone trooper mask on from Halloween.

We have hit the jackpot recently in regards to books.  I recently read "The Indian in the Cupboard" by Lynne Reid Banks and all three kids listened and loved it.  It was fun to read out loud to them because of how all the characters spoke.
There are three books in the series and we really liked them all.

We are now reading "Little Britches:  Father and I Were Ranchers" and I love how it teaches good lessons.  The boys have been asking questions throughout.  GREAT book so far.


I was surprised at how clever this book is:  


And this one has amazing photography and teaches about luminescence.  


And a fun short read I checked out for Avery and it made all of us laugh.


One of my favorites books this past year.  No question.


Speaking of books, the boys made me bookmarks for Mother's Day and I LOVE them.  I also love the cards they made and how Jack always requests something from me on my cards.


Jack's bookmark is the top one.  It is a rainbow but the teacher accidentally put the ribbon on the wrong side but I like it even upside down.  And Wyatt's says "I love you" the "you" is above the "love".
Avery made this necklace in preschool.  It is beautiful and I love how it matches the ones the boys made for me a few years ago.

I love these guys.  I took this on Mother's Day on our way to a Mother's Day picnic at the park.  Geoff was in Finland.


Katy and Bear turned 12 in January and have changed a lot.  We especially notice it when they move from laying down to standing up.  They are pretty slow and stiff.  But that didn't stop Katy from chasing after a ground squirrel the other day on a hike (she paid for that the next day)!  The kids' favorite thing to do is run around the house holding a piece of a roll while Bear runs after them wagging her tail and smiling.  They know it gets her to "chase" them and they can't stop laughing while they are doing it.  They are awesome with the kids and have such sweet personalities.

This pic?  3 of Avery's favorite things in one photo.  Bear, Burger King, and her blanket.

Wednesday, March 4, 2015

What Happened to Winter?

It is hard to believe it is March when we have only had about two days of snow?   I know people who have lived here for more than 15 years who have never seen a winter as mild as we have had.  I went on a snowshoe tour at Crater Lake last weekend and they have 30-ish inches of snow right now.  The guide said the normal amount of snow at this time of year is 110+ inches!  Avery, the dogs and I walked to school twice to get the boys from school.
Avery is right next to the flag pole ready for the bell to ring.  I try to stay back when I have the dogs with me.
 Avery frequently goes to the deck to snuggle with the dogs, pulls them around, then lets them inside. They love her.   A couple of weekends ago we went to the park to play frisbee golf and soccer.  We are wondering if we should sign up Avery for soccer this spring.
I have blogged about how much the boys look like Geoff.  Check out the synchronized soccer below:
 The kids and I have gone to the nearby resort pool when we can.
Avery and her friend N trying to warm up after swimming.
 Since I am still in catch-up mode, here are a few pictures from the big Seattle vs. Patriots game in January.  Our friend came down (I always say "down" because they live up the street from us) with their kids.  3/4 of the kids were dressed in Patriots gear (they are from Massachusetts).  Geoff had promised s'mores but he didn't want to miss any of the game by going outside to light the fire.  So he improvised.




 It was a fun night-especially since their team won!   

Little Helper

Could I have a cuter shopping buddy?  She is quite the big/little helper!