They have a thing!

With Ellie, it's Temples.
With me, it's National Parks.
With Tate, it's slated to be ballparks.

Jim and Aeryn didn't have a "thing" that they visit together, but now they do: State Capitols. {Yes, this will take a while.}

We've been on spring break this week, and it came not a moment too soon. I can't speak for the rest of my family, but I was completely on empty and not sure I would survive until the end of the school year. One class in particular is so trying that for the first time since I started teaching I've seriously thought of changing careers. Instead, I have done absolutely nothing productive for the last seven days. Well, I mean I've done more laundry than one human soul ought to, cooked, ushered kids to the dentist, taken another licensure exam, swept the floor about a million times a day, baked a bunch more than normal, and even {gasp!} exercised a couple times - but nothing productive FOR WORK. It's been glorious.

Since Jim still has to work in the lab during spring break, we didn't really do anything as a family until Friday. We headed up to Salem so Jim and Aeryn could check off the first of their many adventures. Aeryn was her typical 12 year old resistant self, protesting and complaining until after we were about halfway there. Once we made it to Salem she was talking nonstop about how awesome her 4th grade field trip up there had been, and it was clear the grumps had gone away and she was very, very happy to be going. Thankfully. Perhaps one day we will get to where her initial reaction to ideas is less... middle-schoolish.

The park outside the Capitol was darling. It has a nice mix of spring flowering trees, meticulous shrubs, and modern art. I get a kick out of things like that.

Tate was eating his blanket and playing with wheels, as is normal.

The magnolias are in bloom and I love to stand beneath the trees while the petals rain down on me. The blooms don't last long, but they are so very beautiful that if I end up living somewhere they grow I will make sure to give them a prominent place in my yard. They just make me so very happy. Oregon has spoiled me. Even though we have a full year left here, I am already dreading living somewhere else. Oh, I know I can and will be happy anywhere, but the vegetation and rain are so delightful to me and so very refreshing. I used to wonder if I could live somewhere without a mountain view. Now I wonder if I can live anywhere that isn't lush and green.

The Capitol was much more symbolic and sentimental than I expected. I haven't made a habit out of visiting Capitol buildings and it's been years since I've been to one, so it was really a surprise. The marble is so very pretty. 

The building is very large and majestic. I thought the top looked rather weird but didn't think anything of it until I read the Wikipedia description that states many residents criticized the design because the top looks like a paint can. Now that is all I see when I look at it.

There are so many Liberty Bell replicas out there that I wonder if the real thing would seem impressive. Outside of trusting a sign I don't think I'd be able to tell them apart.

Tate was happy as a clam. He just loves to be outside and is fascinated by anything new. Lucky kid.

This is what we call a highly effective photo bomb - it completely hijacked the focus point and everything. That's what happens when I hold the camera at arms length and try to take a picture when I can't see anything.

Afterward we walked around the riverfront and ended the jaunt with ice cream sundaes. That's my idea of a perfect ending to a great day.

Boy in the Rain

In Oregon, we play in the rain, though I do think Tate is getting a skewed introduction as it hasn't rained as much as I think it ought to for this time of year. He still gets the chance to get sprinkled on once in a while.

His new favorite thing to do outside is shake this gate. It makes a loud rattling noise when he shakes it and that is apparently awesome. The downside is that it is right in the middle of the trash and recycling bins. I don't exactly love him playing there. Fortunately I've been able to distract him from the beer bottles undergrads have left on the ground instead of putting in the recycling bin less than 12 inches away. Argh.

A part of me is anxious for the day we are not in an apartment anymore so that the kids have a fenced back yard (without garbage bins!) and their own rooms (with closets!) but there are some serious perks to living here. Among them is the fact that I do not have to maintain the yard, pull weeds, or install play structures.

He is constantly trying to figure out the world around him. The bolts on the back of this bench warrant close examination every time we venture out. He can stand there doubled over for quite a while without getting disinterested, or dizzy for that matter.

I don't know what's up with kids. I'm still trying to figure out why it's okay to eat rocks, but {insert healthy vegetables here} are not. Why is it okay to be rained on, but having their hair washed brings screams of untold comparison?

By this point he had crawled through puddles and his pants were soaked. He had started to whimper, but once something catches his attention all that is forgotten. I'm just grateful he didn't get completely covered in mud, although that would have been adorable and I would have taken about 72,000 pictures of it, so maybe I actually wish he had been covered in mud.

When we headed out, it was not raining yet and my only goal was to get a good head shot to print in black and white. I took a cute hat (of mine) thinking it would make a fun prop but he wanted none of that. It was on his head for a whopping 0.0000036472 seconds before he ripped it off and threw it straight on the ground. Somehow this picture ended up in focus and though it isn't what I wanted, it is so stinkin cute. Getting pictures of this kid that match my imagination has gotten significantly harder. Good thing I love candids.

Fake Spring Saturday

It's not really spring yet, but it sure feels like it. The sun has been shining and the rain has been at a minimum. Believe it or not but that actually bugs me. I like having a deluge of rain in the late winter and spring so that summer is that much more incredible. I figure it beats shoveling snow at any rate. 

Today Jim had to work in the lab for a while so the kids and I headed out on an adventure. Aeryn has reached that point where she would rather "be sick" and stay in bed all day than hang out with parents so I was surprised she cooperated and came along with minimal protest. The promise of a trip to the mall probably helped.

I was trying to look at these cute snowdrops when Tate took off running. Him in the background was an accident but is the reason I absolutely love this picture. Moments later he tripped and tumbled down the hill a few feet. An hour later I had purchased him new shoes.

I'm determined to visit the Rhododendron Gardens numerous times this spring. I have never seen it with the rhododendrons in bloom and I have heard stories of how magnificent that is. Even though we have another year hear I am starting to get very nostalgic and wanting to make sure I see and do every single interesting thing. This crazy little town has gotten under my skin and feels very much like home. In fact, after only 3.5 years this place feels more like home than the city I lived in from kindergarten through graduation.

Tate loves to climb and explore and Aeryn is always happier after she's had a chance to be outside -though she tries not to admit that and hide in her room all day every day.

I used to look at mom's with boys and cringe over the messes. The wet or muddy clothes, filled with sand from our neighborhood park, always made me grateful that I had girls. It's crazy how already this little guy goes through more outfits in a day than Squirt ever did and I'm completely ok with it. I haven't cared one bit that I do laundry twice as often or change his clothes multiple times a day. It hasn't bugged me when he played in the mud or spilled something. I still panic when he climbs things I don't think he should be able to climb yet, but I think there may be hope of me surviving this "boy" experience.

This sunny Saturday is lovely. I'm grateful to have had it, now can we please have the rain back for a while?

A Week of Parks - The Universal Edition

Oh man, when we decided on two days at Universal I really was not sure that was necessary. I had no idea how cool some of it would be. My goodness. The Harry Potter stuff completely blew my mind. For example, every time the dragon would blow fire it was like getting blasted with a heat wave. In a crazy good way.

The kids all selected wands from Olivanders and surprisingly, they all picked completely different wands without trying. That was my favorite part about it. No one copied anyone else and no one tried to go out of their way to be different. They all genuinely picked what they liked and each one was different. I loved it.

The wands are interactive, which means they have an infrared sensor. Periodically there are golden seals in the street. If the kids stand there and do the correct spell (move their wand in the right pattern) then something mAgIcaL happens. They got a real kick out of that. It was fun, but some of the spells were tricky to master. Also, parents, if your kids are wanting to do this be prepared to set back $50 a pop. We were a bit shocked to say the least. When in Rome, er, Diagon Alley....

Most of the lines weren't too bad, at either park, but the Harry Potter roller coaster had a bit of a wait. When I turned around and saw our whole group looking at phones to pass the time it was really funny to me. I would have done the same except that I was trying to conserve my battery to use for pictures.

Gringotts was the coolest. It is unbelievable how much went into building this and how elaborate the sets were. It was impeccably done.

This coaster was a combination roller coaster/3D experience. It was a bit odd. Jim didn't find it to be too much, but there were times I had to peek out from the 3D glasses to regain some grounding.

My second favorite part of this park is the Dr. Seuss land. It was soooo cute! The colors, shapes, everything. It was just amazing. Plus, it was little kid friendly so there was a lot that Tate could do here. We found this area on accident as we were leaving the park our first day there and had to go back the next day because it was just so great. Lesson learned: read the park maps before you go. Don't miss the good stuff!

Tate loved the interactive park where he could spray water and climb to his heart's content.

He also loved the Caro-Seuss-el. I think we took him on that more than any other ride and every time he smiled like it was the best thing ever. 

Universal was fantastic. It definitely surprised me. There were fun rides, delicious butterbeer, great stuff for the kids, and my BIL won the Fear Factor physical challenge! Good times. At first I questioned the need for two days here but now I'm so glad we did it this way.

Five days of amusement parks is quite a lot. At the end of the week we were all spent, but it was an amazing trip with fun people and will be something I hope all the kids remember for a long time. Except Tate of course, but he will see pictures and hear stories and grow up lamenting the fact that he doesn't remember it. What a remarkable week it was.

A Week of Parks - The Disney Edition 2

There are too many pictures. I want to remember them all. As a result of the picture package, we ended up with a bunch of group pictures from the three days. It's nice since those are the type of pictures you are less likely to get when you are taking them all yourself.

In preparation for the trip, Grandma had given all the grandkids some Disney themed clothes. The two bigger girls and the two little girls both voluntarily dressed in matching tee shirts each day. It made it really easy to track down all our people!

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad was one of the favorite rides among the kids.

The picture package also made it possible to get all these "classic" shots would be harder to achieve on your own.

I felt silly sticking Tate in the picture while he was sleeping, but I'm glad to remember that he was there. He was a trooper. That boy hardly complained and was perfectly agreeable, despite being held or strapped in a stroller for the better part of several days. We did get better at finding times for him to roam and explore, but there was still a bit of sitting for him.

After this first day, some members of our party were sick, some had migraines, and others were having trouble juggling all the commotion that goes along with a big park so the pictures of us all together are nice to have.

T and Tate have a pretty special little bond. Tate would laugh hysterically at him in the pool and he just thinks that cousin of his is the best. T was the first person we told when we found out we were having a boy and he has been thrilled to not be the only boy grandchild anymore. I am so glad Tate can look up to him as he grows (no pressure, T).

 I love this crazy family I married into.

A Week of Parks - The Disney Edition 1

To jump back into our Florida adventure, after our visits to the National Parks we spent a week in Orlando with family visiting the Disney and Universal parks. It was pretty fantastic, if I do say so myself. The only camera I carried was my phone and I didn't take any pictures of the amazing house we stayed in. Fail.

Jim's mom found a house to rent so we could all stay in one place. It had 7 bedrooms and an enclosed swimming pool. There were other cool things too, but I think the pool and hot tub was the most utilized feature of the home. Jim's brothers and their significant others were there, plus any offspring, and his parents. His mom purchased the Disney picture package so we could get all the pics taken at the park and that contributed to my not carrying a camera. So did the idea that I didn't want to leave it unaccompanied in the stroller to go on a ride, just to risk it going missing. I love the camera too much for that.

We had three day passes to Disney parks, and our game plan completely changed after every single day. We ended up spending two days at the Magic Kingdom and one day at Hollywood Studios.

The first thing we did was meet Mary Poppins. I'm not even sure half of the kids have seen the movie, there was just something magical about her being right there when we walked in. Aeryn and I used to watch it when she was little so I know that she was familiar with those characters.

We took a chance and tried the teacups with Tater Tot. The spinning was kept to a minimum - just in case - and he seemed to like them fairly well.

Aeryn was hesitant about many of the rides because she is so afraid of getting motion sick. Star Tours was the first one she absolutely loved and said without hesitation that she would ride again.

Occasionally the grownups went off on their own and someone would stay with the kids. We learned really quickly that the fast pass system could be utilized by this sort of family arrangement - one person would go on the ride and they would give a complimentary fast pass so the adult hanging back with the kids could trade places and go on the ride without waiting after the first group had gone. It was pretty sweet actually. After the first day we used this quite frequently and it enabled a lot of adults to go on a lot of rides.

Of course the kids loved the gift shops. Aeryn and N had similar interests in the shops and ended up both picking out the pink Cheshire cat as their souvenir.

One of the best parts for me was just that all the kids got to be together.

Tate was absolutely mesmerized by It's a Small World.

I learned that when Ellie gets her learner's permit I am going to stay far, far away. Although as she was quick to point out "this isn't anything like a real car," so it may not be as scary as I fear.

One of the things we learned about from actually reading the park map was a free portal game that is scattered throughout the park. Every member of our group was given a pack of trading cards with different characters and spells. We were on a quest to solve mysteries and capture villains. Each portal would give a clue how to defeat a villain, or where to go to find the next clue. Occasionally they would have to "cast a spell" or other such tasks. We ended up capturing four of the eleven villains and the girls have said this was one of their favorite parts of the park. T was sick this day and I think this was the perfect activity for him to miss, if he had to miss something. It was quite a girly day.

It wasn't our intent to stay for the electrical parade but I'm so glad it happened that way. Not all the kids were with us at that time, but it was pretty spectacular. I had never seen it myself. It was pretty amazing.

Of course that meant we were also able to see the fireworks. It is a classic part of Disney that I'm so happy to have been there for. I'm not sure anything will top the magic of Aeryn's first trip to Disneyland when she was completely amazed by every little thing, but this was pretty fabulous too.

It was definitely a magical experience. There were adjustment pains like trying to keep a group of 15 together, learning how to structure the day so we weren't just running back and forth across the park for every ride, adapting to what the kids were ready and willing to do, etc. I'm so thankful we were able to go and I wouldn't trade it for the world.