Sahalie Falls

Living in Oregon is dreamy. I truly feel like this place was made just for me. Granted, I do like to have slightly closer access to a bit more civilization than this little hippie town, but I'm really enjoying many of the benefits that come with living in a place where "progress" is often frowned upon. One of the things I want to do before we move is visit several of the beautiful riparian areas near us. I mean, we may end up in the desert. I want to drink up the lush green forests and natural water sources while I can.

Jim was out of town so I packed up the kids, jumped in the car and headed to Sahalie Falls.

This girl is hilarious. Part of me doubted that she'd really become a normal tweenager, but boy oh boy has it happened. Happy one second, life is terrible the next. This face is pretty cooperative compared to what I normally get now. She threw an enormous fit before we left the house and I did the "I don't care if you want to go, we are going anyway" mom thing. It took all of three seconds after getting out of the car before she was thanking me for taking her there and saying it was awesome. Sheesh. Kids.

I was scared of having a boy because I hate messes, but man alive muddy legs are the best. I find I encourage them far more than I expected I would. Considering how often I let the girls get muddy it really shouldn't have surprised me.

Part of the reason I tackled this alone was that the trail was supposed to be reasonable and short. They weren't kidding! The falls were maybe 50 feet from the parking lot, and the trail was 2 miles round trip that takes you downhill to an overlook of another waterfall. 2 miles? I can handle that with a baby! Then we got there and realized it's almost all stairs. He walked a bit and was carried a lot.

We stopped here because I just could not believe the water. I've seen pictures of water that color and partly just figured they had been enhanced. Here we were staring at this river that looked like liquid, flowing, blue fluorite right before our very eyes. I could have stayed and stared for quite a while.

We were pretty lucky to find this little stop. Most of the hikers who had dogs stopped in here because there was easy access for the pups to get a drink. It was off the trail maybe 10 feet and the trek down was a little too precarious for Tate to make on his own. We stayed there for at least an hour tossing tiny pebbles in the water and then stabbing everything with sticks. Tate seemed like he'd never in his life experienced something so remarkable and Aeryn had a blast sitting there and helping him. Goodness. The heartstrings were being pulled and it made me feel quite successful as a parent, for those moments anyway.

Nature is therapeutic. I have always felt that way as have many before me. Every time I am able to spend time with my family in nature I come away extremely grateful and filled with happiness. Let's hope this summer is packed full of adventure!

Sometime in April...

I completely quit blogging.

It could be because my whole family got sick, or because school (both work and grad school) was getting a little intense, or it could be because I was too in shock when I found out that no, I was not on the verge of coming down with the flu like every single person around me. I should have known when it was week three with no improvement...

Our family is growing. Again.

At this point I'm into the second trimester, feeling better, and no longer crying every single day from shock, panic, and illness. Babies are a good thing, and even if I still seem completely conflicted on the subject we are very excited. For everything except the mini-van. I never wanted to be one of "those" moms and it seems I have no choice now since tying one of the children to the roof of our existing car is frowned upon.

We are still here.

M

Tennis turned Catch in the Street

This week is Spring Break in Cali, which means we have an extra body in our house. It's loud, and silly, and absolutely nutty, but we wouldn't have it any other way. The unfortunate thing for Ellie is that since our spring break was last week, her visit is at a time when we all have to go to school and that is not so fun for her. She has sat in class with her kindle while Jim teaches and been juggled around with two tired and busy people. Plus, Aeryn has track practice after school and an hour of homework which pretty much takes up most of the afternoon. It's safe to say Ellie has been quite disappointed about that. 

The school district just put in new tennis courts by our apartment and we've been planning all week on going to hit some tennis balls. Today the weather was perfect and the timing worked out wonderfully for us, but as it turns out the high school had some sort of tennis match going on so we weren't able to play after all.

Enter: the street. The buildings are getting new siding and as of this week our immediate parking and play area have become the construction material storage areas. It's going to be a bit inconvenient, to say the least, as it should be this way for a few months. I'm not sure the office loved us hitting balls around the parking lot, but since our play area is barricaded and they've closed this to through traffic it was pretty convenient for us.

Ellie was excited to hit tennis balls, and then Jim realized he'd shirked his parenting responsibility and never taught her to throw a ball. Honestly, I don't believe it. He has pictures of her hiking a football at age 2 and she had sports jerseys for the Angels, BYU, ManU, and a few other teams so the fact that he had missed this all important lesson is mind boggling. The tennis lessons then morphed to how to throw. She picked it up pretty quickly, since she is naturally athletic after all, and they did that for quite some time. 

Tate thought it was pretty cool too. He carried a racket around for at least thirty minutes and giggled every time Ellie would swing or throw. Jim made the most awesome squished face pretty much every time they would swing.

I'm SO glad they put this orange mesh fence up. Yesterday we were talking about how likely it was that we'd have to fish Tate out from underneath it at some point. Now I can let him roam a little more than I was expecting and not be quite so worried about it.

Plus, it means I get cute pics of Tate playing in front of caution tape.

The playground is also out of commission for a few months, unfortunately. We use this little thing all the time. Now we have to walk all of 30 yards to a much bigger park. Oh, the misery.

Across from us the neighbors are fully immersed in scaffolding and construction prep. Our turn will come in a few weeks and I am not terribly excited for it. We had the chance to move for "free" into an apartment that already had the work completed to avoid the noise and commotion, but I'm not excited enough about the cleaning that goes along with moving out to commit to that, even if I am incredibly tempted at this very moment.

(doesn't that look fun???)

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.