Nayeli's 3rd Birthday

Nayeli turned three a few weekends ago. We decided to keep her birthday low key and not stress over doing anything too elaborate. It ended up being a really great and fun weekend.

Her birthday fell on a Saturday, but since Ben had to go camping with the scouts on Friday night and he wanted to make her breakfast in bed, we decided to celebrate it over two days. Saturday morning the grocery store near our home had an Easter celebration so we met our friends the Clarks there. There was a mini petting zoo and cookie decorating, as well as the "Easter Bunny" aka some guy dressed up in a really creepy bunny costume. Nayeli wouldn't go near him, but she loved the cookie decorating.

 It was her birthday- the sugar coma was inevitable :)

The Clarks then invited us to their house for lunch so we ate there and Nayeli got to jump on the trampoline (her favorite). After awhile Ben called to say that he was on his way home so we went to meet him. He took some time with Nayeli before they both crashed on the couch for a nap.

 This is exactly how she fell asleep. The girl loves her sippie.

 I eventually took it so that she could sleep a little more comfortably.

That evening I had to go to the General Women's broadcast so Ben took the kids. They went to a park and played, then went to the local arcade to play some games. On the way they stopped at Jamba Juice and Nayeli got to pick an "ice cream". She had a great time on her special "date with Da-da".

 Ben got these pictures taken in a booth at the arcade specifically for me because I LOVE booth photos. The one on the top is my favorite.

Sunday morning Ben woke up to make her breakfast in bed (it was the tradition in his family growing up). Everything he made was pink- her favorite color. She thought that was so fun.

In the afternoon after church we finally let her open gifts. She has been asking for a dog or cat for a really long time but since that is not feasible right now, we decided to go with a fish. She was thrilled. Bingo.

 She named the fish "Sally". 

 Opening gifts

 She also asks for a pink sucker every time we go to the grocery store. I attached one to her gifts.

That night, we invited a few family friends over for cake and ice cream. When I asked her what kind of cake she wanted this year, she said a "pink Minnie cake". She even picked the kind of frosting she wanted at the grocery store, then we put dollar store figurines on top. Easiest cake I've ever decorated.

 I love Teddy's face. He's so mad he can't get to the cake.

Our friends the Goughs came for dinner and then the Clarks and Pops and Anita joined us for dessert. We sang Happy Birthday to her and she was so pleased. Then we had pink cake and pink ice cream (of course). We told our friends not to worry about bringing gifts but Anita gave Nayeli a really cute Minnie doll. The night was a hit and it was very little effort on my part. Perfect.

Lastly, I thought I would do an interview with Nayeli. All answers are in her words exactly.

Nayeli's 3rd Birthday Interview

1. What is your favorite color? Pink
2. What is your favorite toy? My Minnie doll
3. What is your favorite animal? Doggie
4. What is your favorite food? Quesadilla
5. What is your favorite treat? Gum
6. What is your favorite thing to do with Dad? Hiking
7. What is your favorite thing to do with Mom? Play tigers
8. What is your favorite thing to do with our family? Play lions
9. What is your favorite TV show? Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and Paw Patrol
10. Who is your best friend? Momma
11. What is mom's job? Be with me, play with me
12. What is dad's job? Play with me too.
13. What is your favorite song? Let it go
14. What is your favorite movie? Let it go (Frozen)
15. What is your favorite thing to do outside? Blow bubbles
16. What is your favorite outfit / thing to wear? The Minnie one
17. What is your favorite holiday? Valentine’s
18. What do you want to be when you grow up? Be a birthday cake

Anything else you want to say?
Yeah, um.... play.

There you have it folks. She is the cutest and best and we sure love her.

Seeing the Sites

The past few months, we've been trying to get out and see more of the sites around here. These are a few of the places we've been:

THE PORTLAND ZOO

The zoo here is good, but not amazing. At least not when you compare it to some of the other zoos around the country. We went twice before Teddy was born and just went for our third time recently. Nayeli loved it- Teddy is still pretty oblivious to something unless you can climb it :)

 In front of the lion den

OREGON MUSEUM OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY (OMSI)

This is a really cool museum downtown- we went when we first moved here but I didn't think it was that great because I didn't go into the right parts and the section for little kids was being remodeled. I recently went again with a friend and the kids and I LOVED it. It was so fun and the there was a lot of fun things for the kids to do. We spent the whole time in the part for little kids it was great.

 In the chipmunk cave. It's become increasingly difficult to get both my kids to look at the camera when there is something fun going on.

 Teddy got SOAKED but had a great time in the water play area.

 Nayeli with her best buddy Audra. They are two little peas in a pod and love to play together.

And finally... the EVERGREEN AVIATION AND SPACE MUSEUM

Okay, so this museum is in a tiny town called McMinnville and so you wouldn't think it would be that cool? Wrong. It's awesome. Some billionaire who grew up in McMinnville had a dream of building an aviation museum in his hometown and he made his dream a reality. It's a very impressive museum.

Outside they had a collection of old tanks. Most had the letters USSR printed on them. It was sobering to think about the battles they had seen and the stories they could tell.

In the center of the museum is Howard Hughes' "Spruce Goose"- a large amphibious airplane built during WWII and made completely out of wood. It was gigantic and you could tell there was an enormous amount of thought and engineering that went into it. We didn't pay to go on a tour, but we got to into one part and it was really cool. 

 Please ignore the citizen photographer's finger and pay attention to the giant silver thing behind us. That's the Spruce Goose. It gives you an idea of it's size.

 In front of an original B-17 bomber

The highlight of the museum was taking a tour of an original B-17 bomber from WWII. My maternal grandfather Alonzo William Leckie was a gunner in a bomber similar to the B-17 (I need to find out more about his story) but as I saw the plane and thought about what it would have been like to be a gunner in such a plane, I was in awe. The amount of courage it must have taken for my grandfather and so many other men to step into such a plane is immeasurable. I felt so close to him as I walked inside and looked around; he died when I was 11 and so I have really great memories of him. It was a really beautiful experience. 

There was even a play area for the kids. This was an airplane made by a guy in his garage and then donated to the museum. 

We also visited the space portion of the museum but the airplane part was the highlight. The kids loved it and we loved it. Definitely somewhere we would recommend to others.

Teddy the Climber

Teddy has taken us by storm.

It all started with his wanting to be like his sister. I always put a stool up for Nayeli while I'm cooking dinner, and it wasn't long before Teddy was right at her heels, trying to be a part of the action. 

I was impressed by his agility and coordination at such a young age (10 months), but it was nothing compared to what was coming.

One night I was casually humming to myself as I cooked dinner and I turned around to see this. Keep in mind, I did not even know that Teddy could climb up to a seat, let alone up the chair! I'm pretty sure I gasped out loud!

I knew Ben was not going to believe me, so I went and made sure Teddy was secure and then snapped this picture. Because OH. MY. GOSH. he was only 11 months old and I was not prepared to have a child that coordinated yet.

The next day he was able to hoist himself onto the couch and climb up to my pictures. I've decided that nothing in my home is safe now.

To tame some of the climbing adventurer in Teddy, Ben helped me blow up an air mattress for the kids to climb on in the living room. They loved it, although I don't think it deterred Teddy from climbing other things. Oh well.

Anyone want to put their money into the pool guessing how long it is before he breaks a bone? Here's to hoping I can save him from himself, at least for the time being.

Marilyn's Visit

At the beginning of March my sister-in-law Marilyn called and mentioned she'd love to drive to Portland and visit sometime at the end of the month. Her daughter Eliza was getting married on the 7th and she wanted to plan something fun for after the wedding.

That's why I was surprised when she called just two days after the wedding and said she was coming that week. She brought her five youngest kids (she has nine) and drove up to visit Mark and Malinda, then Emily before heading out to see me. She had mentioned wanted to go to the coast, so we decided to rent a beach house near Cannon Beach, our favorite place.

I met Marilyn and Emily one afternoon at Camp 18, our favorite "cinnamon rolls the size of your face" place. Then the kids played near the river behind the restaurant while we got some time to chat and catch up. My brother won the lottery when he married Marilyn. She is one of the best people I know and I love spending time with her.

The beach house we rented was in Manzanita, a pretty town south of Cannon Beach. It was really cute and quaint and had a really fun layout. There was a large room upstairs for the adults to visit in and a game room with bunk beds downstairs for the kids. One thing I didn't like though was that there was a wood burning stove that I was terrified Teddy was going to touch and burn his hands on, so he had to constantly be watched. Then there were the stairs he kept trying to go down, so we had to keep a chair in front of them as well as all the little game pieces he put in his mouth and... let's just put it this way: Teddy is so busy he finds trouble wherever he is. So busy baby aside, the house was great.

Emily and Paul in front of beach house on Sunday before church

I should mention that all the husbands were absent- Ben was home working on his website, Darren had to work, and David took the four older kids to Goblin Valley. So it was just us three women with 11 kids under the age of 12. Was it crazy? Absolutely. But a really good kind of crazy.

The weather wasn't great but we still ventured out to Neahkahnie beach when arrived on Friday.

This kid and his facial expressions. He just kills me.

 She could play in sand all day and be absolutely content. 

His first taste of sand. I think his face says it all.

 Selfie with Marilyn

 We three women with Owen at Marilyn's feet. We had so much fun together!

Saturday we drove into Cannon Beach and explored. Our first stop was Crepe Neptune, a dessert place that a few friends had recommended to me.

 Delicious!

 This girl is the cutest thing. She is so fun and well-natured... I just love having her as my little buddy.

 After crepes, Emily had the genius idea of putting all the kids in her car with a movie on and having Paul watch them. It was great! That way we were able to freely peruse the shops, something I had never done. We had a lot of fun together.

That night we got pizza for take-out, talked about mom-life and the end of the world, and enjoyed a fire in the stove. We stayed up late then woke up early on Sunday to go to church in Seaside. I always love going to church in the area where we are traveling- it's so fun to see the Saints in the other places. 

After church Emily headed home for Hermiston and Marilyn drove to our home in Wilsonville. Ben was so excited when we arrived, and since it was a stormy Sunday, I made soup and french bread for dinner. We had seven kids and three adults in our little apartment, so it was a little cramped, but we loved it and ate together as best we could. At that point we felt we needed to get out, so we walked to a local park and, although everything was soaked, we had a great time chatting and the kids had a great time playing and getting wet.

That night, after the kids were in bed, Ben and I visited with Marilyn. It was wonderful to get time to chat with her- we have never really lived near David and Marilyn and so Ben has never really gotten to know Marilyn well. Talking until late was a great chance for Ben to get to know her and me to pick her brain on a myriad of subjects.

The next day Marilyn and her kids headed home, and I was left with a happy feeling that they came. Living far from family makes every visit that much more special, and the visit from Marilyn was a really special one.

Mirror Lake with the Ernsts

At the beginning of March my niece Eliza got married in Utah and almost all my family was going to be at the wedding. In fact the only ones that weren't going to be there was myself and my sister Emily who also lives here in Oregon. Since Emily and I both disliked the idea of everyone getting together and leaving us out (FOMO alert), we decided to plan a fun Saturday together on the day of the wedding.

We scheduled a Saturday and met in Hood River, Oregon. Hood River is a really fun town in the gorge situated right on the Columbia River. It has a similar feel to Park City- it's touristy and hippie but has a relaxed vibe that makes it endearing. Emily and clan stayed Friday night in a hotel right on the Columbia, then we drove out on Saturday morning. The hotel pool happened to overlook the river so we played in the pool and sat in the hot tub and relaxed. It was awesome.

We then drove toward Mt. Hood to hike up to Mirror Lake. It was fun to chat on our hike and although it was a longer hike than we anticipated (and Nayeli cried most of the way up) it was worth it.

 The pretty reflection of Mt. Hood in the lake (which I didn't even notice until I saw a picture of it AFTER we had hiked down. One of my more blonde moments, I must say).

The Ernst Family. It's so fun to have them living in Oregon with us!

Ben always brings a knife from work on our adventures and takes a few minutes to shoot some photos whenever there is beautiful scenery. He uses the photos in his marketing at work (you can see his blog post about it here). Some of his stuff is really good  and I especially liked this photo. He does a great job for having no formal photography training.

I call this "The Baby and the Mountain".

My busy boy

After our hike we went to a campground to roast hot dogs and marshmallows. We had to group picture, although Gabe was asleep in the car. We decided to just tell him that he wasn't born yet :)

Ben whittling, Darren making a goofy face, Emily and Ellie smiling, Nayeli not looking at the camera... the accuracy of how this photo reflects personalities is almost spooky :)

Teddy is so busy and gets into everything so I contained him by feeding him dinner in his stroller. Problem solved!

I love my sister Emily. She is so fun to be around and I'm so happy she lives close.

No matter how old I get, I'll always love a hot dog roasted over a fire. 

We finished the night with two tired kids but great memories. I am so happy to have Emily and her family nearby, and we decided that we need to get together more often. Stay tuned for more adventures!