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!

Caving in Washington on Valentine's Day

(Disclaimer: I'm about to throw Ben under the bus here for the sake of settling my nerves that are still slightly shaken since our adventure. Really though, he's pretty amazing and I still love him. End of disclaimer).

Ben has a high adventure tolerance level. Not extreme, like base jumpers or free climbers, but higher than mine. When we do family adventures together, we typically meet somewhere in the middle of our tolerances... or maybe a little closer to my "safe" tolerance. That's mostly because Ben knows he'll be in the doghouse if he gets me too far out of my comfort zone, which is fine with me.

However every once in awhile we get ourselves into these situations where we both didn't really do enough research beforehand and I think, "What in the heck are we doing?". The problem is that by the time I have that thought it's usually too late to turn back or Ben is having a riot and I don't want to miss out on the "fun" he's bound to have without me (aka FOMO).

Both applied last weekend on Valentine's Day when we went to explore some caves in Washington (not super romantic I know but we're not really that sentimental anyway). In true "Ben adventure" style, it started with him telling me about and "easy" hike to some caverns in the forests of Washington. Usually he picks long hikes but this was only to be 0.2 miles into a half mile loop. A piece of cake, I thought.

But then what happens is the distances begin to increase exponentially. An "only hour and a half" drive turns into over two hours in the car, followed by a multiple mile hike deep into caverns and lava tubes in the middle of nowhere. And that's not to mention the fact that we had kids strapped to our backs.

Basically the hike began by going down and through a first cavern. It was really cool, but moderately difficult to maneuver. The rock was all lava and although it was wet, it was easy to get traction on. That was a bonus and I tried to be grateful for it as I considered that if I were to face plant down such rock it would probably pulverize my face and body. Not to mention that I was carrying my precious buddy Teddy on my back. In fact, had I not had a child on my back I don't think the hike would have been a big deal at all. But as it was, the extra 30 pounds was throwing off my center of gravity and I just felt out of my element.  That's why through the first cavern I just took my time and tried not to tremble as I climbed in.

The base of the first cavern

Once you exit the first cavern you approach the second cavern- about a 40 foot descent down steep lava rock into pitch black. This is where I told Ben that I didn't want to keep going. There were some words exchanged, but in the end Ben won me over by giving me a pep-talk about how "you can do it!" and telling me that he was going to go exploring without me if I didn't come. I made him promise me multiple times that this wasn't going to jeopardize the lives of our kids and he reassured me that if I took it slow and easy we would be fine.

 Before hiking down the large cavern

I shook the entire descent but once we got to the base it actually wasn't too bad. The lave tuba itself was incredible- basically a 60 foot high cavern that went back for miles and miles with side passages and loops to explore. We stayed in the main passage though since there was no way I was risking getting lost.

 See the look of elation on his face? He was so excited to be on such an adventure. What a guy.

 Down inside it was pitch black. Ben was well prepared though and had brought lights and back-up lights. He really does a great job preparing us for adventures.

 We found a level spot and let Nayeli out to walk around. It was about 45 degrees inside but she refused to wear a hat.

Something else to be said about Ben- he makes everything fun for the kids. He helped Nayeli find cool rocks to take home as souvenirs.

 

We ended up turning around because I was wearing out and the kids were ready for naps. Thankfully we exited unscathed. Ben was SO excited we had done it and felt "so proud" of me for conquering my fears. Since it was Valentine's Day he told me that he loved me even more for what I had accomplished and I jokingly told him that I loved him less for making me do it :) 

By that night I was trying to decide if it was awesome or dumb that we had taken our kids on such a hike. As a geographical landmark it was amazing and very cool to explore, but I don't think I'd do it again. In fact I know I wouldn't. Ben, on the other hand, felt like it was no big deal. He's already planning on taking the 12 year old scouts there next month for a campout and he can't wait to explore further. I love his enthusiasm, but I don't think my nerves can take another hike like that. Not until the next "Ben adventure" anyway :) I'll sit this one out.

Adventure is out there!

Most Saturdays we get out for an adventure. This is usually because Ben, who needs to be an explorer in another life, sits in front of a computer all week at work and goes stir-crazy. And then he comes home on Friday night and says, with a wiry look in his eyes, "What should we do tomorrow?".

I typically don't protest because I have noted how his sanity increases in direct correlation with the amount of time he spends outside, but this Friday night was different. We had wanted to go to the coast for weeks, but then I looked at the weather. It was going to be a high of 50, 100% chance of precipitation with 35 mph winds. Not really ideal beach weather, so we decided to do hang out at home instead. But then Ben said, "Let's go anyway!" and before I knew it we were inviting friends, packing gear, and readying for a wet, wet day at the coast.

We had to stop at our favorite pitstop in Elsie, Oregon- Camp 18. Our friends the Scharmanns, who we had invited, had never been. It's a big lodge that sells cinnamon rolls the size of your face. Outside they have all sorts of old train cars and logging equipment. We love it and the kids love it. Win-win.

Big as yo' face

Nayeli with the Scharmann boys- Devon & Elijah

Touring the outdoor museum. That's the lodge in the background.

It was raining quite a bit (note our hoods and umbrellas in the above picture) but we decided to continue our trek west to the coast. Our first stop was Ecola State Park, another one of our favorite destinations. There is a beautiful area that looks out over Cannon Beach. It's a must see.

Can't you just see the motion of the wind in this picture? It was pretty intense and I almost lost my hat.

Group photo! I love this picture. It was cold, windy and wet but we were just having a great time.

We then drove down to Cannon Beach- it's the one with the iconic Haystack Rock. We have a secret parking spot there and everything, but of course we didn't have to compete with anyone for parking on this day. In fact, we were the only ones crazy enough to be out on the beach.

The wind was really intense and if you wanted to get a picture with the iconic rock in the background you had to face right into it. It practically blew water right up your nostrils it was so strong. The poor kids. Luckily they calmed down when we put our backs against it.

We'd brought all kinds of toys for the kids to play with, but all Nayeli would say is "I want to go home!".

We could not stop laughing. I kept thinking, "We are nuts!" Our poor friends probably thought we were too but they were really good sports and laughed along with us.

Post-drench. Teddy is so happy all the time- unless he has rain and 35 mph winds blowing into face of course.

Please note the raindrop dripping from my nose in this photo. We were soaked!

After about 10 minutes on the beach we decided to call it a day (although Ben went back to look for cool pieces of driftwood while I got the kids settled). We got into dry clothes, ate our packed lunches, and headed out. It may have been crazy to go, but it was probably one of our most fun memories we've ever made. Besides, sometimes you just have to go because... adventure is out there, you know? :)

"June"uary

The two Januarys that we've been here in Oregon have had some pretty decent weather, which is why the month is sometimes called "June"uary. Some days you can even go to the park in just a jacket. But of course there's also the rain... and since it's rained pretty much every day this week and I'm pretty sick of it, I thought I'd post some pictures of lovely days at the park.

This picture was taken on New Year's Day. I put Teddy down for a nap then Nayeli and I went to run some errands. Fifteen minutes into my trip Ben texted me saying, "He woke up, so we went hiking!" Leave it to Ben :)

This was one day when we went to Goodwill and then as we walked out of the store Nayeli begged to go to the park.We weren't dressed super warm, and it was only 42 degrees, but that didn't stop us from a little swinging. Being outside is just good for the soul.

Another day that wasn't super warm but we all needed to get out of the house so we bundled the kids up, put them in the double stroller and walked down to the Willamette River dock by our house. And of course we had to stop by the swing.

On the days when it was chilly we played a little dress-up. Nayeli is OBSESSED with pink right now. Some days she will refuse to wear something if it isn't pink. 

Like I said, pink everywhere.

Poor Ben. If he happens to fall asleep while we're playing dress up he might end up with a tiara.

As I mentioned in my birthday post, Ben went out of town for a week in the middle of January. It was definitely not an easy week and I might have had some "monster mom" moments, so I was so happy when Ben came home. Not all the moments were bad though. Here were a few fun times while he was gone:

Nayeli and Teddy are starting to play together at times. It is so fun to see.

Our friends happened to be out of town while Ben was gone so we went and played with their cat every other day or so. Nayeli loved it and is still asking for a kitty.

We have church at 9am and Nayeli is not an early riser (just like me). I sent Ben this picture Sunday morning with the caption, "Do you want to be the one to tell this girl she has to be ready for church in 20 minutes?" I am proud to say though that we were on time. Major accomplishment, people.

She requested pigtails for the first time while Ben was gone so I sent him this picture. They are really cute, but I prefer her hair down and wild. And it saves me from having to do it which is a major bonus.

We didn't eat out the whole time Ben was gone until the very last night when I took the kids to Wendy's. I let Teddy try his first french fries- he might have eaten a whole box. This kid can eat.

One of our favorite parks, the "volcano" park (as we call it) will soon be remodeled with the volcano being torn down. That's why we've been trying to get in as many visits as possible. This was the day after Ben got home. The kids were so excited to have him back. Teddy snuggled on his shoulders much of the afternoon.

My wonderful kiddos

My 30th Birthday

This year I turned the big 3-0. As my birthday was approaching I kept thinking of that Deana Carter song "Strawberry Wine" that says, "I still remember when thirty was old..." and that's exactly how I felt. But then the day arrived and there was nothing I could do about it except celebrate. So celebrate I did.

Every year for the past three years Ben has been gone on my birthday because it is typically when the knife industry goes to a big show in Las Vegas. Fortunately, this year the show was  later so Ben was able to fly out on the day of my birthday. Then he could at least be there in the morning, which I was excited about.

We celebrated the night before by going out to eat. Ben surprised me by getting a babysitter all lined up then taking me to a steakhouse in Portland called Ringside. He had received a substantial gift card for Christmas from work and so we thought we might be able to eat there a few times... that is until we saw the menu. It was the most expensive meal we have had in a long time and we had a ball. We ordered fun drinks, got the most delicious onion rings, I got a $60 steak while Ben ordered fried chicken and then we ordered creme brulee for dessert. The food was divine (the steak melted in my mouth) and worth every penny. In the end (once the gift card was applied) we only paid $35 for one of the most delicious meals I've ever eaten. It was great and what we would have paid had we gone anywhere else anyway.

Creme brulee for dessert

The morning of my birthday Ben woke up early with Nayeli and they decorated the front door and living room with balloons. She had so much fun wrapping gifts and being a part of it all. She's getting to be such a fun age.

Nayeli picked out the pink balloons, of course.

Cute little Teddy

Ben gave me a rose, a target gift card, and a doughnut making pan that I've been wanting to get forever. He also wrote me a list of "30 reasons why I love you". It was really sweet. There was also the promise of making me a hand painted sign of a saying I love- more on that later.

We then loaded up the car to take Ben to his coworker's house so they could drive to the airport. We dropped him off and I looked at the clock. It was only 10am. I thought, "There's no way I'm going to go sit at home with my kids on my birthday." So it was off to Target we went. I spent the gift card Ben gave me on various items, the most notable being a box of hair dye.

We arrived at home in time for lunch. My birthday wish was that we all would get a good nap, but it seemed unlikely since the kids often play what I like to call "musical naps" in the afternoon. That means that while Teddy is asleep Nayeli is awake and then by the time I get Nayeli to sleep Teddy is awake. However the fates must have heard my plea because we all got amazing naps. Best birthday gift ever. After waking I then had two friends bring by flowers which made me feel really special.

I let Nayeli take my picture on my birthday. She did a decent job!

In the evening I had arranged for a babysitter to watch the kids while I went shopping by myself. I went to Joann's fabrics to pick up a few materials, then bought a hot chocolate at Starbucks and perused the aisles at Goodwill. I was in heaven.

I arrived home by bedtime and put the kids to sleep. They went to bed easily and I had the whole evening to myself. I began by putting that  box of hair dye to good use. Call it a mid-life crisis, but I needed a change, and a box of hair dye was an inexpensive way to do that. I had dyed my own and my mother's hair multiple times before, so I just slathered it on thick and... voila!

Before and after. The left is my natural hair color.

In the picture it doesn't look too bad but it turned out a lot more strawberry-blonde than I wanted. Oh well! What was I expecting from an $8 box of hair dye, right? I texted Ben the above picture and he only responded "Oh boy...". I knew he secretly liked it :)

I was then wide awake and on a roll so I decided to cut all the squares for a t-shirt quilt I have been wanting to make for years. It's a compilation of Ben's and my shirts, mostly from college and our missions but also from when we were dating and after we married. Each shirt has a memory and a story associated with it and I was so excited to finally begin the project. I ended up going to sleep about 1 am.

I have pieced it all- I just need to tie and bind it now. I'm so excited for it to be done!

So that was my birthday! It was such a great day and although I missed Ben I had so much fun. I really feel so happy with my life to this point- I have made great friends, traveled abroad, graduated from college, served a mission, married the man of my dreams, had two beautiful children, and I feel like the best is yet to come. Here's to another 30 years!