Outdoorsy Fun and Happy Easter

We've been getting out and doing some hiking lately...last weekend we went to the Woodpecker Loop at Finley Wildlife Refuge for a picnic with our good friends the Willards, and yesterday we went up to Chip Ross Park--great views!

We had a very fun Easter with baskets, a small egg hunt and breakfast at home, then lunch and another egg hunt at the home of some family friends, where we've gone for the last couple of years. The kids are now sleeping soundly after much candy and excitment--in fact, Aidan just fell out of his bed a minute ago (onto a hardwood floor) and did not wake up.

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend!

Four kids in a tree at Finley: Jonah, Lauren, Ally and Aidan.

Checking out the views at Chip Ross Park yesterday after a big climb.

Aidan finds the first clue to the Easter baskets this morning...

Then enjoys a pre-breakfast Reese's pb egg.

Some of Lauren's loot from the Easter bunny...
Egg hunt in our backyard.

Yes, Lauren is wearing Aidan's Spider-Man undies over her PJs.

On to lunch and the next egg hunt...Ready to go...

Aquarium, Buddies, Dancing

We took a trip to the aquarium on a very rainy and windy Saturday afternoon. It was super crowded because of spring break but we still had fun. Looking forward to going back when it's a little quieter. Here's Aidan and Bethie checking out the touch pool.

Different touch pool video:


We had Chase over during spring break.

And we had dinner with our new buddy Zoe, who's just two months younger than Lauren:

Paige, Lauren (behind Paige), Aidan and Zoe:

Lauren and Max, our friend who will be 4 tomorrow!

And finally, a dance party in the kitchen after dinner. I'll try to get video of Lauren singing "all the single ladies" (the only part of the song she seems to know). It is pretty adorable.

For Heather and Paul...

These lovely parents-to-be NEED your thoughts, prayers, good wishes, etc.! They are using the same adoption program we used and have already been waiting to bring their daughter Olivia home for 5 1/2 months. As you may recall, we had a somewhat slow judge and the wait was TORTURE! Poor Heather and Paul seem to be stuck with an even slower one...not fair! So I wanted to ask Aidan and Lauren's grandmas (my blog followers) and any of my other friends to send speedy judge thoughts to Taiwan as well...hope we can all read their good news any day!

Moon Sand

I am getting over being sick (hopefully) and bought the kids some Moon Sand today for a fun diversion. For those unfamiliar, it's kind of like Play-Doh (but it doesn't dry out or smell funny)--it's reusable, moldable sand. They love it! They're scantily dressed because they were spraying each other with the hose when we were outside planting broccoli this afternoon. Happy Spring!


Taking a break for some huggy and kissy time.

And a couple of videos for the grandmas. Not sure where Aidan got this explanation of where Moon Sand comes from, but it's very cute!

Post-Carnival Cuteness

The kids had a great time at Aidan's school carnival last night. Here are a few pictures!

Two Years of Lauren Love!

Two years ago today, we finally held baby Lauren in our arms for the first time. Here's how we celebrated today:


Cupcakes, of course. (With Lightning McQueen paper cups.)

A super-fun playdate (and belated birthday celebration for Felice) with Henry and Max.

Dinner, then more cupcakes.

Bathtime, then some nakey playtime in the crib with piles of blankets, binkies and stuffed animals.

And some cuddle time with Mama. We had a wonderful day and are so lucky that we get to be parents to these two!

February Update

Busy, busy, busy...it is high time I updated the blog! (Sorry it's been so long, grandmas!) All is well here. We had a great weekend...yesterday we went to Eugene for the Asian Celebration. It was very fun, we met some nice people from Taiwan. We've all been dodging illnesses here and there, with some success...but so far, we've been much healthier than we were last winter. Hope you are all doing great!

First and foremost, drumroll...look at the big kid!

First thing this morning, regular smile:

And at bathtime tonight! His tooth was really bugging him while he ate yesterday and today, so before he ate lunch today he told Ryan it was ready to come out! It came out easily and he is back to chowing down without interruption.
And here is Miss Trouble. She has a little Band-Aid obsession going on.

We visited my mom today for lunch. It was a beautiful day! These are the baby chickens that will be providing us with eggs before we know it. (She is keeping them at her neighbor's house--it's already all perfectly set up for poultry.)

Planter Box Project

Working back in time...a couple of weeks ago, I ordered some planter boxes for our alley. They are great! They're made by an Oregon company from Oregon-grown wood (I'm a sucker for things like that). We set them up in a full-sun area in our alley to grow veggies in. I planted peas and spinach today!

1) Seven boxes of boards:


2) Unpack boards:

3) Start stacking boards, insert pins:

4) Pound in pins:

5) Almost done!



A series of photos taken by Aidan:

ATV Spider-Man by Aidan:

Lucky bamboo by Aidan:

Ryan by Aidan:

Amy by Aidan:


And finally, Lauren and Daddy in Grants Pass last month:

4 adults + 4 kids + 1 minivan + 1 drive-through wildlife safari = good times

We headed south to visit the Shrivers last weekend. We met at the Wildlife Safari in Winston...check it out.

You only go 5 miles an hour so the kids don't need seatbelts.

A hippo snoozing in the mud.

The very rarely seen Oregon zebra. :-)

An emu gets up close and personal with Jess's minivan.

My little lambie.

My little girlfriend lambie.

Aidan and Hannah. We really could not get the little ones to stick their faces through these things.

Turkey lurkeys.

And a few short videos. Enjoy the noise!

New Year's Eve Dance Party in Our Basement

Check out Lauren and Aidan dancing with their buddies! You'll notice the video ends abruptly, for reasons that are soon to be obvious. Happy New Year!