April 2017

If there is one word I could use to describe April it would be "snuggles". Just lots and lots of snuggles. We had so much fun as a family in April and were blessed with a few days of really nice weather so we could get out a little bit and enjoy the sunshine.

Snuggles

I was able to capture so many cute moments of the kids together. Whether they are reading together or playing a game together on the iPad, they just really love to be close and to be together.

Easter 2017

We celebrated our first Easter in our new house by dyeing Easter eggs and hiding them in all of the cool new places. Clara just came for the food. She did love finding plastic eggs filled with candy everywhere!

Grammy and Jarom's Visit

We enjoyed a visit from Grammy and our nephew, Jarom. Tommy and Jarom were connected at the hip the entire trip and played game after game together. We got to visit OMSI's special exhibit, The Art of LEGO, have breakfast at Slappy Cakes, play at the trampoline park, attend our homeschool Easter party, and walk up the Tilikum Bridge. 

Other Happenings

Clara is now in full destructive mode. She pulls everything off every surface she can reach and gets into as many naughty things as she can. Lily dressed up as Snow White and helped me do some dry ice science experiments outside one day, which was very fun. And Tommy has been enjoying his sewing class with his homeschool friends. In the picture below you see him wearing the lunch bag he hand crafted.

A Hike in the Woods

We caught an especially beautiful spring day and decided to go for a hike in the Columbia River Gorge. It's less than an hour from our home and is filled with hundreds of waterfalls.

We set out to do an easy, family-friendly trail to the some lower falls called Elowah, but found that the trail was closed. On a whim, we set out to do the hike to the upper falls and found it to be a huge treat, if a little bit sketchy in some places.

We hiked along sheer cliffs, saw a snake on the trail, ducked under downed trees, rushed under rocks that were weeping fresh water, and were rewarded at the end with a waterfall that felt other-worldly. Tommy carried a little notebook and a pencil the entire hike and stopped once in awhile to sketch a nature-inspired comic.

Spring Outfits

This Easter we got new church clothes from both grandmas. The pastels came from Grandma Chatterton and the yellows came from Grammy. The kids are so cute, they would look adorable in anything.

Mom's Getaway

I had the amazing opportunity to go hide in a cabin in the woods for three nights with some of my homeschool mom friends. It was just what the doctor ordered. I had a room to myself. My view consisted of gorgeous forest and I fell asleep the sound of rushing river water. I slept in until 10:00 and could literally feel the stress from the past 16 months just melt right from my body. I remember just lying in bed thinking, "I have absolutely nothing I need to do today. Today is about me." All moms need a weekend away in the woods once in awhile! My weekend consisted of lots of sleep, a few nature walks, eating healthy and amazing food, chatting with friends, and just getting my head on straight so I could come back energized and ready to be a better woman. The kids had a load of fun with Ben, ate out several times, watched lots of movies, and ate a ton of candy. I don't think they even missed me.

Ice Skating

I took the older ice skating for the first time. They loved it! It was so amazing to watch them go from barely able to stand up on ice skates to gliding on their own in just a couple of hours. I used to ice skate all the time as a kid and it felt good to get back out there!

March 2017

In March we spent a lot of time playing at home and running to play outside when the sun peeked through the clouds. I celebrated my 34th birthday by getting our home professionally cleaned for the first time. Happy birthday to me!

One of the best things about our new house is the island in the kitchen. It provides endless opportunities for chasing games and hide 'n' seek.
We finally got outside a few times after our very long and very cold winter. The kids loved pulling out the swings in the backyard and Clara loved digging in the bark chips for the first time.

All of the kids LOVE reading. Lily has started to read small chapter books on her own after basically teaching herself to read. Tommy loves books like Diary of a Wimpy Kid and Big Nate that are full of funny drawings and easy text. And Clara loves to sit with us and read board book after board book. She also loves to eat the books she enjoys the most.

We go to OMSI every week for Tommy's science class. The girls play while he is in class and one week they had a new exhibit called the Bloopodome. Lily turned into a Bloopologist for the afternoon.

No afternoon is complete without a ride in a cardboard spaceship that turns into a game of DIY Jack in the Box.

We visited the Children's Museum via downtown and took a ride on some statues. They have all kinds of sculptures and statues lining the streets in downtown Portland.

Clara is getting to be such a big girl! She came and sat down on the curb all by herself without any help or support.

We went to The Waffle Window with friends one day. It was actually really chilly outside, but Clara just couldn't stay away from the puddles in the ally. After trudging back and forth in them she sat right down in one and promptly put some rocks in her mouth. They didn't taste nearly as good as the sugar waffle did though!

We walked up to Mount Tabor and found this awesome stick fort. I am glad the kids in the area made good use of all the wind and falling branches this winter!

And of course, the cherry blossoms have been amazing this year. After such a cold and dark winter, it's AMAZING to walk around and see trees bursting with colorful blossoms! Tommy is tired of me pointing the blossoms out, though. He says, "Mom it happens every year, why are you so excited?" My response: "Well, your birthday happens every year, too, why do you get so excited about that?" He didn't have a good response. So I'll keep feeling giddy about spring and annoyingly pointing out all the flowers to the kids.

Tommy and Clara play this hilarious game where Tommy sits on this red foam chair and Clara pushes him out. They end of wrestling and playing like two little puppies.

March 2017 - Trip to Texas

We had the awesome experience of visiting Texas this March! After such a long, dark, cold, rainy winter it was so nice to get out into the sunshine again. We visited our friends, the Meuses, in Austin, and then drove to San Antonio to meet up with Ben's family for the week. Spending a week in a house with 15 people you love is pretty awesome.

In Austin we visited Justin, Jennifer, and Kate Meuse. They lived above us in the apartment on Hawthorne for 2 years and then moved far far away :( Kate and Lily were best little friends in the apartment and Jennifer was the most amazing friend I could have asked for. We have missed them since they moved to Texas so it was a very happy reunion to see them again.

We went to dinner at a catfish place and then slept over at their house. The next morning I went to church with Jennifer while the dads and kids played at home. I don't think I saw Lily the entire time we were at their house since she and Kate just played and played. Hopefully we'll get to see them again sometime soon.

On Sunday afternoon we drove down to San Antonio where Ben's brother, Mike, lives. Three out of four siblings + families + Ben's parents converged there from three different states. We had seven kids and eight adults sharing the house, which worked out wonderfully. The older kids played together so well the entire week without any argument or hard feelings. They played Angry Birds, jumped on the trampoline, played the Kinect, went on wild scavenger hunts sponsored by Grandma, and crafted together. It was fun to see how all four of the older kids played well all together, and then how they sometimes paired off. Tommy and Jake enjoyed playing the Kinect together while Lily and Rachel really got into a pretend game of veterinarian together. It was awesome to see the cousins really play and get to know each other better.

Grandma made all the kids green jammies for St. Patrick's Day. The older kids called themselves The Green Team and wore their matching jammies just about everyday we were there.

The three babies, Grant, Clara, and Luke, mostly just ran around, made messes, and tried to pretend like they were big. They were all born in 2015 so we call them the Three Babies of the Apocalypse.

While we were in San Antonio we got out and saw a few things. We went downtown to see the Alamo, which was cool. It was much smaller than I had envisioned. We ate lunch on the Riverwalk and stared at the water taxis. We went to the children's science museum, which the kids loved. But most of the days we just hung out at home and chatted and played. I got to go running in the sunshine with my sisters-in-law and play on the trampoline with the kids. In the evenings the adults played board games together and chatted. It was lovely.

We drove back to Austin to fly home from there. On our way to the airport we stopped and got some amazing tacos from a food truck called Torchy's. It was just like being in Portland except warmer!

We can't wait to see everyone again soon! Here is a little video of our vacation: