The Next Two Days

Friday we had originally planned to go into Portland, but after spending many hours in the car driving along the coast on Thursday, we decided it would be better all around to stay around Salem. Instead, I took Amelia and Cooper to the children's museum in Salem called the A.C. Gilbert's Discovery Village. It consisted of three houses with different interactive rooms, an outdoor play area and stations. I think the kids liked it.....we were there for over 2 1/2 hours!!

In this room the kids could build with the puzzle pieces. They opted to have a sword fight instead. Just so you  know, neither one won. The Great and Powerful Mommy swooped in from the sidelines and defeated them both at the same time wielding swords in both hands.

Amelia posing for me at the bubble station.

In the railroad room there was this dome so the kids could get really close to the train that circled around.

Happy to be outside.

I think one of the favorite stations was the bubble one. Amelia and Cooper stayed there for a long time, and came back to it three times.

Cooper's bubble.

Amelia's bubble. She worked for fifteen minutes straight to get the perfect one.

On the porch of one of the houses was this huge rocking chair.

These bikes sit outside the front of the museum, too.

This room was their favorite, they stayed in here for over 35 minutes! There was a screen that showed their movements but with added.....something. I'll try and post a picture below because I can't explain it!

This is what the screen looked like.

After we left the Discovery Village, we went back to Katie and David's to help them with their ward potluck they had that night. We went for a short time then I came back with Cooper, who was veeeeeeery tired.

The next day was SATURDAY!!!!! This was a fun day because it was the "Girls' Lunch Out" and "Boys' Lunch Out". Katie, Amelia and I went to lunch at a fabulous bistro called Word of Mouth. Amelia ordered cinnamon roll pancakes and they were bigger than her head! It was also her first experience with cloth napkins. She didn't quite know what to do with it (having been told her whole life NOT to wipe her mouth on her clothes---and that's what a cloth napkin is made of), so our sweet waitress brought her some paper ones so she could fully enjoy the experience!

The boys.

The girls.

 After lunch we met up with the "men", who had gone to lunch at a pizza place, at David's campus (Willamette) where he attends law school, and where he will get his MBA next year before returning to finish law school. The campus was beautiful and had Adirondack chairs scattered around for students to relax in. There were also a group of trees that formed a star when you looked up from the middle of them. Here's a kinda good picture:

You get the general idea.

The capital building. It's right across the street from campus.

Campus.

Amelia sitting on the oldest building still in use in the U.S.

Cooper sitting on the other side!

This is the creepy sculpture Katie talked about in her blog. Cooper tried and tried and tried to take the things out of his briefcase, but failed. As we were leaving he asked me, "Can I kick the guy in the head?" What?! NO!  Geez. Boys.

Amelia was thoroughly perplexed by this "forever" law student.

After we walked around campus we tool a short trip to the river front. Cooper was getting cranky and he and Amelia were starting to fight and whine. We took a quick ride on the carousel:

                                     And went back to Katie and David's to call it a day!

Stay tuned for the next post entitled, "Two Days After That". Look for it Sunday or Monday. I'm tired.

Our BIG Summer Vacation!!

Last week the kids and I went to visit Katie and David for a loooooong time---7 days to be exact. Well, really only 4 since we got in late, left early and spent two days on our own on the coast.....ANYWAY, we were away from home for a fabulous, relaxing, fun and exciting week and I wasn't in any hurry to come back to life's stresses!

I will make multiple posts for our trip, because I took about 200 hundred pictures. Now, for those of you who might not be so thrilled to sift through all 200, I will not be posting them all. Although you'll miss out.

We'll start with our first day, which was mostly traveling. We stopped in Burley for lunch at a cute park  my fabulous aunt Judy suggested. It was so much fun I had a hard time getting the kids to keep heading to Boise!

I finally tore them away and we finished our drive to Boise. We stayed the night in a hotel where we swam, played and prepared for the BIG DAY of flying. On flight day, Amelia and Cooper did really well through the check in, security and on the plane, and really listened to everything I said. Pretty much.

Amelia sitting across the aisle from me next to a "stranger". She handled it just fine.

Cooper in the cockpit. The very  nice flight attendant told us on the final approach if we waited until everyone was off the plane he'd take the kids up to see the pilot and the cockpit. Cooper asked approximately 2,380 questions and I'm sure he could've flown the plane by the time he finished conversing with the pilot. 

After we landed and picked up our luggage, we met David and headed home to their house. That night we settled in, played some Wii and generally had fun. Thursday we headed to Tillamook and the coast. I had rented a car, but Katie was still a little squished in the back seat with the kids, but we made it okay. Our first stop was the Tillamook Cheese Factory:

The factory had a huge viewing area so we could watch the cheese be made and packaged. It was pretty cool!

 

The Tillamook Cheese van.

After the factory we began our journey to the beach! Along the way I HAD to stop and take a few pictures of Oregon's gorgeous coastline:

 We stopped at a state park to eat lunch and the kids had their first run on the beach:

You can take the girl outta ballet class, but you can't take the ballet outta the girl. (She'll start up again this fall).

After lunch we drove south to stop at a beach that was a little warmer so the kids could play and we could relax. We actually stopped earlier than planned, because I saw this:

Haystack Rock

I had seen pictures of it in my travel planning, and wanted to see it. I didn't know we'd be driving right past it! Luckily, David knew the area and told us this beach was just as good as any, so we unloaded. For the next couple hours the kids played happily in the sand, David walked back and forth with them dozens of times to fill their buckets with ocean water, and Katie and I sat on the beach talking, laughing, and having our faces naturally exfoliated by the blowing sand.

David watching the kids near the water.

Amelia's sand castle. Kind of.

Cooper started by burying his sand bucket....then his feet....then finally went for the lower half of his body. He had sand EVERYWHERE.

Sisterly love.

After the beach we went back to Katie and David's and ordered pizza. After eating the kids crashed and I hung out with Katie and David the rest of the night. It was such a great day, and so much fun to see Amelia and Cooper see the ocean for the first time. I've always loved the ocean and I am so grateful I could show my children how fabulous it is while they are young!

Stay tuned for "The Next Two Days".....coming soon. Probably tomorrow. Maybe.

Let the Summer Activities Begin!

First, we had Cooper's gymnastics showcase. He's a super strong boy with LOTS of energy; with a little more experience and focus he'd be headed for the Olympics!

Celebrating after Cooper's showcase. One of the perks of having both kids in school is the free food reward coupons double and the bill goes down! 

The carousel finally opened Memorial day weekend. My kids had been asking about it since March, so we were all happy the day had finally arrived! Cooper was determined to be the first kid to ride it, so he stood in line for fifteen minutes to ensure first-place status.

Cooper making sure no other children snuck in the other doors. Amelia had a plan, too. She patiently waited until I paid for their rides, then ran PAST Cooper. Sneaky.

Happy to be back on "their" horses. They choose the same ones each time.

Love these kids!

 Along with the all free food coupons was two free buffets at Pizza Pie Cafe, so we celebrated the last day of school be going to dinner there. As always, the food was yummy and the dessert pizzas worth gorging for. We all left happy, uncomfortably full, and ready for some sleepy time!

Next up is a trip to visit Katie and David for a few days! EVERYONE is excited for that. For the rest of the summer we have camping trips, daytrips, biking trips, and a few lazy days thrown in. This will be a summer to remember!!!

When Life Gives You Rain....

                                          ...Jump In The Puddles!!

Amelia taking a stroll through a puddle.

Cooper ready for lift-off.

The jumping, splashing and hopping hit every single puddle available.

Sometimes they'd just slosh through the water.

One of the funnest moments was watching people drive by and watch the kids splash and run through the puddles. Every single person smiled.

School's Out For Summer!

Today is Amelia's last day of school for the 3rd grade! Cooper's last day of school for kindergarten was yesterday! They are officially 1st and 4th graders!

Cooper is so excited to be a 1st grader next year, he hasn't said a sentence yet that doesn't mention it one way or another! Cooper's teacher measured the kids at the beginning and end of the year to track how much they've grown. Cooper grew 2 inches and gained 4 1/2 pounds in his nine months as a kindergartener. And, I might add, jumped up to a size 13 shoe (same as Amelia) and completely skipped over a few clothes sizes!

Amelia had an end-of-the-year party with a bunch of friends and is already planning life as the "senior" of the elementary school. Amelia didn't grow as fast as Cooper, but she did gain almost an inch in height and only about 1 1/2 pounds.

Bring on summer vacation, we are ready for all the fun trips, activities, playdates, and stuff the next three months will bring!

                                              Amelia's first day of school pic:      
                 

 

Amelia's last day of school pic:

                                            Cooper's first day of school pic:     

                                            Cooper's last day of school pic:         

Mother's Day 2013

Mother's Day Weekend was a busy one this year. We went to Blackfoot Friday afternoon so I could fit in a tutoring session with Professor Jackman. Yes, I am still trying to learn enough to pass my third math test. I feel like I'm getting close, and hopefully that passing grade is only a few more weeks away!

We spent the night and Saturday Amelia and Cooper mysteriously disappeared with Grandpa and returned with this: 

Bouquet from Amelia and Cooper for Mother's Day.

It's a beautiful bouquet that has made my entire home smell like lilies for the last week!! THANK YOU!!!

That afternoon I had lunch with my friend Eden and then stopped by the park to watch my lovely children play. I asked them to smile nicely so I could memorialize the moment forever, and this is what I got:

Amelia, the perfect picturesque child.

Then  there's Cooper.

 We came back Saturday night and got everything ready for Sunday. Sunday morning I woke up to Cooper yelling from my doorway, "Mom! Stay asleep!"  A few minutes later my wonderful, brilliant, thoughtful children brought me in breakfast and a few Mother's Day gifts and cards they had made. Best morning ever.
After church we Google-chatted with everyone at my Mom and Dad's house while Andy called. After talking with everyone there, he called me and chatted with the kids for awhile. Sure miss that kid.

It was a fabulous Mother's Day--as it is every year--and I can't wait to see what next year brings!

In other news, Cooper has been asking and asking and asking me to make a quiver for his bow and arrows he got for his birthday. I finally had time on Wednesday, so we went outside to try it out. There wasn't a bird or rock safe for yards.

That's it for this week. The kids both have only a few days left of the school year! I'm excited for all the fun activities and trips we have planned for this summer!

Failed Parental Moment

A little background: it's spring in Idaho, which means the temperature can range from -10 degrees to 75 in a single day. The mornings are generally chilly, and then it's warmed up by the afternoon. Due to this climate, I've told my children to wear their coats in the morning and AT LEAST through the first recess. After lunch they can go outside without them.

We were driving home from picking up Amelia and she said, "Mom, Cooper didn't wear his coat during the morning recess." I turned to Cooper and asked him why. He said, "Triston didn't wear his, I just followed him." I replied with, "Well, if Triston jumped off a cliff, would you follow him, too?" Cooper was quiet for a moment and I thought point had been driven home.

Then Cooper said, "Well, if the cliff was really, really high and had sharp rocks and alligators at the bottom I wouldn't. But just running out at recess without a coat, yes, I would."