Friday, March 30, 2018

Spring Break Part 2

Today we headed out on an adventure. Doug thankfully was feeling well enough to make the trek with us. Our destination: The Wooden Shoe Tulip Festival!



Not the best picture of Doug and I, but look at those cute photobombers in the back! :)







We had to get the typical visitor photos in the clogs! :)









Really hard not to take a bagillion photos... so beautiful here!




We walked around the family fun area and the kids had fun playing some of the games and being silly.






They both had fun with this silly water game... love it!

Both kids really wanted to climb the big rock wall they had set up.

This guy was hilarious. He said "stick 'em up" to every kid so they'd raise their hands so he could get their harnesses on. 
Off she goes....



She made it to the top both times up... she's a climber like her daddy!


Matthew's turn. He was a little apprehensive amid his excitement. Even tho he is getting stronger since his surgery, he feared not being able to do it. I knew he may not make it to the top, but I also knew he could get far if he gave it his best shot.


 
He made it almost halfway up before tiring out, but we were so proud of him for working hard and trying it. 
This is a picture of a happy girl. 5 minutes before this was taken she was in tears. We decided to try Red Robin for lunch. We haven't been there since Evelyn was diagnosed with Celiac. They do have some gluten free stuff, but the entree's Evelyn used to get were now a no go. She was getting frustrated looking at the menu and was getting upset. Thankfully our server asked how she could help. We explained the situation and she immediately grabbed a gluten free menu for us to look at, which helped a ton. She ended up getting something new to her and LOVED it! And, the fries and ALL the dipping sauces are gluten free! It turned out to be a good lunch stop!

We had planned on doing some outlet mall shopping after lunch but since Doug was wearing out we headed home, thankful for a beautiful morning in a beautiful place. 

A great way to end the week, indeed!


Thursday, March 29, 2018

Spring Break Part 1

Another spring break in the books! Evelyn asked me earlier in the week, "Mom, why don't we ever, like, go anywhere for spring break?". I have to admit, I at times have felt bad that we honestly have always stayed local over spring break. But for one, it costs so much money to fly or drive, and since this is spring break time all over the country, any "touristy" place we would want to go would be crowded and busy, something none of us are fond of. Secondly, by the time spring break rolls around, usually the kids are tired and Doug and I are tired. Trying to plan a vacation just sounds exhausting...haha! But I appreciated her question and we actually had a good discussion about where her and Matthew might want to go. So who knows... we may be renting a motor home and heading to San Diego next spring break (that was their big idea :) )!!

Spring break actually started off with a date night for Doug and I! A vendor at Doug's work treated us and other Tripwire IT employees to a Blazer game.. in one of the private suites at the Moda Center! The kids had a sleepover with mom and Doug while we went out. I have never been to any game in any suite of any kind... and it was such a treat!


View from the suite!

Go Blazers! The suite was full of amazing all-you-can-eat food and drinks... such a fun way to watch the game. I felt spoiled for sure!
Heading home, bummed the Blazers lost but happy for time together. 

I love having the kids home and this week was no exception. While we didn't go on a trip or anything, we had fun doing lots of things around town and enjoyed just being together. 
We saw The Greatest Showman. Oh. My. Word. AMAZING!! Even Matthew liked it. :) If you haven't seen it... GO! You won't be disappointed! 

"Take a picture of me with this cool car, mom!"

Love these monkies!

Matthew wanted to have several "story times".. where all of us tell a true story about something that happened to them. Oh, the laughs were priceless... especially when Doug and I shared funny stories from our past. :)

Not the best picture, but this is one of a few "coffee dates"  I had with the kids. Good conversation here, too!
Evelyn and Matthew picked a rather difficult 1000 piece "Noah's Ark" puzzle to work on for the week. They started on Monday and finished on Friday! 

Doug and I helped some, but not too much.



And I couldn't for the life of me get a good photo of them with the finished product! Silly kids! They worked well together and at times got discouraged but pushed thru. I am proud of them :) 

Both kiddos got to spend time with friends. Evelyn and Heidi haven't seen each other in a while, so it was fun for them to reconnect. Thankful for this precious friend... they've known each other since they were 3!

Matthew had his final follow up appointment with his neurosurgeon and he is doing amazingly well and recovering as expected. He now finally has reflexes in his lower extremities...wooohooo!! He his celebrating being done with doctor's appointments (hopefully) for a while.

Matthew REALLY wanted to make a stomp rocket this week, so he and Doug built .. and it worked beautifully!! Thankful the sunshine was out so they could shoot them off. The rockets flew so high... it was pretty amazing and got a lot of props from neighbors and friend alike who saw the kids shooting them off in the front yard.

 Doug did a little math lesson with the kids to talk about what size rockets they needed to get the highest lift. They actually thought it was cool. 
A boy and his rocket... 




So thankful for my handy (and smart and handsome and....) husband! :)  

And of course, we got ice cream.. maybe more than once! :) (And yes, my boy got a haircut the day after this was taken...a much needed one!)

Of course Doug got sick in the middle of the week. We have yet to have a spring break where we all are healthy (another reason not to plan any big vacations during this week).. it is almost comical. But that actually worked out ok. Even tho he was home from work sick (he only planned to take two days off but ended up home almost the whole week) it was good just to have him around. :) 

The kids both said they had a really good spring break and even tho we didn't do anything "crazy", we made some fun memories together as a family and for that I am grateful!