November the round up (yes I know it is February)

How time flies. Well, the Ashland house sold and we were able to secure a new loan, so we started looking at houses right away. After months and months of discussions about pros and cons, Mike and I decided that for us, for our family, and what made the most sense is that we stay in Keizer. So, me being the anxious person I am - I got Mike to agree that we could start looking for houses in the 1 neighbourhood we both agreed on (commute times, walkability, and most importantly schools). There were not many houses and we knew what we wanted after the Ashland house. We spent a few weekends looking at houses and finally agreed on one that had been on the market for awhile, but had a ton of benefits, room to grow, etc - just a horrible paint job inside (think dark brown, terracotta, yellow/green - Go Ducks, and lavender). We made an offer and it was accepted. So the wait and the paper work was on.

Molly got pretty hurt on a walk we were doing and ended up having to have knee replacement surgery (it is actually common - who knew?)

We went to Eureka for Thanksgiving, it had been months since we last went down. It was pretty great, the kids were great in the car, which is such a plus when you are driving 7 hours. We made a trip to the zoo while we were there, the otters were really active, which was pretty amazing to watch. This little costal town has such a great zoo, it's always a fun pit stop. Oh, and they have a petting zoo, which allows Mike to get his goat fix.

Here are some photos if you are interested.

Hike at Forest Park in Portland

The river otters were really playful

Eureka Zoo and the goats. 

Ella's first hair cut, by herself

Christmas card out takes

Camp Sherman Adventure

Awhile back Mike set up a family trip to Camp Sherman, Or. just outside of Sisters, Oregon. Although we were just home from our week in Tahoe, I was pretty excited to go to the central part of our state - it is really pretty and has so much to do. We stayed a the Lake Creek Lodge, in a nice 2 bedroom cabin, which also allowed dogs, a huge plus for our family. The cabins and amenities were amazing. There was a nice grassy area and creek right in front of our cabin, and a great swimming pool behind it. There were trails around the cabins and the Metolious River was close by.

The first day, we (actually I) decided to do one of my all time favorite hikes at Smith Rock. It is such a magical place and since the weather was so clear (no fires at that point) we would be able to see the three Sisters mountains, Hood, Bachelor, Washington and Jefferson. The last time we hiked the trail we did it when Miles was about 9 months and it was October. This time: 2 dogs, 2 toddlers and hot, hot weather. Needless to say - it wasn't as magical of a hike as I had planned in my head. We ended up having to carry both kids on our shoulders for the one mile(-ish) assent, it was pretty steep and the kids were not agreeable to do the climb. I carried Ella back down as Mike wrangled Miles (who did walk!!), Tank and Molly (who both just wanted to get into the river). Needless to say, not a hike we will do anytime soon - in fact, I think it scarred Miles because now if we even mention the word hike, he has a mini-meltdown.

The next day we played it low key and went into the town of Sisters, which is really charming and had great donuts (according to Miles). Later we took a "walk" along the Metolious to let the dogs get some well earned swimming in.






Before we left Camp Sherman, we visited the fish hatchery, which was a surprise hit with the kids. They loved feeding the fish and seeing all the different salmon and trout.

Overall a great quick getaway for our family and definitately worth another visit.

Annual Pilgrimage to South Lake Tahoe

We had lots of different ideas for a summer vacation this year, but decided that heading back down to our cabin in Tahoe would be the most fun (and let's be honest the easiest). So, we packed up the dogs, the kids and all sorts of junk and headed south for what was a really long car ride (we planned on leaving at 6 in the morning to beat the heat, but Ella got sick and after debating for several hours - we finally left around 11).

As always the time spent at the cabin always brings back fond memories of my childhood - it is so nice to see it through the eyes of my own kids. We are at this weird age with them where hiking doesn't seem that fun (what?? - 50 yards seems to be as far as Ella wants to go, Miles can last maybe 1/2 mile) and they aren't the greatest swimmers, but we still were able to have a good time.

We headed up to Angora Lake, to the top of Heavenly, rode bikes, took a horseback ride and spent quality time at the lake. Overall a great trip (despite some stomach bugs, a trip to urgent care and a smallish fire in the kitchen).

Now, I am not going to lie, this trip wasn't as easy or carefree as last year - Ella has certainly hit her terrible 2's (I am fearful for the the threes) and the 12 hour car ride home yesterday was long, really, really long. But to be able to spend this time as a family, in such a beautiful place can't be beat. And honestly, the fireworks show is pretty spectacular.

Weekend on the coast (pretty much a Goonie weekend)

This past weekend, we headed over to the Oregon coast to enjoy some beach time. First we headed to Cannon Beach for their 50th annual sandcastle festival. After 3 attempts to leave out house (food, backpack and then a 20 mile round trip back home since I couldn't remember if I turned off my flat iron) we finally made it to one of my all time favorite beach towns. Cannon Beach, the town is super cute, houses are perfect and the beach is wonderful - it is the site of the famous Haystack Rock (featured in my favorite movie of all times). The sandcastles were meh, some were pretty amazing, but there weren't many and the beach was so crowded it was hard to get 2 little ones close enough to enjoy them. In fact, both Miles and Ella preferred to just sit and play in the sand. After cruising the most dog friendly town, we headed up the coast to Astoria to spend the night. Best part of the evening was the amazing sunset at Fort Stevens.

The next morning we headed out to enjoy Astoria, which in my opinion is a town on the verge of becoming an amazing little community. There are great new restaurants, stores, remodeled hotels and each house is more amazing than the next. Of course, what is a trip to Astoria without a visit to the Goonie house (there were 10-15 cars parked with gawkers - I was almost embarrassed at how excited I got). We ended our afternoon with a trip to Astoria Column (the views were incredible) and a visit to the Scandinavian Festival (in spirt of my parents who are actually in Norway right now).

family vacation

we were so lucky to be able to go to the big island of hawaii for spring break with my parents this year. we rented a condo in mauna lani just outside of kona for the week. needless to say, it was pretty fantastic. i had never been to that island before and mike had never been to hawaii - so it was full of new adventures. flying into kona was actually shocking - it was so barren, really unlike the other islands - it really did look like a moonscape. but, as soon as we got off the plane (a direct flight from PDX - and really good toddlers) the hawaiian breeze and the smell hit us. this is what i was waiting for. we spent the week playing in the pool, jumping in the waves, exploring the wet side of the island and seeing a volcano (although it wasn't erupting at the time).

the kids loved the water - which is what i was hoping for, although every time we went to the pool, miles said he didn't want to get wet - which of course is just a 4 year old's way of getting some attention. then we couldn't get him out. same with ella, although i think she just liked strutting around in her swim suit. that girl does not walk, she totally sashays. it was so nice to spend time on a beach with family. finally, it felt like a real vacation.

highlights: the private beach club that our condo had, seeing a turtle on the beach as i was running one morning, the hilton and their sunset, horseback riding mauna kea on my birthday, watching the kids have the time of their lives with my parents. that there is the best thing in the world. we are really trying to stack up those memories, and this trip for sure was a keeper.