Outings // Zilker Park

Today we took our first official family outing and spent the better part of the day at Zilker Park. I was super excited to take the kids to ride the little train there - the one Jacob and I rode when we were here checking things out and visiting back in February. I knew they'd love it, and I had told them about it long ago...so today was exciting! We were finally going to take them on a little ride on the little train. I even lugged along Annie (my big camera) for this much anticipated event. I think part of the big event for me was that Jacob didn't have to work today. And we are starting to feel a little more settled. No more boxes to unpack, at least. Still waiting for some furniture to arrive (ie the kids new BEDS!) but we're getting there. I've also been a little bit sick and had some small complications with my thyroid stuff - but it's slowly getting under control and with it, our lives are seemingly calming down and we're on the verge of getting back into a little more routine, if you will.

So, I was slightly devastated when we were waiting in line for the little train to come...and I got Annie out so I would be all ready, and Jacob took ONE picture of me and Hazel...and it died. Battery was dead. Totally my fault in forgetting to charge it and not check, but that meant no pics. EXCEPT - wah la! The iPhone. All was not lost! I'll have to take Annie back another time, because we will be going back to Zilker Park...often! It's AMAZING! We are already looking forward to renting kayaks or canoes for a date once Hazel is a little bit older! And the kite festival in the Spring :)

Mama and Hazel waiting for the little train. She's such a happy, easy going, smiley baby!

We rode the train. We played at the HUMONGOUS playground. We thought about getting shaved ice - but since it was in the 90s decided to wait until next time when we would come to swim in the natural spring-fed pool. We went to the Botanical Gardens and OH MY GOODNESS how beautiful! How tropical! How gorgeous! We spend a good hour and a half just walking around the gardens and smelling the yummy smell of nature. AND we hunted for a dinosaur! They had a part of the garden that had many of the types of plants that the dinosaurs would have eaten long ago. There were dino footprints that we found and led us to the sighting of an ornithomimus! I had told Sawyer we might see a dinosaur and all week he was looking forward to this, kind of beside himself excited for our outing. 

We let the kids skip naps (Sawyer is finally to the point where he's giving napping up, but every few days he takes one, or if I strongly insist, he will take one on the couch so as not to bug Aspen in their room). We were in the heat almost all day and did a lot of walking. I think we were all tuckered out. So, we went to a place called Doc's Backyard for dinner. I have been very impressed at how very family friendly it is here. And this Bar/Grill goes to show it: Half the seating is inside, and half (maybe more than half) is outside. You can't see it well from the photo, but beyond the tree is a big playground and grass where kids can run around and play when they're done eating but maybe their parents want to sit a bit longer and pretend they're on a date :) WAY COOL. The food wasn't amazing, but it was decent. I think it's mostly about the atmosphere. People that smile at you with understanding when you lift your baby up and there's a puddle of something on your lap (spit up? leaky diaper?). Who bring their dog to join them on their family outing and let all the kids say hello (and kindly keep him at bay when one of your children is afraid of getting too close to big dogs). And of course, there was FOOTBALL on the big screens. Okay, if you know me and Jacob, we are NOT football fans...at all. But FOOTBALL is HUGE and I mean HUGE in a Texas huge kind of way here. Sawyer was staring at the screen and he got all excited - "I want to do that!" In my head "NEVER! I will not let you play football!" Luckily, I turned my head to see a shot of the crowd, all excited and clapping and cheering. I think he want to cheer on the team is what he meant. Maybe have a tailgate party or two. Wear some burnt orange, perhaps. And I'm okay with that. Jacob's okay with that. We may even take the fam to a Longhorns game -- but you will NOT see us all wearing matching attire. That's just a little too much if you ask me :) 

It was a WONDERFUL Saturday. 

(a crazy week, but a WONDERFUL Saturday)

I hope you had a good one, too!

even the rain is bigger

I know, I know...you would probably think that my first post about our life in Texas would be of us hanging out at the pool or something, right?

Wrong! I want to post about the RAIN, first! 

We have had a couple of days of rain and all of Austin is excited about it! The kids and I were at Target picking up a few things the other day (it was a 3 hour adventure since I got lost on the way there!) and it was raining...a little. But EVERYONE was buying rainboots and giddy about the weather! I couldn't help but laugh to myself. Apparently, it's unusual to have weather like this in September - Jacob's co-worker happily reported that it felt kinda like Christmas time. Really? At above 70 degrees? I decided I'm going to love winter here! Anyway, today it was really raining when we went to church at 2pm. When we got home, at 5pm, there were lots of fun puddles. BUT it was warm. Perfect conditions for some puddle jumping! I told the kids to just grab their rainboots and we headed out to enjoy the weather!

Apparently the ground and soil here isn't used to soaking up rain like in Seattle, so they have all these drains and storm field things. We could've gone swimming in it, it was like a little lake had magically formed in a couple of hours! 

I figured we would be changing our clothes soon anyway, and we'd get wet no matter what, so the kids were splashing all around in their church garb. You can't see me in any pics, but I threw my Hunter's on and was running and splashing with them. A few people drove by and waved and smiled...a few looked at us like we were CRAZY. I guess if you're acclimated to this as winter weather it would seem kinda funny. But we had a BLAST! 

And Jacob said he didn't think we'd need our rainboots here in Texas! Maybe we'll just call them winter boots instead :)

It's nice to feel like celebrating the rain. I love the tropical feel of it here. We are slowly getting settled into our new life and, honestly, we are loving it!

PS-our car is easy to find in any parking lot these days - I think it's the only car in this city that has ski racks on top! (lol)

Hazel at 3 months

Our Hazel Grace is 3 months old!

Already?

(don't worry, I'm going to say that every month I post about her being a month older!)

I love her big, bright eyes and sweet, happy face - but I wanted to take a picture of her sleeping because she's just as sweet that way. So serene and beautiful. I only took one frame so the click wouldn't wake her - and I put on the little bonnet that was mine as a baby (because it's sweet and it also covers her bald head :) Sometimes during the hustle and bustle of the day I don't get to just sit and admire her while she's sleeping (sometimes I do) - but late at night when she's curled up next to me in bed, or early in the morning when the sun (yes, there's LOTS of sun here in Austin!) dances in our window with it's warm glow...I just stare at her. I touch her cheeks and nose, kiss her little eyebrows and lips and cheeks and chin and ears...she's delicious. I'm not sure how it came to be that we talk about sweet babies like they're something from the bakery or candy store...but I'll take a sweet baby over a piece of pie or chocolate any day. 

Hazel Grace - at 3 months -

-you are roly-poly chub-a-licious goodness! It is quite evident that you are a purely breastfed baby (I take pride, of sorts, that none of my babies have ever tasted a drop of formula).

-sometimes we call you Hazel Gracie because it's cute (and so are you!)

-you have killer eyelashes. I'm jealous :)

-you have the cutest little voice and have really discovered it the last week or two, I am thinking you'll be just as verbal as your bro and sis (who talk constantly and have huge vocabs for their age)

-you roll over  from back to tummy.

-you DO NOT take a binky, thankfully, you're easy going and don't really need a binky much, but it would be nice if you'd take it sometimes like at church so all your cute noises and talking didn't distract half of the congregation (in a good way, but still).

-you DO take your hands. You LOVE to suck on your fingers and little fists. You don't seem to prefer any certain finger(s) so I think it's just a phase (we haven't had a thumb sucker yet). You just love to stuff all of them in your mouth, it's rather cute and silly :)

-you really are a trooper. you sat in between your brother and sister all the way from Seattle to Austin and never complained. I was relieved you arrived with your eyes in tact. You really know how to just roll with things, which is probably part of being the third child, but also part of your personality.

-people always notice your big, beautiful eyes. We still don't know what color they'll settle to. Currently they're still that baby denim blue color, but they could very easily shift. It's a fun guessing game :)

-you have mastered your little jungle gym - you reach and grab and swat the little animals and rattles and have a ball in there. sometimes you grab the little bird toy and forget how to let go of it, which frustrates you but is kind of cute, too. Often, your siblings join you and secretly wish they had their own jungle gym. 

-your hair has really fallen out. I still think it's crazy how you started out with so much pretty dark hair and it somehow magically falls out. I like to say you're bald but beautiful. I'm sure more hair will start growing in soon ;)

-you're just so cute and sweet, and little. you're still wearing you're 0-3 months sized clothes but in another few weeks I think we'll have to pack them away (tear). You're growing up so fast!

-you still love tubby time but now you also love POOL time! You are a little fishy! We've had so much fun having a pool just steps from our front door in our new apartment home.

-you're a Southern girl now!

-We love you to infinity and beyond!

thoughts // today

It's been a little crazy, I won't lie. I am not a fan of moving and it makes me sick to think that within a year we are going to move AGAIN. (Only this time not very far, and we will be buying a home large enough for our family so that part will be exciting). I still have four boxes to unpack and for some reason just can't seem to get to it. This morning, when I was trying to make my bed, the kids ran in and decided it would be more fun to rip off the comforter and roll across the sheets (I guess I hesitated too long in deciding weather to strip the sheets or not today). My first inclination was to shoo them away - off to play elsewhere while I made the bed and got the baby dressed. But instead, I whipped out the camera. Somehow, I find great comfort with the camera in my hands, it helps me slow down to enjoy the moment I'm in - to really be present for a moment and see the life I have from one step back. The boxes will get unpacked...eventually. Everything will find a place...sooner or later. But sometimes these little ones just need me to halt what I'm doing and just be with them. Today. I don't think I've got one shot of the three of them yet - and I know it's never going to be perfect, so I might as well just catch them in the glorious moment of NOW. Little crazies and sillies! Sometimes they truthfully drive me crazy - but I still love them, all the time. They love each other, it's evident. Sawyer and Aspen are best friends, and they have welcomed Hazel into their circle with open arms. I love them all to pieces!

I sure do love them!

first 12 weeks

Last week, Hazel hit her twelve week mark, and as of Friday evening, she is THREE MONTHS OLD! A lot has sure happened in her first twelve weeks of life, that's for sure! 

A bloggy-friend (shout out to Erin Perry!) had a baby boy last fall and she documented his weeks in a simple and sweet way - which I thought was so fun, I wanted to give it a try myself. So...even though I've been frantically busy during most of her first weeks, I took a moment each week to snap a picture of Hazel and her teddy bear. It's absolutely amazing how much she's grown and how chub-a-licious she's become in that relatively short amount of time. See for yourselves...

The above photo was taken when she was a fresh ONE day old. She was smaller than her teddy! She was sooo tiny! For reference, it's a 15" teddy bear. Check out how fast she's growing bigger than her teddy these past 12 weeks. Can you tell she's a purely breastfed baby? I love her rolls and delectable cheeks!

Pretty crazy, eh? I'm glad I took the time to do this. I don't think I can keep it up every week, but I think I will now go month to month for her first year. Then, my thought is to display them at her first birthday party next summer!

Part of me is sad she is growing so quickly, but part of me just delights in how much she is learning and growing. She sure is a sweetheart - we can't imagine our lives without our Hazel Grace!

(and more) notes from the road

Day four we drove from Farmington, New Mexico, to Lubbock, Texas. The first part of the drive was beautiful, similar in some ways to Southern Utah. Pretty red rocks, but then these mesa things that were really cool, too. Parts of it actually reminded me of Central Oregon. And they had some mountains. The further south we went, though, the flatter it became. The hardest part of the drive altogether were Idaho and Southern New Mexico because they were just flat, straight, and boring (which makes a driver sleepy at times). We saw LOTS of big semi trucks and not a lot of other people on the road. 

We were pleasantly surprised when we got into Texas that things actually got more green. Really? Yes, really. And there were some rolling hills - maybe not mountains, but certainly rolling hills (bigger than I thought there would be). We stayed in the cute city of Lubbock. We arrived on a Wednesday, early evening - and in time to finally take a dip in the pool!

Hazel was napping when we went swimming (we just let her nap in her carseat while we took a dip!) but later when the kids were in bed, she woke up and so I gave her some of her own water time - her favorite, tubby time! 

There's nothing I love more than a sweet, clean, wet baby fresh from tubby time. I usually put some baby lotion on her and give her a little massage and then get her pjs on and then cuddle up and just smell her and kiss her cheeks the rest of the night :)

I laugh often thinking about how when a baby is getting rather chubby, and losing their hair - we think they are delectable and cute as can be. Not so as we get older! Enjoy it, Hazel! 

It was our best hotel yet. (I couldn't believe it was only $10 more than the nasty super 9 the night before!) We noticed right away - everyone in Texas was so nice and friendly. We got there on a Wednesday night and everyone asked if we were there for the game. (Texas Tech is in Lubbock). We also noticed right away how much everyone loves their football. Jacob and I don't pay attention to football at all, so in that way, I'm not sure how we'll fit in. But, in a strange way, once we crossed the border into Texas I felt like we were finally going home. 

The last day was just under 7 hours. Again, I was surprised that the land was green and the drive was rather beautiful. Lots of farm land and oil drills. But pretty. We stopped at this tiny little town to get gas and found about the only place in town to eat lunch. It was a pharmacy/drugstore/soda fountain combined. It was easy to see it was the most happening place in town. It was old-fashioned-down-home and it both warmed my heart, welcomed me, and made us both feel like we were in some sort of movie (Steel Magnolias came to mind). They greeted us with southern drawls and I couldn't count how many times I heard "y'all". Instead of looking at us like we were crazy to have 3 little kids, they all ooohed and ahhhed about our lovely family. We had burgers, shakes, 'tots (yes, they served tater tots), and I had a cherry coke float. It was good, fatty, food! And hung all over around the place were signs about how they support their local football team (high school team). As I looked around and thought about it, it dawned on me that that's about the most exciting thing that would happen in a tiny town like that, so no wonder! They had "friday night lights" painted on the door, and specials for those who came in after a game. I don't think I could ever live in a little town like that, but it was kind of heartwarming and refreshing to know that they still exist.

The last hour of our trip was probably the hardest. We knew we were close - and it was the first time the kids started saying they were sick of being in the car. The "are we there yet" moment. And of course Hazel hit her limit. So we pulled over on the 2-lane highway and I got Hazel out to nurse her and the heat just hit me. It was around 100 degrees. But it felt good. It felt so good that suddenly I wanted to be there NOW as well. And jump into the pool! And see if our stuff made it okay! And see where we would live, as Jacob had seen it before and signed the lease but I had no idea what it looked like yet. I was at my ropes end, too. But we had to hold it together. So we played more look-out-the-window-and-what-do-you-see games until we FINALLY made it to our gated apartment community in Austin, Texas.

Whew.

We made it!

We made a big deal and all shouted HOORAY!

Our stuff hadn't been dropped off yet (they give a window of all day long). It was 4pm and a bunch of guys from our new church congregation (ward) were coming to help unload at 6:30pm. The driver ended up being stuck in traffic so he got there about an hour late - BUT we had time to get refreshments for our helpers, and to get to know them a bit. Our friend, Kelsey, stopped by with her 3 kids and brought us DINNER! What a sweetheart! She knew. She knew that we drove 5 days and about 50 hours with 3 kids in the back of our Honda Civic and that when we arrived we'd have no plates, no food, no nothing. And that we'd be so tired from our journey, and trying to coordinate with our helpers, that we wouldn't have time to eat. Maybe she didn't know that she saved me from a migraine by bringing food and water. But she did. She saved us! And that was just the first time! 

Everyone has given us such a warm welcome. Texans really are that nice, and sincere, and genuinely friendly. It's refreshing. Maybe it has something to do with the weather? Not sure. But we made it and we were sure glad to finally be HOME.

We are now officially Texans!

And my kidlets are now waking from their naps so I am going to call this blog journey good and take them to the pool on this 104 degree day, y'all!

(even more) notes from the road

Day three of our journey started out with a delicious homemade breakfast by Grandma Carter - french toast and fresh fruit smoothie. (thanks!) It was way better than all the continental breakfasts, combined! Our goal was to head out by 9, knowing that with two kids, a nursing baby, and visiting with family, it would likely be 10. It was 10:15. BUT, just a bit after we started driving, Jacob's mom called (and our ringer was off, it was SO lucky I looked at the phone and saw several missed calls...all from her...I knew we must have forgot something). We forgot the diaper bag, which had my wallet in it. So, we turned around - she drove a little to meet us (thanks again!) and then we were really off, closer to 11...again.

So, I will freely admit that I don't think Utah is very beautiful. At least driving through the parts I am used to (Salt Lake/Provo etc.) I think the mountains are pretty when they're covered with snow...but otherwise it's just all brown to me. (Which is one reason I didn't stay there long at BYU - I missed the lush green and water of the PNW) Anyway...I had always heard Southern Utah is beautiful - and I'm happy to agree with the consensus: Southern Utah is GORGEOUS! Of course, I wouldn't want to live there. But camp there? Bike there? Oh YEAH! We drove through Moab, Arches, and edged by some other parks. As we drove around the corner and saw a place to pull over, I asked Jacob to pull over, quick! Sawyer and Hazel were asleep, and my sudden excitement woke Aspen up - so I asked her if she wanted to come on a little walk with me. So Jacob stayed with the other kids in the air conditioned car and Aspen and I took the camera and went for a little walk. I just had to!

"Look, Mommy! There's a hole in the rock!"

It was one of our longest driving days, almost 9 hours (plus stops). It was also the prettiest and most scenic day driving as we went through Southern Utah, a corner of Colorado (near Durango) - which was honestly my ultimate favorite part of our drive. Jacob and I made a mental note to come back and rent a cabin sometime in Colorado (we are already learning that just about everyone in Austin takes vacation - sometimes month-long vacation - in August when it's scorching here and pleasant elsewhere). We drove into New Mexico into a small town called Farmington that night...very late...again. It just happened to be the worst hotel of the trip, too. I booked them all fairly frugally - not the cheapest but pretty close. So each hotel (minus our elegant hotel in Lynnwood - you can't get a decent hotel for under $100/night in Seattle) was in the $85/range. But the super 8...got zero stars. The others were surprisingly nice for the price. Anyway, after checking into that hotel and being too late to swim (even though I don't think I would have wanted to swim in that pool!) I told Jacob we just had to get up early and go. So, the next morning we woke up at 6 and just schlepped the kids and our stuff to the car. We skipped the continental breakfast - the kids went back to sleep until almost 10, when we stopped near Albequerque for some breakfast burritos. The Northern part of New Mexico was also really pretty to drive through. Besides being tired of sitting in the car all day long, the road trip was rather fun. I love seeing new places and so much go by outside the window. It's kind of magical to see the sun come up and then watch it go down while on the road for so long. By this point I was still amazed at how well the kids were doing. I think they were doing almost better than I was!

(more) notes from the road

We slept quite well.

And because we were so tired, and got in so late, and there was an hour difference in time...we all slept in.

We woke to the sun around 9am (though Jacob, awesome guy that he is, got up two hours earlier and started some laundry for us). The kids of course were pretty excited about (another) continental breakfast. 

Sleepyheads!

This day was our shortest drive, just under 7 hours to Jacob's parent's home in Erda, Utah. The drive went by pretty fast, actually. It wasn't a very scenic drive, if you ask me. BUT, we did stop for lunch at Cafe Rio - which is one of my favorite things about Utah (but now it's in several other states, including Idaho, where we stopped). That was De-lish! 

We made it to Grandpa and Grandma Carter's house in time for dinner. It was great to see them! The kids were beyond excited to be out of the car and play with all the old toys in their basement, and run around outside for a bit. They were crazy hooligans, that's for sure. Who can blame them? Sitting all day long in a car can be pretty boring...don't you agree?

Notes from the Road

I tried to document a little bit of our time on the road, though most of it won't be very interesting to you readers. It will, however, be a fond memory to recall as our little family made our own sort of pioneer trek from the Pacific Northwest all the way down South to Texas. 

We mapped out our travel plans and travel time for each of our five days of driving averaged about 8 hours (a couple of days a bit less, and a couple days a bit more). That means, 8 hours if you didn't stop at all. 8 hours a day with a 4, 2 and 2 month old meant more like 11 hours a day, as we had to stop for lunch, dinner, potty breaks, and nursing breaks. And every now and then Jacob and I did a Chinese fire drill to switch drivers. We were in a hurry, but we tried to enjoy and make the most of the times we stopped to stretch our legs. I have to say I was shocked and amazed at how well all three kiddos did considering it sucks to be stuck in a car for that long...for five days in a row. They were rockstar road trippers, for sure!

I am going to backtrack a moment. So, we packed everything up and cleaned our townhouse and were out by Friday evening. We met up with some friends for Menchies Frozen Yogurt in Lynnwood (a suburb just north of Seattle) and checked into our hotel that evening. The next day, I hopped on the ferry and went to spend the day on Whidbey Island, where I photographed a gorgeous wedding. It was a perfect day - until I suddenly got sick! Luckily, the ceremony was over, but right when they were reading speeches and toasting at dinner, I got sick, like stomach sick UGH!  I ran off and tossed some "cookies" in the outhouse of the private beach (and it was hot that day, so it was a bad combo). I went back and caught them doing the cake (well, actually, they did pie, but you know what I mean) and I got sick AGAIN! This time, I ran off and tossed some more cookies - behind someone's horse trailer. YUCK. It was the worst! And I felt so bad - bad because I felt so sick and bad for getting sick during their wedding as the photographer! I had to leave early. Luckily, they are way awesome and were totally understanding and really, we got most the pics we needed by then anyway, but still! So I booked it back to the ferry - and tossed even more cookies at a stop sign along the way (who knew I had so many cookies in me?) It was horrible! I got back to our hotel about 10pm and told Jacob I was sick so the next day, though we planned to get an early start, I told him to just let me rest until I felt better to travel. Luckily, I did feel better after a good night's rest and we headed out about 11am. Destination: Idaho

We drove through Washington, Oregon, and then into Idaho. When we finally were hungry for dinner, we found this tiny little cafe in the middle of NO-WHERE. You know, where maybe a trucker stops by - it looks something like the photo below?

Aren't those the BEST places? I just love the down-home food and how everyone knows each other (I guess when there aren't many people around it's easy to learn everyone's name). Anyway, the kids were ecstatic to get out of the car and we were all hungry. I let them play around in the parking lot for a bit (since there was only our car and one big semi truck :) No toys needed: isn't it amazing the little things that can entertain kids? They had a blast just tossing rocks around and running around being silly until we went in to get some grub.

I had to laugh when Aspen kind of got all giddy and started pointing to an old picture of John Wayne and said "look! there's Grandpa!" I think she was remembering when she saw my dad in his pioneer trek outfit and Indiana Jones hat. Silly girly!

The kids had the biggest pancakes of their life (and they were SO good I had to try some, too!)

Hazel was such a trooper, as well, considering she was stuck in the middle of her two crazy siblings in the back of a very small Honda Civic the entire way. We are blessed with great little travelers and didn't have to go to great lengths to entertain them (although I am definitely going to admit that the iPad came in very handy on occasion). 

We stayed in a hotel just north of Boise that night, a town called Meridian. It was a nice little hotel and the kids were really excited about all of our hotels. We got in around midnight (we lost an hour so it was 11pm our time) The staff was so nice they offered to keep the pool open later for us if we wanted to take a little swim. I really wanted to! It was so nice of them! But, to be responsible parents we decided we should just get everyone into bed. It's surprising how tired you can feel after a day of sitting down in a car for so long, isn't it?

We slept like logs.

Good-bye Seattle

Well, the time had come.

Amongst all the craziness of preparing to move from one end of the country to another, we had to make some time for friends and to say some good-byes.

One day, we met up at the zoo with some of our favorite buddies. We threw all naps out the window and spent the entire day at the zoo. My friend had the idea to take a few pics of our cute girls together at the Rose Garden next to the entrance for memories sake, so we started there. Oh, the memories! Instead of being cooperative and cute together like they are (they have been besties since they were in the womb) they were crazy and started picking the roses apart. We didn't stay long because we felt bad they were destroying the rose garden! But they had a good time, of course - and the rest of the day was just as fun and just as crazy. Silly kiddos!

It's important to remember to stop and pick smell the roses.

Okay, a hug here and there as they ran around smelling/picking/destroying the rose garden and as their brothers ran crazily around us and Hazel started getting hungry. 

I have to say that those last few days before the big move were a bit crazy. My dear friend watched Sawyer and Aspen one day so I could get some more packing done, and then had us over for dinner. LIFESAVER! Not only that, but one of the dearest friends I've ever known. It's not often you cross paths with someone who understands you so well, and just happen to have kids who love each other like cousins and best buddies. Max has been like a big brother to Sawyer, and Ruby has been the one and only girlfriend Aspen has ever known. Luckily, we snuck in one more get-together to say good-bye. I kept putting it out of my mind - but the day had come to say good-bye to Seattle and all of the friends who had been like family to us. 

We also had a casual good-bye party at Matthews Beach one evening. We picnicked and the kids ran wild and so many of our friends stopped by I didn't know who to talk with every time I turned around. Some sweet friends even gave the kids some surprise gift bags with little treats and games to keep them busy on our loooong drive. And those came in super duper handy! (Danielle, I am still amazed at how many hours those slinkies and glow in the dark things kept the kids occupied! and Cassandra - those sticker books were amazing! thanks!)

I try hard not to get too wishy-washy, but I had a few moments where I was feeling very wishy washy. I mean, no turning back now, right? I had to give hugs and say good-bye. I got to see a few of the kids I nannied for all those years during college and before I had kids of my own. They have all turned out to be such amazing people! I even had the privilage of doing Senior pics for Claire - I met her when she was 6 years old and now she is this beautiful senior girl - she's down to earth, super smart, student-body-president - and has a great balance. So many people I could talk about. So many memories. Leaving Seattle was like leaving a lot of my life behind me. I kept thinking about this little song I learned in elementary school: 

Make new friends, 

but keep the old

One is silver 

and the other

Gold.

Seattle is full of Gold.

Outings // Deschutes County Fair

I'm trying to do a bit of blog catch up - a lot, actually. We made it to Austin and got our Internet connected yesterday afternoon and before I get too far behind, I want to try to catch up, before it becomes to overwhelming!

While the kids and I were in Oregon, we did lots of fun stuff. Did I mention that my brother, Dan, and his family now live in Bend? We got to play with cousins! They loved all their girl cousins! We also got to meet the newest cousin, baby Karlee, the day after she was born. We went to a movie with our cousins, and spent the day at the High Desert Museum with Grammie - the kids LOVED it there - they didn't want to leave after a full day! We of course had to stop by Goodies in Bend and run around a bit at Drake Park. We also spent plenty of time just chillin' in Grammie and Grandpa's great yard. The kids loved the kiddie pool (and loved streaking around the yard sans clothes). It was also a treat that the Olympics were on when we were visiting, because we don't have TV at our house - so we got to watch a bunch of Olympics in the evening with Grammie and Grandpa. I kind of threw schedules out the window and the kids missed a lot of naps and stayed up way too late - but we all had fun and rolled with it. I think it's good to teach kids to be flexible and adaptable (ha ha). I think the gymnastics was all of our favorite - and the kids started running around pretending to do a lot of different sports - especially gymnastics, but they also tried out volleyball and water polo. Sawyer got so excited about the gymnastics he just thought he could run and start flipping like they did. He gave it a good try, and to my surprise, he did a few pretty accurate front handsprings. Once, though, he over-rotated and hit his cheek on the hard wood floor and got a beautiful bruise. Maybe I should sign the kid up for a tumbling class?

Anyway, one evening, we went to the County Fair. I hadn't been in years, and figured it would probably be years before we went again, so why not enjoy? Grandpa, Grammie, and Aunt Tia came with us to enjoy some good fair food and a few fun rides. 

I didn't bring a stroller, so my mom pulled out the stroller she used with my youngest sister (now 21). We kept joking about our truly "vintage" stroller. Hey, it worked great and we even got both kids in so we wouldn't lose them in the crowds. They were super excited about the fair.

Sawyer trying out the big tractors.

I think Mr. Billy had a crush on Aunt Tia!

And the part I was most excited about...I let them try cotton candy for the first time! I remember loving it as a kid. Aunt Tia found some fresh cotton candy in all these flavors I hadn't heard of and she got them each their own. Aspen, surprisingly, didn't love it - but Sawyer thought it was. They shared some with me, which I enjoyed as well (I've had a sweet tooth lately and I really should watch it, but hey, how often do you get cotton candy at the fair?)

I bought a book of tickets for the kids, thinking that the kiddie rides would be less tickets so they would get more rides - but surprisingly, they were just about the same as the big rides! Oh yeah, that's one reason I don't go to the fair often - it's kind of a rip off! But oh well - we were having fun! So, we got some tickets and I was going to divide them between the kids...until we went to the first ride and we found out Aspen was too little to ride all but one ride. I kind of forgot about the height restrictions - and Sawyer barely made it himself (my kids are small). Aspen was kind of disappointed, but was a great sport about it. We let her ride the one ride she could a couple of times - and since hardly anyone else was on it, the operators let them go around several times more than usual. The canoes. Aspen was thrilled! They would wave everytime they came around, and Grandpa would give them high fives. Their excitement was contagious!

Sawyer, who is usually hesitant about jumping to try new things (he's a bit more cautious, in general, which has both it's advantages and disadvantages at times) surprised us all and was super excited to ride all the rides he could! He let me go on the roller coaster with him, and I was surprised he wasn't nervous, just so excited! It was really cute. I think he liked that Grandpa, Grammie, and Tia were watching him, too.

While Grammie and Tia snuck off to ride a "big kid" ride, I sat with my dad and the kids on a bench. The kids ran around, and I sat and was nursing Hazel. A nice lady (probably close to my age) sat down on the bench and we started talking. I am fairly certain she was eyeing my dad and thinking "wow, he robbed the cradle" until I explained how I was visiting my parents and that was my dad - not husband. It was kind of comical. Aspen really loved Grandpa - and I have to say I think she's a bit of twinkle in her Grandpa's eye, too. She's not only a cute girl, but her personality is so easy going and fun - who can help but love the girl? It was so much fun to spend some time with my parents, my twin sister, and my brother Dan and sister Jamie as well. I wish it happened more often. Of course, now that we live in Texas, it might not happen as often as we would like. Which is one reason I took the trip and we stayed almost ten days. We had a great time! AND I survived the long-ish drive solo with three kids. Having now driven all the way to Austin, 6-8 hours in the car seems like nothing. I'll post more about our looooong drive soon - and keep catching up little by little in the next few days.

Thanks again, Grammie and Grandpa - we sure had a great time with you, and at the fair. I guess next time we visit we'll have to make our visit coincide with the fair again because Sawyer has asked several times if when we visit next we can go to the fair again. It was a fun evening - thanks!