Fun in Portland

Peter had a work related training in Portland for 3 days last week, so we decided to tag along.  I only felt slightly bad that the boys and I got to play while he worked.

We left early Wednesday morning and dropped him off downtown before heading to the zoo.  We are definitely making use of our memberships!  We spent almost 4 hours there, then the boys napped for about 30 minutes in the car while I was driving.  We still had a bit of time to kill so we headed to Toys'R'Us where the boys played with toys and their train table for an hour and a half.  We picked up Daddy and headed to our hotel together!  We got our room setup then headed to Olive Garden.  Afterward we took the boys swimming at a local community pool since the hotel pool was closed for that first night.  The boys loved it!

Thursday morning Peter took public transportation to his training and the boys and I ate breakfast at the hotel then headed out to the local mall.  I had something to pick up for our EPIC girls retreat so I did that and then the boys played for a long time at the mall playground and those quarter ride machines (they prefer to play on them without the movement/money put in so it's great!)  We got a Sees chocolate then headed back to the hotel for naptime.  We picked up Daddy, walked around the downtown Portland waterfront, ate at the Cheesecake Factory, then went swimming at the hotel.

Friday morning Peter took the train again, we had breakfast and then I packed up the hotel room with the two boys.  Not.an.easy.task.at.all.  We checked out and headed to the Children's Museum.  We had the whole day to kill and there was nearly no one there so we spent about 4 hours there.  The boys loved it!  They were tired but I figured that instead of napping in the warm car that day, they could just nap in the stroller.  So I walked across the parking lot to the zoo again....might as well since it's right there and we're members.  Benjamin was so excited.  We walked the whole zoo, seeing most things pretty quickly in the hour and a half we had left before we needed to go pick up Daddy.  It was a beautiful day and so fun to be out and about.  We hit a Fuddruckers on the way home and I got home just in time to switch cars and head to worship team at church.  We were pretty tired that night, but it was such a nice change of pace from our regular routine.  We felt really fortunate to get to enjoy a bit of fun while our hard working Daddy learned a ton.

Walking wizard

It's been about 2 or 3 weeks now since Jonah has decided he wanted to walk all.the.time.  He prefers walking to crawling now, can stand up on his own (from the floor), and is quite fast.  Peter and I forgot how seriously adorable it is when they finally "get it"  We just can't get enough of him cruising all over the place.  And Benjamin loves it too.  I have a feeling its going to be a really busy, but wonderful summer with my two crazy boys.

Benjamin interview - 3 Years Old

I completely forgot to post this back in February when Benjamin turned 3.  I thought it'd be cute to capture an "interview" with my kids each year on their birthday to see how they change and look back on what they used to like/think.

1.  What is your favorite color?  green and yellow

2.  What is your favorite toy?  hammer

3.  What if your favorite fruit?  blackberries

4.  What is your favorite movie?  Kung Fu Panda

5.  What is your favorite thing to eat for lunch? nuggets

6.  What is your favorite game?  Thomas game

7.  What is your favorite snack?  fruit snacks

8.  What is your favorite animal?  giraffe

9.  What is your favorite song?  jesus loves the little children.  He's still working on me

10.  What is your favorite book?  the one that has all the stories.  look & find

11.  Who is your best friend?  Micah

12.  What is your favorite thing to eat for dinner?  soup.  spicy noodles

13.  What is your favorite thing to do outside?  get some sand and dump it on my head

14.  What is your favorite drink?  milk

15.  What is your favorite restaurant?  Mcdonalds

16.  What do you like to take to bed with you?  Flopinator, the ladybug, Tigress, Cookie, Elmo

17.  What is your favorite breakfast?  pancakes

18.  What do you want to be when you grow up?  just like Daddy    (exactly what he said.....melt my heart)
                                                  
19.  What does Daddy do for a job?  hammers  (Ben must have been playing with tools that day)

20.  What does Mommy do for a job?  I don't know  (of course right?!)

21.  What is your favorite thing to do with Daddy?  make a tent, throw your Floppy at him, pillow fights

22.  What is your favorite thing to do with Mommy?  sit down and rest and hammer.....that's all the jobs I have to do mom. 

Guess I need to go write a job description for myself and spend quality time with my son resting and hammering.  Ha ha, love you sweet boy.

Day at the children's museum

Last week Kristen texted me around 7:30 in the morning asking if I wanted to go to the children's museum for the day.  It took me a few minutes to get over my "I-just-want-to-be-super-lazy-today" attitude, and then I was totally on board!  We both got our boys and lunches ready and left a bit after 9am.

I had never been to the A.C. Gilbert House in Salem, but it was a lot of fun.  There was hardly anybody there since kids are still in school, and it was perfect.  Our boys loved all the exhibits and I enjoyed watching them have fun and hanging out with my friend.  A good day was had by all.

Easter Sunday 2013

Easter Sunday brought a beautiful, sunny day celebrating our risen Savior.  So much strength and security come from knowing and trusting in Jesus, who triumphed over even death!

I'm learning that attempting to get 'perfect pictures' is ridiculous, but I still try to snap a few so I can remember our celebration of God as a family.

And yes, my boys are matching.  I can't help myself.  So.ridiculously.cute.

Thank you Lord, for your power over the grave!