Grandpa love...

is taken to a whole new level when Oreo milkshakes are involved.

Babies can even suddenly learn sign language... please Grandpa?

Will read for ice cream.

Mmm! Yummy!

Staycation Part 2

Yesterdays post was getting out of hand so I decided to include our family hike/spontaneous trip to the Lake Oswego Boulangerie today. Especially since today's excitement included laundry, two naps, and cleaning the windows. Here's some pics of my cuties:

We tried a new trail a little further away and it had some amazing views

There was this old suspension bridge that looked like something out of Indiana Jones

Ok, this is not one of my cuties, I just loved the color contrast

Sometimes it's ok for your kids to eat pastries and goldfish crackers for lunch so you can enjoy a pear and brie panini.

It looks like I'll be searching for a part time job so I can afford this new lifestyle of gourmet sandwiches that I've become accustomed to.

Staycation

Remember when spring break used to mean weighing the pros and cons of Spain verses the French Riviera? When the biggest concern of the week was whether or not you would meet a hot guy or accidentally drink too much and fall off his yacht? No? Ok, me neither. Apparently I've been watching too many episodes of Gossip Girl.

But at least there was sun involved and I'm pretty sure I didn't have to convince the people around me to stop eating floss out of the garbage can.

Well those carefree days are over and I for one am not going down without a fight. I am not going to wallow in the fact that we have no money and more rain than the Amazon. We have/had 10 full days to enjoy some precious family time and fun will be had by all.

Let's start with Monday's agenda:

Sleep in

Make a pancake breakfast

Swimming at the aquatic center

long naps

Happy hour at Gustav's

Redbox the Tourist

It was a perfect day.

Tuesday we decided to take our traveling chaos downtown for a city adventure. We started with a ride on the tram which we've always wanted to do but never got around to.

It was pretty thrilling for Ava who declared, (to a full crowd) "this is the most fun thing you've ever taken me to in my whole entire life." I wasn't sure if I should be happy that she was so easily pleased or embarrassed that this whole group of people thought we were the lamest parents ever.

Then we cozied up in Starbucks with warm drinks and doughnuts before taking the train to our favorite toy store, Finnegans.

I thought we had probably pushed our no-naptime-luck with the kids but Ben insisted that we try this trendy hole in the wall sandwich shop. I took one look at the six crowded tables inside and the line out the door and declared to Ben that it was slightly delusional of us to think that we could make this work. I mean seriously. We're not in our twenties anymore. We don't just pop in and out of trendy sandwich shops like we don't have a care in the world. We have more baggage than a crowd of gypsies.

But Ben had faith and not only finagled us a table but a highchair and a place for the diaper bag. Sure it was crowded with a mix of hippies, business people and transvestites, Ava was singing, "Lord I lift you name on high" at the top of her lungs, and I had to shield her from vulger artwork in the bathroom. Nothing could bother me after I had my Mexican coke and pulled pork sandwich with apple slaw. I just looked at my handsome husband with awe for having faith that we could do something spontaneous and fun, even with two high maintenance little people who demand a steady diet of chicken nuggets and poop their pants at random. Ahh...it was pure magic.

And Wednesday I took four hours all to myself and managed to fit in a haircut, pedicure, Target run, trip to Nordstrom Rack (where I found two pairs of amazing shoes in the 75% off bin!), the Library, the farmers market, and a long walk.

All in all it has been a fabulous week and I have learned a few things. First, I need to keep my expectations low and enjoy the little things. Second, my kids are amazing and much more flexible than I give them credit for. Third, I need to stop watching trashy shows on the CW. And finally, sex in the afternoon is so much better than at ten at night. Am I right?! Maybe I can convince Ben's school district to give him noon to one off.

Only 2 more months until summer vacation. Whoo Whoo!

Cinderella

Well this is old news around here but Ava finished up her part in the Cinderella ballet on Saturday night. It all went surprisingly well except for a major pee accident right before her final dress rehearsal that almost ruined her costume. Sadly, I am the only one who had a meltdown and realized that I cannot go a week without a nap. Other than that it was wonderful to see Ava in her element. She had to practically (and once literally) be dragged off the stage. She asked me why she had to spend so much time backstage and told me she was here to dance. I honestly believe she would have used the entire time alloted to do an interpretive ballet solo onstage. It was a little intense with all the rehearsals but I think it was good for her to work hard for something and be proud of what she could accomplish.

Holding her audience captive with a fairytale backstage

Reading in between performances

Getting a pep talk from the doggy

Posing with Cinderella

Practicing the final bow

Sweet clowns

Star cookies for the cast

Cast photo

Flowers and balloons from Daddy

Preview

catching my breath

Well we finally recovered from Ian's reign of sickly terror and enjoyed a wonderful visit from my sister this past week. As always, we are too busy running around to stop and document any of our adventures. And after a week of dress rehearsals and performances from Ava's ballet production (still sorting through those 200 pictures) I am finally able to breathe deep. We had such a wonderful time with "Tia" Christy and are sad to see her go. It's just good to have her presence around the house. She fills in the gaps and adds sunshine to our days. I wish we had more time to see movies and go shopping, but I will take what I can get and then count the days until we see her again. Here are a few photos from our week:

Roller skating

Two gorgeous girls!

The above photo was totally unprompted and is probably how my child feels 90% of her life:)

Taking Ava to her many dress rehearsals

Wrangling baby Ian

Celebrating St.Patrick's day in style

Shopping and playing at the mall

Hot Dog On A Stick!

Thank you Tia for giving up your spring break to hang with my crazy brood. We love you!