The Bad Guys Did It

I came out of the laundry room yesterday to find this.

Kennedy put herself was put in jail by "the bad guys".  The picture had to be taken, because who knows how long it will be before she doesn't fit perfectly in the laundry basket anymore?



Mom in Brookings

Up until a few weeks ago, I hadn't seen my mom in just about 2 years.  Unacceptable.  But she came out to see us at the end of February, and I've roped her into coming in September too since she'll have another grandchild to see.  We spent 2 days here in Brookings and we did some cool stuff.

Brett was able to get us on a ride on one of the Coast Guard boats.  The gear is less than attractive, but it will keep you warm if you fall overboard.

We rode out to a lighthouse about 12 miles off shore.  I didn't get sick until we stopped near the lighthouse.  Although the sea was calm, you never would have known it by looking at that lighthouse.  The water was swelling so drastically it was scary - and beautiful at the same time.  There was a family of sea lions that were practically swimming on top of each other in the swells too, which was awesome to watch.

Here's Brett and the crew in full gear.  If you ever get stranded and need the Coast Guard to rescue you, this is what they'll look like.  Hard to miss in bright orange.



On the way back home, we got a chance to drive the boat.  Here's mom.

And then me.  I drove for quite a while and was completely paranoid the whole time that I would hit a bunch of crab pots.  They are really hard to see, especially with the wind blowing in your contact-wearing eyes.  We had gone to the beach that morning, so with these two activities we covered one of Brookings' best features: the ocean.  The next day we covered the second one: trees.

We went down to Trees of Mystery in California to walk through the redwoods.  It's a beautiful drive with trees on one side and ocean on the other.  Then, while you're walking through the trees, it's like you could never imagine being only a few miles away from the beach.

Us in the scary gondola that nobody else was scared of.  Those things never seem stable to me and I'm very afraid that it will plunge us to our deaths 100 feet below.  Needless to say, I don't think I'll ever go skiing.

Mom took this awesome picture of Kennedy and Noah sitting on a carved wooden snake.  They are both smiling.  At the same time!!  Next installment will be our trip to Portland that we took with mom.  Stay tuned!

Once There Was A Snowman

There was actually a snow day here in Brookings a few weeks ago, so we went driving up the river in search of enough snow to play in.  We found a really small area that was perfect for us.  Kennedy perfected her long awaited snow angels.  Noah really enjoyed the snow too, never really having seen very much before.

Of course, we had to build a snowman.  It was awfully small, but we didn't have much snow to work with.

He's adorned with Noah's hat.  He was probably cold after we left since we took it with us.

Kennedy managed to snap this picture of mom and dad right before we left.  I think she did a pretty good job.

Thoughts and Pictures

Kennedy has been taking a dance class since September.  If you missed the video from her dance recital in December, please let me know.  It really is a must see.  She has been LOVING this class and constantly twirls and asks to be able to get a ballet bag.  Her friend Mia was wearing a very glittery skirt this week, and Kennedy showed some ADD tendencies with it.  She couldn't keep her eyes, or her hands, off of it.

She also cannot get enough of her tutus.  She's wearing two in this picture.  She was also wearing two the other night at dinner, when in an attempt to get some dessert she stuffed so much pasta into her mouth she proceeded to throw up.  Over both tutus.  They ended up in the trash, needless to say, and I will be making her a new one for her birthday.

Just a beautiful sunset at Whaleshead Beach.  The beaches here really are spectacular.

This is the best Band-Aid ever.  Noah was spinning in the kitchen when he lost his balance and fell on the oven, then ricocheted and spun all the way to the cabinets on the other side where he fell right on the sharp corner.  It was quite a knot, and a bit of a cut.  I thought this Band-Aid was the perfect one to come out of the box.

We play human potato heads at our house.

Two cute and happy kids.

This is SO Super Delayed

Aaaaaaand Christmas pictures

Here's Kennedy in her new ballerina monkey jammies with her new kitchen and shopping cart that she asked for every day for 2 months.  Her biggest present.  She loved it.

I think his face says it all.  My grandparents sent this to Noah, and it was by far his favorite, along with a small stuffed puppy that my mom got him.  He attached to that thing like nobody's business.  He now has to sleep with it, take it in the car, and play with it.  At all times.

He carries it around in the crook of his arm, kind of in a choke hold.  There has been some issue with naming this puppy though.  A friend suggested Spot.  Which Noah pronounced Spock.  So while I was calling him Spock, Brett insisted on Spot.  But then Noah realized that the puppy was wearing a patch just like he has to.  So now there are three names in the running.  But mostly, he just gets called puppy.

And Again....

My cute pirates on Halloween.

Dear Daylight Savings Time,
You are evil.  My kids do not understand and decided to wake up at 5:30.  I have a suggestion.  Don't come back around in April.
Tired mommy

Dear Pottermore,
Step it up please.  The only thing I can do right now is make potions.  I want to duel!  I want to explore Chamber of Secrets!  I want new stuff!
Harry Potter obsessor

Dear Coast Guard.
We have a love/hate relationship right now.  I love that Brett gets to come home almost every night now that he's qualified.  It makes a HUGE difference and we really love having him home so much more.  I hate that you feel like it's not necessary to inform us about whether or not we will be moving yet.  Literally we would want to leave in about 5 weeks.  And we don't know if we're going yet.  Please tell us soon.
Frazzled

Dear Giada de Laurentiis,
You know how men have man crushes?  Well, I've realized that you are my woman crush.  I hope that doesn't make you feel awkward.
Kitchen wench

Dear Brett,
You were the first person that I told about my woman crush.  I hope you know that means that it doesn't change the nature of our relationship and that I still love you as much as ever.  Besides, I've known about your man crush for a long time, and it doesn't bother me.  Russell Crowe is a good actor.  Even if he might not be that nice in real life.
Your wife

Most. Amazing. Photo. Ever.

Creativity

Kennedy is always very thoughtful of her stuffed animals.

Rock Star

Kennedy is currently obsessed with sunglasses.  We've gone through 3 pair in the last 6 weeks.  She says she's a rock star.

In fact, she pretty much never takes them off.

I hope she stays obsessed a little bit longer.

Questions

When did this boy get so big?  When did he start playing with puzzles and sitting in chairs?

Where did the time go?  I have two kids?  They're both big enough to sit still at the library (for about 5 seconds)?

How did I get lucky enough to have the smartest, cutest, sweetest kids in the whole world?

Driving Home

On the way home we drove on the coast so we could see as much of Oregon as possible before we leave (we'll probably be leaving in December).  We started by driving to Tillamook, where, I HAD to go to the cheese factory.

We have fun being dorks.  Especially if it includes free cheese samples.

Kennedy complained the whole time we were in the factory because all she wanted to do was drive this car.

Brett got mad because he had to be in the picture and I didn't.

Things we discovered about Tillamook:

1. It truly smells like cow manure.  It's slightly gross.

2. The cheese factory is hopping because there's nothing else to do in town.

3. The cheese at the Tillamook factory is more expensive than the cheese at our grocery store 7 hours away.

*Brett wrote a complaint about the price of the cheese and popped it in the suggestion box.  They then proceeded to send us a "thank you for your comment" in the form of coupons for cheese.

We then made a small stop in Newport for lunch and a trip to the aquarium.

Swimming with pirahnas.

How Brett got that stroller in that tiny tunnel on the floor that I could barely fit through is beyond me.

Kismet

Completely by accident we found a public fountain park in Portland.  Somehow we happened to have the kids' bathing suits in the car.  It was kismet.



Kennedy stole another girl's barbies while cousin Wyatt fended off any kids who thought they might be able to play with the same fountain as them.

Since Wyatt was in Noah's bathng suit, Noah was the only one not making trouble.

We love cousins.  We love random water play time.  And mostly, we love our darling kids (and cute Wyatt too).

Grilled Cheese Grill

Yes, this is where we ate dinner the first night we were in Portland.  It's a double decker bus and they serve grilled cheese.  Only grilled cheese.  Kennedy was so excited to eat on the bus she could hardly contain herself. 

The tables inside the bus were decorated with old yearbook pictures.  Classic.  And while we waited for our meals, we answered questions from the deck of Trivial Pursuit cards conveniently on the table.

I got a sandwich on sourdough with mozzarella, sun-dried tomatoes, mushrooms and artichokes.  It was yummy yummy yummy.  Kennedy had the preschooler, which was just a normal sandwich with no crust.  And Brett had this behemoth.

That's a grilled cheese on top of a burger with another grilled cheese on the bottom.  That's right.  No bun.  Grilled cheeses instead.  And he ate the whole thing.  Crazy!  We also had a grilled cheese for dessert which was AMAZING.  It was nutella, bananas, and mascarpone cheese grilled on cinnamon raisin bread.  It was suggested that you eat it alone.  I understand why now.

Our first night in Portland was definitely a success.

Princess Kate? Princess Kennedy!

Princess Kate ain't got nothin' on this sweet princess.

The highlights of the royal wedding came on while we were eating breakfast here on the west coast, so I took my cereal to the couch instead of the table.  This is unusual, so Kennedy asked me what was going on.  I told her that a real prince and princess were getting married and she immediately left the table and came to watch.  She kept yelling at the screen, "Is that Princess Kate?!"  "Is she wearing a big dress?!"  "Are they getting married?!"

At this point the excitement was too much and she ran into her room yelling that she was getting her crown, tutu and princess shoes.  She couldn't find them in her room, so she came careening down the hall into the front room and started throwing things out of the toy boxes in there.  She then put on all of her gear and announced that she was Princess Kennedy.

Someone was excited.

Small Joys

Sometimes I wonder how it is that kids find wonder in such small things.  I like some simple things - like sitting on my couch reading while a breeze blows on me from the open window, or drinking a cherry limeade, or seeing duck bums in the air.  Every once in a while I will think that I'm seeing through the eyes of a child.  I do that a lot when I go to the aquarium.  Some of those creatures are amazing, and I am always in awe of how beautiful the little jellyfish can be.  Sometimes I giggle like a little girl at things that I think are cute, which I will admit that I did when we watched The Land Before Time as a family a few days ago.  There are still some things that baffle me though.  And although I don't always understand, I'm glad that I get to be part of that wonder and joy for my daughter.

Rise and Shine!

Breakfast around the Lee house is usually a simple affair, but I think the kids enjoy it all the same.