Droullard Coast Trip 2011

We just got back from our 5th annual Coast trip with my parents and sister's family. What a cool tradition, we have so much fun hanging on the beach and just watching the kids run around together. This year we were a little unlucky with the weather, which put a damper on the ocean wave playing, but we still got dressed warm and braved the elements. There was only one day that it rained all day and this was the day that Grandma and Grandpa took Piper and Garret on a special outing to Seaside. They rode a carousel, ate ice cream, saw an octopus at the aquarium and had a great time. Dave and I decided to take the boys on a walk along the beach to town, we got soaked from the rain, and it was almost a miserable walk, but luckily we decided to embrace the rain and I was amazed at how much less tense I felt after I just decided to let myself get wet. It actually felt good and refreshing. The boys were cozy as ever snuggled down in the Chariot, they even took a nap during the ride.



And of course the puppy got his puppy crazies out non-stop at the beach. Something about sand on his puppy paws must feel so good! Mango just runs and runs and runs at the beach, it is so fun to see his puppy ears flapping in the wind. Ahhh puppy heaven!

My sister brought kites for the kids which was fun. But the fun didn't last long because Uncle Kevin was getting fancy with his stunt kite and sliced the string on both his and Piper's kite! Piper's kite flew up and away and was no where to be found, then later Auntie found it in someones yard. Piper said, "Auntie is a superwoman - she found the kite!"



Calvin gives the best hugs! I love this picture of him and Grandma Linda.

The boys weren't too sure about this crazy creature (the seaweed, not my dad I am talking about) =-)

As you can imagine, it was not easy getting the four kids to smile for the camera at the same time, this one turned out pretty good though...

Creative fun on the rainy day...

Near the Big Rock at Cannon Beach there are amazing tide pools that are so fun to explore. The colorful starfish and squishy sea anemones were a highlight, as well as the hermit crab. It was fun to see Jett and Piper get so excited about holding the the hermit crab, they had no fear, even when it came out of the shell and walked around on their hands. Calvin on the other hand wanted nothing to do with the mysterious creature.

Spending time together: walking on the beach, digging in the sand, chasing waves, building river dams and enjoying the salty beach breeze, this is what the coast trip is all about. What a special time, thank you mom and dad for making this trip happen each year - we love it!

And of course no Coast trip would be the same with out the deluxe sand castles that David and Kevin build every year. These creations always draw lots of attention and conversation.

And last but not least...we were excited to finaly meet Tatem June the new baby of our friends Erin and Andy who live in Portland. They made a day of it and met us in Cannnon Beach our last day there. So fun to catch up, go to the candy store and have lunch.

Oyster Race - Team Shuck Yeah

A couple weekends ago a few friends (Julie and Sunny) and I competed in the Off Road Oyster Race! They have several of these races around the country,the best description is it's kind of like an Amazing Race/Adventure Race only in one day. There were clues that we had to solve and we had to run and bike all over town doing different challenges on the clue cards. For example they showed us three different pictures of different landmarks in town, we had to choose 2 of them, run there take a picture of ourselves in front of the landmark and run back. Next we rode our bikes up to Tetherow Crossing (a new fancy golf course on the way to Mt. Bachelor), then find the driving range and hit a golf ball between two flags, there we were given another clue to find the flaming chicken on Phil's trail, we had to figure out the fastest route there and back to the tranisiton area. There was more running and more biking and more clue figuring along with beer identifying, blindfolded canoeing, keg carrying and the last event was the slip-n-slide to the finish line. Sunny had a GPS device that said we traveled almost 23 miles during the race, it was a blast and beautiful day. I can't wait to sign up next year!

The kids were there to cheer us on at the end and even got to try out the slip-n-slide too. Piper couldn't get enough!!!

Getting out and about

Today we joined a big group of kids in the Old Mill for the Little Commuters Parade. The kids got to decorate their bikes and race around a big loop through the shops at the Old Mill. It really was more like a race than a parade because there were no "on lookers" to parade in front of and the kids (Piper included) just took off racing past the clown on stilts who I think was planning on leading the group. I was in the back pushing the Chariot, but I started to feel nervous not being able to see Piper. Finally I ran ahead and caught up with her, she was so disappointed. She said, "Go back, I want to ride this ALL BY MYSELF!" Who IS this independent little girl! A little crushed, but feeling better that she was now in my sight, I hung back and let her do her thing. =-)

Dave is on a "guys trip" this weekend celebrating his bestest buddies from high school, Dan and Mike Shaws birthday. This is my first time having the kids on my own for 4 days in a row and I have to say it is going pretty well. Finding and planning little outings like the parade today have been key in keeping everyone busy and happy. It is always a little intense getting out the door...imagine with me: finding and putting on shoes, socks, coats, packing snacks or lunch, water bottles, camera, phone, stroller/scooter, helmet, sunglasses...yadda yadda. All while making sure diapers are dry, Piper has gone pee, Mango has food and water, doors are locked. And most likely listening to questions and requests from Piper, whining and/or crying boys following me around or climbing on chairs, couches or tables narrowly falling and bumping their heads. And just as we get out the door, it is a race to get the boys right in their car seats and strapped down so they don't run off down the ally or more likely straight to the pile of dirt we have in the driveway waiting to be spread in our garden. Once the kids are in the car, I usually make a quick run back inside to grab the rest of the gear we need for the outing, and of course notice the dirty dishes, messy counters, leftover food not quite all licked up off the floor (Thanks Mango, for all that you do eat on clean up duty), clean laundry not quite folded on the couch, cars, trucks, dolls, toys, books, sporadically scattered across the living room floor...Thankfully I can laugh, leave it all behind as I shut the door and hurry off to enjoy the beautiful day OUTSIDE!!!



Here is a picture of our fantastic new sand box! Already this activity has proved key in backyard entertainment. So nice to let the kids go crazy, all while giving me a chance to clean up inside, switch one of the endless loads of laundry, or even get dinner ready (something I am not used to, since Dave is really the cook in our house).



Bike riding in the ally is another favorite backyard activity.



I love this picture of David and Calvin!



Last Sunday we road bikes to a park to play before going out to dinner. This has to be one of my favorite family outings. Biking with Piper in the bike seat behind me and the boys in the Chariot behind Dave. Sunny warm days, being by the river, playing at a park, eating dinner out, and riding home just after bed time so the kids are wiped out and readt go right to bed when we get home.

This time we even ran into friends at the park who have an electric bicycle and were excited for us to give it a try. It was super fun to give it a whirl, I was surprised how fast it went...Piper loved it too.

I rarely get to snap a picture of all three kids at once, here was my chance, not great but at least they were all looking my way!

The first Friday of every month there is an Art Walk through the downtown Bend stores. The kids in Piper's school have been planning to display their artwork at one of the restaurants and this month it happened. Each kid did a painting on canvas which they worked on for several days putting layers on layers of paint. Then they titled their piece. The titles were the best part, Piper called hers "Containers"! (It is the pink one of course)

We really like River Song School, and an added bonus is several of Piper's friends that she has known from before she can remember go to the school as well. We had dinner at the restaurant where her Art was being shown and so did many other families from the school. It was packed, but really cool to see how proud the kids were to show off their art. Piper had so much fun seeing her friends and teachers outside of the school environment. She was giddy with excitement, so cute.

And for the puppyhead, Mango, our "first born" is such a good dog! Hard to believe he is 6 years old now. Thankfully he has taken to his new role of bottom of the totem pole in stride. He still has his famous puppycrazies, but for the most part has really mellowed out. He is pretty patient with the kids letting them snuggle him and bury their snotty faces in his hair. Mango is a big fan of cleaning up the floor after the boys are all done with their meal. In fact Mango has learned the words "All Done" and knows just when to swoop in and go to town on all the floor droppings. This probably has something to do with his fondness of Calvin and Jett. Here are a few cute pictures of Mango playing ball with the boys.

Piper ran in her first "race" recently and LOVED it! It was so cute how excited she was about getting to run in this race. I just mentioned it as an idea of something fun to do, and she latched on to the idea and started practicing by running all around the house yelling, "Go Piper Go! Go Piper Go!" Race day was a rainy/snowy cold day, but that didn't deter Piper one bit. She just said, "We better bring my rain coat!" They had several heats for different ages and Piper ran in the 50 yard dash with other 3-4 year olds! We celebrated afterwards with hot chocolate and cookies! Way to go little monkey!

Grandma Alice is quite the woodworker and she made these special bear chairs for the boys. They love the chairs and properly thanked Grandma with big hugs!

The Great Outdoors

Piper's play group had another great field trip 2 weeks ago to the Metolius Preserve. One of the moms, Sarah, works at the Deschutes Land Trust and set it up so we could hike in the woods and play in the creek at one of their properties they manage. This was a super fun day, the kids had a blast running around, splashing in the water, finding bugs and lizards.

Calvin and Jett are starting to join these outings. I used to always leave them home with David (a nice bonus of work from home/flexible schedule dad), but one of my friends, Alissa, who also has kid number two in tow, started nudging me to bring the boys so they could get to know the group and be a part of it also. Having three kids out on my own can be challenging, but the more I do it the more confident I become. And really there is no better place to practice getting out and about than with this group of friends who are all great about watching out for each others kids.



We have been meaning to get the camper van out for the last month, but the weather has kept foiling our plans. So finally at about 8:30pm on last Friday night, we just decided to go for it since we didn't have any other plans for the weekend. I am happy to say that the trip was a success! We went east to the Prineville reservoir, where the weather is typically a little warmer. We found a sweet camp spot right near the Crooked River. Mango loved it, the kids had a blast digging in the dirt, throwing rocks in the river, climbing rocks, riding bikes and just hiking around. Even Grandma Alice got to enjoy the trip.



Piper especially liked staying up late to make a fire and roast marshmallows!