Memories before the chaos

I have Internet again!!!!! My little family has been on a very big and long adventure.  More details on that to come (I am trying to find the right words and state of mind to write that post) all I can say is that this hands down has been one of the most trying times in our life and I feel so blessed to have a wonderful family and kids who are such troopers.

One week before our BIG move my dear and very talented friend Heidi Helser took these pictures of my growing family. It was bittersweet it felt like putting that final photo in a memory book. A chapter in your life that is now over. I am so glad we were able to get these done.

**if you live in the Portland area or in the Willamette Valley be sure to check out Heidi Helser Photography**

White Sands

 I have finally worked up the courage to go through our road trip photos (there are SO many) One of the highlights of our trip would have to be our visit to White Sands, NM. First off because in husband's family this is a tradition, they have generations of family that have all climbed those dunes. Can I also take this moment to talk about climbing those dunes, sure the slide down is fun but the intense cardio workout of getting up there holding a toddler and having a baby bump was enough to make me rethink doing it more than a two times. WOW!

Without getting too nerdy White Sands NM is one of only two places in the world that actually has completely snow white sand, it was incredible there were moment that you looked over and actually thought it could be snow. We spent the morning there with family eating breakfast, sliding down dunes (two times for me thank you) and just enjoyed this beautiful sight. I fell in love with the mid century looking shelters all scattered around the camp site. Definitely a place I would love to go back and visit again.

Zoo Light Rookies

Even Santa goes to Zoo Lights 

B was roaring at the dragon 

 My MIL was in town this week and we decided to all head over and meet some friends at Zoo Lights at the Oregon Zoo. We received complimentary tickets and since none of us have ever been, it felt like the perfect opportunity  We were lucky that the evening cleared up soon as we arrived and were able to enjoy ourselves without being totally soaked.

Being rookies we had no idea what this was going to be like. We were all pleasantly pleased at just how awesome Zoo Lights is. Between the animal display on the concert lawn to the giant dragon that shoots  out smoke (lights in shapes of rings) it was all amazing. But of course the thing that took the cake with my boys (if you have read this blog a little you will probably already know the answer) was the train. It was decorated with a ton of lights and takes you around the whole zoo with lit animal scenes staged all around . It was the first thing we did right when we got in to beat the lines and the toddler late night grumpies. Bear of course could have riden it all night and been perfectly happy.

Our night continiued with the older toddlers running around admiring all  the lights until they were both too tired and requesting a ride on the shoulders of both their papas. It hands down will be added to our holiday traditions.

For more info on Zoo Lights at the Oregon Zoo be sure to check there website HERE.

Punchbowl Falls

We went for a hike at Punchbowl Falls earlier this week. We strapped our boys on our backs and off we went. Every time we do this I always think "why don't we do this more?". I forget how much I love being outdoors.

When we arrived at the fall we were a little disappointed  Here's the thing about Punchbowl that we failed to find online. In order to see the waterfall you either have to hike up and look at it from above or you actually have to walk into the river to see it. The water was low but we didn't bring any waterproof shoes so we settled with tossing rocks in the river and enjoying our time anyway. It was beautiful.

We let the boys play for a while before heading back. They were both troopers and seemed to enjoy their time as much as we did. We are already planning our next hike. I really hope we make this a habit.

Family Boat Trip

Picture source HERE

my papa was very excited about the trip

Bear and his backup dancers

Grandma love 

bubbie love 

One tired birthday boy

Uncle and Bear

Wearing grandpa's hat

As I mentioned before we had A WHOLE LOT of family come visit for Wolf's first birthday. Most of their trip was mainly helping set up and break down the parties but on Sunday afternoon we had a little time to spend sight seeing. We decided on the Willamette Queen afternoon excursion. And although not totally planned we took the nautical theme one step further. 

We ended up being the only people on the boat. The Captain was kind enough to let the boys steer and blow the whistle (which was a delight to Bear). We spent the next hour and a half  walking in and around the boat chatting and being silly.

I think my favorite memory of the whole event was watching Bear cut a rug with his bubbie and great grandmom. One thing you should know about Husband's family is they LOVE to dance. They can't even contain it if there is a good beat so it was only natural to have three generations dancing up a storm. 

Grandparents shared their time cuddling the littles and I was lucky to have so many people willing to help carry Bear back to the car as our birthday boy was exhausted and spent the last bit of the ride in his Ergo. 

A day at the beach

    

We took a trip to the beach (Or coast as they call it here?) this week. Despite skipping naps and taking what felt like a survivalist amount of things it was one of the most relaxing afternoons we have had in a long time. It was chilly and windy so it took the boys a while to get use to it, so in that respect I was happy we took our tent since we were able to bring them inside and have lunch until they were ready to explore. It wasn't long until they were digging in the sand and W was  trying to eat it. It was the sweetest thing to watch him crawl around in the sand. He would get so excited trying to grab it that he would plop on his belly and make little sand angels and laugh. 

I was so excited to get this day to spend together as a family. Husband and I have been pretty busy the last month and it is so easy to get caught up in the grind and stay in the same routine. It is alway nice to leave all that behind for even a few hours and just soak up these moments as a family. 

Willamette Fruit Company

We made plans to go berry picking with a few friends today. And it was just one of those days where things just didn't work out as planned. Moral of the story carry cash when you go berry picking.
So my friend and I decided to make the best of it and settled down at the Willamette Fruit Company.
They have a great playground and a few tractor bikes for kids to play with. We must have come at the perfect time because there was hardly anyone there. I enjoyed their raspberry scones and and a cup of coffee while B enjoyed riding around on a John Deere, although he liked riding it backwards a whole lot better. He also loved the entertainment. There was a few men driving forklifts stacking all the crates you see in the background. It ended up being a better day than planned. I do love when that happens.

Also when I drive out into the country it never ceases to take my breath away. I had never experienced a place like this in my entire life. It is definitely one of my favorite things about living here.