Oregon

I decided to go to Oregon sans the camera. I just figured that I would use my mom's and then burn the pictures to a disc before I left. But, seeing as how I was a bit strapped for time before I left, I didn't get them. Oh well, here's what I will tell you about our trip.

1 Bloody Nose. You have to understand that the kids were so extremely excited about going on an airplane to visit their Nana and Grandpa Duck that they literally could not contain their spasing. They were bouncing all over the airport as I was avoiding the "can't you control your kids?" looks everywhere we went. As we get into the security line, I have my license and boarding pass ready. I look down at the stroller just in time to watch Destroy throwing his head back into Search's nose. Search turns around to look at me while inhaling for his first scream as blood comes trickling out of his nose. So, now, I have a screaming, bleeding toddler who I have to carry, a spasming kid in the stroller threatening to leap and all of our shoes, jackets, bags, stroller, etc that have to somehow get up onto the conveyor. And of course, no help from anyone around me. I will spare you the details of the rest of our trip but I will let you know that I am never traveling alone with my children. Ever.

2.5 Books Read. I love going to visit my mom and dad because I have more time to read! My sister in law recommended this one. I'll let you know how is ends :)

Speak is a great book. I actually saw the movie first because I was renting anything with Kristin Stewart in it just to check her out :) I think she'll be a great Bella in Twilight. Yes, I realized I'm obsessed.A friend of mine recommended "the princess books" to me recently by Shannon Hale. I really like her writing style and her books are very clean. Ok, I didn't read this one while we were gone, but I've read it since I got home. It's really cute. For those of you Jane Austen lovers out there, you would probably like this book. It's a fun, quick read.
3 Pair of Rockin' Summer Shoes.
Yes, I realize they are a bit expensive, but seriously. Look at the toes on those puppies! None of my children will get stubbed toes at the playground this summer. I've learned from experience to buy a good pair of shoes once, instead of a pair of cheap ones twice. And I got some cutesy ones too.

9 Cousins Played With. My brother Jake lives in Medford with his three kids so Search and Destroy have instant cousins to play with while we are there. Aaron's sister, Deanna came up with my Mother-in-law and her two kids for a day from Chico while we were there. She has two boys also, so the four of them had a blast together. Search especially had fun terrorizing her youngest, Lincoln. Watch out, Search. He'll be bigger than you some day :) Three days before we left my mom and I decided to take the kids up to Washington so that they could see their other cousins and surprise cousin Jenny on her birthday. Uncle Dave is away in Iraq but we got to see Aunt Laurie, Brett, Jenny, Luke and Sophie. A seven hour drive up to Washington easily turned into 10 with "Mommy, I need to go potty". And then 20 minutes later, "Mommy, I need to go poo". And then the worst, "Mommy, I already went". And so on and so on.

3 New Summer Cuts.

Search mostly just got a choppy cut to shorten the shag a little. His hair has to stay long because he has two very not cute cow-licks right next to each other in the back. And, sadly, almost all of his blond was cut off. Man, this kid has been through the spectrum in his life with hair color.

Destroy got a buzz. His hair looks cute super short because he has these blond streaks in front that get hidden when it's long. He also has an adorable cow-lick in my opinion. Yup, me too. Have I ever mentioned that I HATE hair? Not just mine, but ANY hair. It's nasty. One day, when I get to create my own world, I will make sure that not a hair can be found! But at any rate, I am happy with my haircut. Even though it's a HAIRcut.

1 Cute Necklace Finished.

My mom could open her own bead shop with the supply she has. She's very creative and talented at beading. She's always giving me great ideas while I'm making a necklace. Beading is quite addicting actually so it's probably a good thing that I'm a cheapskate and won't fork out the money to get started on my own. All I need is another addiction:)


1 Fun Summer Bag Finished.
I found some sweet fabric before I left so I brought it along and made a bag while I was there. This picture doesn't show the colors very well but it's all different shades of green. Cool fabric.

1 Happy Daddy/Hubby to See Us.

The day we got home was absolutely beautiful so we played outside until bedtime. And they were very ready to run. Somehow our two flights got switched to three. Talk about a long day of traveling.

Normally when the kids and I make our annual spring pilgrimage to Oregon, Aaron gets really bored and lonely. But, this time he was really busy. Not only was he working a lot but he also had USMLE step III to take and a lot of other things going on. Like a list of stuff to do from me :) He also bought an AK (another gun) while I was gone. How good can it get? Your nagging wife leaves and you get to buy a gun?

But what could be better than coming home to this!

And this!We have flowers all over our yard that weren't here last summer. With the exception of the last two days, the weather has been gorgeous. We've made it to the zoo a couple of times this last week and we've started the long process of making our yard look decent by removing all the dead leaves and plants. With the help of these flowers it will be looking really nice in a few weeks. I've decided that daffodils are a weed here. I see them everywhere! But, I'm not complaining. They are really pretty.

Anyways, we are happy to be home now. Destroy was happy to go back to school and Search begs to go too. Next fall, little man, and your turn will come.