A Real Live Date!

A few weeks ago Justin and I went on a fantastic date. Perfect actually. Our wonderful brother and sister-in-law took our 3 kiddos overnight and we went out. We stayed out late, didn't worry about getting home to relieve the babysitter, we ate at an amazing restaurant (if you are ever in the Portland area, you must go), but we did not sleep in the next morning. Reason being that my genius husband had the genius idea to set the alarm for 5:30 a.m. so that on the one day that we weren't waking up to a 1 year old yelling, "Come mommy, I'm poopy!" from his crib, we could drive to Mt. Hood and go for an early morning hike. Actually, it was genius. It was beyond beautiful, we hiked 7 miles at adult speed, and we got to talk and talk and it was perfect. Here's the proof.

Just a few tidbits

First, I would like to say that my husband, that's right people, my husband met this guy last night. Okay, well, they didn't exactly meet. But Justin did go to a talk he was giving at OHSU (the hospital where Justin works). Justin walked in late with a few other residents and Dwight, I mean Rainn Wilson, heckled them a bit, made fun of their white coats or something like that. Doesn't really matter, Justin got heckled by Dwight Shrute. And Dwight is pretty funny!

Next item is: Um, has anyone tried the green chile bagels from Costco? The Kirkland/Noah's Bagels brand. Yeah, they are really good. Toasted with a little butter. Made my morning.

Next up: my girls started school yesterday and I cried a bit walking home. I know it's schmaltzy but I miss them and their little brother misses them more. Here's an example of our whole day-long conversation. (Aside from the 4 hour nap he took - bless this child!)

Davis: Hey Mom, where AbbyEmma go?

Me: They're at school.

Davis: Oh, I go to Abby class right now, K?

Me: We can't Davis.

Davis: Oh, but where AbbyEmma, mom?

Me: School.

Davis: Oh (pause 2 seconds) Why mom?

Me: They have to go to school.

Davis: Oh, I go to school now K?

(Repeat 756 times)

Last item of business for the day:

I just got done reading this book 25 times to my little man. Did I mention I miss the girls?

Ft. Lauderdale

So, apparently I still have a lot of catching up to do with my blogging. These pictures are from May. Better late than never!

Justin had a conference in Ft. Lauderdale in May and I tagged along . . . just me . . . no kids . . . did you hear that people! Justin, me, no kids, Florida, sun, beach, pool . . . wow, it was amazing. It was the first time in a LOOOONG time we have taken a vacation together. Okay, so Justin did have to go to conference every day but it still was a major vacation for me and we still found plenty of time for fun. Thank you again and again infinity to Grandma and Grandpa T for taking care of the littles while we were gone. Our kids had so much fun with you that I don't think they even wanted us back!

This is the beach right outside the door from our hotel. Um . . . I spent a lot of time here while Justin sat in his conference.

Out to dinner with some of Justin's co-residents and his program director.

We rented a scooter one night and cruised up the shore for a few hours. It was really really beautiful. The guy we rented it from was so surprised when we asked for helmets. I don't know if anyone had ever asked for them before. Justin's treated way too many head injuries in the hospital . . . wear your helmets people! Especially when you're on a scooter that maxes out at 30 mph.

On our last day we rented a car with one of Justin's co-residents and her husband and drove down "the keys". We stopped at Key Largo and went snorkeling. So much fun and the drive down there was stunning.

Post snorkeling feast - such a good meal!

I am so glad that Justin and I can still have such a great time together. We just laughed and laughed. We missed the little ones but it was so nice to be together alone for a whole week! Thanks for the great time babe!

Are you kiddin' Me?

Where, oh where have these been all my life! Must be eaten directly out of the freezer. And yes, they will ruin your dinner. Maybe for 3 days in a row . . .

Olympic National Park

We just got back from a dreamy week-long camping trip and let me tell you, it was the Northwest at it's finest. Perfect sunny weather, gorgeous mountains, clear blue lakes, amazing hiking, hot springs and stunning coastline. Not to mention, dirty happy kids (oh and the adults weren't too clean either). I tried to trim down the number of pictures as well as I could but didn't do a very good job so bear with me.

Lake Crescent

Highlight of the hike at Lake Crescent

My crazy kids and their equally crazy and wonderful cousins

Have I ever mentioned how much I adore this girl?

This is pretty much what Davis and his cousin did the entire time - words can't describe the amount of dirt that was on these boys after a whole week of dumping dirt on their own heads

Sitting at the visitor's center at Hurricane Ridge - the views of the Olympics here were so stunning!

More from Hurricane Ridge - how I love those rugged mountain peaks

My men - Davis was so happy to sit there with daddy that I think he sat still for a whole 3 minutes

Day at the coast near La Push - yes Twilight fans, THE La Push. I found myself wishing I was a bigger Twilight fan so I could have enjoyed driving through Forks, Port Angeles and La Push a little more.

more beach - these logs provided a whole day of entertainment for the girls. As for Davis, he dug in the sand with his truck, surprised?

Lake Crescent repeat picture, sorry about that. But it's still pretty the second time.

This was the river at our campground. Davis spent all the time that he wasn't digging in the dirt, throwing rocks into the "riber".

Enjoying our nightly ritual.

One week camping + 3 kids = so much stuff that we could barely fit it in our huge minivan.

(This is out of order but this was our car when we left for the trip. It was ridiculous. I couldn't even see the kids in the back. It was kind of nice actually.)

Davis even read in the dirt.

Just a sidenote that this is the hammock that Justin bought for scout camp when he was twelve. We also used the pocket knife that he has had since he was twelve. Have I mentioned that Justin never gets rid of anything. He has an eraser that he used in 3rd grade that has his name written on it in Sharpie. He took it to his board exams last year. That's all.

More beautiful sites, and a cute little girl.

A week well spent! Thanks to my wonderful family for making such great memories!

Doing what we do at Bear Lake!

Okay, so we've been home from Utah for more than a couple weeks now, but we all know I am majorly behind on my blogging so I am just getting around to posting about our trip. While we were there, we spent a week in Bear Lake with my family. (Thank you Wilkinsons for letting us use your place!) We had a blast doing all the things you should do in summer - swimming, eating homemade ice cream, playing tennis, climbing, miniature golf, frisbee, a raucous game of kickball, etc., etc. It was wonderful and thank you again to my family for being so fantastic! We miss you all so much already!

Mt. Hood Cherry Picking

One of my very favorite things about living in Portland is the fruit-picking. There are so many U-pick farms really close by and we LOVE to go and stock up in the summer. Last weekend we drove up to Mt. Hood and drove the Fruit Loop. The views of Mt. Hood were the best we've ever seen and the the cherry picking was amazing! We were a little worried about Davis after all the cherries and pits he ate but he handled it like a champ.