summer break starts on friday, but we got a head start today when we picked the little guy up from school and drove straight to the pool.
i have the feeling that this is the summer that these kids of mine really become little swimmers. it’s going to be awesome!
home is…summer at the pool.
I woke up this morning, tried to figure out what day it was, and wished that it was summer break.
Reece wished for the same thing when I reminded him that it was a school day.
Just a few weeks ago our summer was WIDE open.
No plans.
We had a summer full of travel last year thanks to Ryan having extra time off between jobs, but this year we thought we would just stick close to home for our adventures.
Within the last week or so our summer calendar has begun to fill up…all road trips within the Pacific Northwest (except for Ryan’s cross country trip to New York for a wedding).
A couple of weeks ago, Ryan’s parents booked their trip to visit us in Portland. They arrive the day after the kids get out of school and will stay for a week! I am hoping they will get some nice weather during their visit as June can be a temperamental month here in Oregon. Some of the adventures during their visit may include a trip to Multnomah Falls and a visit to the Historic Timberline Lodge up on Mt. Hood. As always, a trip to Powell’s, a brewpub, coffee consumption, and Nana’s awesome kid activities will ensue.
This week, our 3rd annual trip to Lake Pend Oreille with my parents and my sister’s family came together. My aunt and uncle graciously open up their summer home on the lake for family to come play. My parents rent a house for all of us to stay in and we head over to my aunt and uncles house each day to have fun at the beach, sail, kayak, fish, jet ski, and explore the lake by boat. It is definitely a memory making trip for our family.
Yesterday, with both kids up before 5:30, I booked a beach house on the Oregon Coast. It’s been a few years since we have had a vacation at the coast and our day trip during spring break “sealed the deal” for me. The kids are at a perfect age to get out and enjoy what the coast has to offer. We have stayed at a few different locations over the years, but tend to like Bella Beach. We have stayed in 3 different houses there and I booked a different one for this stay. We usually spend time on the beach, explore Lincoln City, Depoe Bay, and head to to Oregon Coast Aquarium in Newport.
The Pacific Northwest offers so much during the summer. In between the big plans we will have a lot of small adventures:
It’s going to be a good summer…we just need to get through the last month of school!
home is…making summer plans.
home is…no words, just photos.
It’s time to catch up a bit, don’t you think?
YES.
There was an earthquake here last night…and we slept through it.
I guess a lot of people in our area felt it. So crazy.
The day after we went skiing we drove 90 minutes from home in the opposite direction…
We stopped at Camp 18 for breakfast.
Then we hit Cannon Beach.
It’s been YEARS since we had been to the coast. Ridiculous, right?
It’s only 90 minutes away!
Lorelai was really too young to remember the last time we were at the coast.
She loved it!
We spent less than an hour on the beach, but the trip was well worth it. I love that we were skiing on Mt. Hood one day and running from the waves the next. So blessed to call Oregon home.
The tulips are in full bloom in our front yard. I am pretty sure that I want to add a bunch more colors for next year. I just love tulips.
We are starting to spend a lot more time outside. It’s awesome.
We started seeds for our vegetable garden. Giving it a try this year instead of buying already started plants. The kids love squirting the dirt with the water bottle each day. I am hoping we will see green sprouts sometime this week!
Speaking of green, there’s a lot of it sprouting all around the neighborhood. The grass in the backyard needs a little help (always a battle with the shade, the acidic soil from all the pine needles, and the dogs and kids on the grass in the muddy winter). The white on the ground is wild cherry blossom petals that snow down from a huge wild cherry tree in our neighbors yard.
We took Ben for a walk at the dog park near our house yesterday.
The trillium are blooming throughout the forest floor.
The kids love exploring and I can’t wait to more of this with them over the summer!
Yesterday evening was beautiful. We should have been upstairs doing a bath and a shower, but we played outside for a while longer.
They are so silly together. They really bonded over Spring Break. It’s pretty amazing to watch them together. They have their moments of nastiness, but they really are great friends. I am so thankful that they have eachother.
It’s supposed to be mostly sunny and 73 degrees today, so I’m planning to take the little guy out of school early so the three of us can go on an adventure.
home is…spring in the beautiful pacific northwest.
I have been smiling from ear to ear since early today.
My baby girl officially went skiing today.
Remember this day?
Yeah, today also goes on the “one of my best days ever” list.
We had to make sure that her ski pants were pink.
She wore a skirt until we were actually skiing.
She put a skirt on as soon as she was done.
To be honest, I almost didn’t go.
Seasonal allergies, and an “introvert overload” almost kept me home (more on that later), but Ryan pushed me and I am glad that he did.
{Not to mention I felt super cool in my new Patagonia ski pants with my Patagonia orange belt…my first new ski pants in about 20 years! Darn you Patagonia for making ski pants that last so long…I’ve had 3 pairs in 25 years…all Patagonia…and I outgrow them…they don’t wear out!}
We had a blast!
Look at how her pink reflects in the tunnel!
She requested to ski with Poppa after only a couple of runs with Mommy!
And, our “old pro”?!
He’s now using the Go Pro!
He took a trip up the real chair lift…twice…with Poppa!
We’re thinking he’s ready to learn from a “real” ski instructor next time!
We ski at Mt. Hood Meadows up on (of course) Mt. Hood.
We buy the season pass for the kids which is $25 for the whole mountain…all season.
We buy a Spring Pass for us (which is $139 now, but we pre-purchased for $119). The Sprig Pass works out since we usually only ski during the spring…to break even we only need to ski 2-3 times…and the season can quite frequently go well into April and even weekends in May!
Currently, we rent skis from the shop at Mt. Hood Meadows, but we are looking into buying used demo/rental skis for the kids at the end of the season. It’s $70 a day to rent skis for the kids (WHOA!), so I am sure we could save A LOT of money buy either buying used skis or renting for the entire season.
We rent a locker for $10 a day and bring snacks and water. We are usually done by lunchtime, but as the days get nicer we plan to pack lunch, hot chocolate, and eat in the sun!
There’s a lot of snow up there and it was coming down today, so come join us for some spring fun on the mountain!!
home is…family fun on mt. hood.
A mother nature imposed break from the real world was exactly what this family needed.
The forecast early in the week said we might get a lot of snow on Saturday.
When we had snow flying on Tuesday and they hadn’t even predicted it, I knew it was in the cards.
I started to stock up on the essentials on Wednesday.
Meal Plan:
In no particular order. Just warm food for bodies that have been playing in the snow.
Additional food items:
And, the fun stuff (all on clearance this late in the season!):
I picked the kids up from school after their early release on Thursday and the flakes flew!
This Colorado girls heart was full. I know I can always drive up the mountain for snow, but snow that “sticks and stays” in our neighborhood is so rare for us. The last time we experienced it was 10 months after we moved to our current neighborhood. Reece was about 18 months old and we just pulled him around the neighborhood in the wagon.
Five years ago.
We’ve had small snow amounts since then…enough for snowballs and a snowman that might last a day, but nothing “big” as far as Portland standards are concerned.
This was Lorelai’s first big snow.
This has been fun.
The kids aren’t whining about being cold.
They don’t want to be carried.
We are all having fun…TOGETHER!
And, with one more snow day today, we will make the most of what’s left of the snow before the rains melts it all away later today!
home is…snow much fun.
I love football.
If you know me, you know that.
If you follow me on Instagram, you know that.
I am a Denver Broncos fan.
I have been my entire life.
I grew up in Colorado…lived there for 30 years.
So, while I live in the Pacific Northwest, where everybody else is cheering for the Seahawks, we will be united in orange at our house on Sunday!
When I was in Colorado for the baby shower I stocked up on Denver Bronco gear for the whole family!
Our outdoor chalkboard needed to be updated, so I went with a vintage Denver Bronco theme.
Leftover decorations from the baby shower gave me a jumping off point for the Super Bowl…we’re just having a few friends over, but MY team is playing so I have to go big.
They look red in this photo, but these Chuckie T’s are bright orange. I love them. AND, Zappos got them to me in less than 24 hours! Amazing service.
Of course, this gave me an excuse for fun crafting…felt football and pennant garland!
No orange and blue to be found in the Pacific Northwest, so I ordered it. Guess where it shipped from? OMAHA! OMAHA!
Pigs in a blanket are ready to be cooked on game day!
Lorelai and I even made some Denver Bronco shrinky dinks…I may make some more to add to the football bead necklaces I ordered.
Today I finished out bulletin board decorations and made a Super Bowl Snackadium (search for “snack stadium” on Pinterest to find ideas on how to put one together…I was not able to do a tutorial as this was trial and error that worked out)…to be filled with snacks on Sunday!
I love to sew paper garland…it was the first thing I sewed on my sewing machine. I also used paper straws and cupcake liners for one of the garlands!
Penalty flags made from lollipops wrapped in yellow cocktail napkins will be a treat for our younger crowd…and probably some fun for the older crowd, too!
home is…getting ready for the big game.
you know what i want to accomplish this year?
other than my one word, order.
i want to go away with my husband…for a vacation.
a night.
maybe, a whole weekend.
or, dreaming big here, even longer!
we have not been anywhere…ALONE, just the two of us, since february 2009.
that’s FIVE years.
FIVE.
YEARS.
he’s been away on his own.
i’ve been away on my own.
we’ve been on vacations as a family.
but, we haven’t been on a vacation (or even a night away) as a couple since BEFORE baby girl was born.
that’s crazy!
seriously.
i’m planning something.
something fun.
home is…getting away as a couple.
Can it really be only 9 sleeps until Christmas?!
This weekend we went to our annual playgroup Christmas party.
My friend Melissa hosts each year and it is always a fabulous success.
Her home is always beautifully decked for the holidays.
The past few years we have included the daddies which always makes it more fun!
As always, Santa makes a special stop at the party.
This year we took a group photo of Santa with the kids.
There were some tears…
a few escape artists…
but, we got *almost* all of the kids in the photo…without crying.
I think there are SEVEN kids missing from this photo…
and to think we started six years ago with one child each…
and they weren’t even crawling!
This last photo cracks me up beacuse the kids were told to raise their hand if they were good this year…notice the boy in the teal shirt (and his partner in playgroup crime) in the front row?! They are the ONLY kids NOT raising their hands!
She even had an adorable craft for the kids, but they were so busy playing that nobody did it…
Reece, however, knew there was a craft and wouldn’t leave until he had a chance to do it! So, we overstayed our welcome and did the craft. I love that my boy didn’t want to leave the party with out doing the craft!
We each bring something to eat and there is always plenty of food!
I neglected to get a good photo of my fruit plate garnish…a sprig of rosemary from our garden decorated with mini pom-poms and bakers twine! I was pretty happy with my last minute creativity!
I love this celebration every year.
home is…sharing traditions with friends.
We’re kind of confusing holidays around here.
Thanksgiving is really my favorite holiday.
I love what it is about.
Being thankful.
Family.
Friends.
Food.
Football.
However, there’s not much fun in the decorating.
I love to decorate for fall, but by the end of November I am ready for Christmas decor!
And, the kids get more excited about Christmas decorations and crafts than they do about turkeys.
So, a couple more days of confusing our holidays and then we will be in the full Christmas swing of things.
Of course, after we are thankful.
No matter what, we will be jolly.
home is…celebrating the season.
stephany taddeo 