Hippie Shops & A Cathedral

Back to Liz's trip to Oregon...we had a great weekend while she was here. We kept her pretty busy. Poor Liz...

Will had his 20k on Saturday in Alsea Falls. By the way, I am just so proud of my husband! On New Year's we had both said we wanted to do a race and actually had looked into some last summer...but just never got around to it. When a friend of Will's told him that he was doing a 20k, Will jumped on board. I was thinking of starting with a 5k. Silly me! He has not done a race and he decides to start with a 20k. What guts! Technically, he did a race with his dad back in Virginia when he was 9...but that really does not count. He did such a great job! Only 12 people ran the 20k. Considering he was running with people who have a few more races under their belt, he did a hell of a job. Inspiring. Now I probably should look into at least a 5k, so I do not look bad (haha).

I digress...while Will was off hitting the dirt, Liz and I went the opposite direction and took the kids to the Saturday Market. Thankfully, the kids behaved fairly well (when I say kids, I mean Meli) and the rain stayed away long enough for us to get some shopping in. I think the Saturday Market is a great experience for anyone coming to Oregon for a visit. Handmade items are a big part of the culture in Oregon.  I think that Liz enjoyed herself. She bought a few pieces to take back with her. We both got these cute chimes made out of reused silverware. The lady was so impressed with Colin that she gave him one of her spoons that she had not used yet. He thought it was so cool. He now wants to collect silverware!

I was a little relaxed with my food (and exercising) during Liz's visit (its was a vacation!). So, I was totally OK with enjoying a wet burrito (a burrito with enchilada type sauce on it). Tasty! I had one before from the same vendor and just loved it.

 

 

Enjoying a boat ride

the kids & Grandma

So happy

After he crossed the finish line

I have always been very interested in different religions. I think the fact that most groups of people throughout history have been drawn to the belief in a higher power is just a beautiful concept. I have not had too many opportunities to attend different religious services, but I do enjoy learning about them. Well, Liz was sweet enough to let me accompany her to Easter Vigil on Saturday evening. I had been to a few Catholic events before...a mass, a few weddings, and one of my nephew's baptismal. I thought it was a beautiful service. The cathedral and the service were both lovely. Thank you Liz for including me. It was probably obvious to everyone that I was not Catholic, especially after I fumbled the "peace be with you".

Well...Hello, Jack Sprats!

Getting ready to hangout with P-pa and Mi-ma.

We were able to visit with my dad and Michele this weekend, which allowed for mommy and daddy to have a lunch date. Cottage Grove is such a cute little town. It is historic...meaning it has a lot of neat buildings and things to see. Will and I ate at a local spot called, Jack Sprats. So good. It serves to all kind of food lovers: vegan, vegetarian, omnivore, etc. Will had a steak with vegetables and I had Thai curry with coconut tofu. Delicious! I went with mild for the spicy level. I am a firm believer in testing out the range of heat at each location when it comes to curry. In my experience mild, medium and hot mean totally different things to each cook. The mild was not spicy at all, so if we go again I will go for the medium. Very cute little place. At each table they had little puzzles or toys to play with. Will and I had fun with a magic 8 ball.

Lunch date w/the hubby

Thai curry w/coconut tofu

Wine, Shopping & McMenamins...who could ask for more?!?

 
We were very fortunate, this last week, to have a visit from Will's mom. It sadly has been almost (exactly) a year, since we have seen her... such a crazy thing going from seeing someone so often to once in a whole year. It is just not enough.

 Will and I were so glad she could make the trip. The kids had a fantastic time with Grandma ("gama" to Meli) and were very sad to see her go. Meli keeps asking me where Gama went. "Where gama go?" When I explained she had to get on a plane to go home..."oooh, plane? Oooh".

I am very lucky to have been blessed with a wonderful mother-in-law. No complaints here. Honestly... I love her dearly and truly enjoy spending time with her.

Her first day, we took it easy so she could adjust to a late flight and west coast time. She did better than I did, whenever I traveled between the coasts! She was able to take Colin to school. He was so excited to have her there. Colin wanted to show her to everybody. She also went with me to Mi-Mi's school.

Liz - a few of the ladies thought you were my mom! They thought you were so sweet.

On Friday, my mom was able to take the kids, so we could have some adult time with Liz. We took her to a beautiful winery in Eugene, King Estate. So beautiful. The view was just gorgeous, the wine was delicious, and the company so much fun.
                 

One of our favorite wines was the N x NW (North by Northwest). I also loved the Pinot Noir and actually the Chardonnay, which I am not usually a big fan of.

After we did our wine tasting, we thought we would have lunch there. I had heard great things about the restaurant portion of the vineyard from friends who live in the area. It really was delicious. We did have a good laugh at our lunch though. We, for some reason, thought we were ordering this big platter of duck, chicken pate, and a pork dish...but it turned out to be this tiny, little dish...if we had paid attention, I am sure we should have known...it was still oh so good. Liz and I were trying very hard to not giggle when it was presented. We had already tested a few wines and were now working on a bottle. Will just cannot take us anywhere! My favorite was the duck, but all three were delicious. Liz and I decided to make up for the lack of food, we would chow down on dessert. Such a great idea. Very tasty! We shared a Vanilla Bean Crème Brulee and a Dark Chocolate Tart. Yum.

N x NW

Our lunch. Small but so good!

Will and his mom

My hubby and I

Since we were in the Eugene area, we took Liz shopping and to McMenamins for dinner. If you come to Oregon, you have to go to  one of the McMenamins (http://www.mcmenamins.com/).  Will and I are trying to go to all of them. We have been to several in Portland, two in Eugene and the one in Roseburg. They are all over the state. Washington state too.  We took her to North Bank. It was one Will and I had been to before when spending time in Eugene. There is such a nice ambiance at this location. It is right on the river and is just so beautiful. Peaceful.  I love eating outside next to the fire pit. Lucky for us, it was a nice April spring day. We talked Liz into trying a beer flight. I have such a cool mother-in-law. We all picked great dishes...not that you can go wrong there.
              
 Will still had to work a bit when Liz first got here and he had his 20k on Saturday (more about that to come), so we got a lot of mother/daughter time. I took advantage and had Liz show me a new stich for my crocheting. We went to a local shop and bought some yarn for our new project...a cowl. I am very excited and almost done. I will post pictures, Liz. I think I am going to add a big button...but we will see.

More to come on our time with Liz soon...

My lovely mother-in-law

We are Dorks

 

Our first Lego set together

Will and I have been trying to think of some new things that we can do at home as a couple. Will's cute idea...Legos!! I have never been into Legos but thought it could be cute. They have this line that is big buildings (like a cinema, pet shop, emporium, etc). To make it last longer we only do it on the weekends after the kids go to bed. There are so many pieces. I have actually been really enjoying it. We take turns with the steps...It is kind of like doing a very involved puzzle. We completed the above set (townhouse and Pet shop) and are now working on the Emporium. It probably sounds totally dorky, but I am a strong believer in embracing ones' dorkiness/nerdiness and just enjoy it! Colin thinks mom is super cool for doing Legos...that right there makes it worth it!

We also have been able to go on a few date nights recently. We saw Divergent and Captain America.  Both really good movies. I had to drag Will to the first one, but he ended up liking it more than he thought he would.

 

 

 

 

Productive Weekend

This past weekend was such a fulfilling one. I was so proud of how much we were able to  accomplished in two days. Will's mom is visiting this week, so it motivated us to complete some of our To Do list.

1. I finally finished weeding our yard! Now the one-side is ready for a sandbox and other projects for the kids. The other side is ready for my veggie and fruit garden. I am looking at doing something similar to this idea, but double the amount of beds. I also want to try this one. I am so excited! We also finally found a bench for the front porch that we liked. Now I can relax in the morning/evening with my cup of tea.

2. I  finished the second art piece for Meli's room. I am very proud of how this one turned out. Meli and I rearranged her room on Saturday, while Colin and Will were at T-ball opening ceremonies. It took us awhile but I think we both love how it turned out. Every time Meli walks in her room, she says "ooh, pretty".

Not sure if I want to add "Meli" in thin cursive

3. We did a lot of "spring" cleaning. The house looks so good! With two kids I will still have to clean before Liz comes. Cleaning is an everyday occurrence here.

4. I was able to clean and organize my laundry room. I had a collection for the Goodwill that is now ready to go. We also purged some more. I figured I need to get rid of Meli's 18 and 24 month clothes. They technically still fit, but she is almost 3. My little skinny Minnie!! She did have a growth spurt recently, so some were looking a little too short.

5. I finally got my driving license changed (a little late)...I had to take the written again (weird Oregon...and annoying). Proud to say I passed...haha. I felt like I was 16 again.  

 

6. Colin had his opening ceremonies for T-ball. He looks so cute in his uniform. Pictures next time.

 

 

Will is participating in a online fitness class. You get a professional personal trainer who works with you for two months. You get a diet plan and workout plan. Will's workout plan is going to be intense. He is going to be so sore! He is also starting to count his Macros. So, this will be interesting.

 

We did even more, but enough of my boring post. Needless to say, by Sunday night we were both ready to crash. I was so sore from doing my workouts and being on my feet all weekend. My body just ached. Even my hands ached. I hand-washed a bunch of clothes...that is hard work! The wringing out of the clothes is crazy. Lesson-learned, do it more often with smaller amounts. Kudos to all of the moms who had to do that to everything before washers/dryers were invented.

Still had enough energy to read a story at bedtime

Colin is so sad when we miss storytime. Thankfully that is not too often.

What About Me Mom?

My favorite little guy

Colin decided he was somewhat sad that Meli got to feed the ducks this last week and he did not. Since today turned out to be a very nice and warm day, I took both kids to finish off our "duck bread".  The ducks were brave today and got very close to the kids. Meli was so excited that it scared some of them away. There were still a few that their hunger must have been pretty strong...because they stayed put as she jumped around.

"Collie where are you?"

The river near our house

Meli got even closer

The three brave ducks

It was a good day. The sun felt great and the kids are now worn out. Perfect.

~ Love, Hugs & Kisses ~

The B Family

While Colin is Away

 A Princess

 

Meli misses Colie (what she calls Colin) when he is away at school. It is only for a few hours, but she just adores her big brother. I try my hardest to keep her entertained. We play dress up (a lot lately), go for walks, feed the ducks, and anything else we can think of. She gets to go to Mi-Mi's school on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Feeding the ducks

My little buddy

We play a lot of dress-up!


A butterfly fairy



A Witch



A Pirate

Here are some cute videos of Meli.

 

 

 

I could not choose which one I liked best, so you get to see all three!

 

 

A week with no school...Spring Break!!!

Meli swinging with mommy

 

Colin had spring break last week. We made no plans to go anywhere, so I tried to entertain the kids as much as possible here in town. My goal was to try and do something fun each day. Nothing extravagant, just fun. The rain made it a little difficult at times, but I think we had a great week.

 

 

There was nice weather at the beginning of the week, but then it was just rainy. Welcome back to Oregon, Christina! The first day, the kids and I went to the park and had a picnic.  It is so cute what makes kids happy... They thought it was so neat that I let them pick out their lunch at the grocery store.

Picnic lunch

Meli going head first. Usually a no-no but I let it slide this once.

Just hanging out

 

After the third day of rain I just said, "what the hell" (well not in front of the kids) and we headed outside to play. We went to Colin's school (they had a covered area for when it was pouring). The kids had a blast!

Meli trying basketball

A break from the rain

Trying the swings - before we started

Her reaction to the wind

Meli's outfit for our trip to the mall. Love her style!

Recently, we started a reward system for Colin. He tries to earn a point each day for following directions. We break the day up into three parts. If he as trouble following directions, then he gets an 'X' for that part of the day. If he has two x's by the end of the day he cannot get a point. Each goal he is working towards is worth a certain amount of points. It has been working well so far. He has earned a new book, dinner at McDonald's, and to go see the Lego Movie with daddy.

Ready to go pick a book at BN (he earned enough points for following directions)

Poor Will had a very busy week at work. It probably was not cool to see the three of us having so much fun while he had to work. He would take a quick break or two to have some fun with the kids.

Daddy giving a piggyback ride

The "hair war" is still raging on...BUT I have made some progress. I got her to keep a ponytail in when I said, "can we do your hair to show P-pa and Mi-ma?" She got so excited. Meli kept it in until we got there and then once she showed them, she pulled it out.  A couple days later, I did two pigtail braids (below) and told her if she kept it in I would give her a cookie. I also said we should show the kids at Mi-Mi's school. So she kept it in until we were there for a little bit, then she took it out. It ended up being four hours!

I am making progress on the Hair War!

Year of Health & Fitness: Week 12

I know I have not been very consistent with writing my exercise blogs lately...I figured that it is now part of my routine, so I do not need to write on a weekly basis.

 

 I am so proud of Will! He has changed his whole lifestyle. He rarely has any treats now (only on a cheat day and lately not even then), he eats very healthy, and he is working out consistently. He lifts weights, boxes and runs. He is running a 20k here soon. Crazy! His mom is going to be so shocked at the change when she comes to visit this month. I think he is actually surpassing his firefighter days physique. I am so happy for him. I love that he sets a goal and then just tackles it.

 

I was getting bored with my video workouts, so now I have incorporated Will's dumbbell routine three days a week. Then three of the other days I do my kickboxing. The first day of the dumbbells had me super sore. It felt so good! I hope this change will allow me to see some changes here soon. Like with everything, I had to change the routine up to make it my own. Plus, it was very arm heavy and I prefer (and need) more legs.

 

I am excited for the next few weeks....