B Family Road Trip

On Sunday, we decided that we needed a family road trip. So, we woke the kids up bright and early,  got everyone dressed and packed with day trip necessities, and were on our way. We thought it would be best not to get to carried away with putting the pavement behind us (being a Sunday), so we headed to Tillamook Cheese Factory. Colin is very interested in the different ways that animals give us food (minus the meat aspect - I will not be surprised if he takes after me and becomes a vegetarian at some point). Will provided a hint to see if the kids could guess where we were going. Meli kept saying "chocolate bunnies store" (she is obsessed), but Colin guessed that it was a dairy of some sort.

Surprisingly, I had never been to Tillamook. Will went years ago during his first Oregon stint.  I think it is one of his favorite places from his minimal exploration efforts of Oregon (we are working on that).

I was not sure how much Meli would enjoy the place, but she loved it! She really liked watching the cheese blocks on the conveyor belt. They both (well all of us) really enjoyed the tasting area. I think we all agreed that we really liked the squeaky cheese the best. I also loved the smoked black pepper and habanero. I should have bought more of the black pepper.

We enjoyed a light lunch of pepperoni, cheese and crackers. Then we had to have some Tillamook ice cream. Meli stuck with her vanilla (of course), but she really liked Will's Espresso Mocha.  Colin had Orange Sherbet. He is the most adventurous of us when it comes to ice cream. I am a picky ice cream eater. I sampled white chocolate raspberry, which was delicious but a little rich. I could tell I would not be able to eat more than a few bites. So, I went with one of my go to flavors, Rocky Road.

After we were done with the factory, we thought it would be nice to visit the coast and let the kids play in the sand. We headed to Lincoln City, since the kids and Will had not been there before (and I have always enjoyed it). I really wanted to go to the Wizard Hat rock formation, but I thought it would be better when Meli was a little better at walking on big rocks and cave areas. So we will save it for another adventure.

The beach access we used was on 34th street. I think it is referred to as Grace Hammond Access. It was a little tricky to find but it was a great spot. The kids had a blast! Will was a little cold (as usual), he has not quite adapted to the Oregon Coast weather or appeal. It was actually fairly warm. I think it was in the high 60's to low 70's, but it was pretty windy (which I love). I really enjoyed our beach time!!  I love running in the water with the kids. We were pretending we were birds and letting the wind take us away. 

Such a beautiful and peaceful day.

                                                        ~   Love, Hugs & Kisses ~
                                                                    The B Family

The Hub's Birthday

Will's birthday was two weeks ago. He was a little down about stepping over the mid-thirty mark, but I explained to him that most guys getting better looking as they get older, and he was entering the prime age range for men. 

He mostly wanted items for his drum set. We obliged his request, but threw in a few surprise gifts that had nothing to do with music. One of them was the board game, Labyrinth. We have played a few times during family night and love it! He also got a PS4, which he is ecstatic about. 

For dinner I made this delicious enchilada dish, http://pearls-handcuffs-happyhour.blogspot.com/search/label/mexican?updated-max=2010-11-09T16:17:00-08:00&max-results=20&m=1. It was seriously so good!

 I tried something different for dessert, a peanut butter chocolate tiramisu. http://www.theslowroasteditalian.com/2013/12/peanut-butter-chocolate-tiramisu-recipe.html?m=1

I sent the below pic to Will on his day. I thought it was so perfect for him.

His birthday morning was filled with excitement...as we were heading out the door to drop the kids off at a friend's  house (so we could go on a breakfast date), Colin closed the door before we had grabbed the keys. I cannot believe this was the first time it has happened. We have tested fate too many times with not having a spare out. Luckily, Will had left a window unlocked on the first floor. The only one I knew of was on the top floor and very high up. Colin was our hero by climbing a ladder and going thru the window! Meli wanted to try too!

The past year or two, I have been realizing more and more how blessed I am to have Will as my best friend and partner. He is such an intelligent, funny and incredibly talented man. I love him so much!

We ended the day by going to the movie night at the fire station. The kids had so much fun seeing the life flight helicopter, walking thru a a demo smoke-filled room, and seeing the jaws of life demo

It was a good day!

Marc Broussard in Concert

As part of Will's birthday weekend (more on that to come), we were able to go see one of our favorite musicians, Marc Broussard, in concert. He is such a fantastic songwriter and performer. I think he has one of the best male voices out there. This was our second time seeing him, the first was at the Birchmere in Virginia. The concert was awesome! 

To make it even more awesome, we got to meet him afterwards!! I was seriously so nervous. I usually am not a person that would get "meeting a celebrity" nerves, but he is my musical crush...so my heart was beating fast. Will thought it was so funny. It meant a lot to talk to him. His music has special meaning to Will and I. When Will and I first started dating, Marc's CD, Carencro, was our love put into words. He was singing what we both felt about the other perfectly. 

Definitely a night that I will remember.

We were standing in the front row. The picture above is without zooming. I could literally reach out and touch him. No worries, I restrained myself :)

Such a fun night. 

Meli Anne - An Abundance of Personality

Little miss Meli's personality just keeps blossoming as the months go by. She is pretty witty and clever. So, here are a few of Mae's recent funny moments. I am writing this quickly and there are way too many to share in this post though.

She has been more curious about what mommy does to get ready for the day. She loves my make-up. A little too much. After I took the picture below, she told me  "Mom! That's my phone. I am the mom! Because I have your ring and this." *Points to lips that are covered in lipstick. She kept making pretend calls all morning. It was hilarious...and disturbing if that is what she thinks I look like!

She also told me that I have horsey hair. Horsey brown hair. She is just full of compliments. I should point out that she said that because my hair was in a ponytail and straight. My hair is actually soft. I promise!

She was looking at her belly button a while ago (she is usually in her underwear) and she looks at me, then at her Elsa doll (a big one) and says, "there are no bows in my button!". 

Colin came home for school with a new joke. A weird one, but Meli thought it was funny.

C: *holding his hands like a gate* "Open the gate."

     " Who do you hate?" (I know - weird) Then waits for an answer. Will and I were like "eh...what?"        I think I finally said the mud or something.

       "That's your date"

Meli just starts laughing. So, she wants to try.

M to me:  "hit gate"

          me:  "huh"

 M:             "who you want to hit?"

         me:  "me?"

 M:            "OK!"

So, Colin says:  "no,no,no"Then proceeds to repeat how it goes. Meli tries again.

M to dad: "Open gate"

                  "Who you hate?"

W:               "eh"....Colin says "dogs!"

M:                "OK! Your date!

Meli loves my sewing board. Such a bother.

The other day, Meli wore her shin guards all day with her dress and hat. We went to several stores and the post office with her like that. She starts soccer soon and is very excited. She is big like Colin now!

Meli also is a mischievous stinker! She was on my phone playing a game (supposedly), but she had gone into facebook and changed some of my settings! WTF?!? How did she know to do that? I still need to check my other stuff. She also changed my phone to not disturb. No wonder I was not getting calls!

Birthday Week

This has been a week of life celebrations: my dad had his birthday on Tuesday, Will's was yesterday, and on a sadder note we said goodbye to Bubbles (the fish). We had a little life celebration for Bubbles with the kids. I think that made it easier for Colin. It was his first pet he has said goodbye too. Thankfully, Ribbit is still alive and well. We will have to find a new member to add to the family at some point. Maybe even a puppy (!!!)...Will saw a video the other day that he said made him actually consider owning a dog - for a second at least. So, that is a major improvement.  

We spent the evening at my dad's on his birthday. The kids had a great time celebrating P-Pa. 

Bun

Over the span of this blog, I have posted several times about Colin's Bunny, ( Buddy or Bun). Sadly, we had thought Bunny's chapter in Colin's life was fulfilled when he disappeared this past June. We looked all over for him. I was fairly sure we made it back from Sunriver with the little guy. Poor Colin was very distraught. He handled it better than I thought he would, but he was still extremely sad. About the time we felt he had moved past it, he would have an emotional night over losing Buddy.

Good news!!! We found him!! I was moving things around to decorate for fall, when I noticed a little face peering out at me from inside one of my big vases. Buddy had been hidden in the case by our front door for months! Colin was at school when I found him, but I could tell by Meli's reaction that she was the culprit. I showed her bunny in the case and her face lit up with realization. "Hide-and-seek Bunny!" Then she started giggling. Oh my! 

Now I remember the last week of school, Coli would ask Mae to watch Buddy while he was gone. I vaguely remember her putting him in there a few times.   

I  am so glad we found him. Colin was beyond thrilled! 

A boy and his bunny remain to have unwritten chapters!

Little Drummer Girl

Meli is obsessed with Will's drums! Usually they are set up in the man room, but he had a band rehearsal at our house this week and needed them in the living room. It was very hard for Meli to resist the urge to play them while Will was working (he works from home). She did fairly good! Once 2:30 hit, she was ready to play.  We are hoping to get the kids started with a musical instrument soon. I am curious to see what they would pick.

1st Day as a 2nd Grader

Colin had his first day of school yesterday. I cannot believe we have a second grader!!! They do a stagger start, so half of the students went yesterday and the other half go today. So he is home today and then goes back tomorrow.

Meli was sad for Colin to go.

Colin really wanted to ride the bus home. We decided he could do it one day a week for now. We live close to the school, so Meli and I like to walk to get him.

This year will be interesting. Will started in a band again. Keeps us very busy. I am so glad he was able to find a good fit. He needs to have annual conference outlet in his life or there is a void. There could be several changes coming our way. I am  both equally nervous and excited!! It will bring changes for all of us. So we will see what is in store for us the months ahead. I apologize for the vagueness, but I do not want to jinx it!

Reading to Rover

Our library has a program where the kids can read to dogs. The dogs are leer tided therapy dogs. The purpose is to provide s reading space with less stress, since a dog will not judge your reading. The kids had a great time. Meli showed the puppy pictures. The dad dog and his son were there. Adorable dogs. 

The dogs were Swedish Vallhund, a herder breed that goes back to ancient times with the Vikings. I so want one now.  I think Will could possibly get talked into this dog...someday.

Winding down

Being silly with fake mustaches

Colin starts school next week, so we are winding down our summer fun. Since I have not posted much lately, I thought I would share some of our pictures from this summer. We had a good one! I am sad to see it go. Colin is excited about 2nd grade. Both kids are starting soccer soon. 

Being silly with daddy

Meli's unique style

Meli prefers wearing just underwear around the house, but when she has to have clothes on she likes long sleeves and pants. The weather this summer was not really ideal for that. Usually, I would make her change to something cooler, but sometimes I let it slide (if it was not as hot).

So cool

Siblings

Colin loves to learn about animals. He wants to grow up and try to protect them all. He hates the idea of anything dying (even bugs). He is so much like me! We have been taking little adventures with his Animal Dictionary (field journal), so he can draw the animals he sees. Then we google or look up in a book (so old fashion) facts that he can write in his journal. Fun and educational!

After swimming lesson

The kids took two sets of swimming lessons this summer. They both did fantastic! Colin has come a long way with his comfortableness with water.

A service dog

We were very active with our libraries summer reading program. They had a lot of events like meeting service dogs, tye-dye lesson, magic show, etc. We read so many books this summer! The kids turned in reading logs for prizes. Meli won two free tickets to the Portland Zoo!! We will hopefully be doing that soon.

Family game night

We have continued family game night. The kids have been enjoying learning new games. The most recent was Parcheesi.

Reading time

Colin's reading has improved so much this summer.

Wildlife Safari

The kids and I made a trip down to Roseburg last week. We were able to spend the day at Wildlife Safari. Colin had a great time adding to his Animal Dictionary.

Crazy lion

This was just too cute not to include

One of our few days of rain this summer.

Such cuteness!