Spring Break Exploring Oregon

This year we decided to take a trip to Oregon during spring break.  Scott wanted to drive a dune  buggy on the dunes near the coast and I wanted to explore Bend so we spent time in both places and we weren't disappointed.

 On the way to Bend we stopped at a historical marker for Alia because she's been studying the Oregon Trail.  We found a part of the trail called Laurel Hill.  It was the most dangerous section of the whole trail where there was a 60% grade and wagons had to be lowered by rope.  

 It was really interesting standing on the trail imagining all of the immigrants going through that area.  Looking at the hillside, it was really intimidating thinking about those wagons taking the plunge.  

 Part of the trail still had snow on it.

 We took a day trip from Bend and visited the Painted Hills.  They are vibrant hills created from different deposits when the area was an ocean and had a tropical environment.  

 It was a clay filled hike around the mounds.

 In Bend Scott and I ran the Deschutes river trail.  It covers 12.5 miles from the top of the city to the bottom.  Here Alia is standing by a man-made standing wave where you can tube or surf.

 We made it to Florence.  The Airbnb we stayed at had a cute path of covered trees to the ocean.  

 Kites and a windy beach go hand and hand.

 It was a creepy trail at night especially since we had seen a bobcat earlier in the day.

 The dunes were huge and rolling.

 We even tried sand boarding.

 Maia loved running free on the beach.

 Dune buggy time!

 Pure joy in Scott's eyes!

We had a lot of fun driving around the dunes.  There were a few moments where my heart was in my throat but Scott was a great driver.  

We made a stop at the Sea Lion caves. We had to take an elevator that was 12 stories down to the bottom of the cave.  

Over 300 sea lions were in the cave that day.  It was a smelly and loud experience.

 

Always being silly

On our way to hike the Hobbit trail to the beach.  Hey Avery, lets take a picture (oh wait, he is practicing to be a teenager).  I had to wear an extra large men's raincoat I bought at Lowe's because I forgot mine. 

 Since it was rainy we had the beach to ourselves.  Alia had fun playing in the sand.

 She found a lot of bull kelp to play with.

 Avery loved making long whips.

 They found a huge pile.

It was a bit rainier than we had hoped but it was a fun family trip exploring new areas. Bend was super fun and we want to go back and explore in the summer. Florence was a fun, laid back beach community nestled between some typical rugged Oregon coast.

All about Sloths

It all started with a sloth at a Rain Forrest Cafe in San Fransisco a few years ago.  Since that day, Alia has held on to love affair with sloths.  Fast forward to now and she was able to have a sloth encounter.   

 

 Alia made a dress from an old pair of her pants.  This was her first project on a sewing machine and it went well.  She even learned how to pull stitches out when she sewed the neck and arm holes shut.

Meet Clyde.  We were able to spend time with him and feed him.

 

Bonnie and Clyde

He's either smiling or trying to bite Avery.  I think he likes Avery's shirt.

 The place we went to was in Parkland, south of Tacoma.  It's called Debbie Doolittle's and it's a giant indoor petting zoo.  He had so much fun interacting with the animals there.

 

 

This is a kinkajou.  He was very sweet and loved to hide.

Meet Taco, a South American raccoon.  He was definitely my favorite animal there.  He was so fun, clever and playful.  He loved stealing things and playing with a bell with Avery.

 

This year she made a sloth for her Awana pinewood derby car. 

Visiting Wisconsin

 We headed to Wisconsin again this year for winter break.  The weather was similar to what we just left behind on Vashon.  It snowed a few days while we were there and the temperatures were in the teens.  That didn't stop Scott and I from going for a run.  One loop around the small town is 4 miles.

 We found a parking lot pile to play in and slide down.  

 Family time!  It was nice to be able to see my Dad, aunts, uncle and cousins.

 Since we were snowed in, Cassie, Alia, Papa and I finished a 750 piece puzzle in less than 24 hours.

 We spent Friday in Wisconsin Dells at Wizard Quest.  It's a giant warehouse designed with 4 different elements....water, fire, earth and air.  You have to run around solving clues to find the 4 wizard staffs.  There are many hidden rooms and passageways throughout the building.  It was so much fun!  We are able to find all 4 between our two teams....super sloths and dragon riders.

 My beautiful Mama

 Looking good Papa and Bama!  Papa kept hiding in some of the hidden passageways and scaring us.  Bama was good at solving some of the riddles and finding what we needed.

On the way home we were able to stop in Milwaukee and see Chantelle and her family!  It was awesome to be able to catch up with her again and meet her kids.

Memorable snow days!

We have had a memorable 2 weeks in the beginning of February.  Monday, February 4th started our snow fall totals.  School was cancelled Monday and Tuesday of last week and Wednesday, Thursday and Friday were half days.  By Friday afternoon, more snow started falling.  It snowed on and off from Friday afternoon through Monday.  We ended up with at least 2 feet of snow.  We are still out of school through Wednesday because by Monday night the rains came and turned the 2 feet into slush.  There are more predictions of snow for Friday.  

 The first snowstorm had some winds and a branch went through our roof.  Scott had to get up there to fix it before the next snowstorm hit.

Thankfully the roof was fixed by Thursday and we were ready for the next storm.

By Saturday morning, everything was covered.

 We had a blast building an 8 foot snowpal.  It took 3 adults and 3 kids to push, roll and lift the body parts.  

 We thought he looked a lot like one of the Shriners with his hat and mustache.  He has rakes for arms, garden pots for eyes, hat and nose, handkerchief for a mouth and a child's rake for his mustache.  His buttons are various shells.  He lasted for several days but each day he continued to lean just a little.  

He looks like he's flying now.

This was Monday night.  By Tuesday morning he was on the ground.

 This was snow accumulations by Saturday afternoon. It snowed for most of the day Sunday and we ended up with close to another foot. We broke a lot of records with this snowfall.  The last storm with these totals was in 1950.

 We had a lot of wonderful, snowy walks.  We were lucky friends live so close because we spent our days playing in the snow and enjoying meals with friends.

 She made it about half way through my friend's field and gave up and I had to rescue her.  She was so tired!

 We had a blast sledding down one of the roads near our house.  

 The snowflakes started coming down the size of silver dollars.

 The sledding on Tuesday was very wet but so fast!  If you look in the road you can tell how slushy it was.

This was Snoqualmie Pass after the snowstorm.

During this entire snowstorm Avery had to work on his Egypt project for Humanities.  He decided to study Pyramids. 

Happy 10th Birthday Alia!!

 She asked for chocolate eclairs this year.  

 

 It was a late start day today so we were able to celebrate in the morning with her favorite breakfast and gift opening before school.  

 

Her friend was able to come over after school to play.  She gave Alia a stuffie that she made matching

hats, jean jackets and masks for.  They were so cute!

 

Meet Fluffy and Puffy

10 year questions:

1.  Favorite color:  Turquoise
2. Favorite toy:  Hatchimal
3. Favorite game:  Telestrations
4.  Favorite animal:  Sloths
5.  Favorite book:  Ramona the Brave
6.  Favorite holiday:  Christmas
7.  When I grow up I want to be a zoologist because I like working with animals.
8.  Favorite subject in school:  Reading
9.  Least favorite subject:  Spanish/art
10.  What do you like about yourself:  I am spunky and funny.
11.  Biggest accomplishment this year:  I made a stop animation of my igloo story.
12.  Favorite thing to do:  Make crafts like slime.
13.  I like to collect:  Rocks, beach trinkets, stuffies and charms.
14.  What do you like to do with Mom?  Puzzles     Dad?  Play games.
15.  Funniest thing that happened this year:  Avery fell in the fish pond.
16.  Favorite family tradition:  Family game night.
17.  Favorite memory:  Cross country skiing.
18:  What would you change about this year?  Less media and more real life activities.