Fun at the Oregon Garden Resort

We had a 24-hour vacation to the Oregon Garden Resort. The weather was beautiful yesterday, so we walked around the gardens and the kids spent time in the outdoor hot tub. We got pizza for the kids, and the adults had a delicious dinner in the lodge restaurant. It was so fun talking with them about lots of different things - mostly parenting and its challenges/successes :) We were hoping to hike Silver Falls today, but the weather was cold and windy, so Janette had thought of a different plan - to go to the Macaw Landing Foundation. We learned more than we ever thought we could know about Macaws, rainforests, etc... Then the guy took us into this huge outdoor area with lots of macaws. They are VERY loud, very pretty, and a bit scary. We were able to get up close to them, but I was nervous they were going to bite me! They mostly climbed around the cage but sometimes flew right by us, one time brushing up against my hair! Kelsey couldn't wait to get out of there :)

Inspired by an Elephant

Sara and Kelsey had a sleepover Sunday night, and they decided to go to Piccolo Mondo to buy a little sewing kit. They chose an elephant and came right home to start sewing. They both sewed up their elephants in a matter of minutes. Kelsey has now caught the sewing bug. As soon as Sara left yesterday, she wanted to go to the store so that she could buy fabric to make Sara a pillow. On our way home from the store, I looked in the rearview mirror, and Kelsey's face was so precious. I haven't ever seen that kind of excitement in her face. She decided to make two pillows for the sleepover that they are having tonight at Sara's house. She made McKenzie a cell phone case, and is going crazy with who else she can make things for. Over the past 24 hours, she has spent at least 6 hours sewing. She told me that she woke up at 6:00 and wanted to start sewing again, but she made herself go back to sleep :) She is so excited to be at Sara's tonight and is hoping that Uncle Sam will show her how to use a sewing machine.

The very least we can do...

Tonight we have the privilege of bringing our friends dinner. The father of this family is dying of cancer. Through all they have gone through, it has been amazing to experience how friends completely come together to help. One of our friends set up a meal schedule, and the family is receiving meals every other night for 5 months. It really is the least we can do - this man has given others so much of his time and encouragement as a soccer coach for many, many families. We hope that we can make each of their days just a tiny bit easier during this incredibly difficult time. So tonight our family will make pizzas, salad, fruit, and brownies and let them know that we are here for them. I'm sure we'll leave their house with tears in our eyes as we quietly drive away thinking about how precious time is, how blessed we are to have our health, and how important it is to take care of each other.

Another New Coffee Shop

This morning Peter and I had fun hanging out at Cartola a cute little coffee shop in North Portland. I had a delicious bran muffin, and Peter had a marionberry scone. The coffee shop is cozy, decorated very nicely, and plays great music. Next time we'll order our coffee to be a bit stronger, though. After hanging out at the coffee shop, we walked around the Irvington neighborhood and had fun looking at all the interesting houses and weird decorations in front of some of the houses (yep, that's what we do for fun)! Actually, we just love walking together and find any excuse to do so :)

Knitting and Baking

I've been doing lots of knitting and baking the past couple of days. We had to bring chocolate chip cookies to McKenzie's basketball potluck yesterday, and Peter needed cookies for his potluck at work. Conner lost a bet, so he had to bring cookies to his friend! Also, last week Mom and I took a knitting class that was pretty challenging. I've been determined to learn the technique and finally mastered it. So I'm in the process of making some washcloths - doesn't that sound exciting? If you're really nice to me I might give all of you one for your birthday (along with something else, of course :)

Game Day at Grandma & Grandpa's!!

We had so much fun playing games and celebrating Alex's 5th birthday at Grandma and Grandpa's house today. One of our Christmas presents was for all 21 of us to get together to play games. Grandma and Grandpa provided a great lunch and lots and lots of snacks :) They also had personalized visors for everyone. We played Cherades, Hue Knew, Boggle, Apples to Apples, and a dice game. I haven't laughed so hard in a long time!