Quarantine

We survived our week of quarantine from the Swine flu. The first couple of days we all felt terrible and did a lot of sitting around or watching movies.

By the end we were all feeling a lot better so we had fun carving pumpkins, making our Spooky Halloween House, and baking cookies (none of which left the contaminated house.)

When we finally could leave the house we had a great time trying to catch up on all the Halloween fun. We went to Gardner village to see the witches and to Barnyard Boo. It felt great to be out in the fresh air!

Newport Oregon AKA Crab Island

We had so much fun on our trip to Newport OR. It is such a unique and interesting place. Everyday was full of adventures and lots of laughs. We had raved so much about our trip 2 years ago that we convinced Troy and Eno and my parents to join us for a couple of days. It was fun having them with us and to teach them how to crab fish.

Crabbing was definitely a highlight. The girls loved it and it is really exciting. I had the best job of just watching and taking pictures. Chip did all the heavy lifting, throwing, baiting and cleaning. The girls were the official Crab Kickers. They had to kick all the crab that were too small to keep back off the dock. It was so fun to watch especially if one of the crabs got a hold of their shoes or pant legs. They shock me at how they are not afraid of anything. They loved exploring all the catch especially the starfish and sun star. Yes, that is a starfish on Mayzie’s head – she thought she was pretty funny!

One day we drove up the coast to Tillamook to explore the Cheese Factory. It is so fun to watch how things are mass produced. The highlight of the factory was enjoying the 38 flavor ice cream tour. It was so huge and fun to try all the different flavors. Our favorites were Birthday Cake, Chocolate & Peanut Butter, Pralines & Cream and Oregon Black Cherry. The unanimous unfavorites were White Licorice and Bubblegum - YUCK! Mayzie was hilarious - she wouldn’t let the bowl slide away from her. She definitely out ate the rest of us. It was a very fun and memorable tummy ache for everyone.

We had other adventures to lighthouses, the beach and a kite festival.

On our last day we found the cutest little tea shop. They had hats, even for Chip (who was a VERY good sport!) The lunch was so fun with sorbet, little sandwiches and delicious desserts. It was a great time! Just another awesome little spot in Newport.

Our Big News!

We found out we are having a BOY! We couldn’t be more excited, but we have to admit we were both a little surprised. I guess we hadn’t heard anything but girl so as Chip put it we were a little “shell shocked.” It has taken us about a week to stop turning to each other and saying, “What are we going to do with a boy?!” Chip keeps saying, “I have the princess thing down.” I’m sure we will welcome this little guy and he will quickly find a place in our hearts. He may wear pink and be surrounded by princess toys, but hey, that never hurt anyone.

Our second bit of news is less fun. We came home from our trip to Newport with a souvenir….the Swine Flu. We are actually on the mend, but seriously, it was not fun. We are almost done with our week long quarantine and still moving very slow. Today is the first day we graduated from PJs all day to sweat suits. This was a big step. The only positive thing is we survived and are now hopefully immune. What an adventure!

Mayzie's 2-year pictures

These are so late getting up, but I can’t not post them. I had a dear friend Laura Bunker take the girls pictures. She did an amazing job! The best part was how easy she made it. As you can see from all other photos taken of Mayzie and the fact I always have to take her back for retakes at a studio - she is not very photogenic. In fact, she is a stinker pants when the camera comes out. Laura got so many amazing expressions and smiles it was unbelievable. She even got cute ones of them together – near impossible!!! Check out Laura’s blog – she is very talented - http://www.laurabunker.com/

Pumpkin Walk

Blakeslie got to participate in her first Pumpkin Walk at her school. She has been going to support her cousins for a couple of years. She was so excited to have her very own pumpkin this year. I had a good time helping a couple of days in her classroom to paint and get everything ready. I'm so thankful she loves everything about kindergarten!

Soccer

We had a great soccer season! Blakeslie loved being with her friends a little more than actually playing, but she learned a lot and had a fun time. Chip was the assistant coach and he really loved being a part of the team and teaching and playing with the girls.