Last Day of Summer = Beach Day!

Maddy, Luella and Olivia

Last Saturday we went to Manzanita, OR to celebrate the last day of summer and I am so happy we did!  The weather was absolutely perfect and we had so much fun playing with our friends, running in the water, playing in the sand and building sand castles.  Our friends Andy and Joe also came with their girls, Luella and Olivia.  You'll see from the pictures that everyone had a fantastic time!

Daddies and daughters

 

Farewell Class Party

Most of Room 5

Sunday, September 14, 2014 was the "Farewell Class Party" for ChildRoots Room 5.  We gathered at Carson's family's home for a potluck brunch, hosted by Malena and me. Steve, Maddy and I headed over an hour early to help get everything set for guests to arrive at 10:00 a.m.  We got the egg bakes in the oven and the chairs set up and we were good to go.

Everyone had a good time hanging out and the kids enjoyed playing.  There was plenty of time for everyone to hang out with Krystal and Ashley before saying goodbye and thank you for their part in molding our children thus far.  It was hard to say goodbye to Krystal as Maddy's teacher, since she has spent the past three years with her, but we know we'll see her again soon as Maddy's babysitter and friend.

The class gift to Krystal and Ashley was a photo book made by Deepti, Karina's mom, covering the children's past three years at ChildRoots.  The books turned out wonderfully, with each child having his/her own page, and the parents signed the books as well.  Those who wanted one were able to order their own copy as well, and I will cherish ours!

Krystal and Maddy

Ashley, Krystal and Maddy

Malena and Greta

Krystal, Ashley and Isaac

Carson and Krystal

Looking through the photo book

Inside playtime

 

Bird Watching: Vaux Swifts

On Wednesday we had an adventure!  I picked up Maddy from school and headed to Steve's office. He met us outside and we walked to the food carts lining the street by his work and picked up some gourmet fusion sushi. Dinner in hand, we drove the short distance (maybe 10 minutes- right in NW Portland) to Chapman Elementary School.  We grabbed our blanket, dinner, binoculars and umbrellas (it was sprinkling but not too much) and headed to the hill above the school, joining the amassing crowd, ready to see the Vaux Swifts on their annual migration through Portland. The time was 5:30.

Over the next two hours we ate dinner, ran around, played on the hill (bigger kids used cardboard boxes to slide down the hill) and watched the birds coming to roost in the Chapman Elementary chimney. The "show" lasted through sunset, with the climax being thousands of birds swirling en masse in a clockwise motion to enter the chimney.  The crowd watched the birds while Chapman Elementary students sold pizza, drinks, cookies and Vaux Swift T-Shirts. It was like a movie at times, the crowd oooohing and awwwwing when a falcon tried to snatch a bird-snack, and then applause at the very end once the birds entered the chimney for a good night's rest. It was an amazing sight to behold.

Chapman Elementary - Vaux Swifts above the chimney

Swifts entering the Chimney

Goodbye to Diapers!

Reaching for the Last Diaper!

After a long and arduous road (at times), we have said goodbye to diapers!  We told Maddy that if she had 10 nights without an accident, she could start wearing undies to bed! Well, we got to around eight but then...we ran out of diapers! So we are giving it a go a tad earlier that planned. 

Pre-Schooler!!

First Day of Pre-School!

Our big girl is now an official pre-schooler and very proud of this fact!  The first weeks are a transition period into this new world, and so far Maddy kept calm (for the most part!) amidst the changes.

Maddy's last week in Room 5 was very fun, with clothing themes for each day: Mismatch Monday, Pajama Tuesday, Wild (Animal) Wednesday, Favorite Color Thursday and Fantastical Friday.  Maddy's last day with Krystal (her teacher for the past 3 years ) was Tuesday, August 26 and unfortunately Maddy was not feeling well at the end of the day, so we didn't get a goodbye photo with her. Luckily Maddy recovered quickly and was able to attend the last few days in Room 5 with Ashley, and I did get some final photos with her.

Maddy officially started pre-school Tuesday, September 2, 2014 with new teachers Kati (who we know because she was a "break/lunch support" teacher for Maddy in Room 5) and Thavy. I was happy to know Kati ahead of time and she's wonderful, so no worries for me! We're getting to know Thavy and she seems great as well.

Week 1 went well, some heightened emotions for Maddy but all in all a smooth transition thus far. Her new class consists of all the kids from her previous class (minus one who is starting pre-school elsewhere) plus the kids that were next door in Room 1, therefore basically doubling the number of kids. Room 1 kids are about 6 months older and Maddy's group knows them well, as the two classrooms were previously combined at end of the school day. They seem to be getting along well so far and it makes things so much easier since Maddy's friends are still in her class!

Maddy is quite proud to let anyone know she's a pre-schooler now- just ask her!  I'm looking forward to seeing the changes and the wonderful new learning opportunities for Madeline once the class is in full normal routine. Exciting!

First Day of Pre-School - out in the yard

Wild Wednesday - week prior to pre-school

Silly Maddy!

Maddy and Ashley

Maddy, Ashley and Karina

Last Jobs Board

Last update

Oh No! A T-Rex!

We spent most of Labor Day weekend in Portland catching up on things, hanging out with friends and relaxing. But we did have one big adventure: Dinosaurs at OMSI (Oregon Museum of Science and Industry).  The dinosaur exhibit had been here awhile and once I realized it was the last weekend...we had to go!!!

Maddy was a bit nervous at first even though we explained that the dinosaurs were not real.  The movements of some dinosaurs really did look like they were about to snatch the little kids gawking at them, do I don't blame the nervousness! We walked through the exhibit once rather quickly, then had a very nice lunch at Theory, OMSI's restaurant (quite a high quality restaurant- I was pleasantly surprised!). After lunch Maddy was ready to brave the exhibit again, more slowly, and we all really enjoyed it this time around. I will admit however that I was disappointed to find most dinosaur names familiar from childhood learning don't exist anymore, including my favorite, the brontosaurus. Now it's the apatosaurus. Hmph. The apatosaurus in the exhibit was incredible to see though, even if I prefer the old name.

After the dinosaurs we headed to the toddler science playground where Maddy enjoyed running around experimenting with water, blocks, pullies, cave exhibits and more. OMSI is always so much fun!

July and August 2014

Summertime is always busy and this summer has been no exception!  At the end of July we went camping with friends at Skokomish Park and had a wonderful time!  We swam in the lake and rented blow-up toys for the kids to play with.  Everyone had a lot of fun!

Me and Maddy and Mr. Shark

Lots of kids on this trip!

Fun in the sun at the beach

Our campsite!

The next weekend was Eric and Emily's wedding (wedding date August 2, 2014) and lots of friends were in town for the event.  It was great seeing people that we hadn't seen in years and so nice to catch up!  We had the pleasure of Jon, Jenny and Delaney Flanagan's company both at our house and at a condo we rented in Hood River, OR for the wedding weekend.

Night out at Lucky Lab Thursday before the wedding

Beautiful bride Emily!

The vows - Mike Hyland as officiant

 

Matt, Brian, Jon, Steve and Eric

 

The Flanagan Family

 After the big wedding weekend, the next week Joel, Silver and Anali arrived in Portland!  They stayed at our house for a few days and I took a day off work to hang out.  We went to Tabor Park near our house and had lots of fun at the playground, and we celebrated Joel's birthday, too!

Swing time at Mount Tabor

Happy Birthday, Joel!

 That Thursday (August 7), Steve, Maddy and I hit the road at about 3:00 to head south...on our way to Lake Siskiyou (near Mount Shasta, northern California) to meet up with Joel, Silver, Anali, Mila, Aidan and Nolan for a weekend together.  Thursday night we spent at a hotel in Medford, OR that would get us a couple of hours away from our destination.  Friday morning we bought some groceries, then headed to Lake Siskiyou, where we shared a campsite with Joel's family, and Mila's family rented a cabin.  Aidan broke his foot while on this trip so had to use crutches and wear a special shoe, but he was a trooper through it all.  Maddy had a great time hanging out with her cousins, Aunts and Uncle.  It was a really fun trip - next time we'll need to spend a whole week together!!

Aidan, Nolan, Anali and Maddy enjoying the fire

Cousins!

Beach time

We cooked each dinner over the fire

Mila's cabin - where we spent most of our time

Auntie Mila!

Dairy Queen stop on the LONG ride home

 The next week Mila, Aidan and Nolan came to Portland to see the city and see our home!  We enjoyed their visit but unfortunately Steve and I had to work while they were here.   Mila and the boys spent the mornings/days exploring the city and then we enjoyed our time hanging out in the evenings.

Aidan and Maddy reading

Ethiopian dinner - YUM!