All Things Halloween

Our Little Elsa

Halloween lasted a couple months this year at the Faust House.  Maddy and I decorated in September with a Candy Corn decorative banner craft project to boot!  We also made Halloween Jello Jigglers (a couple times) and Steve and Maddy carved a pumpkin.  The Friday before Halloween I had a Halloween potluck at work so Maddy helped me make a "Ghoulish Cheese Dip". Also, Grandma and Grandpa Faust and Grandmom and Granddad Sebastian both sent Halloween packages filled with Halloween activities and treats - fun for all of us!

We had a total of four costumed events as well, starting with the ChildRoots Lantern Walk on September 23, 2015. Since Kieran Flynn also attends ChildRoots now, we met up with the Flynn family for dinner at the Kennedy School before heading to Fernhill Park.  There the kids collected their lanterns and we set off through the woods, stopping at each of the 17 stations where fully costumed ChildRoots staff handed out "treasures" such as feathers, rocks and stickers. At the end there were dancers with glow sticks and glow-hula-hoops. Kieran was dressed as a Pirate, Maddy as Elsa from Frozen, and Riley a Football Player.

The next evening we had "Halloween Fest" at Joe, Angie and Olivia Rock's home.  Maddy dressed as a fairy for that party to mix things up a bit.  Lots of our friends came as well, with the kiddos all dressed up.  It was a fun evening!  That night Maddy headed home with the Sweanys for a sleepover, as Steve and I had some friends in town from Minnesota (Joe and Heather Krengel) so we met up with them for the later night hours.

Halloween fell on a Saturday this year, making for a fun-filled day!  In the late afternoon we went to a One Year Old costume birthday party for Henry Caudill and  his buddy Bea at Laurelwood Brewery.  It was great to see all the kiddos dressed up (Maddy was Elsa again for Halloween Day/Night).  We hung out and enjoyed some appetizers and dinner before the big night.  Straight from Laurelwood we headed to Shana Daby's Halloween Party.  Shana lives in the BEST Halloween neighborhood in Portland: the houses are decorated in full Halloween spookiness and most of the homeowners dress up as well.  It's an excellent place to trick-or-treat and hordes of people travel to this neighborhood to do so.  Even though it was pouring rain, we gathered our umbrellas and hit the streets with the kids to stock up on goodies.  Once the kids had enough we headed back to Shana's and the adults chatted while the kids ate as much candy as they get away with before their parents cut them off.

All in all, a fun start to the autumn holidays!

Frozen Family: Olaf, Elsa, Sven

Mommy/Maddy craft project: Candy Corn!

Decorating complete!

Halloween Jello Jigglers

ChildRoots Lantern Walk Night with the Flynns

Ghoulish Cheese Dip

Andrea & Henry the StrongMan-Baby - now One!

 

 

Fairy for the Rocks Halloween Party

Carving Pumpkins with Daddy

Bob and Jan's Halloween House (Neighbors)

Dudes' Backpacking Trip: Olympic National Park

Olympic National Park: Hoh River to Third Beach

Backpackers on this year's trek: Steve, Brendan, Jason, Joe, Andy, Jeff.

Excerpts from:Backpacker 

Here is the description of the hike: 

Is it a hike or an Army obstacle course? Both, actually, which you’ll find out as you negotiate ladders and ropes through upland rainforest and rocky beach on this 16.1-mile trek. 

At the Oil City trailhead, take the South Coast Trail along the river. Two rights lead to the coast; cruise past a bleached driftwood graveyard to Jefferson Cove. (Note: Cross the area at tides lower than two feet; get charts at the ranger station.) Head inland near a small waterfall) and scale a 60-foot cliff on two fixed ropes. The 3.5-mile upland trail winds through a high-canopy forest, and begins a roller-coaster section up log steps and down into the mossy forest. Take the boardwalk over the marshy area to Mosquito Creek and camp on a bluff overlooking the Pacific. 

 Next morning, don your sandals and ford Mosquito Creek at its mouth. Walk the beach north for two miles past sea stacks ). At low tide, hike on the beach to the left side of the rocky sea stack. At high tide, clamber over driftwood on the right. Turn inland at bull’s eye marker, head up a hillside, and hike through a leafy trellis of salal, salmonberry (edible but bland), thimbleberry (rich and juicy), and devil’s club. 

Stay straight to ford 20-foot-wide Goodman Creek, and re-enter the woods; pass massive red cedars to Falls Creek’s low cascade. Descend a 30-foot trail ladder and head north to Toleak Point, watching for bald eagles. Traverse a rocky stretch, and head past Giants’ Graveyard, a cluster of sea stacks and pinnacles. 

Ford Scott Creek and traverse a forested hillside (use trail ropes, if needed) to the beach. At the bull’s eye trail marker, climb 90 steps into the forest. After 14.2 miles, descend to Third Beach on stairs and ladders and pick up the dirt path to Third Beach parking area and your shuttle.

It was mostly a great trip, however Steve lost his sleeping bag somewhere along the trail and spent a couple of very cold nights in his tent.  His friends lent him warm clothes and jackets but without a sleeping bag it was still pretty chilly.   The views were spectacular, the trek a challenge and the camaraderie great as always. 

Trip Tools

- See more at: http://www.backpacker.com/trips/washington/olympic-national-park/olympic-national-park-hoh-river-to-third-beach/#bp=0/img1

Trip Tools

- See more at: http://www.backpacker.com/trips/washington/olympic-national-park/olympic-national-park-hoh-river-to-third-beach/#bp=0/img1

Autumn in Portland

Bauman's Farm - Harvest Fun

Autumn in Portland is one of my favorite times of the year!  From Fresh Hops Beer Festivals to Harvest fun at the surrounding farms, the choices are endless for family fun.

We joined friends at the Oaks Park Fresh Hops Festival and Steve and I split our time enjoying the Oaks Amusement Park rides with Maddy, and sampling the fresh hop brews.  We all had a good time and Maddy went on her first solo ride!  She was nervous at first, then we couldn't get her to stop - again, again, again she said!

There are so many farms just outside the city filled with fun activities for kids, great food and pumpkins galore.  This year we picked Bauman Farms, and our friends Joe, Angie and Olivia Rock joined us there for the afternoon.  It was a beautiful, sunny day/  Maddy was a bit cranky for part of the time (I think the big slide at the beginning was a bit too much for her), but we managed to throw lots of fun activities in and she ended up having fun and did not want to leave.  She really liked feeding the goat, so I see many petting zoo activities in our future.

Daynia had some good one-on-one time with Maddy sitting for us one night, and they used their time for a tea party (this seems to be becoming a theme with them).  Maddy just loves Daynia and her tea parties, and was over the moon when Daynia gave her a beaded bracelet that Daynia had made just for her. 

Maddy and I both had Columbus Day off and we were planning on meeting Christy and Luella at the zoo, but Christy was not feeling well, so we met Andy and Lu instead!  We had fun tooling around seeing the animals and exploring a section new to me that offered another view of the lions!  Roar!  As usual, Maddy and Lu had lots of fun running around together and goofing off.

Not a bad start to Autumn in Portland.

Oaks Park (Fresh Hops Beer Fest)

Maddy's first solo ride

On the train with friends!

Bauman Farms: Olivia and Maddy on the Bug Train

 

 

Tea Party with Daynia

Daddy/Maddy Camping Trip with the Sweanys

Lu gives a helping hand

Over Labor Day weekend Maddy and Steve went camping for a night with Andy, Christy and Luella Sweany at LePage Park.  I stayed home to get some things done around the house and have a little "me" time.   Maddy had fun hanging out with Lu, and Christy had Cinderella on the iPad for the girls to enjoy during down time.  Everyone had a fun time!

Relaxing in the Tent with Cinderella

 

Little Swimmer

I had a proud mom moment (several actually) on Sunday October 18, 2015 when Maddy began swim lessons again. Her class is a repeat of "pre-penguin" which she did not pass mainly because she would not put her face in the water. We told Maddy she would need to master this to pass to the next level. All summer when swimming with me and Steve she resisted practicing this skill, but once class started her reservations seemed to disappear. She was a true champ, listening to teacher Nate and performing the tasks very well! After class teacher Nate told me she's doing really well.

When leaving class I asked Maddy what had changed- how was is that she put her face in the water so well now? She responded: I just made a decision. I decided to put my face in the water and to listen to my teacher.

Well done.

August Update

Portland Thorns

Our family had a busy August filled with fun events.  Maddy, Steve and I met up with our friends Katy and John for a Portland Thorns soccer game (women's soccer) which Maddy was very excited about for weeks ahead of time.  She enjoyed the game and lasted through the whole match
(this was Maddy's first sporting event)!  She also got her first Portland Thorns t-shirt.  Lucky girl.

We also went to Sunset at the Zoo a couple of times to enjoy the Portland summer weather, do a little dancing, and get a free bandage for Maddy's little monkey-friend Grapes.  The very family oriented Sunset at the Zoo concert series was sponsored by a veterinary and they  encouraged kids to bring their stuffed animals for "check-ups", even sewing up ripped lovies for the kids.  One of our favorite local bluegrass bands, Student Loan, played one of the nights which was fun for all of us. Maddy danced up a storm!

Our 7th anniversary happened to be on a Saturday this year, and I decided to plan a surprise night away for me and Steve.  Our friends Christy, Andy and their kiddo Luella hosted Maddy for the night, and Steve and I snuck away to Astoria, the site of our engagement.  We enjoyed a flight of beer and some decadent appetizers at Buoy Brewery, walked along the Astoria River Walk, had nice dinner out and enjoyed our stay at the Cannery Pier Hotel. Since I mentioned it was our anniversary, the staff had champagne and chocolate waiting in our room which was a nice touch. Every room has a balcony overlooking the Columbia River, and the sights and sounds of the river were breathtaking.  It was a wonderful anniversary!

Dancing to Student Loan at Sunset at the Zoo

Grapes Gets a Bandage at Sunset at the Zoo

Our 7th Anniversary

Cannery Pier Hotel

Celebrating at Buoy Brewery in Astoria, OR

Grandmom and Granddad's Rock Sculpture at their home