Fourth of July at Nahalem Bay State Park

 

Thanks to Megan's planning prowess, we were once again able to spend the Fourth of July at Nahalem Bay State Park at the Coast.  Camping here for the Fourth of July is super fun and we all had a great time!  The kids had fun riding bikes all around the campground and then decorating bikes for the Fourth of July Parade in Manzanita.  We watched the fireworks on the beach with a fire to keep us warm, and just had a wonderful time with our friends.

Maddy's Sand Castle

Andrea, Emily, Steve, Jeff and Megan

Olivia, Luella and Maddy

 

Fireworks on the Beach

 

Fourth of July parade in Manzanita

Fun bike crew!

Four Peaks Music Festival

 Our LOVEs: Luella, Maddy, Riley, Althea and Kieran

This year we happily attended Four Peaks Music Festival near Bend, Oregon.  Christy, Eric G. and I headed to the festival on Thursday (a day earlier than most) and set up tents for our whole crew ensuring our spots together.  The sky was ominous as we set up so there was no messing around.  We got all 6 tents set up within a couple of hours, then we opened a beer, relaxed and enjoyed the rest of the evening, heading up to the music at dusk.  We had a great time, and since our kiddos were home with our spouses, we each got to sleep in!

The rest of the crew arrived Friday morning and afternoon, including Steve, Maddy, Andy, Luella, Melissa, Althea, Daynia, Brett, Wyatt, Brendan, Megan, Riley, Kieran, Jon, Mariela and Wilson.  We all had a great time hanging out at camp, heading up to the venue (consisting of main stage, side stage, beer garden, kids area, food and merchandise vendors).

Bands included: Chris Robinson Brotherhood, Jackie Greene, The Jeff Austin Band, Robben Ford, Poor Man’s Whiskey, The Stone Foxes, Della Mae, Grant Farm, Jelly Bread, The Sam Chase, World’s Finest, Crow and the Canyon, Rabbit Wilde, Painted Horses, Sean Lehe and The Family Practice, Elektrapod, Moon Mountain Ramblers, The Old Folks, The Student Loan, Honey Don’t, The Good Time Travelers.

Maddy loved the kid's area where there was a sandbox and arts and crafts to enjoy.  There was lots of yummy food and drinks, good music, camping with great friends and giant bubbles - all great fun for our little peanut.

Sunday after the music ended most of us headed to Bend and stayed at the "Parish House", part of McMennamin's establishment.  It was also Father's Day, so after everyone had a soak in the hotel's soaking pool, had a good shower to wash off 3-4 days of camping, the ladies stayed at the house to watch the kiddos and all the dads went out on the town.

Christy and Marnie

Main Stage

Mariela, Jon, Wilson, Riley and Brett

Faust Family

Little Fairy Maddy

Gigantic Bubbles!

Steve and Maddy enjoying the music

Flynn Family

Happy Maddy!

Christy, Eric and Marnie - Text Set Up Crew

Thursday Night Tent Set Up Crew - Victory!

Missing: Grapes the Purple Monkey

Missing!!  Signs up at ChildRoots

Our household recently had a small crisis: Maddy's dear purple monkey, Grapes, went missing.  Grapes is Maddy's school "lovey" that hangs out at ChildRoots all week in her nap bag, then comes home on the weekend.  Grapes went missing in East Classroom (Maddy's nap room, but not her regular classroom which is South), and wasn't seen for days...then a week.  Signs were put up in the pre-school hallways and all the kids and teachers joined the search for Grapes.  Maddy was so sad that we agreed to replace the lovey.  Steve ordered a new Grapes but little did he know that Grapes comes in several sizes, and the Grapes that arrived was twice the size of the original.  Hmmmm, how would Maddy react?  She LOVED the new, bigger Grapes and named her Mama Grapes.

Well, the week after Mama Grapes joined our family, the unthinkable happened.  The kids from East came parading into South classroom, ecstatic because they had found the original Grapes!  Maddy's reaction was unexpected.  She denied that Grapes was her original Grapes and threw her across the room. This was definitely not the reaction the East-siders were expecting, nor the teachers.  Maddy's primary teacher, Amber talked to her and Maddy could not be convinced that this small, slightly scruffy purple monkey was her long-lost Grapes.  When I arrived that day to pick Maddy up, Amber explained what had transpired so we could discuss a bit more at home.

After awhile, Steve and I finally convinced Maddy that this was in fact the original Grapes, and that there was really no way it could be an imposter. She agreed and decided that Mama Grapes is  original Grape's mom, and all was good in the world of purple monkeys.  Considering Maddy's less-than-optimal response to the East-siders return of her beloved monkey, Maddy wrote a thank you card to the classroom pictured below.

Pickles, Meow-Meow and Grapes

Thank You Card for East

Mama Grapes and Grapes

Jon and Mariela's Wedding

The Happy Couple

Jon Daby and Mariela Szwarcberg were married on June 4, 2016 in Portland, OR.  The wedding included a beautiful Jewish ceremony mixed with Argentinian flair. It was beautiful, touching and the reception was fun!  As it was a formal affair, I had to get some shots of our friends all dolled up for the occasion.  Congratulations Jon and Mariela!  Happy for you two!!

 

Steve, Christy, Megan, Melissa, Eric and Andy

Jenna, Jason and Juan

Daynia and Andy

Marnie, Steve, Christy and Megan

Jon and Cristin

Erik and Christina

Anne Marie, Brett and Jonny

Natasha and Henrietta

Dara and Anne Marie

Maddy's 5th Birthday Extraordinaire! (Part 3 of 3)

Maddy and Chuck E Cheese!

Quite some time ago, as I was driving Maddy home from school, she said: "Mommy, I want to go to Chuck E. Cheese!"  Seeing as we'd never been there nor had we talked about it, I asked her how she knew about Chuck E Cheese.  "I saw it on TV" she said.  Hmmmm, those Saturday mornings where I sleep on the couch and let Maddy watch cartoons on Nick Jr have clued her into more than I had ever imagined.  Commercials...

So that is how Maddy's third and last party celebrating entrance into her 5th year w happened at Chuck E Cheese.  It was much as I remembered from being a little kid myself, only the big ball pit was missing.  There were lots of arcade games, some riding toys and the mechanical characters that sang and danced in a somewhat creepy (only a little) way.  The party package provided pizza, drinks and tokens for the kids, and a round in the "Tornado" for Maddy and one parent (I chose Steve!) to collect as many tickets as possible.

Everyone had a blast (Riley and Wilson may have had the best time!) and the parents had fun too.  I got to play my heart's content of Skee Ball so I was happy.  Maddy also had a great time, although Chuck E Cheese himself made her a bit shy.  I don't blame her.

All in all, three birthday events made for a happy little 5 year old!  Happy Maddy equals happy parents!

Maddy and Karina

Brett and little Wyatt

Maddy having fun!

Pizza!

Maddy and the Chuck E Cheese Oath

 

Winning tickets in the tornado

Little Princess!