Family Vacation- Oregon

We have been planning for months to take out little family vacation- our first official "just the three of us not visiting or doing anything with anyone else" vacation! To say that we were excited would be a major understatement. We were a bit nervous to be taking a 15 month old on a 6 hour car trip but we did our best to plan ahead and Thatcher did great! We traveled during his nap times and stopped and got out of the car to walk around when he woke up.

Packing central- I taped up our packing list and started hoarding things in a laundry basket probably a month before we left.

On the road!

We stopped here for lunch- I think it was in LaGrande? It was okay food and a good stretch break.

This is a monument/park as you enter the freeway- Thatcher was barking at the pretend cows thinking they were dogs.



We stopped at the majestic Multnomah Falls on our way into Portland. We had to circle the parking lot a few times before a space opened up. It was a busy place the day we stopped in. There were tourists from all over the world there. A very nice lady offered to snap a picture for us after watching us try to wrangle Thatcher and the camera.



The very first place we visited after checking into the hotel- IKEA! I pretty much love that place and we had been making a list of things to get for the past few months. I kept trying to get Aaron to let us ride the train back during the week to just walk around and he wouldn't let me.

While we were in Portland it also happened to be the Rose Festival. It looked crazy busy so we shyed away from most of the activities but we did get to see some of the dragon boat racers warming up while we waited for the OMSI center to open. I wish I had a better zoom so we could see the details on their boats.

Aaron was so excited to see this movie poster- but the show time wasn't until later that afternoon and we wouldn't be able to get back. So a picture of the poster would have to do.

Watching the windmills

Learning about electricity

This was a giant floating globe it was showing weather patterns- pretty cool!

Playing with wind

They had a few fossils to look at- we haven't hit the dinosaur phase yet but Thatcher still thought they were kinda cool

Headed into the kiddo play place

Thatcher played in this hollow log with the acorns for a long time. He didn't care too much about doing anything else.

This was his other favorite- he would hold a ball over the cone and it would float in the air

On our way over to the coast we were able to stop off in Willamina Oregon. A little tiny logging town where my Great- Grandparents Campbell lived. We stopped at the little grocery store in the town to ask for directions to the cemetery. The directions included counting fence posts, watching for a large rock and traveling "so far" down a gravel road. We were happy to find the cemetery and their headstone.

Our first glimpse of the ocean!

Eating lunch at the Newport Aquarium. The kids meal is served on a Frisbee they get to take home.

Thatcher loved watching all of the fish.

There were a few seals and sea lions that were swimming and sunning themselves. They were pretty cute.

The otters were so fun to watch. There were some volunteers standing on the top of the otter enclosure singing the hokey poky and the otters were following along with the actions!

We stopped off in Lincoln City and Depoe Bay to do a little shopping and play by the Ocean. It was crazy windy but not too chilly. Thatcher like to watch the kites and windsocks.

Thatcher loved the beach once we got out on the packed sand where he could run a little better. He wasn't too sure about the waves sneaking up on him but he liked to watch the water and play in the sand. We had to put his binky in because he tried putting sand, rocks, and part of a dead crab in his mouth :) Oh little boys.

Thatchers first train ride! We loved taking the train to the Zoo and into Portland. I was glad that I had some train experience from traveling in London. Thatcher was able to look out the window and watch the world go by and we didn't have to deal with nasty traffic and finding a parking spot. Plus we got a discount on our Zoo admission!

Baby Lily the elephant was pretty cute- we watcher her play for a bit.

We had so much fun on our vacation. Our hotel was a little outside of Portland and close to a good size shopping mall and walking distance to Target. We had a great suite that had a separate bedroom and living area which made sleeping and nap time a lot easier.

If we could convince our extended family to follow us Portland would be a great place to live! We spent our last full day wandering around the city and riding the train. Thatcher is becoming a really great traveler and we look forward to more adventures!

May

May was a very busy month for our little family... a few birthdays to celebrate, the kitchen saga continues, and a little family reunion over Memorial Day. When I go to load pictures on the blog I always wish that I had taken more pictures to remember all of these fun events. Something I will have to work on I guess.

Jack and Thatcher are getting to be pretty good buds. It is so fun to watch them play together. We went for a walk around our neighborhood and Jack pooped out on us and insisted to be carried. I couldn't carry him and push the stroller so I slid Thatcher over a bit and stuck Jack in with him. I don't know who was more excited about the rest of the walk.

Thatcher went to Primary with Daddy on Mother's day so I could teach Relief Society and he was able to make a little gift for me with the big kids. It is pretty cute and now hangs on the wall by my desk at work. (Well- minus the chocolate).

We celebrated Mother's day with a little dinner at my Grandparent's. We love having them back from their mission! We stamped Thatcher and Carter's feet on the side of a pot for Grammy and the Great Grandmas. It turned out pretty cute!

Since Aaron, our brother in law Mike, and I all have May birthdays we thought it would be fun to celebrate them all together before Mike and Lara moved away. They hadn't been the the aquarium yet so we all headed to the aquarium and then out to dinner at Red Robin. The little boys were pretty excited about the fish. Thatcher was getting more brave and tried touching a few of the fish this time.

There were a few other birthday celebrations going on at Red Robin that night so the little boys were pretty excited to hear all the birthday songs. We are going to miss having our cousin so close!

Thatcher and I celebrated my birthday (it was in the middle of the week so Aaron had to work). He stole my balloons that my co workers got for me, and we went out for a little ice cream. He liked being able to eat a few bites by himself.

We were able to get together with some of the other "new" babies at work. Over the past year-ish we have added quite a few little people to the office. One of them moved away to Oregon so we decided to have a little picnic to get all the kiddos together before they left. It was a bit interesting trying to wrangle all of them for a picture- so this is as good as it gets.

I had to include these pictures- we did a little shopping over the Memorial Day holiday. At one of the local strip malls they had a little petting zoo of sorts on the sidewalk in front of the pet store. We had no idea and we were just walking along the side walk then I looked down and noticed the GIANT SNAKE laying in the sun! I just about fell off the sidewalk! Not something I was expecting. They also had some bunnies, turtles, smaller snakes and lizards.

For Memorial Day all of my Beal uncles and their families were able to visit. We hadn't all been together in a number of years and a few family members hadn't met Thatcher yet. It was a fun filled weekend for all of us!

Thatcher checking out the flowers at Great- Grandmas

Thatcher and Carter playing in the grass- Carter wasn't so sure about being on the grass

Playing on the slide at Merrill Park

Thatcher thought he could be a big kid and play with the older cousins. They were careful not to trample him and he had a blast chasing after them.

Thatcher loves wind chimes- the entire weekend he would stand under it and see who he could get to lift him up.

Helping "weed" at Great Grandmas

Thatcher loves to play the piano at Great Grandma and Grandpa's. He is tall enough now that he can even open the lid if the piano bench is pushed in all the way. He frequently would sneak off and we would hear him pounding away.

 

 Thatcher loves to look out the windows. Most of the windows at our house are low enough he can see out. His window faces the street in front of our house. He will wave to the neighbors across the street and watch their little dog and cats run around.



I love that Thatcher is getting bigger and likes to play and be silly. There is nothing better than hearing him laugh! I do miss my tiny baby but it is so fun to watch him learn and grow!

Ah- the kitchen saga... We were able to finally get new countertops installed. However there were a few bumps in the road... Mostly this GIANT DENT in my brand new sink. Because of the way the sink is installed it requires the whole section of countertop to be re-made with a new sink. So they temporarilly allowed us to have the damaged section while they took another two weeks to make the new one. So two weeks comes, install date is set. Then the call the night before to let us know that the second sink was also dented! I just about lost it. Good thing their office is in Oregon or I may have driven over and had a tantrum in their lobby. Another two weeks and they finally got it in! Whew!

We just have a little more to do- like a backsplash- and some more painting then it will be mostly done! We are saving up our pennies again to get new floors. I didn't realize how awful the floors were until we had sparkly new counters and painted cupboards.