Sunday Stroll

The morning held promise of sun before afternoon rain, so we ran out for a hike. It is amazing how a short, flat walk can become magical when you are with young children. A perfect family outing.....followed by a major slip in judgement. Afterwards we were really hungry and the crazy preggo lady in me really wanted pancakes. So...we went to Shari's. Mistake. It was packed...still not sure why...and the scene bordered on comical with a huge layer of depressing. Needless to say it was healthy am followed by a un-healthy pm....and a need for a nap.

Back to the Beach = Bliss

Even though I got home late on Thursday night from a week-long business trip to Florida, when Mark and I saw sun in the forecast at the beach, we had to jump in the car.

It was worth it. It was so sunny and we spent most of the time outdoors. This morning Henry and Francie met a new friend, Quinn, and they built a dam.....beaver style. Afterwards Francie decided to use the pool of water they created as a bath for her beautiful belly.

The only drawback to the weekend was that we forgot DogDog and Monkey -- the "transitional" objects both of our children slept with every day of their life. Ouch....last night was not pretty.

Third Time a Charm?

Mark and I are expecting our third! The baby is due June 26th and we are over the moon.

If you saw me, you would think I am seven months pregnant. I thought I popped with my 2nd.... but WOW.....with the third. My OB kindly said "Yeah, with the third, it all spreads out quickly." Lovely.

We are not finding out the gender. Henry has informed me that if the baby is a boy, he would like it to be called "Al". Again, lovely.

We are looking forward to the wonderful chaos that will come when we are outnumbered by the kiddos - we are practicing a zone defense already.

Above are some pictures -- many from over a month ago - but still REALLY cute.

Sea World with Jack and Aunt Pat

The sun finally arrived in San Diego on our last day there! We jumped at the opportunity to take the kids to Sea World and my mom and Aunt Pat and Jack (one of the CUTEST kids in the world) came with us. The animals were incredible and the killer whale show was pretty insane. The dolphin show was a bit Vegas-style, my brother-in-law Brian would have LOVED it.

Midway Museum and January 3rd

We were in San Diego because Andrew's godmother (my Aunt Pat) had a wonderful party in his memory on January 3rd as that was the 10 year anniversary of my brother's death. I didn't realize how hard it would being in San Diego would be for me. When we lived there, my sisters went to college, so I have a lot of memories with just Andrew there and I haven't really processed them in the same way that I have processes old stomping grounds here in Portland. It was so poignant to me that there was this person that I had a shared history with and wanted to reminisce with....who wasn't there. Sucks.

During the day, we went to a "floating museum" - a goal for Henry - called the Midway Museum. I actually liked it a lot more than I thought I would and the views and the kids smiles were a perfect balance to the sadness we were all feeling on the inside.

Legoland....Underwater

After LA, we headed to San Diego and stopped at Legoland on the way. We arrived to sun and starting exploring....45 minutes later....pouring rain. After shelling out nearly $200.00, we decided that we were Oregonians and we were sticking it out. After a while it was kind of hysterical. Despite being drenched, we had a good time. Not gonna lie, I think Mark likes legos more than the kids.

Annual Fiesta in Old Town LA

After the Rose Bowl, we always make a trek to old town LA, where LA was born, to this lovely little Mexican restaurant with good food, margaritas, and an extremely high tolerance for our VERY strung out children (we have to wake at 6 for the Rose Bowl and they have been outside all day). This year did not disappoint. Normally they have musicians, but because it was a Friday, they said there no musicians from the restaurant. We were bummed. Then all of a sudden we heard guitars and they were playing La Bamba...a favorite of my brother Andrew's. My mom and I instantly got teary eyed and saw it as a sign as the 10 year anniversary of Andrew's death was in a couple of days. Thanks Andrew for sending along the musicians...the kids (and Joanie) loved it!

Rose Bowl 2011

After the parade we tail gated with the family. Amongst all the beer were the kids eating sandwiches and feeling like they were one of the crowd. After watching a group of Wisconsin fans playing a game of throwing sand bags, Henry walked over and asked if he can join (reserved, quite Henry.....he is no longer). Apparently he stole the show (I was walking Francie for a nap). Mom said he will rock the frat scene in college. Thank god....success as a parent. The game was really fun this year. Henry and Mark got to sit in the 12th row and Francie actually sat through the whole game! (Popcorn and lemonade helped). I love that stadium. We are so lucky to get to go.

Rose Parade 2011

On New Years Eve we flew down to Pasadena for the Rose Parade and Rose Bowl. This year my sister Katie and her family also came down. This year is the last year we get the fancy seats on the stands as my Godfather is retiring from the city commission (boo!). The parade was incredible!!! Francie was really into this year and made it through the whole parade without jumping into the stands.

Christmas 2010

There are few things better as a parent than Christmas morning. Francie awoke first and we told her she had to hang in our bedroom until Henry woke up. She kept asking, with trepidation/excitement if Santa was here. I realized she thought when we said Santa was coming...was that he was coming...and staying. She was relieved when I told her dropped of the presents. She then said "oh yeah....Santa loves me". Classic.

The best part of Christmas am was that the kids actually stopped and played with the toys in-between, rather than just open and move on to the next one.

On the down side, poor Mark got a horrible stomach bug and missed most of the day and dinner with my parents, grandma, and Mark's dad. Later that night, I got the bug and was up all night. Ho ho ho.

That said, we were very grateful for the blessings and family we have in our life during this magical holiday.