A Day at the Fair

Yesterday I took the kids to the

OREGON STATE FAIR.

It was held in Salem, Oregon - about an hour south.

I wasn't exactly sure what to expect, but it was a blast!

The weather was perfect - not too hot, not too cold!

The crowds were minimal.

There was SO much to do!

We began by going to the livestock areas - Ty was in heaven with the sheep, the goats, the cows and the horses. I was corrected by one of the FFA members when I referred to a sheep as furry he promptly told me they "are woolly" and "it's not the same thing!"

In true three-year-old interest, Jake was fascinated with how big the cows "bums" are...

We were then off to the rides. It was Kid's Day at the fair with discounted rides, but after our recent trip to Oaks Park, I was okay with limiting the kids to just a couple of rides.

The afternoon was spent seeing the different shows. We enjoyed a Circus Act, a Magicians Act, Chinese Acrobats and a Hypnotist Show. They brought in some very talented acts and they entertained adults and kids alike.

Jake was a great audience member - he LOVED the magician and cheered loudly. I kept asking him "how did they do that?" and he would look so exacerbated at me and say "it's magic mom!"

Jake was inspired by the Acrobat's Act and performed many similarly challenging feats on the handrail next to us.

Between shows we hit the concourse for Fair Food!

Cason was amazed when he read in the program that there were 73 different food vendors. And to think that we narrowed it down to just three!

I encouraged the kids to avoid the corn dogs and pizza that we can get anywhere and to go for something unique - we ended up with an Elephant Ear, deep-fried Twinkies and deep-fried oreos. The vote is still out regarding the favorite.

Other between show activity was going to the reptile house...

...climbing the rock climbing wall in the sports arena...

...and meeting Smokey. It turns out that the "Jr. Beaver appearance" on the schedule was really just Smokey and his sidekick (a Beaver). I blame Rich that Cason thought we were going to a sporting event! I must admit, it seemed logical to me :)

By days end the kid were ready to get their feet massaged and head home.

My only request next year is for Rich to join us!

Our 1st Day of Rain!

Since arriving in Portland we've had a couple of "drizzles" but I've quickly learned that that does not qualify as rain.

Today we had our first real rainy day - light, but it fell all day!

Jake was thrilled and insisted on wearing his new raincoat.

But note the shoes - he may live in Portland but his true Las Vegas roots shine through!

Ward Campout (aka What Was I THINKING?)

I think my actions (or lack of) this past weekend may have just disowned me from my own family - not my husband and kids (well, on second thought maybe them too) - but my birth family.

My family members are campers. My grandparents started it and I have aunts & uncles & cousins that all camp. I have my mom & dad that take weekend camping trips for fun! My brothers hike places and only eat what they carry and only sleep in what is on their back - you get the picture.

The problem I see - and why my failures of the weekend are ultimately their fault - is that in an attempt to get me to join them on their camping trips they have made camping really easy for me.

Basically I show up.

When I arrive my tent is magically set up.

I wake up and the fire is mysteriously roaring.

The water in the coffee pot is always full and hot!

And I have a slight suspicion that the meals are catered :)

All these things make camping something I will participate in.

What is the problem? Well, this past weekend was the ward campout. We were told that if you didn't have a tent there would be Adirondacks available - cool for us because our tents are somewhere deep in the storage unit. We were told that all we needed to bring was dinner. I TOTALLY took that literally - I think my brain must be somewhere in the storage unit too. I mean, I brought sleeping bags and pillows but that is pretty much the extent of it.

We showed up with hot dogs in the cooler and roasting sticks with which to cook. Rich looked at me and asked where the matches were...matches? They said bring dinner, I thought the fire was provided (cause it always is when I camp with my family)!

I brought hot cocoa at the request of the kids - cute individual packets even - and I even remembered the insulated cups, but I'll be darned if they didn't have a single coffee pot filled with hot water anywhere! What the heck!

Luckily Rich reminded me to bring a flashlight - another critical item provided by my awesome family when I camp with them - so I brought the only flashlight I've come across in my unpacking and I put two new batteries into it. Yeah, it lasted less than an hour before it burned out - just about the time I arrived at the Adirondack carrying both Jake and Ty who were tired and crying and needing to change their clothes and go to bed!

Then there were the sleeping accommodations - I'll be honest, I had no idea what an Adirondack was but it sounded much cooler than it was. It was a three sided cabin with a dirt floor and single width (hard) bunk beds. Ty and I shared one of those single width (hard) bunk beds and by 4 a.m. I was really mad about the Addie's as well and wished I just had my tent (and maybe the air mattresses that my parents camp with)!

All in all I can truthfully say that I thought it was a miserable trip. Did I mention it was cold? It pretty much just made for tired kids, a tired mom and lots of laundry on Saturday. I could have stayed home and had that end result!

This is the one positive - the scenery. Driving in Oregon is fun because no matter where you go you feel like you are on a scenic tour. Our drive to the campground was no different.

This is the Addie - just what you've always wanted to house your family in in the wilderness - with hopes that your 2 year old doesn't wander off during the night and no wild animals wander in.

Proof that the kids don't need matches or hot water or even flashlights to be happy.

Ty's happiness was contingent on his green tractor...

...and being free to climb up and down the ladders.

Luckily (seriously!) the kids were given these glow sticks to play with around the fire. I used them as my only light source as I searched for pajamas and changed a diaper in the pitch black.

My husband playing some sort of frisbee game - just for the record, I didn't bring the frisbee either.

***disclaimer: I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE my family and would camp with them anywhere, anytime***

48 inches

Let's see how tall Jake is...

Not quite there, despite the tippy tippy toes...

Maybe if he justs climbs the pole...

Bingo! Totally 48 inches...screamin' eagle, here we come!

{Exploring} Portland: Oaks Park

Yesterday I took the kids to the Oaks Park Amusement Park. I never even knew it existed until the kids earned their discount ticket through the library reading program. It isn't huge, but there were enough rides (with enough of a crowd) to keep us busy for the day.

How do you know the day of rides and thrills was a hit? Two of the four kids fall asleep on the drive home and one of the two remaining awake is TOTALLY threatening to throw up!

I am such a fun mom!

But really, my favorite part was that without any coordination my sister-in-law was there with her kids so my kids got to spend part of their time with their cousins. I LOVE living somewhere where you can "bump" into your cousins!

Cashing in a Library Pass: Bowling

I posted about the many library passes that the kids received as part of the Library Reading Program.

Last weekend we rewarded the kids hard work in the yard by using their bowling passes Saturday night.

My favorite funny of the evening was classic Jake.

You can see by the photo Jake's superior bowling stance.

Unfortunately his technique did not make for a very fast moving ball down the lane.

After multiple attempts Jake determined that he'd had enough of his ball being "slow".

At his next turn he took his ball aside and was making tool sounds and obviously "working" on the ball. When I asked him what he was doing he told me,

"My ball is out of gas and I'm filling it up"

He then took his bowling position and let the ball loose - it slowly made it's way down the lane no faster than any previous attempt.

As his ball hit the target Jake turned around, kind of kicked his foot and said,

"I think it needs an oil change!"

I love that boy!

One step closer to the title "Oregonian"

Meet our latest addition...

I no longer have the luxury of it being sunny and warm at 5:15 a.m. - thus I have really fallen behind on my running. If I can't get up before the kids, then I don't get out the door. But I have a REALLY hard time getting up when there is a chill in the air and it's dark!

My solution came in the form of this double jogger, purchased last week off craigslist.

My goal is to walk Kaitlyn and Cason to school each day, with Jake and Ty in tow - then I can take my run on the way home. And, yes, it came with a rain cover :)

I'm so happy! Wish me luck!

I slept in my own bed last night :)

Last night was the first night since June 23rd to sleep in my own bed.

It's not like I haven't slept in ANY bed the last 52 nights.

In fact I've slept in a number of beds - as far as I can tell there have been 6 different beds.

Thanks to all the many people who have played host to me (and my family) over the past eight weeks.

But we each are officially back into our OWN beds with our OWN sheets and our OWN pillows.

It feels better than you can imagine!

Every Boys Dream....

Oh boy, did we have fun today!

Fun in a "if I was a three year old boy" kind of way.

Truth is, it was kind of hot! Hah, how's that for my acclimating to a new climate - I've lived in Vegas for 9 years and I was complaining about the heat in Portland today!

But back to our fun day...

The local rec center puts on a BIG TRUCK EVENT each year and that event was today!

It was a great activity with a very impressive line up of trucks - and for the record, Jake honked the horn of every truck that he climbed into!

Each of the trucks had a "fact" sheet associated with it - name, use, weight, cost, etc.

The kids were allowed to get hands on with each truck. They could honk the horns, lift the arm of the crane, ride on the lift of a freight truck, talk on the radio of an emergency response vehicle, etc.

There were trucks of ALL kinds: construction trucks, freight haulers, limousines, monster trucks, SWAT vehicles, ambulance, fire truck, school bus, moving trucks, bakery truck (with free bread), TV crew truck, cranes, snow plow, tractors, industrial lawn mowers, library truck - even an oscar meyer wiener truck!

We attended as a family but the biggest fan of all was, hands down, Jake and here's the proof...

When it was all said and done, this was Jake asking for more :)

{Exploring} Portland: Portland Children's Museum

The library district here has Cultural Passes that can be checked out for a one-day period. They are good for entrance into a number of different "cultural" activities throughout the city.

Yesterday we used a pass to go visit the Portland Children's Museum.

It was a ball! Kaitlyn and Cason were just on the verge of being too old to really enjoy it - but Jake and Ty were IN HEAVEN! We went to each room/area twice and as we did so, not once did Jake or Ty initiate leaving. If they had been left to their own devices, we would probably still be in the first room and they would still be having fun!

Water Works: I'm not sure how Ty managed it, but he left looking like he had taken a bath with his clothes on :)

Grasshopper Grocery and Butterfly Bistro: This was Jakes favorite! He sat behind the counter of the diner and served up anyone that would let him - mostly a lot of nice adults that didn't mind his enthusiasm.

The Pet Hospital: seriously, how cute is Ty?

Kids Build_age 6+: this area allowed Kaitlyn and Cason to create crafts using recycled material (aka garbage). Leave it to Cason to find pieces of turf and to create a football stadium with his sister's help.

Kids Build: I have to admit that even I was pretty excited about the life-sized Lincoln Logs! How cool is that?

Dig Pit: I want one of these in my back yard! It may look like dirt, but it's rubber of some sort - thus the boys dug and dug and dug and didn't leave dirty!

We will DEFINITELY be returning again soon. I'm thinking that it may be the perfect outing for Jake and Ty and I once the rains come and Kaitlyn and Cason are in school.

Who wants to come along?