The Life of Ealy

The Great Ocean Raod

2010-11-22T20:00:00.000-08:00

sat, nov 20

-travel day
-got up this morning, packed up and headed to the airport for our fligt to melbourne
-kristen assured us we didn't need to be at the airport early, as it's very small and easy to get around
-our flight was at 11:30, kristen live 20 minutes from the airport, and she suggested we leave her house and 10:20 AND we had bags to check
-needless to say, i was a little nervous
-no worries, though - kristen was right (of course)
-HOWEVER, canberra has a new terminal, and the luggage conveyor belts were out of order, which literally put the entire airport out of order (didn't this happen when denver built their new airport years ago? although, this was on a much smaller scale)
-they never got it going, but pulled passengers out of line whose flights were leaving soon, tagged bags by hand, and carried them through and we made it to melburne on time
-HOWEVER, our luggage did not
-qantas assured us that our bags would be delivered to uor hotel as soon as they arrived in melbourne
-that would have been fabulous if i had known where we were staying, but i had no idea where we were staying, (kristen handled this part of our itinerary) to tell the airline where to bring our bags, so of course, i didn't have the required AUSTRALIAN phone number for the to contact (not to mention an address or hotel name!)
-i was a bit caught off guard and had to regroup a bit
-got a text from kristen that her flight (which was originally scheduled to arrive in melbourne and hour after ours) had been CANCELLED, and she was arriving after 6pm instead of 2pm
-so kristen texted me the hotel details and i was able to share them with qantas who assured us they would deliver our lost bags as soon as they arrived
-kristen finally got to the hotel, which turned out to be a fabulous room at the Crown Promenade
-we all settled in for the evening
-(still no bags at 9 pm)
-12 am: call from bell desk that our bags have arrived
-2 bags were brought up (out of 4), and we were leaving bright and early the next day

sun, nov 21

-HAPPY BIRTHDAY CADE IN AUSTRALIA!!!
-gave each cade and tucker they fell in love with when we visited the toranga zoo in sydney and they were very grateful
-9 am the final 2 bags arrived (hip hip hooray!!!)
-out on the road!
-GORGEOUS drive from melbourne to appollo bay where we stayed 2 nights along the great ocean road
-stopped in torqay (a cute-beach-surf-hawaiian-style little town) for a subway lunch
-continued onto appollo bay
-checked into our cottage
-cade, tuck, kristen & simon went off to enjoy the beach, while i (literally) kept the homefires burning - there was a beautiful wood-burning fireplace with lots of wood and we enjoyed fires both nights
-they all had a great time on the beach - tons of tidepools, jellyfish and cade met a little boy named christopher who was also enjoying his birthday!
-there were lots of kids at this resort and each cottage had a back door that opened out onto a beautiful grassy field where little boys could run wild!
-the couple who managed the resort were lovely and had young boys and, therefore, toys for young boys. our boys greatly enjoyed the golf set they brought over!
-we had take-out pizza for dinner
-and, oreo cookies, instead of cake, for cade's birthday

mon, nov 22

-HAPPY BIRHTDAY TO CADE IN THE US!!!
-got to talk to mom, dad, jan, finn & ashe and hear what was happening at home
-left cottage ~10 am to continue along the great ocean road
-~10 mins into our journey and wallaby just hopped across the road (much like a deer would in the states), stopped looked at us and continued hopping
-our first stop was at a lighthouse that we didn't go to, but along that road, we looked into the trees and saw KOALAS just lounging about in the trees above. this was SO cool!!! and we even saw one with a baby on its branch. so cool!
-next stop was the 12 apostles. absolutely breathtaking. amazing!
-we had a late lunch a little further down the road and headed back to our cottage
-battened down the hatches and retired for the night

tue, nov 23

-left cottage at 8 am to head back to melbourne for kristen to catch her 11:30 flight back to canberra
-i'm assuming she made it on time (but just barely) b/c we haven't heard from her
-the boys and i walked over to our lovely holiday inn (it's no holiday inn express like the one in eugene, but it's very comfortable)
-checked into the hotel, got online to discover our flight back to l.a. had been changed (due to the troubles qantas is having with the airbus 380), which meant a 13 HOUR LAYOVER IN SYDNEY on the 29th
-this meant, we wake at 3:30AM in cairns for a 5:45am flight, landing at 9am and get on an 11pm flight back to l.a.
-so, we walked back to the airport (it's just across the street), talked to a qantas agent
-we are now taking a later flight from cairns and have a shorter layover in sydney
-would have preferred to get to la a little sooner, but at least we're not up at 3am, and spending 13 hours in an airport
-that's it for now, we head up north to the great barrier reef tomorrow, so we're gonna take it easy this evening, have some dinner and go to bed

observations:

-NOT impressed with qantas, in all these years, i've never had this many issues combined, on the other hand, no big deal! just get us from here to there safely, and that's all that really matters
-kristen is an AMAZING tour guide, host and friend
-kristen's simon is just gorgeous and a great little traveller, if not a little cheeky at times ;-)
-i would NEVER have known about the great ocean road with kristen, and SO thankful to her for doing all the driving!!!
-australia is HUGE
-my camera broke - using tucker's and my iphone :-(
-cade & tucker said that kristen and i are "chatterboxes" when we're together (i'd have to agree)
-beaches here are AMAZING - cannot believe there weren't more people!
-just an incredible coastline
kind of reminded me of the drive to hana but less crowded, less curvy, wider roads and just generally, more open

And me, without my ballgown...

2010-11-19T03:33:00.000-08:00

fri, nov 19

-so, i guess it's not all about me, huh?
-i didn't have the right dress, jewelry, make-up, hair accessories, etc. (i did have an AMAZING pair of shoes thanks to kristen!!!)
-kristen's fabulous beau is faraway, protecting us all from known and unknown predators, which left kristen dateless for tonight's marine ball - the 235th birthday of the U.S. Marines
-i thought it was a chance for everyone to dress up in their ballgowns, tuxedos, and otherwise fabulous outfits
-but kristen managed to arrange childcare (thank you, Maia!!!) for our 3 boys, transportation to the ball and made sure i arrived home safely without even flinching - did i mention she lent me the MOST FABULOUS pair of shoes I've ever worn. seriously
-it turned out to be a VERY moving tribute to our Marines, past and present, who have served our country
-i truly felt honored to be there
-everyone was so nice
-it was a magical evening with amazing and deserving tributes to those who have served in our military, specifically, the Marines
-off to melbourne and the great ocean road tomorrow...

Canberra, Bateman's Bay, Pebbly Beach

2010-11-18T00:28:00.000-08:00

today is thursday, nov. 18

we just got back from a day long journey to local beaches around canberra

wed, nov. 17

-so yesterday, we arrived by train in canberra at ~4:30
-about a 4 1/4 hour trip from sydney
-our trip was easy and uneventful and enjoyable
-the best part was that kristen picked us up from the train station - soooo good to see her!
-we stopped on the way home from the train station to pick up little simon from school (he's 2 1/2 and A-dorable!)
-went to market to get items for dinner (homemade by kristen: pesto pasta w/ mushrooms and tomatoes, and a beautiful salad)
-got home in time for an evening walk near kristen's home
-along our way, we got to seen the many kangaroos hopping about that kristen promised we'd see - VERY cool! (kind of comparable to seeing deer in the outskirts of portland, but way cooler!)
-we got back home and got to meet phil, kristen's australian friend, who travels A LOT, just getting back from dubai (i think) yesterday and took off for portugal today!
-so great to meet phil and he entertained us with many australian stories, including some gruesome ones that involve crocodiles
-kristen made us all a fabulous dinner, and we just finished off our day enjoying our friends
-when i asked kristen what time she thought we should leave today, she said 7, we laughed

thu, nov. 18

-we got up ~8:00
-packed snacks for the road and made brekkie for the kids (well, kristen did this, at least)
-it was just kristen, simon, cade, tucker and i, as phil had to travel to portugal (as i mentioned)
-i think after we got gas, we were on the road ~11 am (we thought 4 hours later than planned was pretty good)
-everyone was in a great mood and we were ready to travel
-our first stop was a bakery where we picked up "meat pies" (the boys' and my first try at these!). these were ok, but kristen assured me there are MUCH better ones
-our next stop was at BIRDLAND
-WE GOT TO FEED AND PET KANGAROOS!!!
-we also saw other wildlife, including beautiful birds, wombats porcupine-like creatures
-onto bateman's bay
-ok, this was mostly REALLY amazing
-first off with the not-so-amazing part: we parked in a lot at 'pebbly beach' i about got attacked by a wild parrot while trying to tell my children they're just fine - just hold the food out and they will take it out of your hand. everything still going geat. well, cade asked me to hold his "treat" for the birds, so I did. this beautiful green, red and blue parrott came straight at me, wings-a-flappin. of course i ran backward to get away from it, ended up on the ground, my sunglasses knocked off and my camera 20 feet in the air. i'm certain it was hilarious to witness (especially if you're not me)
-it was the coolest thing to see these different tropical birds just out in the wild - we came into contact (quite literally) with 3 completely different vibrant parrots in the PARKING LOT of a beautiful beach (kristen said it best when she said the first time she saw such amazing, vibrant birds, she figured they must have escaped from the local petshop. nope, they're just regular birds)
-next, we headed down to the beach named pebbly beach
-it was GORGEOUS
-kristen and i concurred that if this stretch of beach (white sand, blue waters, amazing weather) were in the states, it would be completely developed and crowded. in all, we saw about 5 groups total during our entire time at pebbly beach (and it was huge!)
-we got the boys back in the car and headed back home to canberra
-simon fell asleep and kristen and i continued our non-stop chatter about anything - celebrity gossip, the horrifying news stories of the world, and are working on tackling all the problems in the world (i think we're making some progress) - on the way home
-time for a quick dinner, a little reality tv (jersey shore is a season behind here) and off to bed

fri, nov. 19

-kristen and simon went to work and school today
-i woke up and couldn't figure out why my back and shoulders are sore. oh, yeah, from my tumble with the bird yesterday
-the boys and i needed to pick up a few things at the store (tuck needed sandals and cade needed the latest percy jackson book)
-kristen told us how to walk to woten mall
-she said it was about a mile and a half, i'm thinking about 3-4 miles as it took the 3 of us an hour to get there (and we're pretty quick walkers - not janice-quick, but we don't tarry)
-about 3 minutes into it, tuck was 'soooo thirsty' but i wasn't worried because we thought it was not too far, turned out to be a longer walk than we expected, but it was fine and we got there and got
-anyway, we got there, and managed to pick up the few things we needed and grabbed some lunch
-packed up some water and other provisions for our journey home, walked out the door and grabbed a cab
-made it back to kristen's and here we are
-it's about time for me to get ready for the ball tonight and we fly out to melbourne tomorrow to begin our journey on the 'great ocean drive'

observations:

-for my fellow train travellers: just because your seat reclines that far, doesn't mean you should recline your seat that far
-tuck's becoming very interested in taking his own pictures
-it's so easy and wonderful to be a guest at kristen's house
-apparently, i have an accent
-beware of wild parrots when holding the bun to a mcdonald's cheeseburger
-the older you are the more it hurts when you fall

Saying goodbye to Sydney (and hello to Kristen!!!)

2010-11-16T01:29:00.001-08:00

We're still having a great time. Here are just a few 'high' lights...

-we got to go to toranga zoo (2 ferries from our hotel) yesterday and had a great day
-it POURED ALL DAY!!!
-PORTLAND POURING, not tropical showers
-dampened my spirits a bit, but didn't phase the boys - just another adventure
-a lot of the animals were inside, but highlights included seeing the silly (CRAZY) gorillas, the seals (i think they were seals) being fed, little blue penguins and our first glimpse of koalas
-unfortunately, i lost my VISA between the zoo and on the ferry (tuck was going crazy for a a figurine of a little blue penguin, so i sent he and cade to the bathroom while i hurriedly bought it and a koala for cade as a little gift for their birthdays)
-somehow between the gift shop and the ferry ride home, my VISA was gone
-i had to deal with canceling, making sure next places all take amex, etc.
-everything turned out fine, as no one used it
-it really was a great day, and it's just one of those things
-poor cade was more worried about it than i was
-enjoyed a $10 steak dinner at cargo bar in darling harbour (woo-hoo!!!)

-enjoyed a lesiurely morning trying to decide what to do today - didn't want to head out to the wrong places if the weather was going to be as threatening today
-we decided to go to manly beach (again 2 ferries)
-almost didn't go b/c of fear of weather (clouds in the sky this morning)
-so glad we chanced it! weather much better ~70, but boys were thrilled to be there and enjoyed the waves for over an hour, swam like they were in Hawaii (but they do that at the oregon coast, right?)
-we got to the ferry landing and stopped for refreshments overlooking what we thought was manly beach and couldn't figure out why no one was there - turns out, we had to walk across the street and a few blocks down the road (thank you threesome from london and Germany for pointing us in the right direction!)
-it kind of felt like a european beach/resort town (don't i sound like the world traveler?!)
-had a great dinner at circular quay
-kind of sad to be leaving sydney, feeling like we've made a little home here

-we head to the train station in the am for a 4 hour trip to Canberra to see Kristen, Simon & Phil

observations:

-things are far less crowded when it's pouring down raining
-things don't really seem to be very crowded here, in general
-incidentals are still expensive
-can't find a bookstore
-cade & tucker are great little travelers
-so glad we purchased the 'sydney pass' to include all ferries, buses, and rail (makes going from place to place much more thoughtless, as opposed to having to consider the price of the fare before going from here to there, e.g., a round trip ferry to circular quay is $10.60/adult)
-we miss our friends and family, but are having a great time here

What day is it?

2010-11-13T22:12:00.000-08:00

ok, it's sunday in sydney. we're having a great time. just a few quick highlights. i dont know how to upload photos from here, so that may come later.

wed, nov. 10 (happy birthday, jan!):

-arrived in l.a. around 9:30

thu, nov. 11:

-"enjoyed" breakfast at denny's
-swam at pool
-took bus from lax marriott to santa monica pier (went to wrong bus stop, went to right bus stop, got on wrong bus, switched to right bus, walked a mile to have dinner)
-delicious dinner at fritto misto
-walked to venice beach
-cab back to hotel
-shuttle to lax
-11:30 pm flight to sydney
-slept about 9 hours total
-jan's (and sons') care packages for the boys came in very handy (raisins, granola bars, pens, journals, etc. - qantas could use your expertise. your stuff past thru customs no problem. the dried fruit from the q-snak bags caused all kinds of quarantine concerns!)
-boys have been journaling like crazy - almost an obsession for them!
-boys did great on plane, especially once we all found our optimal sleeping positions (made all the difference!)

sat, nov. 13:

-arrive at syd ~9:00 (~1 hour early)
-sped thru customs as nice flight attendant took pity on me and gave us the express pass
-purchased a "sydney pass" (all train, bus, ferry for 3 days)
-took train into city (~20 mins) & walked about 6 blocks to hotel
-able to check in immediately to our room at 'four points by sheraton sydney harbour' (cade told me i did a good job on the hotel)
-the room looks directly over the harbour with the sydney aquarium in the foreground - we were pleasantly surprised with our wonderful room (i expected a much smaller space, harder-to-work appliances, and just generally "typical ugly american" worries!)
-we were all starving, looked for a place nearby and went to tony roma's (yes, that tony roma's!) next door to our hotel and experienced our first encounter with the sticker shock that goes along with food iand other incidentals n syd (more about this later). seriously, $50 for lunch for the 3 of us
-took a 5 minute walk to the syd aquarium - very cool w/ lots of marine life (go figure), our favorites being the little blue penguins, sharks and the dugong, which is very similar to a manatee
-returned to the hotel for dinner (seriously, the best mushroom soup i've ever had - better than hungarian mushroom from old wives tale) and bed (the boys managed to stay up past 8, and i a little later)
-i got to talk to kristen, our muse for this sojourn, as she called our hotel since i have no idea how to make local calls
-sadly, i did talk to sean last night - he's with friends in the east bay for the or/cal game - to find out josh's car was broken into by breaking a window in his car, and sean and ian's luggage (including all of sean's keys) were stolen. i hate when that happens!

sun, nov. 14:

-left hotel around 9:30 am
-took ferry to circular quay with majestic views along the way
-walked to opera house - very cool (understatement), huge, and i cant believe it hasn't always been around
-hopped on sydney explorer bus to luna park
-luna park has probably about the coolest entrance of any amusement park i've ever seen
-grabbed the ferry back to circular quay
-hopped on the bus to kings cross for a pizza lunch
-sydney explorer back to hotel area and did some shopping for essentials at the market
-paid $25 to get online to find out ducks won by 2!!!??? (did i mention things were expensive here?)
-got stuck on elevator, just for a minute, on way back to the room. kind of cool - i've always wanted to get stuck on an elevator
-got to talk to kristen again & she confirmed i'm gong to be her date for the ball on fri. i've never been to a ball before - another first!
-time for dinner and excited for the zoo tomorrow!

observations so far:

-food is VERY expensive
-we really like it here
-we're having an amazing time
-syd is very easy to get around
-people are very helpful and nice
-weather is amazing (i dont know the temperature, but actually quite hot)
-food is VERY expensive

On our way

2010-11-10T22:15:00.000-08:00

Fantasy football again!

2009-09-10T20:07:00.000-07:00

Fantasy Football

2009-09-10T19:48:00.001-07:00

Disneyland. Whew.

2008-11-17T14:07:00.000-08:00

Well, 16 of us traveled from Portland to Southern California for a visit to the Happiest Place on Earth. It sounds like some cooky sitcom, but everything actually went very well and we just had an amazing time. Tucker, Cade, Grammy Pam, Papa Randy, G.G., Uncle Randy, Aunt Sarah, Jake, Max, Claire and Nana Karleen left on the Wednesday after the (GLORIOUS) election. Sean, Janice, Dennis, Ashe & Finn joined us on Thursday.

Thankfully, we are not crazy and all had our own itineraries, but shared plenty of time together. We also got to spend time with our families (and my dear friend, Kristen!) who live in the area, as well.

We managed to squeeze in many good times, including days at Disneyland, California Adventure and Universal Studios. We celebrated Cade, Tucker and Janice's birthday at a breakfast filled with Disney characters at Goofy's Kitchen.

We had gorgeous weather, but are back in Portland hunkering down for a long gray winter. But, we look forward to many good times with friends and family in the next few months!

The Windy City

2008-10-10T09:40:00.000-07:00

I just got back from Chicago with Janice, my mom, Pam & Yvette. I got tickets to the Oprah show a few weeks ago and I knew my mom was definitely going. I asked Janice and Pam and got enthusiastic responses from them, too. Yvette is usually up for any trip, so I'm so glad she came along! We had a great time, ate great food, didn't spend too much shopping, and had fun sight-seeing. Oh, and we went to the Oprah Winfrey Show.

Pam got there earlier (mid-afternoon) on Monday and the rest of us showed up around 9pm. Pam got to enjoy authentic deep-dish Chicago-style pizza with a childhood friend of Sean & Drew's, Annie McMannis (she's married with a new name now, but we all called her Annie McMannis). It was great to meet them at the hotel for a quick drink before Annie had to go home to her lovely family. Before she left, though, Annie gave us some great tips on what to do and see in her very fine city.

We stayed at the Hotel Affinia on Superior, a block off Michigan Avenue. The location was perfect, the hotel was gorgeous, and the staff was amazing. I can't think of a time I've had better service at any hotel. We decided it was just because we were their favorite guests.

Tuesday, we had lunch, shopped and went to the top of the John Hancock Building for drinks before we went to dinner. We enjoyed a good meal at Sushi Samba, an Asian/Brazilian/ Peruvian fusion restaurant. I mostly went the Asain way, but other tastes were enjoyed, as well.

Did I mention we ate a lot? We were there for less than 72 hours, but in typical Ordal/Ealy fashion, we managed to fit in plenty of times for dining and drinks.

Wednesday was our Oprah day, and it was really a day. We left our hotel at 10:00, got to the studios at 10:15, got in line and waited to get into the studio. We then waited to have our coats checked, bags searched and our identities proven. Then we went upstairs and waited for over an hour, so we could go back downstairs to get into the studio to wait for Oprah. I'm just going to say that the topic was curious and generally low energy all around. It's supposed to air Tuesday, October 14.

After a quck bite and a beer, we headed back to meet Yvette at the hotel. We hung out for a bit before heading to the rooftop bar at Affinia. It was almost sunset, and just absolutely stunning!

Yesterday, before heading to the airport, we enjoyed a stroll to Navy Pier, a delicious waterfront lunch and a beautiful walk along the beaches of Lake Michigan. Janice, Pam and I talked about what a great place Chicago would be to bring children. There are great museums, beaches, walks, and other attractions kids would just love. This was only my second trip to Chicago and I can't wait to go back!

Wholesome Fall Fun Day

2008-10-05T19:23:00.000-07:00

We began our Saturday, as we have begun many Saturdays this fall, by going to Cade's soccer game. Typical Portland fall weather consisted of blazing sun, blustery rain and cool temperatures. Those 1st grade Red Bulls (and Tucker) are really amazing. The play hard, fast and seem to know what they're doing. It's been a fun season so far - both boys are really enjoying this sport.

Sean's birthday is on Tuesday, October 7th. But since, sadly, I will be gone on that day, we celebrated with friends and family yesterday while watching USC trounce Oregon last night. The outcome of the game was quickly put behind us as we continued to enjoy ourselves after the game.

Thank you so much to the Ordals, O'Dranes, Charbonneaus, Sorensens, Shupps, Kevans, Stephensons, Beldens, and the Gellers for helping Sean ease into his 37th year. I got a late start on the photo taking at the party, but there are a few fun ones (after I almost burned the house down...)

Napa Valley 2008

2008-10-01T20:55:00.000-07:00

OK, I realize this hasn't been the most kid-centric place in a while. I'll get back to that in a couple of weeks. I just want to write a brief post on my recent trip to Napa with 10 lovely ladies. There were 11, yes 11, women staying in one house. There was no drama. There were no pillow fights (although there was some skinny dipping). And there was no lack of wine, beer or margaritas.

My wonderful, cuddly, friend, Andrea organized this 2nd annual trip for her good friends. Over the weekend, there was a lot of discussion about Andrea as a friend. The consensus was that we are all VERY lucky friends indeed and Andrea is a very rare find. We love her!

This was also our second stay at The Winemaker's House in Oakville. It's the best house ever, complete with a gorgeous pool and surrounded by the breathtaking Mondavi vineyards.

We enjoyed a winetasting tour (Cakebread, Mumm, St. Clement, Markham and Frank Family Winery) on Friday. Saturday consisted of the spa for some and pool time for the others. I'm not sure which group had a better time.

I just hope I get invited again next year (and the year after...).

An Affair to Remember

2008-10-01T20:33:00.000-07:00

This past weekend, my dear friend, Monica, married her match, Brett. They treated their guests to a weekend full of celebration with family & friends, old and new. They started things off Friday night with cocktails at Cafe Allora where many gathered to toast Brett & Monica as husband and wife to be. To say that people had a good time is putting things mildly.

On Saturday, I was honored to join Monica, Lindsey, Angela and Larissa at Hotel Lucia to watch Monica transform into one of the most beautiful brides I've ever seen (how hard is that for her, really?). Once again we shared a toast and they were on the way to pictures and the beautiful venue.

The wedding took place rooftop at the Historic Ecotrust Building in the Pearl District. Like Monica, the ceremony was short, sweet and very thoughtful. The setting was gorgeous taking place at almost sunset.

The ceremony was followed by plenty of food, drinks and dancing!

Once again, a good time was had by all!

To keep things going, Brett & Monica hosted, yes, the bride and groom, hosted a beatiful Sunday brunch to send off their out of town guests with delicious food and appropriate brunch cocktails. For me it was such a great weekend seeing old friends and meeting new friends.

Much love to Brett & Monica!

It's That Time of Year Again

2008-09-03T20:44:00.000-07:00

Shorter days, cool breezes, lunch boxes, football, and school buses. Yep, today was the first day of school for Portland Public. Cade started first grade and seemed to have a really good day. He saw some friends from last year and is really looking forward to meeting new ones. And, well, Tucker is starting yet another year of preschool! Poor Tucker...Cade left their preschool last year, and Finn left to begin kindergarten and Laurelhurst this year. Tucker is the only one left. He'll definitely be ready next year!

Another first was my first day working in BPA's Portland Headquarters today. My job hasn't changed; just my location. It's nice to be closer to home, but it will be hard to get used to paying for parking, and the culture is a bit different. I get to work with my other "sister" Sandy, as we share a common wall. She's the best and, besides sharing her newspaper with me, she always keeps me laughing!

Cade had his first soccer practice of the season and loved it! All the guys on the team seemed to have a great time. The coach seems very dedicated and kind, and the parents seem like a lot of fun.

I wasn't ready for this week at all and need to work on getting organized for the school year. I guess I was expecting that we might actually have summer weather at some point. Maybe next year!

Summer's End

2008-08-26T18:48:00.000-07:00

We're wrapping up the summer enjoying friends and family. Sean and I enjoyed this past Saturday by going to Ada's wedding, a good friend of Sean's from work. The wedding was beautiful and we had a great time at the reception. Ada was a gorgeous bride!

Sean and I finished up the evening by going to our good friend, and neighbor, Amy's XX'th birthday party. Amy's husband, Jon threw the party at the Chameleon, a delicious restaurant here in the neighborhood.

I talked to Jan on Saturday, and she invited us to Mt. Hood with her family and my parents. We booked a condo at Collins Lake Resort in Government Camp. Sean came up with us and spent Saturday night and the rest of us hung out until Tuesday. We were looking forward to fun in the sun,

but the weather didn't cooperate with us. We still had a great time on this last-minute summer mini-vacation. It was so nice to have my parents hang out with all the grandsons for a few days.

After Sean left on Monday, Dennis, Janice, Ashe, Finn, Cade, Tucker and I tried to go to the adventure park at Mt. Hood Ski Bowl, complete with alpine slides, go karts, bumper cars, and minitare golf. We took the lift up to try out the alpine slide, only to get to the top and be told the park was closing due to weather. It was FREEZING on the ski lift. A good lesson in the great outdoors living or playing in Oregon. It is a mountain after all, and we quickly learned that conditions can change very quickly! Needless to say, we were a disappointed group, and out a small bundle of money, but the boys had a great afternoon anyway. We headed home today and (I) spent a good amount of the afternoon playing Rock Band. Now it's time to hunker down and get ready for the school year starting next week!

Oaks Park - A Blast From the Past

2008-08-22T20:42:00.000-07:00

Cade, Tucker and I began our day doing their favorite thing - running errands. Whenever they hear me say that word, they hide. I coerced them by letting them know that following our trip to Fred Meyer, I had a surprise for them. Fred's was a bit challenging today. They seemed to be out of everything on our list. And, man, did I feel like such a loser after waiting in the customer service line for 15 minutes to redeem my $5 Mama Mia Scratch Off only to be told that their lottery machine was down and they could not pay out any winning tickets until it came back up hours later. I shuffled away to fulfill the rest of the items on my list, and we were on our way. We stopped for lunch at Madison's Bar & Grill where we enjoyed a delightful patio lunch before heading to our surprise.

The surprise I had in store for Cade & Tucker was that we were meeting Finn, Ashe and Auntie Janice at Oaks Park. Oaks Park is a nastalgic 103-year old amusmement park here in Portland. We met Jan's boys there to enjoy one of the last days of summer vacation. Ashe, Cade, Finn & Tucker enjoyed a great day with their go-anywhere-do-anything passes. I seemed to take on the younger boys, Finn & Tuck who just had a blast on any form of transportation - motorcycles, airplanes (that come with shotguns?), and cars.

Oh, and when was the last time you saw one of these:

August Shenanigans

2008-08-18T19:50:00.000-07:00

08/18/08

This past weekend, Cade, Tucker and I enjoyed a weekend in Merlin, stopping first for an overnight stay at the Red Lion in Eugene. I enjoyed Thai food from Mekkala's and Cade & Tucker ate pizza poolside. Sean wasn't able to make it as he played in a baskteball tournament in Vancouver with Uncle Dennis (see Janice's blog), and is now in Springfield, Ill working hard.

We left Eugene Friday morning and the boys enjoyed their first (and likely, last) trip to Wildlife Safari. While we all had a good time, once is really enough to visit there. We saw lots of animals - lions, tigers, bears, camels, bald eagles, ostriches, giraffes, monkeys, etc... After W.S., the boys enjoyed a trip to Abacela winery with me where I tasted several wines for wedding gifts and bottles to enjoy over our weekend with Grammy, Big R, Uncle Randy, Auntie Sarah, Max, Jake, Baby Claire and GG.

We had such a great weekend in Merlin. Our biggest excursion included a Bloody Mary brunch with Dawn Welch, Larry Miller, Deb & Fritz. That set the tone for a weekend of food and fun around the Ealy pool where most of our time was spent. All the boys were angels and Claire is such an amazing addition to the family. Cade LOVES her! Cade's newest phrase is, "OK, first things first." Tucker's newest is, "didn't see that one coming."

All four cousins got to enjoy visits with GG (Great Grandma). She, of course, brought many things for the boys and they enjoyed THREE rounds of special gifts just for them.

After our drive home from Merlin, Cade & Tucker were very happy to go see Clone Wars with their Portland cousins, Ashe & Finn and Auntie Janice (once again, see Janice's blog).

We have been lucky that this is our second weekend we've enjoyed spending with the Ealy clan. Last weekend was Randy Jr. (Drew)'s birthday where we invited ourselves out to Colton to spend the weekend. Pam & Randy came up from G.P. and we all spent Drew's birthday in the country, once again eating and drinking and with the boys going crazy.

Speaking of Colton, we were introduced to Rock Band while we were visiting. OMG!!! I LOVE and can't get enough of it. The boys tolerate my singing and drum solos, but I'm sure would rather not. Sean, of course, wants nothing to do with it as he can't understand why we would pretend to play fake instruments instead of the real thing.

After a great weekend in Colton, we spent Sunday afternoon bowling at Grand Central. A great time had by all!