On my own...

My in-laws have been here, on and off, for weeks. I am so thankful for everything they have been doing for us - taking care of the girls, cooking, cleaning and loads of laundry. I think I must have forgotten how to do many of these things on my own. We have been eating out a lot, and the other day I walked into my laundry room and found this...

It took a whole evening, but I eventually got everything folded, hung up and put away.

Lots to say...

Claire talks all day long. We don't always know what she is saying, but we are really enjoying this stage and the beginnings of better communication with her.

A sampling of Claire's words:

airplane
all done
apple
avocado
baby
baby talk
ball
balloon
basketball
bath
big girl
bird
book
bubble
buckle
bye-bye
camel
cereal
cheese
cookie
daddy
ducky
Elmo
Gracie
grandma
Hannah
happy
help
hi
hot
hotdog
I love you
kitty
lawdy
mango
milk
mommy
more
noodles
open
outside
owl
papa
pat
pineapple
pizza
please
pop
puppy
shut
smoothie
sister
sorry
splash
taco
thank you
that
turtle
uh-oh
up
water
yogurt
*I know I am forgetting some, but this at least helps me document that she is a talker and has lots to say.

Little monkey...

Recently Grace has been obsessed with the monkey bars at the park. She actually is obsessed by a the monkey bars at a specific park, but she will try them wherever we go. For days we would come home and she would complain of sore hands, but after a little practice and some good calluses, she is now a pro.

Memories...

Sometimes I need to stop and remember this...

and this...

and it helps me appreciate moments like this...

and reminds me to be extra thankful for the little things and all of the big ones too!

Easter fun...

I don't like to give a lot of time or attention to Easter things that aren't directly linked to the real reason we celebrate. I want my kids to know the importance of the holiday - that Jesus died on the cross and three days later He rose from the grave. We reserve Sunday for just that - celebrating our Lord and Savior and all he did for us.

I do, however, still enjoy dyeing eggs and giving little gifts, so we do that the day before. I didn't take many pictures of the girls and Merrick opening their baskets this year, but I think they enjoyed their new stuff.

We spent the majority of our Saturday with the Diefs - playing at a park, digging in the dirt, BBQing and then dyeing eggs. Grace rushed through her eggs, Claire just wanted to eat her eggs, and Ella and Brennan took their time and were both very meticulous with their eggs. I think they all had fun.

We rounded out the night with a Timbers game and a few episodes of Duck Tales.

It was a good day.

Yakima...

A few weeks back my dad mentioned that had a trip to Yakima planned. I immediately thought it would be a good chance for the girls and I to go up and visit the Noels. Then, when we found out that Merrick needed to go back to Newport for work that same week, the plans were finalized and away we went!

The girls did great on the drive - as usual - and we pulled into Yakima right at lunch time. It was nice to have most of a day with our friends... enjoying the sun, talking, eating yummy food, etc. The rest of the week we did more of the same. I took a lot of pictures, so bear with me.

We started our lazy mornings with large cups of coffee, big bowls of cereal and a little Dora & Diego.

 We spent the mornings, afternoons and early evenings playing the in yard. Hannah and Brent have a great yard - totally fenced and visible from all of the giant windows in their house. We left the back door open and the kids went in and out all day long. They jumped, ran, crawled, played house, climbed ladders, yelled over the fence at the neighbor girls and played baseball, soccer, golf and football.

 Claire spent a lot of time chasing the "Mow" aka Squeeky around the house and yard. When he finally surrendered, she was in heaven!

Wednesday was Emmett's birthday. The girls got to be special visitors in his class at school to help celebrate his birthday. They got cupcakes, juice and party favors...

 ...and then got to stick around for story time and an Easter parade!

After our fun morning, Claire needed a nap, so we stuck around the house for most of the afternoon. When she woke up we called Craig and Melissa who also were in the area. Melissa's folks live pretty close to Hannah, and we thought it would be fun to take a little trip to their house and visit "the farm." It was a blast...

There were baby goats.

 There were giant bunnies.

 The kids played in the bunny hutch.

 Claire chased kitties (again).

 The kids played on the very cool ride-on toys.

 Craig and Melissa took them on wagon rides.

 They got balloons.

 And tractor rides.

 Claire got bitten by a goat.

 And comforted by uncle Craig.

 She stomped around as if she owned the place.

 And got to help mow the lawn.

We could have spent many more hours there, but alas it was time for dinner, blizzards and presents. All-in-all, I think Emmett had a pretty fun birthday.

On Thursday we walked to a park and then packed up so we would be ready when dad came to get us.

Thanks friends for having us, housing us, feeding us and putting up with us. We had a great time!

A party in the pool...

On Sunday we celebrated baby Rebeka's first birthday at the pool. It was so fun to get together with friends and celebrate this sweet girl. Merrick and the girls had a blast swimming - I hadn't been cleared by the doctor to be in the pool post-surgery, but It was fun sitting with Melissa, chatting and taking lots of pictures.

Goooooooaaaaaallllll...

For Christmas my parents bought us season tickets to the Timbers (the MLS team in Portland). We are splitting them three ways between us, my brother and Melissa and my parents. We drew the tickets randomly and somehow we were lucky enough to get the season opener. It was crazy, crowded, exciting, electric and fantastic. Even though our seats aren't covered and there was record rainfall that night. We were soaked to the bone, freezing cold, and having the time of our lives!

The game was great and the Timbers pulled off their first win of the season. One of the highlights, however, was the national anthem performed by the Timbers' Army. If you haven't seen this rendition, you should check it out... though I will say it was MUCH more impressive in person.

Grandma...

The other day Grace and Sophia were playing in the bonus room and came down "pregnant." Shannon is used to this, but it was a first for me. We watched half amused and half horrified as they proceeded to "deliver" each others babies.

Walking again...

Three weeks after surgery, and I'm still feeling a lot like a Mac truck ran me over. Merrick is in Vegas for a few days and I am very thankful that Gary and Margaret are able to be back here with us. I still can't do much on my own, and anything I do sort of saps all my energy.

We got one of our first nice days of the year though, so we bundled up and headed out for a walk... my first since our time in California - nearly a month. We enjoyed the sun, the time to talk, and time to play at the park. I did come straight home and fall asleep for the afternoon though.

Budding...

On Saturday - at Sophia's birthday party - we discovered Claire's love for painting. On Monday when I was sick and Craig and Melissa came to help me take care of the girls, we spent literally hours painting with water colors. She is quite the budding artist.

Recovery time...

A lot has happened these past few weeks that I had no control over. I've been pretty out of it (read: high on drugs). I'm not proud of this, but it is what it is. The first few days that I was left alone were interesting to say the least. Here's a few pictures of things that I found - mostly the girls and stuff they had gotten into while unsupervised...

Playing with play-doh on TOP of the table... definitely not something I would have let them do.

 Trying on big girl panties.

 Lots of messy meals - which may have happened supervised or not.

 A lot more television watching than normal.

And this... I have no explanation for.

Our whole family is looking forward to getting back to normal. This has been a long road of recovery so far, but hopefully when all is said and done we will think that it was worth it.