Wordless Wednesday...

Our new commute...

Every morning we wake up early. Get dressed. Brush teeth. Fix hair. Pack bags. Grab food. Hop in the car. Buckle up. All in hopes of pulling out of the driveway before 7:35 a.m.

The drive, well it leaves something to be desired.
Our new commute is 11.9 miles each direction.
On average it takes 35 minutes in the morning (today was 48 minutes!), but only 25 minutes in the afternoon.
We drive past 7 high schools, 14 Starbucks, 23 fast food restaurants, and a whole slew of grocery stores.
The up side - I am getting lots of time with Grace before sending her off each morning. We usually eat, talk, pray, laugh, sing...
When we get to the school, and drive through the carpool line, she happily bounds out of the car with a quick, "Bye. I love you!" and is gone. She is SO happy!

We have been doing this drive twice a day for one week now. I have to say that I am tired - more so than I expected to be - but things are going okay. Most mornings we are right on schedule, though a few have been a little hectic. Claire and I have been spending our days in Portland - near Grace's school. I don't know if we can keep that up indefinitely, but we are doing okay so far. The perfect weather has been helping. Morning runs, trips to the park, play dates with friends, and a little shopping here and there have easily filled our time.

I know many of you think we are nuts for picking a school so far away, and someday I hope to explain more of our reasoning behind why we made the decision to put her at WHCS. I know from the outside our life looks chaotic - and I often talk about it being chaotic - but we know without a doubt that Grace is at the right place. We are confident in our decision and so much more than happy about where she spends her days.

The commute... it's tough. The school... it's worth it!

Wordless Wednesday...

A quick lunch...

Today Claire and I spent the whole day in and around Grace's school neighborhood. We started off with a killer run in the hills - short but steep! We then spent a few hours wandering around Multnomah Village where we visited a fantastic book store (thank you, Katie, for that recommendation), a fun toy store, and window shopped the antique store, candy store, yarn store and bead store. We had started back towards a park when I realized that it was almost Grace's lunch time, so we opted to pop in to school to say hi. Though it was a surprise visit, Grace acted totally nonchalant about us being there. Sydney, on the other hand, was thrilled to see me!

I have lots more to write about Grace's school, but now is not the time. Tonight is my last free night until September 25th so I am now heading to the couch where I plan to sit, relax and do nothing constructive at all!

One crazy week...

Well, this week is {almost} over and it was nuts. I knew it would be... but I am tired! Here's a run down of our week - not because I think any of my blog readers need to know - but because I know that next August I am going to need to be reminded of the craziness that comes with the first week of school.

Sunday:

• Everyone (our family, plus two extra children) up/dressed/ready/out the door by 7:45 am!
• Drop off aforementioned children back at their house.
• All head to church - early service for the first time in months!
• Early lunch at New Seasons.
• Hair cuts for Hannah and Grace in Lake Oswego.
• Home for quick naps.
• Hannah made desserts for home group
• Load back up in the car and drive to North Plains for our home group.
• Great HG, but we stayed way too late (as always).

Monday:

• Early morning to get used to the school schedule, but sort of lazy.
• Head to Newberg to hang out with the family
• Afternoon at Tilikum. 
• Dinner with cousins.
• Home for bed and school in the morning.

Tuesday:

• WHCS open house
• Drop Merrick off at work
• Errands and grocery shopping for the girls.
• Home for a semi-normal afternoon.
• Pick Merrick up from work.
• Play with neighbors, eat dinner, get to bed.

Wednesday:

• First day of school!
• Up early, pack bags, lunches, load the car.
• Head to school, drop Grace off and make sure she is settled before we leave.
• Take Merrick back to his car, take my car to the shop (realize it is going to be $500 to fix it... decide to wait).
• Meet Mandy for coffee. 
• Claire gets bored at Starbucks, so we wander the parking lot and play on the stairs.
• Meet Merrick and go pick up Grace from her first day.
• Merrick heads back to work, we head home to rest (ha!)
• Pick four giant bowls full of tomatoes. Wash, cut and roast to make sauce (lots and lots of sauce).
• Pack up the car and get ready for soccer practice.
• Can't find one shin-guard, so we search for 10 minutes. Have a big discussion about leaving our soccer stuff all together (yeah right)
• Merrick heads to the physical therapist.
• The girls and I go to soccer practice (have I mentioned that we are coaching?).
• Home for dinner - spaghetti of course.
• Claire melts down and gets sent to bed.
• Merrick takes Grace to Target to find velcro shoes for P.E. class
• Janice saves the day and brings me a surprise latte at 7:30 pm.
• I try to finish cleaning the downstairs, but only get the kitchen done. 
• Pack lunches, load the car, head to bed.

Thursday:

• Normal morning routine - up, shower, dress, eat, go.
• Traffic was HORRIBLE and it took 44 minutes to get to school. Ugh!
• Drop Grace off in the normal carpool line... success!
• Head to mom and dad's house to clean my car windows.
• A few errands to run with Claire
• Met friends at the Murase Plaza water park in Wilsonville. 
• Ran in to other friends there too - lots of chatting and catching up to do.
• Packed up and drove back to WHCS to pick up Grace.
• Girls and I stopped at Trader Joes for a few dinner items we needed.
• Home to start dinner - slow cooker Thai food
• Girls are tired, and naughty, and did the opposite of resting this afternoon.
• Grandma and Grandpa came over for an early dinner
• First soccer game! Claire, still naughty, spent the whole game in her stroller.
• Home - Grace took a bath and headed to bed. I went for a run and took Claire with me... she didn't sleep as planned.

Friday:

• Normal morning, but it was picture day, so we were extra careful with brushing teeth and doing hair.
• Grace learned about her snooze button. =)
• Trying to be creative about grab-n-go breakfast. So far everything is too messy.
• Left a little earlier today and the drive to school only took 35 minutes.
• Got coffee with a friend, and then headed to their house to play.
• Went back to pick up Grace.
• Went to Tryon Creek for Story and Stroll.
• Girls fell asleep in the car on the way home.
• They slept in the garage while I sat at my desk and ate "lunch" at 3:45 pm. 
• I showered, changed and got ready while the girls ate snacks.
• At 5 pm we headed towards Merrick's work to pick him up on our way downtown.
• Merrick and the girls spent the evening exploring Portland. I spent the evening helping my parents teach the Portland Juniors dance class.
• It is now 11:48 pm, Merrick is sound asleep on the couch. Grace is still awake in her bed (the problem with afternoon naps), and I am just trying to check things off my list.

This week I have driven over 400 miles, had three Starbucks lattes, and have been to five different parks! My feet hurt, my eyes hurt, and I am tired. Next week is more of the same but we also have Back to School night, a doctor appointment, a baby shower, a Timbers game and I start BSF on Friday. I'm not sure how we will fit it all in, but rest assured that I am not setting an alarm for tomorrow morning (though I would like to have my run done before the kids get up... maybe I will set an alarm after all). Either way, I'm off to bed.

Good night!

Labor Day (and the big swing!)...

Being the last day before school "started" we wanted Labor Day to be more than our normal sit-at-home-and-wonder-what-to-do-all-day day. We quickly found out that "our Dief-balls" (Claire's newest nickname for her cousins) had nothing going on either, so we headed to Newberg for a day of fun. They had been notified of a family day happening out at Tilikum, so after a little bit of trampoline jumping in the back yard, we headed out to camp for a few hours. We got to do a little of everything... the barn, the lake, the boats and the BIG SWING! The girls had a blast... and we wore them out. After dinner with family, we headed home for bed and both girls were fast asleep in the car before 7 pm.

 

 

SOOOO brave!

Uncle Scott is certified on all the high ropes elements and works at Tilikum often, so he was able to send Claire flying!

Our tiniest girl flying through the trees!

I believe this picture was taken at 7:03 pm... you can tell they had been asleep long enough to hit the "hanging" phase.

The beginning of something great...

Yesterday we took Grace to school for the very first time. We all got to go, visit her classroom, drop off her school supplies, and spend time with her friends and her teacher. We stayed longer than I thought we would and we had a great time before heading home for our last "normal" day. 

Today it began. The real deal. We now officially have a kindergartner. She was so happy. So excited. So ready. 

This is pretty good for our clan - up, dressed, packed and ready in time for an early morning photo (7:25 am!)

We didn't exactly do the carpool drop off thing this morning, so I tried to walk her through how tomorrow morning will go. She'll do great. She's a pro now!

One more quick goodbye, and then I stepped back to observe.

Her buddy showed up shortly there after. I love that these two have each other (and a giant group of other friends from BSF, Motherwise, and church that they already know). I do not, however, pity their teacher for I know the kind of mischief these girls can get into very quickly.

Waiting with E... a familiar face from Motherwise.

...and then they were off! This is definitely the start of something great.

Big Girl, I have said it many times this week, but I just can't believe that you are old enough to be in school. We are so proud of you and excited for everything you are going to experience. Have fun!

Wordless Wednesday...

Cooper Mountain...

The other morning we had a few hours to kill, so we decided to head out for a quick hike at Cooper Mountain. We were hoping to see the resident bobcat, but with these two monsters giggling, running and kicking gravel, that wasn't very likely. We had fun nonetheless. It is such a pretty place, and so close to home.

I love the glimpses of beauty among all the brown grass.

Claire might look happy, but it was right about now that she decided she was done walking... about 1/3 of the way through our adventure.

Checking things off the list...

This last week - along with our normal stuff - we have also been checking things off our "get ready for school list." One thing that was very important for Grace was a back-to-school hair cut. She's been asking about cutting her hair for months, but I wanted to wait until after Hood to Coast before chopping mine off again. Thankfully Katie had openings this weekend and we were able to get in just in the nick of time.

Summertime, and the livin' is...

...BUSY

In case you hadn't noticed, it is September. I thought we had really backed off our commitments this summer, but looking back I think we were busier than ever. I, for one, have not had enough sun and am glad to welcome back these warm days. I am, however, loving the cool nights.

If I ever have hope of this blog being caught up, I'm going to have to cheat a little. Here's a quick recap of our summer. Sorry it is brief, but hopefully you will understand. There are a few "full" posts (Grace turning 5, Hood to Coast) that need their own space, so those will be coming soon. For the rest of these events - hopefully the pictures and my brief explanations will be enough.

A few things from June that were missed...

June 20th: We celebrated Grace's birthday with her favorite friends at Oaks Park and then had lunch at the Old Spaghetti Factory. We had a great time, and it was the only trip we made all summer to Oaks Park, so I"m glad we got down there.

June 29th - we spent the morning at My Masterpiece with Shannon and Sophia. The girls got to do a mixed media class and make American flags. I thought they turned out pretty cute... though I have no pictures of the finished products.

July was a crazy month. We had family and friends visiting from out of town, big parties to plan, Craig and Melissa's wedding to get ready for. The sun finally came out, and we weren't inside a whole lot. It was pretty much non-stop from beginning to end. Here are the things I never blogged about...

July 7th - We bought a few new pieces of furniture for Grace's room and it is finally seeming more "finished." Yep, she has been in the same bare green room for three years now, but has never complained. Now we just have to find the perfect lamp shade and pick out some bedding. Maybe by her 10th birthday it will be done.

This was a fun project - and actually my second attempt. All fifty states are made with a unique scrap of fabric and then ironed on to a large piece of cotton that I stretched over a wooden frame. 

July 8th - My parents joined us for a hiking adventure in the Gorge. We started at Oneonata (which was too adventurous to take my camera) and ended at Horse Tail Falls. It was a beautiful day and the Gorge was perfect. I am looking forward to getting back out there soon.

July 11th - Summer track meets started at the beginning of July. We missed the first one because of our trip to Black Butte, but the girls were ready to run when we hit the track for the second meet. As always, it is entertaining to watch little ones trying to clear hurdles and throw the discus. It is really just controlled chaos, but the kids seem to love it.

July 13th - Because of a little confusion with the tickets, Merrick and I ended up having an impromptu date to the Sound of Music performance at the Broadway Rose in Tigard. Though Grace would have loved parts, it was probably more enjoyable for the two of us. We had a great time!

July 14th - One of our favorite parts of summer is spending time at "Barb's River" with the Forbes/Arnold clan of friends and family. The adventure this weekend was Grace getting to ride in the tube behind the boat. There's nothing quite like watching your baby skimming the water in a giant inner tube behind a speeding boat to make your heart stop. It started right back up again when Grace was safe and sound back in the boat with a giant grin from ear-to-ear.

Grace, Selah, Ephraim and Claire... I think they were "fishing."

Yep, Merrick is jumping in to the Willamette River with goggles on. 

Hang on tight!

July 15/16th: Hannah and Emmett came for a visit. We didn't have much planned, but the kids had a great time hanging out and playing. The girls hadn't seen Emmett for over a year, so they were super excited that he was able to come this time too. We enjoyed the days with Hannah - and even were able to steal away for a girls' night out at Moonstruck!

I stole this picture from Shannon... Emmett, Grace, Sophia, Lincoln and Claire.

July 17th - On a whim I bought plane tickets to go visit Kelsie in Southern California! I am so excited to spend a week down there getting to meet her Charlie and spend some time celebrating our birthdays! It is a much needed get away for me... I can't wait. 

July 18th: The one time we made it out to pick berries this year we loaded up on raspberries and blackberries. We picked a ton and got them all processed and frozen before any went bad. Claire was my super-picker this year filling her bucket two times!

Another picture stolen from Shannon. I kept forgetting my camera on our adventures.

July 19th - My mom and I got to head downtown to see Jersey Boys. I bought her tickets for Christmas and we have been looking forward to it for months. It was such a fun show!

July 20th - Bethany and the kiddos came in to town!!! It was a totally last minute (and super quick) trip, but worth every minute of you ask me (though getting to the airport at 5:15 on a Friday afternoon was no easy task). Grace and Claire were so thrilled to have Eleanor and Benjamin here again and we can't wait for them to come back this fall!

While I was picking up Beth and the kids, Merrick had our girls at the park. We were almost home when we got a call from Merrick saying, "Soooo, we were at the park and... I'm not sure how it happened but..." Evidently Grace slipped, bonked her face, and chipped her front tooth. Bummer. Thankfully there is no root damage and she is not far from losing that tooth naturally.

July 21st - We celebrated my grandparents 65th wedding anniversary. Most of the family, and over 200 friends, were able to stop by the open house. We later partied Minthorne style at my mom and dad's house with just our immediate family (the 40 of us there are now). It was crazy, but so much fun.

This is 9 of the 11 great-grand kids... but the family keeps growing.

July 24th - We crashed the Dief's camping trip for dinner and s'mores at Champoeg.

July 25th - We met Jenny and the girls at Memorial Park in Wilsonville for some fountain fun.

July 25th - The final track meet brought out the grandparents to watch. Thankfully Gary had his camera because mine was once again without a memory card.The girls did a great job tonight even in the heat. Claire even won a blue ribbon! We were so proud of Grace who ran all the events she could - the 50 meter hurdles, the 50 meter dash, the 100 meter dash, the 200 meter and the 800 meter. It was hot, and she was tired, but she powered through that 800 and ran every step of the way!

July 26th - We went to the Washington County Fair with the Riders and Tatsumis. The fair was fantastic this year, except my camera didn't have a memory card, so I have no pictures to show for our hours there. Highlights: animals, animals, balloons, animals, the hand washing station, spinning prize wheels, animals and snow cones. It was a good day.

July 27th - The 2012 London games started, and our lives came to a screaming halt. For the next two weeks we would spend every waking moment glued to our TV and avoiding our computer so we wouldn't see the results of certain events. It was exhausting, but c'mon... the summer games roll around once every four years. It was worth it!

July 28th - We are loving the sunshine and spending a ton of time outside!

July 29th - The church BBQ and worship service at the property seemed like a pretty good way to spend a Sunday evening. It was made even better when a whole slew of friends showed up too!

July 30th - Grace and some of her best buddies spent the last week of July at VBS. I love the things she comes home talking about. I don't have any pictures, but she is full of good stories about "Bible Camp."

August 1 - While Grace and the big girls were at camp, the other moms and I spent the week trying to keep the little kids busy. One of my favorite days was freebie-day. The new Dutch Bros. was giving away coffee all day and I had a coupon book for free Krispy Kreme doughnuts. We picked up treats and drinks and headed to Magnolia park to play.

August 2nd - My birthday was pretty quiet this year. No surprise visits from far away friends, no 3rd annual birthday beach bash (yet!). I spent the morning with Shannon getting our nails done (and picking up my lost credit card). That night the girls spent some time with grandma while Merrick and I got to enjoy a quiet dinner together at the Thai place in Lake Oswego we'd been wanting to try.

August 3rd - The air show was in town early this year. We love watching the jets doing fly-bys right over our neighborhood. 

August 4th - The hottest day of the year also happened to be one of our busiest. We spent the morning at the Hood to Coast captains meeting and Expo. It was too hot to be out there. The afternoon was reserved for wedding rehearsal and a yummy dinner.

  

August 5th - The day we have all been waiting for finally came... congrats Craig and Melissa. We are so happy for you both!

 August 6th - We spent the day running errands (to create habitats for our new fish acquired at the wedding) and getting to know our new neighbor, Gwinna.

August 8th - I had a lunch gathering with some old co-workers, so Merrick took Grace to her first ever school event. It was a simple play date at the school "park" for the incoming kindergarten students. It sounds like Grace had a blast and knew quite a few of the kids who were there.

August 10th - Jenny, Cecelia and I decided to brave the 4T trail with our five kids. I was so impressed at how well they all did - and how much walking they were able to do. By the time we got in to Portland it was late and we were starving. The food carts were the perfect place to crash and eat. 

August 11th - After spending hours at volunteer training for Hood to Coast, Burch Lake was the perfect place to unwind. We love heading south every summer to spend a day at the lake with friends.

August 13th - Soccer started... and just by chance Sophia is on our team!

Another picture borrowed from Shannon.

August 14th - Sleeping this month has been R.O.U.G.H! Claire hasn't been napping, it up and down and in and out of bed all the time. She is a bear without naps, but I can't strap her down and force her to sleep. The next best thing... the pack n' play. I took her big girl bed out of her room (as in disassembled it and put all the pieces in my room) and then set up the pack-n-play. It worked. She is now back on a "normal" nap schedule  and is sleeping really well at night too. In other big news, she no longer uses diapers at bed time. In fact, she uses nothing at bed time. Literally. She sleeps 100% naked. Silly girl.

August 16th - I keep hearing people talking about Snyder Park in Sherwood, so we thought we should check it out for ourselves. The Diefs and grandma Brownlee met us there for an evening of sand, water and playing. It was a beautiful night and we all had a blast!

August 17th - Merrick gave Grace the challenge of building something using every Lego block we have. It took her a little while, but she did it... and was oh-so-proud.

 August 18th - Some of you have been asking about weddings. Well, I didn't work at all this summer. Sort of an early retirement. However, when a good friends daughter got engaged and was planning a quick summer wedding, I couldn't pass up the chance to help them out a bit. The day was perfect start to finish. I can't wait to see more pictures! (Bethany F Photography took all the pictures. They are going to be great!)

August 24th - Hood to Coast... The 25 miles (yep, you read that right) I covered this weekend definitely need their own post.

August 26th -  I could barely walk down the stairs to our seats, but we made it to the game. The girls were so excited to get tickets to a Timbers {reserve} game from their summer reading program. Grandma and grandpa Brownlee decided to join us. The Diefs and Craig and Melissa were there too.

August 27th - Soccer continues - twice a week. The girls are getting better and better. Our first game is next week!

August 29th - One week from today Grace will march in to her school building for her first day as a kindergarten student. We were thankful for tonight's back to school BBQ that gave us a chance to meet her teacher, some classmates and their families. There were many familiar faces, and lots of new friends to talk to. I am so excited for everything that this year will bring... stay tuned.

August 30th - Grace and Claire love having another little girl on the street to play with. Gwinna has become a fast friend, and though she is younger than Grace but older than Claire, she is fitting right in. She came over to play dress up, help us with a project, we went for a walk to get lunch and on the way home collected giant pine cones by the high school.

August 31st - Another Timbers game, but this time just for Merrick and me. It was a good game and fun to watch our team win over the Rapids. The fans in our section were totally out of control though and I was really glad I didn't have either of the girls with us this time.

So, there you have it. Our summer in a nutshell. Now, if I could just find the time to catch up on my other duties...