Thursday, August 28, 2014

So much

I have a bazillion things to blog about but no time to do it. School is starting in a week and a half (kindergartners start a week later at Bria's school) and my mind is in denial. I think we are about ready though, school clothes are bought for the most part. She does need a coat eventually so I will be on the lookout for that. School supplies are purchased and in a bag all ready to go. Today is the meet your teacher/bbq so I'm looking forward to that and hoping Bria likes her teacher. She has started missing Mrs. Biamont a lot lately and even started crying one evening because she missed her so much. 

Socially I'm not worried about Bria, she loves making friends and playing with other kids. Academically I am concerned in terms of her frustration level. She hates when she doesn't get something the first time and tends to give up right away. It is incredibly challenging and I'm definitely concerned for her with school. Also, with some reading and investigating (thanks Lanie for the book recommendation!!) I've concluded that Bria is an HSC: Hyper Sensitive Child.
It's not a disorder but rather a personality trait. She tends to take in too much stimulus and information where most people can filter that out and not let it bug them. She's always been very sensitive to noise and this is another characteristic of an HSC. She feels deeply, thinks deeply, and can tend to react erratically. Anyway, the book I am reading is very helpful and I'm hoping I can enlighten her teacher a bit so we can help Bria as much as possible so she succeeds. 

Aside from summer coming to an end, Brian and I did another hike and we had our family reunion in Sunriver. So both those deserve posts of their own, just not sure when I will get around to it. Hopefully soon!

With that I will leave some random pictures of the past few weeks.

Group hugs after a fabulous swim!


Bria and Charleigh




 We also went to the beach for a night with Nate, Amy and Charlotte. The weather was fantastic!


I love this baby!!


Brian and his goddaughter

Flying kites

Digging holes


I LOVE sleeping babies!

Can't beat a midday glass of wine and a view of the beach


Friday, August 08, 2014

Mt St Helens, check!

Schuyler, Brian, and myself decided to hike Mount St Helens because we are crazy like that. The girls stayed with Jenny, Kyle, and Jax while we were away and to say they were excited is an understatement. I told them a few days beforehand that they would be staying the night with Jenny to prepare them, but then they asked every day when we were going there. Every time we put Reese to bed she would say, "No! I sleep at Jenny's house!"
Finally the day came when Jax and Jenny drove up to stay the night with us first and get Jax's haircut, then they would all head back down to Jenny's house. The girls sat outside for nearly an hour waiting for their arrival..

Waiting...

...still waiting
Finally they arrived and playing ensued immediately.
Wrestling!
The evening was filled with an immense amount of playing and wrestling, and laughing. Cousin time is just the best.
The next day we took Jax for his dreaded haircut and then they got on the road. The girls weren't even sad to leave, which is honestly such a relief. I was more worried for Jenny than anybody, 3 kids is crazy!!
I got the best picture updates from Jenny and the girls talked about what a blast they had. Bria's favorite part was going to lots of fun places :)
We are just so blessed to have family who are willing to watch them and take such good care of them. We owe Jenny and Kyle big time and are so grateful to them and their willingness to add crazy into their home for a few days.

Reese and Jax playing in the sand, little blond twins

All 6 grandkids playing together



Cousin bath

I know this is sideways but how precious is it?? Little Reese woke up from her nap (drenched in sweat per usual) and cuddled up on Aunt Jenny

 So, while the girls were at the Tegner's, we were hiking up a mountain. How can I describe the hike? HARDEST.HIKE.EVER.
It was intense. And we researched it so we knew it was going to be hard. We went in prepared with tons of water since there is no water up on the mountain. We brought enough to eat but not too much to where we were overloaded. We mentally told ourselves it was going to be incredibly difficult.
But still, it was harder than any of us imagined.
We camped at the bottom the night before so we could get an early start and try to avoid the burning heat as much as possible.
Our little campsite

Me and Schuyler

The steep incline, huge boulders, sand like ash, and intense heat near the top was exhausting. There were multiple points on our way up where we would silently stand there looking at the top and feeling utterly defeated. My feet were so hot and soar and felt like led. My thighs ached with every elevation gaining step and my back throbbed as I bent over in an attempt to avoid falling. Our trusty backpacks held our life saving water and snacks, while our hands gripped our poles which we depended on heavily to get through the terrain.


The last half mile was so brutal that even though you could so clearly see the top and nearly yell to the people up it, you couldn't go any faster, it was physically impossible. Slowly but surely, step by painful step, we made it. I would count each step as I ascended this monster and it helped so much to focus on those steps. At first I would make it to 100 before starting over or stopping for water. Then slowly it went down to 75 steps, 50 step, 25. Anything was progress.
Then all of a sudden, I was there. I took a look at the breathtaking side of the mountain that had blown off and was beside myself. I turned all the way around and got an amazing view of mountains and trees and lakes. I was still reeling of exhaustion from the climb, but I was amazed at what I got to see up there.
Bliss
We spent about an hour up there. Eating, taking pictures, and out of necessity I even peed. Yep, that's right. How many people can say they peed at the top of St. Helens? Not many. They probably don't advertise it either.

Mountain selfie!

Unbelievable 
The top was actually quite narrow. There wasn't a lot of place to walk around or sit. Apparently it continues to narrow so who knows how long you'll be able to climb it.
As we looked into the gigantic crater, we saw pockets of steam everywhere and sometimes you could hear the noise of large rocks falling all the way down into the center.
It was truly an amazing site and so neat to take it all in. We definitely had to take it all in because there is no way we are hiking that monster again!
After we felt rested we began our decent down. The decent proved to be just as difficult, if not more so, than the ascent. My knees throbbed and feet ached beyond belief. We used some of the snow drifts to ski down and avoid some boulders. It went fabulously and definitely sped things up, also I fell hard and got snow burned. It hurt but was also pretty hysterical.
The easy boulders before the tough ones started
There were hills and hills of boulders that went on forever, or so it seemed to us. When I started feeling like I could not take another step, I devoured a protein bar and pushed on.
As you may have guessed, we made it off the mountain safely and plopped ourselves in chairs to assess what we had just accomplished.
Such a cool thing, so glad we did it, and so glad to be done!

Thursday, August 07, 2014

We got stuck

On the days I don't have Penny I try to do fun things with the girls. Since we have a Zoo membership we headed there last week and the girls thoroughly enjoyed themselves despite the intense heat. Their favorite has always been the little lion statues, it's a good thing we have a membership because we can go there and see a bunch of animals, or just a few, either way it's worth it.


It's eating her head!

Holding a worm

Cute worms
 One of my favorite things to do at the zoo (besides see the giraffes and chimpanzees) is to picnic in the big grass area they have. We eat and then the girls run around and chase each other. It's fabulous.
The Zoo is definitely one of the many perks of living up here in Portland.

Brian and I got to have an afternoon/evening date while Grandma Anna, Cassidy, and Grandpa Armstrong watched the girls at their house for us. We had some friends from Georgia in town and a bunch of us went on the Delgados boat up the Willamette to a brewery.
Here are our fun friends!
Dave and Kim
Us
We had a great time drinking beer and playing corn hole.
 Boating there and back was so much fun. It's been way too long since we have been on a boat, there is nothing quite like it.

 The way back added quite the adventure as the boat got stuck on a sand bank. It's a titanium boat and the motor and everything is inside so there wasn't harm to the boat at all, but we were definitely stuck. So we all got out in an attempt to push this 5,500 pound boat...
We successfully pivoted that huge thing in a circle. But didn't budge it from the rocks. Good thing we were with another boat because they ended up having to pull us out.
Free!
We all had a good laugh and enjoyed our crazy adventure. It was definitely an eventful date and so much fun.

Tuesday, August 05, 2014

Fair time baby!

The Fair is a must in the summer. We are lucky enough that ours is free admission, so even if you don't want to go on rides, it's still worth it to go and look around, let the kids pet animals, and just have a grand old time.

Playing in the corn kernels

 The girls got to pet some really cool things:
Huge turtle!

A baby crocodile!
 And Bria even held a preying mantis. I was so impressed by their bravery with the animals, it was fun to see.
 The first day of the fair we went with a bunch of friends in the middle of the day and it was perfect, not busy at all.
All the kiddos!
The kids got to ride some rides and they thoroughly enjoyed themselves.
Teacup time!

Swings with Weston :)
 And it's not a fair without cotton candy. This was their first experience with the delicious stuff and they shoved it in their mouths so fast. I think they were afraid I was going to take it away!
 Us Moms had fun too!
From left: Roxie, Allison, Allison, Amanda, Yours truly
On the last day of the fair Brian and I went with Scott and Randi to the concert they had. Scott's dealership sponsored it so they had a tent, which was a must in the heat. We were nice and shaded under there. Chris Cagle was the main attraction and Randi and I got to go meet him! Well, not really meet him, but snap a picture with him. Still fun!

But more importantly, I got a picture with the hottest guy there:
 And I went home with him :)