Portland Vacation Day 3 - the coast!

We had to take one day of vacation and make a trip to the coast. Tom had never been to the Pacific Ocean before, and I had only briefly seen it on a family vacation years ago. 

We headed out early-ish Wednesday morning for a drive out to the coast. The forecast was for clouds and a bit of rain so I wasn't quite sure how it would be. 

We headed first to Astoria, Oregon. The first place we went was this little coffee shop on a pier. And when I say it was on a pier, I mean that we had to drive on a wooden deck/road/bridge to get to it. It was kind of nerve wracking.  So much so that I didn't get a picture. So here is one thanks to Google. 

Yes. We parked on. the. dock.

The coffee was great though, and the scenery was pretty good too. 

 

It was still cloudy and cool, and I was regretting my sleeveless dress (more on that later).  I almost bought a Coffee Girl sweatshirt to take the chill off, but at $40 I didn't love it enough to own it forever. 

After coffee we hit (can you guess??) another brewery for lunch. I didn't take any pictures, but they had a beer called the Truffle Shuffle. You see, the movie Goonies was filmed in Astoria. I was in 80's geek heaven. We are definitely watching the movie with the boys very soon. 

We then set off for a drive down the coast. We stopped in Seaside at Seaside Brewery for a forgettable beer sampler. It really wasn't good at all. 

The first beach we went to was Arcadia Beach. Holy smokes, was this gorgeous. 

I took a minute to write a name in the sand. A friend from college and his wife lost a baby at birth and now they collect photos of her name written in the sand from all over the world. You can see the wave coming - a second later this name was washed away. I barely got the photo. 

After this beach we drove further down the coast to Oswald State Park. Here we found a beach that was so far off the road you had to walk down a heavily forested path along a creek to reach it. You don't see this in Illinois. 

Yes, this is the way to the beach. 

Completely gorgeous. 

This is where that sleeveless dress came back to haunt me. Remember the forecast for clouds?  See the sky?  The sun was intense, but the air was cool, and I got a bit sunburned. I know better but, well, I know better. 

After this beach we headed back to Portland.  Our navigator (Siri) led us on a journey through 13 miles of tight S-curves before reaching a main highway. Apparently there is no shortcut or easy way through these (mountains? Hills?). 

Portland Vacation Day 2

On Tuesday, we decided to just stay in the city and explore a little bit on foot. 

We started with a run in Forest Park. This park has 80+ miles of trails - talk about a running and hiking paradise!

The pictures don't really capture how beautiful this place is. The trees are dark and the shades of green are so beautiful. It was also 58 degrees - perfect for running. 

The main trail/road has nicely marked miles. 

This was a really cool valley. 

After running we went to a coffee shop, then headed back to the hotel to shower. The rest of the day was shopping and visiting breweries.  I found a local yarn shop and bought some beautiful yarn dyed by local artists. 

I've sampled more beer in the last few days than I could have ever imagined. Believe it or not, this is a coffee stout. It tastes just like an iced coffee. Amazing. 

Portland Vacation Day 1

Tom and I are on a kid-free vacation to Portland. Our first trip away alone in what feels like forever. 

We arrived Sunday evening and visited a few breweries and ate dinner. On Monday, we headed to the Mt. Hood area to see waterfalls. And oh, did we see waterfalls!

The first one, Latourelle Falls, turned out to be our favorite. Probably because there was nobody else there. It was also beautiful. :)

We then hit Bridal Veil falls, which was a nice 0.3 mile "hike":

(I wasn't brave enough to climb out on the rock.)

I think this was Wahkeena Falls. We ran into a family wearing Hawkeye gear here. 

The last one, Multnomah Falls,  is the most famous tourist attraction in Oregon. The parking lot was packed and the visitors center was full. (This is why we loved the first waterfall best. No crowds.)  But it was also gorgeous. 

After the waterfalls we had a lunch at Thunder Island brewery. Just look at the scenery. 

After lunch we debated whether to drive north to see Mt. St. Helens, or drive south to see Mt. Hood. We chose Mt. Hood. We were surprised that there wasn't an official route, but we were able to find Trillium Lake, which was gorgeous and offered postcard like views of the mountain. 

This view?  Doesn't stink. :)

That was pretty much the end of Day 1. We drove back to the hotel and went out for dinner and a few drinks at a bar. 

Five squared

The circus is in town!

Today at school the circus came to town. Tom sent me these pictures during the day. I can't wait to hear more about it when they get home!

Tom and Nate (I almost didn't recognize Nate here)

Nile as a lion...

TV classics

We recently got a new channel that plays all of Tom's old favorite cartoons.

He has been enjoying sharing Transformers, Smurfs, and others with the boys.

Right now they are watching G.I. JOE.

First Bottle

Last night Novak had his first bottle. He did great - took it without a fight! We wanted to make sure we didn't wait too long to offer a bottle - after the trouble we had with Nile and bottles. (Nile fought bottles HARD)

I tried to stay away so I wouldn't be a distraction, but I had to try and get one picture :)

Going to Kindergarten!

On Tuesday, August 17, Nate started kindergarten. A big step for him, for sure! But he's doing awesome. He loves school and is enjoying every part so far.

Our week started on Monday, when we attended "Backpack Night" to introduce Nate to his teacher, Mrs. Chaney, and to take his school supplies in to the classroom. I dropped off Nile at Becky's house and Nate and I headed to school. We were supposed to meet Tom there at 4:15, but we ended up arriving closer to 4. Nate couldn't wait, so he and I headed in.

We got started unpacking his school supplies as we waited for Tom. Not long afterward, Tom arrived and was able to help Nate get situated. Here's a picture of Nate with his school backpack, in his new classroom.

After getting unpacked, we toured the school, introducing Nate to the music teacher, art teacher, PE teacher, and the librarian. He was too cute - he stuck out his hand and, shaking hands with each one, introduced himself. I was pretty proud of him.

After the tour we took his picture outside the school.

The next morning was it. THE FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL! Nate was excited. I was nervous. We had decided to drive him to school the first day, and walk him in, but after the first day he would be riding the bus every morning.

Here he is outside the front door just before we headed off to school.

Tom met us there, so we got a picture of the two of them outside the school.

And how was the first day of school? He absolutely loved it. He came home glowing, and exhausted. It's going to be a bit of an adjustment for this kid - but he will be fine.

Every morning this week he has gotten out of bed, gotten himself dressed, and has been in my room by 6:10 AM, ready for breakfast. Then we've had time while he eats to sit and talk - and this has been my absolute favorite part of every day. Just a few minutes of "Mom and Nate" time.

Today marks another new chapter. He's riding the bus all the way home from school. On days I work (Tu, Wed, Th), Nate gets off at the middle school where Tom works. Today he will ride the bus all the way home, and I will be waiting for him at the end of the block. I, for one, will be so excited to see him!

Grant's Farm

We took a short weekend trip to St. Louis July 24-26. It was incredibly hot down there when we arrived, the temperature was 97 and the heat index was about 110! But we had three hours to kill before we could check in to the hotel so we headed to Grant's Farm to spend some time.

We had never been there, and honestly I had no idea what to expect. But it was pretty nice - and free (except for $11 to park). We got to take a "train" ride around and see animals, then were dropped off at the main park. There we saw an elephant show, where I caught this great picture of Tom and Nate. And a pretty darn cute one of Nile...

We walked around a little bit more, then the boys were hot and cranky (and so was my 7-month pregnant self), so we stopped at the beer garden for a free beer for Tom and some "Dippin Dots" for Nate and Nile.

(see how hot and sweaty Nate is? He totally takes after me.)

NASCAR Chicagoland

On July 9, Tom took Nate up to Joliet to see the qualifying runs for the NASCAR Nextel Cup race, and also to watch part of the Nationwide series race that evening. They met Tom's brother Dan and cousins Julian and Henry up there for the event. Nate absolutely loved it!

Here's the crew tailgating before the races.

Checking out a racing truck.

Nate outside the speedway.

In the stands.

And a few videos...

You're gonna love it at...

Sometimes it's nice to go back home. For the Fourth of July weekend, we did just that (for me at least). I was impressed by the things I did remember about how to get around Des Moines. I can't remember the last time I was downtown...

We had planned to go back for the I-Cubs game and fireworks on July 4, then stay downtown and hit Adventureland on the way home on Monday, July 5. Slight change of plans - it rained, and rained, and rained on July 4. So...no baseball game for us. The boys swam in the hotel pool and we went out to dinner.

But, we did hit Adventureland! These are a few of the better pictures I took, and I know Tom probably has some even better ones (probably some with me in them too), and some videos, which I may add later.

Of course we hit the teacups first, then the boys had to fly the planes.

Next it was the bumper cars. I don't have pictures of that. Of course, at 6 months pregnant I couldn't ride too many rides anyway. I do miss the roller coasters (not that I'd have been going on one with these two boys anyway!). The bumper cars were a stretch, but Nile needed someone to drive and steer. I just barely fit behind the bar with my belly. Then I spent a good part of the time in the bumper car worried that someone would hit me and it would hurt the baby. Fun times!

The boys enjoyed feeding the fish.

And riding the "kiddie boats."

Tom and Nile, waiting for the train to arrive.

The carousel. Nile was pretty proud of himself for riding the "biggest horse."