Spontaneity Revisited

It was a beautiful Sunday morning - we woke up early, the sun was shining, and I had an itch. "Let's go to the beach!" (For those of you who did not know me in my teens, I frequently skipped school on certain sunny Fridays - only to find myself frolicking in Seaside an hour later). We chose Astoria. #1: We're so "done" with the south coast right now, and #2: It is one of the only coastal towns Evan hasn't seen yet (well, within a reasonable distance). What a PERFECT day! We started out at the Astoria Column, but unfortunately we couldn't climb to the top (it was closed for maintenance). But - the sanity saver was this: they sold little balsam-wood glider planes, and a ton of kids were "flying" them on a nearby grassy hill. HEAVEN FOR EVAN.
Next, we headed through town for lunch at Dooger's. YUM! Keep in mind, during this entire time Evan's behavior was stellar. A major plus! After lunch, we checked out Battery Russell at Fort Stevens State Park. Very eerie, and Evan was fascinated with all of the dark rooms/tunnels. There's some major history there!


And then - a first for all of us - the shipwreck. How cool! An actual shipwreck in the sand for all to climb through and examine. The beach was PACKED with people, and everyone seemed so happy! Maybe it was the sunshine, the long weekend, the alcohol? Just kidding!

After playing in the sand for awhile, we drove around Fort Stevens campground and discovered yurts! We are definitely coming back to camp!

Of course, Evan fell asleep for about 45 minutes on the drive home - but he woke up in a fabulous mood (that is SUCH an important thing these days). It was a long, exhausting, happy, busy day! And I would do it all over again in a heartbeat.

Pop Rocks Rock!

After staying up WAY too late one night watching the show "Unwrapped", I was reminded of Pop Rocks candy! When I was a kid, getting candy was a rare treat - and I remember the day my older sister happened to have some Pop Rocks. They were so weird the way they crackled and popped in your mouth. I was kind of scared of them!

So, my sick sense of humor prompted me to look for them the other day at Target. I wanted to see if Evan had the same freaky reaction I did. Am I mean? Well, not much scares this kid - so of course he LOVED them and said he wanted more....

My Aura is Red.

Your Aura is Red

You have a high level of emotion. This can mean passion, but it can also mean rage. Usually, you don't take these emotions out on others. You just use them as motivation - and it works! The purpose of your life: embracing all the wonders of the life, lots of travels, and tons of adventures Famous reds include: Madonna, Marilyn Monroe, Jennifer Lopez Careers for you to try: Dancer, Boxer, Surgeon

http://www.blogthings.com/whatcolorisyourauraquiz/">What Color Is Your Aura?

"I Have Great Scooting Skills!"

Grandma bought Evan a scooter for Christmas - and we finally assembled it on Friday. As he was trying it out and quickly getting used to the feeling of it, I told him he was learning a new skill. He asked, "What's a skill?" I told him what skills were, and gave examples: "When someone can sing well, they have good singing skills. When someone can run well, they have good running skills." Etcetera. He yells out, "Mommy - I have good scooting skills!" Ok, he even conjugated the verb correctly. Mom and I looked at eachother and burst out laughing. "Yes Evan - you do!"

Tumble Tots - Week 3

Balancing on his knees; Dad doing it too

Balancing at the bar on one leg

Look at that face!


We missed a class this week (due to an early schedule and one vehicle), so Evan had one day to work on balancing. We also had a substitute, so he was less involved than most days. That said, he did a GREAT job balancing on his knees (with Dad) and against the bar. Check out his face in the picture of him doing a backward roll - hilarious!

Dinosaur Live!

Today we took Evan to Dinosaurs: The Live Experience at the Rose Garden. It was his first show of any kind (no, we still haven't taken him to a movie theater). What an amazing show! It had his full attention for almost 2 hours (with an intermission). The dinosaurs were very real-looking, and the sound effects were great too. After a couple of minutes, I realized they were powered by a person sitting in a little dune-buggy of a car underneath the massive dino bodies. My favorite part was when the foliage began to "grow" (air-inflated plant and flowers), and the brachiosaurus came out. They were SOOO tall! The pictures aren't that great, but this was definitely a one-of-a-kind afternoon. If this show comes back to Portland, I highly recommend it!

Tumble Tots - Week 2

Balancing on the "tightrope"

Leaping from spot to spot

Needing help with his forward roll


Today was the 3rd out of 8 tumbling classes. The kids did beginning forward rolls (somersaults) with various landings, "tightrope" walking, and an obstacle course. I don't think Evan enjoyed the forward rolls - he needed lots of help. :)


He seemed to really love the obstacle course, which required him to leap from spot to spot, then walk the tightrope and finish with a log roll down a little incline. Let's keep our fingers crossed that in a week or two, he will be an expert forward roll-er!