Sun and Surf

It's spring break again around here, and yesterday we were lucky enough to actually see the sun! Chris was able to get the day off from work and we headed to the coast. It was a perfect day. Not too cold or windy, and plenty of sunshine. We headed to Tillamook and hiked around the Cape Meares lighthouse and the famous Octopus tree before heading down the hill to the quaint beach at Oceanside.

The kids had a blast in the sand and of course the water. Even Neil managed to get wet, although he wasn't really a fan. Afterwards we of course went to the Cheese Factory to sample some cheese and get huge ice cream cones. It was a perfect day!

Lil Terror

We haven't really been up to much lately besides fighting off "the sickness" that everyone seems to have been passing around. Thankfully, we seem to all be better for now.

I thought I would share a little bit about the fun things we are dealing with on a daily basis with our little one.

Lately, Neil has 3 priorities..

1) Get into any open bathroom and head straight for the toilet. Flush repeatedly. Then find any loose clothing to wash by hand in this toilet...then flush again.

2) He really does have a love for laundry because his next priority started off very sweet. He wants to unload and load the washing machine. This was great until I am ready to be done, but he decides to keep going. All of our previously cleaned and folded laundry gets wadded up and stuffed back into the wash. Grrr. (I guess it's better than in the toilet)

3) Push any and all electronic buttons and devices until everything is messed up. Yep, you can imagine: cell phone, kindle, computer, stereo, dvd player, dishwasher, etc.... He just knows too much. He can unlock my cellphone and make my books on my kindle disappear. I haven't been able to figure out how he does that yet.

All in all, we are doing great. He keeps us on our toes and we love him to pieces. Hopefully this toilet obsession will end before he figures out how to open the doors. :)

Honey, I'm home...

Lately Chris has been having fun at work. Not only are his projects super cool, but he likes to live it up and do all sorts of "experiments" along with his coworkers all in the name of science. Whether it is PIG for pushups, the fiber one challenge, eating weird food, or watching others chug vinegar, he seems to be having a good time.

Yesterday he came home like this...

Oy....

Baby Shower

It's hard to believe that my lil sister is going to be having a baby soon. She's due in April and knows that it will be a boy. It was fun to plan a baby shower for her with my mom and aunt. We spent many hours working on the perfect menu, decorations, cups, etc. I think it went off quite well. We had a great turnout, the food was tasty, and Bree got loads of baby clothes to help her get started. My present to her was a diaper cake that had toys and other baby supplies attached to it. It was pretty fun to make. I also surprised myself with my craftiness and made a super cute banner to hang with "baby Lincoln" on it. Several people wanted the recipe for the spinach bars that I made. So here is a link.

http://www.puffpastry.com/recipe/24084/spinach-pastry-diamonds

Valentines

Valentines Day was perfect this year! I taught my last preschool lesson of the year, woohoo, all about bears and love. We ate pink frosted cupcakes and exchanged valentines. Claire had a great day at school, and brought home a huge envelope full of cards and candy. Chris came home a bit early from work and surprised us with flowers and all the necessities to make us an amazing steak dinner. Claire and Grace loved their own bouquets of red flowers. I remember my own Dad always giving me a special valentine each year, and I think it really is quite special. My own flowers were beautiful too, but the dinner he cooked us was AMAZING! Tender steak, grilled asparagus, roasted rosemary potatoes, salad, and sparkling cider. Mmmm, so tasty! Thank you sweetheart for making Valentine's Day special for all of us!

Game Night

It's the little things that count, and tonight I am thankful for a husband who likes to have fun with our kids. Whenever there is a day off of school, my girls start asking Daddy if they can stay up late with him. This week was no exception. Thursday night was set aside as "game night". They made kettle corn, ate licorice, and played several games. Even though Grace ended up going to bed early, Claire had a great time spending some quality time with Dad. They just love these date nights with him. Whether it is camping in the living room, watching a movie, going for a hike, or playing games, I know they are having a great time. They are already talking about their next night up.

Little Baker

I've been really busy lately with planning and teaching Grace's preschool group this month. She is really loving having preschool with all of her friends. It's great to see her really catching on and learning her numbers and letters. The only downside is that they only meet once a week. Poor Grace would like to go everyday! She just loves it.

One of the really fun things we do is have field trips that relate to lessons that are taught. Recently we were able to tour the Costco Bakery, which was a big hit! The kids had to wear hair nets, and were quite excited to get employee name tags. We saw the big ovens, fridges, and packaging machines. We watched them make one of their famous chocolate cakes, and then had a yummy freshly baked chocolate chip cookie for a snack. Grace loved it! The funniest part was that she kept the hat and name tag under her pillow and wore them everyday for almost a week straight.