Neil's fieldtrip

Neil didn't have a single field trip in first grade. After having four in kindergarten it was a real bummer. As you can imagine he was super excited to have a field trip scheduled this last week. We went to the Alden Lane Nursery here in town. We had never been there before, but I loved it! I will be taking my family back again for sure.

The first activity was to take a hayride behind this old tractor. The kids were in heaven!

 

We visited the Pomegranate area as well as the working bee hives.

The kids got to learn about the life cycle of growing pumpkins and they also got to plant their own sweet peas.

It's hard to see, but in the picture above is a huge real owl. We got to learn a lot about owls which was pretty fun.

The nursery had little fairy gardens set up all over. So cute.

Choosing pumpkins from the
"patch".

Yay for 2nd grade field trips!

Keara's Baby Shower

Last week I had the chance to fly home for a quick weekend with my family. My sister Bree and I along with our Mom put together a fun baby shower for my little sister Keara. She is expecting her first in January. We did a forrest animal theme party and it all went really well. It was so neat to spend a couple of days with just my fam. We are very rarely all in the same place at the same time.

Love me some PDX and the most rain I've seen in a long time!

 

Ready for Baby Ember!

We also went to Papa Hydens for dessert again. It was fun to chat the night away with my mom and sisters!

Going through Kee's haul the next day. This little girl is set in the shoe department! 

She made out like a bandit!

We spent much of the day watching as my dad helped my in-laws take care of a large tree that had fallen in the yard/street during the storminess.

It was such a short weekend and super duper busy. I love getting the chance to hang with my family, but I was also happy to get back home. The sunset was really pretty from the plane. Oregon, I'll be back soon.

Pumpkin Patch 2017

With all of the fires burning near us, our air quality was pretty bad for about a week or so. All of our sports were cancelled and our weekend really opened up. With no plans, and surprisingly clearish skies, we decided to hit up the pumpkin patch.

My two oldest were really not into it. They complained a lot. The annual trip to the pumpkin patch might actually have to end. It's really sad to me. I told them to put on a smile for their brother. Oh well. At least we got to get outside for a bit.

We did do the corn maze, and I think that the girls actually liked it. As you can see below, Neil did not want to do the maze. He was anxious to get to the inflatable slide. Seriously, can't please everyone!

SF Air Show

This last weekend was absolutely gorgeous here. Temps in the 80's and lots of sun! It was the perfect opportunity for us to head into the city for the Fleet Week Air Show. We don't venture downtown very often. It's usually a giant pain with traffic jams galore. Our trip in was surprisingly easy. We barely slowed down at all, drove right to our reserved parking spot, walked across the street, and found a perfect seat along the waterfront in front of Ghiradelli Square.

It was Fleet Week in San Fran so there were lots of ships and sailors in town. Most of the boats were open for free tours during the day. We didn't make it onto any of the boats because I was focused on seeing the jets. I really like planes. Like a lot. So my family humored me and we sat on our perch and had a picnic lunch while watching some amazing aerial acts.

View of the bay from our seats.

 

I think my very favorite part of the entire 4 hour show was when they flew in a United 747 right over the bay in front of us several times and even over us. It was 300 feet above the water and so gigantic. I loved it! Those planes are so impressive to see in flight up close! I know I'm a plane geek.  These pics don't even do it justice. It was an amazing sight.

The finale of the show was the Blue Angels. It was fun to see them again. They were always a favorite of mine from watching them fly over my house in Hillsboro. I love how loud they are. They always put on a good show.

Once the show ended we spent some time walking along the waterfront. We found a few of the boats to look at. We just missed the touring times, but it was neat to see them. Here's a cool submarine used in WWII. Maybe next year we will come back to tour the ships.

We tried to wait out the crowds for a bit with our stroll. We got some ice cream and found a neat pumpkin display. Then we headed for home. It took us a REALLY long time to get to the Bay Bridge. I thought we would never make it out. And that is why we hardly ever make the trek downtown.

I'm so glad we did it though. It's way easier to give in to the laziness and just stay home, but adventures together are worth it. I think everyone had a good time too.