Yo ho, yo ho

Collin's obsession with pirates has not waned. He loves to build pirate ships with his blocks and he's the captain of any play structure. He now has two swords (but sticks also work) which he uses to fight crocodiles, Captain Hook and any other bad guys that get in his way.

So of course we had to take our little matey to the Pirate Festival in St. Helens. The Pirate Festival was complete with grown-ups and families in full pirate regalia. We're talking costumes that looked like they came off a movie set. It was a 90 degree day so the men and women in long sleeves, heavy pants and jackets get props for dedication. Or geekdome...

There were cannons blasting off, games for kids, live music and bounce houses that Collin was immediately drawn to. We found a skull cap with for Collin as well as some more action figures and toys and a Jolly Roger flag to hang up on the new balcony off of Collin's room. He also got to take a picture with "Zombie Pirate." Some kids might be scared by the creepy skeletal face, but not our Collin. He loves creepy crawlies, monsters and all that is morbid.

He sat still for a skull and crossbones to be painted on his face, one that he did not want to wash off for a day. We were ready to go after a few hours of pounding heat and Collin was one worn kiddo who fell asleep promptly in the car. The only thing that would've made the Pirate Festival even better was combining it with the pirate ships we saw earlier this summer. But as Collin still talks about it, I think it was definitely a memorable experience.

Of course stay tuned for Halloween. I think it's pretty obvious what Collin will be dressing up as.

Future cheap labor

Collin loves to peer out his window and watch Mike work hard building a balcony. The plastic tool set is ready in case Mike needs any help. What makes a handy man complete?

Butt crack of course.

Summer fun

What does Summer mean when you're three? Playing outside everyday, all day if you could, staying up late, grass stained shorts, popsicles that melt down your face, catching bubbles and of course running through the sprinklers.

Ch-ch-changes

By now, it's no secret that I'm expecting a second baby. Currently I'm in week 12, past most of the exhaustion and overall blahness. Luckily I never got sick but did feel queasy and absolutely fatigued. Collin appeased me most of the time by taking naps with me on my non work days.

I'm excited, but it's different than last time. Last time, I obsessively hunted online for any symptom that seemed strange, I researched each stage of the growing baby's development and had mini freak outs about the huge undertaking ahead of us.

This time I'm a little more relaxed about the whole thing. I still revel in the fact that there is a growing human inside of me and that's just cool. But the mystery isn't as prominent and I just don't have the time to obsess about how my life will be different.

I mean, I work three days a week (or more), am mother to a wild three-year old and also try to fit in photography, cooking/baking, cleaning/household crap, and in the back of my mind am also telling myself I need to start writing for myself again.

To top it off, we're trying to fix up (I should say Mike is fixing) our house as fast as possible so we can get it on the market, sell and buy a new one all before the second baby makes an appearance. Our days consist of this: Mike comes home, works on the house until Collin goes to bed, we may have a brief conversation, but dinner together rarely happens. Weekend hikes, exploring, and enjoying the beautiful Pacific NW summer just isn't happening.

And I know it's temporary. That one day, we'll be in a new house, preferably a NEW house, that doesn't have numerous issues that suck our money and time. And can actually enjoy weekends together. And Collin and his sibling can ride their bikes down the street without me feeling like I have to watch every second.

For now, the baby that's growing inside of me is a passing thought that I'm reminded of when I get annoying braxton-hicks contractions, have to pee every half hour and well second time around, my belly is popping out earlier. Buttons and zippers are starting to feel like corsets and the stretchy pants are a must. I also know once I start feeling the flutters and kicks it will seem more real.

And as the time gets closer, freak-outs will happen. Mostly wondering how my life will be different with two kids. How to make sure Collin still feels loved but at the same time doesn't hurt the baby. How my career will be affected. Daycare. Money. But I have until around February to figure things out. Or to just let things fall where they may and hope it makes sense.

Because one thing I've learned in parenthood is nothing can really prepare you for what's to come.

San Diego Adventure

This is only about 1 month late but I'm finally getting around to it!

We decided to explore San Diego for about a week over the fourth of July. We stayed at the Embassy Suites in La Jolla which was nice and roomy (and a good value), complete with a complimentary happy hour every night with unlimited drinks, which I couldn't partake in...and a full made-to-order breakfast. The hotel was definitely targeted for families. Collin loved the Koi fish in the pond and pressing the elevator button. I think he would've been happy doing that all day. He also had fun swimming in the pool and dipping his feet in the hot tub. The downside of the hotel was the location. While we could drive about 15 minutes into town, we were in the middle of a bunch of businesses and there was nothing close we could walk to. We also had to barricade the couch against the door to make sure Collin didn't escape.

La Jolla is beautiful and expensive. We drove around the bluffs and million dollar houses. We had some gut bomb pizza and I got my Mexican fix. We also walked by the ocean though didn't really hang at the beach too much. When you're used to Hawaii beaches where you can actually swim it just doesn't compare.

Tom and Virginia met up with us and we walked around the boardwalk in downtown San Diego and explored the maritime museum complete with submarines, old fashioned sailing ships and a pirate who gave him his own doubloon. We also checked out the USS Midway Museum, the longest-serving Navy aircraft carrier of the 20th century. It was massive and had lots of cool aircraft and sights for Collin to explore.







We got our moneys worth at the San Diego zoo and spent almost the whole day there! It was crazy busy (mental note, don't plan trips around the 4th) but still fun. Collin seemed to enjoy the flamingos and the koalas. The pandas were also out for us to see after waiting in a long line.





That evening, we ended up at a park where we feasted on double double animal style In-N-Out Burgers (plus a milkshake and fries). So not healthy but sometimes you just crave a cheap, good old fashioned burger!



The 4th was a nice change of pace (no crowds, no craziness!) and we met up with Collin's new buddy Saul and my friend Robin. Collin and Saul got along great and chased each other around, swam in the pool and followed Saul's older brother around.



Then that night we saw an awesome fireworks display at Robin's synagogue. The view was amazing with the fireworks coming from over the hill and literally felt like they were spilling down on us. I managed to get a few cool shots.





Finally we made it to Sea World. It was HOT when we got there. Poor Mike, who doesn't take heat well was dripping bowls of sweat while we waited for our first show. It was also crowded but the shows, while cheesy (I don't really need the story lines or music, just show me the animals doing tricks) were definitely worthwhile. We didn't make it to too many exhibits but Mike chased Collin around a giant kids area where he had to hoist Collin up a huge net. We stayed about four hours and then were ready to leave.

One of my favorite parts of our trip was Balboa Park, where the Zoo and a bunch of other museums are. It was really beautiful and we hiked around a palm forest, walked around the gardens and just took in all the sights. We went back there twice and I could've spent another full day there.





Unfortunately the last day of our trip wasn't so fun. Mike, who has seriously bad vacation juju when it comes to getting sick, ended up shivering and running a fever. You know Mike's not well when he wants to wear a hoodie and it's 90 degrees out. I was also feeling pretty crappy as I was hitting those lovely first trimester blahs. And Collin was a tornado running around and trying to kill himself in traffic. The highlight was back at PDX while I was trying to grab a bag and Mike looked like he was about to pass out, Collin ran through the big rotating glass doors. Luckily airport security stopped him. Ah yes, never a dull moment.

We made it home ready to pass out and it turned out Mike had strep throat which luckily Collin and I didn't catch. Besides that last day, our summer vacation was pretty fun, though not what you'd call relaxing with a 3-year old wild-man.

Ugh I'm so behind

June, July where did you go? I can't believe it's nearing August already. Never mind the hundreds of photos waiting to be uploaded from our vacation and just everyday life. I'll get to them soon, promise.

I'm still waiting for summer to start--well it starts then goes back to blah, then teases us again. Meanwhile the rest of the country is suffering in a heat wave so I suppose I shouldn't complain. Mike is busy trying to finish up the house and I'm busy with work and a certain mischief maker.

Collin at three is busy, busy. He talks like a real person now which is pretty cool. Of course conversations don't always make sense. Time isn't really linear when you're three so a conversation about school can turn into, "I played with Spencer. We went on the airplane. I saw Nona and Papa."

His long lush curls are gone sadly because I tried to trim his hair. And trimmed a little more. And a little more. And pretty soon he looked ridiculous so I took him in to the salon and voila instant summer look. I miss the curls but it does mature him and it's easier to manage.

As for the mischief part...The other day I was upstairs getting ready and Mike had just left for work. The door was dead-bolted and chained yet pretty soon I noticed the house was quiet. And then I had that burning feeling in my stomach and sure enough the door was wide open. I ran down the street where Collin was strolling with a football under his arm about to reach a busy street, nearly a block away.

After that heart attack Mike bought a lock ready to install high above the door, hopefully too high for Houdini to reach. I must say, I'm happy we have an independent and smart kiddo, but the fact that caution is not in his mindset at all scares the crap out of me. I don't even want to think about Collin at sixteen.

The mischief doesn't end there of course. Here's what happened when Collin got a hold of some toilet paper. Yes he doesn't have pants on.

Some mid-august thoughts

I can't believe it's already halfway through August.

It feels like a faster paced summer, more exhausting. I attribute this to several factors:

1. Summer was literally shorter than other years with our June/early July "winter."

2. Collin's energy level. Half the time it's like living with someone whose manic depressive and off their meds. Ups and downs, screams and cuteness. And he's the Energizer Bunny at the same time.

3. Both Mike and I have been working a lot, the house is a never-ending project, and we've done a fair amount of traveling.

We haven't gotten in touch with nature as much as I would've liked but I have to remind myself Collin is at an age where he's just as happy throwing bark chips at the park than he would be at a picturesque mountain that's a two hour car ride and involves lots of planning. And as mentioned previously Collin does not do the best on hikes. I am looking forward to the days we can do more exploring but two year olds are just exhausting little people. For now, we've had lots of fun going to local playgrounds, swimming and visits to the zoo, the Children's Museum and OMSI. He's also at an age where he actually plays with his friends instead of just co-existing. But sharing is a hard concept...

Collin's also officially moved up to preschool! His teachers felt he was ready to transition even though he's not quite two and a half. We were told Collin is bright (pat on the back for good genes) and very much a visual learner. He knows his numbers, letters and shapes and is extremely focused. Apparently Collin asks to be excused, cleans up his messes and is an all around angel. Now if we could just get him to bring the same level of politeness to home that would be awesome. His teacher Jen also told us two and a half year olds usually enter the "Pesky Pete" phase where dumping toys and other items out is fun and boundaries are constantly meant to be tested (and it gets worse as vocabulary progresses).

Now that he's in a slightly more structured environment, we are also trying to pay closer attention to his unilateral hearing loss. Circle time, talking with his friends, taking direction from teachers, all of those involve more careful listening and with a busy environment with lots of noise and conversation, sometimes kids with auditory neuropothy get frustrated and shut down. Still it's pretty hard to tell Collin has any kind of hearing issue. His audiologist and early intervention specialist both say he's doing great. The only times we've noticed something is off is when he seems unsure of where sound is coming from and he covers up his left ear when we put headphones on him. Chances are when he doesn't respond to us, it's not because he doesn't hear us, he's just being a preschooler.

And now some pictures that demonstrate why we don't eat our young:

Relaxation Vacation

I love the tradition of family vacations. Most every summer growing up I can remember a different adventure with my family. From a relaxing cabin in beautiful British Columbia to exploring New York and D.C., it was always memorable and fun. I'm sure I'm washing over the bickering children and whines of "are we there yet," right mom?.

I wanted to start our own family vacation tradition. With a two-year old and trying to save up for a new house and all that future fun, we weren't planning any lavish adventures. Instead we decided to explore our own state.

Aside from Oregon's rain and gray, I feel lucky to live in such a beautiful place. The ocean, mountains, parks and natural beauty are never far. Neither Mike nor I had ever been to northeastern Oregon. The pictures of the Wallowas and Hell's Canyon looked stunning and it would be interesting to leave our little pocket of liberal blue Portland.

The drive to Joseph, a little town of the Wallowas where our cabin was located was about six hours away. Not too far, but the memory of Collin shrieking on our last long plane flight and longer car trip to Canada rang through my head so we decided to break up the trip and stop in Pendleton (about 4 hours away). Collin had a rotation of snacks and toys at his disposal and lucky for us napped for half the car ride.

We arrived at the Rugged Country Lodge, a motel off a strip of highway. Now, I'm not a four seasons travel snob but I do like to stay in nice places and can't remember the last time I went to a "motel." However, once inside the room was clean and seemed nice (especially in comparison to the other places in town). Collin jumped on the bed and played with the remote. They also had delicious oatmeal cookies.



We went into town and discovered Pendleton which aside from its rodeo claim to fame doesn't really have a whole lot to offer. We got ripped off at a couple stores, did have a decent meal and tasty beer at a local brewery and ended up at a small park where Collin could swing and play. Pendleton is also near two prisons and the park definitely reflected that demographic.



Bedtime was early that night and we discovered Collin outgrew his pack and play (he leaped out of it) so there went that. He ended up in between us bouncing up and down until he was finally exhausted and fell asleep.

The next day we had a pretty tasty breakfast with homemade biscuits and gravy and went back to do a little more exploring. We went to an overpriced two-room museum but there was an antique fire truck that Collin got to sit on and a caboose so that made it almost worth the $12. We also stopped and got a Pendleton blanket (Pendleton's other claim to fame) which with 90 degree weather was hard to appreciate but I know once winter hits we'll be happy with our cozy wool blanket.





With the first leg of our trip over we headed to Joseph which ended up being about three hours away with construction. The drive coming in was beautiful with snow topped mountains, lush valleys and the surrounding Wallowa Lake. Our cabin was a few minutes from Joseph, a cute artsy town that expands about five blocks. We were within walking distance to the lake and in the cabin's backyard was an actual babbling brook. Talk about soothing. We were also in land of no wi-fi or cell phone service and we could hook up to the Internet via a modem (which my laptop doesn't have). Mike and I both looked at each other in disbelief, "dial up?"

Our bear themed cabin was nicer than I expected with two bedrooms a good sized kitchen and living room. We also had a deck with a BBQ. Walking inside I instantly felt relaxed. I couldn't answer my phone! or check my e-mail! I could've done a yoga pose right there.





It was also great to stay in a place where we could eat in most of the time because Collin is at the unpredictable stage of restaurant dining. He's usually the kid that starts screaming or throwing things unless he's happy with his meal and the service is fast.

As soon as we walked outside a deer approached us.



And then another. And during our trip we probably saw at least 10 of them crossing roads, wandering into the backyard and munching on flowers. We were warned not to feed them which obviously many people ignored. But we would not be the stupid tourists that feed the deer and end up getting attacked by one. Which happened quite frequently apparently. Once they realized we weren't going to feed them they left, still they were so graceful to watch.





During our stay we walked around Joseph and the lake, drove out to see some amazing views and went to the playground where Collin could throw barkchips and swing to his heart's content.





We also did a small hike into the Eagle Cap wilderness. Poor Mike was the primary backpack Collin wearer. That thing causes me to become a hunchback with spurts of pain so until we find something more comfortable for both of us to wear it will be Mike's duty. According to the guidebook it was an easy four mile round-trip hike which ended up at a lake. We set out and with a kid strapped to his back, Mike got to experience the obstacles of balancing over slippery rocks and logs.







We had some nice views but Collin was not the best passenger. He wanted to walk for maybe 10 minutes and part of the time wiggled, screamed and slapped Mike across the face. When we reached our destination he was in toddler heaven with a beach full of rocks and a body of water for throwing them in. Mike skipped rocks and Collin dunked huge ones to his delight.

"Throw rocks? Daddy throw rocks?" he said over and over.



On our way back, Collin passed out on Mike's back. And all the memories of him slapping Mike's face melted away...



On the way back we stopped at a viewpoint of Hell's Canyon. Awesome. Collin ran through flowers which I noticed had a sign saying it was a protected area do not walk off the trail. Whoops. He also smelled really bad afterward. Like he walked through skunk flowers. Someone would be getting a bath when we got back.







We also decided to take a three hour train ride on the Eagle Cap Excursion Train. My logic being Collin loves trains, this would give us a chance to see the view and hopefully relax. Big mistake mama. After a stressful morning of searching for the cabin's keys--finally found shoved into the VCR by a certain toddler, we headed to the train which was about an hour and a half away. I was expecting a little more of a family friendly experience but the train, decorated with doilies and fake flowers was about 95% full of old people, many in cowboy hats. Many probably not used to a high energy two-year old running around.



There was one young family behind us with a boy about Collin's age to our relief. Of course as the train ride went on, the little boy was the nice quiet type who sat out the window pointing to the scenery unlike our child. Collin wiggled, screamed, quickly grew bored of his snacks and after finishing off a lollipop wasn't too fun. We took turns running up and down the rows and passing between cars. At least we didn't get any dirty looks, mostly just amusing glances and about five people remarked on "her beautiful golden curls."

Our one short stop was pretty random and full of long grass with an okay view of a river. We were warned to watch out for snakes. The whole train ride ended up being about four hours, we didn't get to appreciate the view because we were chasing Collin. The novelty of being on a "choo choo" wore off pretty early on in the trip. Oh well, we won't be doing any train rides again until Collin's a lot older unless it's a short city ride on the MAX.





We planned to take the tram up to Mt. Adams which apparently leads to a beautiful view but unfortunately it was closed for repairs. It just gives us another excuse to come back here. It was a little sad to leave our cabin. It was so relaxing and a perfect break from the city and work and life. Still Mike and I are definitely city people who love our 3G service and instant access to the Internet.

Our final stop for the trip was a little two day visit to Walla Walla, Washington which also broke up the trip nicely. Since we both love wine, we decided it'd be a fun little side trip. The drive to Walla Walla was full of golden fields of grain or maybe it was wheat...I'm not exactly Miss Agriculture. Lots of John Deere and farm equipment for sale, RV parks and welcome signs to towns that expanded about a mile.

A few hours later we hit Walla Walla and stayed at the Best Western which had a pool, big plus for Collin. Our room was spacious and we were hoping since we had pretty good luck with Collin sleeping on his big boy bed at the cabin that he'd sleep on the roll-away. We went off to venture the small city of Walla Wall and it was pretty cute. It definitely seemed like a wine/food town with not a whole lot of other stuff going on aside from some nice shops, mostly boutiques with clothes way out of my price range ($400 for a tunic!). We stopped at wine bar and Collin sucked on a lollipop while we did our first tasting and bought some nice whites. Dinner was tasty though Collin didn't appreciate his homemade fettuccine and we ate pretty fast. Luckily he slept on his bed and we all fell asleep about 830.

The next day we explored the Fort Walla Walla Museum which turned out to be pretty cool.



There was a pioneer village set up with genuine artifacts and period pieces set up in homes, a school house, a doctor's office, even a tee pee. Collin liked the covered wagon but was pretty peeved he wasn't allowed to climb on it. They had horse powered carriages that farmers used for agriculture in one section, an old prison cell, antique cars, and more. Collin's favorite part was definitely the kids play fort.





We met with a friend of Mike's from college for lunch who lives in town and after unsuccessfully trying to get Collin down for a nap decided to drive out to some vineyards for tastings. As soon as we started driving Collin promptly fell asleep. So we drove around for an hour and discovered a faster, scenic way to get back to I-84. After about an hour we stopped at Waterbrook, a commercial winery with a beautiful site. One of the owners (I think) was really friendly and offered to put on cartoons for Collin to watch on a cushy couch. Collin happily obliged and was content. Mom and Dad sampled wines. Most of them were pretty tasty and there were some good bargains so we ended up with a mixed case.

After our week long trip was over we headed home and the drive went pretty fast. While Collin isn't the easiest kid to travel with, I'm glad we got to experience northeastern Oregon and one of many family vacations. It was a good reminder that although I love to travel and want to see the world, there's still a lot to see close to home.