When did the phrase 'play-date' become code for baby-sitting?
Aggravating.
~K!
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Natalie
We took 5 year old Natalie on vacation with us. She is a joyful child who delighted us at every turn.
We took a meandering car trip keeping our travels in Oregon. We stopped in Gold Beach to ride the jet boats. It was an awesome ride. Natalie, though 5 years old, is still a more than occasional napper. At the beginning of the 104 mile boat ride she fell asleep on my lap and then again on the return trip. How does one fall asleep on a jet boat??
At dinner that night Natalie ordered clam chowder. When the food server set a bread bowl in front of her Natalie glared at it and yelled, "Hey! I ordered clam chowder!' I reached over and lifted the top off the bowl and revealed the chowder. JOY! She was so impressed that her toes immediately began wiggling and she kept putting the top on and taking it back off again. She loved it so much she ordered it again the next night and couldn't wait to call her mother and tell her all about it.
(sorry, cell phone)
The last couple of days of our vacation we went to Great Wolf Lodge which is a new indoor water park. Natalie was not quite tall enough for the biggest slide, The Howler but she could ride on all the rest, and did! I had to convince her to go by herself at first, but once she tried it there was no stopping her.
The Great Wolf Lodge is very kid friendly and has activities for them to do besides the water, an arcade, a wizarding game requiring you to buy a 'wand' and a craft room. Natalie is a world class crafter. For Christmas my sister got Natalie all kinds of office supplies which Natalie put to good use. If Natalie needs to express herself beyond words she will 'create' a picture or a card or in a project. So it was no surprise that she gravitated to the craft room.
She was in kid heaven.
When we returned to Portland we had a couple days to relax. One day I flipped on my DVRd (and eagerly anticipated) recording of Project Runway. Natalie wandered into the room and snuggled up next to me and we watched it together. The show takes 16 designer wannabes who compete over a matter of weeks and by process of elimination end up with one winner who gets to show his/her designs at Bryant Park.
After the show was over Natalie jumped off the couch and ran into Mason's room. Pretty soon she called, "Grammy could you come here a minute please? I need you to look at something."
I walked in and on the white board Natalie had drawn 3 dresses and asked me to tell her which one was best and eliminate two of them.
She gently but firmly indicated which dress I was to pick, thanked me and then took off again. Pretty soon she had dragged some cardboard up from the basement and gotten supplies together. She sat on the kitchen floor and set to work. This is how I found her.
Someday I am sure we'll find ourselves wearing her designer label!
It was great getting to know our little Natalie one on one and I was sad to see her head home when I went back to work.
How has your summer gone? Spent much time with family?
~K!
Day Trippin'
I had to put in for my vacation time for July back in March (it's a weird system). My husband wasn't able to put in for his that far out so when he finally got around to asking for the same time off as I had they denied his request. So we were surprised last week when he looked at the schedule and found we both have this week and next off together! The down side is that we didn't plan anything. So we are making the most of it one day at a time. Last summer we took our oldest granddaughter with us and this year we will pick up her sister, Natalie who is 5yo and she'll spend time with Mason and us. We're excited to get one on one time with her when we pick her up on Monday.
Yesterday we jumped in the van and headed toward Hood River to ride the Mt. Hood Railway. David and I had ridden it before but Mason never had. He loved it!
Once we got started he was able to roam freely and loved the caboose where he could climb to the top and have spectacular views of the Hood River Valley. It was a four hour trip with a 30 minute break in the tiny town of Odell. Most people pack a picnic basket and enjoy the scenery over wine, cheese and fruit. We went to a hole-in-the-wall and had the best Mexican food we've had in a long time.
After the train we cruised through the town of Hood River and decided to take the old Columbia River Hwy back to town. Not being real sure where it started we drove around and found a road we thought might take us to it. We meandered along and ended up on a gravel road passing many off road bike riders.
It soon became apparent that we were indeed NOT on the Old Columbia River Hwy. All the rocky roads intersected and seemed to run into each other. But the views were magnificent and the company was pleasant so we kept on. Eventually we reached the top of wherever we were. Here is what we saw:
We thought it would be wise to head back down and picked a downward facing road. After about an hour it all started looking familiar. We passed a couple of cars and finally asked a couple in a jeep which was was 'down'. They told us to 'take a right at the road we came in on that got us to this road.' Not at all helpful since we obviously had no idea which road brought us to the one we were on. We pacified ourselves by listing all the positives about our situation; we had a full tank of gas, we had 4 bottles of iced tea :), we had some Jalepeno Cheetos and some Mentos, it wasn't cold,dark,raining or foggy, and our cell phones worked. David said, "I really don't want to be on the news" thinking of the headlines.... Local Family Lost on Mountaintop, news at 11.
So on we drove, noting the landmarks we'd passed before, keeping positive attitudes and making jokes. Finally a guy with a bike mounted on the back of his Toyota stopped and smiled at us,
"Know where you're goin?" he asked. He looked a little like a young Hulk Hogan with a doo rag tied around nearly white hair that matched his mustache.
"No" we said, shaking our heads.
"Where you trying to get to?" he asked.
We told him we just wanted to get down to Hood River and he told us he would lead us out. Hooray! No CNN for us.
Once we were on familiar territory we got on the freeway and headed eastbound. We stopped in Cascade Locks for ice cream cones and soon found the exit for the Old Columbia River Hwy.
We passed Horsetail Falls,
Wahkeena Falls, Beacon Rock, the Bridge of the Gods, Multnomah Falls, the Women's Forum and of course the Vista House at Crown Point.
Here is the fantastic view from up there
All in all a great day.
Oh, and guess who forgot the camera again!? All these pics are from our cells. I'll remember today though.
Today we are headed out to Flying M Ranch in Yamhill. Mason wants to go horseback riding.
TTFN
~K!
Delivered with love
We are home.
It was a grand and wondrous homecoming with 80+ friends and family at the airport welcoming home the travelers. We were last off the plane and I hurried up ahead of Julie and David and the girls as I was the designated photographer. As I rounded the corner I saw a barrage of cameras, banners, posters, balloons, flowers and the beginnings of a cheer that I quickly quelled.
As I approached the crowd I heard a familiar and urgent voice yelling, "Grammy! Grammy!" and there was Mason jumping into my arms and he and I were both immediately in a puddle of tears. I know how much I missed him (all of them really), but I don't think he realized how much he missed me till he saw me.
And then suddenly, they were here.
It was such a blessing for me to get to bond with Yolanta and Quetelene (Katy) while in Haiti and before getting back to Portland. They are beautiful and loving and playful. They do very age appropriate play (three year olds love to pour water from one bottle to another :) They love to wear dresses and skits and change their clothes 15 times a day. They are especially good at fixing their dolly's hair.
Amy was overwhelmed at the site of her parents and her long awaited sisters.
Home at last.
I have a lot to say about the conditions in Haiti and the horrible way we were treated in Miami when we went through immigration. But I will save that for another post.
It is good to be home.
~K!
