Yesterday's drive up the Gorge

Here are some pictures from our drive up the Columbia River Gorge yesterday. We went along the Washington side. It was a warm, sunny day and all the wildflowers were in bloom. So beautiful.

We got out to stretch our legs and blow some bubbles. The kids also had fun throwing rocks into the water. I had fun finding two ticks on me. Anyway, here are the pictures...

It was a really neat place to stop. The kids loved having an "adventure" climbing around on the rocks and exploring the area. Then we moved further east where the scenery began to change, but still, it was beautiful.

It was a fun trip! It makes us excited for summer when we'll be able to do this sort of thing more often. It rains a lot during the year here, but when the sun comes out it all makes up for it. :)

battle of the dandelions

we've declared war against the dandelions in our yard. dame sprayed them the other evening and shortly after he did, they sprouted up their seeds (maddie said, "ooh! look at all the wishes!") in one last defense. so i teased dame about it (lovingly, of course) and suggested that he get a plastic bag and carefully pick off the heads so the seeds don't scatter. and that's what he did! i'm sure the neighbors think we're crazy with damian picking the heads off our dandelions while i'm laughing and taking pictures. and, well, they would be right.

Noel's new look

Noel got his hair cut professionally for the first time last week. The gal put some gel in his hair to spike it a bit and he looked like such a little man. Ha. He did well, only shedding a few tears, but I think we'll buzz him next time. Easier maintenance. :)

Emma @ 4 months

Emma is now 4 months old! I can hardly believe it --where has the time gone? She's getting so big. Here's a picture and video I took of her today.

We love you, happy Emma-bean!

evidence of fun

On Thursday, Nana (Damian's mom) took Maddie and Noel to the Children's Museum. I sent them off looking like two normal kids, and got them back looking like this! They got to paint their own faces. I like how Noel painted bigger eyebrows and a full beard for himself. Maddie looks like one of the Na'vi. They had a great time --Maddie was disappointed that she didn't get to go again the next day. :)

Easter!

Happy Easter!

Here are some pictures from our time at my parent's house. The kids got to do an egg hunt, which they'd been looking forward to. I think Grandpa was having just as much fun as the kids. He was the one up past midnight dying them for the big day.

Noel squished every egg he found.

Madeline had a really good eye! She found some really tricky ones like the purple egg camouflaged by the purple blanket.

Hmm... those are some nice eggs.

Grandpa and Emma, wearing my first Easter dress (also my mom's Easter dress) with some pants I had to put underneath since it was so chilly that day. So you can't really see the dress too well.

The kid's table. Maddie is not camera shy.

The big kid's table.

And the holiday wouldn't be complete without a picture of Damian, once again, cutting the meat.

our Christmas family pics!

noel's bagel art

yep, it's always fun to see how much of a mess noel can make with his food. this time, he decorated the back door with cream cheese and bagel chunks.

i think samson is wishing he was on the other side of the door!

feb 28th @ the beach!

last sunday we drove out to the coast for some fresh, salty sea air. :) it was a beautiful day to go --mid 50s, no wind, high clouds with peeks of sun --not what you'd expect on the last day of february in the pacific northwest. it was so nice to get out and we all had a great time.

here's maddie conquering a sand hill. she climbed all the way to the top and then tumbled happily down.

i loved how these trees are permanently bent away from the shore... very dramatic.

yes, i blinked.

building sandcastles. it was fun until noel started throwing handfuls of sand at everyone. ha. but at least he wasn't eating the sand. maddie used to eat sand when she was his age....

looking north up the coast at cannon beach. you can barely see the lighthouse on the small rock out to the left.

this is maddie building a sandcastle at seaside (these pictures are somewhat out of order). she collected a bunch of shells and then buried them "in their castle."

what a beach town looks like up here. :) (this is back at cannon beach.)

haystack rock at cannon beach. any goonies out there?? does this look familiar?? ;)

(the rest of these pictures are at seaside.)

i didn't blink this time...

dame & the kiddos.

squinty damian... he really is having fun...

my kids sleep on the floor