A couple weekends ago I rode a greyhound bus up to Portland to meet my good friend Elena. Can't beat a $20 bus ride! After a nice walk I arrived at our hotel, The Benson. Elena drove up right as I walked up, it was perfect timing! I used to try to visit Elena when I went home to Gig Harbor, but since my parents have moved I haven't really made it up there. With kids and work it's so hard to carve out the time, but Elena is expecting her own little one in November, so we decided to make the time before life gets REALLY busy!
We arrived Sunday afternoon, and after getting settled in at our hotel and exploring the neighborhood we got dressed up and went to happy hour at El Gaucho, which is a really nice steakhouse. The happy hour prices were great, and our dinner was delicious! We then walked to frozen yogurt, which was also yummy, but then we decided to turn in for the night. There are definitely some really weird people that come out of the woodwork in downtown Portland at night!
We had massages scheduled for Monday morning, so we got up, got dressed, hit up Starbucks for breakfast and then hurried to a spa for some relaxation time. It was AWESOME! It's been a looooong time since I was able to enjoy something like that. The rest of the day was spent shopping and getting makeovers at Sephora, which was fun. We took our polished selves out on the town that night for dinner at Portland City Grill, which is in a building on the 30th floor overlooking all of downtown Portland. It was beautiful! Tuesday we got up and of course shopped some more. It was just like the good old days when we haunted the Tacoma Mall! My mom met us at Washington Square, she very graciously offered to pick me up to drive me home. Plus I think she wanted to see Elena! All in all, I enjoyed myself so much getting away for some girl time with my best friend. I love that girl!
Our view for dinner Monday night!
Friends for 12 years and counting :)
It was back to business as usual Wednesday and Thursday, but Friday was our big trip to Boise! Kyle's cousin Jessica got married on Saturday the 28th, so we flew into Boise Friday afternoon and spent two nights there. We were originally planning to drive, but airfare was so cheap to Boise that we gave in and flew. An hour in an airplane sounded better than 8 hours in the car! Of course by the time you drive to the airport, park, get checked in, go through security, get to your terminal, stop for potty breaks, bottle breaks, lunch breaks, etc. it added up to about 5 hours total travel time. But when you have little ones, every second counts! Plus Kyle's mom Sue and Uncle Mark were on the same flight as us, so we had extra help getting through PDX, which we really appreciated.
Payton was really excited to see all the airplanes, but she spent so much time looking around that she was really slowing us down. That is a common problem with her, her nickname in our family is Molasses! We brought Carter's carseat with us for the van ride to and from the hotel, so we set that in a cart, put her in it, put Carter in the front pack, and we hustled through the airport!
Our plane was one of those little ones where you have to actually walk onto the tarmac and climb the stairs, and of course it was pouring down big fat raindrops when we were boarding! There was only 2 rows of seats on each side, and poor Kyle had to lug our giant carseat through the plane and try not to hit anyone. We just had Payton ride in it on the way to Boise, since Carter is under 2 he is allowed to sit on my lap for free. He did really great on the flight, both kids did! Payton cried a little bit during descent because her ears hurt. We tried to give her gum on the plane as a little treat, but she choked on it twice so we gave up on that. On the way home we bought her a sucker at the airport, and that worked out much better! Carter was pretty wiggly, but he was happy sitting on my or Kyle's lap. Payton got to watch Frozen on the iPad, so she was in heaven!
Ready for takeoff!
Happy girl
After we arrived in Boise, we called the hotel shuttle to pick us up and were over there in no time. We had a minor snafu with our room reservations, but it all worked out! We really wanted to have an adjoining room, so that way when the kids went to sleep we didn't have to sit there in the dark, we could at least go to another room. Sue had called multiple times to make sure that was included in our reservation, but when we finally got there of course there were no adjoining rooms to be found. They eventually found us one though, and we settled in to our "home-tel" as Payton likes to call it!
After having dinner at the restaurant by the pool, we decided to turn in for the night. It had been an EXHAUSTING day! Carter went down without a peep in his pack 'n play, and we brought Payton's inflatable bed for her to sleep in so we didn't risk her rolling onto the floor. Payton was up at 4am though (which was 3am Albany time) asking if it was time to wake up yet. She was starting to get loud and I could hear Carter stirring, but somehow we got them both back down until the usual 7am. Phew!
Payton really wanted to go to the pool, so her and Kyle went and I brought Carter after his morning nap. That girl could have swam all day, she loved it!
What is this mom?
Still not so sure...
I like the pool though
Payton hanging with the girls
Eating lunch
LOVE this face!
After relaxing by the pool for a bit I put Carter down for a nap and the rest of us got ready for the wedding. We clean up pretty nicely if I do say so myself!
The wedding venue
The Halls, looking snazzy!
Carter man at the reception
Payton made a little friend at the reception; they were so cute dancing together
Congrats to Mr. and Mrs. Olsen!
Carter was pretty tired and overwhelmed at the noise of the reception, but the nice thing about going to a wedding where you're staying is it was just a short walk away to put him to bed. Kyle and I agreed beforehand that we would take half hour "shifts" hanging at the room while Carter was sleeping, and that way we could both enjoy the reception. Payton was enjoying dancing so much that we let her hang out waaaaaaay past her bedtime. Grandma Joy offered to stay with Carter for an hour so that Kyle and I could enjoy the reception together, which was nice. At about 9:30 Payton came up to me and told me she was tired and ready to go to bed, so I headed back to the hotel room with her. She was so exhausted, she slept great!
Sunday we hung out by the pool again, but we had to catch an afternoon flight back to Portland so we had to pack up and catch a shuttle to the airport. My arms were SO sore from carrying Carter around all weekend, we were out and about so much that I couldn't really let him down to crawl around. When we were at the airport I realized that we'd brought along his big carseat… he could hang out in there for a while!
Happy guy!
Such good little travelers
The Boise airport even had a play area, which was awesome!
Carter hadn't taken a morning nap, so I was a little nervous how the plane ride would go. He cuddled up to me and fell asleep right before take off, and slept the whole way! It was perfect! He woke up right after we touched down in Portland.
Sweet angel baby
Everyone on their electronic devices
Mommy even got to read! Heaven!
Our trip had gone so well, but by the time we had gotten through PDX and taken a shuttle all the way out to our car, we could tell the kids were losing patience. By the time we got to Salem we were pretty much in full melt down mode! Kyle and I understood though. We were tired too! The kids were so glad to finally be home, you could tell Carter was so happy to be on the ground and able to just PLAY. We had a blast though, it was a fun trip!
It has been HOT down here lately, so we've just been trying to keep cool.
Girl after her mommy's heart
My dynamic duo!
Big boy with the big grin
Pool time relaxation
Love these two
Pretty blue eyed girl
MY MOM WON'T LET ME EAT GRASS!!! Very upsetting
Our fourth of July was pretty laid back and non-eventful. I was on call, so we just stayed close to home. Bryan and Lindsey came over to have hot dogs and smores and a few fireworks though! And by fireworks I mean sparkler and pop its. But Payton actually held a sparkler this year! She called it her wand. Making progress!
Happy birthday 'Merica!
Carter man watching from the sidelines with Aunt Lindsey
Payton watched a video on Lindsey's phone of one of her OB appointments where they listened to the baby's heartbeat. She said "I have doctor tools!" She wanted to check on her cousin :) It was adorable!
We also ended up going to the pool on both Saturday and Sunday, which both the kids love. We went Saturday with our family friends the Boases, and Sunday with my friend Jamie and her son Bradyn.
Such cute boys!
Water baby
Hey buddy!
So much fun in the sun is exhausting!
This week the focus is on Mr. Carter's first birthday; I just can't believe he's already a year old. On the fourth he took a couple of steps from Kyle to me, but he hasn't really tried since. You really have to coax him! I know he will be running before I'm ready for it though. He started saying dada a couple weeks ago, much to Kyle's delight. He is eating lots of table food; if you're eating it, he wants to eat it too! No baby food please! He laughs, smiles and claps so much, he really is such a happy boy. His favorite game is peek a boo, he thinks that is hilarious! He cracks up at Payton all the time too, and loves to watch her and play with her. He is such a blessing in my life, both of my kids are. My life may feel busy, but it's so full of family and love; I wouldn't have it any other way!
So next up is the big birthday blog! Stay tuned!
A successful trip with kids is quite an accomplishment and you should be so proud of yourselves.
ReplyDeleteYou have beautiful kids...and Payton's hair is beautiful! She looks so different without her glasses.
Keep up the good work!
Kisses!