More Visitors!

My parents came to visit last weekend, which was very fun! It was definitely a tennis weekend, from Kate receiving a racquet from Grandpa right when they arrived, to getting to play a little, to watching Eric's team play.

Friday was so nice!  Will and I both got to hit with Grandpa Leo. 

Kate's new racquet!

Eric's team played at the University of Portland on Saturday and Sunday.  We really enjoyed watching the matches!

Attempt at a family picture:).  Will said it was way too bright to look at the camera.
Our kids aren't used to so much sun:). 

Here's one with them looking, but no smiles:).  One of these times, I'm hoping we'll get both! 

Then back home to the sandbox.

Walking back from the swing park with Grandma.

His last match was in Vancouver, WA.  I drove over with Will and thought we would just stay for the doubles, but I kept wanting to watch more! And Will hung in there thanks to snacks, drinks, and my i-phone:).

Will and Eric at the Portland State match. 

Other things we did in February. . . .

We had fun taking Emma and Braden to the zoo with us while their parents were out of town!

Putting together a lego car!

Happy Valentine's Day!!

So much fun!

Grace and Will love watching shows. And Kate isn't sure how they can sit and be quiet for so long! 

Just hanging out. . .

Yay for Valentine's Day candy!! 

Will had a visit at his school from the Queen of Hearts.

Erin and Luke's Visit!

Erin and Luke made it up to Scappoose last weekend, which was so fun! We had a very fun, and very cold:) weekend showing them around Portland!

The weekend began with the kids running around the house singing, "We're so excited, we're so excited!" right before they arrived:).  And they couldn't wait to show them all of their toys and tricks. Will was especially excited to get the basketball hoop out, and Grace told Erin that she had a present for her, which turned out to be spending time in her room playing with her dollhouse:).  I guess to some people that might be a present:).  And even Kate recognized them and was excited when they arrived!

Below are some of the highlights from the weekend.

FRIDAY NIGHT

The kids had fun adding Uncle Luke and Aunt Erin to their nighttime routine:). 

SATURDAY

We had fun showing them the zoo, which is one of our favorite places to take the kids!

Later that afternoon,  I headed into town with just Erin and Luke.  We walked down 23rd, then headed over to the Pearl.  It was so fun to be in our old neighborhood! We even went back to Thurman to say hi to Tommy:).

St. Honore for coffee and snacks:).

Back at home for dinner.  It was nice because the kids ate before us each night, and then watched a show before bed.  It was so nice to sit and enjoy a meal with adults:). 

 SUNDAY

Pat's parents had us up to their house after church for a really nice brunch! 

Then home for the 49ers game.  Luke was very excited about the big win! 

To the falls. . . . .

After the game, Luke, Erin, Pat and I drove to Multnomah Falls.  We were laughing when we got out of the car about how crazy cold it was! It turned our scenic outing into more of an adventure, which was actually kind of fun:).  And hot chocolate and mochas had never tasted to good! 

Yay for hot chocolate! 

On the way home, we stopped in Lake Oswego, where Pat showed us the site for his future project. We were excited to find a a place to get burgers across the street from his project! 

MONDAY

Uncle Luke, playing ring around the rosie with the kids.  They loved it!! 

After hanging out with the kids in the morning, Luke, Erin and I drove into town.  It was such a pretty day! We started off with a quick tour of University of Portland, then headed downtown, where we walked to the waterfront, then over to the Pearl to look at 937.  We got lots of pictures of bridges!

One of my favorite parts of the walk was when Luke found a pedestrian bridge that took us from the waterfront to the the Pearl.  It ended up at the train station, which was so pretty! 

Then it was off to the airport. . .

What a great weekend with great company!!

SNOW

Every winter I get the desire to take the kids to the snow.  I romanticize the whole experience. I picture us making a snowman, having a snowball fight, and the kids making snow angels. And then after a fun day outside, I picture us coming in and drinking hot cocoa.

But the reality is that I don't love the cold.  And even less than my love for the cold is my desire to get three kids dressed in layers of clothing:).  Therefore, I was very grateful for the little bit of snow that came our way a couple weeks ago.   I was able to get my snow fix with the kids. And we could wait until we got a sunny, warmer day to venture out to enjoy it! 

And the kids were even able to go sledding at Grandma Reen and Papa Bill's!

So maybe next year we'll make it to Mt. Hood, but this year, I'm content with the little bit of snow that came to us:).

Just enough snow for snowballs:).  

Snowball fight! 

My little snow angel:). 

Sledding with Emma, Luke, Rowan, and Aunt Kelly!

Colusa for Christmas-part 2-Christmas Day:)

The kids woke up around 7:15, and were excited to go downstairs to see if Santa came! We had fun opening gifts with them. And it was fun to have my mom and dad, and Luke and Erin there, as well!   Then we had some down time until Kyrstin, Chris and Cal, and Eric, Mandy and the girls came later in the day.

It was fun to get to spend time with everyone, open gifts, and enjoy a great meal together!  

Will went straight to the note before even looking at presents! He was glad to see Santa ate the cookies:). 

Will was excited to open his big gift, and we all enjoyed using it throughout the day!

Grace hot her luggage, but was most excited about her purple lollypop! 

Nice shot, Aunt Erin!

Uncle Eric giving the kids a basketball lesson:). 

Fun with all the cousins. 

Cal giving a concert with Grandma, and Kate wanting to join in. 

Gift time!  The kids opened their gifts first, then we were actually able to open gifts calmly thanks to a showing of Calliou upstairs:). 

Grace loved her doodle board! Thanks, Aunt Karen!

Go Pilots!

I wanted to get a picture of the kids in front of the tree, but the only way we could get them all together was to tell them they could watch Calliou.  Again, thank you to Calliou:).  Not my favorite show, but definitely a hit with the kids!

Dance party with Grandpa Leo.  Pretty cute to see all their moves:).