Ramblings

So this isn’t going to be the picture-laden blog I usually do. Partially because I don’t have pics loaded on the laptop to use, partially because I can’t actually load this blog right now because I’m on a plane, and really because it’s not my usual kid-focused blog. :P Just rambling about stuff going on with me. So I’m on a plane back to Boise from San Antonio (well technically this plane only goes to Salt Lake and then I get to enjoy a 3.5 hour layover). Linda and I came down to go to AHIMA’s Assembly on Education (AoE), which is their conference focused on HIM education (yes, there really are other HIM teachers out there – it’s that popular!). ;) It was actually quite great. We of course skipped some sessions (yes, maybe more than we should), but we got some wonderful ideas, had some great conversations, and did some of the ever-so-important networking (seriously, it can’t be underestimated – invaluable!). We got in on Sunday, in the evening. After checking in we explored the Riverwalk. Very neat, but hot as hell (it was around 104 most of the time we were there, and humid! A lot for this little Idaho girl) and busy. We ate at Iron Cactus, a Mexican restaurant and tequila bar (I know my girl Leisa will be incredibly disappointed in me, but no, I didn’t even have a margarita) that was rather delicious. Monday was the first day of sessions and I went to a focus group at lunch. That evening we had a little reception for the convention and had snacks and some drinks (hey, we got 2 free ones, couldn’t pass it up). Tuesday was more sessions, but we decided to skip out just for a bit. We hit the Riverwalk again (it was really the only thing around the hotel to do), took it over to The Alamo, and then checked out La Villita. It was super cute and we ate at a great little café. Wish we’d had a bit more time to spend there, but we had already ditched out for a few hours (and it was getting pretty darn hot), so we headed back. But then I ditched some more to hit the pool. Finished out the day with a session and back to the Riverwalk we went. We ate at County Line, a BBQ restaurant that was also delicious. I decided to forego the alcoholic beverage (although it sounded delicious) for a dessert (more on that later). Had a few more sessions this morning and now here we are. Linda is sleeping next to me and I’m typing away on the laptop. It was nice to get away and I think we got lots of great ideas, but boy am I ready to see my babies!

So, more about this whole dessert thing. Another eventful thing I had this weekend was the Katy Perry concert (yep, I’ll address that in a few…). Well after getting back from vacation, I told Leisa it was time to kick into gear for this concert (yes, it’s a necessity to look hot for a Katy Perry concert). So I said I was going into workout mode for the next 2 weeks and that I would give up sweets, other than a small piece of dark chocolate now and then. Well it turned into a challenge between Leisa, Amy, and I – and included at least 30min every day of exercise and no sweets (and if you know me, you know I’m a sweets gal). I went so far as to say no sugar, but in reality I found that to be nearly impossible (particularly when we had just done a very large grocery shopping trip and I was finding that I couldn’t eat anything in my cupboards). So I just decided no sweets and as little sugar as possible, without having to restock my kitchen. The exercise part wasn’t too bad, although I often found myself realizing I hadn’t done it by 8:30pm and having to take the kids for a walk. Loren helped by encouraging us to go for bike rides. But this sugar thing killed me! I was miserable. I felt sick to my stomach, was super tired, and was just a plain ol’ grouch. I was about to give it up (this was about a week in) until I read online about sugar “withdrawal” – and those were symptoms! I was beginning to think my body really needed that sugar – well it thought it did, but I think I finally passed that point. By the end of the second week I was actually feeling pretty good. Anywho, we all made it through and yes, we did look smoking hot for the concert. And I’m actually not craving sweets anymore. So since Monday the 11th, I hadn’t had any dessert (and I’m a girl who has dessert at least 1-2 times a day). But I think I’m over the cravings now. So my dessert of choice during this trip (since my 2-week challenge was over) was cheesecake – it was rather delicious, but I actually only ate half (granted it was a ginormous piece). So I’m trying out some new eating habits. We’ll see how long it lasts…

Okay, I think my last order of business is Katy Perry. I know, I said no pics, but I forgot about the concert!

Now, I seem to have a thing for wigs. I just find them so fun! And quite a while ago I had found this fabulous shop on Etsy, Miss Violet Lace, with the absolute most gorgeous wigs! I literally want every single one of them. So when I got tickets for Katy Perry, I knew I needed one of these fabulous wigs. But how to choose? Oh man, it took me HOURS and months to pick out what I wanted. And then it was only because I had taken so damn long, I had to pick one that could ship quick. So here is my wig.

I absolutely love it and can’t wait to find more excuses to wear it (although I’ll really only find excuses to buy more). We met up at Ulta in Nampa first and got our make-up done (thank you Stacy Ritter!).

Then headed in to Boise so I could drop my car off. Had intentions of going to dinner, but we are girls after all and of course everything took longer than planned – so we grabbed Jack in the Box (so much for that fabulous diet) and set out for BSU. Parking was quick and easy and they even had a shuttle to the door.

Thank goodness too because not only did I have heels on (and I never wear heels), but I discovered that my fabulous dress had a hiking problem (as in hiking up). Since I had wild hair I wanted a wild outfit, and wanted to step out of my comfort zone a bit (my usual “party” attire is jeans and a tank top) – so why not a skintight teal animal print one-shouldered number?
Made it in before Katy started – grabbed a cotton candy martini (delicious, but I’m not sure there was any alcohol in there), hit the bathroom, and found our seats. She was fantastic!
Actually sounds even better in person, just as gorgeous as she is on TV, super funny, and totally into her fans. And great “presentation”. Totally loved it. My favorite number was the “I Want to See Your Peacock” performance (love the song and the costumes were phenomenal).
Ariel was SO into it. It was so fun to see all the little girls having a blast. My only issue was the girl next to me who I’m not sure moved all night. Really? You get floor seats at Katy Perry and you stand still and blankly stare? Lame! ;) I’m pretty sure I danced enough for both of us (and she got to enjoy an elbow now and then). After the show we dropped Ariel off and went out downtown, but it was kinda boring and well, we’re moms and were kinda exhausted. ;)

The only other thing I was gonna talk about was my bucket list, but I can’t actually access it right now. I can think of at least 7 things I’ve done and can think of a few that definitely aren’t going to happen, but I’m also thinking of some substitution options. More on that later.

Day 3: Saturday Market

Still not fully recovered from our hike and long day at the zoo (and me still not feeling well), we weren’t going to let that keep us down. The boys headed out early for golf (Ryan of course chose a course 20+ miles outside of Portland because there are only over a dozen courses actually in Portland) and we loaded up the kids and hit the MAX to downtown for the Saturday Market. And what a market it was! I had been before, but it was in early spring and I assume when the weather isn’t as good, the market isn’t as big – because I didn’t remember all of this! It just went on and on. There was no way we were getting through all of it. Addie was still a bit whiny (she probably still wasn’t feeling very good, and was still recovering like we all were) and ended up talking Ba into buying her a frog, a frog purse, and some frog soap (hmm, theme?). Cassie and I drooled over several things, but of course had to scope out options before committing. We both ended up with a skirt and dress, and some jewelry. We found a fun fountain for the kids to play in (although silly mom forgot to pack appropriate clothing, so I had a toddler in her underwear in the middle of downtown Portland – oh and should I mention she was later a naked toddler in the park after she peed her pants?) and enjoyed a variety of foods.

It took her a bit to warm up to the idea. Cassie and I both had to go play with her before she got into it. And once she was into it, the clothes came off!

She was actually re-dressed after the fountain, but ended up disrobing again in the park.

They had fun playing while Ba took a rest and Cassie and I ventured off for food.

Have I mentioned yet that Hayden is walking?

It was quite a hot day for Portland (I believe the high was 85) so we wore down fairly quickly. We headed out around noon, catching the MAX back to the van parked next to the hotel (we checked out before we left and just parked at the Park n Ride lot next to it). After loading up we ventured out to hit Trader Joe’s – a must-stop for me and Cassie. We loaded up on groceries and caught up with the boys there. Just had a couple more stops on our way out of town. Loren had to hit Belmont Station, which is known for an insane amount of different beers (he was like a kid in a candy store) and then I wanted to stop at Hayden Island (only the best named island ever).
That wasn’t the best decision, we found, when we hit horrible traffic. But we eventually made it, got our picture, and headed out to Tokeland. It’s only about a 3-hour drive, but after several long days, that trip felt even longer than the drive to Portland. We made a pitstop in Raymond for dinner and finally made it to the house around 9pm. We picked our sleeping arrangements and crashed. The 4 of us slept on what I believe was a full -- a bit scrunched but at least low to the ground. :) Ryan and Cassie took the "Love Shack" -- the small cabin in back (complete with a dead bird for company). It felt good to be somewhere we could settle in for a few days...

Day 2: Portland Zoo

After our hiking and puking adventures, we were all rather exhausted Friday. But we were determined to make the most of our time in Portland, so we headed to the zoo – that, and Addie had been talking about the Portland Zoo for months (asking, anytime we saw an animal in a book or on tv, “Do they have that at the Portland Zoo?”). We decided to drive because we weren't sure how convenient the MAX would be with the kids, stroller, and all our stuff (very convenient, it turns out), so I turned on my navigation and away we went (sidenote – I’m not quite sure what we did without smartphones before. We used it constantly on this trip. What a great travel companion! I lovelovelove my Droid!). After a few wrong turns (nice to know I’m not the only female Loren doesn’t listen to), we finally made it. And it wasn’t even open yet. Got a great parking spot (shaded when we left) and unloaded. Perfect when we arrived – great temp (although a bit chillier than we originally anticipated – and we hadn’t packed jackets with us) and not many people. That changed as the day wore on, but we still had a good time. Addie was rather whiny, which was a bummer because she had been so excited – but I think she was just tired after our hike and was probably still not feeling well.

She insisted on wearing slippers. And yes, she wore them the entire time.

I got Hayden this adorable hat at the $.25 sale at Other Mothers hoping I could sidetrack him long enough he would wear it. It lasted about 10 seconds. :(

Hayden even got to ride a dinosaur!

Tyrannosaurus Rex, nonetheless! Bet you didn't know they had dinos at the zoo! They had an extra exhibit -- my mom, Hayden, and I didn't go (it cost extra, and frankly, we didn't really care), but Addie insisted she had to go so Daddy took her. Apparently she was terrified the entire time. But later commented how much she liked the dinos. ??

We awed at the beautiful exhibits and lands of the park (quite amazing in comparison to our little Boise Zoo) and got to see a very neat show of birds flying right over our heads.

And of course the petting zoo is always a hit.

We were, however, rather disappointed in the Africa exhibit (I’m not sure we even saw a single animal) and couldn’t seem to find the rhinoceros or hippopotamus (yes, two very large creatures to miss!). Eventually they both crashed out. Addie ended up sleeping through the crocodile (which she was waiting for) and the sea lions.

But Bubby woke up just in time to see the sea lions -- last stop and one of our faves! He was enthralled and they were so cute. One of them kept playing with the kids at the window and they would squeal in delight! Adorable!

He likes to show his belly off.

I did awake her for the gift shop, as I had promised her one toy – which she actually chose rather quickly (I was surprised because we often spend half our time at the Boise Zoo wandering through the tiny shop). It was a bag of turtles – surprise (she is all about turtles and frogs these days)! We then ventured back to the hotel to meet up with Ryan and Cassie, who had driven up that day. After a bit of downtime we all headed out to catch the MAX downtown (with my handy phone app Portland Transit Lite) so the boys could do a Brewery Crawl. Never heard of it? Me neither. They actually map out walks to different breweries – depending on how much you drink at each, I suppose you may be crawling by the end! Although it took us a bit to figure out the tickets (we had ridden it before, but always in the fare free zone, so never worried about tickets before), we boarded and headed in. What a great system. I envy them every time I visit. No, it’s not fancy, but so fast and easy! No problem getting the stroller on – just parked it in the handicap spots – and no carseats to deal with or problems with finding parking. We got off near Pioneer Place and headed out on foot. First stop = Deschutes. By this time we were rather hungry and figured we’d just grab a bite at the first brewery – except it was a 45min wait. So we mosied on and ended up stopping at Rogue – not on our list, but a brand the boys like. We grabbed a bite and Loren, Ryan, and Cassie got 4 tasters each. The day of travel and hiking and an entire day at the zoo had wiped us out, so us girls (and Hayden) decided to head back. I left my phone with the boys so they could have a map to figure out their next destination and off we went. Luckily I remembered how to get back to the MAX and we figured out which one to board (almost got on the blue line when we needed the red). We got back and settled in for the night. I awoke around 11:30pm and noticed the boys still weren’t back. I called and heard of the issue – apparently the red line only runs until 10:30pm. No more public transit to our hotel after that. Oops! So the boys boarded the blue, and then ended up walking about 3 miles back home. Oh the adventures of the big city! :) So much for my public transit planning (I just assumed the MAX ran 24/7 – guess now I know!).

Day 1: Multnomah Falls

Well our adventure began Thursday, June 30th – I believe we left within 30 minutes of my desired start time of 8:30am. I woke up feeling like I needed a morning in the bathroom praying to the porcelain god, so I was really looking forward to a day in the car (especially when I seem to have had a motion sickness problem ever since being pregnant). :P Dogs had been dropped off the night before (we always owe a big thanks to Rick - Loren's dad - when we travel) so after we picked my mom up in Star we hit the road. Made it to Durkee before we needed gas (hadn’t filled up) and then stopped in La Grande for lunch and played at the rest area. Made another pitstop in The Dalles for a playground and ice cream break. We were fortunate to catch a period of long naps for the kids, so we actually made pretty good time (I am still amazed at how well they did! Daytime driving is def the way to go for us.). After that was Multnomah Falls, a standard stop for us on the way to Portland. I was still feeling crummy, but hiking to the top was on my 30 Before 30 list – and Loren pushed me to check it off.

"You want to do what? I'm taking a nap."

My cheeseball.

That's where we were headed. Yes, I was sick to my stomach, had hardly eaten, and was carrying an extra 30 lbs on my back...

An absolutely adorable 30 lbs!

We decided we’d give it a shot and at least go as far as we could. I was packing Hayden when we got to the bridge, and we decided to move on. As long as I kept some momentum I did pretty good. However, once we made it to the ½ mile mark (which, btw, I thought was the halfway mark -- no, it's actually a 1.25 mile hike, not 1 -- false advertising!), I decided I just couldn’t do it while carrying him, so I passed him off to Loren (which was actually the first time Loren has ever packed either kid in a backpack). Addie walked with Ba ("Ba" has somehow become my mom’s name for the kids – I think Addie just couldn’t say Grandma, so she started saying Ba and it has stuck) behind us, catching some breaks while Ba packed her every so often (poor Ba!). We kept pushing forward and each time we thought of turning back, we’d see a sign to signal we were that much closer and forged on. I think Addie’s favorite part was the snail we found on our way up (that we of course had to find again on our way back down – to show Dad). I actually hadn’t felt like throwing up since that morning – until we got to about the ¾ mile mark. After many breaks and pleas to the toddler to walk, we finally made it up. We admired the view, took some pics, and then headed back down – which felt about as long as the hike up!

It's not very impressive here, but take a look at how tiny those cars are.

My little hiker.

Heading back down...

Petting her snail.

But by the time we got to the bottom it actually felt pretty darn good. I was so proud of Addie who actually walked almost the entire way down – and still had energy to play at the bottom! We got some popcorn to snack on and let Hayden out to cause some trouble before we loaded up and headed in to Portland.

Usually when we go to Portland we stay downtown, but I had procrastinated on getting a room long enough that many weren’t available, and it was less expensive to stay out towards the airport. It wasn’t the nicest area, but we got continental breakfast (had a pool too, but I never did make it there to enjoy it) and were just a few minutes away (walking) from the MAX lightrail. We were all exhausted from our day of travel and hiking, so we just grabbed some Chinese food and settled in for the night... until about 11:30pm when we were awoken to Addie puking. On the bed, the heater, the floor, herself, Loren – yay vacation! :) After cleaning up she laid down with Ba, but we were all so on edge, we all jumped at every move she made – in hopes of either catching the puke in the garbage can or saving her from falling off the bed. Sleeping in hotels can be a bit of a challenge with the kids. At home we all crash in our nice big king bed, that is on the ground and up against the wall – a decent amount of room (although we still get squished) and few places to fall off (and if they do, it’s a short fall). The hotel, on the other hand, was a queen bed with high edges and furniture to hit on the way down. Addie actually ended up sleeping through the rest of the night and I think I finally got some sleep around 3am. Not the best way to rest up for our day at the zoo…