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…

Easter

Well Easter came and went and as usual, we crammed in way too many festivities. :) On the weekend before my mom and I took the kids to Eggstravaganza at the Boise Zoo. It, of course, was a madhouse and Addie was much too overwhelmed to participate in the egg hunt. But we had fun checking out the animals and (of course) the gift shop.

Surprise, surprise, Addie picked out a frog. Afterwards we grabbed some good ol' McDonald's and hit the park.

The next weekend (actual Easter weekend) my mom, Uncle Chris, the kids, and I headed out to Homedale for the annual Romriell get together. Every year my extended family on my maternal grandmother's side has a pretty sweet Easter bash. There is egg dying...

(and stickers)

(surprise, Bubby just wanted to eat the eggs)

(and spoon)

...lots of good food and things to play on...

...and in...

...and an awesome egg hunt.

And this one she got into (Hayden slept through it). Here is her haul. Also note the outfit. I took her to pick out an Easter dress and she of course passed up all the frilly pastel-y Easter-y dresses for this hot pink and black lace number. Silly girl.

After the eggs are collected, we empty them all out. Most have candy, but some have papers with points (and each egg counts for points) and then the kids get to go down to the "store" (basement) and pick out prizes with their points. Very cool! Addie picked out a frog (what!?!) and a little duck game.

Then we couldn't get her off the trampoline!

Leisa came to visit too, with Ben, Kyndell and Miss Sophia.

Kyndell had just woken up from a nap and was happy to just sit for a bit. She got some good playing in later though. :)

We pretty much spent the entire day out there and were all very exhausted!

On Easter Sunday it was time to head out to the farm. We started off with some pizza at Grandma Lola's with Pappy, Uncle Sean and Aunt Erin, and Erin's brother and friend. Then it was off for a stroll down to the barn for Addie to see cows and chickens.

She picked BSU attire for the day. ???

Somebody loves her Pappy.

Hayden was obviously excited.

Addie of course had to check out Uncle Gene's princess castle. We also attempted to check out the treehouse -- until we got up there and saw wasps swarming the window (eek!).

After our walk we headed back to Grandma's for what I thought would be an Easter egg hunt for 4-6 kids. Instead it was just Addie, so we had lots of eggs! I forgot what a great yard my grandma has for hiding eggs (that's where we always did our hunts as kids).

Bubby got in on the action a little bit.

Then it was off to check out the goods. I have to say, I thought it was a pretty cool hunt. I had some pretty sweet prizes (not only GOOD candy, but cool toys too).

Hayden's favorites were the jelly beans.

That ended our Easter adventures. So Addie got 3 egg hunts and WAY too much candy. :) Is there any other kind of Easter?