Halloween in (mostly) Pictures

Halloween was pretty low key for us.  With all the craziness of the previous week, we found ourselves on October 30th with uncarved pumpkins on our porch. With Scott still in recovery, we needed a quick solution and that lead us to Mr. Potato Head. Owen was able to carve almost his whole pumpkin, but still liked the option of adding Mr Potato Head ears. So easy. We may do that every year!

The kids were fearful pirates and it was fun to trick-or-treat in regular clothes and not the full winter gear that's usually required on October 31st in Bend. We even met some more neighbors with kids. Arrrrgh!!

August Recap in Pictures

Nana came to visit and to celebrate her 60th Birthday, we took a tour of downtown Lake Oswego - lovely lunch at Scratch cafe, a stop to listen to the summer music concert, and then some time at the splash park for the kids. Happy Birthday Nana!

 

Portland has an amazing array of splash parks.  We only managed to visit 3 or 4 of them this summer, but I think next summer will have a "splash park checklist" affixed to the fridge!

The kids took a two-week session of swim lessons.  Why do they do that?  Two weeks of swimming everyday is just exhausting for everyone involved.  We're looking forward to fall lessons that are just once a week AND Josh will be old enough to be in lessons without a parent. Whoohoo! 

Josh became long overdue for a haircut, but I just couldn't imagine trimming those summer blond locks. Thankfully, the Maxwell Barber Shop operates on Sundays and I came home from the store to find that Josh is equally adorable with a buzz cut.

These two worked hard to spend as much of the summer in as little clothes as possible.

The kids had a week off of school, so we took the opportunity to jump over the mountains and savor a long Labor Day weekend in Bend - hiking Sparks Lake, TIME WITH FRIENDS, dinner at Jackson's Corner, gelatto at Powell's, a morning at Bloom School, Scott brewed beer with Neil, dinner on the deck, Scott got on his bike in the woods, farmers market, we crashed Kaden's dinosaur birthday party, BBQ with the biking crew, dinner with the MacSween's, and so many smiles and hardly any pictures - we were playing too hard!

Around Town

One thing everyone said to us before we moved was, "There is sooo much to do in Portland." Absolutely right. In some ways, the choices are daunting.  I am a self admitted "information-aholic" and I loved being able to keep track of things going on around Bend. In Portland, there's just too many things to try and track... what a problem, right?  Thankfully, before we moved, we made a list of the things we wanted to do in Portland - urban outings and everyday adventures.  Even in the midst of the wettest spring on record (awesome, awesome), we managed to cross quite a few things off our list including two visits to both the Children's Museum and Oregon Zoo, three visits to Tryon Creek State Park, and FINALLY made good on our promise to take the boys on the Aerial Tram (with a pre-visit breakfast at Pine State Biscuts - an easy new favorite.) Scott also scored a big winner and convinced me to check out a little brew house in Tigard. Max's Fanno Creek Pub turns out to have great beer, a wide fresh food selection, and two (yes TWO) areas for the kids to play. Yep, three check marks on that one, too!

My picture taking skills are seriously lacking, but I wanted to drop in a few from our spring in-ings and outings.

Josh helping Scott survey the land.

Happy Birthday to Me! Our lack of oven at the time "forced" Scott to pick up an ice cream cake.

I still have no idea how both boys ended up inside that dishwasher box, but new appliance boxes make awesome building materials.

 Yes folks, "A Fort for Everyone!... but closed at night."

 Who wants to watch TV on the couch when you have perfectly good camping chairs on hand?

First of three visits to Tryon Creek Park.

Um, yes, Josh dresses himself.  This is a sweatshirt, swim shorts, tennis shoes (with no socks), and on this particular day, the sun was finally showing up. Josh looked at all of us in our sunglasses, declared, "I need a hat!" and returned outside 3 minutes later wearing this...

Our first visit to the Children's Museum coincided with "Super Hero Day." All staff dressed in costumes, cape making workshops for kids, and other hero activities. Somehow, Star Wars characters got roped in with super heroes. Puzzling? Yes. Awesome? Absolutely. What's better than a giant Chewbacca trying to maneuver through several hundred star struck gradeschoolers and their terrified younger siblings?  Owen was in awe. Josh, not so much.

 We again braved the crowds to hit the Easter Egg hunt at the Zoo. Actually, a very well organized and crowd deterring event. They run hunts every 20 minutes all day long with the lawn roped off for all the age categories. Plus, lions and tigers and bears, oh my!

 Grandma saved us with mailed Easter baskets for the kids.

We also pulled our act together and got ourselves to a church on Easter Sunday.  I was dreading having to drag the kids through service after service trying to find a "church home." Thankfully the internet provides ample opportunity to dig through basic theology and get an idea of the life of various churches before walking in the front door.  We feel like we've found a fit on our first visit!  Thriving, growing congregation with a solid teaching team and tons of activities.  Owen loves his pre-K room and Josh is now comfortable (after 4 visits) in the 2's room.

Amid all the work on the house and trying to manage enough outings and activities to keep us all excited about Portland, it's nice to be find some rhythm to our days and weeks and church on Sunday is a critical piece of the puzzle.

Now, if only we could stop setting rain records...

Known

We had a wonderfully perfect Mothers Day this year: We spent the weekend back in Bend, breathing in fresh mountain air. More importantly, we soaked in the comfort of knowing and being KNOWN. Our weekend started at the High Dessert Museum, at the opening reception for a new hands on exhibit on forestry and fire safety. From there, we headed to my parents place and settled in... Then snuck back out to grab a beer with Luke and Tara. Ah! The warm embrace of friends. A chance to catch up and hash through life decisions. Yes please!

Our Friday included lots of time with Nana and Papa and an awesome playgroup at the park. The kids rode bikes and raced around the playground while I got to catch up with my gals. Jen even made an appearance with week old baby Silas. Owen did a major endo over his bike handlebars ... All I saw was feet flying through the air. Dave and Michelle were there in an instant, checking for broken bones, but the "Super Skin" came through yet again and Owen was free to hop back on his wheels. Even Josh spent about a half hour diligently guiding his strider around the quarter mile loop. I kept expecting to have to rescue him from the far side of the trail, but he eventually came back around with a big grin of accomplishment.

After Josh spent a full thirty minutes of our drive over screaming, "I want go Jackshonsh Cor-er!!" what else could we do? We met the Wiaters for a favorite dinner with our favorite people. Turned out that 3-4 other families from the boys prior school were sitting outside for dinner, too. Perfect? Not just yet. Follow dinner with gelato downtown where Owen, Lily, Josh, and Miles generously shared spoons and laughter. Now, that's perfect.

Saturday, Scott got to head out on his mountain bike with the guys, while the kids and I headed to Julie's to meet Baby Soren. Shawndi also brought over her kids, and it was heartwarming to see "the Owens" fall into their easy, started before birth, friendship at the Lego table. I got lots of time with Soren and hopefully encouraged Julie a bit that there is a light at the end of the colic tunnel. Owen then snuck in a playdate with his "school brother" while Nana managed a miserable (teething) Josh. Scott also let me savor several hours with my favorite ladies, accompanied by wine and chocolate.

We had Mothers' Day brunch at McKay Cottage, which has become a tradition. The whole weekend was about reconnecting with the places and people that nourish our spirits. I saw that in my kids playing with their friends and felt my own spirit filled by friends that have known me in high times and low. Never enough time, but soooo great to step back into that place where we are comfortable and KNOWN to the core. It was a deep breath of clear mountain air to refill our sails and motivate us to push to find the people and places that are going to nourish our spirits here in Portland.

Snow Day

Winter is in full force around here. I love the snow - in theory, but the practical application of getting two kids out the door in snow gear leaves something to be desired.



Thankfully, the winter wonderland seems to make the work worth it...




And, what good is a morning in the snow if you don't get to relax with a cup of hot cider or hot chocolate by the fire after...

This and That and a Haircut

The past few weeks have flown by. We're days away from a 8 months old post for Josh - how can that be? Current events around the Maxwell House:

My parents were here for a weekend, and we seized the opportunity for an afternoon mountain biking date. That would be my first mountain bike ride ever and the first time I've been on a bike since college - yikes! I thought it was fun but could really use some more time in the seat to gain more confidence handling a bike - and better fitness would help, too.

I ran my first 5K since high school. The Heaven Can Wait event (for breast cancer) is by far the biggest run/walk in Bend - 4,000 participants. It was inspiring to see all those people walking for the cause. Amazing energy. I was most inspired by my 3-man cheering section at the finish line. I think Owen liked seeing his mom do a race, but he was complaining afterward, "But I Wanted you to be the winner!!" and has declared that he's going to do a race himself and be the winner.

Summer is here! We officially skipped spring, with last week's temperatures steadily in the 50s. To much relief, the summer solitice brought with it sun and temperatures above 80 degrees - bring out the sunscreen, swimsuits, and bare feet!

Scott's parents were the first ones to complete the Maxwell Family Fitness Challenge for 2010. After training all winter and spring, they walked a half marathon in Alaska over the weekend. So awesome! Maybe we'll get them to come walk another one in Bend in October when I (hopefully) run mine...

We're loving the World Cup these days. Owen is old enough to sit and watch a few minutes of the games. He is already a big fan of Tim Howard (thanks to that bright orange jersey!). What a fantastic 3rd game finish for the US today. Bring on Ghana!

Scott's been taking advantage of our long daylight hours to get in weekly mountain bike rides and a few more on the weekends. Mountain biking has really become his activity of choice, and it's great to have trails just minutes from the office. Yea Bend!

After months of letting his hair grow, we decided to give Owen a short cut for summer. I was really enjoying the long hair, but the short will be better for the pool.

A few before shots:





And the drastically different after:

When the weather is crummy

I have this little book that has become my lifeline when we are having one of THOSE days (due to crummy weather, 2-year-old attitude, or mommy burn out). The Toddler Busy Book is a great resource of quick activities. Some are incredibly simplistic - who doesn't know to bury objects under the sand and have your kid hunt for them - but it reminds me that sometimes simple is best.

Yesterday, we were pushing to get to 4 o'clock, so I could turn on a movie to make it to dinner time, and I randomly ran across the "recipe" for MAGIC MUD:
- Pour a box of cornstarch in a bowl or shallow tray
- Add a bit of water and food coloring
- Mix with your hands and enjoy

I was skeptical, but we gave it a shot....
BEST BAD WEATHER INDOOR ACTIVITY EVER

We started squishing and stirring with our hands. Magic Mud looks solid, but then "melts" through your hands when you try to pick it up.
After 20 minutes of exploration (note that only Sesame Street can hold Owen's attention for 20 minutes), we added some cars and then the farm animals.
An HOUR (yes, an HOUR) later, I was still hearing stories of car crashes and running cows in the kitchen and the scene was like this:
Brilliant! Winner!
I encourage you to try this super easy activity with your own kids.

P.S. We left the magic mud out and Scott was totally enthralled when he got home as well. I was at Safeway this morning buying multiple boxes of cornstarch and Owen had another go at the Magic Mud before lunch today. Brilliant!