They Do!

A long awaited day arrived in August. Scott's college roommate, tied the knot with his lovely bride Julie at a beautiful outdoor wedding at Suncadia Resort.

We packed up the car for a weekend in Cle Elum, so thankful that the previous week's forest fire seemed to be under control. The boys are getting to be pretty solid road trippers. I'm not close scheduling a week-long driving vacation like Scott's family used to do, but at least we know that a 4-5 hour drive isn't going to land us all in the looney bin.

Owen was soooo excited for the wedding.  I was excited to take them... matching clothes, cute kids dancing, the awe that comes with seeing the bride and groom, etc.  However, my excitement quickly dissipated the week before the wedding, as I watched the kids eat dinner and thought to myself, "Oh no, we're raising hooligans!" I actually told the boys that we were having a week of "manners and politeness boot camp" to get ready for the wedding.

Jon's family hosted a pre-wedding BBQ on Friday night, and I think almost half the wedding guests were in attendance.  We got to see some old friends while Owen and Josh hunted for stray golf balls off the back deck.  

We took advantage of a mostly free Saturday to swim in the COLD hotel pool and then make the short drive out to Ellensburg to catch up with my grandparents and Ramona. My grandpa is truly amazing - still cutting hay fields with his "tractor buddies" and looking like he's found the fountain of youth. We picked up 25 pounds of peaches at the giant THORP FRUIT freeway stand, along with snacks for a picnic lunch and (thankfully) managed to get the boys to take a solid nap before rallying for the wedding.

Beautiful setting, Beautiful ceremony, Beautiful couple. We are just thrilled for Jon and Julie.  

Owen was in awe during the ceremony and all the people in fancy clothes, which resulted in some pretty good behavior and Josh followed his brother's lead.  We made sure to take a few "running breaks" out on the lawn during the cocktail hour and again during some down time during the reception, but once the music started... the boys pulled out dance moves I have never seen before and didn't stop dancing until we carried them back to the hotel. 

Overall, one of our summer highlights for sure!

Summer In Seattle

After juggling around a host of schedules trying to get everyone down for a visit to PDX around the 4th of July and Owen's birthday, we made a last minute decision to hit the road and go up to Seattle ourselves instead.  What a great decision, as summer arrived in Seattle a few days before we did.

We're blessed to have such wonderful and welcoming family to stay with and to have both families so close that we can see everyone on one visit. We simply relaxed and enjoyed the comforts of our "homes away from home" in both Bellevue and Lake Ki. Our Seattle visit was short on pictures, but high on family, friends, and fun, with beautiful weather at every turn.

The kids found a trove of classic toys at Nana's house.

Josh, of course, took a major digger just before we left and spend our vacation showing off yet another scab on the face. Someday he's going to ask us about all his scars and we'll just have to answer, "I don't know bud. You were two."

We celebrated 4th of July with the amazing view from my parents' house in Bellevue. Jeff and Ethel stopped by to join us for great grilled shrimp and veggies and then the boys were SOOOO excited to set off some of the (thankfully small) fireworks that papa had acquired.

Well, they were excited until the fireworks actually started. Owen stuck around and enjoyed the show, but Josh ended up inside with grandma watching through the window.  Too loud!

It's not 4th of July without Strawberry Shortcake!

Owen stayed up to watch the show. Quite a sight off the deck watching hundreds of private fireworks displays around Puget Sound. The landscape simply shimmers with light as far as you can see.  After all that, the "BIG" show over Lake Union didn't live up to Owen's expectations, but he sure liked staying up late!

We lucked out that our summer visit finally coincided with Colleen's trek through Washington. The last time I saw Colleen, she had 3 boys in Everett. Now, we have seven boys between us with her Luke and Tommy each born just weeks ahead of Owen and Josh.  We had a fun playdate at Somerset Elementary. I'm so glad she's a dedicated blogger, because one visit was simply not enough catch-up time.

Amy and the boys also joined us for an afternoon and dinner up at Lake Ki. As always,  Owen and Sam were bonded from sight and even chauffeured us around the lake in the paddle boat.

Ah, summer in Seattle is short and fleeting, but when it arrives, it's one of the most beautiful places in the world!

At the Beach

Our annual Memorial Day Weekend trip to Manzanita did not disappoint this year.  After several years of squeezing tighter and tighter into the same rental house, we made the big jump to a larger house.  At this point, we are 6 adults and 5 kids and the added space was fantastic for everyone. Separate kids and adult tables at dinner? Check. Bunk room? Check. A well stocked kitchen with the space to store and prep food for our small army? Check. A separated sleeping space for our early risers? Check. Gorgeous views of the beach? Check. and..... a hot tub!

We always wonder how all the kids are going to get along. We only see the Owens Family during this one weekend a year. Nolan is exactly a year older than Owen and they usually take a day or two to feel each other out. Not this year! These two were like long lost BFFs joined at the hip from the moment we walked in the door. They were thrilled to share the bunk room, explored the beach together, snuggled on the same chair during movie nights, and were a united front in every decision. I felt like I hardly saw Owen all weekend. Frankly, it was awesome! (and gave me more confidence in our decision to start Owen in Kindergarten this fall)

Calla's early mornings put her on a bit of an opposite schedule from the other kids who were embracing later nights of vacation, but it was a joy hearing how Calla's speech and expression has progressed since we last saw her at Christmas. We also got some glimpses of the goofy silliness that she usually reserves for home. The weather had promised miserable northwest rain and cold, so we packed for indoor entertainment... games, play dough, movies...

And yet, our wonderful view ended up looking like this most of the weekend... overcast, but DRY and almost warm. Hardly a drop of rain all weekend, and it was warm enough that the boys (big and little) set to work creating a "sunken ship" out of collected driftwood.

Everyone needs a project...

The boys showed their true northwest roots and spent most of the weekend in salty, soggy sweats and raincoats.

The only thing Owen did without Nolan's help all weekend. Pretty impressive without a mirror...

Scott and Tim took the the boys on a "pirate adventure" to hike over the mountain at Hug Point.  I heard great tales of their adventures!

Our one great benefit on the trip this year was how incredibly CLOSE we are now to the coast.  Less than two hours with Memorial Day traffic! Hopefully that means more beach time in our future.

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.

Here we go!

So, what does the Maxwell house look like in the midst of a move? Messy, Busy, Disorganized, and Chaotic? You betcha!  We are finally to the point of being "ready" to move.  Emotionally, I'm still very sad to be leaving, but after a month+ of having our family living in two places and over 4 months of knowing about this move, I'm just ready to get it over with.  Scott has been working in Portland since the start of January.  The kids and I have done remarkably well on our own - not to say that there haven't been some ugly moments when mom's stress level clashes with kids' behavior! - but it hasn't been the daily stress that I expected.  I think we've all found our groove, but we're ready to be back together next week.

This extra time has given us a good opportunity for quality, honest goodbyes with our friends.  We have been so eager to accept any dinner invitation and any group outing over the last few months and it has been great fun to really embrace the great friends we have here.  My girlfriends surprised me TWICE with amazing gifts.  I'm wearing a beautiful necklace and matching earrings that they pooled to buy me along with a framed picture of everyone from our Christmas Party.  And at our soup swap in Early January, I went home with a MASSIVE photo album with hearfelt notes, pictures of each family, and dozens of pages chronically all our adventures over the last 4 years. Such an amazing gift!  After weeks spent wracking my brain to find an appropriate gift in return, I finally decided that heartfelt cards were better than anything else.  It's hard to put into words what these ladies have meant to me (we have walked together through newborn struggles, toddler tantrums, playgroups, field trips, group adventures, ladies nights, bike rides, soup swaps, mom's weekends, family parties, and camping weekends), but I did my best in one very, very late night.

This is the picture from last year's Christmas Party (we've added two babies and two pregnant bellies since then!), but my pic from this year is framed and packed.

We had a wonderful "House Cooling Party" to celebrate our amazing community in Bend.  I had the camera out front and center, intending to take pictures, but when I just couldn't bring myself to use it.  Taking pictures would have felt too final, and everyone keeps reminding us that this is not goodbye, only "see you later." We have amazing friends. Just for my memory, I wanted to list everyone that stopped by.

Shannon, Kaden
Luke, Tara, Ian, Gabriel
Kate, Tyler, Evan
Kevin, Julie, Hazel
Jen, Sean, Max
Shannon, Ben
Rob, Sunny, Ryder
Dave, Michelle, Piper, Calvin, Jet
Dustin, Jen, Brynn, Gavin
Alisha, Neil, Lily, Miles
Leslie
Jessica, Madeline
Brad
Phil, Max
Stephanie, David, Elijah, Caleb
Scott, Kari, CJ
Nick, Diana, Penelope, Winston

Rhonda, Peyton
Dan, Joseph, Luci

We have purged, purged, purged since October, and yet my car is again full with ONE MORE load to take to the thrift store.  The packing boxes are starting to stack up and I have a L-O-N-G list of everything that needs to be accomplished each day. This week, we are finishing packing, enjoying some last dinners with friends and getting ready to send out our "new address" cards (yes, email is probably more efficient, but I need the cards for closure).  Scott's mom is joining us on Thursday to manage the final packing and on Monday, we'll drive over the pass for the official start to our family life in Portland. Here we go!!!!

If It's Not Broken

We are not super creative or crafty around these parts.  When Josh's birthday rolled around, I was quite tempted to roll his celebration in with the group party we do for all of our playgroup friends that have fall birthdays... all 8 of 'em!  In the end, I really wanted Josh to have a party that was for HIS friends.  Granted, his friends are all the younger siblings of our playgroup, but it was fun to plan a party that would be just for

Now, I've done one 2-year old party before, and it was a great success, so rather that break out a new set of tricks, we did a full repeat of this party from July 2009. The kids decorated their own t-shirts, played with every toy in our house, and then stuffed cupcakes with sprinkles.  To customize the party for Josh, we did dog-themed plates and cupcakes, but it was a wonderfully simple party.

 

The most amazing party of the party was how QUIET it felt.  Two years ago, nine 2-year olds felt like total chaos around my house. This year, eight 2-year olds weren't quite sure what to do without their older siblings creating chaos.  They decorated, played, shared, and snacked without any incident and barely any noise.  Without the older siblings running the show, it was serene, almost zen-like... until we broke out the sugar. =)

Josh's Friends: Gavin, Zoe, Pilar, Calvin, Jet, Miles, Ian
Love those cupcake faces!

On a separate note: Why does my 4 year old refuse to take a normal picture? I know this is a standard phase, but it sure would be nice to have a smiling face on record one of these days.

Summer Camping

As the snow is starting to fall and winter is making itself known, I have enjoyed looking back at some of our late summer activities.  Our summer was way too short this year, and by Labor Day, we were really kicking ourselves for not getting out there, exploring, and getting the kids under the trees more in July and August.  Thankfully, our September adventures included some great Friday hikes with our play group to soak in the trees and mountains.

As a family, we rallied for two different camping adventures.  Thanks to great friends that found campsites and allowed us to tag along.  Over Labor Day, Andrew and Sarah introduced us to dispersed camping.  We definitely need our own table to do it ourselves, but they had all the supplies and the perfect campsite at Davis Lake. Will taught Owen all about building fairy houses out of found bark and Josh loved hanging out with his buddy Zoe.  Even Hudson and Sophie managed to co-exist (a miracle for either of those dogs), and Scott and I always enjoy our time with Sarah and Andrew.  For that adventure, Josh didn't even have his own sleeping bag, but he cozied up in a HUGE pile of blankets.  While the cold didn't bother him, he was pretty scared of the corner of the tent in the dark, but a 2AM reshuffling of positions allowed us all to sleep in past 7AM.  Success!

 

Camping adventure #2 was with the Staleys and the Donnelly's out on the McKenzie.  We were the only ones tenting it, and the kids LOVED exploring the camper van and Mini Winnie.  We had the campground almost all to ourselves, which allowed the kids some serious bike time. Josh also got his own sleeping bag, and I found invested in a much plusher sleeping mat, which made for happier campers all around come morning.

All the adults got in some time on the bike too (though admittedly, I spent more time frustrated on the side of the trail than actually pedaling the bike). We finished that trip off with a stop at Belknap Hot Springs, which would have been more fun if Josh was out of diapers, so we ALL could have gone in the pool.  But a fall drive home over McKenzie Pass was also a great way to say good-bye to summer in true Central Oregon style.

I had to steal pictures from Michelle's Blog. What a fun group of kiddos!

 

Halloween 2011

Happy Halloween from our Royal King and Red Devil!

The new blogger interface is driving me crazy, so you'll just have to take my word for it that I wrote a lovely, witty post with captioned pictures do document our Halloween Fun.  It's there, in cyberspace somewhere... but just not here on our blog!


In short, our Halloween Festivities included:
-Two trips to the pumpkin patch - one with preschool and one with our friend group.  With our friends, both my boys managed to get lost at different times. Thankfully, we had enough people with us to track them down.  While 6-8 of us were looking for Josh in the playground and hay maze (where I had just sent him down a slide), Elaine and Elizabeth noticed him wandering through the picnic area and snagged him before he wandered into the parking lot.  Geez! No fear in that kid.


- The kids got their costumes from the costume swap and Owen helped me bedazzle all aspects of his king costume with jewels. Lots of purple and gold to honor our Huskies!

 We spent an afternoon tasting beer and carving pumpkins with the Mowreys at the Wiaters. So fun to have friends with matching age kids... and we have lots of 'em!  These families make a unique match because all three dads are brewing their own beer.  We're certainly not going to be short of excuses to spend weekends in Bend next year!

The Donnelly's hosted us all for Halloween again this year. Food, Friends, Kids, Costumes, and Candy make for an evening of chaos, but it's all worth it to spend time with these dear families.  This year, Scott kept pace with the 4 year old bunch running from house to house.  I hung back with Josh, who was wary of being out in the dark amid the costumes.  He warmed up to trick-or-treating (literally), once we stopped back a the house for a hat and leggings... and one he unwrapped and devoured that first piece of candy.  Definietly added a new word: CANDY! to the vocabulary.  After our warm-up, we caught up with Michelle and Calvin and Jett, who were moving at Josh's pace and much more enthusiastic about knocking on doors.  Pretty much nothing cuter than a trio of two foot tall trick-or-treaters!

Our whole group before they were off to the races:

 

Owen the King and Lily the Princess:

In the Weeds

As I looked ahead at the events on the calendar in September, I put my eye on the Costume Swap as the "just make it to... " marker. Unfortunately, the work crazy of September only got worse in October and it turns out that the Costume Swap was the least of our insanity. On top of my standard workload, my work team picked up two new assignments that need to be done by the end of the year, I found myself on the schedule for THREE professional conferences this month (thankfully 2 in Bend), and I need to squeeze in a 2 day training in Portland. It's all great opportunities, but sometimes even a pile of good can be overwhelming.

Scott's work is no more busy than usual - the standard 50 hour work week, but he's been trying to ramp up his bike training the Big Fat Tour this weekend. His training got temporarily sidelined by a busted elbow that thankfully has healed in time for him to embark on 150 miles of trail over the next 3 days. Throw in one 3am wake up for a fishing trip (no bites) and a few day trips to Portland for work, and we have a few weeks where it looks like we will just be ships passing in the night.

In the midst of all that, we started the month suddenly wrestling with some challenging decisions regarding both our work situations that have major implications for our whole family. While the situations are not totally unexpected, the magnitude seems larger than we had anticipated and it's certainly an unwelcome TIME to be figuring this all out.

We are in the weeds.

I have had more than my standard share of weepy moments these last few weeks. But even in the weeds, life keeps marching. And that means that the rhythms of our weeks bring us back to playgroup, book club, dinners with friends, and laughter over beer. In each of those encounters, I'm reminded how blessed we are to have the people around us providing wise council, encouragement, and simply a listening ear.

My new "just make it to..." date is Halloween. We should have more certainty by then, but for now we wrestle and wonder and hope and pray and try to trust.... and get up tomorrow to do it all over again.

Birthday Reflections

Owen had a somewhat never-ending birthday. We started celebrating with grandma and grandpa down in Sunriver, continued with Owen's "official" party - a BBQ in the park with friends, enjoyed opening presents with Nana and Papa, and ended with a July 5th Fireworks display on the day Owen actually turned 4. Few! After all that celebrating, the presents we had purchased (other than the bike) still hadn't arrived (Mom was a little late on that Amazon.com order). In the end, those gifts ended up stored for Christmas instead... look, I'm early!

With Grandma and Grandpa, I managed to make the ugliest plate of cupcakes possible... from a box mix. I guess there's a reason they call for vegetable oil - butter will not substitute.

Thankfully, Owen didn't seem to mind.
Neither did Josh.
And the presents that arrived from the extended Maxwell family were a hit!

The BBQ party was a wonderful celebration of friends, summer, and the joy of being outdoors. We invited 12 of Owen's friends from school and playgroup. I figured most would be out of town for the long 4th of July weekend. (Note to self: for the 3rd year in a row, that has NOT been the case!) Instead, between friends, parents, and siblings, we ended up with nearly 40 people RSVP'd to the party! Good thing we love our friends AND planned for a BBQ in the park. It was a great evening to be out playing in the grass.
Need a sense of how these kids have grown up? check out the pic from Owen's second birthday party here. Lily is on the right in both pics.
Clearly some sort of important negotiation going on between Owen and Hazel.
Oh, and my cupcakes turned out much better this time. Made from scratch. Chocolate chip cupcakes with strawberry or mini-chip toppings.
As always, we requested no gifts. Instead, many of Owen's friends spent time making this assortment of cards. So sweet!

The final gift - the sandbox from Nana and Papa has been a daily hit in our house!
The final celebration. After all that party, we were sort of at a loss of what to do for Owen's actual birthday day. It was a work/school day, so we needed a quick evening activity. We were thinking of a family trip out for ice cream, but then Scott was able to pick-up some last minute, day after, boy are those cheap, fireworks. Winner! I think that's a new tradition - 'cause we clearly need another way to celebrate this summer birthday!