October 2013 {Talmage's First Birthday and the Oregon Coast}

So it appears I fell off the band wagon with blogging. Actually I made a conscious decision not to blog because we had a really busy fall and I had to make school a priority. In July I decided to go back to school for my Master's of Science in Nursing Education. My current position at my job now requires all new hires to have their Master's degrees and I had been trying to figure out when it was going to fit into my life. I finally took the leap when I realized it was never going to be completely convenient. Once October hit, we have been in a constant state of go-go-go and I decided I needed to concentrate my downtime to school. But I want to make sure that I finish my 2013 goal of keeping a record of our family fun and happenings so I need to wrap up a few really important events that concluded 2013. First up:

Twelve Months Old v.s. One Year Old 
{either way he is still my baby}

My baby turned 1 years old. But let's be honest, I didn't really say he is one when people would ask his age. I would refer to him as 12 months old and now I still say 15 month because it makes him sound more like a baby and I don't want him to grow up too fast.

A few days before his actual birthday, we had a little Party to celebrate him. My husband loves Shark Week on the Discovery Channel and he subjects me to the terrifying documentaries all week each year. We thought a shark party would be fun first birthday theme.

We made some fun homemade invitations that we sent out to our family.

We had fun decorating! I especially loved the sign that had teeth bite marks in it.

We dressed Talmage in a Shark shirt and made Tyson join in on the festivies too!

He wasn't sure what all the fuss over him was about but he enjoyed the attention, gifts and his first time with cake.

He was a little timid at first but then devoured his cake. He couldn't believe I would let him get messy and have free go at treats. Tyson made homemade blue lemon ice cream that was extra delicious. The kids took turns wanting to feed the birthday boy.

We are always appreciative of the family that comes to support and we are glad they are good sports and willing to have fun!

We love our shark bait!

Some things he was doing at 12 months.
-getting better at eating food but still a little gaggy
-stands against furniture and getting close to pulling himself up
-Says "Ought Oh" and points to things that he wants
-loves his dad and shakes his head "yes" when you ask "do you want to take a bathie?"
-crawling everywhere but loves to crawl on his forearms and knees (looks like he's on a treadmill going nowhere on a slippery wood floor
-loves fudgesicles, green beans, any and all fruit, bread, cucumbers and pretty much whatever is put in front of him.
-like to try and play catch with his sisters. loves balls and chasing them.

Road Trip to Oregon
for Tyler and Whitney's Wedding

We decided to have some fun, support some family and check one place off our bucket list and travel to Oregon for my nephew's wedding. It was a quicker trip than we wanted but we maximized our time and did just about everything we wanted to do. The kids were fantastic on the drive there. They watched movies and snacked without complaint.

We drove a little longer and further than we had originally decided we were going to do so it was great that they slept until we rolled into a Best Western Inn Plus in Hood River. It was actually really nice and the kids were great to unload and go right back to sleep. We all slept in a little the next morning before enjoying a wonderful restaurant style complementary breakfast. When we pulled in, it was dark so we couldn't see anything, but in the morning we woke up to this view. It was spectacular!

We enjoyed breakfast and then set off to enjoy a day of site seeing.
We drove through Portland and then straight through to the coast. We drove through a portion of the Tillamook Forest on our way to the Tillamook Cheese Factory. We have beautiful mountains in Utah but these were just different.
So Beautiful!

At the Cheese factory we did some sampling and got a little tour. Our kids love cheese so they were in heaven.

These girls are full of good poses!

Then we headed up the coast. We stopped at Rockaway Beach which was beautiful! The Oregon Ocean Coast is beautiful. With the white caps, water, blue skies and clouds it is hard to tell where the ocean ends and the sky begins. So different than the Hawaiian Beaches but just as beautiful.

We love the majestic rocks formations just off the beach.
It rained off and on as we traveled up the coast which brought some unexpected but beautiful surprises.

When we finally hit Canon Beach (one of stops Tyson requested because he had to see the Goonies rock) it was pouring rain.  I didn't want to get everyone soaked so we drove around for a bit and then I finally told Tyson to park and to go look and get his pictures by himself. Tyson ran to get some pictures and as he came back I just said a little out loud prayer "Please Heavenly Father we just need 10 minutes of no rain". Just like that, it stopped raining and literally the clouds parted and the sky and sun peaked through and it was like the heaven's opened. We all got out of the car and got to enjoy some beach time.
I loved this beach and could have stayed there the rest of the day.

 The Goonies Rock!

The girls wanted to dip their toes so daddy went with them. He confirmed it was cold but Ava (as usual) didn't seem to mind (I wonder if she has circulation problems). We had to do a outfit change back at the care since they got wet but I am so glad they got to have fun and play in the first ocean they have ever seen. They were wide eyed and ecstatic the whole time.
Claire found a furry friend at the beach and Tyson found one by the road.

 Anyone who knows Tyson know that he loves big foot (aka sasquatch, yeti or abominable snowman). He was serious about doing some squatching while we were in Oregon. He even wore his favorite shirt with big foot riding a unicorn (don't ask me).
We headed up to Astoria to get some dinner and to make our final stop to see the Goonies' House. It was the best fish and chips I have had and Astoria is a beautiful little town. Apparently the same man owns the house that owned it when they filmed Goonies and he is fine with visitors to his property. Tyson was in heaven as he is a big kid at heart!

 I wish we could have spent more time in Astoria but we had to head out since we were meeting my brother and his boys in Foxgrove at the hotel. We mapped it out on my iPhone GPS and picked the shortest of 3 routes, not realizing that the road we picked took us through a nature/wilderness preserve. Within 15 minutes it was pitch dark, with heavy fog rolling in and we were on a tiny little two lane road just like in a scene from Sleepy Hallow where the fog and foliage is so thick you can't see the sky or even 2 feet in front of you. We got passed by a truck in the first 5 minutes and then didn't see anybody else the entire time. There weren't houses or anything that we could see and my GPS didn't work since there wasn't internet service. The fog and extreme dark made it so we had to drive so slow and I almost had my first legitimate panic attack. All sorts of scenarios played through my head like scenes from a bad hitchhiker psycho movie where we break down and Tyson walks for help and he disappears and we never see him again. I was worried that we would be lost and stranded and worse yet discover big food but not live to tell about it. We almost hit 3 different groups of elk and deer trying to cross the road but luckily didn't encounter any bears or Sasquatches. My phone GPS started working just as we missed our turn off  (thanks be to Heavenly Father) so we were able to turn around and go the right way. I have never been so happy to see civilization again. Luckily our children slept through it and no one was panicked by me. Lessons learned: always take a physical paper map, always plan to be back to familiar ground before dark, the shortest path is not always the quickest, go the most populated route, and Oregon is foggy so don't get lost!

The next day was Tyler's wedding so we spent the morning with my brother and his family and then began prepping the girls for the roles as flower girls and ring bearers.
There were so excited and they did an excellent job. My nephew Parker actually got his certificate to perform ceremonies and married Tyler and Whitney. It was beautiful and the scenery was gorgeous.
It was a day full of love, celebration and beauty!

 

The next day we went to Portland to do a little sight seeing. We made sure to visit the Portland Zoo and Voodoo Donuts. The Portland Zoo had some many more animals than our local zoo and we got to feed some monarch butterflies.

 This picture of a hippo brings back so many memories of my mom. Any family member reading this might remember the story. Maybe one day I will write it down. Needless to say I messaged this picture to my nephews while we were at the zoo.

Can you tell the kids were getting worn out?

It was a quick trip and we only stayed through a long weekend. Before our long drive home, we visited a vineyard with my brother and his family. It was beautiful and the sky was so clear you could seen Mt Hood.

 As we drove home we passed some tree farms. There lines of trees were amazing!
We drove straight through and it was crazy. By the time we realized we needed to stop, we had no choice but to keep going because there was no where to stop. We had to pull over a few times and do jumping jacks in the cold air. It was crazy and we learned yet another lesson on this trip: better planning.

Luckily our kids slept the whole way home and even a little after we got home. At one point Claire put her blanket over her head to decrease the light coming in. It was funny.

We made it home safe and sound and loved every moment of our whirl wind trip. We definitely needed some rest when we got home so we were glad to have most of the day Sunday to do it.