Sunriver

This past weekend, I had my first solo experience with two kids for a whole weekend while Brian went to Sunriver for a golf tournament with a group of friends. Even though Sunriver really isn't too far away, he still wanted the full experience and stayed overnight both nights. So, we tried to stay busy with Michelle, Emma & Eli as Ryan was also apart of the tournament.
Part of the guys' golf package included tickets to Sunriver's new water park. Since the guys were too busy with golf, we got to take advantage of it! I never realized how much stuff four kids would need at a pool! And how long it would take to get us ready to spend a few hours in the sun. But finally we made it and had a great time. In fact, we had so much fun the first day, we decided to go again the next :)

Ready to go!

Talia finally got to wear her first swimsuit - pretty cute!

The boys came and met us the last day of golf. Brian and Tristan building sand castles next to the kiddie pool while Talia and I tried to stay out of the sun.

The Barbershop

Tristan was way overdue for a haircut and Brian had his mind set on him having his first barbershop experience. We found a cute little place in downtown Bend that had the classic rotating colored sign, along with swivel chairs that had been there for over half a century. In fact, the older gentleman next to Tristan told him that his own dad had sat in that chair when he was a child to get his haircut. I'm not sure of the math on that one, but I'm pretty sure it dates back to 70+ years ago. Talia and I waited outside as it felt like a man's club inside. Great bonding experience for dad and son :)

Grama & Papa visit!

Last weekend we were lucky to have Grama & Papa come to visit our new home for the first time! Of course we tried to pack in as much as possible on their trip. They also brought along Lincoln so that the boys could spend some time together, too :)

Of course the first thing the boys did when they got together was to jump on Papa! Let the weekend begin!

And then they had to test drive Eli's motorized Jeep.

We showed Grama & Papa Tristan's favorite place - the Pirate Park!

The coolest slide I've ever seen. It goes down a mini-hill on the edge of the park, all the way down to river below.

Talia and Grama staying cool in the shade.

Cooling off in the Deschutes

Papa with his boys

Rafting down the Deschutes

While everyone was floating down the river, Talia and I decided to check out the bike speed races in downtown Bend.

Talia was pretty intrigued by the speed racers.

Grama, Papa and their grandkids!

Out & About in Bend

We've been having a great time exploring everything Bend has to offer. Here are some pics of us out and about!

Who says we need a double stroller?? The part of the BOB adapts easily into another seat!

Photo opps with cousins while on a walk in Drake Park along Mirror Pond

We found a mini-summer festival at the cute little market down the street.

LOVE this picture of the cousins!!

Weekend with friends!

We were lucky enough to have some more friends come into town for a visit this past weekend. Well, actually, they were here to do a 10K, but also decided to hang with us, too. It was so great to see them!
The friends who came are teachers from my old school. They are such great people. After having them here, I realized that we didn't hang out with them as much as we should have when we lived in Portland. Kevin (4th grade teacher), wife Emily (school secretary), their daughter Ellie (same age as Tristan), Holly (6th grade) and Spencer (Kindergarten). Kevin and I bonded six years ago when a group of AS teachers traveled to Costa Rica for the craziest, most dangerous trip I've ever been on. (Again, this requires a post all of its own, but here's a sampling: canoeing with alligators, staying in the jungle which required one to wear boots outside so that you did not get bitten by a snake as all of them were extremely poisonous, capturing bats, etc. Every time I relive these moments, I'm so shocked I did them. Team Extreme to the fullest.) And Holly and I go way back as we graduated together in the education program at UP and also, a few years later, got our Master's together. We also traveled with a group of AS teachers to Ireland and Cambridge, England for a teacher conference. (Again, amazing trip which requires its own post, but did not involve anything extreme. Same trip where Brian met up with me and proposed in Italy. Wow, I'm getting off topic.)
Okay, so now that you know the back story on these great people (and probably more than you needed to know), here are some pics of our fun weekend together. We had a BBQ at our house at the end of their race and then ended up having a slumber party with the Baumbachs. Again, such good times :)

Tristan & Ellie watching the iPad. If it was Tristan's choosing, it was probably the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse in Spanish. I don't think he realizes that it also comes in English. Somehow the most viewed are always other languages. Oh, and all of us AS teachers have our principal to thank for buying us iPads. Our kids ended up thinking they were for them instead of for their parents :)

The kids loved our makeshift swing set (which has since been removed, thank goodness!) while the adults enjoyed intense games of cornhole.

Self portrait of Kevin. Now I know why my memory card was completely filled the next day :)

Holly checking out the neighbor's yard.

Spelunking

Yesterday, we went spelunking to a great cave just outside Bend. I remember going to this cave on one of the many, amazing 3-5 day field trips I took in middle school with an outstanding science teacher. (This could be a post all of its own! WAY too many stories about those days and all the places we visited throughout Oregon and SW Washington. Side note: As a teacher, I can't believe he took middle schoolers on three, 3-5 night field trips a year. He was a saint. You had to be, especially with what we put him through!)
The Goodys had never been to this cave, so we decided to make it a family affair. Here are some pics of all of us spelunking:

Tristan, our unofficial cave guide, complete with a headlamp AND flashlight :)

Even Talia got to join in. Wasn't prepared for the level of rockiness on the cave floor. Carrying an extra 15 pounds was a little challenging to navigate :)

The flimsy sign that blocks spelunkers from going further. Wonder how many get dared to crawl through? No gracias.

Love this picture of Aunt Michelle climbing the stairs with Tristan. It was crazy what a contrast the sunless, cold cave was to the outside world. We went from pants, sweatshirts and lanters to flip flops and sunglasses in a matter of seconds!

Soccer Tots

Tristan joined two classes as soon as we moved to Bend. One class was called Diaper Daredevils which consisted of running, doing obstacles and jumping on big trampolines into large foamed pits. Pretty much an early gymnastics class. I SO wish I would have gotten pictures from this four week class, but since I didn't, I had to make up for it at Soccer Tots.
The class met at a local park every Thursday for 10 weeks. It was so cute to watch these little two year olds chase around soccer balls, go through obstacle courses and try and focus as their coaches explained the rules of different games. Brian was usually the one who helped out and ran around since it was required for a parent to be involved, while Talia and I sat along the sidelines cheering them on. Here are some cute pics of our class:

Playing a hula hoop game, which apparently, helps with the soccer skills.

The Parachute - every child's favorite.

Talia watching intently from the BOB.

Coach helping him make a goal

Coming in for a cheer at the end of each practice. SO cute!

3 months old already??

It's hard to believe that our sweet little Talia is 3 months old today. She has already been through some many changes in her life so far! She is really starting to smile and laugh a lot more lately and continues to be such a great baby. How did I luck out again?? Here are some other milesones:
*Loves to look at her brother inquisitively - I think she's looking forward to being his back up dancer soon!
*Loves to smile at those around her
*Really is starting to giggle - so sweet!
*Is starting to sleep more and more through the night. Lately, it's been 8pm-7am with one 4am feeding. But I know these things can change since Tristan also did this at 3 months and then we soon learned that he preferred to also wake up at 11, 1 and again at 5. Hoping we don't go down the same path :)
*She is starting to enjoy her jumparoo - although she hardly touches the ground! It looks so funny to see her try and jump on her tip toes :)
*Is starting to "play" on her activity mat, even though she can barely reach any of the flying objects above her

So sweet! This is usually the look I get whenever I point a camera in her face. Such beautiful eyes! Definitely gets those from her Daddy :)

Trying so hard to get that flying butterfly! Oh, and notice how the activity mat is pink and purple. One of the only things that is girly since most of what she uses is a hand-me-down from big brother - thanks, Grama!

Jumped herself to sleep :)

The Amazing Diaper Duo