BBQ with the Alvarez Fam

This afternoon, we spent some time with our friends, the Alvarez family, out on their farm. They have this great piece of property in Monmouth. They own about thirty acres and have lots of chickens, about a dozen cows and a goat.

The area is so gorgeous and their kids just run free and explore. We always leave a little bit jealous of their lifestyle....lots of work, but also lots of rewards. It's just such a great way to raise kids.

We had a fun time chatting, cooking and waging a major nerf gun war (that would be JJ and Erick-Joseph). Finn never really got a nap, so was pretty fussy, but Harmony loved him so much and I barely had to watch him at all. She's in 6th grade. Give her another two years or so and we unquestionably will have a great baby-sitter on our hands.

I didn't take too many pictures, just a couple of the kids taking Finn around to check out the property close to the house.

Finn was not too sure how he felt about the goat. He would be brave if Harmony or I would hold his hand, but he would not go over on his own.

Erick-Joseph and Harmony pushed Finn all over the farm. Man, those kids are in good shape.

There were so many fun things to see and do, but Finn's favorite thing was this old yellow broom he found leaning against the barn. He dragged that thing all over their property.

Exploring the grass

The boys did a little country-style BBQ chicken. It was fabulous!

Play Date with Milo and Christi

This morning I had a last minute need for someone to watch Finn and luckily Christi was able to pop over while Max and Caden were at school. It worked out perfectly time-wise because I was only gone an hour and it was right after the boys were dropped off and before they needed to be picked up.

Milo is two and a half years older than Finn, but he plays really well with him. Luckily, Finn isn't too possessive about anything at this point, so it works out just fine.

They started out playing for awhile in the house.

Of course, Finn wanted to be held the whole time. (I'm so glad she took this picture so I can remember this stage forever. I see this look about a hundred times a day.)

They went exploring around the neighborhood. Apparently, Finn jogged the entire time. Too cute.

Thanks so much Christi for stepping in at the last minute. I appreciate it so much!

Are you an Oregonian?

If someone in a Home Depot store offers you assistance and they don't work there, you live in Oregon.

If you've worn shorts, sandals and a parka at the same time, you live in Oregon.

If you've had a lengthy telephone conversation with someone who dialed the wrong number, you live in Oregon.

If you measure distance in hours, you live in Oregon.

If you know several people who have hit a deer more than once, you live in Oregon.

If you have switched from 'heat' to 'A/C' and back again in the same day, you live in Oregon.

If you install security lights on your house and garage but leave both doors unlocked, you live in Oregon.

If you design your kid's Halloween costume to fit over a 2 layers of clothes or under a raincoat, you live in Oregon.

If you know all 4 seasons: almost winter, winter, still winter, and road construction, you live in Oregon.

If you feel guilty throwing aluminum cans or paper in the trash, you live in Oregon.

If you know more than 10 ways to order coffee, you live in Oregon.

If you know more people who own boats than air conditioners, you live in Oregon.

If you stand on a deserted corner in the rain waiting for the "Walk" signal, you live in Oregon.

If you consider that if it has no snow or has not recently erupted, it is not a real mountain, you live in Oregon.

If you can taste the difference between Starbucks, Seattle's Best, and Dutch Bros, you live in Oregon.

If you know the difference between Chinook, Coho and Sockeye salmon, you live in Oregon.

If you know how to pronounce Sequim, Puyallup, Clatskanie, Issaquah, Umpqua, Yakima and Willamette, you live in Oregon.

If you consider swimming an indoor sport, you live in Oregon.

If you know that Boring is a city and not just a feeling, you live in Oregon.

If you can tell the difference between Japanese, Chinese and Thai food, you live in Oregon.

If you never go camping without waterproof matches and a poncho, you live in Oregon.

If you have actually used your mountain bike on a mountain, you live in Oregon.

If you think people who use umbrellas are either wimps or tourists, you live in Oregon.

If you buy new sunglasses every year, because you cannot find the old ones after such a long time, you live in Oregon.

Easter Basket

I wasn't going to do an Easter basket for Finn. He is only 13 months old and really has no idea of the concept. However, Finn got a surprise Easter card with some money in it yesterday from JJ's mom, so I decided an Easter basket would be the perfect thing to spend it on.

I quickly learned that Easter goodies are essentially one of two things: candy and stuffed animals. We don't give Finn candy and he really couldn't care less about stuffed animals, so I decided to pretty much ditch the Easter theme and just stuffed the pail (which he'll probably love more than anything inside) with things he'll enjoy.

Finn's Easter basket has: a flap book (his fave), two toy cars, three bath toys and a dozen empty plastic eggs. The eggs are really the only thing Easter-y, but my mom has some out at her house and Finn plays with them constantly.

Even if it's a little non-traditional, I think it turned out pretty cute and I know he'll like everything that's in it and that's what's important.

Happy Passover

This was on Conan tonight:

Tonight, President Obama is celebrating Passover, with a Passover Seder. After hearing this, Sarah Palin said, "Aha! He is a muslim."

Breastfeeding Friendly

A few months ago I suggested to the "Broadway Coffeehouse" folks that they put up the Breastfeeding Friendly symbol. JJ, Finn and I walked there tonight to enjoy some yummy drinks and to my surprise, it was up! I've never seen this posted anywhere in Salem and was so proud to see that I'm helping to remind people to nurse in public because it's normal and not immodest to feed our babies the way nature intended. Good job Broadway Coffeehouse!

Busted!

We have a home theater room in our basement. Finn has a toy chest in there and I often fold laundry while he plays. I almost always close the door when we're in there because the room is right next to the stairs and more often than not, Finn will start climbing up the stairs before I am done.

This morning I was folding cloth diapers while he puttered around. When I finished, I went to open the door and it was stuck. Completely stuck. I tried everything and could not get it to move.

I have a tiny bit of claustrophobia and started to panic pretty quickly. There are no windows in the room and it suddenly began to feel really hot. I sat down on the couch and had to talk myself off a ledge telling myself that Finn had just had a snack and really didn't need to eat for awhile. I had diapers. But no phone, no water, no toilet, no food.....I just freaked out.

I jumped up and literally rammed the door open. I slammed into with my shoulder and it budged a bit so I just kept pushing and pushing until we were free. I then called JJ and was laughing so hysterically that I could barely tell him the story. I'm sure he isn't going to be thrilled when he comes home and sees the damage, but I really couldn't care less.

Whew. That was scary.

After we escaped, Finn thought it was so fun to have a door that's just his size.

Exploring a Field

You've Got to Move It, Move It

I am currently training for two races. Let me tell you, I use the word "races" quite loosely. Yes, I'll be timed and technically competing against other people, but I'm only racing with myself to prove that I can do it.

The first race I'm running is the Starlight Run on June 4. It is a 5K that happens in Downtown Portland, right before the Starlight Parade. I've done many 5Ks in my life, but I've never totally run one before. The closest I've come is running the whole thing, with one about three minute walk in the middle. The Starlight Run is a great motivator because when you register in big letters, it says, "NO STROLLERS, DOGS OR WALKERS." I guess that tells me! I'm sure there won't be a walker police that will pull me from the race if I stop for one minute, but I'm not giving myself that out. I am going to run the whole thing.

I'm doing really well on my training for that and am right on track. I did the "Couch to 5K" plan for the first six weeks, which got me running for two ten minute periods with a two minute walk in between. The next week was supposed to go straight to a 20 minute run, but that felt a little aggressive for me, so I did 15 instead. I just finished three of those and will start 20 minute runs tomorrow. Right now I'm just working on time, getting to the place where I'm doing 30 minutes. Once I get there, I'll start looking at distance, because I really want to finish the run in under 30 minutes and I don't think I'm quite at that pace right now.

The second race I'm doing is a half marathon on July 4. This one I'm doing with my family (well, everyone but my mom who is watching the babies). We've just started training for this. We are just finishing week two. At this point it's pretty easy: two three mile walks and then a longer walk on the weekend. Yesterday it was five miles. Each weekend, we add a mile until we get to the place where we are ready for the 1/2 marathon.

The only thing that is a little bit hard is that I'm training for both of these things at the same time, meaning I'm doing the three long walks and three runs each week. A lot of days they end up overlapping, so I'll walk with Finn in the morning and then run by myself in the afternoon when JJ gets home from work.

It seems to be working pretty well and it's totally helping with my 500 mile challenge. For the challenge, you need to average 10 miles a week to make it by the end of the year and I'm way ahead. I've been doing more like 15-18 recently. I'm such a goal oriented person and I love seeing that number go up each week.

Otter Crest

We are at the coast this weekend with our friends, Julie & Shane LoGreco and their daughter Wren, who is six weeks older than Finn. We are having a great time. We have swam, played on the beach and at the playground and had a wonderful dinner last night at a new restaurant on the Newport water front that we had never tried before.

In a few hours, after naps, we are heading to the aquarium. We took Finn there last August, but he was so little and wasn't too into it. We think that Wren and Finn will be at such a fun age to watch all the fish and sea animals. I'll post pictures of that later.

A Pet Peeve

I hate when words that are supposed to start with a "c" are spelled with a "k." For example, "Kids Korner." Bleh.

A new place just opened up in Keizer called, "Krafter's Alley." Really? WHY???????? Why spell the word incorrectly when it doesn't even match it's partner word. Oh. Man. It. Bugs.

Finn Loves Sushi

(Seriously. I think he ate as much as we did.)