Our Amazing 48 Hour Getaway!!!

On Sunday, July 6th, we celebrated our 6th anniversary and we spent the whole day cleaning out the office so we could turn it into a mini-playroom. What fun! But don't feel too bad for us because we had our first 2 night getaway planned for the following weekend. I have wanted to check out the Stephanie Inn in Cannon Beach since we were planning our 1st anniversary. Five years later everything finally fell into place and before we knew it, we were on the road eagerly awaiting our full 48 hours of peace and quiet! We had heard amazing things about the Inn and we were not disappointed. This was absolutely the best place we've stayed since our honeymoon in Jamaica 6 years ago. We enjoyed it so much that we are already trying to figure out when we can go back!

We arrived at the Stephanie Inn at 4:30 pm on Friday and after being shown around, we headed downstairs to the library for the wine reception. Each day they feature different Oregon wines and we enjoyed them all...even the Pinot Noirs which we are not usually a fan of. Our first night we had dinner in the Stephanie Inn dining room and then headed upstairs to our room to watch the sunset. We rented 4 movies and watched part of one before falling asleep. The next morning it was so nice to wake up and do some more relaxing! No diapers to change, no kids to feed...I didn't even have to make my own coffee! Not only does the Stephanie Inn provide a free buffet breakfast every morning, but they have hot coffee and cookies available in the lobby 24 hours a day. YUM! After some more relaxing, we headed into the north part of Cannon Beach for lunch at the Gower St. Bistro. We browsed some shops trying to find some fun things for the kids but we didn't have much luck. We ended up going back to the room and hanging out on our deck...it was so warm and beautiful! After the wine reception we hopped in the Stephanie Inn van and headed to the Wayfarer for dinner. Did I mention that the Stephanie Inn will take you anywhere in Cannon Beach that you want to go? They'll also pick you up whenever you are ready to head back! After dinner we took our bottle of wine back to our room to watch the sunset and to watch another movie. It is so nice to be able to watch an entire movie in one sitting, without any interruptions! I'm sure the whole experience sounds pretty boring to those of you without kids, but it really was absolutely amazing to be able to lay around and relax with Chris. It was also nice to be able to carry on an adult conversation without being interrupted by screaming kids! I can't wait for our next mini-vacation...hopefully we won't have to wait too long. ;)

Thank you Mom & Dad for watching the kids so we could have some time for ourselves...you have no idea how much I needed this!!! For the first time, I was able to put the kids out of my head (mostly) and just relax and enjoy the time away. I was actually feeling pretty guilty that I wasn't looking forward to coming home, but I surprised myself by getting a little teary eyed when we walked in the door and Brayden started doing his "happy dance" when he saw us (Sienna was taking a nap)! I guess I missed the kids a lot more than I realized.

Stephanie Inn
We couldn't have asked for better weather during our stay. It was in the low 70's and completely sunny...with the occasional gust of wind! The wind really wasn't that bad...it came and went and sometimes we started getting so warm sitting in the sun that we were wondering when the wind was going to start up again! The view of the Stephanie Inn from the ocean...
We had a beautiful room on the 3rd floor with an amazing view of the ocean. It had vaulted ceilings, a jacuzzi, sitting room, a flat screen tv, etc.
In addition to our room, our other favorite spot to relax was the library. We sat in the library every morning after breakfast and drank coffee (cider for Chris) and read the newspaper. At 4pm every day we headed back to the library for the wine reception.

Not only did our room have a great view of the ocean and Haystack Rock, but it had an amazing balcony! If we weren't inside watching movies, we were sitting on the balcony catching some rays. It was so sunny that we both got sunburned!


The only part that I didn't enjoy were all of the seagulls that kept flying over us (& landing on our deck) waiting for some handouts. I can't imagine why anyone would feed them, but someone obviously does or they wouldn't try to get so up close and personal!

Here are just a few of the amazing pictures that we took from our balcony:


We didn't see one single cloud until the day we left! Just a few clouds started rolling in but most of them were gone by the time we checked out at 11am. We were so lucky to experience the best weather that the Oregon Coast has to offer! I don't know that we'll ever be able to top this visit to the coast!

A Day Out With Thomas!

Thomas the Tank Engine traveled all the way from the Island of Sodor to Hood River and we were lucky enough to catch a short train ride! We also had fun playing with stamps, getting tattoos, bouncing, looking at baby animals and meeting Sir Topham Hatt, Chairman of the Railway on the Island of Sodor! Oh, and I shouldn't forget to mention the highlight of the trip...the rootbeer float that both kids couldn't get enough of! Grandma & Grandpa Boley joined us for the fun!
Brayden rode on his very 1st school bus! The school buses transported us from the expo center parking lot to the train station.

As soon as we arrived, we went straight for the temporary tattoos. Doesn't Brayden look like he's having fun??? Ha!
Brayden had fun trying to make big bubbles. It was so windy out that you only had to hold it up in the right direction to get a ton of bubbles.
Unfortunately, he just couldn't get the bubble wand to line up with the wind!

Next he tried the smaller bubble maker but he still couldn't find the right angle.
Brayden played with the stamps and glitter, which he ended up pouring all over the table! Whoops!
We saw two cute fawns and 4 bunny rabbits! Our friends saw a cool turtle when they visited Thomas last weekend, but we weren't so lucky. :(Finally it was time to ride on Thomas!!!
Sienna started the train ride out with Grandma & Grandpa Boley...

While Brayden sat on my lap.
Sienna quickly grew tired of sitting still and before we even departed, she became a squirmy worm!!!
Once the train started moving, Sienna calmed down for a few minutes and enjoyed the view from the train.
She even pointed out some of her favorite things to see.

A few minutes later Sienna was back to being a squirmy worm so Grandma Boley and I took the kids into the very first car where you could stand and walk around (while trying not to fall down!).
Brayden also enjoyed the view from the train.
Towards the end of the trip, Grandma Boley found the perfect spot to keep Sienna happy!
Right before we headed home, Brayden met Sir Topham Hatt! We bought Brayden a cool keychain (with a flashlight) with this picture so he can remember all of the fun he had with Thomas & his friends!

The Yogurt Incident, Brayden's Nose, & The Zoo (again!)

The Yogurt Incident
You might assume that sweet little Sienna was the one to splatter yogurt all over the table (& floor) since Brayden is 2 1/2 years old and should know better. But, you would be wrong! One minute Brayden's eating yogurt and the next minute he's flinging it everywhere with his spoon. Lucky for me I was putting laundry away when the "yogurt incident" occurred, so I wasn't the one who had to clean it up! Brayden's Nose - 48 hours after the accident
The bruise is a little darker today and his nose is still very swollen. :(The Zoo - Our 3rd trip in 8 days!!!
We sure are getting our money's worth out of our new Zoo membership. Today Chris had the day off so we decided to take him to the Zoo. Brayden was really excited to go back to see the animals...as well as the pictures and telescopes. This time I pushed Sienna in the umbrella stroller while Chris chased after Brayden. I was actually able to enjoy the zoo and since I wasn't busy chasing after Brayden, I was able to take quite a few pictures!

Chris & Brayden getting ready to head into the zoo! When we went to the zoo yesterday, Brayden was very excited to read the map. In fact, when Chris put Brayden to bed last night, all Brayden wanted to do was read the map and figure out which animals he wanted to see today! Today we picked up a new map and right away, Brayden wanted to figure out exactly where we were going to go first. The first animal Brayden wanted to see were the zebras. Along the way we were able to see quite a few things that we hadn't seen before...the first being a sea lion! WOW...he was absolutely gigantic! The best part about the zoo is that it is so big, you can see different animals each time you visit.
You would think that Brayden's favorite part of the zoo would be seeing all of the cool animals. That's just not the case...his favorite parts are the books with pictures and the telescopes (you'll see a picture of one of those later). Don't get me wrong, I'm very happy that he has always loved books and pictures. It just becomes a little annoying (& embarrassing) when you have to drag him away from a book, kicking and screaming, in order to see the next animal exhibit! Here he is having fun with the book about bats...
And then came the book about birds! This was also our first time in the tropical rainforest. We were able to see a crocodile...
And a nile monitor! I'm pretty sure there were several other animals in there but it was so hot and humid in the room that the camera lens started fogging up! So Sienna and I hightailed it out of there, leaving the boys behind. Next we got to see the meerkats. It was actually kind of cool because Brayden just happened to be wearing his meerkat shirt today!
If Brayden had to pick out his favorite animals at the zoo, it would definitely be the giraffe and the zebras. Yesterday it was 11:45am when I told Brayden that we had to leave and he threw a temper tantrum until I agreed that we could see the zebras and the giraffe on the way out. Of course today he threw a temper tantrum that he didn't get to see the swimming turtles! I guess you just can't win with a 2 1/2 year old.
As I mentioned earlier, telescopes are one of Brayden's favorite things to play with at the zoo. We've never put money in so I'm not really sure what he is looking at, but it's another one of those things that require us to pick him up, kicking and screaming, in order to move along.
Yet another stop to look at that map!
Finally we got to the zebras! It really is amazing how much there is to see at the zoo! Our next stop was to see the elephants!
On our way out, the kids stopped for a picture with daddy.
To keep Brayden from throwing another fit, we agreed to let him see one more animal...the VERY SMELLY penguins! Sheesh, I could hardly breathe in that room.
Our plan was to leave after the penguins but Brayden was having none of it. So, we ended up at the polar bears where he found yet another book type thing to play with. And that concludes our 3rd and final trip...at least for a couple of weeks! But, I promise I won't post any more zoo pictures! ha!

Our 2nd Trip to the Zoo!

This morning we met 2 friends from my MOMS group at the zoo. This time I decided to put Sienna in the Ergo backpack and she actually stayed in there for 3 hours! She started to get a little upset during our trek back to the car, but other than that, she did great! I, however, was a bit tired from trying to keep track of Brayden while lugging around an extra 22 pounds! Once again I didn't take many pictures, but I thought I'd share the few that I did mange to take. I've also included a new close up picture of Brayden's nose (see previous blog post for story). It is a bit more black and blue today and it still looks a bit crooked, but hopefully when the swelling goes down it will look better.

Brayden's Nose - 25 hours after the accident
The Zoo
Zachary and Brayden riding "horses" at the petting farm.
Zachary and Brayden posing for a picture in the bird's nest.
Zachary driving the tractor while Brayden holds on for dear life! :)

Brayden's Poor Nose!

Today after Gymboree we went to a friends house to play for a bit. Brayden was riding on their Bounce & Spin Zebra and somehow managed to fall off and smack his nose! The poor guy didn't cry for long but he did have a small bloody nose. About 15 minutes later I noticed that the right side of his nose was swollen and there was a large bruise forming over the bridge of his nose. I called the doctor when we got home to see if he could have broken it. If his nose still looks funny in 5-7 days, they can do an x-ray to see what kind of damage there is. YIKES! Luckily it doesn't seem to be bothering him much...he took a great nap and then ran around the house the rest of the night tormenting Sienna just like he normally does. Don't forget that you can click on each picture to enlarge it for a better view of his nose.

A fun trip to the water park!

I am so excited about all of the warm weather we've had...we've had non-stop fun for the last week and a half! Yesterday the kids and I went to a water park in West Linn with Grandma Boley, Aunt Kari, and cousins Brian and Jack. We had lots of fun playing in the ice cold water (brrrr!) and on the playgrounds, followed by a picnic lunch. Unfortunately my camera battery died not too long after we arrived so I didn't get too many pictures.

It really is amazing how long it takes to get little ones ready for a short trip to the water park. Between lunches, sunscreen, swimming suits, swim diapers, regular diapers, dry clothes, sippy cups, towels, floatation devices, etc, it took me all morning to get everything packed and organized. I packed so much stuff that I could barely carry it all! Once we arrived at the park, we had to unload the car, blow up all of the floatation devices (well, I didn't...I can barely blow up a balloon!) and put on sunscreen. It seriously is quite a production to get prepared for a couple of hours in the water!
I didn't expect the water to be warm, but I really didn't expect it to be quite so cold. It seriously felt like I was walking in ice water. Grandma & Brayden didn't seem to mind the frozen water too much, but poor Sienna wasn't too excited about freezing her feet off. Notice her leg trying to get back up onto the sidewalk!
A few minutes later Sienna had some fun splashing in the water with Grandma! Sienna didn't spend too much time in the water but she did have fun walking around the perimeter of the pool.
Grandma and Brayden had a lot of fun walking around in the cold water while I hung out with Sienna in the nice warm sun!

Grandma brought a beach ball that Brayden had fun throwing around in the water!
Brian and Jack hanging out on their rafts...they didn't seem to mind the cold water, either! Apparently kids (& Grandma's) are much tougher than I am! Although, I don't remember Kari going into the water, either!

I thought this was such a nice water park because unlike the water park in Wilsonville that we went to last year, this one has no scary concrete blocks to climb up and jump off of (or fall off of). And, the playground is much nicer. However, the water was a little deeper than I would have liked for Brayden. At one point when I was walking around with him in the water (towards the center of the pool where the water is deeper) he fell face first into the water! The scariest part was that he didn't even try to get his head out of the water...I had to pull him up by his life jacket! Luckily he must not have swallowed or breathed any water because he didn't even cough once he was above water...he only cried. Shortly after that incident, Brayden stuck mostly to the playground. Apparently I need to get him into some swim lessons!