Backyard Ice Skating

We (mostly Mu) built a little ice skating surface in our backyard. Making the most of the cold weather for sure. Its pretty small for our first try, but we have grand plans for next year. The girls are loving skating every day and my little girl dream finally came true!

Ariana Ice skating from Natalie on Vimeo.

Natalie Backyard skating from Natalie on Vimeo.

Holiday Happenings

We are in full blown Christmas season here with lots of fun activities and lots of snow too! The girls are loving the advent calendar, re-decorating the tree daily, baking, putting together gifts for their teachers and classmates and waiting for Santa! Pictures below are of their school Christmas program, a fun holiday party at their dentist's office, playing in the first snow, making gingerbread cookies and a fun horse drawn wagon ride. 

Ariana at 2.5

This spitfire is two and a half years old! Still so much the baby of our family, but people often comment that she seems older. I think she is permanently trying to convince everyone she is older so she doesn't miss out on anything her big sisters are doing. Tall and skinny with long hair and no "baby fat" either. She likes to fake cry and tell me, "You not a baby. I a baby!" I still need to work on potty-training with her. I keep procrastinating on that one.

We are back in a good routine with the new school year well under way. Ariana was in heaven with her big sisters out of school all summer. Now we are back to being a duo during the week and I love my time with her so much. She spends one day a week at her Bebe Jan's (grandma) house, one day a week at a babysitter friend's house and the other three days with me. We usually go to the gym in the mornings so she plays in the Kid's Club with her little friends while I workout. Then we run errands or play at home followed by lunch and nap time. Then its off to pick up the big girls. Ariana runs and gives them hugs when they walk out of school yelling, "My sisters!!"

She is always happy, silly and ready to laugh. Such a joy, our little caboose. Whenever her Daddy gets home from work she immediately orders him to go downstairs to the playroom to play. She loves to play with Barbies, Magnatiles, baby dolls and the little hard animals.

This is definitely the age of picky eaters and Ariana is no exception. Last week we had a showdown because she didn't eat any dinner and is getting into the habit of asking for a snack before bedtime. I don't mind giving my kids a healthy snack if they are still hungry, but didn't want her to think she can skip dinner and hold out for a snack. So I saved her dinner plate and when her big sisters were having a treat, she didn't get any until she ate some of her dinner. Oh, the crocodile tears and defiance came out in full force. She spent a solid two hours whining and crying for snacks. At one point, she got her arm stuck in the cabinet with the child lock on it trying to sneak a graham cracker. She is really stubborn, so I was expected to put her to bed hungry and mad. Surprisingly, right at bedtime after I caved and let her have some milk, she ran into the kitchen and gobbled up all the food on her dinner plate. On her own terms, apparently. Her favorite foods are milk, ham, goldfish crackers, plain Greek yogurt, strawberries, eggs and peanut butter.

We are all getting a huge kick out of our fun, smart little two and a half year old. She still argues that, "I eight!" if you ask her how old she is. Lexi and Zara think she is hilarious and "so cute." Now Ariana says, "its soooo cute" about everything. She loves anything pink and will only wear her pink "fancy shoes." She likes to get herself dressed and follows directions and says please and thank you better than anyone else in our house. Seriously. If I forget to do something I said, she reminds me. If someone leaves the door open, she shuts it. Love her so much I can hardly stand it.

First Grade!

Last night it hit me that first grade is kind of big time now. Kindergarten was full-day at the same school, but they still get the hand-holding. We went to the BBQ at the school last night to meet the teachers and drop off supplies. The reality of the twins being in different classes for the first time ever started sinking in. I know it will be great for them to have their own little world in their classrooms independent of each other, but it still makes me sad. The girls have been waiting for school to start again and were very excited this morning to go to school. Another hour to go and I get to go pick them up and hear all about the first day! 

Oregon Road Trip (Part 2)

This is the second part of our road trip posts so starting out with Day 3.

Day 3: We had the day to explore the beach and Florence area. When we lived in Portland, we frequented the northern part of the Oregon coast countless times, but had never ventured south of Newport before this trip. Florence is known for its miles of expansive sand dunes that cover its coastline. We signed up for an hour tour of the sand dunes in a giant sand buggy so we did that in the morning. It was very windy and the kids started complaining towards the end, but us adults thought it was amazing and so glad we did it.

Later we had another picnic lunch (this time inside our van because it was SO windy outside) and braved the beach to play. The wind made it feel cold and the sand was blowing sideways, but the kids didn't seem to care much.

For dinner we walked around the cute little downtown Florence area and ate dinner at Mo's. Its not the greatest food, but we seem to always end up there with the kids. We tried to avoid the fried food overload and enjoyed the clam chowder instead. 

Day 4: We woke up and packed up to head north to Newport and Lincoln City. On the way, we stopped at the Heceta Head Lighthouse and did the 1 mile hike from the beach to the lighthouse. The first picture is the lighthouse keeper's house where they lived when not on duty. It was really fascinating and picturesque. 

In Newport we spent time at the Oregon Coast Aquarium. Its not a huge place, but we enjoyed it. Our kids are pretty thrilled with anything animal related. We loved seeing the sea otter feeding and the underwater walkways with all the sharks. 

After the aquarium, we headed down to the old Newport and watched the sea lions on the docks, grabbed some candy at the old-fashioned candy shop and then drove north to Lincoln City to check into our beach house. 

In Lincoln City we met up with friends for the weekend and all stayed together in a beach house in the Olivia Beach neighborhood. It was a great end to our trip with lots of relaxing, soaking in the hot tub and playing on the beach. The last night we had a bonfire on the beach and made smores. 

Then it was time to head home. We stopped in Portland on the way for some shopping and dinner with friends. It was a great trip and the kids really surprised us with how well they handled all the car travel, sleeping in different places and changes of scenery. Now we are starting to dream about our next road trip!