What My Kids Do Most Days and a Trip to an Oregon Football Game

On most days, True loves to explore. He has discovered that he likes to look out the window and watch all the cars and construction and air tram and street car.

Meanwhile, Emmie spends most her days playing with her doll house and kitchen. She is getting really good at "pretending". Here her "family" is having a picnic.

While True explores and explores some more. He loves crawling and already really wants to walk.

And Emmie loves it when daddy will watch tv with her.

This weekend, Emmie had her first slumber party with her little friends Lily and Izzy while Sloan and I took True to Eugene to watch the Oregon- Arizona State football game with the White family. We had such a fun time at the game, and the Ducks won! It was very cold, but True was such a trooper (as always).

Before the game started.

Our friends even game me a purple Oregon hat so I could show my support. Sloan wore his green shirt, and True had on an Oregon fleece suit. The Oregon stadium is ranked one of the top coolest stadiums to attend a game in. And it was a really neat experience. Very clean comfortable, and really loud.

Pictures of True

While we were in Amarillo I went to my favorite photographer...Pam Lary...to get True's picture taken. She photographed our engagement pictures, my bridal portraits, our wedding, and Emmie as a baby. It actually worked out great, because I had Emmie's pictures taken nearly to the exact day when Emmie was seven months old. True was so happy and such a good little guy(unlike Emmie, I think we had to take about 10 breaks with her to nap, eat, or just go drive around to get her to stop crying). Anyways, here they are:
http://www.rushbabies.photoherald.com/index.php/view_event.php

I took a vacation to Texas, and so did my computer...

I took the kids to Dallas for the Texas-OU game, and then to Amarillo for the week, and my computer had to be shipped to the Dell headquarters in Austin to get worked on. But now we are all home!
Flying with two kids by myself is never boring....but once we got to Dallas we met my dad and he took Emmie to see the Broadway play Mary Poppins. Emmie loved it and still can't walking about Mary Poppins flying over the crowd. I took True to North park with me to shopping while they were at the play.
The next morning, we headed to the Red River Shootout. Traffic was terrible, but my dad had the novel idea to find a taxi and follow it and it would know the fast back roads to ignore all the traffic. And he was right, we were there in 5 minutes rather than the two hours we probably would have spent sitting on the highway.
Perhaps the most priceless moment of the morning is while we were at this party we go to every year that the Dallas Chamber of Commerce puts on. Every year all the state legislators go to it, as well as US congressmen and other Texas business people (like Herb Kelleher, for those not from Texas, the founder of Southwest Airlines, who poured me my morning cup of coffee and we had a nice little chat). Anyways, the party was clearing out and the game was about to begin, and Emmie was on her 4th piece of french toast, when she requested another piece. My dad and I, anxious to get to the game, said, "Emmie, lets go, we don't want to be late". That is when we got "the glare", and she replied, "I am EATING my french toast".
It was an exciting game...but luckily ended in a Longhorn win! True was such a trooper at his first football game. He did not cry once.

Emmie really liked Big Tex.

Afterwards, we made a stop at the Magic Time Machine. My personal favorite. My dad kept telling everyone,"You have never seen anyone so excited". Hoping they would respond. "Emmie"?, and he could say, "No, Jennifer". How lucky was Emmie that Snow White was our waitress.

In Amarillo, we got to see Uncle Jave,

And Uncle John.

Bebe took Emmie to get Pumpkins.

We also made a really fun trip to Lubbock for a few days, and Emmie went to see Rebecca's play Fiddler on the Roof at WT no less than 3 times. We had a really good time getting to see family and friends.

So once we got back to Portland, Emmie had a Harvest Day Parade at school. She insisted on being Cinderella. Here is her class going across the stage.

But the banana held up the parade. He couldn't make it down the stairs.

Waving to the crowd.

The whole school.

All the princesses on stage, and Emmie getting to speak in the microphone to tell everyone about her costume.

Class cupcake party afterwards.

On Halloween, we went to the zoo. Here is Cinderella by the Zebra.

I was trying to get our sock monkeys picture by the monkeys, but True was taking a nap.

All the fall colors are so beautiful, we decided to go on a walk on the hill where Sloan works. We had such a great view of our apartment (the tall building on the right) and Mount Hood.

I finally got to wear my Mackenzie Child's hat, scarf, and gloves!

Fall is here.

Emmie made an "Emmie" doll at school and thinks it is the coolest thing in the world. She thinks it is her best friend. Here she is bringing out to me from school. She was so excited.

She was hugging her Emmie doll, she loves it so much!

Last night, the Spurs were playing the Trail Blazers here in Portland. Sloan loves the Spurs so we decided to go. Emmie hardly weighed enough to sit in the seat at the stadium. But she defiantly enjoyed her large orange soda drink.

Tonight, Sloan took Emmie on a "daddy date" to go see Alice in Wonderland at a local high school. Emmie just loves plays so much it is funny. She sits there the whole time and is really serious and claps intensely. I think we might have a future actress on our hands!

Tutu Cute and a Costo Co Run

It is so funny to me how girls automatically like girl things like ballet without any guidance. But all Emmie wants to do these days is ballet. Now, she is a bit confused. She sees me doing yoga at night and is convinced downward dog and triangle pose are ballet moves. But hopefully this spring I can actually put her in a ballet class. True thinks Emmie is like the coolest thing on earth and is probably her #1 fan when it comes to watching her "ballet shows" she puts together each day. She even lines up all her dolls and doll house family in chairs to watch her perform also.

Some days I feel like our house has become a factory. A diaper changing factory, a bottle making factory, etc. And then Sloan has to bring up all the "essentials" ( ok, maybe not all essentials, Sloan did pick up a Glenn Beck's new book) from Costco...I feel even more like our house is an institution.

The Secrets of Jonathan Sperry

It is a rare occasion that we go see a movie. Before we go to see any movie, we look it up on http://www.pluggedinonline.com/. After reading the review of most movies...it kind of spoils it for you since you find out all the trash that is them. Needless to say, there are not many movies in the theater today worth seeing. However, there seems to a market developing with Christian based films. Amazing Grace, Facing the Giants, Fire Proof, The Ultimate Gift, End of the Spear, the Passion of the Christ, etc. And not long ago my mom told me about The Secrets of Jonathan Sperry.
Of course most theaters are not playing this movie. In fact, only 1 in the entire state of Oregon is, and we had to drive 50 minutes to see it! But it was a very touching movie, and I would say worth your time.

Today was a GRRRRRRREAT day!

That is what Emmie said to Sloan yesterday when he came home. And what more could a little girl want. As she told Sloan, "I went to the gym",(which she loves because she can play with other kids), "then I got a pink bagel", actually, it was a Raspberry Bagel from our favorite bagel place here, "then I went to the zoo" (and yesterday was the perfect day because the weather was perfect, and it was the first time we have been when pretty much animal was out and being active where you could see them), "and then we got cupcakes!" Yes, Emmie was right. There is a precious little cupcake bakery downtown that I have been wanting to try out forever. The only problem is downtown parking. But yesterday afternoon, I bit the bullet, and we got cupcakes. The flavors we tried were red velvet, smore's, gingerbread man, and very chocolate!

Emmie and True just love to play together more and more each day. They just can't get enough of each other. Here True and Emmie are playing and he is wearing his sock monkey outfit. I found it at an awesome children's clothing store I discovered last week, Crazy 8. It is owned by Gymboree, but is their discount store (Emmie's jacket came from there as well). The clothes are just as cute as Gymboree, and has great prices!

Emmie also started school this week. She is going on Wed. from 9-12. She is so lonely here, and just thrives on social interaction (I wonder where she gets that from?). So luckily, I found a church pre-school that still had room in October. The night before she started she VOLUNTARILY went to bed at 8:00...that was a first, but she was so excited. As we were getting out of the car she said, "I am sad because I have to leave baby boo-boo". When we walked in the school they had a big poster that said, "Welcome Emmie". She had such a fun time, and can't wait until next week. When I picked her up, the first thing she said was, "What you go do without me?" I was trying to take pictures of her first day, but she was not cooperative 100%, so this is the best I took.

Adventure Pack Weekend

Ok, I know we don't live in Lubbock any more...but this is still awesome. This is our pastor's blog from our old church, Experience Life, and it is so AWESOME to see how God is at work in Lubbock, TX.

http://www.chrisgalanos.com/

Now, the most amazing thing about this church growth is it is not just Christians hopping from one church to another...but nonbelievers coming to church for the first time. How Sloan and I miss E-Life!

So back to our weekend, Sloan's best friend from college Garrett, and his wife Alyssa, came from Austin to Portland to visit us for the weekend. Now, they are very "outdoorsy", but they had just finished a week backpacking in Montana...so they were for a bit more relaxing this weekend than exploring. Yet, we did a bunch. Friday, they took out our bikes and covered all of downtown. Then we headed out to Multnomah Falls(where we take everyone that comes to visit). Saturday, we went to the Columbia River Gorge, Hood River, the Timberline on Mt. Hood, and Mirror Lake. (If you frequently read this blog, you might have heard of all these places. They are just so close and so beautiful, we can't get enough of them).

Playing in the Gorge.

Emmie found a friend to play parachute with. Garrett and Alyssa helped out with their game.
Hiking on Mt. Hood. Sloan just had to take Emmie across the log rather than the trail.

Hiking with a baby is not an easy task!

Then we headed off to Bend, OR. It is south, and Sloan and I had not been there yet. We hiked thought some Lava Caves, and explored the mountain town. Then had a long drive back to Portland.

Sloan gets dad of the year award for carrying both True and Emmie thru the cave. I was too scared to carry either one because I thought I might trip on a rock.

It is so fun to have friends come up and stay. So friends, please come visit!!! I promise an adventure!

Rather than buy a whole new car seat, I just got a blue car seat cover for True to use over Emmie's old pink carseat. But the other day, I was not paying attention and his carseat cover had collapsed all over him! Poor little guy.

The Past Few Weeks...

Sloan's mom and sister came to visit it us last week. We had a lot of fun showing them around Portland and the area.

At the Vista House, a beautiful outook point on the Gorge. I have posted pictures from this place before.

This was a new hike we had never done before. On the Historic Gorge Highway, there are about 6 waterfalls you can hike to.

True is such a tropper. He just lets us take him every where.

At Mirror Lake. It was about a two our hike. Emmie started crying on the way down, so we started asking her questions about princess movies. That kept her occupied the whole way down. If we stopped asking for a second, she would start fussing...so we would have to think of move princess movie trivia.

Emmie loves to play in water and with rocks. Everywhere we seem to go these days, she has to find a "pet rock".

More waterfalls.

Snow White was reading her princess Bible. She loves Jesus and princesses and is just sure she can have both!

Sloan's mom and sister had to leave Thursday, and we had a pretty lazy Saturday watching football.
My birthday was yesterday, and Sloan had gotten me this cute cookie bouquet.

For lunch, we went on a boat cruise on the Willamette. It was very beautiful and we all had a really good time. Emmie made a friend named Ryan. When we were departing the boat he grabbed her hand and said, "I am taking you to Hawaii". Emmie was more than flattered and that is all she has been talking about since.

Then yesterday afternoon, Emmie had a birthday party to go to for her friend Izzy. They chose the most beautiful park(again, you might have already seen pictures on my blog from this park, we go there every once in a while). All the girls had fun rolling down the hill by the river. Why don't we have anything this cool in Amarillo?

Eating cupcakes and opening gifts.

Afterwards, we went to night church, then had a picnic with some of our friends from Sloan's work. When we got home at 9:00 after a non-stop day, Emmie asks. "Now what are we going to do tonight, maybe go shopping?" Sloan simply replied, "Oh no, you are just like your mommy".

Labor Day Weekend in Washington

This weekend Sloan took us on a suprise trip to the Great Wolf Lodge in Grand Mount, WA. It was a super family friendly hotel with a huge waterpark inside of it.

Emmie and True love to play together. One starts laughing, and makes the other one laugh. Then neither one can stop!

Each night there was "story time" for all the kids to wear there pajamas and come listen to a story in the lobby.

The Capitol in Olympia, WA. It was such a beautiful day, we went on a walk around this park.

Sloan taking True down the baby slide at the waterpark.

Emmie loves to swim. But with all the fun kid things to do, the hot tub was still her favorite part.

In the wave pool.

Playing with Sloan.

In the lobby.

Where we at dinner on our way home...overlooking St. Helens.

You can see where there is still just a river of ash from the volcano.

Swinging at one of the camp sites.

Getting closer.

Sloan hiked carrying (and feeding) baby True.

Sloan promised me we would not go past the "blast zone'. But then he just kept driving! Luckily, there was no eruption. We took a little hike on some of the mounds of ash towards the bottom. On the way back, I made him stop for a picture to prove I was in the "blast zone".

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While we were in Amarillo....

Here are some more of our pictures from our Trip back home. Emmie and I made a trip to Lubbock to visit friends and neighbors.

Emmie went over to Sissy's house while I was outside visiting with friends. Sissy's older sister, Jane, came out and said "introducing the princesses". Here they were Sissy(making a very funny face), Emmie, and Faith.

The Phelps were so nice to let us stay with them.
Playing with the big girls.

True stayed back in Amarillo.



Excited Emmie is home.

Emmie loves to cook. Here she made True a cup of tea. She had the pink cup and True had the blue cup.

Wegot to visit all our greatgrandparents.

And see uncle Jave. Notice Emie's fancy shoes.

Waiting at the Amarillo airport to fly back to Portland.

Back Home After a Fun Trip to Texas

I can't seem to find my photo cord...but once I do, I will be back to posting pictures. This past two weeks, I traveled to Texas with Emmie and True. We began our trip with a 5 hour flight(an adventure in itself with a toddler and infant) to Dallas. We got to spend some time with

my Sloan's mom and sister Hayden. Saturday night, they hosted an engagement party for my friend Ashley and it was so much fun.

Here is where the party was.

After that, we headed to Amarillo for the week. Emmie and I also got to go to Lubbock for a few days...which was such a treat. We had so much fun seeing friends and did not want to leave! In the mean time, Sloan went to a conference in Fort Worth. Last Wed, we all got back home. More pictures to come when I find that camera cord!

Happy Kids

I bought Emmie some crafts to do while I arts n crafts myself. Here she is learning to sew a Cinderella princess carriage.

And True can roll over know and loves being on his tummy.

Columbia River Gorge, Green Beans, and Emmie having Fun with True

Visiting he Vista House, a historical sight on the Columbia River Gorge.

The view from the Vista House.

After that, we hiked to several different waterfalls (not an easy task with Emmie and True).

Such a hot day, we decided to walk in the water.

True is a BIG boy and always so hungry. Although, it is a bit early, we decided he was probably ready for solids. So I got him some green beans. It took Emmie several months to "learn" how to eat and swallow her food, but not True! he knew exactly what to do with the food and loved it. After his green beans, he started reaching for the chicken on my plate.

Ok, so we might be terrible parents, but Emmie was entertained. She thought it was so fun to take True "shopping" with her.

So if the shopping cart was not bad enough, then she wanted us to put him in her baby stroller. Have you ever seen such a took of terror?

Another Weekend in Hood River

My parents ended up flying down on Thursday to join Rebecca and John (I think my dad thought he was missing out on all the fun). We ended up going back to Hood River and staying at the same fun resort Sloan, Emmie, True, and I had stayed at two weekends before.

My favorite part of the resort is there is always complimentary coffee, hot chocolate, and cider sitting out!!! here we are playing outside.

Emmie fell asleep in her bike chariot. Comfortable!

What would a trip to Multnomah Falls be without ice cream.

Sloan and John reaching Mirror Lake on their hike.

A Visit from Rebecca and John

Rebecca and John came to visit this past Sunday. We have done a bunch of exploring and still have the weekend ahead of us. But here are a few of the things we have done so far.

On the River.

Rebecca and Emmie ran around playing in the water at a park.Emmie loves gelato.

Downtown (excuse me, City Center) getting gelato.

Eating lunch at the farmers market at OHSU (the hospital Sloan works at). There was a band and a bunch of good food.

At the Boeing Museum in Seattle. We drove there for fun on Wed.

Being silly with uncle John.

Oh my goodness, I think True is way to cute. I am in love!!!

At the Seatttle Aquarium.

On a boat tour cruise outside Seattle.

At the top of the Space Needle in Seattle.