We had a lovely mother’s day this year. Adam pointed out it was very nice he got to go for a run even though it was mother’s day. It made me realize how much easier it is to be home with the kids than it was 3+ years ago. They are just much more independent and easy going.
I asked for and received new clippers for the garden. Soren was more excited about them than I was. He loves using clippers to trim the grass and dead parts of plants. And he has only sliced his finger once!
Sloane made me a card at school. It was very sweet, but has made me rethink my eating habits. Though Adam pointed out she did say sometimes.
May 2022, Happy Mother’s Day! I love you because sometimes your breath smells like chocolate. Love your daughter Sloane
We went for a walk at a wildlife refuge that just reopened. Sloane brought along a sketch book to draw animals we saw and added smiles onto all the drawings of birds. We saw killdeer, egrets, ducks, and geese!
Mostly, I am happy because my kids think I am a great mom even though I have my short comings.
We woke up on 4/11 to about 3 inches of snow! The kids were vibrating with excitement. We gave them a piece of toast and threw on our snow stuff. We were outside by 7:45, though G and Pa decided to enjoy the snow out the window instead of actually outside.
We had to bash the snow off our plum trees and even with that, we still lost a few branches. Our tulips held up though with nice snow hats. Adam pulled the kids down to the park in the sled. We were the first ones there- pushing the snow off the slide, making a path, and sledding. We ended up with over 5 inches and it was wet! The entire time we were out we would hear ‘creek’ and ‘crack’ as big branches fell all around the neighborhood. It was sad to see many trees in the neighborhood destroyed due to the spring snow storm.
I ended up with a snow day and stayed home with the kids and my parents. It was a nice bonus- an extra day of spring break and spending the last day my parents were here together. The snow melted enough that we could go for a walk (my parents hadn’t packed gear for walking in the snow). Sloane and Soren only splashed them a few times while stomping on the slush piles. Soren managed to get the bottoms of his rain paints FILLED with snow. I had to turn the cuffs out a couple times because they got so heavy he struggled to walk. They built snow people in the backyard. The carrot noses kept getting shorted because they doubled as a snack.
At the end of spring break, we went to Rockaway Beach for three nights. We hustled to get there on Thursday because it was warm and sunny. The kids ended up running in the waves and digging in the sand for a few hours. We weren’t quite prepared and didn’t have sunscreen or swim wear. But we did get to have ice cream thanks to G and Pa. That night we had the quote of the trip- Pa got clams with is dinner. Soren asked to try one, then another, and more still. They did a trade- a clam for a few french fries. Pa wasn’t listening to Soren at one point when he asked for another. Soren finally asked in exacerbation “Can any one give me a clam?” And Pa was the only one with clams.
The next few days had a dreary forecast but we managed to catch dry chunks. On Friday, we went to Kelly’s Marina and rented crab pots to crab off the dock. It was so much fun- friendly marina cats, carnival cutouts, and a couple firepits. Adam was a champion pullers with the kids lending a hand getting the slack out. We caught 2 keepers! We also got some more clams and a couple dozen oysters. They boiled our crabs and when they cleaned them, they offered us the crab hearts to try. Sloane loved it! And Adam watched the technique for future crabs.
We had some pretty walks on the beach and a nice trail to a huge trees. We played some Yahtzee and only set off the smoke detector once trying to build a fire. Rockaway Beach was a funky little town- some old style gift shops on the main drag along with a crystal shop with a bubble blowing machine on the sidewalk. We also had fun relaxing at the house.
On the drive home, we saw some snow on the shoulder on the coastal mountain pass. I joked to my parents that we had showed them all the extremes of weather- a sunny 70, hailstorms, typical PNW snow, and then a little snow. But we were in for a surprise the next morning.
Pa requested a trip to the zoo during their visit and we fit it in! It was a cool day and the kids decided to wear their fleece animal onesies. Many other zoo attendees thought Sloane and Soren were super cute as little animals going to the zoo.
Some animals were out but we missed any in photos. We did get the kids and Adam on a carousel ride. And one pic of the kids with G and Pa with only slightly wonky faces by the kids.
On the first day of spring break, G and I took the kids to a farm in Oregon with baby goats. They require reservations and you get an hour of goat therapy, according to the website. We left Pa and Adam to work on the kitchen project for the afternoon and headed out to the farm. On arrival, Sloane and Soren were not so excited about that good old farm smell. They quickly got over it once we saw the sleeping pile of baby goats!
Soren was closer in size to the goats. When we would put a goat in his lap, another couple would come up too. Soren got pretty overwhelmed with hooves on his chest, chewing his jacket, and filling his lap. He was more interested in looking at their hooves and in their mouths. Soren also loved the miniature rooster and the big old ram.
We set a goat in Sloane’s lap and she also pet a few I held. After a short time, Sloane was in heaven. The goats had numbered tags and on a big white board their names were listed. This season they all were named after Harry Potter characters. Sloane would find a goat and check out their name. Our favorite was Nymphadora Tonks. By the end, Sloane was picking up goats, cradling them, and trying to bring one home.
G and Pa came for a visit at the end of March. They stayed for 2 weeks which included Sloane’s spring break. We planned fun activities, which I will do posts about soon. But the first project was our kitchen.
Pa has been feeling so much better since his surgery in early fall. He was in need of a shop project after the holidays and I made a big one for him! He built us new cabinets and drawer fronts for our kitchen. Once he had a time line, Adam and I had to get cracking prepping the kitchen. We cleaned, sanded, and painted our boxes. The kids helped with the primer and also spent a few days with Nini and Papa2.
The new cabinets and drawer fronts were shipped out and arrived in two huge boxes. Unfortunately, the painter in NH didn’t use the correct paint and Adam and I had to paint them again with the correct paint. Our garage became a painting workshop for a week or so. And then I was ready for a break from painting.
Pa was our master installer! He got all the new pieces installed and hardware back on. He and Adam fixed the lazy Susans and repainted the shelves. We only hung 2-3 doors opening the wrong way first. And the lazy susan doors were the only parts that needed to be shaved down. We also learned the lazy susan is the perfect size for two kiddos!
All the pieces Pa build in place, with the backsplash from 2021 and new counters from 2020, we’ve gone from a 1970s kitchen to a 2020s kitchen!
