Aquarium, Sea Lions & Sand

The weather forecast for last weekend was gorgeous (yes, that's the technical forecast), so we decided to head to the beach with my cousin Heidi. We decided to go crazy and stay the night! Unfortunately, Owen got sick a few days before and was still needing a little extra sleep, so Daddy and Owen joined us for the day, but headed home for a good night's sleep. It was really strange spending the night away from just one of my boys (can we say mama guilt?), but it was fun for me to get some one on one time with Henry and Nate enjoyed his time with Owen.

We wanted to fit the most in before Nate & Owen headed home, so we left early and headed straight to the aquarium. The boys loved running through the exhibits checking everything out. It was super busy, so I wasn't able to take as many pictures as I would like (I'm sure everybody else in the Reagan party was thrilled, but I really would have like to play with my camera a bit more!). But here is what I did manage to capture . . .





The boys were fascinated watching the diver clean the tank (including the Kelp - who knew the plants had to be cleaned?). The fish, however, looked less than thrilled that someone was in their tank . . .







After the aquarium, we headed to the Rogue Brewery for lunch and than the Newport Bayfront to wander around.







As I think I've said before, I'm a wee bit obsessed with seeing the sea lions on the docks. OK, maybe a little more than a wee bit. I could seriously watch them all day. I can't explain it, I just find them fascinating. Luckily the boys shared my excitement for a little bit, so I was able to play with my camera there (totally makes up for not getting to at the aquarium!).





And in case you wanted to watch them yourselves . . .










My favorite picture of Owen!

Not wanting to send Owen home without a chance to play in the sand, we headed to the actual beach. The boys made quick work of it and were soaked and covered from head to toe in sand within minutes.









After a long day, it was finally time for Nate & Owen to head home (and Owen took advantage for a much needed nap). And Heidi, Henry & I decided to keep going. We headed to the outlets and then off to the Roadhouse for dinner. For whatever reason, it took over an hour to get our food, but Henry did amazing. It helped that we had a little boy Henry's age in the booth behind us. They talked, he shared his toys with Henry and they kept each other occupied while all the adults took the opportunity to chat. I think I might request that every time!

And then it was straight to bed for Henry (after we said goodnight to Daddy & Owen via FaceTime).


Not too bad for an iPhone photo - of course it helps that he wanted the lamp turned on until I got to bed.

The next morning, we had a pancake breakfast, played a little, packed, and headed to the Cheese Factory on our way home. Here are more iPhone pictures of our adventures since I was feeling a little lazy with the big camera . . .





Nate sent me a picture of their lunch. Doesn't look as exciting, but Owen seemed happy. . .



Such a fun beach trip! I only wish Owen and Nate could have been there for the whole trip, but there's always next time. Thanks Heidi for joining our crazy family!

And this is completely unrelated, but cracks me up. Another 365 picture outtake . . .

Christmas with Grandma & Grandpa

And finally, here are the pictures from Grandma Connie & Grandpa Gary's Christmas visit. Though they were only here for a few days, we fit in as much as we could and the boys had so much fun playing with them. Henry & Owen practiced their bike riding (in the garage because it was a little too chilly outside), took the grandparents to the park to feed the ducks and tried out all of their new Christmas treasures.

Owen hasn't quite figured out the pedaling on his tricycle, but he loves to ring the bell and be pushed around on it (at least for a few minutes). And Henry just absolutely amazed us. This was his first pedal bike and while he figured out the trike pretty quickly, he was having trouble pedaling his big boy bike. But he kept trying it (and switched to the trike once Owen was bored with it and he was done practicing on his own bike). And by day 2, he was pedaling like a pro. It's so hard to believe that he can go from not moving the bike at all to pedaling all around the garage like he'd been doing it for years.

Day 1 . . .






Day 2 . . .



Maybe it was the Cars carrier attached to the front of his bike that helped him pedal



We bundled up and took a quick walk around the neighborhood. And of course mama-razzi me forced everyone to traipse through the muddy grass for some group pics.





And perhaps one of the favorite Christmas treasures: the harmonica that Henry gave to Daddy. Not only does it make amazing music (interpret that how you will), but Tilly likes to join in with her singing. Although, to be honest, I'm not sure "likes" is the correct term. I can't tell if she's singing, or completely miserable and begging us to stop. Needless to say, after a few minutes of this, at least one of us is miserable, so we have to limit the harmonica playing in our house!



And in case you're having trouble imagining the wonderful sounds, here's a little video (and I totally don't blame you if you can't make it to the end - it's pretty much the same thing thoughout):



Feeding the ducks at the park (which of course had to end with a stop at the playground) . . .

















More playing with Grandma & Grandpa . . .





I was so impressed (again) with Henry. He found the car carrier that goes on the front of his bike, which had 6 spots with pictures of different Cars 2 cars. He ran off to go fill it up and was gone for quite awhile. When he returned, he had placed the exact Cars 2 character car shown on the pictures in their respective spots. And he insists that no other cars can go in there. Whoops. I guess he got our crazy type A personalities!





And doctors Henry & Owen made sure to give Grandpa a checkup before he headed home.





I'm not sure what medical school Owen attended, but perhaps his specialty is pediatrics as he was quite entertaining to watch and might be good at distracting the little ones!





Henry was quite serious about the checkup. In case you were curious, Grandpa's eyes, mouth and ears looked great, but his heart didn't sound good and he needed shots and a bandaid. After Dr. Henry's treatment, Grandpa was all healed and good to go!





Thanks for the wonderful visit Grandma & Grandpa, we all had a lot of fun!

My Martha Stewart Moment

I am the most awesome mom there is. I mean, check out my Pinterest page and you'll see all sorts of amazing crafts, yummy food and awesome toddler activities that I've pinned. Oh wait. Do I actually have to complete those things to be considered awesome? Pinterest and I have a love/hate relationship. It has so many amazing ideas and I always feel so productive pinning all those things. But my follow through is definitely lacking, making me feel like I'm failing a bit. So, when I not only remember something I've pinned, but actually try it out, I feel the need to share it. And completing 2 Pinterest projects in 1 day? That necessitates it's own blog post!

Back in November, it was starting out as one of those weekend days where the boys are just bored and a little (OK, a lot) whiny. Since it wasn't good weather for going out to play, I decided to peruse my Pinterest page for ideas. I was inspired to make some fake snow for the boys out of shaving cream & corn starch {Source}. While it was definitely a messy activity, it was completely worth it. Both boys had such a fun time playing in it. And when it was getting old, I added a little water and Henry played with the fun cornstarch goo.



Henry and Owen playing in the snow . . .















And a couple videos if you want to see them in action . . .





Henry playing with cornstarch goo (seriously, that stuff feels so strange, I had to play with it too!).





And somehow, I got up the energy to try a Pinterest Cookies and Cream cookie recipe I had been eyeing for awhile. {Source} Although they were good, I have to say I was a bit disappointed they weren't as good as I was imagining. Although with that, I should give the disclaimer that I was not good at figuring out when to take them out of the oven since they were such chunky cookies. So, I think I undercooked one pan (and then put it in for a bit more after they'd cooled too much), and overcooked another pan. I think I might have to try them again to give them a fair review.


Perhaps the most important thing about this whole cookie thing is that I finally pulled out the Kitchenaid mixer that we got as a wedding gift. It was in desperate need of some counter time.

And Owen was creative with the messes that we left with these projects (not sure whether the car is driving in snow made of flour or cornstarch, but either way it looks fun!)



Oh, and what does this random November activity have to do with my current posts about Christmas? Absolutely nothing, other than it's my unofficial New Years resolution to catch up and stay caught up and I happened to have the post ready to go. So, I will get back to the rest of our Christmas/New Years activities soon, but be prepared for a few random posts mixed in as I work to get caught up.

Does it take away from my awesome mom moment that it took me 2 months to actually blog about it?