They're Cousins!!

We had so much fun seeing all the cousins while we were in Oregon.  It's so nice when we can all get together.  Here are the Keeler side cousins.  Anna, Grant, Matthew, Whitney and Magnus. You'll notice Anna just wears what she wants.  :)

And here they are from a different angle.    Matthew, Magnus, Whitney, Grant and Anna.   And again Anna picked her own outfit.

 Grant and Magnus - best baby friends!

And the Guptill side.

Anna and Karlee, our little bookends.

And everyone!!  Anna, Matthew, Grant (again, not happy), Kelsie, Jaron, Kallie, Olivia and Karlee.  Cousins are the best and I love for the kids to have fun cousin times.  It makes me want to see my own cousins!  :)

A Giant Problem

After Anna ran away from me in the parking lot today I had to have a talk with her and Matthew about not running in the street.  The end of the conversation went something like this.

Me:  ...so you need to look out for cars and NOT run in the street.

Matthew (completely serious): And we also need to be careful that giants don't step on us!

He left me speechless.

This picture doesn't have anything to do with this story...or does it?

Anna's Mermaid Extravaganza

While in Oregon we had a 3rd birthday party for Anna.  Anna's birthday isn't until August, but she REALLY wanted a big birthday party so I thought it would be fun to have a family one while we were in Oregon.  In retrospect maybe it wasn't the greatest idea 'cause I spent a lot of time stressed about the party when I should have been sitting around like a slug relaxing.  I guess I wouldn't have been sitting around too much anyway what with the three kids and all the excitement, but still.  Anyway, the party is done and we had fun.  It was even sunny and warm that day for our party.  Amazing and yea!

Here's Anna's mermaid cake

Scott designed the number 3 out of gummy sea creatures!

And her cupcakes with fish shaped ring pops on top

There was a lot of outdoor fun.  Scott grilled hot dogs and hamburgers for us (thanks Scott).  And we played a few games.  We played "Don't get stung by the jellyfish" (hot potato) and did a quick search for sea creatures around the driveway.  We also did a treasure hunt to find a treasure chest, which was really a pinata.  And of course the opening of the pinata.  Special thanks to Jaron who finally got it open for us.  I had a few other games that we never got to 'cause I was in and out with Grant so much! 

Here's Jaron with some of the sea creatures.  I think they are eating each other.

Here is Anna blowing out her candles!  She did a good job with that!

And here she is opening some presents.  I think she had a chocolate cake mustache.

My sister and brother (and families) were able to come from Washington, Ruth from Vancouver and Will from Cheney (farther away!).  From L to R, Will with Whitney (almost 17 months), Ruth with Magnus (almost 3 months) and me with Grant (almost 4 months).  It was so fun to hang out with them and see their cute kids!

Here is Whitney again!  She liked going in the water.  I think she was sad when it was time to be done.

Grant pooped out at the party.

And so did a few others...

Magnus...

And, ok, a lot of people.  Best party ever.

Matthew actually felt pretty sick that day. :(

But I think Anna had fun!

She keeps telling people she is three now, even though her real birthday isn't for a few more weeks.  The shirt may gave contributed to that confusion.  Thanks everyone for helping and coming and making it fun!!
See more party pictures from my sister's blog HERE.

At the Zoo

 We spent the day at the Zoo in Portland today.  It was a lot of fun!

Here are Anna and Karlee on the wooden horses.

 Matthew riding the John Deere tractor.

 And Anna, Matthew, Jaron and Kelsie climbing the dinosaur!

It looks like Jaron made it to the top!  I didn't do a very good job taking zoo pictures - for example, I have no pictures of real animals.  I guess we were too busy having fun/watching kids.  :)  Grant was very good and slept most of the time, which I appreciated.  It was busy, but a fun day.

A Walk in the Woods

 Cousins!!

I think it's important for me to have the kids spend time with their cousins.  I have good memories of spending time with my cousins as a kid and I know Scott does too.  So I'm glad we live closer now and can take trips to visit with family more easily.  Here are the kids with some of their cousins - Angie's kids (Scott's sister).  We all had so much fun hanging out together.  One evening of our vacation we took a walk on some trails at a nearby park.  It was really beautiful!  "The woods are lovely dark and deep."

L to R Matthew, Kallie, Kelsie, Karlee, Jaron and Anna.

 This was Karlee's stream.  I'm sure she's forgotten about it now, but I didn't!

We even found a river!  It seems like everywhere you go in Oregon you are running into a river.  :)

 And a nice little bridge.

We played at the park after our walk.  Here are Karlee and Anna.  Karlee is a few months older than Anna.  These two played together a lot and mostly got along well, although they did have a few arguments.  I think it might be more the age than anything else.  :)

And Matthew learned how to slide down the corkscrew slide...after watching his older cousin, Jaron, do it!  Matthew loves hanging around with his older cousins to learn new tricks!  It was a fun day!

The Coast

We went to the coast this week (aka an Oregon beach).  When in Oregon we say going to "the coast," not "the beach" as I grew up calling it.  :)  Scott and I also frequently have the "pop" vs. "soda" discussion.  I, being from southern California, say "soda."  He says "pop," which I think is just another name for dad.  But, whatever you want to call it, here are some pictures!!

Here are the kids posing at the Tillamook Cheese Factory.  We had to visit 'cause who can resist the siren song of free cheese.

 Grant got to meet his new cousin Magnus (my sister's new baby) who is just a few weeks younger than Grant.  Grant was excited!  Magnus was stoic, as many superheroes are, but I think he had fun too!

 And here we are at the beach....er, coast.  :)  I didn't bring the right gear, maybe because I was confused about where we were actually going.  Just kidding.  It was the warmest day I've ever spent at the Oregon coast.  People were getting in the water!  We just waded.   Well most of us anyway.

 Here is Matthew with my sister, Ruth and bro-in-law Dana.  Magnus is there too, but you can't see him (superhero!!)

 And Scott helps Anna bring up the rear.

 We went through a little cave to get to another part of the beach.

 The kids and I were all wearing crocs, but we made it through the cave/tunnel with minimal injury!

 And here's Grant checking things out.

 We all got a gentle reminder to respect the ocean as Anna was nearly swept away by a "sneaker wave."  She was ok, just very wet.

 Matthew had the best time running in and out of the water!

 And back through the cave!  A little more wet and sandy this time through.

 Magnus asserts his dominance.  Matthew had a great time playing with him!

 Grant was in the car.  I probably should have got him out for the picture, but oh well.

 Here he is with Magnus!  Cousins!

Poor Ruth got to hold them both while they both started to fuss!  Mostly they had a good time though!  And so did the rest of us.

The Gorge

We went on a short-ish vacation to Oregon to visit some family this week.   One thing I wanted to do was to see the fish ladders along the Columbia River, so Scott humored me, and we drove up the Columbia River gorge.  We stopped at Multnomah Falls.  There are lots of waterfalls in Oregon, so this isn't that exciting to native Oregonians maybe, but I thought it was cool.  Here we are with Scott's sister, Angie, and her kids.

At the falls

Angie and Grant having a chat

And more pictures at the falls...

I was trying to get Matthew to smile...didn't work

And here we are at a fish hatchery by the Bonneville Dam

An overhead view of the fish ladders!  I finally got to see them.  There wasn't a lot of salmon in there...not the best time of year I guess, but still cool.

It was a fun trip!  Although some parts were funner than others.  ;)