Rhodedendron Garden

The time has come and the Rhodedenrons are in bloom! On Wednesday the three of us ventured out to the Rhodedendron garden here in Portland. The day was just beautiful, like one of those days where you just want to wear sandals and skirts and let your kid go barefoot. We took advantage of the vitamin D as we strolled along the paths of this beautiful garden. Our little Rhodie enjoyed it too and was happy to be outside in the warm sunshine.

These are a few of the shots I (Jeanette) for the most part took. Enjoy!

I'll just say no one makes Maia laugh like daddy does. Especially while they are practicing their dance moves. I just love how she giggles when he's playing with her. I can't get her to giggle like he does. Yay for daddy!

Our sweet little Rhodie! She just blends right in.

The Baby in the Mirror

So we have found that Maia's favorite game is to play with the baby in the mirror. Its an easy way to distract her from her woes. We keep putting things on her head to see when she will realize that this actually her and not another baby. However, it cracks us up watching her. So enjoy this video. *disclaimer: this video is pretty long.

Girls Weekend

Maia and I went on our first road trip together to Coos Bay, Or for the 4Th annual girls weekend. Ever since Marci, Julie and I finished our time at the ranch we have been getting together for a weekend each year. It has been a fun time to reminisce the past, encourage the present, and find excitement for the future. What a blessing it is to have girlfriends!

As we headed toward the coast we swung around Eugene to pick up Julie and the three of us made our way to Marci's. What a beautiful day it was to be on the road and Maia did excellent. Our stop in Eugene was timed perfectly in between Maia's two naps.

So when we arrived we gave hugs to Marci. Well Julie and I did. Marci had not seen Maia since she was about a week old and was surprised by the grip Maia had on her hair. Yes this was somewhat of a posed picture, but Maia really had her hair good. I guess maybe it is Maia's way of saying hello?? This was right outside Marci's place. They live above some store fronts off the 101 in North Bend which is right next to Coos Bay. Maia wore her sailor outfit since we were headed to the Ocean. She was dressed for the occasion you could say!

The Hostel sign indicates where Marci lives. It was a hostel at one point, but the owners turned it into an apartment. It was almost as though we stayed in the Hostel, yet a lot homier that a normal hostel.

Then off to the Ocean we went. It was in the mid 70's when we arrived. A gorgeous day to be on the coast! We hit it just right because in Oregon sometimes these day are hard to come by.

Dead trees!!! I think this was supposed to be a pretrfied tree?? I remember Marci saying something about that, but it could just be a dead tree. I just love the twists and curves they make. Don't get me wrong I do love live trees better than dead ones Anyways, here we are posing in front of it.

In the same park was a garden with tulips and daffodils and other flowers around along with a pond and fountains. So here is Maia among the daffodils. Not the best picture of Maia, but the flowers look beautiful.

"Tiptoe through the tulips through the tulips" Or you could just eat them.

Whoo hoo girls weekend and here are the girls!

On Saturday we went to a small coastal town called Bandon. We had Thai food, tasted goodies at the little shop called Cranberry Sweets and strolled along the boardwalk.

Maia was all tuckered out. So we bundled here all up so she would be warm while she napped.

On Sunday we went to church and then went to a pottery shop where you can paint pottery. So we all painted mugs together! It was a fun activity for us all to enjoy and to take something back with us to remind us of great friendships that we have with one another.

We left the next day(Monday) and headed back to drop Julie off at the airport in Eugene. While in Eugene Maia and I met up with some college friends of mine for lunch. What a fun time of reconnecting!

We had a great weekend! It seemed to short, but doesn't it always? I am just blessed to have friends that encourage me to be a better person! Thanks Marci and Julie for being great friends to share with , to pray with and to laugh with!!!

visit from Auntie Jennie

We had a spectacular time when Auntie Jennie came to visit us. Not only was it fun for Maia to play with her Auntie, but I really enjoyed having fun with my sister. There is nothing like a bond with a close sister and to have her here for a week and a half . We did a lot and I did not take enough pictures to capture it all.

Here we are posing in front of some moss at Multnomah Falls. I don't know why we are not in front of the falls. Who's to say. But it was nice to be out there anyways.

Let the fun times continue. We also helped Auntie find her wedding dress and some shoes, along with other fun ideas and to put towards her wedding this summer.

I enjoyed watching Maia connect with Jennie. I think there was a time that she was confused about who was mom. As we were walking she was looking at me from the Ergo with a confused look on her face. All of a sudden she just began to cry a very sad cry as though she was unsure who I was. So we stopped and I nursed her and reassured her that I was mom. It was kind of a sad moment, but funny to think that maybe she was a little confused. Luckily that was cleared right up and we went on our merry way.

We also went to Cannon Beach. Although it was sunny out it was also a chilly and windy day out on the beach which equals not happy times for Maia. While Jennie took pictures we got out of the wind. These pictures were taken in a coffee shop in Cannon Beach.

More fun continues!

One of our favorite Portland things is the carts. This particular cart is one that serves only french fries along with different sauces. We also enjoyed to one that serves a variety of Crepes.

Thank you Jennie for spending your Spring Break with us in Portland. We had so much fun and miss you very much!!!!