The Smith Family Adventures

Elias has been a bit wary of fountains this summer. I don’t think he likes the unpredictability. But he got another chance to try them out yesterday when we met Auntie Erin, Audrey, Sonya, Nana, and some other family friends for a play date. We played in the sand first which was fun for everyone, and then had a picnic lunch. Then was fountain play time. I was able to find a malfunctioning fountain which stayed about two inches high the whole time. That warmed Elias up to the fountains, and pretty soon he was inching up to the larger ones too. More fun times with family!

We are attending a couple different weddings the summer…all right here at the end. Our first one was one of my good college friends from Tacoma. I knew I really wanted to go as soon as I got the invitation, and Nathan was nice enough to drive with me! It was a long time in the car for poor Elias…a little over six hours total in the day to Port Orchard, Washington and back.

The bride was the only person we knew, but it was so worth it! (Nathan said it was worth it just for the meat balls they served at the reception…I didn’t try any of those).

It wasn’t Elias’ first wedding, but it was the first one where he was really aware. We had a few cute and funny moments.

1. When the bride and groom had their first kiss, everyone clapped (of course). Elias stood up on the pew and clapped his little heart out looking back and forth between me and Nathan, so proud of himself. He wanted to continue clapping even after everyone else was finished.

2. The recessional song was “Kiss Me.” I don’t know what started it, but Elias just kept leaning in for kisses from me and Nathan. It was quite fun.

3. At the reception, there was chocolate on each table. Elias noticed it right away, of course. After I had given him one white and one milk chocolate, I told him it was time for a break from the chocolate. Nathan took Elias outside to play while we waited for the bride and groom to show up, but when they came back, Elias climbed up on my lap, and literally dove across the table in an attempt to reach the bowl of chocolates. He was like a beached whale laying out across the table…his feet hanging over the edge, and his arms flailing while trying to reach the bowl. That caused quite a bit of laughter at our table.

4. Elias pretty much destroyed the white table cloth where we were sitting with chocolate and strawberry juice….

5. I was changing Elias’ diaper right before the bride and groom walked in to the reception. When I finished, I set him down and started to wash my hands. Just then, the bride and groom arrived, and loud applause ensued. Elias ran out of the bathroom as fast as he could, pushed through a crowd of people to the front, and clapped his little heart out again. I came chasing after with soapy, drippy hands, a diaper bag with stuff hanging out everywhere, and pushed through people to try and get a hold of my son.

Here is our wedding champ waiting for things to begin at the reception. I had bought a Thomas Magnetic story book a few months ago for a situation just like this…when he’d need something new and interesting to occupy him.

Elias is lucky to have so much of his family in town. He is especially lucky this week, though, because we get to spend so much time with our out-of-town relatives. Auntie Erin, Uncle Jared, and cousins Audrey and Sonya. Elias is really warming up to them. He was never particularly wary…just mildly wary at the beginning. He seemed to warm up to Audrey and Auntie Erin first, but he’s had fun with the whole family! Here he is sharing story time with Uncle Jared, and giving Auntie Erin her work out for the day.

The three kiddos playing independently with Haystack Rock in the background. I had wanted a better picture, but they were moving too fast. I'm glad they had fun.

Today we went to Cannon Beach with Nana, Auntie Erin, Uncle Jared, and cousins Sonya and Audrey. Poor Nathan had to stay home and work. It was a bit chilly for my taste…but then it is a rare day that isn’t for me at the beach…and I guess I should look on the bright side and realize I got to skip a scorcher in the valley.

Here is Elias in the hole I dug. He is waist deep in sand!

Elias didn’t really head toward the ocean this time, and I didn’t encourage him. We just stayed by our “spot” and ate a picnic and played in the sand. We played in the sand for hours, and Elias could have stayed much longer if I would have let him. He was still getting down in the sand after I had already changed him back into his normal clothes. He enjoyed building castles and using the molds to make interesting

Elias and Sonya enjoying the sand slide

shapes. I dug a deep hole that ended up being perfectly sized for Elias. He got down in there and hung out for a long while. Then he enjoyed burying himself in sand almost up to his waist. Other highlights included a larger hole dug by myself and Nana which became a “slide” for the little ones.

Elias and Audrey playing together at Red Robin.

After our fun beach day, Elias conked out for a very late nap. We had to wake him up after only an hour or so to go to dinner (Nana treated us to Red Robin…yumm!). Elias was quite a cranky boy for awhile, but perked up once it was time to eat. He had lots of fun with cousin Audrey and drinking straws! A wonderful day spent at the beach with family.

Elias digging in the sand.

I was a busy lady today. I had fun making a meal to take to a friend who had a baby a month or so ago, and I made a birthday cake for my niece. I was lucky to have my parents take Elias for the day so that I could do all that cooking and baking without a little one hanging on my legs. Elias had fun swimming in the wading pool. He even got to nap at Baba’s house.

I have to admit, I’m quite proud of the cake I made. I searched online for ideas for my niece (she’s turning 5), and found a cute butterfly. I made a few changes to make it my own. Here is a close up:

I had a bit of left over batter and wasn’t sure what to do with it. I have been wanting to use my mini cupcake pan for awhile now so I made some mini cupcakes and turned them into something to be used with the butterfly theme. Recognize this?

When Nathan got home from work, we packed up all of our gear and headed to Nana’s house for the birthday celebration. Elias was a little wary at first of all the “new” people at Nana’s house. But he warmed up quickly and enjoyed playing trains with his cousins. He handed the pieces, and Sonya put the track together.

After dinner, it was time for dessert. Audrey seemed to enjoy her butterfly cake. At the very least she liked the frosting. Here is the birthday girl:

We took lots of photos of the cake and the birthday girl and everyone getting ready to sing. There were party hats galore.

Then, I quote, (from Audrey) “Ok, enough with the pictures. I want to taste the frosting.” I suppose we had probably taken way more pictures than necessary. I love my niece! Here is the official “taste.”

After singing, Elias asked Auntie Erin to pick him up. Then he proceeded to try and take off his party hat. Those chin straps to get annoying after awhile.

During the present opening, Elias enjoyed sitting on Nana’s lap for awhile. Sonya saw what she was missing and soon joined the fun so that Grandma had a lap full of grandchildren.

Audrey enjoyed opening her presents. Here she is opening a clip on angry birds thing for her backpack. We got her a Rapunzel doll, some princess dive sticks for the pool, some fun erasers, and a butterfly magnetic game.

After the gift opening, it was quite late…already an hour past Elias’ bedtime and we weren’t even home. It was time to pack up and say goodbye. We will be looking forward to seeing our Spokane family a lot over the next week or so!

We had a lot of fun getting away for a long weekend. There were lots of highlights to our trip besides the black butte hike and the swimming pool.

Elias and Grandma

1. Family – The main highlight was spending time with family. Elias loves seeing Baba and Ahma and Uncle Scott and Auntie Kristy. He had six adults to choose from at (almost) all times. He got read to, wrestled with, held, loved, and more. It was also quite nice for Mommy and Daddy. I think I got more reading done over the weekend than I have in a long time.

Elias and Auntie Kristy

Deer watching with Daddy

2. Deer Watching – We saw a lot of deer come around our house, and we saw lots when we were out and about on walks as well. Elias loved pointing out the Mommy and the baby deer. We also saw a male buck with small antlers on our last morning there.

The deer he is looking at in the above picture.

Elias and Baba looking at the horses

3. Bike Ride – We rented a bike trailer so Elias could go on a bike ride with us. He loved riding along. We went to the Deschutes river and rode along a river loop. It was quite beautiful. We also stopped by the stables and said “hello” to some horses. Elias did not really want to be anywhere near the horses. The ride was so smooth that Elias ended up falling asleep on our way back to turn in the trailer!

Elias and Daddy and Lava Lands

4. Lava Land Visitor Center – On Sunday, everyone else left, and just the three of us had the place to ourselves. Nathan took Monday off so that we could have an extra long weekend. We decided to go take a look at the Lava Butte and the Lava Lands Visitor Center. We really enjoyed some of the paths, and the views from both the bottom and the top, but we didn’t spend a whole lot of time there because it was miserably hot to be out in the sun.

From the top of Lava Butte! You can sort of see the lava field and the forest in the background.

As I mentioned in a previous post, Sunriver recently opened a new pool complex. We went to try it out three different times. Elias loved the zero entry pool because he could walk, splash, sit, crawl, and swim. He loved laying out flat and walking around on his hands, and he went in deep enough so that only his chin and above was out of the water. He is a brave boy! He also enjoyed the lazy river and the smaller fountains. Here are some pictures of our family. They include all three days of swimming!

Elias and Baba playing in the small fountains.

Enjoying the lazy river.

Elias loved having his own chair to sit in. He also liked sitting with one of us when he just got out of the pool and was trying to warm up.

My brother coming out of the water slide.

Elias and Baba enjoying the water.

More fountain play

Nathan and I hiked to the top of Black Butte in August of 2007. We really enjoyed the view at the top, and said that we should do it again some day. For some reason, I really really wanted to do it again this trip to central Oregon. Nathan called it a pregnancy “craving.” We didn’t know if it would be awesome or incredibly stupid to try to hike to the top of Black Butte…I am pregnant, and Nathan would have to carry Elias (26 pounds) in the backpack. We decided to go for it. It was hard, but definitely worth it. We actually made it up to the summit quicker than we did the first time. Elias enjoyed almost all of the hike (more on that later).

So….here is our Black Butte hike in pictures:

The start! Here is our before picture. Notice how happy and excited Elias looks. It is relatively cool and shady.

Look at this view! And this is just during the hike…not even from the summit. It’s hard to enjoy it when you are hiking up a steep slope in the hot sun…but enjoy it I did!

Here we are at a rest break. We needed water and Elias needed a snack. We only stopped for 5-10 minutes, but it was much needed about 3/4 of the way up.

At the summit! We made it!

Ok we made it…now we need water….

And we need a picnic lunch….

During and after lunch we took in the view and the wildlife. I remembered these chipmunks from the last time we made it up here, but it was fun to watch them again.

Here is Elias finishing his lunch. Notice the smudge on his cheek. He got quite dirty playing…he cried and rubbed his eyes for a bit and a few hours later we found a small pebble in his eye. Poor guy. Also notice the butterfly near his shoulder. I snapped the photo right as it flew next to him.

Elias enjoyed looking around the summit. There were lots of insects. Elias calls all flying bugs “bees”….I think because they make a buzzing sound. Anyway…a large black flying insect flew directly at his face and veered away at the last second. Poor Elias was in hysterics. He just kept saying “bee, bee” and he cried for at least a couple minutes even with me comforting him. Hopefully he won’t be scarred for life.

While Elias was up and exploring, one of the previously mentioned chipmunks came and stole part of his sandwich. Luckily he seemed to be done with it by then anyway…

More chipmunk….look at his cheeks getting fat with crust.

After the chipmunk incident, we cleaned up lunch and looked around the summit a bit more. It was a really clear day so we could see lots of the cascade range. Then, we started our hike down.

After shot….we made it all the way to the top and back! I had sore muscles for a few days afterward, and Nathan broke some blood vessels in his shoulder from the backpack. Elias was almost falling asleep in the back pack on the way down, but we made it to the car with him awake! We are very glad we hiked up Black Butte…we’ll try again in another 5-10 years.

Sleepy boy in a forward facing car seat!

We recently returned from a long weekend in central Oregon. We’ve been planning this mini vacation for months, and it was fun to have it finally arrive. We woke up early on Thursday, and drove over to Sunriver. The first big excitement of the day was having Elias sit in a forward facing car seat for the fist time. He is not quite two yet, but we decided to let him turn around a little early because we have a lot of long car trips coming up in the next couple of weekends. The drive took just barely over three and a half hours (a record for us….especially with a toddler and a pregnant lady).

Once we got there and settled in, we decided to head straight for the pool. They have a new pool complex

Daddy and Elias just before the choo choo ride.

in Sunriver with a zero entry pool. Elias loved walking, splashing, swimming, and crawling around in there. It was perfect!

Then, we spent some time at the village mall and Elias got to ride the choo-choo train. He loved riding the train, and after it was over, he tried to stow away for another ride.

We also made an obligatory stop at Goodies. Elias got to try a chocolate covered pretzel. He liked it…but made a mess everywhere!

Grandpa and Grandma Bartle (aka Baba and Ahma) arrived shortly before bed time so he was delighted to have extra love and attention. More pictures:

Our little stow away.

Yum...cleaning up after a chocolate covered pretzel.