Portland Trip

 After a couple weeks of tentative planning, and then a week of solidifying those plans we made it to Portland! We- meaning my friend Alicia and her boys. I feel like I should probably introduce my friends in Bend officially to my blog. Alicia is my dearest friend here in Bend. She has 3 boys Preston who is 8, Connor who is 6, and then Brody who is 4. She is me is 4 years. She had her boys at 26, 28, and then 30. Exactly the same. Crazy. I have to quickly say how grateful I am for her friendship. Not only would I not be able to do half of what I am able to do without her-she is always willing and able to help me whether it is hold Rowan quickly or watch the other boys while I am with Rowan. She has never acted like it is a burden to her, and it is lifesaver to know that she is happy to help. Aside from that, she is just an amazing person, someone who is genuine, uplifting, and the truest of friends. So…anyways, Alicia's family lives in Portland and we were able to stay with her dad and his wife Tammy. They were very happy to open their up home, and it happen to be the house Alicia grew up in. The drive is 3 hours from Bend to Portland. We made amazing time getting there. We stopped so I could feed Rowan, and even with that and a potty stop off the side of the road we made it under 3 hours. The drive I am comparing it to is the one to Utah, so I feel like I could make this drive any time! (Not to say I would really want too, but it feels so easy) The boys were very excited to get out of the car, and explore. The yard was huge, with a rope swing, fresh blueberry, and raspberry bushes, an old chicken coop, and a lot of room to run around. We began picking blueberries with Alicia's dad after exploring the yard a bit, and Kaj and Josh ate of those blueberries like crazy! Kaj kept saying "hmm these are delicious!" Then there is Josh who was just eating anything, didn't matter if the blueberry was ripe or not. We probably had a good couple hours or visiting with her dad, and the boys playing, and then we got meet up with my dad, which I was so excited to see him! I knew it was going to be a very short visit, but I also knew that my parents would be visiting in couple of weeks, and we would get to spend good quality time together. I always seem to forget that going to a restaurant is not a relaxing event with children. So, there we were 6 boys between the two of once again meeting up at Red Robin. I saw my dad sitting in the car, so I snuck up, and gave him the biggest hug. It was so great to see him. I was happy he was able to see the boys even for the moment. He could tell Kaj was talking so much more, and see how much bigger Rowan had gotten. It made me look forward to a longer visit. We then went to IKEA and it had been so long since I had been there! We herded the children along, and we were able to get what we both wanted. I got picture frames, and am now wishing I had gotten tons more, because I love them. But, as we laughed, and got the boys to the car, I looked at people turn as we walked by, and realized what a spectacle we are. Haha! We got home, and got the boys to bed pretty quickly. The first night was pretty sleepless for me. Kaj and Josh were on this twin bed together, and I was on a queen blow up mattress, and when I snuck in, I had forgotten that my mom ears would not turn off, any little noise the boys made I was attentive to, and realized Josh kept hitting the wall whenever he moved, so I picked him up and moved in the queen bed with me, and then a little later Kaj came into the bed, and let me just tell you how comfortable it was sleeping with both of them-it wasn't. Josh is so wiggly, and had to keep moving them over, and there was no concept of space invasion, and then just as I would drift off, Rowan woke up, and I had to feed him. There was a point I had Rowan sleeping with me as well. Me with all 3 boys on a blow up mattress. So, I had a very off day the next day which was unfortunate because that was our zoo day.

Peace brothas

Kaj and Preston

Ikea treasure

Wing Spans

We got to the zoo at exactly 11:00. I had forgotten what it was like to wait in any kind of traffic. The boys were very excited to get there, and were quickly running off to see everything that was there. I did not take near enough pictures to capture the zoo experience, but it turned out everything we could do to keep eyes on all the boys, I felt like in just reaching for my camera I would lose sight of one of them. The crowds were that bad, it could have been worse, but it is not like we owned the place. We ended up going with Alicia's dad, and her sister and her 2 boys also met up with us. We saw most of the zoo which was amazing! And we ended with seeing these lorikeets, which are these little parrot looking birds only smaller, but colorful and friendly, that you could get nectar, and they would fly right up to to you and drink out of this little cup. It was fun asking what Kaj like seeing the best, and he said the giraffes, which conveniently was the only picture I got of the boys actually looking at an animal at the zoo. When we got back to the car, Kaj and Rowan were out so quickly, and Brody and Josh quietly watched a movie, while Preston rode with Alicia's dad, and Connor left with his cousin. So, we had a fairly quiet car, we passed the Rose Gardens, we went up to the Pittock mansion, and Bob's Red Mill. All the while-I had started feeling sick to my stomach with the windy roads, and probably some dehydration, and the sleepless night I had- so I had to stop at a few places just waiting to see what would happen with this sickness. Finally I decided I am going to get some gum, and hope for the best. After we got back to the house, and had dinner I felt so much better. The boys played, Tammy made hotdogs, and Alicia's sister and husband and kids joined us. It was a fun night, Kaj actually had a chance to ride on a couple different dirt bikes with Alicia's dad, who seemed to be so excited to take Kaj, and Kaj was just so excited to ride. He was so cute to watch! I let the boys play later than normal, and then say goodnight to their friends. The second night was much better. Josh started out of the queen bed, and Kaj stayed in the twin, and even though Josh still wiggled, and turned throughout the night, I was able to sleep. I was chipper and ready to roll the next morning. We planned on going to visit with her sister the next day whose home- I was told- was play heaven for kids. Her sister lived over the bridge in Washington, maybe 45 minutes away. Her house was a kid heaven which was a good thing because we had planned for her to do my hair. But, there was a playroom with tons of  action figures, dress ups, swords- it was great! But, as I realized her sister really gets in this hair zone, Alicia was watching 8 kids at once, and really not complaining at all, but it was chaotic. I have never in my life had my hair take longer than 2 hours to do-cut, color, dried, styled…it took 6 hours! I could not even believe it! I was warned that "everything with her takes forever" but-I can't imagine having thick lustrous hair, and I was thankful at that moment that I did not. My buns hurt from sitting. Can that even happen? So, that night we ended up staying there because we didn't see the point in driving in the dark over Mt. Hood. We had pizza, I got the boys settled, and as soon as I put them to bed they were out, when I checked on them they had not even moved an inch.

All in all it was a great trip, Alicia are still friends, which we laughed on the way there saying "isn't this the test of a strong friendship?" I would like to do a big road trip like this every year before the summer ends. In a couple of weeks tomorrow, Kaj will be starting preschool. I know this seems like such a silly thing to get so anxious and excited about, but we haven't done this yet. I think Kaj will really do well. It will be a mild change, and just help him adjust to school, and that kind of structure. It is only a couple days week, so it will ease him into it- and honestly ease me into it! My little boys are growing up so fast!

Looking at the giraffes 

After the ride home- the sound of sobs and craziness in the background can also be added here

Rowan Can Fix That

So, my little Rowan is growing up so fast. He has finally mastered the art of rolling over, and moving in circles. Now that he is doing this the boys always seem to end up in a line up next to teaching him how to crawl. His brothers love talking to him, and because he is still mostly immobile, and cannot speak he really has no other choice but to listen. He hears about owees, and bandaids,  often very detailed play by plays of what is currently going on, and is used to really loud angry bird impressions. Luckily, for Kaj and Josh Rowan seems very interested in all of the above. It seems Rowan has the ability to put every one in the family in a better mood. He can enter a room, and as soon as he catches your eye he is already smiling. Sometimes at church I will see him smiling down the rows at people, whenever anyone asks, "Would he be ok if I hold him." Not a problem. He loves new people, it seems he loves every one.  He is eating so good now, and pretty much does not know when to stop, and for the most part I have to put on the breaks or he will keep going. I am so happy to have Rowan fix my bad moods, because when I going crazy with the other boys, I can always look at Rowan, and feel so much better looking at his sweet smile.

The Christensen's Go to the Fair

Bend is a reasonably small town. Not so small that we wait for sheep to cross the road, but small enough that for the events that are going on in and around Bend, it is a big deal, and everybody is attending. The fair was the hype this last week. The fair itself was in Redmond, which is about 20 minutes outside of Bend, and there was a lot of friends, and work friends of Sam's talking about the fair. So, Sam came home from work one day with the idea of taking the family to the fair. I thought it was a great idea, I am a sucker for rides, and an even bigger sucker for an outing with the family. We decided to go on the Friday, which I had worried it would be busy but, there was really not much of a crowd at all. Sam only worked half day, and as he was gone I got all packed up and ready for when he got home. The first stop, however, was to get sunglasses for the boys- babiators. Highly recommended. They are adorable, they don't fall off, and they replace them altogether if they break- a win for a mom of little boys whose delight in life is jumping off of absolutely everything. As we were parking the car and they got a glimpse of the rides, Kaj exclaimed: "Josh! Look! It's a fair!! Yay!!" He was so excited!! He had asked the day before what the fair was and all I could think of was there are rides, and games…I didn't mention the carnies, but that did the trick and he was very happy to go to the fair. We first walked over the rides, and evaluated what Josh could ride-he has about a year before the two of them will be able to ride just about everything. They had so much fun riding the planes. We then went to walk to see the games, and they went fishing and won these blow up hammers, and it was awesome seeing the two of the walk around bonking each other in the heads with them. It was a hot day, and Josh was literally dripping sweat from his sweet face, so we spent some time in the indoor exhibits, which was perfect. They had a sandpile full of corn kernels with trucks, and they played in that contently for at least 45 minutes, which because it was so hot out we were totally fine with that. That way Rowan was able to get out of the stroller, and hang out with us also. And, as if I haven't said it enough…Rowan is a sweet one! He has the sweetest face, and the brightest smile, and he just lights up just saying "hi" to him. He was good. All the boys were. We ended with cotton candy..? Sam's suggested. And then another ride, and we went to get actual food at Baldy's BBQ which was really tasty. Sam teased that if we go out with the boys to a restaurant we should be able to get a stronger drink. Haha!! It was border line insanity in the restaurant. A lot of spills, and jumping up and down, blowing milk bubbles, and Josh's insistent pursuit of finding the garbage can to throw away napkins for no reason at all. Sam and I had a great time together with all the boys in tow. It was a great suggestion, and we will do it again next year, because I definitely was eye balling the biggest ride there, and I can't wait to be able to go on it with my boys. 

Happy 6 months Rowan Bears

Oh my goodness! I don't even know how to resist this little cutie! He is 6 months now, and I cannot believe how fast the time has just flown by! I have a friend here who recently had her baby, and he is just a couple months now, and we saw her husband at church the other day as he looked at Rowan longingly asking, "how old is he now?" Needless to say, Sam and her husband have similar feelings towards that of newborns. We have laughed a lot about how Sam and I were doing the same things rewind 3 months ago. And now, I can't believe how fast it went. Rowan is a smirky, sweet, and so loved by his brothers. Josh tells me every time he is crying even when I am standing right there, and trying to calm him down, and I have just tell him, "Yes, I know."I can hear him, I think, and Kaj will always ask me if it's ok if he can make Rowan laugh. Rowan just loves being with the family. He loves songs, and music, which makes want to sing to him all the time. He really is stinking cute, his little eyes light up when he smiles, and he smiles all the time. He is definitely the kind of guy who just loves everyone immediately. Anyone who walks into the room, once he catches their eye, he just beams at them. 

At his 6 month check up he was 5th percentile in weight, 10th in height, and 75th with his head! That was a surprising stat! I have not had a kid with a big noggin. He is on week 2 on eating solid foods, and he is doing so well! He got a hang of it really fast. Although, in a time crunch I had to feed him at Costco with one of those baby food to go pouches, and it was the disaster area of my life, and I don't like the smell of peach baby food. Also, I have started to note that he does not seem to like banana…? A baby food flavor that I think to myself: "yes, if I was a baby I would really like this." 

Time is going by pretty fast, and I am finding myself wanting it to slow down, while Sam wants it to fast forward, so I guess the fact that the time will go no faster nor slower is a really good compromised pace. It is wild to me to think in another 6 months this little guy may be learning how to walk..so weird. So, I am just enjoying all the time in between. I love my baby Rowan.

Fourth of July Weekend

We had such a great long holiday weekend! Sam's boss had family in town for the week so we got to spend a lot of time as a family which was a great change. Wednesday we took the boys to the $1 movie and saw "Arthur Christmas." It was actually a very pleasant surprise. Sam had to go round in morning so I hauled all 3 boys to the movie, we originally planned to see "Despicable Me 2," but when we got into the theatre the ticket man said: "Hey just so you know it is really full in there so you won't be able to sit together." Haha, ok I may need to sit next to my 4 year old and 2 year old. Then, he quickly told us that the another movie was playing, and we can just go in that one. So, we obviously opted for that choice. Sam met us in the movie about 20 min in. It was Josh's first movie, and he sat through a little over half of it, and then got a little antsy, but still did great. Rowan was awesome, just sat on my lap, and was the best little baby ever. We went over to REI in Old Mill District afterward, and then enjoyed the rest of the day as a family.
On Thursday we had decided to go on a hike to the Blue Pool Trail. We have this book called Bend Overall and it a great guide to all the hikes in and around Bend. It lists the popularity of the hike, the miles, a detailed description of what it entails, and it also has a list of kid friendly and favorites. The Blue Pool trail.. was not one mentioned on kid friendly. However, when I read about it I knew it was an easy hike, and wasn't very long. Which I learned it was not very long for 2 grown adults. It was a little over 2 miles to the pool, so over 4 miles total. The boys did awesome! They did not complain at all. Kaj did ask a few hundred times if we were there yet, but I do not consider that complaining. Josh's legs were tuckered out about halfway through to the pool, so then Sam was carrying Rowan in the baby bjorn and had Josh on his shoulders. You may also take notice that in all of the pictures Kaj is holding out his one hand in a very tender, fragile, like his hand is broken manner, his hand is not broken, but on Monday he did cut it pretty good at the splash pad, and it is still taking a lot of reminding to please act normal with his hand.

We finally got to the pool in 2 hours! Yes! 2 hours! We did take more pictures and moseyed on the way there, but right as we felt like we were nearing we ran into a biker "oh you are probably 15 min away." I made a mental note, and thought: ok then a half hour. A moment later someone told us 20 min. I felt like our time had just doubled. I even wondered many times:  are we there yet? But, when we did arrive it was beautiful! It was the bluest water I have seen next to Norwegian water. Sam and I would have definitely scrambled down and taken a swim if it had just been us, but it was such a great hike. It was easy, right next to the river, shaded, so great, one we would certainly take visitors too. On the way back we wanted to make time, so we got back to the car in just 1 hour. Holy Moly! The boys both took some spills on the way back, also. Josh landed on a rock with his head, but was ok, and Kaj scraped both legs, and his elbow, but everyone was fine. Needless to say, Josh was again on Sam's shoulders, and Kaj was on mine. I was really happy I could trust Sam not to fall. I kept thinking if he fell with Rowan in front...oh my goodness.
On Friday, which was the 4th, we went to the pet parade in downtown Bend. It was super busy, but pretty fun. Next year, we need to allow ourselves more time to get a good spot and set up, this year we got there 5 minutes before it began and ended up standing. We ended with a little hike, where Kaj fell yet again and split back open his hurt hand, had a water balloon fight, and a BBQ with friends. It was great to spend all this time as a family. I am very lucky to have my little boys. I love them so much, and I am constantly seeing little things reminding how they are growing into amazing men.

"I Heart NY" Family Pics

We got these T shirts a little after Christmas from Sam's parents, they had requested that each of their children and their families take pictures. They have been serving in New York on their mission. I tucked them away, I had Rowan, and totally forgot that I needed to take these pictures. So finally! We have a gate in our backyard that opens up into this nice grassy area with big trees, and what a perfect place to take the pictures.
Of course, a side from just simply putting these "I heart NY" shirts on and taking a family picture, New York actually does have a special place in my heart.
My first visit to New York was with my girlfriends, it was a few years into college, and we had wanted to take this big trip. The first night we got in we stayed at hotel in Brooklyn, and took the subway the next morning, when we walked out of the subway I looked up in the middle of Times Square and fell in love with the big city. There was something about it. I loved the hustle and bustle, I loved that Broadway was right beside, I loved the crispness of the air, and I loved that I was with my friends. It was unlike any trip even to this day.
The second time I was there I went with my parents as a college graduation celebration. I was a little concerned that the second time would not measure up to the first time, however, it was just as great. The company of my parents, who are two awesome people to have a fun time with, in New York City was an amazing combination. We had so many laughs, and great conversations, with great scenery. I have never been disappointed visiting.
Then, of course, to live in New York for a couple of years, and though we were living in Long Island we were still in New York. I truly do "heart" NY.

Happy Fathers Day 2014

Another Father's Day celebration with yet, another child to celebrate with. We tried to spell out "I heart dad" on the little feet in our house to then take a cute picture, and give that to Sam for Father's day, and needless to say, it was the hardest picture to ever capture in the history of photography. Rowan runs in place like he is training for a marathon constantly, and with his movement, and the attention spans I was working with I only had a couple a pictures that even close to turned out, and this was one of them. It was actually really fun, because these boys are fun and so cute, but still difficult to capture. 

But, I just wanted to write a little about Sam today.  Sam… he is a unique man. There are many sides to him, and he can be the fun, funny, and playful dad, and other times he is quiet and patient, and really intent on teaching the boys lessons. 

We got out the boys bikes the other day that we got for each of their birthdays so they could practice more. They are getting better at balancing them, and it helped a lot when our neighbor boys who are twin 4 year olds ride on their bikes all the time. Sam said one night, "maybe now was not the time to get them bikes." Disappointed that they didn't ride them more often, and I suggested, "Well, if you rode your bike around with them, I guarantee they would ride with you." One evening we got their bikes out again, and Sam took a moment, and then got his bike out, the moment he was riding with them they exclaimed, "You are riding with us, dad!" I think that he still realizing how much the boys really admire and love him, and want to learn things to be more like him. I think once he realizes this, it will be a game changer.

 I talked with a mother who had 4 kids whose ages ranged from 7 to 13, and she reminisced on how difficult this time is with small children, and that is very true. I sometimes don't know how I get through each day still smiling, well, probably because some days I am not smiling, but I am still sane. It is nice to have Sam not only reiterate to me how hard it is,  but what a good job he thinks I am doing, and that he will support me any time I need a night away. Being a good husband, and a good dad go hand in hand. We love our boys. Rowan is now 5 and 1/2 months so I can also say with confidence that Sam also really loves him now too. Ha!

 This is an adventure, and an adventure I couldn't do without Sam.