OMSI & A Party

One of the things Weston really wanted to do while we were in Oregon was go to OMSI, the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry, so we spent most of Saturday playing there. It was a perfect day for it too since it rained all day.

We went a year and a half ago when we were there at Christmas in 2009 and he has talked about it ever since. It was actually free this trip too because our Discovery Gateway Children's Museum (in Salt Lake) pass works there. We had a blast and it was much less crowded than when we went at Christmas last time.

Ian and Weston shooting a bottle rocket.

Talia loved this little baby ball pit. She sat there happily for a good 15 minutes.

Weston in the space shuttle simulator.

All of my boys were enthralled with this spinning wheel exhibit.

Most of the group in the earthquake simulator. It was pretty fun. You could push a button to simulate different strength quakes.

The kids enjoyed playing in the erosion table.

I think Ian and his brother had even more fun than the kids at the erosion table.
Ian flooded the village.

Davin and I sent a few pennies down the spiral.

Weston dressed up like a chipmunk and went in a giant hollowed out tree to collect nuts.

Look who can spell his name!

Weston is a macho macho man.

The kiddos loved the water tables where you could build your own sailboats and paddle boats. Although Ivy just like splashing. A lot.
Check out Weston's look of concentration. Love the tongue!

We had so much fun at OMSI! I think Weston got his fill. We were there for 3 or 4 hours. By the time we got home everyone was exhausted. We relaxed and had some down time for a little bit then rallied in time to get to Uncle Ryan's surprise 30th birthday dinner. Aly was so excited to plan this fun party for her hubby and it was a great success. It was at a really yummy Mexican restaurant and everyone's gifts were contributions so Ryan could renew his medical license that he needs to fly a plane, hence the airplane cake. Happy Birthday Ryan!

The boys sat with Grandma and Papa. They stayed entertained by taking turns wearing Papa's hat.

Aunt Aly with Talia. She was a trooper for having such a long day out and about (Talia, that is). :)

The birthday boy! Happy 30th Ryan!

Family Sunday

This is actually slightly out of order, but on Sunday morning we took family pictures at a beautiful location in the Columbia River Gorge. The rain had just stopped and we lucked out with practically perfect lighting. The kids were all happy and well behaved. It was successful family photo shoot. Thanks for organizing it Aly! Here are my faves.

The whole Bowles clan

Grandma and Papa with all their grandchildren

Our little family

Me and my honey

The boys

Weston

Davin

Talia and Mommy

The Drive Day 2

Our second day of driving was the longer stretch, about 8 hours. The kids all did really well. We stopped one last time about an hour away from Portland at a rest stop along the Columbia River Gorge. There was a pathway down to the river, so we walked down and enjoyed the sunshine and the beauty of Oregon for a few minutes. We will have to remember where that stop was because it would be a perfect place for a picnic.

Yes, the boys were running away from the minuscule waves. In their defense the water was really cold. :)




We arrived at Ian's parents' house at dinner time. It was warm and sunny. Great Grandma Bowles, Eli, Emilee, Ivy, Aly, and Ryan were all there. We had a super yummy dinner of bbq teriyaki skewers together. The kids ran around and played in the bubbles and on the swing set while the adults visited and watched funny YouTube videos (THIS was one of our faves). Talia just looked cute and was happy to be out of her car seat. It was a lovely evening together.

The Drive

We are back from our family vacation to Oregon! It was quite the trip. We were gone for 10 days. We had a blast, but it's kind of nice to be home. I am overwhelmed by the amount of pictures I have, but here's a start.
On Thursday we drove to Boise, ID. It was a pretty quick drive. We got there in the late afternoon and checked into our hotel. After jumping on the beds we hit the pool. We all had fun relaxing and spending some time enjoying being together.

We went to The Old Spaghetti Factory for dinner. It was delicious, as usual. Weston's favorite dinner is spaghetti with mizithra, but he had never eaten the original Spaghetti Factory version. After he devoured his plate, he said "Mom, I think it tastes a little better when they make it." I wasn't offended. We played at a park for a bit after dinner, then got some shut eye. It was a very fun kick off to our vacation.

Familiar Faces

Yesterday was a fun day of playing with friends. We spent the morning playing at the park with new friends. And we spent the afternoon playing with old friends.

My roomie from BYU was in town and came over for a few hours to visit. It was so great to see her and spend time with her cute kids. It always feels good to visit with people you love but don't see often. You know you're with a good friend when it has been months or years since you've seen them, but you fall into conversation like it was yesterday. Loved it. Thanks for coming over Lex!!!

This is the last time we had our kids together. Davin and Theo were only 2 or 3 months old. June 2008

Yesterday. The boys played together with puppets, cars, and dinosaurs. June 2011

The girls chewed on toys and babbled at each other. They are pretty much adorable.

Lex and I caught up on jobs, minivans, and life with kids while running interference with the boys, changing diapers, getting snacks and juice, and snuggling our baby girls. It's funny how easy it is to find common ground when you're a mom.

Stopping and Starting

You stay-at-home moms know how it is, right? Time flies and crawls at the same time, in the same day. The days slowly speed into weeks and months. Six months, to be exact. Talia turned 6 months on Sunday! The whole half-a-year mark is kind of a big deal. Talia started babbling "mamamama" last week. It is so cute. She occasionally laughs when I toss her in the air. She smiles often, and loves to watch her silly brothers. She is a good sleeper, and a generally happy girl. So am I.
This 6 month mark is significant to me because back when Talia was six weeks old I felt like this day would never come. I was so entrenched in the exhausted, overwhelmed craziness of my life with three kids and out of control hormones that it felt like it would never end.

In one of my counseling sessions back in those hard days (I still have lots of hard days now too, but not in the same way) my therapist had me envision my life in 6 months. I thought, "Ok, I can make it through 6 months. In 6 months the sun will come out and it will be warm. I won't be breastfeeding anymore, so my body will be mine again. I will be skinny (or not). Talia will be sleeping through the night (or not). We will have a routine."
And now here we are. We have settled into our new normal as a family. I have my routines with three kids. Talia doesn't sleep through the night yet, but she's also not up every few hours. I'm not skinny yet, but I am done breastfeeding and most of my pre-pregnancy clothes fit. I can't complain. It's amazing how no matter how much it feels like something will never end, it always does. Talia is no longer my sweet little lump. She likes to sit up and see what's going on. She no longer needs me every minute. She wants me, but it's not quite the same. It's a bittersweet milestone, this half-a-year mark. I have no doubt that the next six months will speed by just as slowly.
In some of our quieter moments we have been enjoying playing outside! Our backyard is definitely not pretty, but the kids still love playing back there, and we all love the hammock, especially Ian. He took this shot of the boys over the weekend when they climbed in there with him. I love the laziness of it. And my little boys' cute bellies and sunglasses. :)
Finally, I wanted to update on My May Challenge (I know. I'm a couple weeks late). It was enlightening. It felt great! I have added lots more fruits and veggies into my diet and figured out how to eat healthy lunches and not just kid food. I still have a sweet tooth. I am still a little lazy when it comes to exercising. I only lost about 5 pounds. I still stink at keeping track of what I eat, but I am glad that I took on the challenge. I think it has made me much more aware of my habits, and helped me to improve. Thanks again for all your supportive comments!

Filling the Hours

So far I have been busy filling our free hours with lots of fun outings. I'm sure this will have to slow down soon, but it's been pretty fun to be out and about using all our fun summer deals. We've already bowled twice through the Kids Bowl Free program. It costs me $4.30 for shoe rental each time I take the kids. They bowl two games and have a blast. Davin even got 100 the second time we went! I was impressed.

When we are home the boys enjoy playing Legos, trains, coloring, and playing blocks. So far they have been playing pretty well together. I hope it lasts for a couple more months!
On Saturday we all worked in the yard. Ian mowed and I used the blower to clear off our walkways. After blowing away all the dead leaves and needles from our trees (aka the bugs' homes) Weston and Davin came out and hunted bugs. They rounded up about 40 roly polys. Weston made a bug house at preschool when Home Depot came for a visit, so the bugs had a nice home. I made Weston release them all later that afternoon though so they could have a chance of living through the ordeal. :) It was a gorgeous morning.

Today our Young Women's activity was going to the zoo. It was a perfect day! 70 degrees and sunny with a nice breeze. We got to see lots of animals moving around, enjoyed our sack lunches together, and got some good exercise trekking around the zoo grounds. We ended up with a pretty big group. 4 adult leaders, 7 young women, and 8 kids (of leaders). I'm really glad we went. It's fun to do an activity away from home every once in awhile.

Plus, it was Talia's first trip to the zoo! She was a trooper. She checked stuff out from her stroller until lunchtime, when she fell asleep and stayed asleep until we left. Weston said his favorite part of the zoo was the big iguana we saw in the reptile building. Davin liked the rhino the best. They also had these big dinosaurs scattered through the zoo, and that was pretty fun for Davin too.



This afternoon I took Talia to the doctor's for her 6 month check up. She won't officially hit the half a year old milestone for another 5 days, but it's getting close! She is doing great. She is healthy and happy and strong. She was so good for her shots too. She only cried for about 30 seconds. By the time I finished snapping up her outfit she was done crying. I sure love my sweet girl!
Talia's 6 month Stats:
Height: 25.5 inches (50th %)
Weight: 13 lbs. 4 oz. (10th %)