Blast from the Past

If only all weekends were like this last one...

We got to spend time with some of our closest friends. It was wonderful, and we really wished that it would have never ended. Most of them do not live in Spokane any more, so having us all together (with the exception of a few others that were not able to come into town this last weekend) is very rare -- it actually never happens.

Lex said it best when she said, "so lucky to have such a great group of friends...we just picked up right where we left off."

We are thankful that distance has not ruined our friendships.

Love these guys, and hope our next visit with everyone is sooner rather than later.

5K

We got up early this morning and headed out to run in a local 5K race (All the proceeds go to a local drug rehabilitation center for teenagers). We were thinking about leaving Ava with our neighbors because the weather was not that great and it looked like it was going to rain any minute, but then decided to take Ava with us. She has ran (well - been pushed in a stroller) this race every year since she was born, so we decided we had to keep the tradition alive.

It rained the whole drive to the race and a little bit while we waited for the race to begin, but it let up and stayed dry for the whole time we were running. Hallelujah!!

It was a lot of fun running as a family again this year... and Ava looked just too cute in her finisher t-shirt. We just might have to get her a shirt every year now.

Oregon Coast or Bust

This last week we took a family vacation to Portland and Seaside, Oregon. I will not lie... I was really nervous about the long drive, because lets be honest, Ava is a horrible traveler. Thankfully she did much better than expected. We used a DVD player with tons of Elmo and Barney, and made some stops visiting family in Tri-Cities, and Portland (no pictures --SAD), which made the driving portion of the trip a success.

After staying the night in Portland we headed to Seaside, Oregon for the rest of our trip.
The day we arrived was beautiful - warm and sunny - just perfect.
Remember this is the coast though...and weather wise...that was the only nice day.

We had a blast watching Ava touch sand for the first time, and running in the waves. She did not want to leave, and probably got a little too much sun that first day (I forgot the sunscreen).

Once in Seaside we met up with our great friends the Black's. (We love their family so much and wish they lived closer to Spokane.)

We took the kids to Cannon Beach at low tide to see the tide pools. It was fun to walk around the rocks and watch the kids get excited occasionally at the sea creatures.

Ava found a starfish that she found to be quite interesting.

One day we took a hike over a small mountain (more like a steep hill), to a gorgeous beach.

This was my favorite part of the trip. The scenery was breathtaking. The trail ended at this cute beach. We saw several locals surfing out in the waves.

Our final day on the coast we went south to a little beach called Hug Point. It would have been a great beach, but we got there at high tide. We only stayed for about 30 minutes before all the sand was nearly taken away by the ocean and we were left with only rocks to sit and play on (not a great scenario with little kids). At least we saw the sun for a few minutes though!!

Ava enjoyed playing in the sand for a few minutes before the tide took it away.

Ava loved, loved, LOVED the ocean, and would have been happy if we stayed there the rest of her life. She did not care if it was raining, windy, and 50 degrees out - she just wanted to be on the sand and in the water. Thank goodness her dad did not mind the cold as much as I did, and would get his feet wet with her several times a day.

This was definitely our favorite family vacation to date.

"Wing Wing"

I have been trying to take Ava to the park down the street from our house at least once a day if the weather allows. It is by far the highlight of her day, and she would stay there all day if I would allow her to. Her latest new word is "Wing Wing" (meaning swing swing) - basically meaning - take me to the park please, so that I can swing.

Ava would tell you that in the last 17 months that she has been alive...this is the best present that she has ever received. I wish everyone could have seen the excitement on her face when Joel finally attached the swing, and Ava realized that what her dad was building was actually a swing set. Pure JOY!!

Here are a few pictures of Ava and Joel building the swing set.

We let Ava stay up a little past her bedtime to see the swing being added to the swing set.

Her dad could not connect the swing fast enough for Ava.

I think that Joel and I may not see the inside of our house during the day now.

Wing Wing!!