Snow Daze

Audrey and Kate were treated to an extended winter vacation over the last week with four days off from school due to snow plus the three-day MLK holiday weekend. The girls made good use of the eight inches of snow that fell last Tuesday and Wednesday, playing with their cousins and neighbors to build a snowman and igloo, holding snowball fights, and sledding down Ellie and Madi's driveway. In addition to playing in the snow, on Wednesday they ventured out to Starbucks and had their neighbors and cousins over for hot chocolate and karaoke. On Thursday, they went with Lily and Cora and Elli and Madi to the Rose City Golf Course for more sledding, and soaked in the hot tub.

On Friday, for a change of scenery Dad chained up the van and everyone went into work; Kate with Dad and Audrey with Mom. It ended up being a weird day, with Anna and Audrey having to evacuate the building due to a possible gas leak and Kate coming down with a stomach ache and fever at Dad's office. Audrey skipped her dance class, Dad ventured out for cat and Chinese food, and the girls wound down the day by watching "Storks."

The weekend was mostly low-key, with Kate fighting off a fever and no one feeling super-ambitious. The girls watched "The Three Amigos"with their cousins on Saturday night. Audrey spent most of the day Sunday with her friend Hannah, while Kate went with her cousins to get manicures and pedicures. On Monday, the kids got in some more sledding on the neighbors' driveway, Kate went to the doctor, and everyone had hot chocolate and cookies at Elli and Madi's. On Tuesday, Mom and Dad had the day off, and the girls played in the snow a final time just as the snow-melting rain finally started falling. Hannah came over to play with Audrey, and the girls got ready for school the next day (which did finally re-start after a two-hour delay).

 

 

Winter Sunriver trip

Audrey and Kate spent the MLK holiday weekend in Sunriver with cousins Lily and Cora. They drove down on Friday night. On Saturday, the girls swam at the SHARC and ice skated in Sunriver Village. On Sunday, they drove up Mount Bachelor to find snow to sled in (there was no snow in Sunriver itself; it was rainy and in the 40s), and went on a bike ride to Fort Rock Park. They also watched a lot of cable television and splashed around in the hot tub.

Audrey's Alaskan adventure

Audrey flew up to Anchorage with Mama over the long MLK weekend to meet Audrey's new cousin, Cora. She had a great time, with lots of play time with Cora's big sister, Lily, a trip to the Alaska Museum of Natural History, and some winter recreation, which included two sledding outings at Kincaid and Bicentennial Parks. Mama said she traveled well (getting to watch lots of her favorite shows on the iPad no doubt helped). Kate and Dada held down the fort back home, and Kate got to spend a night at GG's house.

Happy camper (kind of)

Audrey and Dada spent some quality time together last Friday and Saturday on a backpacking trip to Mirror Lake on the approaches to Mount Hood with Audrey's friend Jackson and his dad and another family.

It was the first backpack camping trip for both Audrey and Dada. There was a mad scramble in the days before the trip as Dada scrounged backpacking gear and camping attire from Aunt Marie, from Kellie and Ethan (Jackson's parents), and from outdoor, consignment, and second-hand stores (Audrey and Kate were fascinated with all the military memorabilia and novelties hanging from the ceiling at Andy & Bax).

Audrey had a borrowed kid-sized backpack for herself, although on the hike in Dada ended up carrying it along with his own pack, as she complained it was hurting her shoulders.

Once we got to the campsite and had everything set up, we could relax a bit and do a bit of exploring. Audrey was the only girl among the group of six kids (there was a mom along for the trip), but she held her own and kept up with them. She saw some crayfish in the lake, tested out a bow and arrow Dada made for her, and relaxed in a hammock with Jackson.

It started to rain around dinner time, so after enjoying some rehydrated freeze-dried mac and cheese, we retreated to the tent for the evening. Ethan made chocolate chip cookies for everyone using a special camping oven. A scout troop came in around 9 at night in the rain, and their commotion made it a bit hard to sleep, as did someone chopping wood at 2 in the morning.

The rain never let up, and in the morning the dads decided it was best to pack it in and head home early (we were planning on staying two nights). The other family headed out first, and Audrey and Jackson had breakfast while their dads packed up all of the soggy gear. It was cold and wet and miserable, and the kids were understandably not very pleased with the predicament. Just as we started to walk out of the campsite, it started to snow, which the dads took as a confirmation that leaving was the right choice.

The hike back down was wet and muddy, and Audrey was consequently in a sour mood. Nonetheless, this time she did carry her backpack the whole way back, a distance of a bit under two miles. Once back in the car and warmed up and headed back to Portland, her mood improved, and improved some more after a hearty breakfast of pancakes and bacon at the Radio Room. She went home for a bath and a nap, then headed over to pick up Kate, who was staying with Honey and Honey Grandpa while Mama was out of town.

Later on Audrey said she would go backpacking again, "but when it's sunny."

Tubular!

Audrey and Kate went to play in the snow on Mount Hood today. It was a pleasant outing, with temperatures in the 50s. We went to Mount Hood Ski Bowl to try out the snow tubing. Audrey went down a couple of times with Dada, but then rode all by herself the rest of the time. Kate wasn't supposed to ride, according to the rules (since she was too young), but Dada snuck her in and rode with her so she could get a few trips down the hill as well. The girls also enjoyed eating, playing in, and throwing snow.

Snow day

Audrey and Kate played in the snow -- or rather, slush -- that fell in Portland on Wednesday. It quickly melted, so there was no time or dry enough snow to build a snowman.