It was Cooper’s turn for a “man camping trip” with Daddy. Cooper will enter kindergarten just one week from today, so Stephen took him on an expedition early this month to make memories, to provide space for good conversations, and to nudge him toward more grown up experiences. I’m thankful Stephen makes these bonding times… Read More Cooper’s Expedition
Stephen and I lean toward the spontaneous adventures. Though we use our synced Google calendars extensively to manage appointments and activities, we always find ourselves going on day trips or overnight trips without intense planning ahead of time. Sure, things have not always worked out perfectly, but at least we’re going with the flow and… Read More Last Minute Vacay
When I tell friends about my cousin Laura, I always say that we’re kind of like blog pen pals. She writes at Farm Girl in MD (which is an invitation-only blog, but I’m sure she’d love to meet you) where she journals small town life on the family farm on the eastern shore of Maryland.… Read More Cousin Weekend
I think I like it. 35. There’s something happy about embracing the very stage you find yourself currently living. I have a fear of missing out, but in a backwards nostalgic sense. My fear is that by moving forward to the next life phase, I’d miss out on something in the previous stage. All the… Read More Turning 35
Our third recent adventure trip was to the Wheatland Ferry north of Salem. Stephen had been wanting to take the kids on a river ferry for a while, and there are still a couple in operation nearby. We found an adorable lunch spot in McMinnville, and visited the local bookstore and grocery before our ferry… Read More Wheatland Ferry on the Willamette
Presidents’ Day weekend we were itching for another Saturday trip, but couldn’t figure out what to do that was within budget and that fit the forecasted rainy weather. Finally we settled on riding the train into downtown Portland to explore our city for a few hours. The kids love riding the MAX, and we were… Read More PDX by MAX
One of our favorite pastimes is to take family day trips to see a little bit more of the Pacific NW. Back in January we explored the Peter Iredale shipwreck along Oregon’s coast at Fort Stevens State Park. The steel hull of the ship was rusted and covered in barnacles, but you could still make… Read More A Shipwreck & Fort Stevens
We began this new year with a new experience. Groupmuse has recently come to Portland. What started on the East Coast as a group of musician friends playing music together at each others’ homes, has now opened up as an invitation to the community to come listen to beautiful music in nearby homes. Here’s the… Read More Connecting Over Music
We made memories in our own home this year as it’s the first Christmas we’ve spent in Oregon, and the first Christmas that we’ve owned this house. I’m so happy we have a fireplace, and we took the chance to use it quite a bit this holiday season–even roasting marshmallows in the family room {not… Read More Christmas by Firelight
OMSI is one of our favorites so much that we became members this past fall. On the first day of Silas’s winter break we met up with some friends at OMSI and made a day of it. The boys are not only fascinated with the science playground, but also with the science labs. The physics… Read More Of Gingerbread, Science, and Snow