Hike (verb): to walk around outside

This morning I woke up in the mood for an adventure.  I considered an overnight camping trip, but decided that was unwise while awaiting my first birth due any time now.  So we settled on a day hike..  

Getting out of the house was difficult.  Ali couldn't decide what to wear and acted like our suggestions were illogical and unrealistic.  Mia wanted to wear flip flops.  Eva gathered 4 granola bars and 6 barbies.  Attitudes did not improve when we tried to motivate the girls with visions of our fun, family hike.  "Fun?  A hike?  Like, you want us to all drive somewhere far away so we can walk outside?  Oh yeah.  Sounds great..."  God bless sarcastic daughters and the teens they will become.  

Eventually we arrived on Sauvie Island, north of the city.  We found the trailhead and started out with Ali stepping gingerly over cow pies and Mia worrying about the thorny bushes.  

Do you know what happened?  It started to rain.  What seemed to be amounting to the worst outdoor experience that would ruin my girls' appreciation for nature forever and make them likely to flat out refuse future hikes turned right around with the rain!  We produced the granola bars Eva had brought along and discovered that the thorny bushes were actually thickets of wild blackberries!  We found a lake and the cows that had left the lovely pies.  We faced the mystery and excitement of going through a gate that wasn't locked up after all.  We heard a squealing pig and decided to turn back after a couple miles... Wild pigs are not taken lightly where we come from. 

I am so pleased to say that the day was a success.  We arrived at the car wet and muddy but happy. The girls (and Joe) said they had lots of fun and are looking forward to our next hike which will hopefully have more of a destination.  Eva would like to hike to a lake to swim, and Mia and Ali would like to hike to a waterfall.  I think we can manage both requests this summer.  

Big Girl

I watched her drag a chair from the dining room into the kitchen.  I asked her if I could help her with something and she said, "NO!  No help please.  I'm making my own lunch because I want to be a big girl like sisters."  

It's adorable to watch but I want to tell her that two big girls is plenty and I need her to keep being the little girl!  

First Oregon Emergency

Every family seems to have a child who is more prone to accidents and injuries and stuff than the others.  Poor, sweet Mia is ours.  The weird stuff always happens to Mia.

A few days ago, Mia mentioned a toothache and today she underwent a double pulpectomy.  Gee, that sounds fun, huh?  

She got a cavity under a filling and an infection that traveled along the nerve canal and into her gums.  How did THAT happen?  "We see it sometimes.  Just unlucky I guess." Said the best and most handsome dentist I've ever met.  

She's a tough chick.  A little novacaine, some antibiotics and Motrin and a chocolate banana smoothie for lunch and  that issue is behind us.  

In other news, Joe is looking forward to teaching PE this fall!  He has accepted a position and we are all excited despite the school's lack of enrollment spots for Ali and Mia..  We are praying that we find the right school for the girls this summer. And Ali is praying that that school does not require students to wear uniforms.  We all have our priorities.  

Berry Fever

I'm in produce heaven. 

This morning I gathered my chicks and reusable grocery sacks (no longer reusable) and drove to Heikes Farm. It's only a few miles down the road.  The strawberries and raspberries are in season and ripe for the pickin'!  We had a great time and I discovered that my girls have a talent for gathering ripe fruit.  I had to finally drag them back to the car while I wracked my brain of what to do with nearly 8lbs of strawberries...  

They are very determined and dedicated pickers.  

Berry stained hands smell delicious.  The whole farm smelled like a kitchen of jam-canners in the warm morning sun.  

I remember picking raspberries off the vine in my backyard when I was little.  

6 jars of jam and...

2 strawberry pies and...

4 cups of strawberries and 2 cups of raspberries to the freezer for later and... 

I don't want to see another berry!! (Until the blueberries are ready next month.)

A Normal Weekend

Our first visitor in Oregon is Grandpa Don!  He came to spend Fathers Day with us and to hang out with Joe and work on Joe's new (to us) Nissan Xtera.  

Joe had to sell his baby in Texas for something more resilient and practical in this rainy environment.  

But between playing "chop shop" in the alley, we managed to explore and have some fun!  Of course I was on-call for births; a situation we are still getting used to; but with a few check-ins here and there, we drove to the coast!  

Perhaps I've said it before, but the Oregon coast looks like a scene from Twilight.  

Green, mossy and misty.  The girls love a beach- whether it's warm and sunny (Cali), humid and dirty (Galveston) or damp and cool (Oregon)!  

We drove through Tillamook (you know the cheese?) and waved to the happy cows.  We stopped at a country diner and had bison burgers and they were really good!  (Maybe that's why the cows are happy...) We got home after a long day and got back to work.  I injured myself trying to install a baby gate at the foot of the stairs.  Epic fail.  I think my finger nail is going to turn blue.  Maybe it'll fall off.  I quit on the house after that and hid in my bathtub with a glass of wine and a book.  

This morning we packed the munchkins up and headed out to Portland International Speedway to watch the Porches race!  It was all the girls (myself included) first trip to the car races!  It was really a good time and Dad and Grandpa enjoyed themselves.  

When we got home I decided to take on the house once again.  Joe, my ever social and outgoing husband, chatted up a neighbor who is moving to Houston and traded most of our boxes for 2 barstools.  They are metal and they swivel, but they're stained and ugly.  So I recovered them!  Success!  

They're much cuter and much more "Katie" now.  How Pinterest of me, right?!

And now I'm going to ride my wave of accomplishment and create a strawberry shortcake masterpiece for Grandpa because its also his birthday!!  

P.S. no births for the new midwife yet, but I get to see 2 clients tomorrow.  It's going well!  Xoxo

Week 1 in Oregon

The moving van finally arrived last Friday. We are happy to have our stuff, but slightly ashamed by the amount of stuff we have.  Holy cow!  Forget about parking in the garage, it has become our storage unit!  I feel like we will be living among boxes for the rest of forever.  

We took a break from unpacking and visited the coolest Farmers Market I've ever seen.  We bought veggies, berries, a basil plant we named Bazil, jams, fresh bagels and eggs from real chickens on a farm!  

Then we went home and ate it all.  

We got the girls rooms set up.

I don't know what manner of peace sign Mia is flashing, but if she's doing it, then it must be cool.  

And I set up the entry way so at least I can feel the potential as I step through the front door and into the mess.  

We got Mia enrolled in gymnastics and Ali is still trying out with some soccer teams.  Coach Daddy is all over it.  Eva and I enjoyed the beautiful Oregon weather and snuggled while Ali played soccer last Sunday.  Eva fell asleep.  

And today is my second day of work with Andaluz.  Still figuring things out but I'm pretty sure I'm going to live it.  Looking forward to my first birth later this month.  

And Joe just bought a used, yellow Nissan Xtera this morning that we're looking forward to driving to the beach and up into the mountains soon!  

And that sums up the week!  You guys out there?  You getting all this?  Who's ready to come for a visit?  I may need some extra motivation to get the boxes cleared out.  Xoxo

To all my Texas peeps-  miss you! 

-Katie

The Emigration Part 5 - We have Arrived!

I'll bet you're as ready for the conclusion of this trip as we were!

I have to admit, by this time I was as exhausted as the children and I basically abandoned Daddy to drive us through Idaho all night while I cuddled under a fleece jacket and slept.  Terrible navigator!  Early in the morning near the outskirts of Portland; with Mt. Hood looming in the distance; we swapped out.  The girls and I grabbed some McDs breakfast and enjoyed the beautiful sights of the Columbia Gorge while listening to Taylor Swift.  It was pretty awesome. Eventually we found ourselves on the other side of the mountain and in morning traffic as we passed through downtown Portland.  The Williamette River passes through the middle of the city, so you must cross a huge bridge at some point which is a problem for me because I am made nauseous and anxious by overpasses, bridges, balconies and the like.  Ali talked me through it most successfully and I believe that girl has a future in counseling or preschool teaching.  

So we finally arrived at our new home around 10am!  

The girls ran wild through the place in excitement and gave it 2 thumbs up!  

We brought in some luggage and headed to Costco for TP, bottled water, laundry detergent and a new memory foam mattress for mom and dad to pass out on at the earliest opportunity...  

Ali and I negotiated the freeways of Portland again to bring home our pets who were overjoyed to see they hadn't been abandoned after all!

And so ends the saga of The Emigration.  

We are so thankful for a safe journey and great memories of a fun trip!  I think we are looking forward to more (slightly shorter) trips this summer!  

The Emigration Part 4 - Crazy Idahoans

Disclaimer- our favorite cousins in Idaho aren't themselves *crazy*, it's more of a Texan's generalization of people west of the Rockies.  

So we arrived at cousins Jeff and Lindsay's house around midnight.  They were waiting for us and had beds prepared for our whole crew.  God Bless them.  

We awoke in the morning to Jeff's delicious crepes, and a reunion of kids who acted like they had never been apart!  We enjoyed a trip to the park, long naps and holding sweet babies Tyler and Lela.

Here's where the crazy creeps in.  

When summer lasts all of two months or so, the weather pictured above becomes acceptable swimming weather and our cousins took us to the splash park.

I believe it was Mia who first used the word "crazy".  

Ali smiled and looked at me with her "Are they serious?" face after attempting to chase cousin Sarah down the water slide.  

Evelyn was all in for about 15 minutes before emerging with muscles contracted by the cold, blue lips and Parkinson's-like shivers.  

But the locals were seemingly unphased by the arctic chill as adorable baby Tyler demonstrated in his swim diaper.  

After our very brief swim, and a ride around the carousel, we converged on a spread of burgers and dogs and root beer freezes!  It was wonderful, although much too short-lived.  We were all looking forward to another night at the cousins when I remembered our pets, Jake and Mouder, bound for a flight to Portland the next morning.  We still had 13 hours left to travel and had to be in Portland the next day to claim our precious cargo!  

So, around 9pm, we loaded up three sleepy girls and tucked them into their carseats for another night-drive to our new home in Portland.  

Stay tuned for the conclusion- Part 5- We Have Arrived!  

The Emigration Part 3 - On The Trail

Call me a nerd, but driving through the vast openness of Wyoming was my favorite part of the trip!  

We turned the wagon due north out of Denver about mid-morning.  (Pioneers on the trail didn't have clocks.)  Ma spent the morning regaling the children with tales of the Sager children, orphaned on the trail when their folks died and then adopted by the company of travelers they were with until they reached Washington and the Whitman Mission.  That of course led to the tale of the Mission and the events that led to the terrible massacre that took place there.  We read some fun facts Grandma had written down for us to share on our journey and discussed why people would choose to leave their homes and travel, mostly on foot, thousands of miles across a dangerous and unknown land for the promise of something they only hoped existed on the other side.  

Boy, I had them hanging on every word!  Even Joe was listening and asking questions!  I'm a pretty big history buff, like my pops, and sharing all this with my family made me so grateful that we didn't fly to Oregon!

And then we arrived in Guernsey, WY and saw for ourselves the still visible Oregon Trail, where wagon wheels had carved deep ruts into the limestone rock.

 

We were deep into this thing now.  (Wink, wink.) The girls were so excited! The weather was beautiful.  We walked the ruts for a while until Pa called us back.  We found the grave marker of Lucindy Rollins, buried on a small knoll overlooking the North Platte and thought about what our same journey must have been like 150 years ago.  Then, it was time to load up and hit the trail.  Alas, we had far to go before making camp again.

I had some serious catching up to do as far as hours behind the wheel were concerned, so Pa took a long nap while I drove the wagon west.  

I loved the landscape.  Green and hilly, mountains off in the distance ahead of us. We passed many landmarks; Register Cliff, Independence Rock, Devil's Gate, Ice Slough, and Soda Springs.  Ali hounded me for more stories, more information, more explanations and I kept them coming until I ran out knowledge and they fell asleep.  

Devil's Gate was of particular interest to Ali after I told her about three young adventurous girls in their late teens who climbed the cliffs while their company camped below.  One of the young ladies fell from the rocks and died. (True story.) Ali became totally hung up on the details of the tragedy...

We kept on until we reached the Shoshonee Indian Reservation and Ma saw a sign that indicated that Sacajewea's resting spot was nearby. That resulted in an hour's detour while we investigated two Indian burial grounds.  It was a great opportunity to talk a little about respecting Native American culture (or any culture) and being quiet and respectful in a cemetery with the girls.  They enjoyed reading the headstones, which Pa thought was creepy.  He stayed in the car.  

We eventually found the marker, so I regarded the wasted daylight as totally worth it.  (Until I was clutching the side of the wagon as Pa negotiated hair-pin turns down the Grand Tetons in complete darkness.). Sacajewea was the remarkable 16 year-old Indian Guide of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, in case you forgot.  Xoxo

The last part of this leg of the journey took us away from the original trail and up into the mountains.  At dusk.  There was wildlife everywhere.  By this time, I had happily relinquished the reins to Pa after redeeming myself with a 10 hour stretch in the driver's seat.  We passed the Continental Divide at about 10 pm (based on the position of the moon) (wink, wink) and made our way into the safety of our cousin's home in Rexburg, Idaho at about midnight. 

Thumbs cramping.  FYI.  Internet still not hooked up.  

Stay tuned for The Expedition Part 4- Crazy Idahoans.  

Impressions

I interrupt the series of Emigration Updates to share my recent (last night) first meeting with the Andaluz Midwives while it is still fresh in my head.  

Downtown Portland is stressful and confusing.  Pedestrians and bicyclers everywhere.  Tents on the sidewalk.  Mass chaos.  I waited politely for the person in front of me to parallel park and the car behind me darted around me and cut me off.  I stepped out of the parking garage and have never felt more out of place in my cute skirt and cardigan sweater with matching ballet flats.  

Tents.  On the sidewalk.  Downtown.  They are camping.  Seriously.

I was meeting the midwives at a Lebanese restaurant.  It all made me feel out of place and off balance!   But the midwives were friendly and kind and I learned that on Monday I will be seeing clients.  Oh!  I'm overwhelmed and nervous at the moment but I know this is where I'm supposed to be and it's all going to be fine.  

I'll let you know how Monday goes.  

The Emigration Part 2

Denver was F.A.  (That's a shout out to my nephew who used the F word for the first time in a surprisingly complimentary way). 

So we arrived exhausted with breakfast and coffee in hand.  Joe's buddy met up with us at the REI store and we let the kids lose on some play equipment while we had MORE coffee.  The girls were ready to go!  

(Photo by Ali)

Joe referred to his friend Justin as "Uncle Ladi" and soon all the girls were.   

"Uncle Ladi" had reserved the entire day for hanging out and entertaining us, even checking us into a nice hotel downtown with his hotel points.  Such a blessing!  

After buying an over-priced but super cute hat at REI (for myself!), we headed up into the mountains and hiked to St. Mary's Glacier at 10,000ft.  I was a little concerned at first because it was cold, there was snow, and we weren't prepared for hiking in the mountains!  But Uncle Ladi knew what he was doing and the girls had a blast!  Even little Eva made  the 1/4 mile hike to and from on her own two feet (holding our hands, of course).  

Mia claims she could be a "Colorado Girl" because she likes it there so much!  

We were hungry after our hike, so Uncle Ladi took us to Tommyknockers Brewery for burgers (and beer for the adults).  Then we visited Red Rocks Amphitheater but were denied access because of a "Bass Nectar" concert that we didn't have tickets for.  Bass Nectar?  

We spent the afternoon resting in the hotel and then we caught up with Uncle Ladi again at the 16th Street Mall where he treated the girls to their first carriage ride!

Which they obviously loved.  We had dessert before dinner at the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Co and enjoyed the street music and performers and nice cool evening.  

We were finally ready for bed and said our goodbyes and thanks to Uncle Ladi and slept for a solid 9 hours!  

Next Post.. The Emigration Part 3- On The Trail.  

The Emigration Part 1 - Goodbye Sucks

I was fine until my mom said she got us just a little something for our journey. I knew before it was out of the bag that it was a Saint Christopher something to keep us safe on our big adventure.  I realized what an adjustment this move was going to be for all of us.  And then I thought, goodbye sucks.  After some hugs and words of advice and encouragement (the kind only mommas can give), it was time to pick the girls up from their last day of school. 

I found my fourth grader in the office sitting next to her beloved teacher, both their eyes red.  Little Mia was sitting next to them, eyes downcast and looking about as forlorn as I've ever seen her. Ali was surrounded by bags of unused journals and outgrown clothes from Justice given to her by classmates who are growing faster than she is and know how much she loves fashion and writing. Mrs. Payne handed me a goodie bag of home-baked muffins and a card and hugged Ali and we all lost it!  And then Ali said, "Goodbye sucks." 

We did the final loading at Grandmas.  Hugged and kissed one more time, and made a quick stop at Auntie's to kiss the cousins.  We kept it short.  I was fine until we drove away, but then I had to roll down the window and get some air.  Joe asked if I was okay, and I said "Goodbye sucks.  Can't talk yet."

Eva said some heart-wrenching things about grandma and auntie before falling asleep in her carseat.  The big girls fell asleep shortly after and we made it to Amarillo by about 3am.  We ate Mrs. Payne's muffins.  

We were about 2 hours outside Denver when Joe said he just couldn't go any further and asked me to take over.  I made it an hour before pulling into a gas station to sleep.  We grabbed some coffee and breakfast and Joe drove us into Denver after teasing me about crapping out after an hour of driving.  Well... night-driving sucks!  

Denver was cool and beautiful that morning as we worked out a meeting place with Joe's good friend from college.  No rest for the wicked!  Joe's friend was ready to show us a good time and he succeeded!  Stay tuned for:  The Emigration Part 2 - Uncle Ladi

 

Oregon Cuties??

The Texas Cuties are now officially Oregon Cuties, I suppose.  I have so much to fill you in on but we aren't online yet and writing the entire account on my iPhone app makes my thumbs cramp just thinking about it!  So let me just paint you a picture of me; day 3 in Oregon, sitting on my new reclining lounger Joe bought me at Costco, out on my small but comfortable patio.  Girls are bathed and tucked into sleeping bags on an air -mattress  upstairs underneath an open window with the cool night air breezing through.  Jake is whining for a bite of the smoked fish joe and I are sharing along with a bottle of wine we're drinking from red party cups.  The moving van comes tomorrow.  I meet all the midwives of Andaluz tomorrow.  I think we are going to be okay here.  Pray that we get the Internet situation figured out and I can get to blogging because I have so much to tell you!  I have already thought of the title of my second post:  The Emigration Part 1- Goodbye Sucks.  Stay tuned!!

Love, Katie