Kids say the darnedest things

So while I took a break from updating our blog the funniest thing happened. We had just finished dinner and were on our way to Nat's brothers house for dessert. As we were in the car Darci and Maile were singing Battlefield by Jordan Sparks. That is one of their favorite songs. Well Maile all of the sudden starts singing "Jesus wants me for a...battlefield, battlefield, battlefield." I know it is a little blasphemous but I couldn't help but laugh. I was hilarious!

Oregon

Day 1
They had some really cool gardens there that we walked through. It wasn't as colorful as it would be later in the spring and early summer but it was still really nice. There were also a lot of trails for the girls to play on with their cousins.
This is Darci and her cousin Rachel feeding an alpaca. She thought it was great having them eat right out of her hand.

Maile thought it was pretty cool but she was a little more hesitant to let them eat right out of her hand. She was also afraid that they would eat her hair. I have no idea where she got that idea ;)This is Natalie and her cousin Shannon talking while the girls were playng with the alpacas.

Day 2
The next day we went to the Oregon coast.

Maile and Nat wandered around the beach looking for treasures. You should have seen what they wanted to bring home with them, about 3 buckets full of rocks and broken shells.
They had all kinds of fun playing in the sand and mud digging for treasures. Even though it was sunny and it is the coast it was still cold. notice we are all wearing coats, hats and boots.
I took this picture from an overlook. It was just such a cool view. Nat's cousin said we were really lucky because it is rarely clear on the coast.
At the aquarium we went to they had one of those walk through shark tanks. That is what Maile is doing. She is trying to see the sharks swim beneath her. She thought that was pretty cool.Darci and Maile have no fear and are wiling to try just about anything. This was a tide pool inside the aquarium. Darci liked it the most and was touching everything she could get her hands on. She even went behind the display and just started asking the workers what everything is and how they ate and the worker thought that was great. She answered and explained everything that Darci was asking. I think Darci came away knowing more about those sea creatures than anybody else because she was not afraid to ask.

Day 3
On day three we went to Eugene and Saturday Market. If any of you have ever been there it is an experience. If you have not, you need to go. It is a total hippy fest. I like that kind of stuff but even then I could only stay there for a few hours. Part of that was the girls but the other part is I just felt out of place. After the market we went to a Rhododendron garden that Shannon really likes. It was nice and the there were plenty of places for the girls to run and play. The funniest thing is that as we came around a corner into a big clearing we caught Darci just finishing going to the bathroom in one of the flowerbeds. I guess she really had to go and just couldn't wait.

This is the girls at one of the swinging benches in the gardens. Darci and Maile are on the ends. It was fun for Darci because Sierra is the same age as Darci and one of the few kids her age that is the same size as her. She did't just tower over her.
This is the girls playing on a bunch of rocks. Darci is actually posing for this picture. When Maile got off the rocks we couldn't see her at first bcasue she is so small. She just disappeared behind them.
At the market they were doing face painting. Darci and Maile both had to get their faces painted. It was a little pricey but that was all they got there. They loved it. When we were getting ready for church the next day Darci threw a fit when we washed off her horse.
For dinner we went to a place called Papa's Soul Food Kitchen. It was pretty good food. THe lemonade was brought out in mason jars and the portions were huge. I just had to take a picture of their menu because it was a cool layout but also because of the dessert.

Day 5
Sunday was Easter and the girls had a jelly bean easter egg hunt. They thought it was great. They got all kinds of candy.
Maile had a little harder time because she isn't used to having to look for things becasue Darci usually does it for her. The problem with that is that when Darci found the candy she wanted to keep in and not give it to Maile. We jsut threw it all into a big pot and everybody shared it.


Eater was great and the kids really enjoyed it. Thanks to Scott and Shannon for helping get things for us and helping with the baskets and gifts.
This is all the girls in their Easter dresses. Don't they just look adorable?

Day 6
On the last day of our trip we went to Portland to bum around until our flight home. There was a lot of cool things but most of the museums and places we wanted to go were closed when we were there.
We wandered around a plaza and the girls explored for a while. The weather wasn't the best but what can yoiu do. that is Oregon for you. If you wait for it to stop raining you won't do anything most the time.
We were able to meet Nat's cousin Andy for lunch. I think this was only the 2nd time I had seen him in almost 8 years. It was nice to just sit and relax, as much as you can with two little girls like Darci and Maile in a nice restaurant.
After lunch we went to a Japanese garden. It was really cool but the guide went into a littl to much detail and the kids lost interest so we ended up just wandering around the garden looking and all the cool plants and architecture.
After the garden we took a drive up the Columbia River Gorge. There were a ton of waterfalls and I couldn't believe how green it was, of course most of it was moss, but it was still green. The road was really windy and so Nat was a little sick by the time we were done but she said it was worth it.
It was beautiful but I was starting to stress because we were gone for a long time and we had to get back to the airport for our flight and I was worried about that. Luckily we did make iton time and it all worked out. We want to thank Scott and Shannon for allowing us to stay with them and for taking us everywhere. They were the most gracious hosts. We owe ou great time to them.

Starting in the end of March Natalie started trading kids once a week wither her sister in law. I am not sure it is a fair trade for Nat Bird but my Nat loves to have her nephew, Jack. He is cute and the girls love him. If for no other reason, she likes to have Jack because it keeps the girls occupied. He is like a new toy for them.

This is Natalie and Bret trying to tube down a hill. The snow wasn't great and they ate it pretty good and rolled half way down the hill.
This is us just hanging out in the cabin.
This is me and Nat on our own little hike. After the tubing we decided that we wanted to follow a road towards the top. This is is from near the top overlooking Fairview, we think.
This is me on the hike in. Bret brought his 4 wheeler up to shuttle in the food and equipment. Since there wasn't room for the snowshoes I decided I would carry them until he came back and got the rest of the stuff. One problem, as you can see the weather was quite nice and Bret got stuck in the snow and just about completely buried the 4 wheeler. By the time we got up there, there was a hole about 5' deep and 6' in circumference. We helped him finally get out of the hole and as he was backing up he got stuck again so we had to do it all again. It was fun though.
This is Nat on the road up. Isn't she just dead sexy? I think so.

Later in March we went with some friends of ours snowshoeing. The problem is that for most of the hike in there wasn't much snow. We had a lot of fun though. When we got to the top where the cabin was there was enough snow to hike in and tube in. We spent the next two days playing nerts, scum, and eating a ton of junk food and watching movies. All this without any kids. It was great.

In March we had our full family b-day. We have 5 b-day' in my family alone so instead of celebrating them individually we just have one big party.

In February Natalie's Grandma died. It was a sad occasion for all but it was nice to be able to see so many of her family. There were also a ton of people who showed up to show their love and support for her and the fam. It was great to see all the people who's lives she was able to touch. She will be missed. On a lighter note, every time we talk about something sad or are upset about anything Maile picks up on it and always lowers her head and frowns like she is about to cry and says "Grandma Bean died." I guess that is the only reference she has for real sadness. She still says it. In fact she said it today.

It is about time!!

Apparently our blog has not been updated in the last 8 months or so. I guess Nat has really dropped the ball on that one so I guess I have to update you all on the happenings around here. so here goes, the last 8 months.

In December we bought a house in the ward just a few blocks from our old house. That is the main reason we haven't updated for so long and then we just got out of the habit. We closed on the 23rd and were able to work on it for the next 6 weeks before we had to move in. It was a lot of work but it was well worth the effort.This is what the basement looked like when we bought the house. Don't you just love the school floor and golden wallpaper? It looks a lot better now. This is actually the first room we finished. It was just the easiest one to finish. Yes, this picture below is the same room

We spent a few days just scraping off all the wallpaper throughout the whole house Luckily for me, Nat did most of the scraping. I was spending all my time patching, prepping, and installing crown, base and chair rail. Like I said it was a lot of work. This picture is the dining room. It is not real big but it is nice now as you can see in the next picture
This is the kitchen. Nat had Melinda come over and show her how to distress the cabinets. Nat's dad made fun of her for it. He asked her why she would take the time to paint them and then take the paint off. He is a painter. The picture below is the new and improved kitchen.This is the easiest part of the refinishing process. We wanted the floor to be a little bit darker than it was so I spent a few hours staining it, (after I spent about 9 hours sanding the whole thing, all the rooms upstairs are hardwood). They turned out okay. Nat insists that they look great but al I see are the flaws. I guess that is the fault of being the one who did it. Nat says that I am over critical.

This is our master bedroom. It is kind of tight with the log bed but it still looks nice and is a good place to get away from everything.

That is our new home and the reason that we stopped blogging. This just consumed all our time for a while.