Picking Pears

Last weekend, (October 17), we took a break from trip planning and stressing and drove to Sherwood for some pear (and apple) picking.

Once we got all lined out from the very intense apple/pear lady, we set out.  It was the last Saturday of the season, so there were few apples and lots of people.  Still, it was so gorgeous.

I really like this boy.

Big fan of this kid, too.

This girl is just too sweet.  Do you know what she is obsessed with right now?  Obsessed?  Ethiopia and her baby sister.  (Can't say I blame her!)

There were three pictures in this pose.  This is the best one of me (and only me), but it's my blog!  So there!  I so rarely make an appearance on this thing, I have to do what I can.  Right?

Somehow the intense pear lady let us use one of her prized 'pickers'.  Garrett was all about the picking.  No one is surprised though, right?

I can't even find my baby girl in her sometimes.

This laden tree was maybe off limits, but it was by the (very bare) pear tree, so we helped ourselves to a few.  Don't tell the lady!

Our wild family!

Test

4T Trail (but not on a Sunday)

At least not on a Sunday between September and June!

A few weeks ago, I am not even sure when it was now, we headed into Portland to tackle the 4T trail.  We've had such a beautiful Autumn here and I'd been wanting to do it for a while.  In case you are wondering, 4T stands for trail, tram, trolley, train.  It's a pretty cool thing, actually, and we really enjoyed it.  The only problem was that the whole reason my kids (and husband) were AMPED for it was that they'd been wanted to ride that aerial OHSU tram ever since it was built a few years ago.  After the 4 mile hike we were so excited to do the whole 'tram' thing, but it doesn't run on Sundays!  SO disappointing.  So we hiked a bit longer, into downtown Portland, took a shortened trolley ride, hung around Pioneer Courthouse Square for a few minutes and then rode the train back to the zoo, where our car was parked.

My Motley Crew taking a little break.

It was kind of like a scavenger hunt watching for all the 4T signs- kids loved it!

Stopped for a little map reading.

The Fall scenery was breathtaking.

Once we realized we couldn't do the tram we walked some more.  Everyone (except me) was surprisingly good spirited about the whole thing, considering.  I was admittedly pouty and grumpy about it.  They all gave me some space.

The trolley was cool though.

So was Pioneer Courthouse Square.  We definitely don't get these babies to downtown Portland enough.

It was a good time.  We'll definitely have to do it again.  But not on a Sunday!

Spinning

My head is spinning this afternoon.  So much to process.  Shots, flights, guest houses, photos, donations, cleaning, orthodontist stuff, preschool stuff, classroom volunteer stuff, jog-a-thon donations, and is that a coffee stain on my shirt?  Is Carter going to be okay with all of this?  (yes.)  Adrenaline, adrenaline, adrenaline.  Not complaining (well, kind of about the coffee (?) stain), just processing here.  Sometimes sitting here, looking at words and pictures helps me regroup and process.  Paralyzed with all that needs to be done.

So, I'm processing.

Here is a picture of peace.

I'm taking deep breaths.

5 Years

Joel has been cancer free for 5 years, today.  Most of you know about that time in our lives.  It wasn't fun.  Joel's diagnosis marked the beginning of a very tough year that included a tumultuous pregnancy, the death of my grandma, Carter born 4.5 weeks early, and my childhood best friend losing her fight with cancer.  The year from Hell ended with me quitting my job literally the day before I was supposed to go back.  It was intense.

And here we are, 5 years later.  Joel's cancer turned out to be a blip on the radar of our life, and after 5 years of monitoring, he is 'cured.'  Our Carter, who was constant Action in utero, has been a mellow, hilarious, and joyful little boy.   (And is currently learning independence and testing his limits.  Yes, he is normal!)  Our Bigs are healthy and happy, and now, we are thrilled to be adding to our family through adoption.

Speaking of which, today we received our long awaited court date for our daughter to be in Ethiopia.  You can read about it over here.  Just too weird to be coincidence.  We feel .  .  . what?  Thankful?  Grateful?  Blessed?  Yes, but not even close.  All of those things seem so trite and cliche.  All in all, we had a lot to celebrate today.  And we did.  A nice, quiet, dinner- just the 5 of us.  It was lovely (except for the ice cream that never did actually freeze), and we all talked about memories over the past 5 years and so many things to look forward to.  Here's to so many more years of loving and laughing!

Disneyland!

At the end of September we went to Disneyland with my Aunt Bec and Joel's parents. It was marvelous- we had a blast! Since our trip to Ethiopia is still months away, we figured it would be fun to have a trip with the kids before we add a baby to the mix. Our plan was to "Big Kid" it up at Disneyland- the last time we'll be able to do it for a while. Carter is 4, and since Garrett was 4 when he started to really love the fast rides, we thought it would be perfect.

Well, we had a great time and it was perfect . . . except that Carter still hates the fast rides. Newsflash, Sarri! Carter is different than Garrett! (duh!)

But it was so nice to get away. We swam and ate out and watched tv and RELAXED. We stayed up late and slept in (some mornings). We visited and belly laughed and ate way too much junk food.

I didn't take my big camera, just my (new!) iphone, so here is a slide show of our fun. If you're my friend on FB you've already seen some of these!

And, because it makes me belly laugh, here is Joel and I on Dumbo. We are SUCH dorks. And I swear, my forehead is big, but this phone makes it 3x bigger! I turned it off right before Joel said, "Are you TRYING to get your forehead?!?"

Negotiations

We're (apparently) doing family Halloween costumes this year. This morning we were googling and talking and trying to figure out something (easy and cheap, yet creative) that would work for everyone. We hit a wall when Garrett declared, "IF I CAN'T BE A STAR WARS HOT DOG, I'M NOT GOING TO BE ANYTHING AT ALL!"

Okay then. Back to the drawing board.