thomas

a couple of weekends ago we made the long trek out to hood river to visit a special friend - thomas the train! thomas has been a mild obsession around here for about the last six months or so. i never quite understood the fascination with him (have you seen the show? it's a little strange!), but our boy really loves thomas and all of his friends. we're starting to build quite the little collection here. anyway, thomas comes in real life to hood river once a year, so of course we had to go see what is was all about!

our little engineers!


yep, after a few days of sunshine it decided to rain on us. fortunately it stopped while we were doing all of the outside activities.

i have to admit, he was pretty cool! we approached the train station and there he was in all his smiling glory! the look on kellen's face made the almost $100 in tickets/paraphernalia totally worthwhile. we were running a little late due to an accident along 84, so we were almost the last ones on the five car steam engine (which actually worked out well as we didn't have to stand in line with all the other thomas fans!). as we took off, the engine had us "help" thomas by chanting push, thomas, push and of course the all familiar thomas music was playing in the background. the actual train ride itself was pretty insignificant (especially since the kids and i had just taken a 35 minute train ride around washington park and the zoo a few days before!). we literally went down the tracks about 10 minutes and then back (with a pull, thomas, pull chant of course!).


see the line of people waiting...ya, it went back about 2 full train cars! the "official" picture station is just to the right of the kids and aa!

after the train ride you could stand in line with the other 500 passengers to get your picture taken with thomas - starting at only $12! aa was a smart one and pulled us out of the line and took us to the exit, where we could get the same shot with our own camera for free!!! here is the money shot:


we then met sir topham hat, who both frightened and facisnated maya at the same time. she wouldn't go near him, but kept saying "ata hat! ata hat!". i finally figured out she meant sir topham hat and she'd shout it when he was out of her sight. there were also lots of train tables with trains, blocks, a kid sized train to ride, temporary tattoos, coloring, a thomas movie viewing area (which was a highlight for kellen - really did we need to drive to hood river to watch a thomas show!?), story hour, bounce houses (k was not a fan!) and of course the mother load of thomas toys, trains and trinkets under one giant tent. fortunately we made it out of there without having to purchase another train!


love kellen holding maya's hand! also note his diesel 10 tattoo!



after a couple of hours of thomas overload it was time for lunch...and a beer! we headed up the hill to big horse brew pub for some grub and then over to mike's ice cream for a little treat before the kids and i settled in for a little nappy on the ride home! all in all, a good day.


this girl is trouble!!!


kellen's "don't take a picture of me...funny face"

**side note: we made the mistake of telling kellen about this little adventure on monday when our thomas engineer hat and whistle arrived in the mail. bad idea. every day, every hour we had to discuss when we were going to see thomas!

sneek peak

i've sat down several times to document our maui trip and just haven't found the time to complete it! to move on from the below post, here's a sneak peek. we had so much fun!


boogie boarding in the grass!


my hawaiian girl!


the kids playing in the shallow waters of baby beach in lahaina


enjoying one of many hawaiian shave ice, or "ice sundae" as k liked to call them!


the best nap - right on kaanapali beach with the REAL ocean sound in the background (as opposed to the ocean sound machine we all sleep with every night!).


family pic


self portrait family pic in the hammock (grumpy maya!)


daddy and his babies


mama and m taking a snack break

i'll post more details soon!

decade*

wow, it just dawned on me this morning that this decade is over. what a ten years it has been. so much to look back on. ten years ago i was a 24 year old, account manager, two+ years into my first real job - at maxim group/tek systems selling computer consulting services to companies in north, northeast and southeast portland and vancouver/camas/longview. i was making good money, living with my boyfriend of ~ 3 years and feeling on top of the world! we were dink's and didn't realize how easy life was! today i am a 34 year old, stay at home mom (a term that still makes my heart race...both because it scares the heck out of me and it makes me so happy), wife of 6.5 years, making NO money and tackling the most challenging yet fulfilling job of my life.

some highlights of the last 10 years (via my digital photographs, which i bought in 2003, so 2003 is when it starts!):

january 2003 - free trip to cancun with maxim group/tek systems! lobster, room service whenever we pleased, swimming with the dolphins, dance party, tequila shots...all free and so much fun! why did i quit that job?! oh...i hated it at the end!



may 2003 - aa and i spent 3 weeks in japan - - to visit adam and (his then girlfriend) sarah, our friend brad and my uncle/aunt/cousin. such an incredible cultural experience. i don't know that i fully realized it at the time, though! would love to go back...but there are so many other places in the world to see!


august 16, 2003 - we climbed mt st helens with jan, bryan, adam, stacy and a few others.


july 26, 2003 - aaron popped the big question at salishan on the beach on one knee. elated! finally! ;) sadly...no pics!

september 2003 - we made an offer on our first house - planned to live there for 3 years max...that was 7 years ago and yes, we are still here!



january 2004 - started new job at banfield the pet hospital as a college recruiter. traveled around to different colleges around the country recruiting doctors. fun seeing all college campuses, but the travel got old real fast!

may 1, 2004 - our wedding day! tied (with the birth of my babes) for my favorite day in life.






and 3 week honeymoon in Belize - pure bliss!!






april 12, 2005 - my first day at nike as a recruiter - LOVED working for this brand/company. great people, employee store discounts, challenging work, sample sales, cool events...yes, i was in the audience while phil interviewed mj in honor of his 25th anniversary with nike.


may 2005 (five weeks after i started my new job!) - traveled around peru for 3 weeks and hiked the inca trail to machu picchu w/ the gassner family. amazing!









sept/oct 2006 - 3 weeks in africa in celebration of our 30th birthdays and a big hoorah before we attempt to start a family.





october 22, 2006 - ran the nike women's marathon in honor of my 30th birthday - my mom and mother-in-law came along to celebrate!




march 2007 - december 5, 2007 - pregnant w/ kellen, due date was november 22 (thanksgiving of that year), but 13 days overdue!


august 2007 - babymoon #1, kauai, hi



december 5, 2007 @ 10:46am - our boy is born...first family photo



may 2008 - my first mother's day!


may 1, 2009 - 5 Years! our first night(s) away from kellen for a long weekend to san francisco.


august 2009 - babymoon #2 - maui, hi...a little different with a 1.5 year old!


october 14, 2009 - one week before giving birth...kellen comes down with croup - first ER visit, then ambulance ride to emanuel and overnight stay - 9 months pregnant! poor sick boy, poor pregnant mama.



october 21, 2009 - my 33rd birthday and maya's birthday @ 11:57 pm - our first photo with our girl!



july 2010 - our first family road trip to northern california - super fun and many good memories, but probably our last for at least five years!


september 3, 2010 - my last day at nike. such a bittersweet day. i view it as a sabbatical - extra long and hope to find myself back there when the time is right for us. for now, i'm loving this time and can't wait to see what the next decade brings.

cheers and happy new year/decade* to all.

* i realize acutally that we are probably a year into the official decade, but since this is my blog...i'm counting my last ten years!!! :)