Fantstic Visit to the Zoo

All our excitement for a trip to the zoo was building and building before I even left for Portland, so I didn't have the heart to warn Miki that I hurt my foot and couldn't do it first thing as planned.  And as much as this ankle still bugs me, I am really glad we had to delay our plans because it meant I got to go with the whole family!  That was a real treat, and it was fun to see Ollie's excitement.

 a pair of bald eagles reminded me of home

Ollie cracked himself up, and the rest of us, by touching the goats' ears through the fence in the "petting zoo" area;  he also got to pet a bunny.

It's been surprisingly dry back there, so animals or no animals, Ollie needed a break to jump in this puddle he found.

 We were lucky for a tip from another visitor that this lady is overly bored with gawkers, but if you have something in your bag she might be curious to see, she'll come right up and watch.  She also liked Ollie's bright red shorts.

Checking out the bears and monkeys, warthogs, eagles and elephants really worked up an appetite for an elephant ear.

 Ollie and I got to see giraffes plus their friends the gazelles and hippos.

The grand finale of the trip was to be the ride on the train.  It was grand and the finale, but we missed it by only a few minutes and had  to wait 40 minutes for the next one.  It couldn't be missed, so we went and checked out the penguins and polar bears, seals and otters.  They proved a good distraction for a kid ready to ride the train.

 Ollie was all smiles when we boarded the train - Teddy was hungry.

 Weaving in and out of the trees on our way to Washington Park, there was plenty to see.

All aboard!

What a trip!  Marty carried an empty backpack until we got off the train.  Ollie's spirits ran high as he ran from animal to animal to train.  It was just too much fun, and I can't wait till we can do it again!

I Wanna Go Back!!

Way back when, Thomas and I decided that while he was out of town for a week of training for work, I could pine for him from Portland just as well as I could from home.  Truly, I missed him, but I had a lot more fun spending a week with my family than I would have sitting on the couch waiting for him to walk through the door.

And though a week is a lot longer than a typical long weekend visit to Portland, it still wasn't enough.  However, I will be satisfied until our next trip back.  Of course, I was super excited to meet my new nephew Teddy and my new niece Hannah, but I also spent time with my other three nephews, my cousins, lots of family, and a family of friends from Seattle who came to introduce me to their new little boy.  Plum full, I tell you, with wonderful times and memories.

First stop from the airport was breakfast.  I was hungry!  After a quick coast through the airport in a wheelchair (because of my bum ankle), I realized the downside of such service is that I missed my opportunity to fill up my water bottle and grab a bite.  (I didn't want to be so bossy before 6 am.)  I got in early Sunday with enough time to meet Baby Hannah and her proud parents Auggie and Michelle over eggs and potatoes before it was time for mass, where we were joined by Miki, Marty, and the two boys.  Not to be left out, we headed over to Nick and Jen's for Drew's first birthday party!

What a happy boy - and you can imagine he was all red afterwards!

Teddy was happy to let the other kids open the presents while we watched.

Monday Ollie and I made Tia Bread (pumpkin bread), though Tia forgot the leavening and had to serve up flat bread.  Then we (Miki, the boys, and I) headed south on the 'Vez and went to visit Amy and her kiddos.  Miki snuck off with a birthday date with Mia, and we played games and walked to the park.  Nathaniel was all love for me.  I stuck around when Miki came back to take Ollie home for a nap before heading back to her house.  I also got in a visit with Mom and Dad before dinner at Miki's.

Ollie didn't care that the bread was flat. 

 

Maddie just loves the babies!

Monica refereed a game of Trouble, though I think the pieces ended up on all their fingertips instead.

Ben, looking rather like Linus with his blue blankie. 

Tuesday I got to be the babysitter.  It was really a delightful day, though I have no pictures to show for my adventures.  Miki and Teddy went to her appointment, while Ollie and I went to ride MAX - the lightrail in Portland.  Ollie was nearly speechless with excitement.  We watched big trucks and buses and all sorts of recognizable large vehicles pass on the highway.  We saw "big tractors" and watched a wrecker "pack it down" as he demolished a building.  We also went to Burgerville, where Ollie demolished my bean burger and blackberry milkshake.  It was a treat to enjoy them, but even more delectable to share them.  Ollie looked like a king in his sunny-g's sitting in the booster seat and slurping down milkshake.  In the afternoon I got to watch Cole and Drew at my parents' house.  The little kiddie pool was entertaining, as Cole was happy to splash me unceasingly.  Then we switched into dry clothes and played in the toy box downstairs.  He may be as big as a 6 year old, but Cole is only 3 and has a wonderfully wild imagination.

Cole got to visit Jewel, Mia's bunny, after Jen got back from her appointment.

Tuesday night, Dad took me to the movies - a rare treat to visit a movie theater for me.
Wednesday after a visit to my grandparents, Mom and I met everyone else for a morning of swimming.  Then she and I traveled on to Vancouver to see an aunt who recently moved to town.  I jumped around in the evening, helping Miki put the boys to bed before watching a movie from Dad's collection.

Nick stopped by on his lunch break to watch his brave boys in the water.

The Greenlee boys sporting their Babiators poolside - so stinkin' cute.

Thursday after mass in the morning, I got to spend the day with my goddaughter Maddie - about to celebrate her 11th birthday.  We went to pottery painting and out to lunch and then got to see Auggie and Michelle's new home.  It was a full day of fun before getting to have a special ice cream date with Miki while Marty put the boys to bed.

Toasting our (empty) Italian sodas at the Old Spaghetti Factory

Loving every minute of holding Baby Hannah - I just loved bouncing and rocking and cooing with her.

Yes, I was good and shared...Maddie enjoys the babies, too.

Teddy must have thought he was getting ice cream, such a happy baby!

 

Friday was momentous.  First, the Greenlees took me to zoo, or rather, we all chased Ollie around the zoo.  It is deserving of its own post with pictures, but if the animals weren't enough, we also road the train, which gave Ollie a perma-grin.  They were so kind to drop me off at a brewery where I met Baby John for the first time.  He was there with his doting parents Erin and Lotson - great friends from my Denver days.  I also ran into my older goddaughters' parents there.  Such fun!  They came over and joined the extended family for a feast of sushi on my last night in town.

Seriously fantastic trip to the zoo - just wait for more...

John was so happy for us getting to sip beers and snack on yummy pretzels.

Saturday morning came way to early, but it meant I would be home in Tom's arms all the more quickly.  I made it to Denver and got to visit even more kiddos - Kiri and Elia.  I enjoyed a few more visits (and a little bit of grocery shopping) before pulling up to the house in a fit of rain.  And I couldn't have received a better welcome from Tom.  It's so good to have him close!

Starting on a Bad Foot

August has blown by in a whirlwind.  I am not ready for September, and yet it feels like it might start tomorrow.  Slow down world - I can't walk that fast!  Yes, because I started the month on a bad foot...I fell.  It hurt.  It made crackly noises that scared me worse than having to tell people I did it putting clean sheets on the bed. 

After a day up and down the scaffolding filling in the ceiling with insulation, after a day of climbing ladders and crouching in the bathroom to finish laying the tile, after a solid day of work on the house, it was "housework" that took me out.  Tom was gracious and tender, putting up with my whimpering.  It was Saturday at 10:30 pm, so I was definitely going to sleep on it.  Sunday morning I planned to go to the hospital after mass in the morning, but after a sleepless night and throbbing in my ankle, I pleaded to go sooner than later.

Again, Tom was patient and gentle with me, fixing up my crutches to keep me off my foot.  The x-rays revealed no breaks or fractures, which meant the crackly noises sounded worse than they were.  Thank God!  It is lousy to hobble, but a relief to know I'll be back on the ladder and scaffolding sooner than later.  (All the same, I'll be gimping through the airport on my trip to and from Portland!)