Easter!...sort of

The Thursday before Easter weekend Aaron flew to Arizona to meet his dad and pick up our new ride....my parent's mini-van!  Yep- you got it.  We are the proud new owners of a mini-v!  I never thought I'd say those words.  BUT, that road trip will be the next post!  So Parker and I knew we'd be home alone Easter weekend and we had the entire time planned out.  Three egg hunts, parties to attend, bbq's....but then good ol sickness took over.  LONG story short, Parker got super sick with Hand, Foot, Mouth virus aka hell.  It was horrible, to say the least.  So all our plans were thrown out the window and we did not leave the house for days.  Lucky for me- and Parker- my awesome neighbor called me on Easter morning to check in on us and let me know that the Easter bunny had dropped a little something off for Parker at the front door (I was planning on getting her a basket that weekend, which didn't happen).  It was such a great little pick-me-up for her!  She was stoked!!

 She took every egg out, one by one, and lined them up first.

 Then she found the balloons, then the stickers, then...the chocolate!

 The aftermath of a chocolate induced high on an empty stomach...she took off running!

 Chocolate face...

Edgefield McMenamins

Last weekend we drove up to Troutdale, OR which is just little East of Portland, for a wedding.  The wedding was held at a McMenamins property called Edgefield.  McMenamins hotels are AMAZING!  There are quite a few all over Oregon, they are all either old schools, churches or in this case is was an old poor farm from 1911.  I could go on and on about the golf course, all the little bars tucked in here and there, the amazing soaking pool...but you'll have to look it up yourselves!

 We checked in early so we could have time before the wedding to enjoy the awesome 102 degree pool!

 Parker was in heaven!

 I was obsessed with the back of her dress!

 Happy hour!  In between the wedding and the reception...

 Parker's little friend Starra was in attendance as well.

Parker and the bride Emily

Parker was exhausted on the drive home after a fun weekend!

Snow?!

Before the epic late March snowfall we got yesterday, we went to the Ducks basketball game with a group of friends.  Parker loves basketball!  For real.  And she is obsessed with the U of O's mascot...the Duck.

Ok...yesterday we got 7" of snow in the Valley.  Sounds like this is the most snow we've ever had here...ever!  It was that heavy, wet snow...perfect for snowman building and perfect for trees to get so overloaded they come crashing down!  Driving through town, you would think a tornado hit with all the downed trees!  But we made the best of it.

 We walked down to the park and found out how awesome it is to slide down a super slippery slide!  She would end up launching off the end and landing on her butt...she did this over and over again!

 Aaron telling her not to eat yellow snow...

 Our neighbors Cherry tree came crashing down and through our fence...

 Our friend's Kaylon and Arlo to the rescue with their chainsaw!

Best way to end a snow day?  At the bowling alley!  I didn't get any pictures of us actually bowling, but Parker is obsessed with the race car game and of course...the stuffed animal game.

Finally home for some books and bedtime...a good snow day in the Willamette Valley!

Sunny Days!

It has been super nice outside the past few days...so after I pick Parker up from school we've been hitting up our favorite park for hours of running around!  First we hit up Sweet Life bakery and picked up a power muffin to go with our milk.

 Parker's newest obsession is digging in the sand.  This entire area has things hidden in it that the kids have to dig up and find.  It is super cool and is channeling the inner archaeologist in Parker!

 The park has this little town in it...she loves running from place to place sitting on all the benches and stools.

Given the current weather, Aaron is really picking up his fishing time...and it's paying off!  We enjoyed fresh Steelhead once again, this evening!  

 One piece in a teriyaki glaze and the other over a bed of sweet potatoes with a horseradish cream dill sauce.

Seriously...does every child look and eat like this?  Food in her hair, clothes, face...every where!  Oh well, at least she's a super eater!

March!

The weather is getting nice, moods are picking up and fun is being had!  On that note, Parker loves dirt.  She seriously loves it and loves to eat it.  It should be an interesting summer!

 Right down the street from our house is a little farmer's market.  This weekend they had two little baby goats.  So cute!  I want one and so does Parker.

I went on a work trip to North Carolina for a week...leaving Aaron and Parker at home for some serious bonding time!  Here are a couple pics from my time in NC.

From the left...Patrick, Bob, myself and Eric.

 Chapel Hill...we went to a sports bar called Top of the Hill to watch the UNC basketball game.  We sat outside on the balcony with a great few of all the action down on the street!

 This is where we were...and that balcony you see pictured is where we were sitting.

 One small section of our showroom.

So when I got home, Parker and I went out for a morning date while Aaron went fishing (standard!).

We had a latte...

 And played in a toy store!  A great way to spend the morning back at home.

 She did not want to leave "her horse".  She kept looking at it and "neighing".  She's so cute!