Easter

With each passing year the holidays are becoming more and more fun as Parker starts to really get into them.  I can't wait until Asher is too!  But even he got into the annual egg hunt we have at our neighbors house.  

Preparing for the egg hunt!

Rich giving instructions on where he "thinks" the Easter bunny hid eggs

Even Asher found some!

This was the best I could get for a group photo.  Parker, Asher and Jackson

Opening eggs!  Chocolate, balloons, money...

After the hunt Rich always blows tons of balloons for the kids to run and pop

After the hunt, Parker and I ran to this great little kids clothing and toy store where she got her face painted as a bunny!

Note the purple bow...the store clerk put it in her hair to keep it back while painting...forgot it was even there until we got home and Parker mentioned it was still there.  Opps!

 That night we went over to Starra's house to dye eggs.  Funny story- Parker got super upset on the way over because she did not want her eggs to "die".  Classic.

Ya by this point Parker only had the ears of her bunny left on her face.

They really got into decorating!

 The next day was Easter.  We actually went to church even!  Our neighbor (who has the egg hunt) is a pastor is town so he invited us to their church.  Parker and Asher played in child care during the service so all was peaceful and relaxing.

 I completely forgot to take pictures of them actually searching for their baskets!  But here is Parker enjoying a game the Easter bunny brought her.

Spring Break

 87 years later...I'm back!  Maybe I'll designate a day to be my "update blog" day.  In the mean time, I need to do a recap on the month of March!  Al, Mary Lou and Sky came out for the week of spring break.  Our main goal of their time here besides having a fun and relaxing trip was to brain-wash Skylar as much as possible to come to college out here.  So we started off their trip with a Ducks baseball game...of which I have no pictures.  The next day we did a walking tour of campus and got him hooked up with the proper UofO hoodie.  

 We climbed around at the columns, the local outdoor climbing wall, hiked up the butte downtown for a photo opt, then took the kids to a favorite park.

On top of Skinner's Butte

Even Sky got into playing with the kids

 

  In the down time we worked on getting the garden ready, seeds planted and Sky gave Parker a lesson on drawing.

Talking about where and when to plant seeds

Orangie loved Sky's suitcase!

One of the days Aaron had off of work we went to the coast.  It was beautiful out with a good amount of wind to get a couple of kites flying.  Sky and Parker had a blast climbing up and running down the sand dunes.  We were the only ones of the beach for quite awhile!

Papa Al and Parker

Parker, Papa Al, Aaron and Asher

Hiking back out from the beach spot

And of course, it wouldn't be a complete trip without a fishing trip or two!  I instructed the boys to take a bunch of pictures...this is all I got.

Until next time, Olsen posse!

A First Birthday Weekend!

It's been awhile since I've posted anything!  I've been busy trying to entertain a 3 1/2 year old and a NOW 1 year old!  We kicked off Asher's birthday weekend with Valentine's Day...Aaron's favorite holiday of all time.  The kids and I went downtown for an ice cream treat and Daddy left work early to join us.  Turns out Asher loves ice cream just as much as his sister!  But before the ice cream adventure we hit up our favorite park to work up an appetite.  

A cone and a sundae!

Aaron and I are part of a meal swap group that consists of four other families.  Basically we make four meals that we give to the four other families and we get four other meals in return.  It rules!  We meet once a month and for the next few days after the swap, we don't even think about what we need to make for dinner.  So on the Saturday of Asher's birthday weekend, we had everyone over to our house to swap.

All the food!  The first row (from left to right) were all the meals we got.

All the kids playing nicely together...a miracle!

Then is was finally Asher's birthday!!  Let's be honest, the first birthday is more for the parents than the kid.  So we just had a family day...did the presents, ate cupcakes and ended the day with a trip to the park and Indian food (Asher's favorite). 

Parker enjoyed "helping" Ash with his presents.

Cupcake time!

His favorite part was the frosting...

The rest basically ended up on the floor.

This is Parker crying because I started to take the wrapper off her cupcake which RUINED it.

The day ended with smiles and the sugar high being worn off at the park!  Asher loves his new one piece rain suit from Nana Sue and Papa Rick...ok, I may love it more than he does but really that's what matters!

The Big One Year Old!

A Minnesota Christmas 2013

I flew back to Minnesota with Parker and Asher on the 11th of December for our Christmas vacation.  It was awesome having all that time to spend with family and friends we don't get to see all the time!  Aaron flew back and met us on the 20th and we all flew back to Oregon together on the 31st.  There were family gatherings, ice fishing sessions and a lot of other activites which made the trip fly by before we knew it!

The kids were great on the flights there!

Best type of baby on a plane...a sleeping one!

 Parker and I found mine and my sister's stash of barbies that we had as kids!  Parker was in heaven.  We also found our old dance costumes which she loved to dress up in.

This was her all time fav...the one she spent most of her time in

 Of course a Christmas trip to MN would not be complete without an ample amount of time ice fishing!  Parker and I even caught some fish!

The Ice Castle!

Aaron's huge 11" sunfish

And Al's BIG fish

Fishing isn't the only thing that happens out there

The water was so clear you could see the fish come up and bite your line.  It was awesome!

 One afternoon we drove up to Grand Forks, ND for a Kvasager gathering!

 We also had a couple family gatherings with my mom's side of the family which is always fun to see cousins, aunts, uncles, great grandma and grandpa!

Asher and Great Papa D

My cousin Steph, her daughter Avery and us

Some of the Davison cousins!

Parker and Great Grandma D

Fit in a morning playdate with my great friend Jana and her kids...

Three 3 year olds and a 10 month old...all playing, no fighting!

 We attended a wine party with my old friends which is always a great time...

Squeezed in a trip to the dentist and a teeth cleaning with Grandma Mary Lou!

Spent a lot of time playing some new card games...Go Fish is a favorite now.

Even got in a quick swim!

Parker and Grandma Mary Lou

We saw Santa and there were no tears!

And then there was Christmas!  We spent the 24th with my family...

 Left some cookies and milk out for Santa...

And spent the 25th with Olsen's...

Cozy by the fire for a movie

 And before we knew it, it was time to head to Minneapolis to fly home!  We went down the night before our flight and stayed with our good friends Brian and Amanda and their two kids.  Parker and Grant always have a great time when they see each other!  Uncle Robb, Aric and Dave were able to drive over and spend some time with us too.

Grant, Parker, Robb and Asher

Nora and Asher enjoying some dinner together

The flight home looked a little something like this...

 All in all it was a fantastic time spent at home!  We always talk about the idea of moving back because we have such a fun time with family and old friends but then we remember what the weather can be like in the winter months...

YIKES!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!