Family Vacation

We were able to get away for ten days and flew into Vancouver to visit family. We also decided to drive down to Oregon to do some shopping and eating at some of the food trucks in Portland and then stay at the coast for a few days. We had a really good time! We drove down in our upgraded rental car - we had booked a full sized car at a pretty good price but then were offered an upgrade to a brand new Hyundai Santa Fe for around $10/day at the counter!

The initial drive down to Portland wasn't that fun: Son #2 wasn't used to the long driving and was screaming/loudly babbling/shrieking almost the entire way down. He also didn't like sleeping in the portable crib and I had to bring him into our king bed that was also being shared with Son #1.

Since the sit 'n stand type stroller that we have was too big, we decided to bring just the umbrella stroller in case Son #1 got tired from all of the walking - which he did - and also the Ergo carrier for Son #1 which was good since he would only fall asleep in the carrier while we were out and not in the stroller! My shoulders and legs got a bit sore after carrying him around Downtown Portland all morning, but it was a good workout I guess since we stuffed our faces with Thai food, Japanese food, Voodoo doughnuts, and some handmade ice cream.

I also had a Skype interview for a job that I had applied. I was nervous that the WiFi connection wouldn't be good at the hotel, especially after Husband's cousin said that he was having trouble Skype-ing with his sister the night before on his cell phone. But luckily I brought my laptop because the Skype connection was great and the interview went well since I got the job! Skype interviews are something that I definitely will try to avoid if I ever have to. It was very distracting to see myself on the screen (I kept thinking that I looked funny or worried that I looked nervous) and then I felt more nervous because I was staring intently at the interviewers' faces while they were writing down their notes during the interview.

The drive to the coast was beautiful and it was really nice once we got there because we were able to book a two bedroom condo-style hotel. Son #2 was able to sleep in his portable crib since he wasn't distracted by us being in the same room; we were in the living room talking with Husband's cousin and his family and Son #1 was able to play with his second cousin. Cannon Beach was nice but extremely windy. So windy, that flying a kite involved nothing more than unwinding the string. Someone down the beach accidentally let go of their kite and it flew away over the beachfront buildings!

The drive back went pretty well. We made some stops along the way: Costco (no tax in Oregon and there were so many things I would have bought if we had room!!), giant Korean grocery in Tacoma, WA called Paldo World, yummy Korean restaurant also in Tacoma, WA that had delicious charcoal grilled spicy pork, quick outlet shopping stop in Skagit, WA. Son #2 was really good and fell asleep for most of the drive but started getting fussy near the border.

We had a great vacation, especially since we got to spend so much time with extended family. Now to decide if we can/should go to Hawaii in November. Oh Hawaii... *cue dreamy ukulele music*

Summer = Busy

Where I live, it only feels like Summer for three months and Winter is at least six. So when the weather finally warms up, there is so much to do in a relatively short period of time. Add to that the fact that I only have three months left in my maternity leave *sob* so I'm really trying to squish everything in. 

We moved into our house two years ago and are finally starting to feel settled in. Our neighbours are awesome and we really like our house and yard. My parents generously purchased a playset for our boys at the beginning of the month, which has proven to be a big hit with Son #1. There has also been a growing list of people whom we have yet to invite so I decided to tackle that list this Summer and have had quite a few get togethers already.

If you haven't noticed, I take my food seriously so when I invite people over, I like to make a lot of food; I feel really bad if I invite people over and serve only two or three dishes. Is that weird? I mean, if I go to someone's house and am served only two or three dishes, I don't feel cheated. In fact, our friends invited us over last month and we enjoyed a delicious meal of coconut rice, cucumbers, and balsamic glazed pork tenderloin, plus the most amazing lemon bundt cake for dessert. It was great! 

Needless to say, I make myself very busy when inviting people over and while I love the company, I am very happy that I'm getting through that list of people to invite.

Last Friday we hosted the annual BBQ potluck for my church's moms group. Whoever hosts is in charge of condiments, fixin's and beverages. I wanted to be fun so I provided: ketchup, relish, mayo, roasted garlic and chili aioli,  mustard, dijon mustard, honey mustard, sriracha, sweet chili sauce, BBQ sauce, teriyaki sauce, Frank's red hot sauce, shredded cheddar cheese, sliced marble cheese, sliced blue cheese, caramelized onions, sauteed mushrooms, diced raw onions, red onion slices, lettuce, sliced tomatoes, sliced cucumbers, sliced pickles, sauerkraut, grilled pineapple rings, real bacon bits/crumbles, hot banana pepper rings, roasted peppers, and various potato chips in case people wanted to add them to their burgers or dogs. Real bacon bits? You ask? Yes, because I was cooking two packages of bacon slices in the oven while I was running like mad around my house trying to do last minute cleaning before I realized that I pretty much burned both pans. I tried to nibble on different pieces of charred bacon but they were so far done that I couldn't even taste any of the bacon's smokiness. What a waste. But I don't think anyone really cared because everything else was so fun!

Then on Sunday we had another BBQ potluck but we provided the rice, grilled teriyaki chicken, baked salmon, Korean green onion pancake, and spicy kale and avocado salad. Plus a fruit platter consisting of white peaches (one of my faves!), watermelon, strawberries, and pineapple. I think this was our fourth or fifth large get together this Summer. Large get togethers can get pricey, but if you can plan ahead and purchase things in bulk when they're on sale or even do things potluck style, you can keep costs down. 

So far this Summer, 21 of 25 days have been rainy. You would think that we lived in Vancouver or somewhere! So naturally, I was terrified at the thought of having 15+ kids plus babies on both days being trapped inside of our house with the 15+ adults. Our house has a pretty good layout but it's not huge. I kept telling people to pray for good weather and miraculously, the sun came out and it was beautiful when the guests were here!! The kids ran outside to jump on the trampoline that the previous owners of our house had left behind and to play on our new playset. YAY! After scrubbing out grass stains from our carpet from our guests the weekend before, I was SO relieved. Only three more large gatherings to go!!