Marin's Meanderings

Revisiting the Past

2011-11-29T09:13:00.000-08:00

One Sunday in early October, the 2nd of Oct. to be exact, we were out for a family walk on a nice new path in Wilsonville. It was a wet day, but that didn't stop the kids from wanting to play on a school playground that bordered the walking trail. Keenan's favorite thing to do at playgrounds of late, is the monkey bars--something he has been successful at for the past several months. He falls off sometimes, which all kids do. Unforrtunately, this time he apparently fell on his right arm (none of us witnessed the fall). He, of course, cried--but not very hard. We looked at it and nothing looked differently. He cont'd to complain, but mostly about having to continue to walk because we hadn't started our actual walk yet when the kids got sidetracked by the playground. After 15 minutes of complaining, we turned around and went home. Well, long story short. 4 hours later when Keenan's arm started to swell, we called the Providence advice line and were sent to the Milwaukie Providence ER where Keenan's arm was x-rayed and found to be broken in 2 places. After seeing an Orothopedic surgeon two days later, we were given further bad news: the break in Keenan's Ulna was too close to the elbow joint and so surgery would be needed to place a pin in his bone. Bummer.

So here is Keenan wearing his splint at Emanuel Hospital for an "out-pt" surgery. We arrived at 9:00 in the morning and didn't leave until 4pm in the afternoon. He doesn't look too thrilled in this picture, but he actually had quite a bit of fun riding the small cars and playing video games in the kid's waiting room.

This is the silly Keenan we know and love.

Waiting in the pre-op room and trying to keep Keenan occupied. He had already been given a dose of a relaxant and it was quite entertaining to see him start to act a little "drunk."

Post operation. Keenan slept for a VERY long time. He looked so peaceful.

Back to his usual crazy ways. In many ways, that cast did not slow him down one bit. Writing and eating were another story. He already had a difficult time writing with his right hand and so if you can imagine the struggle he had trying to write with his left. . . . Eating with his left hand was actually easier than I thought it would be. In fact, after he got his cast off, he continued to eat with his left hand for several days afterwards. He may have never stopped if we hadn't prompted him to use his right hand.

Last photo before we headed to the Dr's office to get his cast off.

4 weeks later and the cast is off! I had never witnessed a cast coming off and didn't really know what to expect. The technician said it would only tickle Keenan and boy, was that true! Keenan squirmed and kicked (the technician, yikes!) and I had to contain his flailing body parts while his cast was being "sawed" off. I brought Keenan's sling as recommended because his arm obviously would need some transition time from bent to straight. He gladly wore it pretty much the rest of the day, but by the next day he was as good as new :).

Epilogue: Later x-rays show the arm to be healing very nicely. Bummer thing is that in 5 or so months Keenan will have to go back into surgery to have the pin removed. Sorry, kiddo! :(

The Things Kids Say

2011-11-28T20:00:00.001-08:00

Keenan: I want to marry a girl in my class.

Me: What's her name?

Keenan: Addie Mae.

Me: Why do you want to marry her?

Keenan: Because she's so nice and doesn't do anything bad. . . I really want to marry her. . but not now--when I'm older like you and daddy.

Keenan's Kindergarten Picture

Go Outside

2011-11-19T11:27:00.000-08:00

A little recap of some of the Mattias' outside adventures. The music is by The Lonely Forest.

Happy Easter

2011-05-09T20:00:00.000-07:00

I know I'm late posting for Easter, but if you compare what I've been doing the whole year (basically nothing), I think I'm doing pretty good! :) We had 2 Easter Egg Hunt's this year: One on Saturday (I try to separate the commercialism with the religious significance of the holiday) at home with all the candy; the other one, a small one down at Grandma and Grandpa's house in Dallas and with all the eggs we and my brother Paul's family dyed. This was the first year that Molly questioned the reality of the Easter Bunny and even now, I'm not sure if she believes or not because Kevin and I never gave her a straight answer. I don't want her to grow up! Next thing we know, she will stop believing in Santa Claus and I can not have that!

Anyhow, our house is not very big with not very many hiding places and so I thought Keenan and Molly would find their eggs quite fast. I was surprised how long it did take them. I love my kids, but they sure aren't very observant! ;0

Funny thing also is that Keenan kept following Molly around and of course, she was taking everything in her path leaving nothing behind for Keenan. We took several video clips and you could overhear me several times telling Keenan to go to a different place in the house or telling Molly to leave SOME candy for Keenan :) The first picture below is of Keenan with not very many eggs in his basket. Fortunately, he could care less, he was having a good time.

Keenan taking a break from the hunt to enjoy some candy.

Molly very pleased with her haul of the loot.

Easter egg hunt in Dallas. The clouds decided to open up right about this time, but the kids didn't seem to care too much.

I think this is a great picture.

Couldn't resist taking a picture of the slug who found his way on top of the brightly colored easter egg hidden in the green grass.

Always a challenge to get four little kids to not only smile, but to also LOOK at the camera :) (I love little Coley hefting that big egg up in the air: it was stuffed with rice krispy treats-yum!)

My baby boy is 5!

2011-05-08T21:05:00.000-07:00

I've had this post in edit-form for quite some time now and figured it was time to publish it since I've got an Easter post all ready to go. Keenan turned 5 back on February 24th and although he wanted to go to Legoland for his birthday, we had to scale back his grand idea a bit and go to Spaghetti Factory and Wunderland Arcade instead :). He did, however, get some cool lego sets from his Aunt Karen and Uncle Peter and also from us. Keenan's most favorite thing in the world right now is Legos and will do ANYTHING to get a new Lego set. Fortunately for him, I'm very fond of building lego sets and we can spend hours together reading the directions and looking for the pieces. It's so great that something like this can hold his attention for so long :). I hope some day we can take him to Legoland. He would love it!

Helicopter from the 3-in-1 Set

Star Fighter Ship

Spaghetti Factory: Mine and Keenan's favorite restaurant. Keenan would probably eat spaghetti and meatballs every day if he could.

Happy spaghetti eaters.

Keenan's choice of desserts: a rich, chocolate shake

Wunderland Nickel Arcade: No Miss Pacman or other classic games, but that didn't matter to the younger generation: they just like games that win tickets to buy prizes!

You can't see it in the picture, but Keenan is actually driving a semi-truck :)

Some extra photos I threw in. He had a babysitter this day who styled his hair all spiky. "I'm a porcupine," he said to me when I got home from work.

It's still hard for me to believe that my baby boy is 5 years old now. This fall he will enter kindergarten and I don't want to let him go! I'm so glad he is such a cuddly boy because I always want to hold him on my lap and give him lots of hugs and kisses. I know that that will probably change in the not too distant future, so for now, I will take advantage and cherish it while I can. I love you, Keenan!

My 4-y.o. genius

2011-01-25T19:14:00.000-08:00

I know every mother says their child(ren) are geniuses, and I am no exception :). Keenan has recently started speech therapy again through PSU's graduate program. He's working with a nice grad. student named Dan. He's only had a few sessions and most of it has been testing his cognitive skills focusing on language--both receptive and expressive communication. Keenan has some quite severe speech deficits including the inability to say sounds such as t, d, s, ch, sh, and th. Unfortunately, some may judge a person's intelligence by the way they speak and honestly, I've had my worries--esp. when Keenan didn't start to say any words until he was 3. So, if you can imagine my delight and quiet pride when Keenan answered one question after another correctly. He knows SOOOO much! He solved both addition and subtraction word problems. He repeated phrases that were 8 and 9 words long. He could pick out sentences that didn't sound right. His vocabulary is amazing. One of the tests he took AND FINISHED is normally stopped as soon as a child answers 3 or 4 questions in a row incorrectly. Well, Keenan was answering questions a 6 y.o. would know until there were no more questions! If only he could have kept going!

Keenan may have a long way to go toward correcting his speech patterns, but Kevin and I are definitely proud parents of our goofy, crazy kid. He's a joyful, bright star in our family.

Oh and, happy birthday my dear husband, Kevin. You say that 43 is a boring number/year, but be glad you aren't turning 83! You have so many more years to live! I love you!

Do Jump!

2010-12-11T19:23:00.000-08:00

Molly and I don't always get to have "girl's only" time, so when my tennis friend, Kim, e-mailed last night with a generous offer to go see Do Jump! today, I couldn't say "no." In fact, I said, "yes" without yet securing a babysitter for Keenan (Kevin was working)--That's how much I wanted to go! Having never seen a production of Do Jump before, I wasn't sure what was in store for us, but had heard rumors that the shows were very good. And the rumors were true! From the pre-show, money-soliciting tap-dancer, to amazing jugglers, aerialists, and entertaining actors/dancers/acrobats, Molly and I were laughing, clapping and singing (the crowd was included in the show as well) throughout. The fun was comparable to Cirque du Soleil, but in a more intimate, smaller-scale way. So enjoyable! Briefly I wished that I had brought Keenan, but then I quickly remembered that Keenan can't sit in a seat for more than 10 minutes! Some day, my boy. Maybe you can have a "boy's day out" with dad who was very jealous that Molly and I were going to go see this amazing show without him. Sorry Kevin!

Memories

2010-12-09T22:38:00.001-08:00

I was looking for a ring toss game for work tonight when I accidentally came across this. When we were kids, we used to love playing Skittles when we went to visit Grandma and Grandpa Compton in Roy. They kept it down in the basement along with a mini-pool set which was also very entertaining. Now that I look back, I also remember a ping-pong table which was not useable because it was covered a foot deep with paper (e.g., newspaper, magazines). Grandpa I believe, was a hoarder which kind-of explains my dad's difficulty throwing (or recycling) "paper" away: like father like son.

Anyhow, those are some good memories--memories I am still making because I love to play games now as much as I did back then :)

Songs of 2010

2010-12-04T07:30:00.000-08:00

The family and I don't listen to enough new music to be able to create a top 10 songs of the year list. We were lucky enough to just get seven. So, here is the Mattias' family top seven songs of 2010, in alphabetical order

1. Animal by Neon Trees

Marin introduced this song to the family. She was a little leery of having the kids hear this song due to it's lyrics. But now whenever Molly or Keenan hear this song on the radio, they ask for the volume to be turned-up so they can sing along with it.

2. Dogs Days Are Over by Florence and the Machine

This song just wants to make you dance. If you haven't seen the Youtube video of the baby in the car seat dancing to this song, you might want to check it out. Love the hand clapping and drumming in this song.

3. I'm Awake Now by Ricky Skaggs and Molly Skaggs

Heard a snippet of this song on NPR, came home and found it on their web page. After playing it a few times, Marin came upstairs to find out what song I was playing. It is a very soothing song that would probably put you to sleep, if it wasn't so good. Sorry I couldn't find a link for this song on Youtube.

4. Just One Dance by Caro Emerald

If I had to choose an album of the year, I would pick her album Scenes from the Cutting Room Floor. The whole album is great, and this song is my favorite off the the album. When driving in the car, Molly will ask for this cd to be played. When your kids request music you like, it must be good.

5. King of Anything by Sara Bareilles

Being from Humboldt County didn't hinder Sarah's chances for making this list. This song makes me think of spring; and spring is a great time to be in the Pacific Northwesrt after a long, gray, wet winter.

6. Little Drummer Boy as done by Pink Martini

This standard holiday classic is a good song to begin with, but you add the Pink Martini touch and it just makes the song so much better.

7. Turn off this Song and Go Outside by The Lonely Forest

This band had my top song of 2009, We Sing In Time. They came back again this year and released another great song. A Pacific Northwest band that knows how to rock.

Three Summer Trips

2010-09-11T09:18:00.000-07:00

(Guest writing for Marin, Kevin)

This summer we didn't have any extended vacation trips, but we did have a few outdoor adventures. Since Marin works every other weekend, she was only able to join Molly, Keenan and I on one of them.

Christmas Valley

Our first trip was over Memorial Day weekend. While Marin has written about the events on Memorial Day, I will describe the events that Molly, Keenan and I had over the weekend. Saturday morning saw the kids an I heading over the Cascade Mts., with a packed car for a weekend of camping and exploring. Our first stop was the bouldering rocks outside of Sisters. Keenan and I discovered these rocks last summer and had a great time on them. Molly, Keenan and I had a fun time again scrambling over these rocks. There are a few spots where you can do top roping, but most are suitable for bouldering. There are quite a few rocks scattered in a beautiful Ponderosa pine forest.

Molly and Keenan on top of a rock after a successful climb

Molly working herself up between two rocks

A family portrait

After our time on the rocks, we headed into Bend to fill up on supplies for our camping trip. Both Molly and Keenan made sure we bought marshmallows so we could roast them over a fire. We bought the biggest marshmallows I have ever seen. They were billed as the perfect marshmallows for roasting. We'll see about that.

After stocking up, we headed into the wilderness southeast of La Pine. We stopped at the South Ice Cave to explore this lava cave. There is good reason for calling it an ice cave, as there are patches of ice all through out it. It can be quite dangerous since it is pitch dark in there. Even with a flashlight, it is hard to see what you are stepping on. We did get a few surprise as our feet landed on ice after stepping over a rock. I brought jackets for the kids to wear in the cave. Molly used hers, but Keenan being Keenan didn't want to wear his, even though it was probably 50 degrees inside the cave.

You can get an idea of how dark it is in the cave and the types of rock we had to climb over to make are way down into the cave. Going about a half mile into the cave, my protective, fatherly instincts kicked in. Since we were now in pitch black, with only one flashlight, I could see one of my kids getting seriously hurt down there. So it was time to turn around and head out. Both kids did fine and really enjoyed being in the cave. But what they really wanted to do was get to campground so we could set up the tent.

We stayed at Cabin Lake campground, which was an abandoned forest service campground. No running water or toilets. It did have picnic tables and fire pits. That is all we really needed. We were roughing it.

Molly and Keenan in the tent

The biggest marshmallows we have ever seen. We had canned stew for dinner, then we roasted marshmallows. The problem with these marshmallows being so big is that the outside gets burnt before the inside gets melted.

The next morning we headed down to Fort Rock State Park. Our first stop at the park was the bathrooms, since our campsite had none. Fort Rock is a tuff ring that rise out of the desert floor. It rises 200' from the ground and has a circumference of 4000 feet around. It is volcanic rock that has been eroded away by the ancient lake that surrounded it and today's elements. The sides of the tuff makes it look like a fort, thus the name.

Molly and Keenan sitting on the rocks at Fort Rock

Walking from one side to the other

It was a long walk, so the kids had to rest.

Looking down from the top of the rock walls.

We ate lunch in the town of Christmas Valley, then head to the Crack in the Ground. This was my favorite part of our trip. It is a volcanic fissure that is over 2 miles long. At some points it is over 70 feet high. It reminds me a little of slot canyons of southern Utah.

The start of the crack.

Deep in side the crack.

At one point the crack opened up to where sunlight could get down to the bottom, and up sprouted grass.

A tight fit.

They did a great climbing trough the crack and scrambling over rocks. After hiking the whole length, the kids were tired. We walked back to the trail head on top of the crack. Just looking out over the land, you would never know that just a few feet over was a large drop to the bottom of a 50 foot cliff. When we got back to the trail head, we meet a women who was catching scorpions. She showed us her can where she had captured about five of them. I kept my eyes on the ground walking back to the car.

To reward them for a hike well done, we stopped at the sand dunes before heading back to the camp site. This sand is from the eruption of Mt. Mazama, that created Crater Lake. After a busy day of exploring, the kids slept well. The next day we headed back to Marin's parents house to celebrate Memorial Day by roasting marshmallows.

Lava Canyon & Ape Cave

Our second trip came at the end of July. This summer our department had an intern from New Hampshire. She was always asking me about where to go hiking. I would give her suggestions on hikes to do over the weekend. On Monday I would ask her how was the hike, only to hear that she didn't go for what ever reason. So I decided that I would have to take her hiking. New Hampshire is a beautiful state with plenty of mountains, forest, rivers and some coastline. I wanted to show her something that she couldn't see back east; volcanoes! I choose Lava Canyon and the Ape Cave just south of Mt. St Helens. On this trip we had Laurel, the intern; Nicki, her roommate for the summer; Sarah, a women who works in my office; the kids and I.

We meet in Portland and carpooled up to the trail head. It was overcast all the way up there. I kept telling them that Mt. St. Helens was just behind those clouds, but I don't think they believed me. As we got close to our first hike, the clouds burned off and we were meet with this view of Mt. St Helens.

Our first stop was Lava Canyon. This is a hike down the canyon of the Muddy River, which was scoured out by all of the debris from the 1980 eruption of Mt. St. Helens. As we rambled down the paved first section of the hike, we were meet by this sign below:

We continued on. I showed no fear on the outside as I watched Molly and Keenan race all over the place. Inside I was thinking how an I going to explain this to Marin if one or both fall into the river and are swept away. The scenery was too beautiful to keep my worries up. Molly kind of fell in place hiking with the other three women. I kept a close eye on Keenan, making sure he never got to close to the edge. Down the canyon we went, viewing a raging river that had carved out a channel through the volcanic rock.

This section of the river looked like a person could use it as a rock slide, gliding with the water through the twist and turns. But if you look at the picture above, where the water disappears over the edge is a very long drop. I'm guessing that is the reason for the sign.

This is the view we had half way down the trail.

A group photo on the "Indiana Jones" bridge.

Looking down from the middle of the bridge.

At this point the trail clung to the side of the cliff. It was too narrow for my own comfort knowing how Molly and Keenan hike. They bounce around the trail rather then walking down it. I told the three others that Molly, Keenan and I were going to turn around here. They could keep going and we would meet them at the trail head. Laurel, Nicki and Sarah decide that they were ready to turn around also.

Two thumbs-up for another hike well done.

After returning to the car and having lunch, we drove to the Ape Cave. A two mile long lava tube, it is divide into two section; upper and lower cave. We decide to take the lower section, which is 3/4 of a mile hike and easier then the upper. Climbing down the ladder into the cave, you are meet with 42 degree temperature and pitch darkness. You are advised to take three sources of light and warm clothes. We started down the lower section with everyone having a flashlight and gliding easily over the trail. Within 10 minutes, the ranger stopped and informed us that the lower section was closed due to an injured hiker. We turned around and decided to hike the upper section of the cave. We knew it was more difficult, but we didn't realize what we were getting ourselves into. According to the Ape Cave web page, it is a 1.5 mile hike which "Cavers must climb over approximately 27 boulder piles and scale an 8-foot (2.5m) high lava fall."

We completed the hike and Molly and Keenan did a good job. I have to tip my hat to Laurel, Nicki and Sarah with being patient with the kids and helping them out as we climbed over those 27 boulder piles. At the 8 foot lava fall, we teamed-up with another party to get over the obstacle. It was a great demonstration of team work. Along the way, we were passed by numerous other groups, but we kept on making are way through the cave. When we finally saw daylight at the exit if the cave, I believe there was a collective sigh of relief from everyone. Climbing out of the 42 degrees into the 75 degrees was welcomed by all. A slow walk back to the car in the forest was a good way to end a fantastic day of exploring the lava country of Mt. St. Helens

Inside the cave.

Merrill Lake

Our last adventure was to Merrill Lake with the whole family. It was great to have Marin along for the adventure this time.

With my time off at the end of the summer, I was hoping for a family camping and canoeing trip. I had heard about this lake from a co-worker who was going to camp there. What turned my co-worker onto this lake was the free camping. I liked the size of the lake and the fact that no motorized boats are allowed on it.

I was planning for a Tuesday/Wednesday trip. As the dates grew closer, the weather took a turn for the worse. Rain and cold temperatures. Camping in the rain is fine with me, but with two kids and a wife this is not a good combination. The camping part got cancelled, but we were able to have a day of canoeing. Driving to the lake, the rain was falling and the mood in the car was not great. When we got to the lake the rain had let up; but by the time I got the canoe off the car, it had started raining again. Marin was ready to wait in the car for it to stop. As she approached the car, the rain stopped! It was still cloudy, but it was not raining, let's paddle.

It is the right size lake for canoeing. Surrounded by forested mountains, you feel like you are in the middle of the wilderness. We started out paddling toward the other side of the lake for a picnic lunch. As we got further out, we saw an island and we decided to have our lunch there instead.

Our canoe beached on the island.

Family portrait

Molly trying to be a fisherwomen

The sun finally comes out.

After lunch, we loaded back in the canoe. The crew began paddling again and we headed toward the other side of the lake. In a dead tree on the bank of shore of the lake, we saw a bald eagle. It was perched high up in the tree. As we paddled closer, you could tell how large those birds are. We basicely got right underneth it and looked straight up at the eagle. I don't know if we have ever been that close to an eagle in the wild. Marin and I made some good time paddling down wind. When we got to the end of the lake, we turned around and headed back to the boat ramp. We didn't make that great of time heading into the wind. When we got back to boat ramp, the sun was shining. As we landed the boat, the kids headed for the shore to throw rocks into the water; Marin headed to a large rock to sun herself and I loaded up the canoe onto the car. We spent the rest of the afternoon just lounging next to this beautiful lake.

Back on shore after the paddle.

Molly still trying to catch a fish.

Marin's favorite part of the day.

Like mother, like daughter.

As we drove back into Portland, I think everyone had a grand time. I hope next time we will be able to camp at Merrill Lake as well as paddle on it.

Three very fun and exciting adventures that the Mattias' experinced this summer. Now that winter is upon us (even thought it doesn't start till mid December) hopefully we will be able to get out and have some more adventures.

Last Day of School. . . . . and First!

2010-09-10T08:23:00.000-07:00

I had this post in edit form ever since Molly finished 1st grade in mid-June. I guess now is as good a time to finish it since she has now started 2nd grade :/. Riverside was a new school for her last year as she transferred there to be in their newly formulated spanish bilingual program. Understandably, it was a rough start for her, but by the end (as you can see from the pictures below), she was enjoying it very much and couldn't wait to see all her friends again this year. It's crazy how as the older we get, time seems to stand still (or speed by) as I remember very clearly the last day of her 1st grade. So here's a look of Molly now. . . .

Molly excited for her first day of 2nd grade

Molly was hoping to have "real" desks this year and she got her wish! (She also got new carpet and new windows which I appreciate much more than her ;))

and then. . . .

Enjoying the fruits of their labor. The first graders planted and cared for carrots, peas, onions, lettuce and radishes as part of one of their science units. The salad was delicious!

Molly in her india-style hip hop regalia. The dance number she performed for us and the school I recorded, but couldn't download.

Saying good-bye to friends: Josephine, Makenna and Abby.

Molly swinging away at a Pinata--a great way to finish the year. (Dad got the lucky volunteer opportunity to hold the rope :))

Molly with her bag of pinata goodies which she mostly did not eat. If any of you haven't tried mexican candy well. . . . honestly, you are not missing out.

Molly with good friend, Zoe.

Maestra Nicola signing Molly's "Yearbook."

We'll miss you Miss Nicola! We all loved having you as Molly's teacher!

It was a great first year for Molly in the spanish program filled with art, dance and culture. I hope the trend will continue this year.

Mt. St. Helens

2010-08-02T16:22:00.001-07:00

I'm sure my few blog followers have given up on reading anything new so. . . . surprise! I'm back! (At least for one entry--haha) A couple weekends ago we hooked up with my brother Paul and his family and headed up to Mt. St. Helens--a place I had not been for about 7 years or more (Kevin has a better memory than I and remembers exactly when we last visited.) It was, however, the first trip for our kids and maybe my brother???? It was going to be a very hot day in Portland--in the 90's--so it was a great way to gain some elevation and escape a little bit of the heat. It was a gorgeous day. Clear, blue skies. We visited both visitors centers and read and saw some very interesting information about the eruption that occurred 30 years ago. The devastation was far greater than I had ever imagined and you can still see remains of it (thousands of fallen trees) to this day. The "clean-up" process has been quite amazing and the area is mostly reforested and beautiful again. It was nice for once to actually be able to see one of the educational movies as Keenan is able to finally make it through. Molly, Kevin and I all took pictures so I chose the "best" ones for this post.

Mt. St. Helens in all its glory

Keenan driving the rescue helicopter at the Weyerhauser Visitor Center, with his co-pilot Cash

View from the north side. Notice how much of the mountain was blown away in the eruption. The mountain's elevation was reduced by 1300 feet.

Molly took this one of me at Coldwater Lake. This lake created after the eruption

A nice little boardwalk following alongside the Lake

On the way home from the mt., we stopped in Longview at this gorgeous park that lined both sides of a waterway. It was now in the 90's again, but between the water and the tree shade, we actually were quite comfortable. Molly took these last couple of pictures as we were resting on the grass and they are some of my favorite pictures ever.

Memorial Day

2010-06-08T09:08:00.001-07:00

After so much rain, everyone was hoping for a sunny Memorial Day as we were planning a weenie roast down at Grandma and Grandpa Compton's house. Kevin and the kids who were camping all weekend (their post to come later) met me, Paul/Ellen/Cash and Cole there in the afternoon and as good luck would have it, it turned out to be a very nice day. The kids ran around endlessly and the adults talked, lounged, and later on played Settler's. Some went over to the nearby Salt Creek Cemetery and although I forgot to give a moment of silence at 3:00 for all those who have given their lives in defending freedom, I did think of them and others I have known--both family and friends--who have passed away. A talk in church I heard the day before made me want to be more diligent in trying to educate my children on the relevancy of these holidays in their lives. They may be only 6 and 4, but so very teachable and I need to take advantage of the opportunities that arise. So what holiday is next? Father's Day? This will be an easy one for I'm sure the kids will want to honor their dad and give him all the love and special treatment that he deserves. But what about when Labor Day comes? Good thing I have a partner in the joint education of our children. . . and thank goodness for the University of Internet :)

--But back to the fun part of holidays. Here below are our picture memories of this years' Memorial Day.

Paul lounging with Cole. Paul wasn't quite hungry for dinner yet as he had just made a run to Aspenwalls for a DELICIOUS fresh strawberry shake.

The cousins chowing down on their hot dogs.

This picture tells a funny story: Here we have Keenan dropping his hot dog out of his bun. He smacks the side of his head and says, "Oh no!" Molly and Cash then look down at the dog and Molly starts to laugh. What you then don't see in the picture is me picking up the dog, putting it back in Keenan's bun and saying, "3 second rule!" J/k (on saying 3 second rule ((I did put the dog back in his bun though))

I took about 10 pictures of these crazy kids and not one of them turned out with the kids all cooperating for a "nice" smile.

Mom and Dad enjoying the nice spread. That was some good potato salad, Mom!

Ellen looking so cute with adorable Cole (notice her hand over Coles ((I do believe he just was eyeing those beans and went for a handful :] ))

How many Brats is that now, Kevin?! :]

Molly so excited to roast her marshmallows for Smores

It had been so long since I had roasted marshmallows that I think I took this picture because it felt like such a novel event.

Trying to smile for the camera while not trying to light my marshmallows on fire :)

All the kids being Kraaazzzy

Mother's Day

2010-05-12T08:41:00.001-07:00

My kids can be very sweet and they were particularly sweet during Mother's Day Week. In fact, I think every day that week Molly must have asked if it was Mother's Day because she had been planning something special for a while. But let's first start with Mother's Tea. Milwaukie Preschool does a little celebration to honor all the preschooler's mothers and so when I arrived, Keenan ran up to me, gave me a hug and offered me a red rose. From previous years with Molly, I knew that this was going to happen, but still it was very touching to see the loving, softer side of Keenan. After a tear-jerking storytime (Teacher Vicki also always reads the book, I'll Love You Forever) Keenan led me to a seat at a little table and brought me cake and chocolate-dipped strawberries (which I had offered to dip for the occasion). Here we are enjoying the delicious desserts below:

For gifts I received a shrinky-dink pin of Keenan's hand and and also this hand-printed poem. So thoughtful of Keenan (and Teacher Vicki :))

May 9th, Mother's Day

Molly was so excited to serve me breakfast in bed Sunday morning that she got up nice and early (so much for sleeping in), came up with a menu (just one delicious item needed :)) and took my order.

As you can see, I had more than just pancakes and syrup. There was also orange slices and juice ;) Don't look too closely at these pictures--I just woke up!

The kids helped me eat as they were too hungry to wait for dad to make more pancakes.

Nice family photo with the self-timer. After finishing eating, I was given more gifts. This time it was a cute T-shirt from REI and a new water bottle which was very much needed.

I love my family! Thanks Kevin and kids for a wonderful Mother's Day.

Weekend Wanderings

2010-05-02T06:45:00.001-07:00

(Guest writing for Marin this entry is her husband, Kevin)

With Marin's weekends being taken up by work and church-related duties, the kids and I do many adventures without Marin. Below are two different adventures we have done in the month of April.

Moultan Falls and Cedar Creek Grist Mill

April 10

On this trip we head north into Clark County to take in the beautiful Moultan Falls on the East Fork of the Lewis River. We teamed up with two of our friends, as Molly and Keenan say, Kathy and Rachael. It is never Rachael and Kathy.

After a week of rain,the falls were roaring. I have been up to these falls before, but have never seen the river raging quite like this. There are rocks right next to the falls that are fun to climb on. Molly and Keenan took right to them. They didn't seem to mind that the river was moving extremely fast. I, on the other hand, had to remind them not to get too close to the falls.

What is really nice about this park is that there is a beautiful pool just up river from the falls. This reach of the river changes quickly from serene to powerful. You can get right down next to the water or you can go high above it on the foot bridge that crosses over the river. Once you cross the bridge, a path leads you to a wonderful system of trails.

After enjoying the falls, we headed into Amboy for lunch, then onto the Cedar Creek Grist Mill. As you might have expected, the mill is on Cedar Creek. To get to the mill, you have to drive down a windy road. As you come around a bend, you are greeted by a covered bridge crossing over the creek. The mill is right next to the bridge.

The Mill is from 1876. Due to it's location on the steep bank of the Cedar Creek, the mill was never profitable because of all the up-keep it needed from the flood damage it sustained over the years from the creek. It is still a working mill, operated by a "Friends of" group. It is only opened on the weekends for a couple hours each day. They will demonstrate how the mill works by grinding different grains into flour. We were fortunate to be there when they were grinding soft white flour, perfect for buttermilk pancakes (which we have made since then a couple of times).

Camassia Natural Area

April 24

Molly and Keenan saw a picture of the Woodburn Tulip Festival and decided that they wanted to go there to see the pretty flowers. Not wanting to deal with a weekend crowd at the festival (nor did I want to pay $10 to get in) I went to the Oregon Wildflower web page to locate some beautiful wildflowers where there wouldn't be a crowd or a cost. This mile and 1/2 loop was just what I was looking for; close proximity to us, a short hike and the flowers were blooming. It just happened to be on the way to our ultimate destination, a pet store in West Linn. This meadow is hidden between the West Linn High School and a cluster of houses.

The common camas (Camassia quamash) were in full bloom

The kids liked it because there were numerous rock outcroppings that they could scramble around on. These rock were exposed from the Missoula floods 15,000 years ago.

Wandering across the boardwalks through the camas meadow

Now that summer will soon be upon us, hopefully Marin will be able to join us on our adventures. Lands we hope to journey to are: Steens Mtn./Alvord desert, Cape Argo, Smith Rock, Eagle Cap Wilderness and any other place that our trusty Subaru will take us to.

Easter Week

2010-04-09T21:24:00.001-07:00

Molly's favorite holiday is Easter. Yep, she likes it even better than Christmas. Not sure exactly why unless it's that she is currently able to find a lot more candy than her brother during the Easter egg hunt. Or maybe that it spread over a few days from decorating easter eggs one night to a big Easter dinner on Sunday. Anyhow, I got photos of it all except for the nice dinner we had at Grandma and Grandpa Compton's house in Dallas.

Trying out close-ups with our new camera. Here is Molly with some newly dyed eggs.

And Keenan.

The Easter Egg Hunt

Keenan still needs a few hints where to look for the candy. . .

. . . but has gotten opening and eating the candy down pat.

The bouncy balls were and still are a big hit.

Notice Molly's basket has quite a few more eggs in it than Keenan's. . . .Don't feel bad for Keenan, though, because Molly later gave him all her jelly beans and malted milk balls. She's just as picky about her candy as she is about other foods.

It was indeed a wonderful, happy week.

Molly Pipes Up

2010-04-09T20:52:00.000-07:00

As our family was driving home from Jamba Juice tonight, Kevin and I were talking about a city meeting tomorrow to discuss improving McLoughlin Blvd. Anyone who has driven along the blvd. knows how incredibly ugly it really is. Run-down plazas, car lot after car lot after car lot, nothing at all aesthetically pleasing to the eye. Well, Kevin says that he wishes they would tear down an eye-sore-of-a plaza near our home. I then say they also need to tear down all the "girly" places as well. Molly, however, quickly pipes up and says, "I LIKE ALL THOSE GIRLY PLACES!" Needless to say, Kevin and I chuckled over our 6-yr.-old's naivete. It was just a small chuckle, though, because we know that it won't be long before our daughter's innocent eyes/mind will be blasted open to far too many unsavory things of this world. If only she could stay young forever. . . . .

My Molly Girl

2010-02-28T20:24:00.000-08:00

She is growing up.

Neon Trees

2010-02-26T19:52:00.000-08:00

I heard this band for the first time a few weeks ago and loved their song, "Animal." Coincidentally, they hail from Provo and from what I've read, they used to really suck, but miraculously have changed and are catching a lot of attention. Now, mind you, I don't really listen to the words of most songs and didn't with this song until the 3rd or 4th run-through so a little warning, the lyrics are a bit animalistic (haha--no pun intended:)). I just like the tune--very catchy. Have a listen for yourself (and don't pay attention to the words ((which you will now for sure since I told you not to :)).

A Rare Family Day

2010-02-23T14:27:00.000-08:00

It seems like with all the weekends I work, we rarely get a full day for just family fun. So when both Kevin and I had President's Day off, we took advantage. When the weather warmed up to probably 55 degrees, we loaded up the bikes and headed north to the Columbia River. On the south side is a long, very wide path that runs directly next to the river and is relatively flat. This is perfect for us since one of our loads was heavy with two kids being hauled behind in the burley and on the alley cat. Kevin took the first leg with the kids--riding to I-205--and I the return trip. The kids got a little cold, but warmed up on the trip back by snugly squeezing together in the burley. The burley trailer from Kevin's brother, Scott and the Alley Cat, from our friends, the Rost's have been 2 of the best gifts we have ever received (Thanks!) They have definitely been well used! The photos I took were taken with our new Nikon digital camera. We've gone from 4 mega pixels to 10! Sharper images? Truer colors? You be the judge.

Kids Love Valentine's Day

2010-02-12T20:17:00.000-08:00

I haven't been good about blogging lately--I even missed Christmas. So to make up a little bit, I'm going to post several pictures from both Molly's and Keenan's school Valentine parties. First though, I'm going to post a few of Keenan at his new preschool, Milwaukie Cooperative, the same school that Molly went to as a preschooler and of which we all love. And as I do this, I'm eating Fun Dip (a blast from the past), trying to spare my children from some of the way too much sugar they've ingested/accumulated over the past few days. I am really good at canceling out my gym work-outs.

Keenan's Favorite Toys at Preschool: The Dinosaurs

Marble Tower

Thomas The Train (The track is "glued" down, but Keenan tries his darndest to pull those tracks off (succeeding with a few of the pieces).

Bird Seed Exporation/Digging Table

Playing Candy Land With Mom

Molly's Valentine Ice Cream Party (with classmates Makenna and _____)

Silly Face

The Sugar High Kicking In (j/k :) )

Keenan Placing his Spiderman Valentine's in his Classmates' Bags

Making a Valentine Craft Project. The little crayon shavings Keenan is placing on the waxed-paper heart will be melted together with additional tissue paper pieces, etc. It looks great hung in one of our windows.

Eating a GIANT sugar cookie PLUS an ice-cream sunday

Saving the best for last: Opening the bag full of Valentine's

The Spread

It's no wonder a fifth or more of american children are obese--americans love their holidays and love to celebrate! And I'm no exception. I've got more goodies waiting hidden for the actual day (Sunday). Ahhh well . . .

Happiness 101

2010-02-05T20:27:00.000-08:00

Watched Happiness 101 last night which was really very interesting. I'm going to write a few of the points down so I can look back and read them when I inevitably will forget.

#1 Allow yourself to be human. It is okay to feel a full range of emotions including anger, sadness and frustration. Ignoring or repressing them will only intensify them.

#2 Take mini daily breaks, monthly breaks and vacations (for at least a week at a time) every 3 months (ideally) or so. (I've been telling Kevin for years now he needs to take "mental health" days, but he has never heeded my advice.)

#3 Stress is not the problem. The inability to recover from stress is. Exercise, deep breath/meditate, get a good night's sleep. Exercise is akin to taking an anti-depressant.

#4 Simplify, simplify, simplify.

#5 Live in the present. When you are with your loved ones, are you really there? I know I find myself thinking about all the other things I should be doing and am not just enjoying the moment.

#6 Always be grateful. Write down or verbalize 5 things to a loved one that you are grateful for (I already started this last night.)

Check out this website by the author for additional information if you are interested.

2009 Songs of the Year

2009-12-31T16:03:00.000-08:00

The Mattias family has chosen their top four 2009 songs of the year. We just don't listen to enough new music to choose 10. We are lucky to be able to select four (and two of them are cover songs from a TV show that Marin really enjoys). Here are our top four songs:

#4 Don't Stop Believing - Glee Soundtrack

#3 Come Play At Our House - The Not-It's

#2 Defying Gravity - Glee Soundtrack

#1 We Sing In Time - The Lonely Forest

Our goal for 2010 will be to at least have 5 favorite songs to share. We might just have to find and post them as we go because we won't remember them at the end of the year.

Silly Time

2009-12-27T22:01:00.001-08:00

I'm on a blogging (or should I say picture sharing) roll. A while back, Kevin took these photos of the kids on a silly, weekend morning when I was working. Some very funny faces/poses.

Good thing Keenan's such a good sport

Molly, just you wait until Keenan's bigger. . . :)

Christmas Card Photo

2009-12-27T21:37:00.000-08:00

This Christmas it seemed like everything was done "late." From getting the tree and decorating the house, to shopping, and to picking out christmas cards and sending them. I wasn't going to include a picture, but decided to, of course, last minute. We had 2 "photo sessions" and you would think with all the pictures I took, there would have been one "keeper." Well, there wasn't. A lot of fun ones though which I got a kick out of. The ones with the kids laughing have Kevin standing right behind me trying to make them smile. For those who didn't get a card and picture (sorry!), can you guess which picture we went with? And for those who did, which other one would you have chosen???

Santa Wishes

2009-12-27T21:22:00.000-08:00

Reading my sister's blog tonight, I was inspired to post a few "Santa" pictures of our own. Santa came to visit our church christmas party a couple weeks ago and, of course, all the kids lined up in a long line in order to sit on his lap and make their christmas wishes. Molly asked for some clay (which, by the way, santa "missed" bringing, but fortunately Molly did not remember :(). And Keenan asked for a bag of candy that was sitting next to Santa on a table. His wish was immediately granted :)

We had a very merry christmas which I will post about at another time, but I wanted to say "Thank You!!" for all the cards and christmas gifts from all our kind friends and family.

A Day at the Mountain

2009-12-23T21:45:00.001-08:00

Kevin wanted me to post these photos right away because it was the absolute most beautiful day on Mt. Hood. Fresh snow then bright sunshine, warm enough for Kevin and I to not wear our shells. Sunglasses were remembered at the last minute, but not the sunscreen :(. Fortunately, nobody got burned. It was probably the best family winter outing we have ever had because nobody got soaked in the rain/snow, meaning-- nobody got cold and whined and cried to go home after only being out in the weather for 10 minutes.

White River

Gorgeous Mt. Hood in the background

Taking a sleigh run with Keenan

Molly old enough to take a go by herself

Sun so bright Molly had to shade her eyes for the photo

Dad and Keenan's turn

Queen of the Mt.:)

The result of letting Molly and Keenan go together down the hill

We left the Mt. around 2:00, perfect timing because there was getting to be quite a crowd of people. We stopped at Calamity Jane's on the way home (Joe's donuts on the way up), a restaurant we have driven by dozens of times, heard good things about, but never have eaten at (until today). They have DELICIOUS hamburgers and fries, food we always crave after an active day on the mountain. Sitting by a warm fireplace was also a delight. It was just a perfect day all around.

It's Almost Thanksgiving, Better Post About Halloween

2009-11-22T16:56:00.000-08:00

It's so easy to fall behind with blogging. I did the same with my personal journal, but with that, I gave up entirely after going for such a lengthy time without writing. We'll see how well I can keep up with this. . .

Halloween, of course, was a favorite time for the kids (particularly Molly). She changed her mind about what she wanted to be so many times, it was dizzying. Ultimately, however, she decided to be a witch. Keenan, on the other hand, had no choice: we already had a cute cow costume and a police officer outfit bought on sale from last year. So at the school festival, he was a cow, and for trick-or-treat night, he was a policeman. Good thing he wasn't picky. . .

We decided to go to my brother's neighborhood in Beaverton this year to trick-or-treat, but made a few stops at neighbors and friends before heading over there. Our neighborhood gets so few trick-or-treaters that a bowl of candy I left on the doorstep when we left, was still full after we returned home. My brother's neighborhood, however, was teeming with trick-or-treaters. They live in a large town home complex where because everyone lives so close together, you can get A LOT of candy with only having to walk a few blocks. The kids had fun going out with their cousin, Cash who was Batman. Baby Cole stayed home to help mom pass out candy and get "Oo's" and "Aaah's" from all the visitors because he was just so doggone cute in his skeleton costume. Molly is getting a lot better with the trick-or-treating etiquette, but Keenan still needs a lot of work: e.g., do not grab a handful of candy even when offered the bowl; do not say, "What about me?" when you are behind other kids because eventually you will be taken care of; and finally, do not spend an hour digging through the bowl trying to find whatever you think you are looking for and/or looking inside your bucket to see what they dropped in and whether or not you like it. Eegad!

Anyhow, we made it through the night and have just about finished off the candy thanks in large part to myself and Kevin. Great! Just in time to gain 5 more pounds on Thanksgiving! Yay!!!

Defying Gravity

2009-11-12T15:21:00.000-08:00

I don't know how long this "Glee" video will be available to see, but I wanted to post it anyways because it was such an awesome musical number. "Kurt" purposefully "threw" the high note, but that didn't take anything away from the performance--I still got got goose bumps. Interesting also, this plot line of the show (boy with a high voice being denied the part traditionally sung by a female) was taken from "Kurt's" real life. Enjoy!

Glee Video

I Finally Succumbed

2009-11-06T10:05:00.000-08:00

Getting older is not very fun. Along with the crow's feet, furrowed-brow lines, and occasional aches and pains, comes the metabolism slow-down. No longer can I get away with eating anything I want and maintaining my weight with tennis a couple-of-times-a-week and an infrequent walk. Nope! More has got to be done esp. since we are into the holiday season and most adults gain weight during this time anyways. So. . . . I gave in and joined a fitness club! 24-Hour Fitness to be exact. I didn't think I would ever do that again (It's been 11 years), but I get a great deal through my job at Adventist ($25-a-month) and they have childcare for Keenan at only $3.50 for 2 hours. So, yesterday I went for the first time and had a great work-out. Technology and advancements in exercise equipment seem to have come a long way: Individual tv screens/ipod plug-ins on all the aerobic machines; a different weight machine for every muscle in your body. I was a little overwhelmed in the weight room, but figured out what I was doing after covertly observing others appropriately set-up and manipulate the machines. I'm excited to go back and try some of the aerobic/step/spinning classes. If I was really motivated I would be there for the first class at 5:30 in the morning, but I'm not. I just don't want to be one of those who joins a gym (typically at New Year's), goes for a month and never goes back again.

Last Birthday Before the Big 40!

2009-11-02T08:11:00.001-08:00

A few weeks ago (Oct. 16th) I celebrated my 39th birthday. It landed on a Friday and because I had several people tell me to make it a birthday weekend, I decided to do just that! It was a fantastic birthday because I got to do nearly all of my favorite things. On Friday I woke up early and played my usual 2 hours of tennis. Then, because Kevin was home in the morning/early afternoon, I came home and planted some winter flower plants and worked in the back yard. Mom and Dad came up in the early afternoon and we played a game of Settler's before picking up the babysitter to go out to a non kid-friendly restaurant, Nickolas'. I was sad because Kevin wasn't there (working) and felt a little guilty that I left the kids at home, but knew that tomorrow (day after my birthday) planned to also be a fun-filled day.

So after eating a very large and delicious meal of warm, puffy pita bread, lentil soup, and beef shish kabobs, we headed home for donuts and ice-cream then more Settler's. We stayed up until 1:30 in the morning playing--yikes!:)

Unfortunately, the next day brought too much of a sore throat for my dad, so they headed home to Dallas (big bummer :( ). My brother Paul, wife Ellen thought the heavy rain would be too much for their newborn son (6 days old) and opted out also on the planned trip to the Hood River Festival in Parkdale. Our big plans were fizzling out, but we determinedly went as a family up to the festival and although it rained the whole time we were there, it didn't stop the kids from playing on all the outdoor toys and having a great time. We loaded up on apples, asian pears, picked a couple of pumpkins out, then traveled back home in time to have dinner with my brother and family. Kevin fulfilled my wish to have lemon meringue pie and Ellen brought over the traditional chocolate cake. Double desserts! Ellen, the magnificent seamstress, made me a fabulous "happy birthday" banner which I had seen over at her house and must have vocally coveted. You are awesome, Ellen! Here you have a 6-day old baby, yet you took the time to cut and sew a banner for me! That is kindness. Many thank you's!!! And thanks also to everyone who sent me birthday wishes via Facebook, e-mail, cards and phone calls and gave me gifts to go shopping! (Another of my favorite things to do:) It was a VERY splendid birthday.

Kyokawa Apple Orchard

Molly holding baby Cole

Ellen's "Happy Birthday" banner

The Funny Things Kids Do

2009-10-26T00:28:00.001-07:00

Working part-time/on-call can be a very nice change from taking care of kids, making dinner and cleaning the house, but it also means I may miss out on silly occurrences or memorable events. Take today for example. Kevin tells me as I'm driving home from work something quite funny that Keenan did this afternoon. Well, Keenan has this bad habit of filling up the sink with water when asked to wash hands. Today, however, he had a different motive for filling the sink: his cow needed a drink of water. What?! you may wonder. No, Keenan does not have a real cow. You see, Keenan is going to be a plush cow for Halloween (he wore the costume the other night to our school's harvest/halloween party.) And after wearing it today for fun, he decided his cow was thirsty so took it off and dipped his full face into the sink of water for a drink. Such a thoughtful boy, isn't he? That's my Keenan.

Welcome C. W. Compton!

2009-10-12T21:19:00.000-07:00

So here is the latest addition to the Compton (and Boynton) clan: Cole William Compton. Born yesterday, October 11th, at about 5 pm. Weighed-in around 6 lbs. 15 oz. He caught us (and my brother and sister-in-law) off guard deciding to come 2 weeks early. I was at work when it all occurred. But tonight, we got to go to the hospital to see the little bundle of joy and hold him: only 24-hours old. He is the cutest little guy EVER and SOOOO light! My two tank babies were both over 2 lbs. heavier than little Cole William. Ellen was looking great, but missing her other son, Cash as no children under 18 allowed onto the hospital floor. The closest Cash (and our kids) got to Cole was to go across the street to the parking garage, go up 4 floors, and wave to Ellen and baby across the way watching from their room window. I'll end here now, though, as I don't want to step on Ellen's toes by posting too many details she'll want to share. Just one last thing: Cole is absolutely adorable! (No wait, I already said something like that :)) Oh well, it needed repeating. Can't wait to hold the little guy again--I could have held him forever.

McKenzie Pass

2009-10-04T12:58:00.001-07:00

Guest writing for Marin on this blog is her husband, Kevin.

Taking advantage of the last bit of summer, Keenan and I took a camping trip to the central Cascades of Oregon. Our (mine) main objective was to go over the McKenzie Pass into central Oregon. McKenzie pass was the original wagon trail from Eugene to Sisters. When the transportation department paved it, they kept all of the twisting and winding turns in the road. Many people compare it to European mountain passes. Since then, Oregon Dept. of Transportation have built other highways over the Cascades which do not incorporate all the twists and turns. They have gone for a more straight road--boring!;0. The McKenzie Pass highway, OR 242, is closed in the winter due to snow. The highway department does not plow it. The pass sits at 5,325 feet. It is usually closed in early November (the earliest being Oct. 18, 1996) and usually re-opens in early July (the latest being July 29, 1999).

Our first stop was at the McKenzie Bridge ranger station to pick up our permit (later on that) and maps to plan out what we wanted to see (OK, what I wanted to see. Keenan just wanted to go camping).

As we ventured up the windy road, we came across the trail head for Proxy Falls. Keenan and I had lunch here before setting off on the 1.5 mile loop trail. It is an easy trail that travels through forest and lava flows before dropping you off at the beautiful Proxy Falls. I forgot to bring the camera, which is a shame because it was a very nice looking falls. Luckily, there are other people out there who also think it is very pretty. So I'm borrowing someone's picture to show you how nice it is. Thank you Regensburger Photography for the picture.

The nice thing about this hike is that Keenan did it all by himself. No carrying by dad. Although I had to coax him into finishing the hike through games and false promises (just make it to the next shady tree then I will carry you, no not this one, the big tree farther down.)

Once in the car, we headed up to the hike I wanted to do, the Obsidian Trail. Since this was a longer hike, 7 miles round trip, I brought the kid backpack carrier. Since I knew Keenan would never make it all the way, I was planning to carry him once his begging to be carried got too much. Five minutes into the drive up to the trail head, Keenan was asleep in his car seat. Not what I had planned. At the trail head, he was still fast asleep and was not going to be wakened. Ugh! So in the backpack he went. I figured it would be a bumpy ride and he would wake-up soon. A limited entry permit is required for this hike, which we obtained at the ranger station. I can understand why. The parking area was nearly full (this is on a Thursday after Labor Day) and at the trail head we ran into a group of probably 14 backpackers (the group had to break up into 2 groups to make the hike). As we passed this group of backpackers, they all smiled as Keenan was fast asleep in the carrier. Some of them commented that is how they wanted to be transported up the trail. About a half mile into the hike, we entered the Three Sisters Wilderness Area. Keenan still asleep.

After hiking through the forest (with an elevation gain of nearly 1,000 feet), we made it to the base of the lava flow. And yes, Keenan was still asleep.

The last half mile was up the lava flow. Through switch backs and jagged rocks we finally got to the Obsidian view point. You come around a corner and bam! you're hit with an amazing view of the North Sister (elev. 10,085), Middle Sister (elev. 10,047) and the Little Brother. By the time we reached the viewpoint, Keenan finally woke-up. This was our turn around point. But first Keenan had to crawl up and over some of the rocks. The first group of backpackers met up with us at this spot. Keenan told them we were on a volcano hunt. On the way back Keenan hiked about 1/4 of the way before being put in the carrier.

On to the summit of McKenzie Pass and the Dee Wright Observatory. It was now about 5:00 PM and Keenan was ready to set-up camp. He didn't want to stop for anything, until he saw the "castle", which is the observatory. He was more then happy to get out and explore the structure.

The pass is in the middle of a huge lava flow. It goes on for miles with the dark, jagged basalt rocks all around you. It gives you wonderful views of the Three Sisters to the south. To the north great view of Belknap Crater, which produced most of this lava flow, Mt. Washington and Mt. Jefferson.

Keenan, lava flow and the North and Middle Sister

On the trail up to the observatory

View from looking out one of the viewing holes in the observatory

After exploring the rocks and the observatory, it was finally time to go set up camp. We headed down to Cold Springs campground, just west of Sisters. Keenan wanted to be a big helper, but his enthusiasm got the better of him. After pulling into the spot, I opened the rear door to start unloading the items needed to set up camp. Keenan got the jump on me by pulling out the sleeping bags and sleeping pads and our clothes bag and throwing them on the dusty ground. After picking up the bags, I had him help me set up the tent by putting the tent poles together. This turned into a game of how often can I poke dad with the pole. I finally got the tent up, and I laid out the pads and sleeping bags inside it. As I was setting-up the camp stove, Keenan decide to play inside the tent with his dusty shoes on. I coaxed him outside to help me make dinner. The water source at this campground was a hand pump. Which Keenan wanted to pump all by himself to produce the water. Keenan is just not that strong yet. So It was him and I pumping the handle while I tried to hold the pot to collect the water. It was quite the challenge with my shoes getting all wet. Once we finished dinner, it was time for bed. The stars in the sky that night were so beautiful and numerous. Living in the city, you forget what a sky full of stars look like. Keenan and I laid in our bags looking up at the stars till we both feel asleep.

After breaking camp, we headed into Sisters for breakfast. After a vegan blueberry muffin and a whole wheat bagel, we drove out to the Sisters bouldering area. Fearless Keenan took to the rocks like a mountain goat. I was his spotter all morning long. My job was to find rocks for him to climb that where not too tall so I could spot him all of the way too the top.

Doing a dyno move on the rock face, out of the reach of dad.

Our last stop on this whirlwind adventure weekend was Sahalie Falls along the McKenzie River. What impressed me about this waterfall was the amount of water that came tumbling over the edge. For so late in the season, I didn't expect it to be so roaring. There is a trail along side the river down from the falls. The water along this stretch of the river is just raging as it cascades over much smaller drops. I'm sure many a whitewater kayaker has dreamed of running this section of the McKenzie.

It was now time to head home. Keenan and I had a great time exploring this part of the Cascades. He is becoming a better hiker, a decent rock climber and an enthusiastic camper. Next time we bring Molly and Marin.

Kids Say the Darndest Things

2009-10-04T12:40:00.000-07:00

Our 3 year old son, Keenan, has now been inducted into the "Kids Say the Darndest Things" club. He is into watching videos. When it is time for him to stop watching the movie, he will say, "I put it on pause," and do so. The other day when Keenan was eating his Mac & Cheese, he turned to Kevin, put his hand over the bowl and said "put bis (this) on pause." He then ran to the bathroom. We had a nice chuckle over that.

One Of Those Days

2009-09-28T21:43:00.000-07:00

So Molly's blessing on the food this evening sums up well my afternoon/evening without Kevin:

"Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for this day. Please help us to have a good dinner. Please help Keenan to stop being naked. [here she says something I couldn't quite hear.] Please help us to not have any more temper tantrums. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen."

I won't go into detail about kids running wildly around naked or having major meltdowns about basically nothing, but I'll tell you this: I have A LOT of admiration for those single parents out there who do this parenting thing DAY AFTER DAY.

End of Summer Hurrah

2009-09-23T10:18:00.000-07:00

This is is going to be a super-duper post--our week-long, end-of-summer vacation, ALL in ONE. It combines the writing of my impatient husband (who didn't want to wait for me to "get around to it," but tried to write it from my perspective) and the photo downloads by both of us (mine are the larger ones because I like BIG!). So it here it goes:

Kevin: The Mattias family left for Spokane, Coeur d'Alene and beyond for our summer vacation. We left Sunday (Aug.30th) after church and headed into the wheat fields of eastern Washington. Rather than trying to make it all in one day, we spent the first night camping at the fairgrounds in Ritzville, WA. In Ritzville we enjoyed the fine dining at Jake's Cafe.

A plate full of turkey, mashed potatoes and stuffing for dinner--the kind of comfort food that Marin loves and couldn't wait for Thanksgiving to experience:). Breakfast saw the biggest pancakes we have probably ever seen (see below). And to think that Marin almost ordered 3 of those!

Ritzville is proud of it's agricultural history. They had a nice display of early plows, reapers and other machines needed to work the land.

The only problem we encountered in Ritzville were the trains. The tracks were probably only a couple hundred yards away from our tent site and we heard their whistles blaring and wheels rumbling ALL night long. Talk about no sleep!

The next morning after the monster pancakes, it was a hop, skip and a jump to Spokane. We had been up here before when Molly was 2 years old and no Keenan. Molly had such a great time (the whole family did) that she would always talk about wanting to go back to Idaho and Spokane. So we decided it was time to grant Molly her request and to let Keenan see what Molly was always talking about.

Downtown Spokane was our first stop. It has a great park right along the Spokane River with water falls,

giant blocks,

a beautiful clock tower,

and the biggest red wagon you have ever seen.

This park was the sight of the 1974 World's Fair. As we walked across the grounds, we would spot a plaque on the ground proclaiming that this is the spot of the Soviet Union tent or this was the spot of the China tent. In the heart of the park is a small amusement park. Carnival-type rides with a large space-age pole sticking straight up in the middle of it all; A left-over from the world's-fair futuristic design.

For you Utah Jazz fans, Gonzaga University, John Stockton's alma mater is about a mile up river from the park.

The next day was the main attraction for Kevin, spending the day at Coeur d'Alene lake. It was a very hot day and we all got lathered up with sunscreen. CdA has a great park, City Park, right along the shore of the lake. It has a grassy area for those who don't want to lay on the sand. We are a sand family, so we staked out a spot on the sandy beach. Molly and Keenan built castles in the sand, Kevin swam in the lake and Marin lounged on the sand. But since it was a hot day, the whole family waded/swam in the lake.

As you look out over the lake, which is crystal clear and just the right temperature for swimming, it is surrounded by wooded hillside with million-dollar houses along the shore. As the day wore on, the heat/sun was too much for Marin so she wandered up to the tree-shaded grassy area and read, while Kevin and the kids played on the beach.

Towards the end of the day, we rented a pedal boat and did a quick tour of the swimming area.

The last stop for the day was a cool water feature built at the park. It is a fountain that flows into a man-made stream that eventually flows into the lake. As Molly and Keenan where playing in the water, a woman with a camera approached me. She told me that she was a photographer who shot stock photographs and would like to take pictures of Molly and Keenan. So, some day you may see Molly and Keenan in some magazine ad promoting who knows what. It probably won't be sunscreen since the Idaho sun broke through our sunscreen shield and turned everyone red except Molly.

Family photo in downtown Coeur d'Alene (taken the next day)

Our third day we jumped on I-90 and headed east for Wallace, Idaho. Wallace is a silver mining town, with three mines still in operation in the hills surrounding the town. We took a trolly tour of the town which was really interesting. The whole town is on the National Historic Registry.

The trolley dropped us off in front of the Sierra Silver Mine.

On the tour we learned that in the 1920's Wallace was the richest town in America. It had the highest number of millionaires per capita in the US. We got to go down into the mine and went 800 feet looking for silver. . .

. . . only to find out that this mine never produced any silver. As we left the mine, the tour guide let Marin/Molly hold a chunk of ore (from another mine) that was 95% silver. It was worth about $1,700.

As Wallace is primarily a tourist town, it has a lot of funky character. It likes to boast that it is the center of the universe with aliens living in town. One of their space ships is parked in a restaurant parking lot.

Inside the restaurant, we didn't find any aliens, but we did find a darn good huckleberry shake and a bathtub for Keenan to rest in.

Since we were only about 8 miles from Montana, we decided to make the journey to see if we could locate Hannah Montana for Molly. No such luck.

Speaking of luck, on October 2nd we will find out if we are the winners of 20 acres and a gold mine in Murray, Idaho, about 15 miles north of Wallace. We bought a raffle ticket in hopes of being the next millionaires to live in Wallace. Wish us luck!

One last tidbit about Wallace: Lana Turner was born there.

Our last day was spent at Silverwood theme park. Marin was especially looking forward to this day because she had heard that the roller coasters were old, rickety, and very scary because they might breakdown on you while you are at the top of a big incline. The park is divided up into four parts: Coaster Alley, Country Corner, Kids Rides and Boulder Beach, the water park at Silverwood. We spent the morning and early afternoon going on rides, with Marin and I switching off with the kids, so we could ride, as Keenan would say, the big kids' rides. Marin's favorite brain-rattling ride--and not one of the old ones--was called Aftershock, "a coaster that drops 177 feet at 65 mph into 3 inversions. Once forward and

then backwards! " Marin breathlessly exclaimed that she has never screamed so hard in her life. She made me go on it and I was definitely not as thrilled as she.

The log flume was a family favorite

In the afternoon, we headed over to the water park. As I rode the wave pool with Molly and Keenan, Marin got in some big-drop water slides. Then, of course, we traded positions so I could get some big water slides in also. As the afternoon was slowly turning into evening the wind picked-up and put a chill into all of us. So it was time to head back to the roller coasters. A few more brain rattling rides before it was time to head back to the motel.

The next day we loaded up the car and headed pack to Portland. Our second time to Coeur d'Alene/Spokane was just as much fun as our first. As Kevin puts it, "When I have enough money to buy a second house, it will be in Coeur d'Alene."

Adrienne's Visit

2009-09-13T21:17:00.000-07:00

In August we had a nice visit from my sister Adrienne from Utah and her daughter's Emma and Anastasia. We did a lot of fun things during her time here, but I think the highlight for the cousins was just being able to play together. Adrienne forgot her camera one day so I took a few extra photos and told her I would post them. Sorry I'm a little late, but here they all are:

Cold and windy at the Otter Crest Lookout Point

Left to Right: Grandpa Compton, Keenan, Cousin Emma, Molly

Still. . . Otter Crest is our favorite beach and look how the clothes are slowly coming undone/off.

Keenan digging in the sand with Anastasia and Grandma Compton in the background

Trying to catch Anastasia with a smile

Pretty close

Now. . . all stripped down to the swimsuit and Molly looks quite happy.

Keenan deciding he wanted to taste/eat the sand

A fine reaction

Ahhh. . . happy cousins

The carousel in Salem--a new tradition for when family with kids come to visit

Ana looking not quite so sure of the carousel yet

A fun visit to A.C. Gilbert Children's Museum--also part of the Salem circuit

The giant chair there is always a favorite photo op

A great place for fun and hands-on learning

Keenan has learned the cheesy, superficial grin for the camera:)

Polk County Fair--also becoming an annual tradition. Sorry Adrienne, I only took 2 photos that turned out.

Thanks for coming to Oregon Adrienne! I hope you visiting will also become an annual tradition.

1st Day, 1st Grade

2009-09-09T09:42:00.001-07:00

Big day for Molly (yesterday) as she entered a new school, went from 3 1/2 hours to 6 1/4 hours of school and was exposed to Spanish for the majority of those 6 1/4 hours. She appeared pretty excited looking at the pictures below, but definitely had her worries. Can't blame her, however, for worrying about having to be totally enmeshed in a foreign language, not knowing a single peer, and not knowing who her new teacher is going to be. I'd probably be a lot more scared than she was. But she's tough! And she made it through! She told dad afterwards that her first day was "Great!" but to me she said she didn't want to go back tomorrow and missed kindergarten. The day really was long for her (poor thing!), but like a good mom I reassured her she would get used to it plus she would start to make friends which would give her something else to look forward to each day. The reassurances seemed to work because she went back again today.

Then and Now

2009-09-06T15:31:00.000-07:00

This past week our family went on vacation to Spokane and Coeur d'Alene. It was a fantastic time and I took a lot of pictures, but I haven't got the time yet to really post. I did, however, want to attach a couple of pictures from when we went to Spokane last--when Molly was 2 and then last week, when Molly is 6. Not much change, eh?

Visiting Portland's Audubon Sanctuary

2009-08-17T07:40:00.000-07:00

A few weekends ago we visited this cool 150-acre wildlife sanctuary which is only 5-minutes away from downtown Portland. Like it says on their website, it is one well-kept secret. There was hardly anyone there and we got to experience up close hawks, ravens, owls and falcons. Unfortunately, I didn't take any photos of the birds, but we all had fun (including Molly) taking turns with the camera as we walked on peaceful trails through the sanctuary. Even I had a few photos taken of me.

Photo by Molly

And by Molly

Also by Molly

Portland's Newest Local Band

2009-08-16T18:03:00.000-07:00

Molly and Keenan decided to start a new band (I don't know their name yet), and took their gig to the streets (well, driveway) of Portland (well, Milwaukie). Their first outfits they put on I, for obvious reasons (see below), rejected. The second ones--more beachwear--a slight improvement. They wanted to earn some money for their display of talent so placed 3 plastic containers near their instruments in hopes of encouraging those passing by (neighbors) to reward their efforts. Well. . . they didn't earn any money, but Keenan got a good review from a fan of his drumming saying he's got good rhythm. I was apologetic and slightly embarrassed because of the noise, but the fan (neighbor) was very sincere in her praise so I got over it and let Keenan bang away. Here are a few pictures and video from their first ever "concert":)

1st band costumes by Molly

Woops! Missed a cheek!

The next Neal Peart

The next Hannah Montana

It may look like it, but Molly really isn't kicking Keenan in the face

World Beat 2009

2009-07-27T14:38:00.000-07:00

It was over 3 weeks ago that our family attended the World Beat festival in Salem, but as usual, I'm slow about posting. I actually had the photos downloaded and arranged a while back, but it's the writing part, that gets me every time. I should change my blog name from "Marin's Meanderings" to "Marin's Photo Album" which also would probably be misleading since I rarely appear in any of the pictures because I'm always behind the camera. Anyhoo, we decided last minute to take up my parent's invitation to come down and we are very glad we did. We saw a lot of great musicians, ate some fine ethiopian food and the kids kept busy dancing, playing at the playground, and putting together creative creations with the diverse array of recycled goods at one of the booths. It was a very warm day, but nothing like we are experiencing right now. Thanks mom and dad for inviting us to the party! We had a grand time.

Banner over the main stage with a barely visible band warming up.

Mom, Dad, and Keenan enjoying one of the bands.

Lots of delicious ethnic food and colorful dress.

Keenan banging drums made out of recycled materials. Of course, I love the mallets made with tennis balls.

Keenan's egg-carton craft creation. He was so proud of his work, he carried that egg carton around for a long time afterwards.

The kids working their imaginations.

Molly's finished creation. The cardboard she made her structure on is actually an empty fabric spool?? (not sure of the name)

Yep, there's Keenan hanging tight to his egg-carton while dancing with dad.

Some short video-clips of one of the bands and the entertainees. In this first one Kevin thinks I am only taking a photo and not videoing, thus the "posing" with Keenan.

A Day At the Coast

2009-07-12T21:41:00.001-07:00

A couple of weeks ago our family went to the coast for a day. We had heard the weather was going to be 70 degrees and partly sunny, but as usual, the weatherman lied to us as it never reached 60 and was cloudy the whole time. We did have a great time, however--who could not at the coast--and had some extra-ordinary entertainment while we were there.

Our first stop was Gearhart beach and had I known we were going to end up at one of those beaches where cars are allowed down onto it, I would have told Kevin to choose another one. Nevertheless. . . we were there and the kids were eager to get out and start playing. We built the usual sand "castles," threw a frizbee around and frolicked in the water. Later on we saw a dunce-bucket (some others at the beach used a much more descriptive title ((mine is taken from Cyberchase)) drive pretty much right out to the ocean and get stuck in the sand. It was low tide, but not for long as you can tell from the first picture below, the water was close to reaching the engine area. The lack-of-intelligence guy kept walking back and forth from the car while his girlfriend was left to sit in the driver's seat. No one quickly came to his aid as they knew what an idiot he was when they saw him drive nearly right into the ocean. Later, however, a very good samaritan, who also got his car briefly stuck in the sand came to the rescue along with another vehicle and a good tow-rope. They pulled that car out of the ocean and what did that guy without any common sense do in response??!! Drove away as fast as he could without even a thank you! "What a dumb____!" to quote one of the spectators. We then speculated that he left fast because he called 911 and they were probably on their way (which they were). I swear. . . . Anyhow, at least we got some entertainment for a while.

Here is the stuck car attached to a long tow rope just moments before it was pulled free

Here is the car getting rescued and starting to drive away

Here is the car going, going, gone.

Here is the sheriff and tow-truck responding to the 911 call

Here is my family playing innocently in the ocean during much of the drama

Here is Molly feeling cold and wanting to go.

Next stop: Astoria

Overlooking Astoria from the Astoria Column Monument (not the actual column)

Kevin and Keenan at the top of the Astoria Column

Can you see Molly, Keenan and Kevin way up there?

164 steps down to the bottom

From the Astoria column, we drove to downtown Astoria for some delicious seafood. We then wandered the docks before heading back to Gearhart for some very expensive ice cream cones which Keenan dropped as he was attempting to climb on top of a stool. I was really drooling over the fudge, but didn't want to pay $12-a-lb plus an 1/8th of a lb of that would add 5 lbs to my hips so. . . why spend the money when a moosetracks ice-cream cone will only add 2 lbs to my hips???

It was a good ending to a fun and interesting day.

Wall of Keenan

2009-07-10T14:33:00.001-07:00

A while back I posted about decorating Keenan's "new" room. I didn't take a picture of the wall next to his bed because I had only a small 8x10 portrait of Keenan on it. Well. . . after having the fantastic photo shoot of Keenan at the beach by my sister, here is what the wall looks like now.

Before

After

My photo doesn't do Deirdre's photos justice

Kevin's not quite sure about seeing so much of Keenan--the photos are 11x14, but. . . I just love to go in his room and look at the wall. He is such a handsome boy (I know, all mom's say that, but it's true!!) and Deirdre did such a great job capturing who Keenan is: fun-loving/playful, tolerant and BUSY. You could tell he was getting annoyed by all the picture-taking at times and purposefully would not look at the camera, but he endured it well and Deirdre only needed to take 100-150 photos before we found just the right 3 :). Thanks so much Deirdre!

Summer Fun

2009-07-07T20:16:00.001-07:00

Summer is fully upon us now and even though the days can be long, tiring and a test of my patience, we have had some very fun days. Molly is currently in a partial day-camp called "It's a Small, Small World" and today they went to China (yesterday was Mexico--tomorrow, Italy). She is enjoying that so far as well as swim and tennis lessons. You may think that is a lot, and it is for 2 weeks of the whole summer. The rest of the time we are not as scheduled. Here are a few pictures of the places we've been--fun times when afterwards Molly tells me, "You're the best, mom!" Aaaaaaw--kids can be so sweet.

Oaks Park

Little Chipper Pre-school Rides

The cars: A Keenan favorite

The roller coaster: Molly's favorite

Our friend Karen and daughter Claire enjoying the slides:)

Keenan was very fascinated by Chipper the Squirrel and would glom onto him every time he would see him.

The potentially dizzying hot-air balloons

Kids always love milk'n cookies. . .

. . .Except for Molly who didn't like her cookie.

The kids with Chipper (and Keenan man-handling) again.

Oregon Children's Museum

Molly face painting herself "just a little bit this time mama."

Clay creations

The great tire pit

"Keenan the Builder, he can build it!"

. . .And be a master DJ spinning records 20 minutes later:)

Sunday Parkways: North Portland

I wasn't here for this activity (once again, working), but it is a pretty cool event that will occur a few times over the summer. The city closes off a 7 square-mile loop in a portland neighborhood and people can come and ride bikes, walk, roller-blade--engage in any non-motorized transportation they would like to along these closed-off neighborhood streets. There are also fun activities for the kids (this time a "circus") as well as opportunities to try out different kinds of bikes (see Molly above and Keenan below).

Keenan hula-hoopin' it up

Very tricky Molly

Here Keenan rides his bigwheel and directly in front of him, Molly on her pink bike. They didn't go far--maybe 1/2-a-mile, but they had a great time, nonetheless.

Family Visits

2009-07-01T17:34:00.001-07:00

Like I mentioned in my previous post, my sister Deirdre and brother Jesse recently visited: Deirdre from Az. and Jesse from Ut. Deirdre came first and we got to show her Hawthorne Blvd. Jesse came a couple of days later and we got to show him heavy rain and thunderstorms :(. Fortunately, that weather only lasted one day and the remainder of their visit was quite nice. We played games, picnicked and played at the park on Father's Day, enjoyed a gorgeous day at Otter Crest beach, shopped, ate/drank fresh strawberry/raspberry milkshakes from Aspenwalls and ate LOTS of good food. Their vacation felt like my vacation: It was very fun and I did not want it to end. The only downer was that Jesse didn't get to play tennis with my brother Paul or I--that was the day the storm blew in. Oh well. I guess he better come back and visit again soon :).

I wish I had take more pictures of them while they were here, but I didn't. The kids always seem to be the focal point--whether it be for attention or the camera lens. Here's a few photos from our trip to Otter Crest.

Jesse, mom and Deirdre

Dad, Deirdre, mom and Jesse

Keenan having some fun with aunt Deirdre

Deirdre trying to coax Molly and Keenan further into the water.

Jesse borrowing my camera for a bit.

Molly's sand art.

As Keenan obviously pointed out when he saw this picture, "I naked."

Keenan hiding in grandma's sweater.

Keenan loves playing around with his aunt Deirdre

Finally!. . . 6 Years Old

2009-06-30T18:54:00.000-07:00

Molly officially turned 6 today. We didn't do much, however, as we have been celebrating her birthday since Father's Day when her uncle Jesse and aunt Deirdre could be there. On that day, we celebrated her birthday, as well as Jesse's (on the 16th) and recognized my great Dad, Molly's and Keenan's dad, and my brother Paul. We went to another fantastic park in McMinnville (forgot the name of it), ate KFC which was good, but don't want that to become a Father's Day tradition as we already eat it on Mother's Day; One time a year is enough!

I made the traditional chocolate, whip-cream cake which was quickly snarfed down and then Molly, Jesse and the dad's opened presents. My sister, Deirdre, took lots of pictures which are WAY better than mine, but should be as she is a professional photographer. If you want to see her photos you can go here. Click on "Family" and see all the pictures she took while visiting us in Oregon.

Anyhow, it was nice having much of my immediate family in town. We are a competitive family and it wasn't long before we were playing a rousing game of 4-square in the park. Yes--a childhood game from elementary school. We also enjoy balloon volleyball (Hey, any way that we can recapture our youth!)

But I digress. This is supposed to be about Molly. Princess Molly who also got her wish of having a sleep over/slumber party with a Hannah Montana theme for her birthday. This is what we did this past weekend. We invited 5 girls, glad only 3 were able to come as that was plenty! There was pizza and games at Pietros, another cake (pink this time), another present-opening, and then. . . . bedtime. We figured 9:00 would be a good time to brush teeth, read books and wind down. We set up the tent and everyone got situated. Molly's friend Vivian asked only 1 time to go home which was great! Leaving a flashlight in Vivian's hand, we retreated upstairs. It wasn't long, however, before 4 girls crept upstairs to tell us that they heard a spooky noise or later on that they saw a spider. Molly a couple of times would say, "They're keeping me awake!" That's right, Molly, blame your friends for still being awake by almost 11:00! Anyhow, they did finally all fall asleep--just not where they started at. Molly ended up in our bed, Dawsyn in Molly's bed and McKenna and Vivian on the floor in Molly's room. I guess sleeping in a tent in the living room wasn't such a novelty after all. Haha.

So here are a few photos from the twice-celebrated birthday of Molly Mattias. It may seem a little over-kill to you as it was to us by sunday morning when we were all exhausted. We thus decided that even though today was Molly's actual birthday, it was going to be a very low-key day with trips to the park and library, eating Happy Meals at McDonald's for dinner and walking up to Baskin' Robbins for dessert. Happy 6th birthday, Molly. We can't believe you're already that old.

Playing at the park in McMinnville

Getting some help blowing out your candles from Keenan and cousin Cash.

Blowing out the candles again as we forgot to include uncle Jesse the first time. Oops!

The cake looking a little sad as it had to travel in a cooler and wasn't very balanced inside.

Of course, it still tasted good:)

Present time!

"My favorite! Hannah Montana! What is it?. . . .Oh, a scooter!"

"Thanks Aunt Deirdre! I love pink and I love jewelry!"

Molly testing out her new ride.

Helping dad open his Father's Day present.

Four happy girls (and Keenan in the background) waiting to eat pizza at Pietro's

Tickets, tickets, tickets. McKenna, Molly and Vivian.

Molly with friend Vivian.

The girls went and got their pajamas on immediately after they got back from Pietro's. (Would we be so lucky?!)

Another cake. It's a good thing we love cake.

Blowww!

"Hey Keenan! You don't get to blow!" Molly needlessly getting angry at Keenan who did NOT even attempt to help her blow out her candles.

Fortunately, the anger quickly subsided.

Getting lots of help with the present-opening.

Cool present!

Twins!!!!

Molly and McKenna

Who's that sneaking in the picture and trying to steal some of your limelight? Yep, you're mom! :)

Dads "spooky" stories must have really worked. (Molly, Vivian, and Mckenna in the tent.)

Love you Molly. We're so glad you are our girl.

Family Walks

2009-06-24T09:35:00.000-07:00

With me being mormon and Kevin being catholic, each of our views on how we spend our Sunday afternoons (after church) are a little bit different. Trying to compromise we often will go on family walks. So a few weeks ago we took a walk downtown to see the floats from the Rose Parade and then over to Forest Park. We like Forest Park because it literally is a giant forest (over 5,000 acres)--within the city. The kid-friendly trail follows along a creek with tall trees and lush greenery, salmon-berries too if one gets a little hungry :). And an old "castle" a mile in makes a great destination spot as well as motivator for the kids. Below are a few pictures from our Sunday family day.

Walking over the Hawthorne Bridge. I took this picture as we had to wait for the drawbridge to go up and a boat to pass underneath.

The Beast was really cool, but Molly was sad that she didn't get to see Beauty.

The details were amazing on all the floats. I had never seen them so up close before. Apparently they have to be decorated with all organic/natural materials. Besides being beautifully decorated with beautiful flowers and plants, there were feathers, fruit, vegetables, corn stalks, seeds and bark. But the main coverage material?. . . . . . rice! They must have used hundreds of pounds of rice to decorate these floats. Truly spectacular.

Forest Park

Keenan standing on the top floor of the "castle"

Molly obviously is enjoying herself.

Up next: visits from my brother Jesse and sister Deirdre

Keenan's New Room

2009-06-17T16:20:00.000-07:00

I wish I had taken pictures of Keenan's room before we finally decorated it last week, but I think you can imagine how it looked before we painted the one wall and added the curtains, wall hangings and new bedding: BORING! Now it's got a little color, some fun sea patterns and a few whimsical art objects picked-up from a shop in Depoe Bay. I'd like to add a large picture above Keenan's bed, but haven't found the right one yet to fit the theme. Here are a few photos.

On the right you can see one of those aquarium sea lamps which no longer moves, but still glows and Keenan insists on having turned on every night.

Keenan happily playing in his new room which in the past could be more of a punishment than a pleasure.

This photos a little dark, but I was trying to get a shot of the full length of his room.

The bedding/window panels I found on-line. Thankfully, I'm very pleased with them.

. . .And Keenan was pleased too. Now what to do next?!

The Tooth Fairy Cometh. . . Twice!

2009-06-15T22:15:00.000-07:00

If I had been on top of things I would have posted these pictures the day (or the day after:)) Molly's first tooth fell out--last Friday. Instead this is now old news for she has since had (today) another tooth fall out. This time it is her left front tooth and I have yet to get a picture record of it. Oh well. . . . it wasn't quite as exciting as when the first one fell out. She's had 4 loose teeth for several months now and as soon as the other two fall out, she will have a large gaping hole when she smiles a big toothy (or should I say toothless) grin.

There were a few tears when the first one fell out because there was some blood and I had to give it a bit of a tug as it hung awkwardly in her mouth. But after all that there was smiles and. . . excitement for the tooth fairy to come and bring a dollar! The photo shoot was done in front of our newly painted yellow wall (which by the way, changes shade with each picture and looks A LOT better than some of the pictures portray) with Molly wearing the seemingly ever-present princess tiara.

Molly holding the tiny tooth in her hand

Preparing her tooth fairy pillow for the night

Happy 3rd Birthday Long John Sliver!:)

2009-06-14T14:20:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since I have posted and need to catch up! I'll start with my nephew Henry Cash's 3rd birthday party a few Saturdays ago on the 6th. Ellen already posted some great pictures, but I wanted to add some photos as well. The chosen park (Camp Rivendale) in Beaverton was a perfect spot for a picnic (the food was delicious ((thanks Paul and Ellen!)), play area and treasure hunt created and orchestrated by my clever brother Paul. One of the earlier clues led the party to a treasure of pirate garb which we donned and photographed below:)

"Captain Carrot Top" and "Long John Sliver"

Aaaaarg!. . . .Truly SCARY pirates

"Matey Molly"

Pondering a clue while Keenan (Capt. Carrot Top) stomps on a bug

Part of the Mattias pirate family resting in-between clues

. . . and finally--opening the treasure chest! Molly claims she was the one to have found it hidden in the brush, but she had lots of help from her mateys. She was really into the hunt and thought it the best part of the party. It looks like we'll be hiring Paul to be our birthday entertainment planner in the future:)

After the treasure hunt there were presents to be opened and cupcakes to be eaten.

Happy 3rd birthday Cash! Thanks for sharing your day with us.

What's Wrong With These Pictures???

2009-05-31T20:52:00.001-07:00

Memorial Day weekend was quite fun-filled. But there is something missing. Look through these pictures and see if you can find out what it is before you reach the end. Good luck!

Here below the Mattias' traveled to Central Oregon (Grass Valley) for Keenan and Molly to try and meet the Easter Bunny. Although this is his "home," he must have been on vacation for he was nowhere to be found.

Further southeast near Fossil there was a road-block--a moving one fortunately.

Living in Portland it's not that often that you can see real cowboys/cowgirls.

And it's not that often that cows brush up against your car.

Keenan was obviously greatly entertained by the unusual citing/experience.

He soon forgot those cows, however, when it came time to set up the tent and camp for the night at Ochoco Creek.

Everyone was so excited to sleep in the tent, they went to bed early. But. . . no one was tired yet so. . . out came the camera. Great faces everybody.

The next day on the way home, a stop was made at Big Summit Prairie. Beautiful!

. . . And a stop at Blue Ridge Mine

An awesome view of Three Sisters

. . . And a final stop at the Metolius River

. . . So what's missing from these pictures???. . .

ME!

I wasn't there for any of the adventure. I was here. . . working all weekend long:(

But don't feel too sorry for me. I had a whole night to myself and my paycheck this week won't look too bad either.

He Did It!

2009-05-21T10:08:00.000-07:00

Wow! What a star-studded American Idol night! 2 hours of musical performance after musical performance of famous musicians (e.g., Keith Urban, Fergie/Black-eyed peas, Jason Moraz, Cindy Lauper, Steve Martin) dueting/combining with terrific american idol performers from this current season. I was, of course, nervous much of the night but not as much as last year when I REALLY wanted David Archuleta to win. Would it be another rocker winning--Adam--or would it be a pop/acoustic star like Kris? Nearly 100 million votes and although they didn't mention the vote spread, I believe it was my 30-plus votes that put the come-from-behind, dark horse, Kris Allen as the . . . . . .WINNER! Congratulations Kris! Your response to the announcement was a little bit of a let-down, but I understand that you were a little "shell-shocked" and probably still haven't absorbed the greatness of the accomplishment and accompanying title. Can't wait to see what creative artistry you will come up with on your album.

A Family Paddle

2009-05-17T15:45:00.001-07:00

It is Saturday. Mom (me) doesn't have to work and the only time commitment for the day is a tune-up for the car. "What do you want to do today, Marin?" asks Kevin. "I don't know. What do you want today?" asks Marin. "We could go for a bike ride, hike to see some waterfalls or. . . . go for a paddle," suggests Kevin. "It's going to be a warm one," replies Marin. "It's after twelve," says Kevin. Hmmmm. Well. . . after some deliberation (Molly didn't want to hike and Keenan probably wasn't going to last long in the burley) we (surprise, surprise:)) decided on a family paddle. Exciting, yes? Of course! After we packed all the gear, got the kids dressed in water clothes/shoes, loaded the canoe onto the car and drove to the Tualatin River, unloaded the canoe, hauled it to the river (it is VERY heavy), loaded everyone in and listened to Molly yell at Keenan to "sit down!" for 5 miles, it was. . . something. Exciting? Not quite. But enjoyable, memorable and worth all the work and energy. Keenan didn't fall out of the canoe this time and did 100-times better than he did last year being able to entertain himself by repeatedly dropping the rope into the water and pulling it back out, as well as doing his share of the paddling:). Molly enjoyed paddling as well, but gets easily frustrated and annoyed by her brother and when you are in close quarters with no where to escape, well. . . you can imagine OUR frustration. So in-between moments of relaxing, enjoying the calmness of the water and the warmness of the sun there was the "Leave your brother alone Molly!" and "We are the parents Molly" and "Stop yelling, you're scaring all the wildlife away" and to Molly and Keenan, "That's enough splashing!"

I'm just keeping it real, but at the same time, I don't think that after 10 or 20 years the bickering will be what we remember the most. Looking at the pictures below and Keenan attempting to sing "Row Row Row Your Boat"-- the smiles, the family togetherness, the actuality of doing something out of the ordinary is what we'll remember. And what we will continue to do.

Future American Idol, Keenan Mattias, singing "Row Row Row Your Boat"

A Few Meanderings for the Week

2009-05-15T20:20:00.000-07:00

Here's a glimpse of what my life was like this week. Starting with Sunday: Mother's Day.

On Mother's Day (May 10th), I woke up to delicious pancakes (one cut in the shape of a heart:)) in bed made my dear husband at the urgings of my beloved daughter, Molly. After enjoying the pancakes, I was a little thirsty so I wandered downstairs for some juice. We then quickly got ready for church as I needed to be there early to play for sacrament meeting. I was subbing for the regular organist and was pretty prepared with the hymns she had assigned me. Unfortunately, the bishopric decided to change the opening hymn to one unfamiliar and I had to play an extra sacrament hymn as we were waiting for the bread to arrive. Eee-gad! The thanks I get for being willing to fill in last minute! Good thing I was wearing good deodorant because I was sweating! On a different note, should I be offended because I saw some mothers with a plastic box of chocolate-covered strawberries and others (like me) with none?! What happened to the days of old-fashioned corsages or potted little plants for ALL the mothers in the audience. I've mostly gotten over it though because Kevin gave me this cute little purse (picked out by me:)) from going-out-of-business Joe's and we all had a great time later in the afternoon down in McMinnville picnicking with my parents and Paul, Ellen and Cash. I didn't get any photos of the park/picnic, but I think Ellen did. Stay tuned to Ellen's blog (right, Ellen???:)

As we were driving in the car, Kevin was trying to get the kids to tell some of the things they love about me being their mother. Keenan, of course, didn't understand what was going on, but Molly came up with a few things including: "she plays with us" and "she's nice" and "she feeds us breakfast" and "she takes me to school." Yep, I'm a chauffeur, chef and friendly play date all in one. With all of these qualities (and more!) I think that Mother's Day should be celebrated on more than just one day of the year.

On Wednesday my tennis team wrapped up the final match of our season. We left Sunset Athletic Club with a win and a 3rd place (out of 9 teams) positioning. We felt pretty proud of ourselves as this was our first year in the "E" league having moved up from "F" last year. I have played with some of these ladies for over 8 years now and it has been a great, fun ride which I hope to never have to give up. This summer I've joined a World Team Tennis team with some of these same ladies which I do believe will also be very fun.

On Wednesday night I also attended an orientation for a bilingual--spanish--magnet school which Molly had recently been accepted into. This was a VERY tough decision to make as Molly would have to change schools, speak and learn to read/write ONLY spanish until 3rd grade AND be taught to do all this in a classroom where spanish will be spoken by her teacher 90% of the time! Can you imagine?! Well. . . we are giving it a go and committing Molly/ourselves to the next 5 years at this school and hope that Molly won't hate us for doing so. We're trying to think of the future and the great skill/value of being bilingual. I mean, Paul, Jesse, Scott, etc--aren't you glad you became fluent in Spanish? I know I'm glad I learned all the Spanish and Cantonese that I did, but wish I was fluent like Molly will most likely be by the time she is 13. I'm trying to convince myself that we are doing the right thing. . .

On Thursday my parents came to Portland to do some temple work and spend the evening/night with us. We had a delicious meal at Sweet Tomatoes (sorry you missed out Kevin) and then after the kids went to bed played 3 games of Settlers until 1:00 in the morning. Love those late nights! (Especially when I win 2 out of 3 games:)) Earlier in the evening, however, we stopped at K-Mart (grandpa forgot his toothbrush) and Grandma, Molly and I helped Keenan pick out his first big boy underwear (Yes Ellen, you've inspired us). Keenan had used the potty a few times successfully (as shown below) and thought it might be time. Well. . . . he went through 2 pairs of Diego underwear within the first couple of hours of wearing them and then tonight as he had just put on his last clean pair, he is running around the living room when I see a couple of brown bouncy-ball size brown pellets fall out of his underwear. Gross! Molly laughed loudly and Keenan took off up stairs to the bathroom. After I emptied the remaining pellets from his underwear into the toilet I said, "That's it! No more Diego's for you!" . . . For a few days at least. Potty training is an exhausting, disgusting job. As I was picking those poop pellets up I felt like one of those dog owners who carries bags with them as they are out walking their dog in case their dog does their thing. Only in this case, I have to shampoo the carpet too. Ugh! That will just have to wait til tomorrow: "Everybody! Wear socks!"

You are a cute, little imp.

And finally, American Idol (of course). Danny's gone. As much as I loved his You Are So Beautiful rendition, I enjoyed Kris Allen's Heartless better and voted for him Tuesday night all through the second hour of "The Biggest Loser." Like Randy said, Kris is "current" making him a major draw for younger viewers (plus his boyish good looks can't hurt:)) and over the past several weeks his artistry has led me to favor him over Danny. Danny--farewell to your well-tuned raspy voice. Kris--knock Adam dead next week! I think he can do it if Adam chooses to feature his wild, over-the-top tongue-thrusting side. We shall see. . .

Chocolate Monster

2009-05-11T21:47:00.000-07:00

Keenan normally isn't a huge ice-cream fan, but he sure LOVED the ice-cream cone he got at Baskin' Robbins during their 39-cent scoop night a few weeks ago. I think it was the M&M candies hidden inside the chocolate that made it so delectable. Keenan can't eat a raisin without getting all messy and sticky (okay, I exaggerate a little bit), so if you can imagine him eating a big melting glob of chocolate ice cream, it's understandable why I had to get my camera out.

Okay, I had to throw this one in, because it is just gross:)

CA Day 7: One Last Stop Before Heading Home

2009-05-09T07:25:00.000-07:00

Day 7: Homeward Bound

The final morning, Kevin got the kids showered, dressed and fed, while I went to work cleaning Scott's apartment (the least we could do to repay him). It's always nice to come home to a tidy place when gone for a while. So after leaving some gourmet chocolates on a freshly laundered and made bed, we headed off to Newport Beach. The weather was perfect, 75 degrees, sunny with a nice breeze. There were very few people--a handful of surfers. Molly had put on her bathing suit under her clothes, so off came the clothes and she strutted around the beach like she was a native California beach bum.

The water temperature was just right so Molly, Keenan, Kevin and I could wade in the water.

Keenan spent most of his time running in and out of the water. Every once in awhile he would run up the beach to look at the big earth movers moving sand around the beach. They would roar by us on their own marked-off super sandy highway.

The tan Molly with the white Mommy.

We had a great time at the beach, but knew it was time to head back to the car and get ready to head to the airport when Keenan fell into the water. This really wasn't a surprise to Kevin and I as our son is fearless and is not afraid of the water. He would run out into the receding wave and wait for the next one to race in. As he is high-tailing it to "safety," laughing all the while, his luck ran out. A bigger, faster wave caught him and dumped him into the white wash. When Kevin brought him up to dry sand, Keenan was drenched and had sand all over his body. When we put a new diaper and dry clothes on him, we found sand in all of his lower body crevices. It was going to be a very uncomfortable flight home for him.

As we headed to the airport, we stopped at In-N-Out burger for the second and last time in California:(. At the airport, there was a gentleman who was on our same flight home to Portland. As he looked at the Mattias family in their t-shirts, shorts and sandals, he informed us that when he left Portland this morning, it was raining and 40 degrees. He told us that it would probably still be raining and 40 degrees when we got back to Portland. Ugh.

It was a fairly quiet flight home since Keenan fell asleep on the plane, just after we took off.

The gentleman was correct. It was 40 degrees and raining when we landed in Portland. Kevin had to whip out some socks to cover up his cold, naked feet. And we had to search through our bags to find jackets for Molly and Keenan.

It was a grand trip to Southern California. As always, it was too short. We got to see some of Kevin's family (but we would have liked to have seen more of them and for a longer time). Molly and Keenan had some great experiences at Joshua Tree, Hollywood, Disneyland and the beach.

Knock Knock Jokes

2009-05-05T12:50:00.000-07:00

As I read my sister-in-law, Ellen's blog about Cash, Elmo and potty training, I was reminded of the knock-knock jokes our family has been having a good time telling over the past month or so. Sometimes we'll be in the car driving somewhere, but most of the time it's sitting around the dinner table. Everyone usually takes several turns with Keenan taking the most because he nearly ALWAYS tells the same joke. Potty humor, of course, makes him laugh the most and and we laugh "at him" because he always laughs the hardest at his own jokes which often don't make any sense at all. Here is the "joke" he always tells which cracks himself up: "Knock Knock." ("Who's there?" we respond.) "Poo poo?" ("Poo poo who?" Molly responds ((dad and I try to ignore)). "Poo poo Elmo! haaaaaaaa! That may not seem like a very nice thing to say about Elmo, but actually it makes sense to all of us because Keenan has a little potty with a picture of Elmo on it and he knows he is supposed to go poo poo in Elmo (the name we have given the potty). Unfortunately, he has yet to go poo-poo in Elmo, but we did get a little pee-pee one time. I know Kevin and I could try A LOT harder to potty-train Keenan, but that requires a lot of work (see Ellen's blog:)), and we feel that since we've been diaper-changing for almost 6 years now, what's one more year. Ha ha.

Ca. Day 5 & 6: The Magic Kingdom

2009-05-04T20:00:00.000-07:00

Finally, the day(s) arrived. Kevin and I had been looking forward (sort-of) to taking the kids to Disneyland for quite some time, but Molly and Keenan had no idea we would be including the adventure in our California trip until the week before. And even then, having never been there, they really could not imagine the excitement they were in for.

As you can see from the sky below, it was a gorgeous southern California day (70-something degrees) and we were at the gates early. You would think Monday and Tuesday would be less-crowded, but with it being spring break in some areas of Ca. (as well as in Oregon), there were long lines just to get through the gates with your ticket. "Ugh!" I thought, "Is this foreshadowing the rest of our day?" Well, thank goodness for "fast passes" and the kids being willing (as much as we were) to ride less crowded/popular rides. We did get "stuck" in a few unforeseen long lines which tested Keenan's patience (and ours), but overall, the lines were tolerable with an average of 20-minute waits. If you asked Molly what her favorite ride was, she would say, "The Matterhorn" and not because a very nice park employee took us from near the back of the line to the front in order to "make some magic" for us. Kevin and I, of course, loved Space Mountain and Keenan loved everything, especially if it spinned. We all (except for Keenan because he was too short) loved the Grizzly River Run at California Adventure, but forgot how wet you get! I was sort-of laughing at some folks who brought their own rain gear on the ride, but they were probably having the last laugh when they saw all of us who looked like we had just pee-peed in our pants:).

We thought the kids might be too tired to stay all day, but the first day we ended up staying until the end of the fireworks and the second day a couple of hours sooner. The kids and I actually would have stayed longer to take advantage of the shorter lines, but dad put his foot down. He was tired and we were too, but we were running on Endorphins! No rationality whatsoever. My feet were KILLING me and Molly fell asleep with her head on the table at the California Pizza Co. so I guess dad was right when he said it was time to go. I can now see why people often spend 3-4 days at Disneyland/California Adventure: There is SO much to do and see. If I exhibited any reluctance and negativity re: taking the family to an exhorbitantly-expensive, overly-commercialized, tourist-filled theme park where you lose your car in the gigantic parking structure, the feelings diminished by the end of the 2 days. I really am looking forward to going back in a few years when Keenan is tall enough to ride the the thrill-rides and Molly still hopefully adores princesses.

The famous Sleeping Beauty Castle
Keenan looking with uncertainty about being swallowed-up by a giant whale.
The famous tea-cups
A family favorite: It's a small world.

A "fast pass" to Autotopia
Fitting in a few few rides at California Adventure.

Molly was hoping to see some disney princesses, but none were ever roaming on the grounds (you generally have to wait in a long line to have your picture taken with them). She was thrilled, however, to come across Minnie and Mickey and did not pass-up the photo opportunity.
Keenan missed "seeing" M&M, but still got included in the photo:)
I love this one of Molly with her "ears."