Happy Easter

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!

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

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!

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

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

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

(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.