Death Cab for Cutie!

For our anniversary, we decided to get tickets to the Death Cab for Cutie concert. We bought them in March, not really knowing what our schedule would be, but hoping we could arrange for someone to watch Lily for us. In the end, my sister was able to come to Bend, but not until 10 PM. So...our anniversary date turned into a family adventure!

The last time we were at a Death Cab concert, I was 8 months pregnant so it was fun to have Lily experience it with us, in person, this time. She seriously LOVED it! She wanted to get closer and closer to the stage and she was singing (without knowing the lyrics) at the top of her lungs! It truly was quite the sight to see!

The only bad part of the night was that it got cold when the sun went down so we had to try and keep Lily warm...I added my sweater over her sweater, under her coat, we put her hat on and used the ear warmers as a scarf to partially cover her face, and I had to use my socks to create make-shift gloves using the long sleeves of my sweater as extra padding...I felt terrible for not planning better, but I must say, I am proud to be a creative problem solver.

Library time

Our new favorite activity is visiting the public library. I haven't really been in a children's section of a library in 15+ years and this place is much better than I expected! What I appreciate most is that the children's section is on a different floor from the adult section so we don't have to worry about disturbing other patrons if Lily forgets to whisper. And this place is catered toward kids--little chairs, low book cases, stuffed animals, bright colors, sweet people...it's great!!

In addition to story times, one activity for kids is signing up for a computer to play interactive games. I think Lily likes that part because we both get to wear cool headphones.

Trader Joes

Surprisingly, the cheapest place for what we like to buy is Trader Joes. Lily loves to help me shop because they have children's carts, samples, and a friendly staff. At this point, we've been going every other day (at Lily's request) so the staff is starting to recognize us!

Family hike at Smith Rock

Today we decided to hike the trails at Smith Rock. It's a day use park with $5 charge per car and the trails wind from the cliff tops down to the river. Of course we weren't sure what to expect, but we had a wonderful time!

Lily was able to walk most of the trail by herself and only needed a little help or carrying on the steep parts. Once we got down to the river you can cross a bridge and follow a flat trail toward the rapids. We were having so much fun that we didn't notice a rattlesnake on the trial until Eric walked within inches of it. I noticed it right before we passed and waited until Eric was a few feet away before I pointed it out. The snake didn't get upset until a few other hikers came by, but when he started rattling we decided it was a good time to go home.

It was great to get outside as a family and now Eric has a near-death-experience-story to tell!

Bike ride

Tonight we rented two bikes and a trailer. We've been talking about buying bikes for two years now so we thought this was a good way to test the waters. It turned out to be the most beautiful evening in Oregon and we had a fantastic time. I forgot my sunglasses so I got a few bugs in my eye, but Lily just loved the wind in her face as she was towed along!

Pilot Butte

Feeling brave, I decided to hike Pilot Butte (an extinct volcano) today. I pushed Lily up the one mile trail to 4142 elevation, nearly quitting before I reached the top. Somewhere in the last quarter mile, the trail gets pretty steep and pushing a stroller makes things even worse. But eventually, we made it to the top...and although the view just okay, I felt pretty proud of myself for surviving!

Lily eating an apple and walking around at the top

Pilot Butte

A tiny image I found online of the view from Pilot Butte

Family Hike

This evening we hiked up the hill behind our condo at Eagle Crest. At the top is diagram of the mountains in view and a park bench to enjoy the scenery. It's so nice to spend family time outside...it's certainly one of the best parts about being back in the northwest!

Girls day out!

The view on our drive from Redmond into Bend. We don't have our camera with us, only our cell phone cameras, but I hope to post better pictures soon. It's just beautiful out here! This was actually taken in the car, so you can see our mess reflected in the window.

I've been wanting to find kid-friendly activities and saw a billboard for the High Desert Museum. We finally made the trip out and had so much fun, I am considering becoming a member! It's such a neat place, I can't wait to come back with Eric and any guests we have.

After a fun morning we stopped for a cone to enjoy on our drive back to Redmond

Getting ready for our day out

This morning while I was getting ready, Lily decided to put velcro rollers in her own hair. She worked at it for at least 15 minutes and really focused her attention. If one of the curlers didn't stay where she wanted, she would take it out and try again until she was happy with it, only getting frustrated once or twice. It was so funny to watch, and I am so impressed with her dedication!

Spinach smoothies!

In the mornings I like to make a breakfast smoothie with spinach, pinapple, mango, and a splash of orange juice. It's a great way to get more spinach, blend in supplements, and they taste sooo good, even Lily likes them!

Spinach smoothie moustache!

Play date with baby Sophie

Can you believe they are only 6 months apart?!



Auntie M's house!

Here's Lily and her auntie Marissa during a visit to my sister's apartment. They were tossing bread down to the geese below...Lily of course took a few bites first.

Play date with Tristan

Lily and Tristan having a snack

Ready to play ball, but Lily isn't sure what to do

Luckily Tristan is able to talk Lily out of her cave-girl antics

And they finally get the game started

Drake Park

Today Lily and I went to Drake Park...Bend's water front park. We brought bagels to feed the birds and we were really excited to see all the goslings. After going through two bagels Lily and I decided to get our own lunch and it was as we were leaving that I finally saw the sign--DO NOT FEED THE ANIMALS. 

Oops!

Cooking with Punkin

Lily had fun making salsa with her grammy, "Punkin". 

She loves sour things and had us laughing with all her dramatic expressions.

Lily and her Auntie M

Lily and Marissa...the best of friends!

Lily loves to wear other people's glasses and watch the floor as she walks, amazed at the change in depth perception. In this picture, she's modeling Marissa's Coach frames.

Not sure if Lily or Marissa made this mess since they both looked guilty when I discovered it.  :)