Did you know that spring is coming?

In Huntington Beach, I was excited to see the trees get their leaves, but there wasn't much difference between winter and spring in California.

Here is Oregon, the flowers pop up, the cherry trees get their blossoms, and the sun starts to make an appearance.

It makes me so happy.

Tyson had to work all Saturday, so we decided we needed something to do.

We decided to go out and collect pine cones to create some bird feeders.

We walked across our favorite bridge that is seconds away from our house...

 because we know that the other side of the creek has LOTS of pinecones.

 Of course you need your purse for this kind of walk.

We walked home and made our pinecone bird feeders.

They are so determined to get peanut butter in every little crack.

 Rollin...

All done.

Merrick is our resident tree climber, and totally took his job seriously.

 We decided to put them in our cherry tree so the birds who live in our little birdhouse. 

art projects

I have been trying to get some sewing projects done that I have postponed for weeks, ok... months.

When it is sunny out and remotely warm, we are outside.

Which leaves rainy days for the mundane, the housework and the occasional project.

(I used to craft way more... three kids takes up ALOT of time.)

So while I was sewing, Merrick and Berkleigh asked to do an art project.

This is what they do.  Draw on paper, cut the paper, and tape it back together. They have come up with some pretty amazing "projects".

We go through tape and computer paper like crazy, but it is worth it for them to be happy (and quiet while Quincy naps) and for me to be able to do something I don't get to do very often.

Wreck it Ralph

Ever since our "Mom's Movie Theater" afternoon, Wreck it Ralph is all we can talk about. 

I mean, it is all they wanna watch, got the Fix it Felix app on the phone, and imaginary play is all about Ralph, Felix and Vannelope.

Merrick came running into my room the other day, 

"MOM! Come look the rain on the window looks like it would in Wreck it Ralph!"

Take a picture!

Did you notice in the movie when Ralph wrecked the cake, that the spotches of cake were little squares? Well that is what Merrick was talking about.

St. Patrick's Day

I have always gone all out for every holiday.

I have slacked this year.

Big time.

So when Quincy was up for most of the night on March 16th, and I had stayed up late the night before with my parents and Tyson, and then after 3 hours of sleep took Tyson to the airport...

I was pretty tired.

I woke up on St. Patrick's Day to my kids running around with grandma and grandpa.

I quickly went into my closet, got out a rainbow selection of paint and painted a rainbow on my mirror.

Then I did this little number to the toilet.

Washed my hands and called it good.

The kids were excited.

Win-win.

Surprise!

My parents were in Seattle visiting my (101 1/2 year old) grandpa. They called and said, "Hey we got a rental car and are coming down to see you for the weekend!" 

I decided to keep it a secret from the kids... 

When grandma and grandpa showed up, we had utter shock and amazement...

along with some tears. :)

(Sorry these pictures are blurry. I didn't realize I still had it on "manual" and I was just snapping without looking through the lens.)

Berkleigh was so excited, she was crying. So cute.

Quincy had to "remember" oh yea, these people are my grandparents. :)

We hoped in the car to run out for dessert after they showed up. Berkleigh and Merrick were already in their pjs, so they had to change back and this is what Berkleigh ended up in. Silly little Diva girl.

We went downtown to the park and carousel.

They had the fish that spits out rings that day, so you could grab the rings as you went around. If you got the gold ring, you got a free ride...

My dad got both of the gold rings. 

Woohoo. We can come back again.

Quincy's first ride.

Gotta document.

She had some serious white knuckles.

We went out to eat and I got a salad at a roadhouse. 

What was I thinking?

I should have gone for some meat. grr.

Oh well, better luck next time.

We played games, I slept for approximately 4 hrs while my mom and dad took the kids to the park, fed them dinner and played. (Isn't it great when grandparents come?)

The thing with surprises, is that sometimes they don't last so long. We got to have them Friday-Monday morning.

Good bye hugs!

We get to see them in 2 months again anyways, so it wasn't too sad.

Thanks for coming!

Can you take a picture of me?

Berkleigh asked me to take a picture of her with her puzzle. 

She has done this puzzle many times before but I have always been there doing it with her.

This time, I dumped the puzzle out and had a RS mtg at my house. She had it finished in 20 minutes.

Smarty. It has like 200 pieces. 

And she started with the edges first. Smarty pants.

I could hear Merrick playing with Quincy, and Quincy was laughing so hard. Then it got quiet...

"MOM!" "MOM!" "Can you come up here and take a picture of us?"

I run up there to find them rocking in the rocking chair together with a blanket over their laps.

And look at his face... look how happy and proud he looks to be sitting with his baby sister.

SUNSHINE

 In Huntington Beach, I sat outside with the twins everday. We were never inside. We were always dirty, exploring, playing and running around in the sunshine... because it is sunny and warm 320 days a year.

Wow! What a difference Oregon is. 

We are inside so much because it is raining or freezing cold 300 days of the year.

I believe this was Quincy's first time outside playing for hours.

She even got a little sunburn I noticed during bathtime.

We sat outside on our driveway for probably 45 minutes, the whole time I was texting my friend Rachel about how amazing the weather was. We ended up deciding that the best thing to do would be to sit outside together. So Quincy and I ran over to our friends house to read trashy magazines from Tyson's office and let our little tiny kids play.

Before we left we enjoyed some frozen gogurts for lunch.

And picked flowers.

 Spring is such a tease, isn't it? 

So many amazing days and then some crazy rainy days...

Oregon Zoo

I LOVE zoos. I just thing they are so fun. Outside all day in the warm beautiful weather...

and animals you never see, right before your eyes.

In California we lived pretty close to the San Diego zoo. Well, an hour away, but I was so excited to go  cause it is like the "coolest" zoo.

You know, it is pretty cool, but it is so big, hot, and hilly. 

I wanna sleep for 7 days after going.

The Oregon Zoo is awesome. 

Not so huge that it makes you want to break your own legs and get a motorized scooter, but big enough to have every animal you want. 

We went with some friends on our day off school last week.

Ahh. It was fun to have an adventure. 

I feel like I haven't had one in awhile.

Oh, and did I tell you it was GORGEOUS outside?

Well it was.

This picture seems like nothing, but you have to understand...

This was our first stop. We saw the Black Bears. 

Berkleigh screamed, "BBEEEEEAAAAARRR! It is a real bear!" Like she had never seen a living thing before. It was so hilarious. I almost peed my pants along with my mommy friends.

 Here is that famous bear that put Berkleigh into a state of shock and awe.

This was Quincy's first zoo experience, and she loved it. She would point to any animal she saw...

including children running by. It didn't matter as long as it moved.

I have never seen a pretty polar bear. They are always yellow, way to thin, and matted. 

Exhibit A.

This poor bear did the same thing over and over the entire time we were watching. 

I think he was crazy.

But this beautiful creature was laying down by the window. What a gorgeous animal. I can say that I have seen with my own eyes a beautiful polar bear. He was gorgeous, and his head was as big as my whole upper body. He was a large animal I would not want to meet on a ... uh... snow field?

We also got to see baby Lily! One of the elephants gave birth to Lily in November. She popped out at 300 lbs, plus elephants have like an 18 month gestational period. In that regard, I believe we as women are pretty lucky. I can't imagine being pregnant that long or giving birth to a 300 lb baby.

Wowza!

 I loved seeing how protective the mother was of all the freaks with cameras on the other side of the fence.

Quincy loved the fish.

And these giraffes were so funny. 

I am just going to say that we almost saw how baby giraffes are made.

Oh, and the funniest part was the questions from all the kids watching and the non responses from the parents because they were all giggling in the background.

All in all, a successful day at the zoo. It was gorgeous and I am just waiting for the weather to be that perfect EVERY day... Summer please come FAST!