April 2015

Posted by Amy Evelyn Oden , Friday, May 29, 2015 8:09 PM

Snapshots from April 2015


They say good things come to those who wait...this is the case with V's hair.  It was a long time in coming (in) but now it's these adorable ringlets!
 She moved up to size 9 shoes this month which necessitated a trip to the shoe store!
 Looking a far bit too grown up here for Mama's taste...
 
This face I captured because (accompanied with a joyful gasp) this is the face she makes every time she sees that scene in Little Mermaid where Ariel's singing on the rock and that big splash comes up behind her.  It's on a Disney Jr. commercial so she sometimes sees it several times in one day, and the level of enthusiasm never lessens.
In a very busy month, we took one day to escape up to Lake Arrowhead, and it was just the ticket.  It's a very quiet, relaxing place normally, and even more so on a week day.  Our souls breathed awhile.

The kids were happy to be here!






O's first time in a restaurant high chair!
We (especially Vianne) had a delicious lunch at the waffle place...
...and a lovely stroll after...








...and then back to the Granma & Grampa's for more fun.
Also in April, Vianne was well occupied with her many, many birthday gifts.  Here, assembling a glowing friend from Rebekah...

She did a great job - very precise about the dot placement :-).  She named her Dora!
We brought home some pink hand-me-down cowgirl boots from Oregon to complete her 
Sheriff Callie ensemble!
And this was the How Did I Think Spaghetti-Os was a good idea? #NeverAgain

Oliver's Thirty-Ninth Week

Posted by Amy Evelyn Oden , Thursday, May 28, 2015 12:56 PM

Probably his favorite food thus far: egg yolks!  He loves 'em.  And alas, another week of little photo-taking ;-).




Oregon Trip, April 2015

Posted by Amy Evelyn Oden , Tuesday, May 26, 2015 5:54 PM

I decided take the kids up to Oregon, braving the airplane again with them on my own, to break up the "monotony" (hardly!) between Christmas and summer.  The flights went much better than I imagined and we had lots of fun with family & friends in between.

 Hanging out at ONT waiting for takeoff
Our usual first stop at the Blairs' house - the girlies wasted no time getting down to some art making!
And the boys got to play, too!

Lots of hugs for Grandma to make up for lost time!

Bedtime story at Mom's/Grandma's
The next day (Sunday) we went to Hope Fellowship and then had a Hsieh/Lincoln/Terwilliger gathering at a nearby park.











That afternoon we got to see Geoff & Vera & David - and meet Timothy (the newest Gustafson) for the first time!!




On Monday, the Blairs came down to Canby...



...and the we went to Woodburn to see the tulips!

(and to be the tulips)








Back at Mom's/Grandma's for the night





The girls had a special "Frozen Party":  although Emily's girls have seen it many, many times, this was Vianne's first viewing.  She has been talking about it ever since (and I'm still trying to heal the emotional wounds of what happened from letting her stay up two hours past her bedtime...sigh...)

The next day, we put that horrible night behind us and all the sisters took the seven youngest of the cousins to the Gilbert House children's museum in Salem.  
When Timothy arrived, Oliver said, "Let me at him!"

First stop once at the museum: oversized rocking chair!
Then the grocery store


 The ice cream stand
The panda room



  The submarine control room
Vianne's favorite was the farm room ~ she didn't want to leave!





While Aunt Jenny entertained Oliver, Vianne & I had lots of fun in the veterinarian room






Being a school day, we pretty much had the run of the place.  We lunched in the huge playground in the middle...
...and then did one last play stop in the train/building block rooms.



That night, Mom put Vianne to bed for me and I met up with Rebekah at McMenamin's where Oliver memorably pooped through his outfit and I hadn't thought to bring another.  So he wore my cardigan for the remainder of the evening...

Playing upstairs at Grandma's with toys I used to play with!


Beads!

 Visiting the Blairs again
 ...which quickly led to dress up and tea partying

 
 Three girls in a pack n' play!
A visit from Aunt Jenny

A spontaneous meet-up with some of the Terwilligers at The Place To Be in Canby...

Vianne had met these boys about 5 min. prior to this photo.  Somehow she corralled them into holding hands while watching the band set-up.  They complied without question.  (We're in trouble with this girl!)
 Vianne & Mama Date to Burgerville for fresh strawberry milkshakes!
 Doing the Milkshake Shake, like Toby from Sheriff Callie's Wild West



Fun sky!
Dinner with the whole family (sans Patrick) at the Storeys




Iron Fairy: That's our girl!


The last full day of our trip we had a delightful visit to Two Rivers in the morning.  Oliver got all cute...
And some more family bonding...
...until we flew off again on Monday.  (This is us hanging out in the plane in Oakland on a layover.)