Seattle

As I mentioned before the purpose for our trip to Portland was to visit Seattle University for their admitted students day. We are desperately trying to make a decision about which law school is right for Jeremy and for our family as a whole and we thought that visiting the school in person would help with that decision.

In the end, I think the trip added more confusion more than anything else. Seattle is beautiful and Seattle University is amazing. The people are so nice and we really enjoyed our time there. It would be a really great place to spend the next three years.

The problems arise when we start talking about how we would afford Seattle and Seattle University. Cost of living is higher (particularly when we could live with my parents if we went to other schools), tuition is higher, and the scholarship they have offered is less. It is a really great school with a really big price tag.

One of these days we will have to make a decision. There is just so much to think about. In the meantime if there are any millionaires that secretly read this blog, please feel free to send a few dollars our way.

Portland Children's Museum

I am such a slacker. I had the best of intentions to keep up with the blog while on vacation, but instead of having a vacation with lots of down time for blogging, we were on the go. While the blog got neglected, this did make for a very quick, fun vacation.

One of the highlights of our time in Portland was the day we spent at the Portland Children's Museum. The week we were there the museum started their Curious George exhibit and while Merrick does not really know who Curious George is, I knew he would love seeing the monkey. It turns out that Merrick was not the only one who loved George.






Another favorite exhibit was the transportation room. There was a bus and ambulance to ride in and a huge train table. All the boys had a blast.




The clay room was a mess!



By far the favorite room however was the water room. Unfortunately with all the water we did not dare keep the camera out too long.


I think we could have spent days at the museum and been happy. This will have to become a regular stop during our visits to Portland

Portland Day 1

Our search for the perfect law school has brought us up to the Northwest for a visit to Seattle University. We figured that as long as we were here, we might as well have a vacation and spend some time in Portland with my family. Day one of the trip we landed in Portland and brought the sunshine with us. It was the perfect weather and the perfect opportunity for a trip to the park.

Merrick's favorite part of the park was riding his cousins' scooters. Quincy was particularly kind to share his scooter with his little cousin and Merrick thought he was big stuff.



The kids all had a good time at the park




But it was the adults that really enjoys themselves with a little friendly competition (Not me however, I was just trying to stay upright.).

Lola

Long before Merrick joined our family Lola came along to fill the baby void. Since then she may be a little neglected from Jeremy and I, but she also has a built in best friend in Merrick. Merrick loves to hold and pet her, he is quick to feed her his snack, and he always want to give a "treat Lola". Someday Lola will appreciate all the attention and they really will be best friends.

Architecture Kids

For my birthday last year Carolyn and I spent a fabulous day at Scottsdale Fashion Square Mall. We had a super yummy lunch at the Neiman Marcus Cafe, shopped, and took Merrick to play in their play area, called Architecture Kids. It is a store front full of these amazing play structures. They have a castle, a tree house, a pirate ship, and a dollhouse.

On Friday, after a long week with Merrick and Kai, I decided that we all needed to get out of the house and I thought Architecture Kids was the perfect place for us to go (maybe I thought I would magically get lunch at Neiman Marcus again). The boys had so much fun climbing, sliding, and running around. Kai thought the running part was so fun that he decided to run every time I tried to take his picture.

I think in the end it was just the break in routine we all needed.

Transportation Day

Last week my sister Becca came into town with her husband and two boys. All together we had Quincy(4), Colvin(3), Kai(2), and Merrick(18 mo)and when we all get together the fun and volume definitely increase. Becca and I tried to take all four boys to the swap meet and to lunch and discovered that in some situations adults should not be out numbered 2:1. The week was definitely crazy, but for the most part it was the fun kind of crazy.

In my opinion, far and away the most fun we had was taking all four boys to a local preschool for Transportation Day. It was on Saturday so Emily was able to come with us and we invited my cousin, Anja, and her three kids as well. The school had brought in all types of vehicles for the kids to climb on and explore. There were helicopters, motorcycles, police cars, ambulances, tractors, race cars, a garbage truck, a UPS truck, a city bus, and probably others that I am forgetting. This activity was right up all the kids allies and they all had a blast. To make the experience even better it really was not very busy and the kids never had to wait for more than 1 or 2 kids to have their turn.

One of Merrick's favorites was the ambulance. He liked siting in the driver's seat and walking around in the back. I drew the line when he tried to climb onto the stretcher. I was not quite sure I could handle seeing that.




Early on I was designated the offical photographer and I have so many good pictures I am not really sure how to choose which to put on here, but these are a few of my favorite cousin pictures.








and my favorites of Merrick

Great Play

The trouble with having a birthday close to Christmas is that when Christmas comes around there really is nothing that you need. This is particularly true when you just had your first birthday and were totally spoiled rotten. As a result of this, Jeremy and I were left scratching our heads about what to get Merrick this past Christmas.

As you know we did get him some toys, books, and clothes but what I really wanted to give him for Christmas was a year of fun experiences. As part of that we bought him some play classes at a place nearby called Great Play. Last week I took Merrick to his first class.

The class was everything I hoped for. Merrick was able to run, jump, climb, and swing. They had some short structured circle times, some circuits, and lots of free play. The activities focused on gross motor, sensory, and social development. Merrick left happy and tired and I left excited for our next class.