Hunt Family Connection

Last Weekend at the Coast

I know it was a week ago, but with all that's been going on I haven't been able to update as quickly as I'd like.  I finally edited some pictures though and want to make sure I share what fun we had staying with Mum-Mum and Pop-Pop!

 

We were very happy to leave our house and the construction workers behind on Friday and tried to coordinate our departure with a nap for Graham. He slept maybe half the way and did a great job of entertaining himself with a couple of toys the rest of the way there. I would say it's one of the better car trips we've had with him.

We enjoyed visiting and settling in on Friday night, then it was off to the aquarium on Saturday afternoon. Graham was there last summer, but I doubt he has many memories of that - it was fun to watch him rediscover it all.

 

 

Graham was especially excited about any large fish that he saw and commented often on the "BIG ONES!" He was a little nervous about the touch-n-feel opportunities and didn't want me to touch the fish either. He did get brave and touched this little pokey plant thing...

 

We stopped at the gift store before leaving and got a swimming shark tub toy (fun!) and a new book for his collection that we have read almost every night since - Mister Seahorse - it gets our highest recommendations :) It's actually quite a timely story in that it talks about caring for fish eggs before they hatch, focusing on the fish in which the father is the one that carries this burden....what an interesting idea! (tee hee)

On Sunday morning Graham and I made our way to the beach/ocean for a visit. Graham has no trouble walking right up to the water, but has a nice and healthy fear to not get too close or into the water. The noise still scares him a little bit, but he decided it was very fun to pick up and throw rocks into the ocean.

 

We also made some fishy sand castle-type things...

 

We went Sunday and Monday mornings and were there before the crowds arrived so it was really nice. As you can see by his outfit, it was considerably cooler on the coast than it was at home - I loved it!

This trip we also decided to try letting Graham use my iPod Touch (with some supervision) to watch his favorite tv show - Jack's Big Music Show.  He needed a couple of reminders to just watch and not touch, but did such a great job that we also used it on the drive home when he prematurely woke up from his nap.

 

This is very exciting as I look ahead to future plane travels :)  Graham also watched an episode or two of Jack on my computer - here he is watching with Pop-Pop...

 

Graham was also presented with that really awesome quilt that Mum-Mum made for his big boy bed and I don't think anyone could have anticipated just how excited he would be about it.

 

He wanted to hide in it, play in it like a fort, and just generally loved rolling around with it! Of course it helps that it is covered in airplanes :) 

 

He is very lucky to have such a talented Mum-Mum that makes him such special things like this quilt - we all really appreciate the hard work that went into it!

Thanks again Mum-Mum and Pop-Pop for a very fun and relaxing weekend on the coast (I think I forgot to mention that I was able to get away for some shopping at the outlet mall all by myself - heaven!!) We had a great time and look forward to seeing you again soon :)

It was pretty darn happy there...

We saw this in the sky as we entered the Magic Kingdom last Friday - funny....

 

As I was editing some pictures last night, this one also made me happy.

I really enjoyed wandering around the different countries inside of Epcot and Morocco was definitely one of my favorites. There were so many beautiful things to look at and it was rather peaceful because there weren't many people around when I was there.

I also got to visit a favorite place when I stumbled across a little bit of Venice, Italy - it brought back very nice memories from our honeymoon :)

 

Here is yet another happy moment from the trip - a group photo with the Disney characters!

This was the night of our private dinner and special dessert buffet at Epcot. Randy and Katie Pertiet were our generous hosts - they own a website called Designer Digitals. The rest of these women are designers and creative team members from the site. We have worked together for some time, but many of us had never met in person - it was such a treat to have everyone coming from different parts of the country, and even a handful of women from other countries. I felt like I already knew these women well because the work we do leads to us sharing scrapbook pages about our families and our lives, so it was wonderful to get to meet them and spend time chatting in person. You can see the work the creative team does by browsing around THIS GALLERY.

Back in Oregon and online

Last week was quite busy - unpacking from one trip and packing for another....taking care of bills and getting back into the routine of work. I didn't have much time to be online, thus the little blog break.  This past weekend I had the amazing opportunity to meet some friends at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida. It was such a wonderful trip and I'm so glad that I went.

On Friday we spent some time at Magic Kingdom, did some shopping in Downtown Disney, and returned to the Magic Kingdom to watch the amazing fireworks show over the castle. On Saturday I spent most of the day at Epcot, then freshened up at the hotel before a very special dinner with everyone. We all got to have our pictures taken with Disney characters!

We were led to a secret, special place for our time with the characters and then enjoyed a very yummy dinner buffet. After dinner we were led to another secret spot - a private deck right on the water with an amazing dessert buffet. We had the perfect view of the fireworks and light show over the water at Epcot and all felt very special....it was all quite magical (as they would say at Disney!)

It is Sunday and I am composing this post on the plane from Kansas City, which is where my flight from Orlando took me. It's a 4-hour flight to Portland and we're about half-way there. At the moment we are encountering some major turbulence - eeek! 

I can't WAIT to see Graham (and Wil too of course) when I finally get back to Eugene - this is the longest I've been away from G and I'm really missing him.  I brought back some goodies from Disney and hope that makes up for my absence, though I hear he's been doing just fine without me :)

There will be pictures from Disney and a few stories to tell, but I haven't had a chance to get through them all yet. I will be looking forward to seeing everyone else's pictures from the weekend as well.

Home Sweet Home

We had a wonderful visit in Wisconsin, but it is always good to get back under the covers of my own bed :)

The flight home was pretty good - we had a bit of a delay getting off the ground because of a phone problem on the plane so Graham enjoyed his breakfast of blueberry muffins (made by Nana) and fresh blueberries while we waited. Not long after we left the ground Graham fell asleep for about an hour - so I had 2 hours and 20 minutes to fill after that. It was a bit of a daunting task, but we survived it! The seat in front of me was empty, so Graham was able to stand on my legs and lean over the seat to watch the tv the guy in the row in front of us was watching. He also played "peek" with G so that kept him happy and busy for quite awhile. The flight attendant gave me pita chips and mini oreos to help make landing more smooth and painless....it worked quite well as I told Graham he had to be strapped in his seat to have cookies. The only real problem with the flight home was getting gear on and off of the plane. On the way out the aisle was wide enough that I could just wheel everything on - the carseat was attached to my carry-on and Graham was in it! The plane we were on to come home was much bigger, but the aisle was much smaller and my stuff didn't fit! One of the flight attendants held on to Graham while I got everything hauled back to the very last seat on the plane (row 48!) On the way out, the flight attendant with the snacks helped me carry some of my things (THANK GOODNESS!)

We were very happy to see Wil at the airport - we collected our luggage, found the car, and got going toward home. Graham fell asleep and didn't wake up again until we got to Salem. We stopped to have lunch at McDonalds and then Wil took Graham into the playland area to expend some energy before he had to get back into the car. I was very happy to be home, but too tired to unpack much.

Graham seemed to have trouble adjusting to the time change and was awake a couple of times during the night. Neither one of us slept very well :(  Hopefully things go better tonight - I could use a good night of sleep so I can try to do a better job of focusing at work.

Speaking of sleep, my eyes are getting heavy right now, so I'm going to call it a night.....

Getting along...

A couple of days ago Joel and his family were over and Aunt Linda came to visit. She worked whatever kind of magic she has up her sleeves and it led to these pictures of Graham and Mara getting along - touching each other without any screaming - HA HA!

Sure looks like they could be brother and sister doesn't it??

Playing peek with Aunt Linda - waiting for her to spin them around again and again!

After Linda was all spun out, they even took turns spinning each other in the chair - it was soooo nice to see them playing together and getting along :)

So that was New Year's day I think - Thursday.  Joel and family came over and we had homemade pizza - YUM! Yesterday (Friday) mom watched Graham while Carrie and I went out to lunch and shopping. We had a great time and found some good deals too. We went out for Friday night fish fry at the Lone Pine - YUM again - and then hung out at Joel's house for a bit.

I can't believe we're up to our last full day here. No major plans for the day - though I want to get to the cheese factory to bring some goodies home. I think we'll just do some more visiting with Joel and family and then tonight I'll be getting most everything packed up as we'll have to leave very early Sunday morning.

I've also managed to get some things done on my computer, like editing and backing up my photos from November and December. You can click on the links here to look at them, and they were also added to the Hunt Family Photos page (link on the right side of the page).

Here in Wisconsin...

Well we made it!! It wasn't the most pleasant flight I've ever had with Graham, but it definitely could have been much worse. We actually made it into Minneapolis 20 minutes early, but ended up stuck on the plane for 45 minutes waiting for a gate to open up. That was pretty tough because we couldn't get up and move around at all. I do have to say though, these trips often restore my faith in people. As Graham and I were pre-boarding ('cause we need more help/time than the average traveler) a very nice man offered to help me by strapping in G's carseat. Most anyone that has had children was sympathetic to our situation and reassured me that "we've all been there!"

Once we got off the plane (FINALLY) we trekked on down to baggage, found our gear (and my mom and dad), and ran around a little before having to put G in the carseat yet again. The drive to mom and dad's house was pretty challenging - a very thick fog had rolled in, adding at least 30 minutes to our drive time. Graham had about had it with all the travel by the time we arrived and just wanted OUT of his carseat.

It's worth all the troubles though when you see moments like this....

 

Graham sure does love his Papa and has been having a great time hanging out and playing with him (and Nana too of course!). I'm told he asked for Papa before me when Nana got up with him this morning.

We had Christmas dinner with my Dad's family today. We're getting larger and larger in number, so this year we had Christmas at Club 10 - a local bar/bowling alley/restaurant. It was so nice to have everyone at the table together...the  food was fixed for us and someone else did the dishes :)

After dinner the kids played and wandered around some. Graham found these puppies under the tree and spent quite a bit of time petting them - cousin Aubrie sat with him for a bit too.

The kids all took a nap (some longer than others) and then we all gathered at mom and dad's house for cookies, drinks, and presents!  All of the little ones opened at once, so this is what that kind of chaos looks like....

Graham got some fun new toys and books from my aunts/uncles and grandparents - of course at the end of the day after everyone was gone, he had the most fun with a giant shopping bag that someone had brought their gifts in! I'm still editing pictures from the day and will have a link to share with family that's interested at some point - I'm just too tired to do any more right now.  We have a busy day tomorrow too as my brother and his family are coming over to have our own little family Christmas. 

Thanks everyone for a wonderful day - we enjoyed seeing everyone and really appreciate the fun gifts for G :)

We will miss all of this....

• the fresh (and sometimes not so fresh!) country air
• Friday night fish dinner at the Lone Pine
• 4-wheeler rides
• watching Big Brother and munching on DOTS
• walks on the road
• Eau Galle cheese for snacks (and cheese curds!)
• hanging out in the play yard at Joel and Carrie's house
• walks with Aunt Barb
• cards and visits with Great-Grandma/Great-Grandpa
• Aunt Linda and Uncle Sam - Graham wants to play MORE!
• playing with cousins Aubrie and Mara
• Euchre with Mom and Dad - women won...woo hooo!
• fresh fruit and veggies right out of the garden
• Papa's bird bath and sprinkler
• Nana's tractor
• family dinners
• shopping with the girls
• Nana's high chair - G can buckle himself in!
• Nana's yummy dinners and Papa's grilled eats
• swimming at the pool with Carrie, Aubrie, and Mara
• spending time with the Brunner clan

We're getting on a plane to head back for Oregon tonight and I always have mixed emotions about that. We've had a wonderful visit and I want to thank my amazing family who stop their "normal" lives while we're here and make our visit very special :) We will miss you all very much.... It will be nice to get back home though - back in our own beds, back to the kitties, and back to our family and friends in Oregon.

Let me quickly recap the rest of our Wisconsin adventures so that we're all caught up...

Friday, August, 8, 2008 - (08.08.08)

My cousin Kristen came down to the farm with her girls for a picnic this morning. The kids had fun playing....

....but the big hit was the kittens that were found in the barn. They were born awhile ago, but the mother had hidden them. Probably wise since this is what happens when barn kitties are discovered...

 

 

 

 

Graham seemed to enjoy the kitties because they couldn't get away from him like the kitties at home do. These poor babies were helpless and had to withstand a lot of loving from the kids and the adults :)

Great-Grandma and Great-Grandpa joined us for the picnic too. It was a beautiful morning and we all enjoyed hanging around outside together.

 

 

                                                

 

Poor Graham had not gotten his morning nap though as I was trying to keep him up to enjoy the picnic. He did pretty good until we got to lunch....he had a few bites of hotdog, grapes, and potato chips, and then fell asleep right there in his stroller.

We got him home and into bed, so that the girls (Jess, Nana, Carrie, and Aubrie) could head up to Eau Claire for a girls shopping afternoon.

 

 

Aubrie is a GREAT shopper and I don't think I heard her complain once about anything we did on our shopping trip. She got all kinds of great school clothes and I found some fall/winter clothes and shoes for G.

On Friday night we watched the kids in shifts so that everyone could go out to eat in peace :)  Mom and Dad went first while Carrie and I fed the little ones, then Wil and I went to the Lone Pine with Joel and Carrie while Nana and Papa hung out with the kids. I had my fill of batter fried fish, cheese curds, and Leinie's beer - enough to hold me over until Christmas!

Saturday - August 9, 2008

We packed a picnic lunch (with the help of Subway) and headed out to Lark Toys. They have this AMAZING hand-carved carousel and rides are only $1.00! Here's a picture of some of the animals on the carousel....

The kids LOVED it and the little ones had a hard time understanding why they would ever have to get off!  Check out the look on Mara's face....

She would get quite upset when the ride started to slow down and I heard her say "No, no, no!" After the first ride we got her off with the promise of another ride later, and after that second ride, her parents had to distract her by promising to get a great toy from the store to take home.

There are displays of antique toys that are very fun to look at. I didn't see too many things that I played with behind glass yet, so perhaps I'm not as old as I think sometimes! They have a great toy store with everything you could imagine. We got a start on some Christmas shopping and everyone got to take home a toy to remember the day. Graham got some wooden blocks that when put together the right way make the noise of the farm animal in the picture.

We had our picnic lunch outside of the toy store where Aubrie picked me these lovely flowers....

It was a little warm in the sun, but a great day to take this little outing.

When we got home, we were all able to rest a bit before my cousin Christine arrived. She's out visiting family and friends for a couple of weeks and we were lucky enough to catch her as she made her way through Wisconsin.

We grilled out and spent some time outside visiting. Great-Grandma and Great-Grandpa also stopped by to visit and say their good-byes as their social calendar is full for the next couple of days. Joel and Carrie got a babysitter so they were able to come back over and play cards with us while we watched some Olympic action in the background.

Sunday - August 10, 2008

Up and dressed for church - Graham did GREAT and was quiet for the majority of the service....Christine worked some magic and he was content to sit in her lap for quite awhile. We had a yummy brunch over at Joel and Carrie's house and then the boys and Christine took the kids out to the church playground while mom cleaned up the dishes and Carrie and I worked on a little project.

Sunday evening was homemade pizza and playing outside. It was a beautiful night and everyone had a good time. We got that family picture at the top of the post (thanks Christine!) and many other great shots of everyone playing together. It was a great way to spend our last evening in Wisconsin.

With that, it's time for me to get up and started on the day. I have packing to do..... Think good thoughts for us today as we try to keep Graham happy on the 3-hour plane ride back to Portland. I think we end up in Eugene around 9pm tonight. Thanks again to our friends and family in Wisconsin for a WONDERFUL vacation. We will miss you, but take tons of good memories back to Oregon with us :)

Family Visits and a Circus

Thursday, August 7, 2008

Today we got to visit with my cousin Kelly, her daughter Emma, and a yet-to-arrive-or-be-named baby boy :)

Here's a shot of Graham and Emma (age 2) swinging together....

Due to conflicting nap times it was a short visit, but a nice one :) We will look forward to hearing news of Emma's baby brother's entrance into the world!

Thursday night was the circus - a new experience for both Graham AND Mommy. Probably the most exciting thing about the circus (in my opinion) was the elephant....

They were giving rides, but for a price....so we decided to maybe save that for a day when Graham would appreciate it more. There is no telling how he would have reacted up there.

Here's everyone waiting for the show to begin...

I don't think I would use the word "spectacular" to describe the circus....maybe mildly entertaining. I believe that the kids all enjoyed it though - Graham's favorites were the pretty girls that hung in the air. He didn't quite make it through the whole show, but did love the playground just outside the big top :)

good time, we had

Wil and I were able to take a day trip on our own (THANKS MOM!) to the Science Museum of Minnesota on Wednesday. There is a Star Wars exhibit there right now, so I thought Wil would enjoy it (I have to admit that I did too!)

I have memories of visits to the Science Museum as a child - much has changed of course, but some has stayed the same....like the Egyptian mummy - still very cool!

When we arrived we walked around some and then went to the Omni Theater show we had tickets for - Special Effects. It was pretty interesting, but we ended up in seats near the front and had to lean way back to see some of it. After that we had some lunch outside - a little windy, but nice.

Here are a few other pictures from the day....

a good idea for the math classroom Wil hopes to have one day soon!

and one more from the Star Wars exhibit

It was great to get away for the day - our feet were tired and our heads were full of new information by the time we got in the car to head back for Nana and Papa's house :)

Buffalo County Fair

How about some pictures from the fair?!

Graham and a fluffy little lamb...

Graham watching daddy climb the rock wall....

Mara in the backpack and Graham with Nana and Papa....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Aubrie on one of the rides....

 

And the biggest head of cabbage I've ever seen!

It was fairly warm out there so we just walked around a little bit, grabbed a couple of milkshakes and some cotton candy, and then called it quits.

We moved on to the Lone Pine for lunch and then went home to rest a little bit before heading into town to swim at the pool.

We tried water wings with Graham for the first time and he was a little nervous about the whole thing. Mara, on the other hand, is quite a pro and was kicking/swimming all over the place! Graham did better in the kiddie pool, which is where we ended up spending most of our time. This was fine with me, because it was much warmer than the big pool.

When we got home we played outside a little more, had a bath, and enjoyed a great meal of steaks and grill fries. We are certainly being well fed and cared for here - BIG THANKS to mom and dad for all that they have done to make this an awesome vacation/visit.  The good news is that there is even more to come!

I leave you with one more picture from the fair - I swear it looked like the one cow was letting the other in on a big secret....