First Day of School | First Grade + Junior Kindergarten

So we sent TWO kids off to school this morning, and nobody cried. This fact deserves special attention, since last night I was holding back tears and my chin got a little quivery when talking to Nate about it. I believe my actual words were, 'They are going off to school, and someday they will hate us, and they'll leave us, and we will be so lonely.' Note to self: go to bed at 9pm to avoid the late night crazies!

Yesterday was the official last day of summer, and I worked during the day. But we had pizza and a movie night as a special treat...in the middle of the week, even, shocking! The day before was my own 'last day of summer' with the kids, and we had a jam-packed day with Cecelia's first gymnastics class, card game marathons with Truman, then dinner at Kopps along with Reeses PB Kupp custard. Locals understand how fantastic Kopps is and it was the perfect way to cap off an awesome summer.

Then last night, I started getting in sappy-mom mode as I prepared for this morning. I mean, my babies are in first grade and 4K. HOW??

I'm excited for school to start because I know Truman and Cecelia are beyond pumped for this occasion. But I'm definitely going to miss the leisurely mornings and I dread the school day rush SO MUCH. I think this is the main reason I was in a funk last night---change is hard, and I love routine but I don't love having to get the kids up and moving for the 8:15 school bell.

Alas, last night I was on my mom game because I wanted the first day of school to be fun and not as rushed as it will be in a few more weeks;) I pulled out their backpacks and cleaned out random junk that was living in there over the summer. Filled up water bottles and put them in each backpack for the kids. Added a granola bar and a kids Clif bar to Cecelia's bag for her morning snack---have you see the veggie Clif bars? I think they taste disgusting but Cecelia loves the orange and the green (spinach) ones. Then I started prepping Truman's lunch the best I could without it getting soggy and nasty for his meal. Whole milk in a thermos, frozen string cheese that thaws by lunch time, a frozen Danimals smoothie that thaws, a small PBJ sandwich (they do allow PB in the cafeteria but not in the classrooms!), some watermelon, some Cheez-Its, a Clif bar (chocolate, no way would he ever eat the veggie kind), some squeeze applesauce, and a special candy treat. I will be shocked if he eats 50% of this meal today but I didn't know where to stop with the food! Also, had to write him a little note, since I did it last year and he loves them. Now that he can legit read I get even more into it, but I didn't write a knock knock joke for him today. Instead I stuck with the sappy love letter. I hope he doesn't roll his eyes when he reads it!



After getting all of that prepped, I laid out three bowls and spoons and vitamins for breakfast. I made the coffee and set the timer for 6:30. I laid out my running shoes since I knew I had to run super early this day, and then I reminded myself that this amount of preparation the night before will surely never happen again. But maybe!

This morning I got up and ran my five miles at 5:30. I finished making T's lunch, made breakfast, showered, and then the school kids were awake at 7 (Porter was up at 6:30 ready to go). We had a nice morning together, not too rushed, and this is the first year that I've remembered to ask Nate to take off of work for help with the kids. I wasn't sure how I could even do it all without him, since both Truman and Cecelia's teachers said parents could come up to classrooms on the first day. It was awesome having Nate home to help move things right along, and of course Truman demanded that they wear their matching shirts for the first day of school. And Truman's spiky hair is reminiscent of a seven year old Nate---I should find comparison pictures someday.

Cecelia wore a new to us Ralph Lauren dress I scored at a consignment shop, and I'm just crazy over this dress. I braided her hair last night after her bath and it actually stayed in pretty well without getting too fuzzy (will be out of control by tomorrow, I'm sure). She has brand new tennis shoes to wear, and so does Porter--but you'll notice that P didn't make it into a single picture this morning. He was busy playing trains in the basement and let's be honest, it's way easier to do pictures without our buddy!

Truman helped me with his chalkboard sign, which I scored on Etsy from seller KellerKustomKreation and am obsessed with this version of the new classic;) It's wood and has white decal stickers, so you can write with dry erase markers. Also the back has a 'last day of school' stat area which is important to me since I'm all about bookending the school year with posed pictures!

So, this is the first time I've ever heard Truman say he wants to be a teacher. But he would be an excellent one, if I do say so myself. His teacher is crazy-energetic, and young, and excited about the school year. He has just 16 kids in his class which is manageable and the biggest news is that Truman's classroom has standing desks for the kids! Nate and I helped organize a big fundraiser through the school last May, all in the name of standing desks. It was wildly successful and I am pretty sure Truman's class is the first in our city to be fully outfitted with standing desks. Nate is really into the research behind them and there is a lot of great info here if you want to learn more. We are hoping to continue to raise money for the entire school but we started with first grade, and Truman's teacher was incredibly supportive of this move which helps tremendously.



Anyway, Truman as a first grader? It blows my mind. But I know he is ready and is such an amazing school kid, he'll have a great year and he wasn't scared or nervous to return to school. I'm sure going to miss my big guy though, all day school is no freaking joke!







Cecelia helped me with her sign, too. At first she said she wanted to be a lion when she grows up, but then quickly changed her mind to a fairy. Then it became 'the tooth fairy' and eventually 'SANTA.' We stuck with the tooth fairy for the sign and I will admit that taking her picture with this sign is when it really hit me right in the gut: my baby girl is a big girl now. Young but practically grown, you feel me? She will have a whopping twenty-seven kids in her class, with the same teacher that Truman  had two years ago plus a newly hired aide. There was some talk about splitting the class into an AM and a PM, but none of the parents wanted PM so we are forging ahead with a gigantic class of four year olds. If anyone can handle these numbers, it's Cecelia's teacher. We just love her to death and her girls have babysat our kids some this summer, and she's the most energetic and positive person I've ever met. I can't wait to see what Cecelia learns this year!





It's also quite perplexing to think that when Truman had his first day of 4K, Cecelia was the same age that Porter is right now. Such a blurry time in my mom brain, but I know this type of growth happened basically overnight. Also, I think Cecelia will always be our strong, independent little fighter because she really wasn't nervous about this transition at all. I DO remember Truman being scared and near tears that first day of 4K but not this lady. Who has time for being sad when you are off to conquer the world?



Big backpack for a little girl.


These kids! We are so proud of them.










So both T and C go to the same school and they are just a few classrooms apart! The first bell rings at 8:15 and then I pick up Cecelia at 10:55. Yes, that is a crazy-short day, I know. Truman is released at 3:20 which brings the number of times we will be walking back and forth to school up to THREE per day. Crazy. But I'm so glad we can just walk and we don't have to drive, although pick up at that 3:20 time will likely be during Porter's nap, so logistics will be a struggle at first.

Back to the detailed account of the first day: Tony came over around 8:00 to stay with Porter, then Nate and I walked Truman and Cecelia to school. Both of them line up on the same side of the school, thankfully, so we got to chat with other families and the excitement was palpable. So many kids, so many squeals and smiles and the back-to-school smell was definitely in the air. I walked up with Cecelia and Nate went with Truman, although I really wanted to be able to do both drop offs somehow. I gave Truman one last high-five as he passed and then I saw Cecelia give him one, too---a special moment in a morning filled with a lot of overwhelming feelings.

Family walk...




Up in Cecelia's classroom, with twenty-seven kids and at least that many parents, it was fairly chaotic. We helped our kids find their cubby, hang their backpack, drop off their folder, find their name for attendance, and then find their chair for sitting. After that, the teacher said we could leave (i.e., come on, parents. Suck it up and go already!). Nate came into the classroom right as I was telling CC goodbye, since Truman was already deposited in his room and first graders apparently don't need their parents to stay for more than two minutes:( We both hugged Cecelia and I swallowed hard as I walked away. I turned around one last time and saw that she had gotten up out of her chair, and I was worried she was scared and was following us out. But nope, she was just sitting back down and she made eye contact with me, and waved to me with the sweetest grin on her face. My big girl. Sigh.



I had two patients to see this morning which was a good thing, because I'm sure it distracted me from getting too emotional. When I finished at work, I met Tony and Porter on the playground where Cecelia had been released 30 minutes prior to me arriving. I'm telling you, 10:55 comes awfully quick!

The boys had a great morning riding all around town and hitting up two playgrounds. Tony said it was 'weird' just having Porter, but fun. Cecelia came running up to me and gave me a huge hug, showing me the stick she just found on the ground. We all headed home and Tony left, then I tried to get more info out of Cecelia. All I know is that they played with play-dough and the teacher said they even have SPARKLY play dough to use at some point. Cecelia told me that her favorite color is 'sparkly.' She made several new friends but can't remember their names, used the potty one time, and ate both of her snack bars (!). She was starving when we got home and ate the largest lunch I've ever seen her eat before! Somehow she didn't want to nap with me on the couch though, apparently I'm the only wimpy one that wanted a real rest today.

Truman's first words to me, when he came at me full speed with a running hug, was 'it was awesome.' He said they had art class and it's a full hour this year instead of a half hour, they went to the library, they learned a song about popsicles, and that his teacher is 'really awesome.' He actually ate 75% of the lunch I sent and didn't touch the candy treat because he didn't finish the sandwich. This boy! He was still amped up all night and didn't want to go to bed.



Can we do this for a second? First day of 4k, 5k, and now First Grade. My how he's grown, right?


And then the two of them at the last day of T's 4k, first day of T's 5k, and first day of C's 4k.I like how she always comes to the same spot on his neck every year. Keeping up with each other!


I just wanted to ramble at you about the first day of school today, because these are exciting but bittersweet times. Several of you mentioned on Instagram that you've been reading my blog since before Truman was born. And now here we are, with a first grader, a junior kindergartener, and a wickedly funny two year old that thinks he is five. How, blog land, how?

Oregon Trip | Day Eight + Nine + Ten

Thursday, July 21 | Day 8

The kids woke at 7:30 this day, so Nate and I also stumbled out of our futon and into the triple-shared bedroom of our kids. Jon had open gym for his high school girls volleyball team again, and both he and Nate really wanted me to come along this time. So we had planned for Tony and Lois to hang back with the kids during this adventure, and they arrived for coffee and breakfast around 8:00.

Cecelia and all of Brittany's stuffed animals from the 80s, CC was a HUGE fan.


Nate, Jon, Brittany (our photographer for the day), and myself went to the high school at 9:00. Brit took pictures but I haven't seen them yet, probably for the best, and I played with the girls (who are now approximately half of my age, kill me now). Nate and Jon played, too, and it was honestly the most fun I've had in a long time, at least for sports-related experiences;) We warmed up, practiced hitting and serving, and then we scrimmaged six on six, then five on five as girls started to leave, and eventually we were playing three on three by the end. I was pretty rusty considering I haven't played indoor volleyball in, oh....seventeen years (!!) since I graduated high school myself. But once we got loosened up, I found my mid-aged groove. Dripping in sweat, feeling my forearms pulsate from bruising that definitely never happened in high school, and tweaking my neck ever-so-slightly, we had the best time. Lots of high fives and cheering and a little trash talking between the brothers MIGHT have happened. Nate also had a series of serves that he aimed right for my head, which was fairly annoying, until I started passing them (and contributed to the horrendous bruising on my forearms). Anyway, we played hard for 3.5 hours and hobbled out of the gym at the end---boys were hobbling, too, don't worry.

initial brusing:


Four days later, at home:


We got back home around 12:30, showered and ate lunch with everyone. Porter was having a grand old time with his grandparents and didn't want to nap but we made him anyway, around 1. Then at 2:15, it was time to go mushroom hunting with Brittany and her professional mushroom hunting father. He really does find rare mushrooms and sells them to restaurants in Oregon, brings his dog, knows all of the secret spots, etc. So our crew of Jon, Nate, Brittany, Truman, Cecelia, Tony, and myself met Brittany's dad near the forest.

We expected it to be cool in the woods but it was surprisingly warm, so we shed layers quickly. Both Truman and Cecelia had already gone mushroom hunting once on our trip, so they knew what to look for and were excellent little fungi hunters. Once I knew what Chanterelles looked like, I also found several by myself, but mostly I just wanted to take a million pictures of the scenery around us. There is something so peaceful and reassuring about being surrounded by trees and moss and sand and dirt.













By the time we reached the 'really secret' part of our trail, the mosquitos were out of control. So Brittany and I headed back with the two big kids and only got semi-lost on our way through the woods without the dudes. We ended up finding a butt load of mushrooms and the kids seriously discovered maybe 50% of our entire loot, filling a reusable grocery bag (since: Oregon).







We finished up our mushroom experience around 5pm, stopped by a vegetable co-op for Jon and Brittany (and gave the employees some mushrooms), then headed home. Porter and Lois were having a ball back at home, and then we all started making dinner for the HUGE group of friends and family that Jon and Brittany invited.

Brittany's grandma was there, her cousin with her kids, her dad, and then a lot of their friends from Florence came, too. We attempted to feed our kids early and put them to bed at 6:30, which worked quite well for the mushroom hunters...not so much for the two year old. He was screaming in his pack-n-play for several five minute intervals before I finally just let him come out and hang with us on the porch. This caused him much delight, and I think I finally put him to bed for real around 9pm.

For dinner we grilled salmon and tuna, had pasta salad, veggies, fruit, an amazing spinach and beet salad that we have since recreated in WI, a ridiculous amount of wine, and a chocolate cake. Just hanging and talking with everyone was a highlight of the trip, and I have written down that we went to bed at 11 but I could have sworn we stayed up much later than that!

Friday, July 22 | Day 9

This was a 'travel day' for us, since we weren't flying home until Saturday but we were going out of Portland again----which proved to be a brutal drive on our way in to the vacation. So we packed our clothes (i.e. jammed everything in suitcases, including clean clothes since we did laundry about three times during our trip) and loaded up Brittany's car and also our rental minivan.

A little reading and coloring with Uncle Jon before we left:


Their house, so cute and very 'Oregon'.


We said goodbye to their adorable house in Florence around 11am and caravanned up the coast to Yahachts for our first stop. Nate demanded to return to Green Salmon for coffee ('best Americano of my life') and cookies. For this first leg of our drive I was in the very back of the van with Truman, Cecelia and Porter were in the middle, then Nate and Jon were in the front. Tony, Lois, and Brittany were in B's car but we ended up switching things around because I wanted to vom after those windy roads in the back of our bus van. So once we arrived to Green Salmon, as much as I wanted to have more caffeine it just felt very risky to me. Everyone else had a nice little snack though!

Hand-holding in the van, makes me less pukey.


Looks good at the moment.


I rode with Brittany in the front of her car to Newport, which was the most adorable costal town ever, and we all stopped for lunch at Cafe Mundo. This is one of Jon and Brittany's favorite restaurants and it didn't disappoint, mostly because the kids could climb all over trees and random slides that were set up outside on the patio. It was pretty chilly next to the ocean but the food was delish (grilled cheese, yes, please).



After lunch it was time to divide and conquer the next leg of the horrible drive to Portland. Brittany and I took Porter in her car, hoping he would nap basically the entire ride and then some. Nate, Jon, Lois, Tony, Truman, and Cecelia rode in the van and stopped at the OSU 'touch pools' for some live marine animal sightings/touchings. Porter would have loved it, too, but I figured that by 2pm he really needed a long car nap and we had about three more hours on the road until Portland.



P did fall asleep in the car and Brittany and I had some much-needed girl talk time on this leg of the drive. Talking about the boys, monthly cycles, high school boyfriends, children, etc probably wouldn't have happened if we were with our husbands on this ride!

Porter woke up after an hour and a half of car napping. The first thing he said was 'touch pools?' because apparently he thought we were going there, too. Poor buddy. I found a crusty old lollipop in my bag for him which helped but then he needed my phone to watch Thomas for a majority of the drive (hello, data usage). Portland traffic was nuts yet again, and it took about four hours for us to get to our hotel, starting in Newport (this is not great time at all, FYI). But eventually we did arrive at the hotel near the airport and the three of us crashed on the beds. Not sure of the time, but maybe around 6-ish?

Hi, Portland:


The rest of the crew somehow arrived just 45 minutes after us, which is awful since they spent 1.5 hours at the touch pools without us and made much better time than us. They had stopped to feed the kids, too, and I gave Porter some of the leftovers when we were all reunited. We talked about letting the kids swim in the hotel pool, but opted for the more logical route of an early bedtime since they were all pretty zonked.

Brittany had made reservations for 7pm at Ground Breaker Gastropub, so we sort of had to book it out of the hotel before the kids' bedtime. Tony willingly put them to bed for us, while Jon, Brittany, Nate and I met Brittany's mom and step-dad at dinner. Brittany eats gluten free and this restaurant is 100% gluten-free....all of the beer, everything! My mom also eats GF and so I've had my share of really gross, dry, gluten-free options. But this place was amazing!! Highly recommend, and the company at dinner didn't disappoint, either.



We said goodbye to Brittany's mom and step-dad, then the four of us youngsters (ha) put toothpicks in our eyelids to stay awake, and headed to Deschutes. I think this is probably Nate's top three favorite breweries of all times and his eyes definitely widened when we walked inside. Also, downtown Portland is super cool and hip, and I'd love to go back and stay the night for real in Portland instead of just passing through on our way out of the state. But yes, Deschutes had delicious beer (my favorite beer ever on tap! Fresh Squeezed IPA on tap is even more drool-worthy than bottled, who knew?) and it was fun to chat with just Brittany and Jon. We reminisced over the entire trip and realized that the wedding seemed like it happened months ago, since we packed this vacation full of activities. But the wedding itself was also awesome and we relived several memorable moments with the newlyweds, saying it was so very 'them'.

Deschutes! And it's a good thing I wear glasses now, or I wouldn't fit in with this group. If we stayed in Portland longer, we would have for sure needed a flannel shirt, BTW.


At midnight, we went to bed in the hotel--Nate and I with our three kids in one room, my in-laws with the newlyweds in another room. This was a horrible night of sleep, though---Cecelia slept with me and Truman with Nate in full sized beds, Porter in a pack-n-play. Cecelia started crying randomly at 2 am for an unknown reason and wouldn't stop, Truman smacked his head on the side table, and tempers ran short because we were all just so freaking exhausted and antsy to get home. Sigh.

Saturday, July 23 | Day 10

The alarm went off awfully early at 6:30 am this day. Bad moods abounded (Nate and I) but the kids somehow slept until I was forced to wake them around 8am. Nate and I showered, packed up again/tried to organize things better in the numerous suitcases, and Nate tried to eat breakfast in the hotel but it was quite picked over by this point. Jon and Tony dropped off the rental minivan since us travelers were taking an airport shuttle. We hopped on board at 8:30, saying our final goodbyes to Jon and Brittany. I was shocked that Truman didn't cry then and there, but he held it in like a champ (for now, the tears came later once we arrived to our house).

We got to the airport with plenty of time, since our flight didn't take off until 10:30 and security was a breeze. They let us keep the beloved BOB stroller this time but even that accomplishment didn't suffice for sweet Porter. He was melting down like a boss during security and even had to throw an actual temper tantrum because he wouldn't walk through the scanner thing, and I was forced to carry him (the horror). After he settled down a little and I muttered the first of many curse words under my breath, we all found coffee (nectar of the gods) and breakfast (McDonalds, not quite nectar but still satisfying).

Here goes nothing!


EPIC.


I also made everyone stop at a cute little souvenir shop in the airport so we could bring wine and chocolate to our neighbors who dog-sat for us. Spoiler alert: Henry did fair but he did manage to poop in the neighbor's house four days in a row and ate a TON of people food during his time down the block. He also got spoiled and was allowed to snuggle on couches, and the neighbors swore they'd have our mutt back anytime....but we won't be asking any time soon:/

We boarded our plane in Portland and sat in a similar arrangement from when we flew here: me at a window, then Porter, then Lois; Nate with the two big kids in another row; then Tony across the aisle from Nate and kids. The four and a half hours in air are a total blur, but I do recall a poopy diaper change in a tiny plane bathroom and a lot of failed attempts at naps for Porter. Plenty of snacks, screens, train books, and prayers to the travel gods happened. I don't think it was a great flight and I know when I spotted Nate snoozing away with the easy big kids, I wanted to 'let' Porter tap his daddy's head....but somehow I stopped him.



Bye, mountains


A lot of this nonsense.


Best traveler.


Landing in Chicago at 4:30 central time felt like a gift! Until we noticed that nobody was actually exiting the plane, and the pilot came on the overhead speaker announcing that the door malfunctioned and had to be fixed. &*#%X! It was another 20 minutes sitting on the plane before we were released but it definitely felt like 20 years. We found our bags at the baggage claim, took the trolley to the parking lot, and got in our van just as heavy black clouds were descending upon Chicago. I think if our flight had been an hour later, we might have been diverted....to Milwaukee, of all places. Without our van, which would have been in Chicago. So glad that didn't happen!!

We were delirious with hunger at this point, as we pulled away from the parking lot at 6pm. The kids all fell asleep before we could stop and get dinner, so we plugged along towards Wisconsin with our growling stomachs (no real meal since 9am current time, going nine hours without a meal is like my own personal hell). Porter slept maybe 30 minutes which was his one and only nap. Can you say 'overtired?".

We pulled up to our house around 7:30pm and said 'hallelujah' in unison. Tony and Lois drove home, we unloaded a billion suitcases and turned on our air conditioner in the house since it was SWELTERING and about 90 degrees inside. The temperature change from the Oregon coast to Milwaukee was certainly shocking, going from about 65 as a high to a heat wave in the 90s!

This is when I noticed Truman crying on the couch, saying he missed Jon and Brittany. We lamented that vacations are always so much fun and saying goodbye to family just sucks. Then we ordered take out from our favorite burger joint (Gilles for the locals), ate, and put the kids to bed. I picked up Henry from the neighbors, delivered the wine and chocolate in return, and then we crashed in our own beds by 10pm.

No better feeling!


It goes without saying that this trip was seriously awesome, despite the sucky-ness of the actual travel. I will summarize by mentioning a few things:

-Ten days seemed like it would be way too long before we left, but it turned out to be the perfect amount of time to be gone. Anything less would have felt too rushed, especially since the days of travel took a lot out of us.

-If we could do it again, we would try to fly out of Milwaukee, not O'Hare, and attempt to land in Eugene, not Portland. That will mean a layover somewhere but would take the dreaded drive to/from Portland out of the equation. This was basically a destination wedding for us with fourteen hours of travel, door-to-door. Anytime you clock numbers like that, with three children in tow, you know it is going to be brutal. Even with four adults to help, it just isn't fun to travel with small children (in my humble opinion). Someday it will be easier, like when Porter is four years old or something.

-Oregon is a badass state. I can see why Jon and Brittany love it so much. I still wish they'd move to Wisconsin, and I know they try to tempt us with moving to Orgeon. Ain't happening, though! We love the midwest too much and will happily travel to the west for vacations....just not every year, but we WILL be back!

-When we return, I will make sure to pack cooler weather clothes. One hoodie per child and no pants for anyone was a silly choice with costal temps in the 50s. I guess I just didn't believe the forecast when we packed at home, during abnormally high Wisconsin temps!

-Favorite parts: besides the wedding itself, it has to be eating the freshest seafood and partaking in Oregon wine. Also, bumming on the beach was a major highlight, plus sand dune boarding and dune buggy-ing were not boring. Oh, we just enjoyed all of the activities so much!

Thanks for reading along, I know vacation recaps can be horribly boring for many people but I enjoyed re-living the trip (over a month later) by typing it all out on the blog. In true 'end of summer' fashion, school starts in two days!! Expect a post on all.the.feelings with sending two kids to school this year.

Oregon Trip | Day Seven

Wednesday, July 20

I must have been getting burnt out on taking pictures this day, apparently I only have twenty three pictures from the whole day? What in the world??

I woke up early our seventh day in OR and went for a five mile run, a little nervous that I'd get lost in Florence alone but somehow how I managed just fine. When I returned we all ate breakfast and then packed up for our excursion of the day: kayaking, sand boarding, and being generally very Oregonian. ;)

Overlooking her shell collection from yesterday:


We went to Clewox Lake/Honeyman State Park for our experience this day. We rented three kayaks and two sand boards, then spent several hours on the lake and boogying down giant hills-o-sand. Have you ever seen such a thing? I took videos, of course, and the pictures don't do it justice. The lake was clear and beautiful, and Nate took the big kids and went with his brother down the river for a bit---wish he would have taken more pictures! Porter despised his life vest but otherwise all children were adequately happy. Truman rocked the sand boarding and Nate complained of a neck strain the next day from wiping out so much;) I remember being pretty hot this day but the weather was nearly perfect, and the state park was busy but not horrendous. It was a great morning!









And yet, I drove back to Jon and Brittany's house with Lois and Porter around 1:30pm because he was 100% over it. Nate, Tony, Jon, Brittany and the big kids stayed for a little while then stopped at BJ's Ice Cream Parlor and also picked up coffee from Suislaw River Coffee Roasters. Hell yes. They brought both back home so that is why I'm excited about this part.

This is when the afternoon forked for us: I made the executive decision to chill the heck out while uploading pictures on the deck and enjoying some quiet time of my own. It was MUCH needed at this point after a hectic and jam packed trip and I do not regret taking a chill pill here. Nate and Jon went golfing. Tony and Brittany took Truman and Cecelia to see Finding Dory. Lois and I relaxed while Porter napped, then when he woke all three of us went grocery shopping. This was one of the highlights of the day, somehow---it's rare that just Lois and Porter and I ever get to spend time together. And at a grocery store, none-the-less (Lois's favorite place, not so much mine).

We came back home and started making dinner: Costco veggie burgers were the main dish, can't remember the rest but I'm sure it was delish. We put our kids to bed at 9pm and then Jon, Brittany, Nate and I went out to the local dive bar--Beachcomber. Tony and Lois stayed back to 'watch' the sleeping kids. It was exactly what the doctor ordered to spend time with just the newlyweds, at a bar where they literally knew everyone because the town is super small. We talked about all kinds of topics with two drinks a piece, then walked home around midnight. Side note: did you know that Oregon has a zero tolerance policy for drinking and driving? As in, you cannot have a 0.01 or you get a gigantic ticket, and subsequent offenses mean you lose your license pretty quickly? This is amazing and I can only imagine how it would go over in Wisconsin, but it does make sense! Hence the walking for about a mile or so each way after drinking----fine by me!