Our Gramma and Grumpy spoiled us sick!

Just have a look at how serious we are with our new Radio Flyer riding machines!

THANKS SO MUCH GRAMMA AND GRUMPY!!!

It was super seeing you in real life and not just on the computer. ~ Elliot

Elliot's Top 14 Favourite Holiday Moments

Jeepers, I had one fast-paced and super fun time in America. I was kept really busy reconnecting with my American family, meeting new friends, and doing all sorts of things for the very first time. Here are some of my bestest moments:

1. Going fishing with Finn and catching my first fish!

2. Riding in Matt and Melissa's boat and licking Matt's tattoos (I know, kind of weird, but surprisingly funny!)

3. Giggling and playing jokes with Grumpy.

4. Going to the zoo with Evan and Claire and seeing real live bears wrestling and playing!!!
5. Roasting marshmallows around the campfire with Finn and Katie.

6. Playing in the snow way up high on Mt. Rainier with Nana and Grandad and seeing all the wildflowers and a deer too!
7. Jumping off the dock into the lake over and over with Mommy and Daddy at Holly and Terry's lake house.

8. Watching my very own TV on the airplane and for way longer than Mommy and Daddy usually let me.
9. Swimming and laughing and eating cherries with Amelia and Erik up at the cabin in Cle Elum. (I also really liked holding hands with the pretty blond girl--that's what I called Amelia.)

10. Getting my very first real massage!

11. Learning how to play lacrosse and having squirt gun wars with all my cousins and second cousins at the family reunion in Idaho.

12. Splashing in the pool and eating popsicles with Oliver and Claire and Evan out front of Gramma and Grumpy's house.

13. Eating lots and lots of frozen yogurt and Mexican food. Yummy! Too bad we couldn't find any cooked tuna sushi though.
14. Going to my first baseball game. I was really into it (for a couple of innings anyway) and even got my own baseball cap of the Tri-City Dust Devils.

~ Elliot

On the road again!

The last week and a half of our time in the States involved quite a lot of driving as we headed to Portland to visit my brother's family, then up to Seattle to pick up Yvonne and Keith, and then back to the Tri-Cities for a couple last days before heading back to Portland to fly home (because United messed up our original itinerary--still not happy about that!). And before getting into the details of the fun we had in between the driving, can I just mention that my little boys are absolute heroes when it comes to the travelling? Sure there may have been a bit of whining here and there, but mostly, Elliot and Oliver just sat back and enjoyed the ride (and the Disney stories that we have on CD that they listened to over and over and over and over . . . .)

On the way to Portland the first time, I decided to stop at Multnomah Falls (a beautiful and very tall waterfall just off the highway to Portland) to give the rush hour traffic some time to thin out and let the boys stretch their legs. That, in and of itself wasn't a terrible idea, but the decision to walk the kilometre up to the lookout bridge was simply ludicrous. Who could have imagined that a bridge over fifty metres up would have gaps so large that a small buffalo could plummet to its death?!?! I slapped a death grip on to both boys' arms (no I had no stroller, they were both running footloose and fancy free!) and dragged them kicking and screaming back down the trail to safety. Not exactly the fun little break in the drive that I was looking for.

Admiring the waterfall from a much safer viewing platform.

But once in Portland, things were very relaxed and full of good times. We had a lovely dinner with my Aunt Ginger and Uncle John and had a great day at the zoo with all the kids. But maybe the best part of Portland was just hanging out and watching all the littlies run around and chase each other and get excited about watching the "e-lympics" for the first time.

Ollie found someone to share his favourite hobby.

After a few short days, we were back on the road again to pick up Yvonne and Keith in Seattle. The

boys were supposed to sleep on the drive up. I planned it that way, and besides they always sleep in the car. I guess they didn't get the memo because neither one of them slept a wink the whole four hour drive and were pretty shattered when we picked up Yvonne and Keith and headed off to the Duck Tour that we had booked. Elliot was a real trooper during the tour and seemed to really love it especially when the bus-boat when into the water. Oliver, on the other hand, decided that enough was enough about half way through the 90 minute tour and proceeded to spend the rest of the tour screaming and bucking and hurling himself on the floor of the bus and throwing the most colossal tantrum of his young life. Not so much fun for me or for anyone else on the tour for that matter! Nice one, Oliver!

We survived the duck!

And then we wandered through the Seattle Centre, where we ate pizza on the lawn while watching the dancing fountain. Elliot must not have wanted to let his brother show him up, so he decided to throw a massive tantrum himself. I couldn't get those two little boys into their jammies and car seats and back on the road toward our hotel fast enough. They were asleep before we were on the freeway!

Next day we headed up to beautiful Mount Rainier where Yvonne and Keith, the boys and I wandered around admiring the wildflowers and little waterfalls. And the boys spotted their first deer and got to play in a little dirty patch of snow which they thought was pretty magnificent.

Elliot frolicking in nature.

And then it was back on the road again . . . back to Gramma and Grumpy's for a few days of last minute shopping and good-byes before hopping back into the car to drive back to Portland to catch the long flight back to Australia.

Elliot's pic of his Gramma, Nana and Grandad.

See you next time Mom and Dad!

 It's no wonder that some parts of this holiday felt a bit more like a test of endurance than a vacation!

P.S. I nearly forgot and shame on me for that. Thanks so much to Yvonne and Keith for letting me talk you into a U.S. holiday so that you could help me out with the boys on the flight home (and also for all the help you gave us while we were still in the States so that I could spend time with my Mom.) I really really appreciate it!

The Tri-Cities Stretch

After Paul flew home, the boys and I had planned to spend quite a lot of time hanging out with my mom and dad. But with my mom in and out of hospital, beginning her first round of chemo, and feeling altogether miserable, things ended up being quite a bit different than what we had planned. She certainly wasn't up to doing anything, and just being around the boys seemed to wear her out (I know that they were certainly wearing me out!). And my dad obviously had lots on his plate and his mind so didn't get to hang out with us as much as I know he would have wanted to.

Instead the boys and I spent quite a bit of time playing at the local playgrounds and splash parks and the kiddie area in the mall and splashing in the little swimming pool in my parent's front yard. Having Holly and Finn and Katie around sure was a lifesaver. We met them at the awesome boat playground at Howard Amon several times, and they babysat the boys for me a couple of times so that I could spend some time with my mom in hospital. And Melissa was terrific too, coming with us to the park so that she could help me with the boys and I could have a little bit of a break from being a single parent.

And speaking of being a single mom, holy cow, I don't know how people do it. I found that I was getting five to six hours of sleep a night by the time I finally got the boys to sleep and then did the dishes and the laundry and made a run to the grocery store. And I was so stressed out, that any little shred of patience that I might possess was stretched to breaking point so often. I don't know how many times I shouted at the boys and lost my temper during those couple of weeks when we were without Paul. Definitely not my finest moments of motherhood.

Thankfully the violent angry tantrums (and the stutter!!) that Elliot started during this period have finally started to abate. And aside from these behaviours and a few moments that we really wouldn't mind forgetting all about (like trying to have a nice dinner at the Greek restaurant with my dad! Oi vay!), we managed to make quite a few happy memories too. Have a look:


The boys loved Howard Amon Park just about as much as I did as a kid.



The splash park at the Playground of Dreams

How cute are my water babies?

Ollie as hydroplane driver

Elliot as crane operator

The boys loved the shopping carts in the States

Melissa sharing the boys' very first snow cones

Last stop for Paul

When we got back to the Tri-Cities, Paul only had a couple of days before having to jet back home to Oz to go to work so when we weren't hanging out with my mom and dad and brother and family, we crammed in all sorts of fun times and visits with friends including Mexican food and margaritas with Doug, Ami and Kayla; bison burgers and a boat ride with Matt and Melissa, and a minor-league baseball with Karen, Romeo and Noah. Sounds pretty awesome, right?!?!

Wish I could spend time with this girl all the time!

Ollie decided to give driving a go.

This is the life

Elliot trying to dive into the mighty Columbia

Matt and the boys drumming away

Baseball, Budweiser and Karen. It's good to be home.

Fourth stop: A night at the lake with the Doherty's

Even though we only managed to make it for one night, our stay with Holly, Terry, Finn and Katie at their family's lake house was pretty near perfection. Holly and Terry were awesome hosts and wouldn't let us lift a finger to help, insisting that we deserved at least one completely responsibility-free day on our vacation. We didn't put up much of a fight.

And Finn and Katie were just awesome sharing their toys and fishing poles and putting up with two little boys who followed them around and pretty much completely worshipped them.

In the first few hours that we were there, Elliot tried fishing for the first time, caught his first fish, bravely jumped off the dock into the lake, and toasted marshmallows around his first campfire. And Oliver, he was ecstatic just playing in the sand on the shore of the lake and chasing after the Frisbee the kids were playing with.

The next day was full of more swimming in the lake and lots more jumping off of the dock as well as a little nature walk looking for Big Foot and a bit of hide-and-seek at the local playground before we loaded the kids back into the car and headed back to Gramma and Grumpy's homebase.

Look out Big Foot. We're after you.

You can't find two more gracious hosts or awesomer friends!

Would you look at the size of that one!

Because I just love kids and pinatas



Stop #3: Schatzel Family Ten Year Reunion in Northern Idaho

Who would have expected a luau complete with leis and fruit sculpture in Northern Idaho? But when we drove up the drive to Auntie Audrey and Uncle Hanko's house in the woods, that's exactly the warm tropical welcome awaiting us.

And the warm fuzzies and happiness didn't stop there. We had a smashing time camping out in my aunt and uncle's yard, playing baseball and lacrosse, walking Uncle Hanko's stilts, going on nature walks, watching lightening strike the mountains in the distance, eating heaps and heaps of food, and catching up with (nearly) all my cousins and (nearly) all their kids.

And speaking of the kids, there were seven littlies five and under and they all got on like a house on fire, splashing in the pool, blowing bubbles, squirting each other and the unarmed adults with water pistols, and just running around like crazy hooligans. 

In fact, I only have two complaints about the whole weekend:

1. The rain pelted down on us the first night and soaked through the tent and left us sleeping in a small lake. As grumpy as I was climbing out of the tent after a wet and sleepless first night, the weather took a turn, dried out our gear and left us in peace for the second night. Hallelujah!
2. My awesome cousin Erica and her family couldn't join us because of some silly little lacrosse tournament (just kidding, Dustin!) and my mom and dad weren't able to make of it because Mom was just too sick. Maybe we'll have to try another reunion in five years instead of the usual ten?