Donaldson Family Reunion 2012

PORTLAND ZOO

The kids have been begging all year to go to the zoo, so we stopped by the Portland Zoo on our drive to the coast.

Sitting in the eagle's nest with cousin Christian.

The monkeys were by far Nathan's favorite animal to watch.  After watching the monkeys, the kids enjoyed trying to swing around like them.

Abby was excited to see a cheetah.  She has a stuffed cheetah, and has always wanted to see a real one.

The kids loved the lorikeet area where they got to see the birds up close.

LINCOLN CITY

My parents rented a big house for all of us to stay at in Lincoln City.  The kids were excited to try out their sleeping bags.

They especially loved the "pirate ship" in the backyard where they spent many hours playing with their cousins.


The kids all had fun finding clues and following them to find their own pirate treasure.











FAMILY PICTURES

It was quite a production to get all of us (14 adults and 20 kids) together and matching for this picture.  You can hardly tell from the smiles that we were all about to strangle each other.

Our individual family picture

THE BEACH

The kids loved the ocean and enjoyed exploring sea caves and looking for sea shells.

Nathan walking barefoot on the sand.

Maddy and Nathan had fun building sandcastles.
Here is Abby flying kites on the beach with Grandpa.

HIKING

The girls went with Jared on a hike to Drift Creek Falls. Maddy did an especially good job.

They got to cross a large suspension bridge.

At the waterfall.

DATE NIGHT

My parents were really sweet and watched all the kids one night for us in Lincoln city while the rest of us all had a "date night."  The guys cooked delicious sea food and we all enjoyed a night together without kid distractions.

WHALE WATCHING

The girls went on a fun whale watching tour with Jared, their aunt Sarah, and cousins Jacob and Mary.

They saw some sea lions.

They even saw a grey whale and tracked it for a few miles.  A few times it surfaced, it showed its entire maw (which the guide said is quite rare).  Unfortunately, Jared discovered that getting a good picture of one of those events is even more rare.  He was lucky just to be able to time getting a picture of the fluke (above).


TRAINS

My mom met a nice couple when we went to church on Sunday who invited us all over to see her model train that drives through a minature fairy tale land that she created.  The kids really enjoyed following the train around and identifying the different places and characters from their favorite fairy/nursery tales.

We had  a lunch at their house afterward with this beautiful view of these great blue herons.


GREAT-GRANDPA DONALDSON

It was a special treat to have my Grandpa Donaldson join us for the reunion.   The kids had a lot of fun doing  puzzles with their great-grandpa.

GOING HOME

On the way home we were able to stop by Multnomah Falls with Sarah and Gordon's family.

We had a great time at the reunion, and especially appreciate my parents who worked hard to make a wonderful vacation for all of us.  A couple other things we did that I don't have pictures for are: a trip to the Oregon Coast aquarium, shopping at the outlet mall, swimming at Grandma and Grandpa's condo at Depoe Bay, Donaldson family sing-a-long, lunch at Mo's, lots of yummy meals, beautiful ocean views, and late night games and discussions after the kids went to bed.  Winning Heard-in-the-House for the trip: Christian (who is very into cowboys right now) came halfway down the stairs one night when the adults were all up talking, looked through the railing, and said, "Are you all down here talking about horses and cowboys?"

August 2012 Update

PLAYING OUTSIDE

We have really enjoyed our backyard this summer.   Jared got me a hammock to lay my achy pregnant body in while I watch the kids play.  It has been great, but of course the kids think it's for them.

Inspired by the Olympics and the movie Brave, Jared decided to build a target and teach Abby some archery.  It was really hard for her at first, but she is getting better with practice.

Of course Maddy and Nathan weren't about to be left out of something as cool as archery so Jared bought  them a smaller bow to teach them as well.  Nathan especially loves it, and is always asking Daddy to help him shoot arrows.  Here they are shooting with their cousin Christian.

NATHAN'S BIRTHDAY

Nathan was super excited to turn three and have his CARS birthday party.  We invited a few friends over and he had a blast.

Here he is with his CARS cake.

Here he is doing a CARS puzzle with his friend Logan and opening presents.  Here's a list of a few of Nathan's favorite things at age three: Cars, Bob the Builder, Thomas the Tank Engine, Diego, firetrucks, tools, monkeys, building with Duplos, puzzles, playing sports outside, doing "tricks" (jumping off things), astronauts, reading with mom, and helping daddy work on projects.





SWIM LESSONS

The girls finished up swim lessons this month.  We are especially proud of Maddy who finally overcame her fear of putting her face in the water and is now able to move up to the next level.

RIVERFRONT PARK

We took a trip to Spokane for a doctor's appointment.  Despite the rain, the kids wanted to take a trip to Riverfront Park to ride the carousel.

HOMESCHOOL

Abby was excited to get a big box of homeschool books.  We are excited to be starting our first year of official homeschooling.

BEST FRIENDS

Abby and Maddy are best friends and will play for hours with their Strawberry Shortcakes and My Little Ponies.  Here they are taking their dolls on parade.

OTHER HAPPENINGS

We took a family vacation to the Oregon Coast for a Donaldson family reunion, but that will require a post of its own.  Jared and I also celebrated our 10 year anniversary this month.  We also found out that our little Thomas has some serious heart problems so please keep him in your prayers.