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.

July 2012 Update

PLAYING TOGETHER

 I tried to do a lot of fun outings with the kids the first week of July before I had to start my modified bed rest.  Here they are at the splash park.  Nathan loved the sport theme.

 The kids enjoyed our trip to the playground of dreams.

 They also had fun doing a sleepover in the bonus room.  Nathan especially loved having his sisters tell him stories and sing him songs.


THE FOURTH OF JULY

 The kids had a parade with all their dolls and stuffed animals.  They waved their flags and played instruments to a patriotic song CD we got from the library.

 To liven things up Jared surprised the kids with a new soccer ball which they had fun kicking around in the backyard.

 They had the most fun throwing their own boxes of poppers that Jared bought for them.

 We also had a nice backyard firework display. Here are the kids all sitting down for the show.

PIONEER DAY

 We had a Pioneer day family home evening celebration.  The kids dressed up in pioneer clothes and they played pioneer games.

 Here they are learning how to play hop scotch.

 We probably had the most fun trying to bob for apples.  Maddy didn't want to get her face wet.

 Nathan thought it would work better if he just used his hands.

 Abby was the most aggressive about trying to get an apple, but short of actually bobbing and putting her whole face in it wasn't going to happen.  This is one of those things that is a lot harder to do than one imagines.

ABIGAIL JANE

 Abby likes to try to do a pull up every night before bed.  She is getting really strong and can do one on her own with Jared spotting her.

 Abby just finished her Level B My Piano Adventure books and performed the last song she learned at the ward talent show. She did a great job.

 Abby also finished this needlepoint picture that she's been working on.  At first she had a really hard time and needed my help with each stitch, but by the time she finished the picture she was doing it on her own.  I was really proud of her learning this new skill.

MADELINE RUTH

 Maddy trying to build her little muscles.

 Here she is with one of her drawings that she displayed at our ward talent show.  She is getting to be a good little artist.

NATHANAEL LIVINGSTON

 Nathan's pull up technique is to use his legs on the door frame so he can pull himself up.

 Nathan with the watercolor picture he displayed at the ward talent show.

 Nathan has been crawling in and out of his crib for several months, so he was more than ready for his big boy bed.  He is very excited about it and insists on his bed being made first thing every morning.

JARED

 Notice anything different about Jared? He got LASIK this month and is now enjoying life without glasses.  The procedure went really well and he now has great vision.  This month Jared has been busy with work and studying for the DAT.  He also has been wonderful about helping with the kids, shopping, and housework while I've been on bed rest.

MARY 

 I finished this quilt for Thomas this month.  (If you can't tell, those are little monkeys on it.)  Since I've been on modified best rest most of the month I've been working on a lot of sit-down type projects.  I've also read lot of books and spent my time during the day homeschooling and reading with the kids.  It's been hard to be restricted in what I can do, but in some ways it's been nice to take a break from cooking, cleaning, shopping and other activities and really focus on the kids.


THOMAS CARTER

Thomas  has grown a lot this month.  I can no longer squeeze into my non-maternity clothes anymore!  He is still very active and often wakes me up with his kicking.