Category Archives: Holidays

Autumn Fun Continues: Portland Nursery Apple Tasting

Last weekend we took part in a popular Autumn tradition – apple tasting at the Portland Nursery. Of course we didn’t realize just how popular it was until we found ourselves standing in line for 30 minutes just to get to the “tasting” part.

It was definitely worth it, though. I had no idea that apples and pears had so many wonderful flavors and, after tasting more than 100 of them, let’s just say that I was glad that we took notes along the way. We left with a big bag of Comice Pears and Honey Crisp Apples – the sweet crunch appealed to all of us and they can apparently be stored for up to 5 months, although I doubt they’ll last that long in our house.

I was only able to grab a few pics here and there because it was very important to maintain a decent tasting speed to keep the line moving.

 

Batman was there of course (best $20 spent on a Halloween costume, ever!)

After the tasting we spent a little time checking out the Scarecrow contest (my favorite below), listening to a couple of numbers from Boy and Bean, a band that took me back to the 30s (in the best way possible) and, of course, some running around the Nursery.

 

It was a fun, and healthy, way to send a sunny October day. I think we’ll add Apple Tasting to our list of annual Autumn traditions.

The First Annual Ishida Halloween Awards

Halloween is over for another year and there is now a big bowl of candy mocking me from the corner of the kitchen. While I do my best to resist the sugar rush, I’ll present you with a few highlights from last night courtesy of the First Annual Ishida Halloween Awards. There are no prizes, only special recognition… Oh, and the awards are limited to the things I was able to capture on camera. Sadly the low light and my very high heels prevented me from capturing everything… Now – on to the esteemed winners!

Most popular costume
Batman, for sure. Followed by Superman, Ironman and basically any other superhero you can imagine. I like that Thomas distinguished himself as the 60s TV show batman rather than the popular “Dark Knight”.

Cutest Superfriends

Best Halloween Investment (Ever!)
After three years the striped tights are still going strong – although the witch’s skirt is getting a little tight. Next year I’ll either have to lose weight or prepare a new costume. How’s that for some motivation to get fit?

Most Creative Pre-Trick or Treat Potluck Dish
Kei’s idea, my implementation. I’m pretty proud of myself.

Best neighborhood Halloween decorations.

Also impressive after the sun went down.

Most Difficult Photograph of the Evening
But with the most adorable photo subjects.

Best Costume
A homemade Angry Bird – no contest. Also takes the prize for least convenient and most treacherous, but definitely worth it.

Most Creative Porch Pumpkins

Our potluck hosts also put in a great effort.

Happiest Sugar-Filled Superheroes, Princesses, Turtles and Dolphins.

Hope you had a Happy Halloween. Now, I must go and take care of some candy. I’ll let you determine exactly what that means. 🙂

 

Early Pumpkin Picking

We did the pumpkin patch early this year for a few reasons:

  1. I was trying to avoid going after the Portland rain has set in and the pumpkin patches become on massive mud patch, trampled by thousands of people.
  2. The weatherman promised we would have a sunny day… and then said it likely would not last. When you live in Portland, you make the most of the sunny days, especially in October.
  3. I wanted to get the Pumpkin Patch thing out of the way. It’s one of those American traditions that I have embraced (and enjoy) but, if I leave it too late, I feel as though it’s infringing on my ramp up to Christmas. I realize that Thanksgiving is in the middle there as well, but I can’t wait until December to begin thinking about gifts and Xmas music. And, thanks to my annual takeout Turkey dinner, Thanksgiving is one of the easiest holidays.

We skipped the Pumpkin Patch last year. Having just returned from a couple of weeks in Japan, it was just a little too much. This year we decided the more the merrier and invited our friends Amelia and Alison (and their Mum Suzi). Our destination? Plumper Pumpkins Patch.

I promise Samuel was there – he just started the day a little camera shy.

And a little tractor shy. He and I walked behind the very-slow-moving vehicle.

The best thing about plumper, besides their good selection of carve-worthy pumpkins, is the number of kid-friendly activities they have available. We spent at least a couple of hours exploring corn mazes, sliding down hay bales and saying hi to some farm animals. I tried not to think to much about the fate about to befall the dozen or so turkeys.

Oh, and before you peruse the rest of the photos, I want to point out one small thing… Neither of my children are wearing sweat pants – the first time this has happened in…well…ever! Sure, it was mainly because I was yet to do the laundry and I refused to allow them to wear pants with holes in the knees, but I consider this a HUGE accomplishment. They’re both very attached to their “soft pants.”

Bonus point to Samuel for managing to dress himself in pumpkin colors. The perfect choice for blending into corn mazes.

Hay ride.

Obstacle Course and string maze (harder than it looks).

Races down the hay bale slide (faster than it looks).

Farm animals (smellier than they look).

And the duck races.

Finally, after a run through the kid-size hay maze, we were ready to pick out our pumpkins.

Not those ones, of course, they’re just pretty to photograph.

Then it was off to lunch where the impatience of a long wait for food was eased a little thanks a little invention from Steve Jobs that we like to call the “sanity saver”.

A fun day with friends. Now to find a little time to carve my pumpkin. I think I might carve a ghost design this year.

Newport, Oregon Day 5: Samuel Spots a Seal (or five)

Day 5 was our last full day in Newport, although I’m sure it feels as though we were there a lot longer thanks to the speed at which I’ve been posting these recaps. Still, posting like this helps drag out the vacation, and the summer, just a little longer.

I began the day with another walk around Nye Beach to soak up a little of that beachside atmosphere.

Then we enjoyed a little Zen time at the beach thanks to Kei’s rock creation.

Then it was time to head back in the direction of the lighthouse to visit the rock pools. A ticket to the lighthouse is valid for three days which worked out perfectly. Visiting the Lighthouse and rock pools on the same day would have been too much for the younger members of our crew.

We walked down the hill toward the rock pools thinking it was just a regular beach, when Samuel spotted the main attraction just meters away.

We were pretty impressed that Samuel was the one who saw them first (and he was incredibly proud of himself) so I asked him to recreate the moment.

Then, braving the cold wind, I walked around and took a few quick photos before we decided to make a beeline back to the warm van.

For dinner, we drove to a great Japanese restaurant in the old town section of Newport. It gave us a chance to walk around the historic port and check out these very loud and aggressive creatures.

We weren’t the only ones. Apparently they’re quite the attraction.

After dinner we took a walk down to the dock. Well, some of us walked…

The sun was setting and the colors were beautiful.

Finally, I decided that my nerves could no longer take the sight of my children running on such narrow boardwalks. As we walked back, Mayumi requested I take a few photos of things you might not see very often in Japan.

And other things that reminded her of home.

After a quick stop for ice cream, we headed back for our last night at the beach house.

Newport, Oregon Day 4: Yaquina Head Lighthouse + Kite Flying

Warning: A plethora of photos follows (I just love the word plethora.)

On our fourth day at the beach we decided to take a short drive to visit the lighthouse. Not the original Newport Yaquina Bay lighthouse – although if I’d read this first I might have sent us in that direction (I love ghost stories).

The one we visited is called the Yaquina Head lighthouse which attracts a lot of tourists and thousands of tiny disgusting flies. We were told that the flies are only there for two months of the year (lucky us!) and that they don’t bite or spread disease. And, honestly, after waiting in line for a while to go in the lighthouse, I was wondering what was more annoying – the flies or the obnoxious tourists who kept complaining about them.

But I digress. The Yaquina Head lighthouse is beautiful and we were lucky enough to visit on a perfect (although slightly chilly) Summer day.

There is a little walkway nearby that leads to the rockiest beach I have ever seen. Incredibly beautiful in it’s own way, even if it was a little difficult to walk on.

We even managed to spot a few seals on the nearby rocks – although my camera’s zoom wasn’t quite strong enough to catch them clearly in a photograph. I promise they’re on that rock somewhere…

After our little adventure down to the beach, Mayumi and I ditched the kids to climb the stairs to the top of the lighthouse.

After a brief encounter with an old guy who shared very STRONG opinions about my flip flops (and also gave us the information about the flies), we walked the five steps to the top.

One person at a time, 5 steps and then stop. Don’t get me wrong, it was a great view and interesting to see, but I expected to be able to walk around up top and I supposed I was a little disappointed. I mean shouldn’t they explain that before you climb the very tall spiral staircase?

Next, we all jumped back in the mini van to visit the (poorly lit) information center where my Dad and Kei watched the informational video (no surprises there) and I followed the kids around telling them what they could and could not touch.

This next photograph is a favorite – I love how the different personalities come out in just one quick image. Hilarious!

A about 30 minutes past nap time, we decided it was time to head back to the house before things got ugly. After everyone had sufficiently recharged, we headed back to the beach for a little kite flying (the boys) and running in the freezing cold water (Karin and, by default, Mayumi).

Finally, a little time to explore the rock pools before the tide starting coming in and I feared my children would be washed out to sea.

The end of another perfect day.

Crowds, Music and Ice Cream: The Mississippi Street Fair

I love going back to work on a Monday knowing that you made the most of your weekend. We had a great time living it up in the Sunshine. Favorite moments:

  • Group bike ride down to Mississippi ave for the street fair, including Mayumi’s first time on a bicycle in 10 years (and she stayed on!).
  • Catching the Star Wars Lego windows and Thomas being unable to cotain his excitedment.
  • Braving the crowds to make it down to Por Que No! (Spelling?) for lunch – and then finding a quieter table in the shade when the live music became just a little too loud (but the band was great).
  • Buying matching fairy wings for Samuel and Karin (blue for him and pick for her).
  • Ice Cream!
  • Sitting with my husband on our NEW DECK on a balmy Saturday evening, sipping beer and catching up. (Note: finishing touches still be made to deck but should be done this week)
  • FUN photo shoot with a family who won a session in an Auction fundraiser for Thomas’ school. Adorable kids and incredibly friendly parents.
  • Grocery shopping with Mayumi – she has now conquered her fear of New Seasons. (last week she went by herself and felt so overwhelmed that she left with only a bottle of Orange Juice).
  • Friendly people at the grocery store who remember Mayumi and Karin from their previous visit.
  • Playdate/birthday party at the park for one of Thomas’ school friends which included a gathering of parents who speak Japanese.

Of course, I also managed to take a few photographs of the festival, although the logistics of managing three kids (even with three adults) amidst an incredibly crowded street fair made it difficult. Next year I might have to find a little time to go by myself. So many wonderful photo opps that I missed.

Because Nothing Says “Welcome to America” Like Giving a Two-Year-Old a Flammable Object

Mayumi and Karin were fortunate to arrive in America just days before that big, loud holiday we call Independence Day. It afforded them the perfect opportunity to immediately experience some of the basics of American culture – BBQ, Beer and Fireworks.

We hadn’t planned on a July 4th get together (our deck is still a work in progress)  but, when our friends canceled their weekend getaway plans, we decided to host an impromptu, low key event in our front yard. Leftover pasta salad, pre-made Kebabs and a little grilled Salmon made it a quick and easy spread for 9, so we were able to truly enjoy each others’ company and the fantastic sunshine.

As much as I want our deck to be finished, there is something wonderful about hanging out in our front yard. It seems if you sit there long enough you will have the opportunity to say hello to every single neighbor at one time or another. Some of them stayed for a Popsicle, others to watch our small (legal and child-safe) fireworks display and then others said a quick hello before moving on to their own July 4th celebration. The best part was that Mayumi and Karin were able to meet nearly everyone without having to endure a big party or millions of household visits. And when they went to the park on their own the next day, they were surrounded by our friends instead of a bunch strangers.

Of course the highlight of any July 4th get together is the fireworks. While our neighbors impressive show (purchased across the border) did not start until after dark, we held our own mini show at the child friendly time of 7pm. Sure, the sun was in the middle of the sky, but fun was had by all nonetheless. And the kids were in bed asleep by 9pm. Perfect!

And then after bedtime the real light show began. It’s the wonder the kids were able to sleep at all.

 

Happy Monday…Oh and Valentine’s Day

Valentine’s day is one of those Hallmark holidays that I can give or take. Actually, now that I have children, it is actually quite inconvenient. Or maybe it’s just because I have small children – one of whom can’t yet write his own name and so I am forced to manage the entire valentine-writing myself. Then I have the other child who can write his own name but sees a pile of 30 valentines on the table and feels overwhelmed by the workload. We managed to finish them up in shifts throughout the day yesterday. I don’t know if there’s a Bah, Humbug! equivalent for this holiday but that’s how I feel.

On a not-quite-so-cranky note, we had a fabulous action-packed weekend. It began with Iron Bartender on Thursday night, then Friday was my first pre-op for my brand new laser eyes (coming soon!) and dinner and a movie with my husband while the boys hung out at daycare for a few extra hours (thankfully I was able to see again by the time the movie started – eye dialation is no fun). On Saturday we had swimming lesson, a trip to the safety Saturday at the fire station, a consultation to get french doors (yay!) and then another night out without the kids – dinner for one friend’s birthday and then a stop by at another party celebrating two more friends. Sunday involved a little furniture shopping and a nap for all four of us – we needed it.

So, because I have not had time to edit all photos from the weekend (surprised?), I will share this little one for the current I Heart Faces challenge. This week is all about RED for women’s heart disease awareness. I took the photo in the back of the car while we were waiting at the grocery store and, since he’s wearing a red shirt, I think it counts. I just love this little slice of life and it’s a good reminder that I need to capture more photos that record our daily adventures. I also love that he’s covering his eyes and not doing a silly face or fake smile for the camera. It makes this one a little different.