Farewell Benema

Well they left a while ago, but I am so far behind in my posts that I feel like I have say goodbye to them all over again.

Our final day with Benema was spent looking around Portland. It seems the only time we actually see our city is when people come to visit.

First stop – The Portland Saturday market (on Sunday).

Where Ben tried on hats.

Then, after a Dim Sum lunch in Chinatown (no photos of that – too difficult while trying to feed too boys), we walked back to the waterfront, waving to Firetrucks along the way.

We visited the Japanese Memorial. (Note to self: MUST take the kids there for cherry blossom photos next year).

Thomas chose to climb on the memorial (but I think that’s the point).

And Samuel was happy just riding along in the backpack.

Then we headed up to Council Crest which has one of the best views in Portland. This is Mt. Hood.

Mt St. Helens behind us.

I even made it into a picture with a little remote control magic. Pity Samuel was cut in half and the lighting was so spotty.

The rest of our time at Counsel Crest was spent enjoying the water fountains. It really doesn’t take much to keep this group entertained.

And then we headed home to hang out for the last few hours.

I delivered Benema to the train station the next morning. Some guests out-stay their welcome and have you waiting for them to leave. I could have had Ben and Emma stay longer – much longer. We miss you Benema.

The long and winding road: Benema at the beach pt2

You can read about the first half of our day at the beach here.

When you’re traveling with two small children you need to think carefully about planning your trip around nap times. This is especially difficult when one of the children is still taking two naps. Before Samuel was born, I had forgotten about the inconvenience of the late morning nap.

But sometimes you have a day when you just get the timing right and our trip to the beach was just that type of day. Both boys slept in the car on the way to the coast int he morning and woke as soon as we arrived. We played on the beach and had lunch and, by the time we were ready to continue our drive down the coast to catch the alternate route, they were both ready to pass out again for an hour or so. Not only did this ensure we were avoiding two cranky children, but the adults were able to stop the car a few times on the way to take in the sights without having to worry about getting the kids in and out of carseats.

We had one primary reason for driving the long way home – the Tillamook Cheese Factory. We have driven by the factory a number of times but have never ventured in – once arriving 5 minutes after it closed (one of the more frustrating moments of my life).

This time, however, we arrived many hours before closing and we had two freshly napped children – nothing was going to stop us.

The first thing that hits you in Tillamook is the smell of cows and cow manure. It’s not pleasant, but I suppose it’s necessary and a good reminder that some animals work hard so I can eat that delicious sharp Tillamook Cheddar. Still – makes me grateful that I live some distance from the source.

The visit begins with a view of the factory. It was mesmerizing watching them cut the cheese (yes, we heard the jokes).

And then the walking tour leads to the store and…samples!

(My brother teased me for taking this photo at the time but I bet his mouth is watering now. You’re welcome, Ben.)

The finale – ice cream all round. I think Thomas would have had a meltdown if we didn’t get ice cream. He chose chocolate (of course) and ate the entire thing.

And of course we couldn’t leave without the goofy photograph.

Then we got in the car and drove back to Portland. The end? Not quite…

There’s a story that members of my family like to tell over and over again. It involves a windy car ride from Sydney to Melbourne, a stop at the cheese factory where we ate ice cream and cheese samples and a little girl who didn’t have time to tell her father to stop the car before throwing up all over the back seat and her two brothers. My mum and my brother Ben are particularly fond of telling this story at every family gathering.

Well, I have some good news. Now Ben has a new story to tell. We were just miles from home and Thomas had been quiet for a little while – he didn’t seem quite himself. In hindsight the signs were there, but at the time we really had no warning. Poor Curious George was collateral damage and had to be washed three times and sprayed with febreeze before I was finally able to get the smell of vomit out of his fur. Thankfully we had a few days to air out the rental car before returning it.

Thank you Thomas for changing the subject, although I apologise in advance for the fact that your uncle and grandmother (and possibly your aunt) will still be talking about this incident when you’re 30.

Benema at the Beach

It has been so long since we’ve been out to the Oregon Coast. It’s only a couple of hours away, but usually the only time we can go is on the weekend. A sunny weekend means half of Portland is trying to get to the beach and with only a couple of two-way highways to choose from, traffic can add a couple more hours to the trip. Add in a couple of kids, diapers that need to be changed and constant requests for snacks and it can be hell on wheels.

So we waited until the time was right – an unusually sunny May week in Portland and some extra entertainment for the kids in the form of Uncle Ben and Auntie Emma.

The weather was incredible – sunny, warm and a very small breeze. Of course it was the Oregon Coast so not exactly swimming weather (it never is, thanks to the frigidly cold water courtesy of Alaska), but it WAS beach weather. And of course I took photographs…a lot of photographs. Here are just a few.

We bought a Kite.

Thomas, it appears, is quite the kite flyer.

I promise, it only looks like they’re destroying their nephew’s sand castle.

And what’s a beach without sand? I’m still finding it weeks later. I wish I’d managed to take photos of this child rolling around in it. His goal in life is to create more laundry.

And this was only the first half of the day. More to come…including a long-awaited visit to the cheese factory with a familiar outcome.

So Unfortunately “Nicole” Has a Reputation

I was reading a blog where it was suggested that you can use Google to generate funny little anecdotes about yourself. Type in “Unfortunately [your name]” and then see what comes up in the list of searches. Of course her’s were all very artistic and civilized (she has a literary name). Mine on the other hand…

Unfortunately, Nicole never considered the fact that she could get pregnant while doing alcohol and drugs while having unprotected sex. [this really was the first thing to come up]
Unfortunately, Nicole was having a wardrobe malfunction.
Unfortunately Nicole is a typical white Australian [this one was in reference to Kidman]
Unfortunately, Nicole seems to have an incredible memory, or maybe because she’s just hungry for gossip.

So to help overcome the stereotype, I am going to go ahead and post a few photos from my girls weekend in Seattle. We were drinking soda, of course. 🙂

And to prove I was really there – the only photo of me. The only that will be posted anyway…

And to answer your question… yes, we really are that funny. I did not stop laughing the entire weekend.

San Francisco

Business Trip. I arrived a day early to ride the cable car and take photos. The weather was perfect, the city was filled with wonderfully crazy people and I felt only mildly guilty about leaving Kei at home on a Sunday with the boys.

Warning – many photos follow and not one of them includes my children. Shocking.