This is what the kids are doing right now

They are singing this song and dancing:

"Ring around the roses
Pocket full of poses
Action, Action
We all fall down!"
...
"Chicken!"

Aiden: "Let's do exercises now"
Jeremy: "Okay"
Aiden: "It's supposed to be my turn all the time"
Jeremy: "Okay"

*Jeremy runs away*
*Aiden does somersaults and rolls around on the ground*
*Jeremy runs back*

Jeremy: "I wanna; ring around the roses, ashton, ashton, we all fall down. I wanna do that again"
*they hold hands and begin turning in a circle*
Aiden: "Okay. Jeremy you need to go back a little bit more okay? Now... ring around the roses, pocket full of poses. Action, action, we all fall down!" *they fall down*

Jeremy: "Ring around the posies. Action, action. We all fall down".
*laughing*

They were watching the Closing Ceremonies of the Olympic games with me, but that didn't hold their attention very long. It's so cool to watch them play together now. They really enjoy each other's company most of the time. Earlier today they were rolling around under a blanket together. Then they helped Drew cook dinner. It's so joyful to watch.

Life is good.

Portland - Last Days

We came back from Portland Sunday night at 11pm. It was a wonderful trip! We were pretty tired when we got back, but it's been a few days now and we are getting back to the old routine. Here's a recap of the last couple days in Oregon:

On Saturday, we spent the day with Bart, Lisa & the boys. We drove to McMinnville to tour the Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum, home of the Spruce Goose. http://www.sprucegoose.org/

The Spruce Goose is quite the sight to see! It's amazing that it's built out of wood. And it's size is even more impressive. The kids enjoyed sitting and watching the educational videos...because the seats were airplane seats - seatbelts, tray tables and all!

The Spruce Goose

There was a children's interactive area where we spent quite a while. The kids tried flight simulators, and sat inside some of the planes and a helicopter. There were also toy ride-on airplanes that the little ones enjoyed.






We just happened to visit the museum during World War II Living History Weekend, so there were WWII battle re-enactments happening in the Oak Grove behind the museum. Our timing was just right, as a battle was scheduled during our time there. After touring inside, we headed out to the viewing area. It was a surreal sight... all of the artifacts and reproductions. There were even people rebuilding military Jeeps and driving them around. The battle was quite loud, and everyone but one person was dead in the end. Jeremy wasn't too fond of the noise, but it didn't seem to scare him. He just covered his ears.



After the battle, we decided to drive back to Bart and Lisa's house in Sherwood. We hung out there for a bit, then took off for dinner at Shari's followed by playtime at Safari Sam's.


Safari Sam's was AWESOME! http://www.jungleoffun.com/ One whole length of the building was occupied by a huge jungle gym, which the kids ran around and around in. We didn't even make it to the arcade area, as the kids were so into the jungle gym. There were rope ladders, padded obstacles, and tons of stuff to climb on and around and under and every-which-way.

Aiden rode only one or two rides the whole time. This is one of them. He likes putting in the tokens himself.

That's Jeremy in the back climbing up! He's getting so big!

Maria and Lisa got brave and decided to try the "black diamond" path in the jungle gym. That was quite the trial for us! Maria had quite a time using the rope to get over the wall mid-way through the course...but she made it! Next, Bart and Drew took a turn. Andrew brought Aiden along with him, because Aiden was too little to do it by himself, but REALLY wanted to go in that area. He was quite grateful to Daddy for taking him.

Later that night, the adults went out to the movies while the kids stayed home with a babysitter. They were already all worn out from Safari Sam's and the museum, so they just watched a movie, and Jeremy and Lincoln went to sleep. So Bart, Lisa, Maria and Andrew went to the Regal Cinemas to see Hancock. That's such a good movie! We were really glad we picked it. That night, we stayed in a hotel next to Bart & Lisa's, the Crowne Plaza.

Kids after a long day

Sunday morning, we enjoyed the brunch buffet at our hotel. Aiden got so excited. He came back to the table and told Maria, "Mommy! I didn't know they had CRAB here!". He's his father's son alright!

"Say Cheese!"

After brunch, we headed out for the Enchanted Forest theme park in Salem. http://www.enchantedforest.com/enchanted_forest.html




It was just the right fit for Aiden and Jeremy. Perfect for their age. It's themed around fairytales, so you visit the homes and settings of the fairytales. There are rides which were also good age-wise for the kids.




The kids' favorite ride was the Challenge of Mondor. The ride vehicle has a gun to shoot illuminated targets throughout the journey. Aiden had another favorite ride - the Ice Mountain Bobsleds. This is a roller coaster with covers over each car to deflect the WATER you travel through and under during parts of the ride. He gets a real kick out of roller coasters. Jeremy didn't like it as much. He said it was "kinda scary" for him. He prefers the slower rides.

The kiddos in line

The kids seemed to enjoy the stage show the most, though. It was the tale of Cinderella, but told in a funny manner, with a goofy dude playing one evil stepsister and a life-sized barbie doll playing the other. The slapstick humor and silly sounds of the show really had the kids laughing.

Watching Cinderella

We went to Bart and Lisa's after the park for dinner. It was sad to say goodbye, as we had such a good time with them in Oregon. But we decided to make it a Pascoal family vacation destination, so we will be back!

The kids on Bart & Lisa's Trampoline
Top row: Bart, Jacob, Lisa, Anthony, Maria, Andrew
Bottom row: Lincoln, Jeremy, Aiden

Portland Days 4 & 5

On Thursday, Andrew finished up early with his conference...so we were able to spend a good part of the day all together. Since it was still early in the day, we took off for Dim Sum at Wong's King Seafood Restaurant. We read really good reviews about it, and it didn't disappoint. It was evident that it would be good just from the parking lot - it was packed!

After dim sum, we went over to get the boys' haircuts at Pigtails & Crewcuts. They did a great job with the boys. But even more impressive was the great jobs that Aiden and Jeremy did. They were very polite and behaved. Jeremy doesn't like the clippers, and he told his stylist that he didn't like it, but she talked him through the haircut and he listened and was quite agreeable.




In the evening, we met up with Bart and the boys at "Out of This World Pizza and Play". It's outer space themed, with tons of play area. There were cute little cars for the kids to drive, bounce houses, a rock climbing wall, and a huge rocket ship play structure. The kids played and played, took a short break to eat pizza with us, then played some more. We stayed and closed down the house.

Bart & Lisa's Youngest, Lincoln in the Playhouse

Jeremy aka Speed Demon

After dinner, we went back to Bart & Lisas. We played Fluxx for a bit, then Lisa got home from work. She joined us for a quick game, then we all played Rock Band some more. That's so fun! It was another late night there (we've been keeping them up late!) - it was a lot of fun.

Cousins! Anthony, Aiden, Lincoln, Jeremy, Jacob

Today, we went to the Elephant Garlic Festival. We tried garlic ice cream, garlic spaghetti, garlic kettle corn (with cheese!), and pulled pork with garlic sauce. It was quite garlicky! The kids got temporary tattoos airbrushed on by one of the vendors. Aiden picked Spiderman and Jeremy picked Superman. They were quite content with their choices! The boys also enjoyed the play area - where there were bouncehouses and inflated slides.




In the late afternoon, we headed back to the hotel for a swim. It was short lived though because it got cold fast! The shade was starting to come over the pool, and the water wasn't terribly warm to begin with. So after some kick, kick, kicking and some superman arm paddling, we wrapped it up.



For dinner we decided to try another local favorite, Laurelwood Public House & Brewery. We've been heading to the restaurants that top the family favorites lists for the Portland area. There was a play area for the kids, and they hung out over there while we waited for dinner to be prepared. There are so many family-friendly places here in Portland, we've been enjoying it a lot. Looking forward to more fun this weekend on the coast with Bart, Lisa and the boys!

Portland Day 3

Today was a fun day! This morning, Maria and the boys went across the street to the Lloyd Center Mall to the Regal Cinema inside and saw the free family summer feature - Surf's Up. It sure was nice going into a movie and not paying one single solitary cent! The boys didn't really enjoy the movie in particular - you can't really blame them...it wasn't very exciting. But they did have a good time at the theater, and we toured the WHOLE MALL (all 3 levels!) afterwards. The mall was really big. The food court had tons to choose from - the boys picked Mediterranean. So they had a meat and spinach pie while Maria enjoyed her Falafel Gyro. We hit all kinds of stores, but the boys' favorite by far was Captain Henry's Pirate Store. It was a WHOLE STORE dedicated to pirates, a pirate's life, pirate parties, pirate wardrobe... all things pirate. Jeremy found a new friend - a doggy dressed up as a pirate. He's sleeping with it today, as we forgot Bunny back home. Aiden chose a stash of pirate toys, including binoculars, a ship, a treasure chest & loot sack. The boys already broke the binoculars, so now they have 2 telescopes instead. heehee...



We wore ourselves out shopping and playing. Good thing Maria rented the fire engine for the kids to ride around in...that was $5 well spent. There was plenty for them to see and do in the mall. There was even an ice rink inside, where you could see from all 3 levels. They really wanted to get out there on the ice...but Mommy decided they were a bit too young for that. The boys spent a long time in the Barnes and Noble kids corner, playing with their Thomas the Train table and asking to buy practically every single book they could get their hands on, then it was about time to head back to the hotel for naps. We were in the mall from 930 am til nearly 2pm today!



Needless to say, the kids slept a long time after that. They napped til almost 6pm. Then we decided to find somewhere family-friendly for dinner. We headed out to a place we found online called Grandma Leeth's. This restaurant is SO AWESOME! The restaurant is divided in half down the middle, by a wall with windows. One side is a kid's play area, and the other side is the restaurant dining area. They have SUPERVISED play for your kids while you wait for your food, and then they serve the kids on little tables inside the play area, and the kids are read a story while they eat. The boys LOVED it with a capital "L"! We enjoyed a nice dinner by ourselves, but we could see the boys through the windows the whole time having fun. There were so many toys for them, and they had a good time with the people in there - playing and interacting. There was a pretend kitchen, a tool bench, puppet theater, countless toys, craft table and more stuff that we didn't even see. They asked to go back. I think we might! Even though we're only here a few more days, we're going to try to squeeze it in.



After dinner, we went over to Bart and Lisa's to visit for a bit. The boys really like it there, too. They are having so much fun on this trip - those lucky kiddos! We played Rock Star together on their XBox 360. Drew played the drums, and Maria sang! The kids played downstairs a lot (this time, no one rode a car down the stairwell)...then the big kids and adults played a card game called Split upstairs. It was really nice to hang out. Lisa wasn't home until the end of the visit, after she got off work. But we were able to talk with her for a bit, too before we had to head back to the hotel to go to bed. We got back quite late.



That's it for today! Tomorrow is Drew's last day at the conference, then it's pure vacation from there! I think tomorrow morning, the boys will go get their haircut at one of the fun kid haircut places here in Portland or maybe over in Hillsboro. Stay tuned!

Outside Grandma Leeth's

A view of the kids through the windows

The boys playing at Grandma Leeth's

Drew on the OTHER side of the wall at Grandma Leeth's

Portland Days 1 & 2

We're in Portland this week for Drew's work. He had to be here Mon - Thurs, so we tacked on an extra couple days of vacation and all came along. Portland's a beautiful city!



So far, since Drew's been working most of the time, Maria's been out and about with the boys. Yesterday, we went to visit Drew's cousin Bart and his wife Lisa and their 3 sons, Jacob, Anthony and Lincoln. Anthony was our ring bearer at the wedding! My how he has changed! He said he remembers being in the wedding. That's so cool!


There is a great park right next to Bart & Lisas, so we all went out there yesterday. It has a really cool water feature with a flowing little pond, and a big area with sand at the end. Kids were getting very messy and very into the action! The park had a red-rope climbing structure similar to one by our hosue, which is Aiden's absolute favorite. He calls it a Spiderman web, and always climbs right up to the top. Well this one was even BIGGER than the one at home...and he STILL went to the top!


Jeremy had a little mishap back at Bart and Lisa's house. He decided to try to ride the ride-on car down their stairs to the playroom. That didn't work out so well for him. But he is one tough little guy! After a couple minutes of crying, and some nasty rug-burn down his nose, he said "all better" and tried to go get the car to drive it again. Needless to say, that was the end of the car driving for that day.

Spiderman

Spiderman Jr.

Jeremy's Scrape...boo-boo




Today, Maria and the kids went to the Portland Children's Museum. It was just perfect for the boys' ages. They could do all of the activities all by themselves. It's great when they can just get in on the action without any help. They started in the "Water Works" area, where cool mechanical devices allowed you to do all sorts of fun dumping and pouring of water. Then they toured around the WHOLE museum. We didn't leave until we had visited each and every exhibit. AND they didn't want to go at the end. Aiden asked if we could "stay for a really really long time next time".


On our way back to the hotel, we hit an Oregon staple, Burgerville. That place is more popular than In-n-Out at 12:15! Can you imagine MORE crowded than In-n-Out at lunchtime?! Well, imagine it. We don't have to imagine, cuz we were there. There wasn't one parking spot in their lot, so we had to park next door and walk over. But the bonus is that there were balloons EVERYWHERE inside, and the kids were in heaven. It was hard to distract them from the balloons long enough to eat their Burgerville cheeseburgers.


Well, that's it so far. Lots of fun stuff. Can't wait til Drew is done with his work stuff so he can join us more. But he says it's been informative and good so far, so we're thankful for that.

Train Station

Water Works

Water Works (more!)

Kids love spinning wheels...

Walking in the Dino Maze together...awwww..... :-)


Jeremy working the reception desk at the pretend medical center

Aiden began multi-tasking during his turn at reception!

Ready for work, boss!

Aiden donned in safety attire

Face painting: Aiden chose to be Spiderman

Making dinosaur tracks

Sculpting with clay

The dig pit was one of the boys' favorites!

Aiden driving the metro bus

Picture perfect!

I asked the boys to say "cheese" at Burgerville, and this is what they did:

Balloons are always a favorite!

Yum! Burgers at Burgerville