Addicted Much!?!

I couldn't help myself. Ryan and I aren't entirely certain where Cooper's love for Motrin came about. Yes, we give him Motrin, not like it's candy but just when he's clearly running a high fever. We noticed it seemed to work a bit better than Tylenol and it seems to work quite well when he's teething. So, a few months ago, we noticed he actually ASKED for Motrin from time to time. Because it's ridiculously expensive, I find myself using my finger to get the last droplets out of the measuring cup and letting Cooper lick my finger (this non-waste thing is all thanks to my mother). Cooper is clearly popping out a tooth again soon and we know this because of A) his fever and B) how he says 'ow' when we hit a certain spot while brushing his teeth... it turns out it's NOT rocket science. Anyway, tonight, I gave him some Motrin before bed so he could possibly sleep without the fever and this is what I caught him doing...

PS, I don't know why we can't put the video in the blog anymore... tears.

~Ahna

Hood River Day Trip

Yesterday we went on a trip just outside of Portland. It took us along the river between Oregon and Washington and deposited us in a little town called Hood River. Along the way we saw a whole slew of waterfalls. They were amazing. There was one in particular we were out to see called Multnomah Falls. It was gorgeous. We taught Cooper to say 'waterfall' that morning so for most of the trip, that's what he was saying, 'waterfall, waterfall, waterfall'! I think he missed what it actually meant because when we got to the falls, he just kept screaming 'WATER' with such delight. My face hurt from smiling because I was watching him smile! We also stopped at one called Latourell Falls which was a great pre-cursor to Multnomah. On the way to the town of Hood River, there is a dam where the salmon swim up ladders and they have built an underground area where you can go watch them get through! This was another favorite activity for Cooper for the day. We ate at a brewery for lunch where we could look out over the river you see above. The drive back took us around Mt. Hood which is where Ryan and I will go snowboarding next season, now if we could just find some free babysitting... hmmm...

It was an awesome day trip, one we will definitely take again. For almost the whole ride, Ryan and I just kept saying over and over, 'I can't believe we live here now!'

~Ahna

Perfect Child...

Since our Portland arrival, I have had the opportunity to see what a stay-at-home parent has to go through on a regular basis. For the most part it is pretty tolerable but Cooper is definitely changing as he comes to the end of his second year. When we were in Vegas, I had no problem leaving him alone in the room next to me or two rooms away, and Cooper never really got into any real trouble. Now, however, he has decided to become much more mischievous. Just this morning, for example, I was in the garage for a few minutes and came inside to find Cooper enjoying a package of Juicy Fruit gum. He was starting on piece number two when I got to him. Then, not an hour later, he was left alone for about five minutes and decided to re-purpose our couch cushion as an art easel. Once he realized how upset it made me, he was very sad and apologetic - at least that's what I am telling myself for now... Cooper's little sister has no idea how fortunate she is for coming along when we THOUGHT children were perfect little angels.

I was fortunate enough to be able to elicit an apology and video tape it - for everyone's viewing pleasure.

-Ryan

Hello Portland

We got to our hotel around midnight on the 1st and spent the next few days waiting. Our animals got to the house before we did and our things were scheduled to arrive on Saturday morning. It was touch and go for a bit, but our movers showed up early Saturday and were gone by mid morning. We spent the next two days trying to figure out how to situate all of our boxes! The house we moved into has the same number of rooms but much less storage space. I had to go to work but Ryan spent the whole week getting the house the way we want it and now it really looks good! I think we will thoroughly enjoy our year here.

This weekend we got to go out exploring. We took Cooper to the zoo yesterday so he could see his favorite thing... animals! We got to see hippos and rhinos and cows and lions and tigers and bears... OH MY! Today was fantastic though! We drove about 40 minutes south of Portland to a place called Woodshoe Tulip Farm for their annual Tulip Festival!! It was amazing! 40 ACRES of tulips, so many different colors and types, you could just walk up and down rows of them! Cooper also got to see tractors and eat some Elephant Ears (or as we know it in the Southwest, Indian Fry Bread).

We are excited for what next weekend has to bring!

~Ahna & Ryan

Goodbye Las Vegas

Our original plan had been to stay in Las Vegas for five years. We overstayed by about two years so when the opportunity came for us to move to Portland we were extremely excited. Due to our moving arrangements, we had to stay in a hotel for the last two days we were in town. Ferguson has some sweet deals in Las Vegas, one of them being the MGM Grand. All we did was ask for a room with a 'little living area' because it's easier having Cooper sleep in another area away from us. You can imagine our surprise when we opened up the set of DOUBLE DOORS at the end of the hallway leading us to the view you see above. We stayed in a suite which was bigger than the house we now rent in Portland. At first we were a bit annoyed by the fact that we were not even going to be able to be in our own house on the last night we were in Vegas, but once we saw how awesome the room was, we decided it was a fitting way to say goodbye to Las Vegas.

We said our goodbyes to friends on Wednesday the 31st and flew out that night. I was not completely prepared for my departure from work and cried on my way out the door. We will miss our friends there but hope they come visit us soon!

~Ahna & Ryan

The Four Of Us

About Us...

We are Ahna, Ryan, Cooper, and Olivia. We try to always be looking for the next adventure, and when we find one, we share the stories here. Our family is spread all over the place, so this is how we keep everyone updated.