Fun with the kids

Well, this is still not my TNNA post. Perhaps I will get to that some day...

In the mean time I feel like writing about all of the fun I have been having with the kiddos lately. See, I quit my very stressful, completely unfulfilling job right before TNNA. I had a new job waiting in the wings and decided to take a break between and play with the girls and hubby for a few days.

First up was camping in the back yard. The girls have been pestering us to go camping for a couple of years now but I am not so big on sleeping out in the open near strangers with only a flimsy piece of cloth protecting me. Call me paranoid if you like, but I am very fond of the locks on my doors at night.

Anyway, while I was away from the family at TNNA, getting very good sleep and not stressing about how few hours I had left until I had to go back to work, I realized that we have a gorgeous, huge backyard in which to camp. Upon arrival back in Portland, I rustled the family off to the store and purchased a lovely tent, which we promptly put up in our back yard.


If you look closely at this picture, you will note that there are two rooms in the tent, each of which was claimed by a different preschooler. They tried to tell us we would have to find somewhere else to sleep. We worked it out though and all had a wonderful night's sleep. There really is nothing like sleeping outside...especially when you feel safe!


I see many more "camping trips" this summer, assuming the weather ever warms up. By the way, see the big fluffy white creature in the lower right corner. That is Bianca, one of our cats, checking out the tent. She did not choose to sleep outside with us, but did enjoy poking around the tent while it was up.

On the heels of what A. refers to as the "great camping adventure" we headed off to the Oregon Coast for some away time.

The pictures look familiar, don't they? Notice the wind whipped look? The sun was gorgeous the entire time we were there, but the wind was fierce and really cold. Oh well, it is the Oregon Coast after all. Wouldn't want it to be too nice, would we?

The girls had a wonderful time digging in the sand, visiting the aquarium, swimming in the hotel pool and sleeping "in the sky" as A called it. Our room as up a few stories and the girls loved being able to lie in bed and watch the gulls float past.

Monday I started the new job, which put a screeching halt to all of the fun - at least with the family. So far though, things are going well. I love my boss. I worked for her before so I knew that part was going to be good. She's in charge of the entire company this time though, so she is setting the pace and creating a wonderful environment. That's all I'm planning on saying about the new job for now, but I will say life is very good at the moment...