Happy birthday, Matt!

We celebrated Matt's birthday with meatball pizza, pudding pie, and lots of love!

Making daddy's chocolate pudding pie
(She obviously got to lick the bowl.)

Blowing out the candle...
we just used one since we didn't want to go blind.

Celebrating daddy!

Daddy-Daughter

The kids put on a concert for Matt for his birthday. Stanley played the piano. He created a set list from his piano lesson books and practiced. Lisa sang songs she created, and when she was done singing she said, "I didn't even know those songs were in my brain!" Here are the highlights:

Memorable moments...

Out to Lunch
We stopped for a quick lunch at Panera while out shopping one day.

Lisa got a bagel with cream cheese, and Stanley got a PB&J.

Tots & Tales Story Hour
Once a month, Camas School District puts on a great story hour for young kids. They read stories, sing songs, eat snacks, and do art projects. They also get to take home a book and lots of great activity items (paints, scissors, number magnets, etc.).

Singing a song about fish

Volunteering at Oregon Food Bank
Stanley and I volunteered at the Oregon Food Bank packaging 5 lb. bags of potatoes. Stanley was such a trooper! He carried bag after bag of potatoes across the room to the box of finished packaged bags. As a whole group we bagged up over 26,000 pounds of potatoes!

Waiting for our training

Working hard!

Camas Fire Station
Lisa got to take a tour of the local Camas Fire Department with MOMS Club. She really liked the lady firefighter!

She liked the fire truck, but didn't want to go inside.

Wearing her official fire fighter hat with her friend, Christopher

Pokemon Club
The Camas library has Pokemon Club once a month. Both Lisa and Stanley love to go and trade their cards!

Lisa loves Pokemon Club!

Stanley with his friend, Liam, trading cards.

A Fun Mommy-Lisa Afternoon

I picked Lisa up from her art class on a beautiful day, so we decided to spend the afternoon exploring a near-by small town.

We ate lunch at a floating restaurant!

Lisa had coconut shrimp...she loves shrimp!

She got to pick a prize from a treasure chest
that lowers down from the ceiling.

To get to the restaurant you have to walk down the docks.

Sweet girl in front of the restaurant (the blue building)

After we ate, we went for a walk on the river.
What a view!

We found a statue of Seaman, the dog that traveled
with Lewis and Clark on their journey.

We stopped in the Pendleton Mill Store.

We ended up at the library!
What a fun day!

Valentine's Day Activities!

We had so much fun celebrating Valentine's Day is so many ways! Both kids handmade all of their valentines for their friends at school.

Stanley had a Valentine's Day party in his class.

Lisa also had a Valentine's Day party in her class too!
I didn't get to go to her party, so here she is getting ready to go.

The kids got to decorate huge cupcakes
at the local grocery store with the MOMS Club.

Lisa started going to an art class, and at her class, they made
some great Valentine's Day art projects!

Family Hike at Lacamas Creek Trail

Lacamas Creek Trail is a new family favorite. This hike is right in our town, just a few minute drive from our house. Along the way, you can see two waterfalls! And it's a perfect length for the kids.

Eagles

I went for a hike while Lisa was at school at my favorite trail at Steigerwald National Wildlife Refuge. I was the only person there, since it was a chilly, drizzly day. I quickly noticed two eagles sitting in the tops of two trees. I watched them for a while, and then said, "Bye, eagles," and turned to leave. Suddenly, I heard a loud screech, and turned back around. One of the eagles soared toward the nearby lake. S/he grabbed a duck from the water and took it to the top of a tree, and started to eat it! When I watched it through my binoculars, I could see it ripping the feathers from the duck with its sharp beak! It was a very powerful, and amazing thing to see!

And I caught it on video on my phone. Can you spot the duck dangling from the eagle's talons?