Brea's Fifth Birthday

***Should have been posted in September 2013***

We were out on the Oregon coast for Brea's special day once again! We had spoken to her ahead of time and she had some ideas planned out for the day's festivities and the most exciting thing she wanted to do was to go "fish for crabs". Yes, after hearing about her cousin's escapades on the dock crabbing, she wanted to try it out. We went to Kelly's Brighton Marina a few days earlier to scope out the deets and to make sure we'd be going at prime time to get some good eating. So Friday bright and early we made it out to the docks.

The kids were so excited as we got our license and made our way down the gangplank to retrieve our traps, bait and buckets. They watched entranced as the fish guts were attached to the net and we carried it over to the edge of the dock. There were not many people out at 9:30am crabbing so the kids had their pick of the BEST place to launch our traps. They soon discovered that crabbing meant a lot of waiting... luckily we had some games to distract us. After catching near to 30 crabs, we finally got two that were male and size appropriate. Then watched as it was cooked for us.

Getting ready for the feast!

The kids were thrilled to get to see all the cleaning and each got to eat the heart. I was particularly proud of Rhys who was willing to try. He discovered pretty fast though that he much preferred the "fishing" portion to the eating part. Brea meanwhile could not get enough - this probably had to do with the cup of melted butter they provided to us that she would have drank if I didn't stop her.

It was pretty funny as we enjoyed our fresh seafood, people would approach and say happy birthday to Brea, comment on how great of an idea it was to celebrate there. I have never tasted crab so sweet. It must have been because we caught it ourselves.

Dear Brea,

I hope your really enjoyed your special day. I loved spending it with you and watching your wonder and excitement. You are growing up quickly and I know these days are flying by. I love how you love to have time with your books. I love hearing the conversations you have with your little brother when you look out for him and give him advice. I love how you remind me that you are still very little when you come to me for a cuddle. This next year is going to bring so many new changes and you'll be experiencing lots of new things. I'll be here for you as always. I wish you the most amazing year yet and I can't wait to see you discover it all.

xoxo
Mommy

Backblogged: Spring Break 2013 - Elko, Laughlin & Oatman

It is horrifying to see that time has flown by so quickly. I had not intended to have such a long hiatus from the blogging world but I suppose life has just taken over. It's that time of year where everything just seems like a constant-flow and even a small distraction, say posting a blog entry would be the END OF THE WORLD because how could I possibly have time for that?! How silly for me to think that sharing those important moments would be a waste of time? I must be going crazy!

So, due to this large chunk of time that has amassed, I am creating a sub-blog. These "new" entries titled appropriately as "Backblogged" will serve to fill in those voids of time.

We managed to get away during spring break to Arizona to spend some time in the sun and visit with Nana and Grumpa. Along the way, we had some stops. I had been sharing a book by Roland Smith with the students at school as a part of a language arts read-aloud project. The book - "Zach's Lie" takes place in Elko, NV. As I was looking at an old-school paper map I noticed that our journey southwards came really close to Elko and I managed to persuade Craig to veer off for a short detour for a photo-op at some of the settings in the book. The kids got a kick out of seeing those places for 'real' when I showed the slideshow after the break. Sadly, the one place I really wanted to try, a restaurant/hotel in town that served Basque food, was closed the day we dropped by but the owner did let me in to take some pictures. The line "but I came ALL the way from Canada and I would love a picture for my students at my school" worked really well.

At the Northeastern Nevada Museum

Much of our view, the whole way there, usually without the mountains.

We did have to shoo a few off the road for us to drive on.

We were so thankful to arrive. We had a small hiccup a few hours in on Day 1 where we may have run out of fuel but it had also been a while since we've had multi-day drives and though Brea and Rhys were wonderful, it was nice to reach our destination on Day 3. The park where we stayed was lovely! There was a swimming pool that Brea took to right away. She was so proud of her new swimming skills, she really wanted to show them off.

Sweet Home Arizona!

While Grumpa whisked Craig off to a baseball game, Nana, the kids and I took a little drive over the water to see some fancy cars in Loughlin. Rhys was in heaven! There is nothing that our little guy loves more than things with wheels. In fact, his delight rubbed off on the man who was working at the museum that day. When he heard Rhys's gasp and saw his glee at seeing the DeLorean, he quickly, moved the barricade and allowed him to experience sitting behind the wheel. It was so nice to see him happy. Rhys had a hard time adjusting to being away from home, mostly at night before bed. The last time we were out and about, I don't think he had a clear definition in his mind of where home was since he was younger but this time around, he was really anxious if Craig was away such as this day with the cars. Shortly after the museum visit, he melted-down and really wanted to go home.

With the family re-grouped the next day, we headed to Oatman to see the wild burros. We arrived armed with carrots to entice them. And what fun we had! Rhys would have fed every single one if we had let him; Brea was not so keen on the slobber.

It's hard to see but the sticker on its head says: STOP! Don't Feed Me! I'm a baby!

Who hasn't seen a turtle in the desert?

The title says it all.

We stopped at some of the little shops in town, many were so cute. Our adventures will continue in the next installment of the backblogs...