The Art of the Brick

There were at least 6 or 7 different rooms in the Lego Exhibit and they were all amazing. Some of the biggest displays were made of more than 80,000 legos! We took a ton of pictures, here are some of our favorites. Everything you see was made out of legos.

OMSI

While in Portland we headed to the OMSI (Oregon Museum of Science and Industry) because they had a special Lego exhibit. It was the world's largest exhibit of Lego art and it was truly amazing. I can honestly say it was the most fun I've had at a science museum. There were so many different things to see and we spent most of the day there. We all loved it.

Portland

The kids had time off school for President's Day so we headed down to Portland to see Keri and James. The kids had such a great time together and we were remarking how awesome it is to be out of the baby/diaper stage. They got along great, and Cameron and Madeline were inseparable. We were joking that they liked each other and then after we left Madeline said something about "maybe I'll marry him someday." Pretty cute!

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun!

Last weekend while Brian and Cameron were in Wyoming, Addy and I had a special girls weekend. Addy had a play date on Friday afternoon, then it was off to swimming lessons followed up by dinner out and a little shopping. On Saturday we caught up on all kinds of projects and she cleaned and organized her room which was long overdue. As a special treat we met up with her long time pals Luella and Sabrina (and their sisters) and it was the ultimate girls date with 6 little girls and 3 moms! We had such a great time. On Sunday we did some baking and went for a bike ride and just had a fabulous time together. It's no secret that sometimes Addy and I are both stubborn and we can get frustrated with one another (I'm terrified of the teenage years), but I'm happy to report that we had zero issues the entire weekend and it was truly a treat. Addy said it best when on Sunday afternoon she said to me, "I'm really excited to see Daddy and Cameron because I miss them, but I'm also sad because it means our special girls weekend is over."

Boys Weekend in Wyoming

Last weekend Brian and Cameron made a special trip to Wyoming to celebrate Brian's grandparents 70th wedding anniversary. It was a very special trip for Cameron because it was his first time meeting many relatives on that side of the family and it was his first solo trip. It started off a little rough, but luckily they made it and were able to enjoy the celebration. The travel drama started when the flight was delayed out of Seattle due to high winds in Denver. They eventually made it and met up with Heather and then started their 4 + hour drive to Wyoming. The winds were so high that they saw several semi trailers on the side of the road that had been blown over. As if that weren't enough, Cameron threw up in the rental car halfway there. They made it work though (and Heather earned a new aunt badge of honor!) and had a great time once they arrived. All 10 of the grandchildren made it to the party, as well as several of the great-grandchildren. Cameron was so excited to tell me about playing with Etta and he explained to me how she is his first cousin, but he also met his second cousins Carter and Jackson. They were part of a "blue gang" and apparently spent the whole day together pretending to be superheroes. Congratulations to Brian for surviving the traveling and congratulations to Dave & Myrna on 70 years of marriage!

Our Little Leader

Adelyn's school spends a lot of time talking about leadership and what it takes to be a good leader. Adelyn got her report card this week and I would say all of the talk of leadership is coming through in her grades and her behavior at school. We could not be more proud of her and of how hard she works in school. Here was the summary from her teacher:

Adelyn has shown strong academic and leadership skills this semester. In reading, Adelyn is reading well above expectation for first grade. She recently read level "S" with 100% accuracy, 120 correct words per minute, and fair comprehension. She is working to maintain her comprehension by rereading the text and recording her thinking after she reads. Adelyn has strong skills in writing.  She is very detailed in her writing and has strong conventions. Adelyn has strong skills in math as well. She has shown a clear understanding of the concepts presented. Adelyn is happy every day and is a strong role model to the other students. Way to shine, Adelyn!

No School Snow

Well, the weather forecast was accurate and we got a few inches of snow overnight, which meant no school for the kids! They spent several hours outside sledding and building snowmen. It was perfect snow for snowballs and it actually stuck around for the day. The kids loved it and apparently so did the chickens! They kept eating the snow (just like the kids!)