Seaside with Maddie

We were blessed with the opportunity to spend the weekend at a time share thanks to some amazing friends, and daycare parents of ours. We were given a two night stay, so Allan and I decided to go down by ourselves on Friday night, and the kids stayed with grandma and grandpa Christopherson. It was our first time being away from Maddie for the entire night, but we had a great time getting away. Then on Saturday, the grandparents drove down with the kids to meet us, and spend the day at the beach. We had such a good time. We got to go out, play in the sand, walked up and down the boardwalk, and had a great lunch before the grandparents took off to head home. We spent a lot of time exploring all the opportunities the timeshare had to offer, and enjoyed some time away, if even for just a few days. Maddie got to ride on her first carousel, and enjoyed watching the ocean. We went and got ice cream, and took lots of walks. On the way home, we decided to stop by Cannon Beach, and take some more pictures, and let the kids play in the sand one more time before heading home. It is hard to believe this was only Maddie's second time going to the beach. Hopefully we'll be able to change this, and get over to the coast more to do fun things at the beach. Here's some photos of Maddie's mini vacation for the weekend!

Maddie's FIRST big road trip

Well... I know it's been FOREVER since I've posted anything on here, however, I thought I would take the time to update some of our adventures over the summer.

As some of you know, this was a very hard summer for us, financially, so we didn't get to do as many small trips as we normally try to do during the summer. But we did uphold our big family trip to Silverwood Theme Park that we try to do at the beginning of August every year.

Maddie had a good time, though living in an RV for four days is not the easiest for a baby. Nor is an 8 hour drive. But here are some fun pictures of our trip! Enjoy!

A Day with Family!

Maddie got to meet lots of extended family this weekend. We had a good time visiting!

Well, as Maddie gets older, and we visit the zoo more often, she becomes more and more involved in our trips. On our last excursion, she decided she was ready to get out and see the animals, instead of being confined to just her stroller. I thought I'd share a few of her adventures.


The Beaver, for the first time in a LONG time, was out in the water, swimming. Normally he's just in his little lodge sleeping, where you can't see him. But Maddie was SO fascinated with him. He swam up to the glass, I think because deep down inside, he wanted to attack us. And Maddie would just reach up to try to grab him. She really likes animals. She was just glued to him as he swam up and down the glass, scratching away at it.










She also got out to look at some of the fish and turtles. She wasn't as excited about them, but it was still a fun and new experience for her.






And of course, she had a lot of fun playing in her stroller as well. She was so happy and content, just to be out in the nice sunny weather. Made that trip a lot of fun. We're planning another trip coming up this Thursday. Can't wait! I love having a zoo pass!

Maddie's 1st Fourth of July

This year we celebrated Maddie's first Fourth of July by attending the Hillsboro parade.


With all the floats going by, the music, and the occasional loud sounds, she actually did quite amazing and had a good time. She got a few toys to play with, her favorite being a little flag that they were handing out. She wore her best red, white and blue, and had a wonderful time. She lasted all the way until the end of the parade, when it started to get so unbelievably hot, and she just couldn't take it anymore. We're hoping to make this a family tradition, considering we've gone every year since Ethan was born. Fingers crossed!!!

Happy Father's Day

I know it's a little late, but Maddie wanted to share her wonderful Father's Day adventure. She had a busy Father's Day weekend, with a trip to Woodburn on Saturday, and Salem on Sunday. But she broke out her best Father's Day shirt to celebrate her dad, whom she loves so much.

Because Allan wanted to spend Father's Day with his family at Enchanted Forrest, she was able to have her first trip at such a young age. Though there wasn't much for her to do, she was in such a good mood, and was so happy to just be out in the fresh air, even if it was a little chilly.

Me and My Big Brother!

Here's Maddie and her big brother!

It is so funny to me, how they can look so much alike, yet look so completely different. I'm realizing at this point, how I remembered Ethan having so much hair when he was a little guy, but truth is, he had nothing compared to his sister, who can already have her hair pulled back in to ponytails. But I'm thankful for how different they are! They are two wonderful kiddos to have.