thanksgiving

The wonderful Rice family drove down to Corvallis to stay with us for Thanksgiving.  As before, Owen and Henry clicked right away and headed off for adventures together.  Ben and Jackson also teamed up and enjoyed Minecraft and other games together.  Kate grew up and is no longer a baby- she seems to just enjoy everything- especially whatever her big brothers are up to.

On Thanksgiving, Richard kicked us out to the movies while he made a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner for us.  We overate and enjoyed the company and all the food.

On Friday we drove to the coast for lunch at the Rogue brewery, and an afternoon at Hatfield center.  We visited the sealions in Newport before heading back home.

Always so nice to get to see old friends and wonderful that the boys also get to enjoy the friendship.

miami vices

Richard and I took a long weekend trip to Miami for our friends' Oreste and Kevin's wedding in November.  We only had 3 days, but we filled them up.

We spent the first day enjoying the drive down to Miami on the coast, then spent the afternoon sunning on Miami Beach.  We were the least tan folks around- not many Oregonians on the beach.  On Saturday, we enjoyed a beautiful wedding ceremony and a very fun reception, met Kevin and Oreste's friends and family and ate wonderful food.

After the reception we decided that we could make it for a late dinner in the Florida keys, so we got changed and drove south for a waterside dinner and key lime pie.

On Sunday morning we met up with the wedding party for a Cuban buffet breakfast, then drove west and quickly explored the Everglades.  We took an air boat ride into the swamp, and found a few alligators and lots of amazing birds.  Unfortunately we ran out of time for Richard to do any gator wrestling.  Then had to get back up to the airport in order to make our flight and get home to the boys.  We need to get the boys back to Florida for more fun next year.

yellow belt

Benjamin joined the Juniors for Karate this summer.  He had worked hard at learning all the moves for his white belt rank.  In October, his teacher asked if he was ready to test for his yellow belt and he (to our surprise) said that he was ready.

The first attempt to get his red tip was not successful- Ben was sent back home to practice.  He and Richard worked really hard through all the moves and sequences and went back to try again.  This time he passed through and got his red tip, which enabled him to go in the next day to test for his yellow belt.

For over an hour, the kids showed their various routines and moves.  Ben was successful in getting his yellow belt and we are so proud of his hard work and practice to earn it.

Now Ben is in 2 classes a week, once a week includes scrimmages wearing protective gear.  He loves all the classes and we enjoy watching him progress.

halloweenies

 Ben decided early on that he wanted to be the Riddler for Halloween.  That costume was a click away online.  Owen was not sure what he wanted to be, so a trip to the costume store with Richard resulted in this creative ensemble.

Owen and Richard did a challenging corn maze with the Cub Scouts- they needed a map and it took them a couple of hours.  They did come out eventually!

We had a fun time finding pumpkins at a local patch- no hay ride this year as a family, but the boys got to go at school.  The boys enjoyed trick or treating downtown, then Owen hit a few more houses in our neighborhood that night while Ben helped me hand out candy.

legoland!!! (plus some beach time)

Ben is obsessed with legos, so going to Legoland was a must for this vacation.  He was beyond excited about going, but we did learn that his main source of excitement was the prospect of buying legos at the end of the day.  We had a great time at the park.  I think we will have aged out of it in a year since the rides are geared towards smaller kids.  But both really enjoyed the mini-land areas and all the structures.  Plus we all enjoyed wandering through the Lego Movie set.

On the drive back to Anaheim, we stopped by the beach at sunset to do a quick walk on the sand and the requisite jump in the Pacific (a slightly warmer version than we get up here).

disneyland!!!

We made our inaugural family trip to Disneyland and California Adventure during a school break in October.  It seemed like the right time for the boys to really enjoy it- Ben being big enough to do all the rides.  We stayed on site at the Paradise Pier hotel, and spent 3 days at the two parks with a day in the middle to Legoland in San Diego.

We all had a ball at Disneyland.  On request from the boys, we avoided all princesses, but did get to meet some of the characters and mostly enjoyed them (Ben had to avoid Minnie Mouse's kisses).  Ben rode the big roller coaster at California Adventure and loved it enough to go multiple times.  Owen really enjoyed the safari boat ride and Indiana Jones ride.

Ben was selected for Jedi training, and luckily had the skills to defeat Darth Maul.

It was an exhausting trip, but one I hope we will do again!

coastal camping

We had a warm final weekend in September. Richard took Owen and Evan to a Cub Scout camping weekend near Florence at Camp Baker.  They did archery and sling shots and hiking and learned about forestry.

Ben and I joined the Muhly's at the coast and lucked into some sunshine.  They had a wonderful campsite right on the beach, and Ben and Laurel had a blast exploring and building.   We had a comfy  night in the pop up trailer, and a quick trip to the aquarium on the way home.

the end of the summer, the beginning of the school year

The boys had another wonderful summer with Amelia- they had many adventures and spent the last day of summer vacation at OMSI.  We are so happy that she can come back next summer- the boys will miss her till then!

The Wednesday after Labor Day, the boys headed back to school.  Both are at Zion Lutheran School, Ben starting Kindergarten and Owen starting 4th grade.  Ben has the same Kindergarten teacher that Owen did, which we are all thrilled about.  Ben and her already have developed a nice relationship.  Ben is very ready for Kindergarten- he has been doing some fantastic reading and pushing his math skills.  Sterling is in his class, so socially he is all set.  Owen hit the 4th grade running this year.  His teach, Mr. Walz, is fantastic and engaging.  Owen's first project is learning about a country- he has chosen France.  For the first week of school he had to memorize all the books of the Old Testament, then the books of the New Testament in the second week.  He did great at both of them.  His friends Isaac and Sophie are still in his class, plus his Cub Scout friends Evan and Cole.  We suspect this will be a great year for both boys.

labor day weekend at the coast

We went to the coast for the last weekend of summer vacation and got lucky with some pretty good weather.  The boys were even convinced to play for a while on the beach- running up and down the sand dunes.  Ben isn't shy of the water regardless of the temperature and as usual got pretty wet and sandy.  We spent an afternoon at the aquarium (busy place labor day weekend) and enjoyed the Newport bay front.

Back in Corvallis we took a bike trip at OSU farms.  Richard has been inching up Ben's training wheels to wean them off the bike.  Not successful yet, but I think next summer it will happen.

shine bright like a diamond (lake)

We headed back to Diamond Lake this summer for some camping, boating, fishing and biking.  The fish, once again, had nothing to fear from the McManus clan.  We took a patio boat out for a day of floating/ reading/ playing/ fishing/ eating.   The weather wasn't bad this year- warm when the sun was out, chillier when it went away, and we didn't have some of the high wind that we've had in past years.

We took our bikes around the lake and Owen climbed the hill like a pro (or more precisely, like a son of Richard).  The boys enjoyed the paddle boats, the bumper boats, and especially enjoyed the ice cream at the resort.