A Star is Born

Carson Blinn is a star! On Saturday we went to a play that our nephew starred in - he was great! This was his first time on stage and he was cast as one of the main characters. It was SO cute; he did a wonderful job. Very funny, and fun to see him shine. Before the play we met with the rest of teh family and Grandpa Vern for lunch, to celebrate Grandpa's birthday. It was a busy afternoon!

Grandma Rocks

Cute sweater that Grandma Carmen made Norah - there are little sheep on the bottom and heart buttons along the front that Norah loves to point out. :-) We are so lucky to have a knitting Grandma. She spoils us!

An afternoon with Aunt Kaye, Sean and Chris!

What a perfect day to visit the zoo - it is sunny and pleasant here in Portland. Aunt Kaye picked up Norah for a trip to the Portland Zoo today. Sean and Chris have the day off from school, so Norah was able to spend fun time with her cousins. And I was able to get some things done around the house - and even sneak in a short nap! Ahhh...perfect for everyone. :-) Thank you, O'Brien family!!

The easy life...kicking back in a stroller with an ice cream treat. Rumor has it Norah also had fries WITH ketchup AND fruit snacks. A day of contraband and delight. :-)

Lunch with Daddy

Tuesday, October 10, 2006

Ryan met Norah and I for lunch and a trip to the Disney Store yesterday. Going to the Disney store is as exciting as going to Disneyland, for Norah. We spent about 45 minutes running around looking at everything.

So excited to see Mickey, Minnie, Goofy and Pluto!

Mesmerized by the wall of television screens.

Cow Train at the Pumpkin Patch!

The Great Pumpkin Patch

We've just returned from an exciting visit to The Pumpkin Patch on Sauvie Island. There was a little bit of everything! Norah rode the cow train with Daddy, then we set off to find the best pumpkins available. Of course, this is very subjective, according to the taste's of Norah. She seemed to prefer the smallest ones the most, but we did manage to talk her into a couple of larger ones as well (for carving!). We then examined the barn with SO MANY fun animals Norah didn't know what to do with herself. She would run from one pen to another, but this time her favorite seemed to be the rooster (he made a lot of "cock-a-doodle-doos") and the bunny rabbits. The gobbling roosters seemed to weird her out, but maybe she knows that Thanksgiving is on its way. After the barn we had a hot dog with Daddy (Norah's first hot dog) and they gobbled that right up. I was surprised, she had the works - ketchup, mustard and relish. We finished our trip with a visit to the gift shop and produce market. If you haven't been, this is a great pumpkin patch!!

Happy Anniversary - #6

Saturday, October 7, 2006

Ryan and I celebrated our 6th anniversary this weekend. We enjoyed a delicious dinner downtown, at El Gaucho. I think my favorite part was the cheese and fruit tray at the end of the meal. Of course, the tableside chateaubriand was nothing to turn up your nose at. :-) mmmm...good...

Norah spent the night at Grandma Peggy's house. They visited Aunt Misty Rose at work, then went to the library the next day.

Kodiak's Biggest Fan

Thursday, October 5, 2006

So far Norah has made it to all of Uncle Kodiak's football games. I think she's beginning to understand all the intricacies of game play. Next year they may ask her to coach the D.L...

Carson's Birthday!

Tuesday, October 3, 2006

Our nephew Carson celebrated his birthday on Tuesday at Benihanas. Yum! We were excited to come along for the festivities. Happy Birthday, Carson!

Sunny Zoo Visit

Sunday, October 1, 2006

We took a last minute trip to the zoo - the weather was perfect and the crowds were minimal. This time Norah had her midn set on checking out the polar bears, giraffes and the sea lions. However, when we ran into the zoo train, meerkats and goats she was a pretty happy camper.

A Fun Day. Well, Three Fun Days!

Saturday, September 30, 2006

A friend from college, Schabahn Day, met us for a quick visit while she was in town with her family. Her brave (and fit!) husband Brian ran in the Portland Marathon this last weekend, so we were able to spend a few hours with her and their adorable little boys, Braeden and Jonah. Where did we go? OMSI, of course...! It was fun to watch the kids running around and playing. Braeden is SO smart and inquisitive, and VERY dear with his baby brother and with Norah. Unfortunatly I am spacey and didn't take a pic of cute little Jonah, but just imagine a smaller version of Braeden. The Day family is not lacking in the cute department! Schabahn gets more beautiful every time I see her. You can tell family life seems to suit! It was a treat to see them all - we definitely need to organize a reunion for all our friends.

Anna, Charlie and some football

Thursday, September 28th, 2006

Norah wanted to badly to walk over to Kodiak this week as his football game. She couldn't understand why her mean mom made her stay on the track and not run over to the big kids. A few times she would kind of crouch over and lean as far as she could, without touching the grass. Kodiak kept encouraging her by looking over and waving!
Anna and Charlie Ricks came to Kodiak's football game this week. They were so good to include Norah in their play and she did her best to keep up with them!

Big hugs for Anna

Patting Charlie's soft hair, while playing in the dirt.

Misty, Kodiak and Norah

After watching Kodiak and Robert tackle each other a few weeks ago, Norah thinks its really funny to grunt and try to knock Kodiak over. We should try this when she is dressed in her princess outfit. :-)

It's Grandpa!

Tuesday, September 26th, 2006

Grandpa Vern stopped by on his way through town this Tuesday. Norah was so excited that he was coming - I told her way too early, so she kept asking when he was going to be here. We spent a bit of time at OMSI, where she got her daily wiggles out. I think she had even more fun with Grandpa there to play with! We picked up Ryan from work and went to Norah's first Mexican-style dinner. Grandpa was very brave to sit by her - at the end of the meal there were beans and rice EVERYWHERE (I don't think we'll be welcomed back). She tried her first spicy salsa and couldn't seem to get enough of it, but in between bites she would frantically wipe her tongue off, then crazily dip for more. Her eyes were even watering! She definitly gets that from Vern and Ryan...the salsa love, not the tongue wiping. :-)
Vern brought her a super-sized lion that she thinks is so neat. As you can see, she sits in his "lap" and rides him around the house. She even likes to share her drinks with the lion, by sitting them in front of its nose.


More salsa, please! Thank you, Grandpa!

Ryan's first time at OMSI

Sunday, September 24th, 2006

Can you believe it? Ryan finally had his first trip to OMSI with Norah and me. It was a beautiful, sunny day, so we spent time outside as well. The 6 and under play area there is GREAT for kids. Keeps Norah (and me) entertained for hours!

Peek! This was a very funny game. :-)

Ryan seems to have snuck his shoes into the sand pit. OK, so did I...

At one point Norah brought over a bunch of shovels to share with another child. As she kept handing them to him, he told her "I only have two hands!".

Diligently making plans for tree placement along the waterfall.

Inspecting bugs - thats my girl!
Looking for the eagle's nest, by way of a foxes cave.

In case you didn't know,

Norah is a princess. She's sporting her princess skirt from Aunt Kaye and a crown we picked up at Disneyland earlier this year. Its a rough life...

Really Wet

Thursday, September 21st, 2006

Early in the day Mom, Norah and I took my Grandma shopping for some new clothes...an activity she hates! However, it turned into a funny day! I locked Norah into a mammoth dressing room with Grandma and Mom and ran clothes back and forth for Grandma to try on. They we're all thrilled to get out of there, as you can imagine. But I enjoyed being a personal shopper for an hour.


That afternoon was another extremely wet football game with Uncle Kodiak...we drove up to Kelso, WA for the game and almost had to catch a boat to get home. Even Norah's "Skyview Ribbons" in her hair ended up wet and limp!