Family Pictures 2013

I wanted to get family pictures taken, but we were running out of time. I bought Scott and Jonah matching vests and hats on Saturday, then they wore them Sunday. I asked a friend in the ward to take our picture really quickly outside after church before the sun set.

 This is the only one where we were all looking and Scott is saying "snack" with his nose crinkled, which isn't his sweetest look but it's pretty funny to see it in action. He sniffs and says sn-sn-sn-snack all nasal-y.

 Then I took some pictures of the boys.

 My drooly little heartthrob 

 Scott was enjoying playing in the leaves too much to be still or smile. He also had a rug burn on his nose, but I think he still looked dapper.

Looking at the squirrel in the tree.

Then all three boys started getting hangry, so it was home for dinner. I ordered Christmas cards that night. Mission accomplished!

The Rest of Portland

Our trip to Portland was Jonah's first flight and the first time Scott was aware of being on a flight. Since there can only be one lap infant per row, they switched John to a seat behind us and Scott sat in his own chair, happy as can be. Then he looked out the window at the clouds and napped on my lap. It was a great 1 1/2 hour trip.

We tried to see and eat all that Portland had to offer. Powell's bookstore was great! John was laughing at the book a little more than Scott.

Salt & Straw ice cream was amazing! We shared a double scoop--sea salt & caramel and pear & gorgonzola.

We briefly walked around this charming part of town and saw a cool old theater renovated as a restaurant, movies and billiards now. 

Lunch at the waffle window--so yummy. We couldn't try all of them, but we have some great ideas to try at home now.

Since it was literally freezing out, Karen volunteered to stay with a sleeping Jonah in the car (she hates cold as much as he does) while we took Scott for a quick hike.

We walked to the top of Mt. Tabor, which is one of three volcanoes in Portland according to the patron at the Waffle Window whose brain we picked for suggestions and trivia.

It was a beautiful day, but about 30 degrees colder than we're used to in San Jose.

John and Scott chased each other down a trail back to the car.

The next day we went to the Portland Temple after church.

I was here when my brother and sister-in-law were married a few summers ago and just loved it. It's beautiful year round.

Their nativity is very different than ours in Oakland.

We went in the visitor's center to warm up a little and watch the Christmas Devotional broadcast.

They had some fun things in their visitor's center, too, like interactive games and quizzes on a touch-screen.

Scott was mesmerized by the talks and singing.

Portland has a lot of quirk that I thought was represented well by this crocheted pole. Scott liked hugging it.

We had some very spicy and delicious Mexican food.

This is where we had lunch. Almost every place we ate was a local, small business restaurant. They're everywhere and have some great food to offer, but they definitely have more of the hole-in-the-wall vibe going for them on the exteriors.

We went to the OMSI (for free with our Happy Hollow passes!) and Scott had a blast at the children's center.

They had a lot of really cool exhibits.

Cooking with two pans at once. Gotta get dinner on the table.

You can see his wet pants from the ball and water area that he played in for a good half hour.

He's crying because he tried to sit on this wooden plane and it didn't work. 

Then he found his reflection and all was well. 

We also went through the special Sherlock Holmes exhibit (no pictures allowed) and it was awesome! You go through a whole crime scene investigation at the end that was hands-on and fun. I didn't know what to expect going in and was blown away. We went to some other sections of the museum as well, but eventually had to leave because they were closing. 

The next day we took the air tram. Scott pointed out every truck (or "sruh") he could see. He didn't want to leave, so he waved bye-bye. He's been waving bye whenever something ends before he's ready. It's a coping tool I invented to distract him and it's been very helpful for him.

We stopped for some lunch. Jonah was so excited!

Scott ate almost a whole piece of pizza.

Then we went next door and he picked out a treat from voodoo doughnuts. 

Eating chocolate side first. We've trained him well.

John tried the mango tango and I had the city's official donut-the Portland Creme. They were all "nummy" as Scott says.

It was a really amazing trip and we want to go again during summer to see what Portland has to offer during warm weather.

Multnomah Falls

These falls were one place I really wanted to visit. I knew it would be cold, but still made everyone bundle up and go check them out.

 I think they were even more beautiful because of the snow and ice.

 Jonah stayed toasty in his cousin's bright pink snow suit.

 The rest of us kept warm by climbing up to the bridge.

 Scott asked for gloves whenever we went outside, but we only had full-size gloves. I'm glad I bought the hat with ear coverage before the trip.

 Moss!

 This is the shot of the waterfall from above. 

 Scott was not happy about being cold and wanted to be carried back down the hill and to the car.

 We stopped for treats at the bottom, but Scott kept pulling on my arm to go to the parking lot. Until he had a bite of the danish. Then I didn't hear another peep from him.

This was one of my favorite places we visited. I thought it was so beautiful, especially in person, and it made me want to go to Yosemite.