royalmom

Lotus came across a baby doll at Jenn’s house and it was love at first sight. We have cloth dolls at home she doesn’t go gaga over, so I assume it’s the realistic plastic head?

So we took a trip to Target and, no matter how gender neutral we try to be as parents, there is no denying the sheer look of glee on her face as we rolled through the doll isle. What the….?? Is this woven into our genetic makeup somehow? I have to admit it may be, just a little.

The identical twins, of different age and gender;)

I wanted to capture a pic of her knit-by-me vest and, ya, pretty much impossible at this point. She does a crazy, happy dance to be let down and crawls away.

This is the first and last time she’ll wear that shirt, now that I see belly poking out. She’s growing like a weed!

ALSO….wish us luck. The box of disposable diapers from the road trip finally ran out and we are back on cloth. We need to shake off the disposable routine and get our poop-spraying, laundry doing, diaper stuffing and folding mojo back. We can do it!

Isaac and Xander had their first concert experience this weekend. We took them with us to see Portishead in Seattle and it was a great concert!

We stayed with our friends Jenn and Tom. Jenn and I have been friends since age 13. She’s stuck with me through all that teen angst. Now that’s a friend. haha!

We met at a pumpkin patch on the way, so the kids could get all their road trip energy out…

Then off to see their new historical home in the city. I sure don’t envy all the construction they are going through but the house is amazing and the location can’t be beat. I only have ipod pics this trip, sorry…

Space needle, city lights and lake view out the window.

Jenn and Tom babysat the littles while the rest of us drove 5 minutes (5 minutes!!) to the WAMU theater for the concert.

Isaac did really well, as I expected at 10 years old. Xander, being 7, I wasn’t sure. He did really well for most of it until about 30 minutes before the end. At that point he was DONE and wanted to pout us into leaving. I was ready to sacrifice the end of the show, as we should for our little guy, until Jason bought us some time with games on his phone. Whew! Everyone was happy and a good time was had. Successful first concert, I say!

Next, I want to try taking them to a symphony and a ballet. I think they will definitely enjoy it. I think the key is finding the right age to start and then maintaining flexibility to leave early, if need be.

Oh how I wish she would wear cute head-toppers;)

Every season at our house is celebrated with at least one batch of shape cookies.

Look at that cute little coffin! I can’t even pick up a ghost cookie without “flying” it and making oooooOOOOOOooooooo sounds. ha!

ooooOOOOOOOOoooooOOOOOoooo!!!!!!! Cutest cookie ever!

This is the results of my vacation knitting. A lot of knitting done but nothing finished…

The grey thing-a-mabobber was supposed to be my one goal. But I decided to stop in a Hobby Lobby store, which we don’t have locally, and was impressed with the “Hobby Lobby I Love This Wool” yarn. This stuff is not bad at all and CHEAP! So I cast on a little something for Lotus and a little similar something for a 1st birthday swap I joined on Ravelry.

Here is a finished project I don’t think I’ve shared. This is the Two Summer Dress we made before for a birthday gift. We made a second for Lotus. I did the knitting portion and Jason did the sewing. It should fit her well next summer.

See how it looks like Jason is holding her arms lovingly? He’s mostly keeping her from ripping her hat off. She’s smiling because she wants to rip her hat off;)

The 50’s dining table set has been swapped out for this fabulous 60s/70s set.

The green, vinyl swivel chairs are pure awesome. Even Lotus’ seat is strapped to one for portable, spinning goodness.

Whatever you’d call the opposite of hoarding (purging?) is what I have. I tend to get surges of spring cleaning during any season and nothing is safe during those times. I’ve thrown out boxes of photographs. That’s how serious I am. ha!

You’d think I’d have more regrets but I don’t. The one thing I’ve been sad we got rid of was this slide before we conceived Lotus. The great thing about Craigslist is: we found another one!

The kids were remembering all the cool things they did with the slide, turing it on its side, etc. They did remember it being a lot bigger;) ha! Now Lotus and Simon are playing on it and having all the same fun Isaac and Xander had (well, and Simon but he can still have fun on it).

Arizona and California and finally back home in Oregon!

It was an amazing five weeks, 8000 miles and 14 states, packed with so many fun things to see and do. Road trip 2011 is a success!

A rest stop in Arizona…

Saguaro National Park…

The kids wanted to see some giant cacti and so we did!

Starting with this beaut…

Ha! Okay here’s the biggun’s

We had a lovely Couchsurfing experience with a woman in Tucson. She has a lovely home, soup in the crock pot, towel sets laid out for each of us. We are definitely going to have to step up our hosting game. She sets the bar high!

I didn’t take any pics of Joan unfortunately but here is Lotus on the bed wondering if a lock might make a good nipple;)

On our way out, early the next morning, my friend Timmi in Phoenix was up for a visit. The kids had a blast playing and it was great to meet a longtime online friend in the flesh. We loved Timmi’s house!

I wish you could see how long her gorgeous hair is. Jealous!!!!

California…

We stopped and saw the giant dinosaurs (featured in the Pee Wee’s Big Adventure movie).

They are up inside the head of the T-rex here…

It was wonderful and a little odd being back home. It almost felt like we were walking into someone else’s home. BUT, we slept great and it is GOOD TO BE HOME!!!!!!!

We’re making our way home and finishing up day three of our week long drive.

The first two days didn’t include very much sight seeing other than the gorgeous views out the window. We breezed through Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and started the long trek through Texas.

We had a wonderful couchsurfing experience in San Antonio with the Lavens. They were the sweetest folks, making us feel right at home. They got the kids cozy on the couch for a movie and popcorn. They know just what kids need to wind down after a long day on the road.

Then they sent us off with one of their CDs. Great music! I wish we could have made it to one of their shows.

Lots-o-photos time…

Isaac says he is unable to sleep in the car, so Jason keeps snapping photos of him “not sleeping.” ha!

Big ol’ wagon wheel at a Texan rest stop…

And finally Carlsbad(ass) Caverns. It was HUGE and beautiful.

Even more amazing than the caves was that we were told to whisper quietly while in the cave and the kids were actually near silent the entire time we were inside. Yes, Simon was quiet??! !

After the caves we drove to Carlsbad, NM to find a hotel. The town looked dumpy at first but we found a river that is a flanked by playgrounds running up and down both sides….seriously, a different play structure every 200 yards or so. Wonderful parks!

Ha! Weeeeeeh! 😉

This evenings beach photos are brought to you by Clearwater Beach. Only one more day left in Florida!

It wasn’t *this* dark yet but exposure was tough against all the white sand, bright sun and reflective water. Nevertheless, you get the idea: It was gorgeous!

Those two tiny dots on the water are Isaac and Simon’s heads.

Check out that sheet of rain out there, luckily not on us.

We spent a day at Adventure Island water park…

This cabana had a mini fridge, locker and concierge. Spoiled!!!!

It was fun! The kid areas were awesome.

and the frozen margaritas were great too;)

We got together with our Florida friends again and had a fabulous time.

Having lunch together at their house.

Then we hit the park. A really big one with lots of different sections, laid out in a giant butterfly shape.

I spy with my little eye…a baby grin. Isn’t this photo funny? She loves her brothers so much.

Eeeeeeek! Less than two days left here in sunny Florida. As Isaac said, “driving for a week feels more like three weeks. Staying here three feels more like one week.” The time went by way too fast. Luckily the drive home looks to be filled with more fun and adventure.

Now off to the beach while we still can…