Eggs in time out

Easter weekend was a fun one for Macadam. In addition to all of the Easter fun and festivities that come to little kids, he also got to visit with his Grandma Karen. On Friday night we dyed the eggs and to help Mac understand we had to leave the eggs for at least three minutes in the dye, we suggested he put the eggs in time out. He loved this idea since he's the one that usually faces the penalty.

On Saturday we had a busy day complete with the zoo's Easter egg hunt, a Caspar Babypants (yeah, don't feel bad if you don't know this band) concert and then park time before a yummy dinner on a patio in Ballard, followed by a gelato treat. We definitely noticed Macadam was pretty wiped out by Sunday morning but he was excited to discover the Easter Bunny left him a nice surprise and even hid his eggs to hunt around the house and outside. The only problem was getting Mac back inside once he discovered that his backyard was ready for digging again. When it started raining we still had some trouble convincing him but soon enough he was back inside, warm and ready for more Easter surprises, which he enjoyed with his grandma.

A new era

This will most likely be the first in a long line of similar photos. The below is how Mac and I spent two hours yesterday. While he's been all about baseball for a few weeks, he's only had that glove in his possesion for less than 48 hours and he's been without it for maybe two hours, it and a soft baseball have been with him even during naps and while he sleeps at night. The backward baseball cap is new too this week and more than ever we're reminded that Mac is all boy and a sweet, lovely one at that:)

Sweet beats

Now that the weather is improving, our often weekly trip to the farmers market is even better. Mac's favorite part is the street musicians and they don't like the rain anymore than we do. This guy is great since he let's the kids play too.

Guys' weekend

While I was in Denver this last weekend for our annual U of O girls' weekend, Rob and Macadam had a special visitor. Grandpa Terry was in town and on Saturday, he and Macadam were busy having fun while Rob had a work event. It's always hard to be gone from my boys and it made me smile when I saw the pictures Grandpa Terry sent us from their adventures. Macadam and his dad had a great time bonding too. I swear Mac is even more talkative and more a mini man than when I left. He told me all about the aquarium, playing soccer and basketball, and going to the park.

I had a fantastic time with the ladies, both friends and two of the newest members of the crew, Anna (9 months)and Charlotte (3 months). We had beautiful weather, lovely times out and about in Denver and Boulder as well as plenty of time to catch up and laugh. They also threw me a surprise shower, which was such a treat and much fun to show Rob the goodies when I returned. While we all live far apart it's nice that we each live in pretty great cities and towns to visit.

Here's the shots from Grandpa Terry (thanks for sending)!!

Fun eastward

We recently returned from a very fun trip to Michigan. I've never gone somewhere where so many people leading up to the trip ask, "Why would you want to go there?!" Well, we just happen to have lovely cousins and friends who live there and thankfully, only an hour apart from each other. While it was chilly chilly, it was very sunny, which made outings and packing much easier.
Macadam had an absolute blast and so did Rob and I. Getting to see John, Tracy, Miles and the newly minted Benjamin was such a treat. We had plenty of laughs, late nights and good times watching the toddlers play and getting drunk off the new baby smell of Ben:). We learned that the best way to get away from people is to go to the Detroit Zoo on a 30 degree day. Not only did we have the whole place to ourselves, they let us close it down an hour late. Miles and Mac had fun checking out all the animals and while the photos below would say otherwise, no, the guys and boys were not going for a bloods and crips theme in outdoor attire:).

After Rochester Hills, we headed to Ann Arbor to visit Shannon and Bobby who are living there while Bobby, or Silly Guy as Macadam called him, is in his PhD program at Univ. of Michigan. For several years I have wanted to go to a deli and store there called Zingerman's. When we found out the Yuens were moving there, I was excited that a future visit would mean getting to try it. I can say now that it was worth every minute of Rob and Bobby standing in line for an hour:). Seriously though, best sandwich and cold brew coffee ever! The food and fun didn't stop or begin there though. Macadam's still asking about where his cousins and Shannon and Bobby live, which we point to at night on his globe.

Shannon and Bobby also gave us a mini urban ruins tour of Detroit. It is one of the most haunting cities I've ever seen. The mass exodus has definitely left its mark and while part of you wants to go buy a building for dirt cheap, it also makes a strong case for how lucky you are to live in a place where people want to be and, for the most part, thrive. However, there are definitely some areas where renewal is around the corner.

Mostly, the trip was a wonderful reminder about how distance definitely makes it hard to see each other but the bonds of family and friends surpass it all. We came back relaxed, refreshed and thankful!

Of course we took a bunch of pictures so it's a slideshow. Definitely some keepers!
If you can't see the slideshow in the box, click here.

Peeping tom

Spring cleaning

While I am still working on getting photos up from our fantastic trip to Michigan last week, I wanted to post a little something since who knows if it will be tomorrow or next week when I update the blog again. In addition to our often busy schedule, we're in the middle of some house improvements to make adding one more person to our abode a little easier. Will post pictures of those fun updates next month (if all is done by then). Needless to say life is flying by at record speed.

I also hope to get some video up soon - Macadam is full of funny thoughts, opinions and other behaviors which are best caught on tape.