Portland, part 2

 While in Portland, we took a trip to the zoo.  I'll confess, that Beth and I had our moments of "are you sure this is a good idea" (i.e. when Alison started complaining about being tired as we walked up to the entrance), but I'm so glad we did.  The kids did great and had a blast.  Their number one mission was to see the baby elephant, so we ventured to the back of the zoo before stopping for lunch.

After lunch, I took Rose and Beth pushed the double stroller...I think I had the better end of the deal.

Friday morning she went to Katherine's preschool for Mother's Day tea, and I stayed with the kids.

We cleaned up the house, played some games and watched a movie.

Rose found a passion for her hand, which I thought was super cute, but Beth was not excited about.

We must have played a little too hard that day, because shortly after we played "slumber party" in the living room, Maggie crashed right there in the middle of the floor.  It cracked me up and she was just so cute asleep amongst the chaos.

While Maggie snoozed, Alison and Katherine had a tea party on the deck.  It was unseasonably warm and sunny while we were there, so the unairconditioned house got pretty hot while we were baking that afternoon.  They said it was much cooler outside, and we didn't mind the "quiet".

When everyone was awake, we headed to California Pizza Co. to celebrate some birthdays.

The trip was perhaps a little too short.  A 3 hour time change was more challenging than I thought, so most evenings I would crash early with Alison and then we would be up at 4:00, while everyone else slept until a normal 7.  By the time we adjusted to the time change, it was time to go.

But it was worth everything to me.  I got to meet my beautiful niece and spend time with some amazing kiddos.  I made angel food cake and creme brulee for the first time and read an entire book!  My prayer was that it would be a bonding time with Alison and I believe that prayer was answered.  I came home wishing I had helped Beth out more, but also came home feeling refreshed and energized.