A Gorge-Us Day!

You might think from the pun in the title that Adam is writing this blog today. But, no, sadly I have soaked in some of his corny-ness being with the guy for 6+ years. Let me explain what I mean by Gorge-Us:

You see, we live in a wonderful part of the country called the Columbia River Gorge, otherwise known as "The Gorge". And yesterday, we had a family day, hence the "us". Get it?

Tired of yucky weather and being stuck inside for too long, we took full advantage of the partly cloudy, 30% chance of rain forecast (yes, if you live in the PNW, you look forward to days with partly cloudy, <50% chance of rain days. Especially in the late winter. It can sometimes mean you are going to get some SUN and only a few drops of rain if any).

I pulled out my handy-dandy "Curious Gorge" book. We have already completed a good portion of this book, but we had never seen the Bonneville Dam sights.  There was an easy and scenic waterfall hike just next to it, so we decided to tackle both, and possibly hit up one of the brewpubs located on the Washington side also close by.

First on our list for the family outing consisted of #7 in the Curious Gorge guidebook: "Wahclella Falls". At only two miles long, with a promising waterfall at the end, we decided Noella could handle this distance in the pack. She's been very into water these days and says it at least 134 times whenever we hike along the rivers, creeks and falls around here. Needless to say, she very impressed with this scenery too:

Wahclella Falls. Or "adah" or "wawah" as Noella likes to say (over and over).

 

At the end of the trail, picking up rocks and baby pine cones. 

I think this last 1/8th of a mile took us the same amount of the time as the rest of the hike (okay, not quite, but GEEZ come on Noella! We're on an agenda!)

Next on our family outing tour was #6 in the Curious Gorge guidebook: The Bonneville Dam. Another thing Noella is into these days is wildlife. She points out every single bird she sees. Loves dogs, cats and anything that closely resembles an animal. One cool thing about the Bonneville Dam is that it has fish ladders to help with the migration of the salmon. At the dam visitor center, you can go downstairs to the underwater fish viewing tanks to see the salmon that are trying to make their way up the Columbia to spawn. Some other cool things were the dam fish hatchery, as well as the the dam sturgeon and trout ponds.  Talk about fish galore! We got to see Herman, a 70 year old, 400+lb, 10 foot long sturgeon.  These fish have not changed at all in 100-200 million years. They looked like dinosaur fish! Again, I apologize for the cheesy dam jokes inserted above. My husband would be very disappointed if I did not add it in somewhere. Trust me, I heard it over and over as we were viewing all the dam sights.

Herman the Sturgeon

The third and final stop on our family fun day was more for mommy and daddy's enjoyment: Walking Man Brew Pub in Stevenson, WA. We crossed the Bridge of the Gods for some delightful brew and pubfare.  I enjoyed the Knuckle Dragger IPA, while Adam had the Homoerectus IPA (coming in at 9% alcohol level).  Noella slowly spiraled out of control, refusing to sit in her booster, or anywhere for that matter; and we hurriedly finished our drinks and dinner.  We did put her through quite a bit yesterday, so I'll let it slide.....

We look forward to many more outings and the weather turns nice again. I hope spring is close by!

My Funny Valentine

As you all know last month was Valentine's Day. Yes, it was LAST month already. I think I can honestly say I have no idea where February is, was, or went. While our little family is not real big on these kinds of holidays, I'm finding it much easier to give in to all the buzz. I mean, Noella would just LOVE this and she would have SO MUCH FUN with that! I really need to keep this kind of behavior in check. 

Noella went to daycare that day so we had to hand out valentines to all her friends. She helped by assisting with putting stickers on the (extremely discounted, 5 year old) Blue's Clues valentines. NoJo really enjoyed that activity. I can't wait to do more crafts with her. I'm already planning her Easter basket (wait.... didn't I say I needed to keep this kind of behavior in check????)

We did snap a few shots on Valentine's Day, and some others that weren't necessarily taken on V-Day, but go along very appropriately with it. 

Adam and I usually cook an extravagant, delicious meal for Valentine's Day and this year was not exception. Now, none of these things really go together, but each one was delicious. Three recipes were from my "The Best of America's Test Kitchen" cookbook. Which, if you enjoy cooking, you must own this. Menu: Wedge Salad, Corn Spoonbread, Pan-fried Barbequed Porkchops and, last but not least, French Silk Pie. I won't discuss the stomach upset that followed, but we didn't think about that when picking out what sounded good to both of us! 

There she is, my funny valentine. She loves this red hat Nana Holt gave to her. Insists on wearing it most of the time she is home. 

NoJo decided she needed some sexy, frilly underthings for Valentine's Day. She wasn't sure how to wear them though....

Two quotes come to mind here: "There's no place like home" and "She's got legs". 

Like the red hat, if these shoes are within eyesight, she MUST have them on her feet, or breakdowns occur.......

I have a whole lot to love this year! Sending lots of that love your way! 

The Ocean

Or maybe I should title this blog "The Double Ear Infection". Which really, in all due respect, was the main focus of that week. It wasn't the gorgeous ocean view room we had in Cannon Beach. It wasn't the spectacular sunsets, nor the peaceful walks on the beach, the dog and child frolicking in the sand..... nope, if I were to remember this trip, I would remember the EAR INFECTIONS!

It really wasn't that horrible. She was pretty happy during the day, just lethargic and snotty. But she could not rest, and it broke our hearts. Listening to your little one moan in pain all night is pretty awful. Especially, when you try to help her and give her pain medication, she acts as if you're water-boarding her.

Adam did get some lovely shots on his iPhone. We had some nice meals out, did get to play and walk on the beach and sort of swim in the pool. Not a wasted trip.

New Digs

Thought you might enjoy some recent video!

More Photos:

I realize I haven't blogged in quite a long time. Noella is doing so many cute new things, and I'm sure she looks a lot different already from when any of you last saw her. Here are some latest and greatest:

She loves anything that has to do with the dog. Even his gross dirty bed. 

Cheese. 

I swear I didn't do it mom. 

Has anyone seen my blue comb? I can't find it anywhere!

Sitting (or "ssss", as Noella calls it) in my new chair.

Now breaking the rules in my new chair.

Uh..... stuck here!

Happy Valentines Day to all! 

NoJo's New Digs

We have a little person living under our steps. And, no, it's not Harry Potter (and just for the record, we do not lock her in here at night).

We decided that since Noella is completely obsessed with the dog's kennel, she needed one of her own. When we received a large box via UPS, we deemed the box "Noella's House".

Here are Dada and NoJo at work:

I'd say she likes it.