Madeline turning 4!

Our darlin' Madeline turned 4 this month! She's been waiting a loooong time to be 4, and it's a big thrill for her to finally reach her destination. She chose Lucky Charms for her birthday cereal, and "lucky" for her, the family size box happened to be on sale, so we've been extending our sugar cereal adventures far into the week.

We celebrated at breakfast, then Daddy surprised her at lunch by coming home so we could all be together while she opened her birthday presents. The absolute favorite gift was from her big sister, who thought of and selected a Rapunzel doll (with very VERY long hair to brush). Marin came up with this idea on her own, and I even thought to myself "hmmm, not sure if Maddie will think much of this", but I was so very wrong. Maddie might have the love language of gifts, because this very thoughtful gift from her sister has made her entire world feel perfect.

Per her request, dinner was spaghetti noodles and donuts :) After dinner, I surprised the girls with a special "night swim" at the local pool, and the open swim session started right around bedtime. They were stoked to be heading somewhere fun instead of heading to bed. The Oregon International Air Show was this weekend, so we were able to swim outside and watch all the fancy tricks in the evening sky. Much better than watching from our backyard (which is louder than Armageddon). Have I mentioned how the wicked loud airshow makes me crazy with little kids? Freaks them all out, so by the end of the weekend they are totally sleep deprived from missing naps and living in fear of the next fly-by. In a couple years, they will think it's awesome, I know :)

Anyway, back to the birthday girl. I have to say, I am continually struck by the depth, complexity, sensitivity, strength of will (one might perhaps call it stubbornness), humor, intelligence, creativity and light that is Madeline Marie. She is a joy, and makes this world a much brighter place.

2011 Corrigan Family Vacation: ~ Longbeach, WA

For the first time in 15+ years, the Corrigan clan broke tradition and did our yearly vacation together somewhere other than Sunriver. We all absolutely love Sunriver, but our families are spread out so far, and the kids are all in school (we used to go over Labor Day), so this year we decided to try something new. We found the perfect location (thanks Mara & Nana for all your hard work scouting this out), two houses built right near the beach on a cul-de-sac just north of town. The original house was actually the first house built in Longbeach, built in the 1800's, and the second house is the detached garage that was remodeled into a two story house. Amazing! So private, quaint, spacious, inviting and warm. The owner is a Christian, and the house just seems to speak from its walls the love of God. Books beckon from the bookshelf on all sorts of interesting and uplifting topics, sparking many of us to browse and engage in conversation about their contents. The weather was gorgeous, the beach was beautiful, the town was close by & fun. Not to mention the pool table, foosball table, air hockey and enormous dining area.

I heard repeated by many of my family members, and I agree - this was one of the most relaxing, enjoyable and warm times we have had together. I personally appreciated all the many times I saw grace given, smiles & hugs exchanged and love poured out from all different angles (grandparents, daughters, sons, mommies, daddies, aunties, uncles, cousins, nieces, nephews, brothers, sisters... did i cover it? i think that's all of us!)... I love my Corrigan family :) Pictures in white and blue are results of our coordinated effort to get some group pics, i think they turned out great!

Beach shots (kite festival going on too!):

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Birthday Party Bonanza

We celebrated our August birthdays (Maddie turning 4, Max turning 2) with a backyard BBQ, with lots of friends and family  joining us. We got the kids a bounce-house for their combined present, so all the kids took it on its maiden voyage at the party. Tons of fun, worth every "Craigslist-deal-of-the-century" penny! Kiddie pools, good food, hand-crafted cakes (Kyle made Madeline's poodle, I made Max's caterpillar), sandbox shenanigans, good music, pinata-smashing fun! So many fun memories, and it was such a treasure to have so many of our loved ones gather with us. This is what summertime & the Corrigan backyard were made for! :)

Thanks to everyone for being cheerful about our "test" this year on gift-giving... It seemed to work out well, gifts were optional and we had the kids open them later (i.e. not at the party)... It definitely made the party more relaxing, and the kids seemed to enjoy the extra time and appreciation in savoring the gifts they did receive. Thanks to everyone who helped us celebrate!

 

Cousin boys

I have very few reasons to regret living in Portland. It is a beautiful place to live, and I love almost every aspect of this community. One of my lamentations, however, is not being closer to my sister and her family. They all came to stay for several days over our kids birthdays, and OF COURSE we had matching clothing for our boys. I miss them so much, and if I had a genie grant me a few wishes, I would wish us to be closer!

Max turning 2

Our sweet boy turned 2 this month! Keeping with Corrigan tradition, on the morning of his special day, the birthday boy chose Fruity Pebbles for his "birthday cereal" (a phrase he repeats now about 20 times a day). He also sings "Happy Birthday to you" approximately 30 times a day. Since a huge birthday party was just a few days away, we had a quiet celebration on his day, complete with a birthday donut for dessert!

We are seeing his funny & charming personality come out more each day. He is chattering away, and loves balls, pacifiers (now limited to night time... "paci's are for nig-night!" is another favorite phrase), his blue & brown dot blanket, and best of all "sissy" which includes both girls. Best funny phrase of this season is when you tell him he's a good boy, he replies "No! I naughty boy!" then falls over hysterically laughing.

Maddox Keevin, you light up my life.

Summer Dayz

It's summertime, and the livin' is good :) An evening at "Central Park" after taking the kids out to sushi... Yes Hillsboro has awesome sushi which our kids devoured, and yes we even have a Central Park. I love our town!

I feel the need for speed

I finally got a ride on the back of my boyfriend's motorcycle :) Kyle thought I looked like a 70's biker chick... All I know is it was a teeny bit scary, but exciting. We missed out on a picture actually ON the bike, since my mom was busy corralling the kids inside while we got away for a short little cruise.

Swimming Lessons

Swimming lessons :) Marin loved every single minute of her daily lessons, for two straight weeks. She thrived & splished like a fancy little fish. Maddie loved about a third of her minutes, enjoying it when she could and being hysterical when she couldn't. Kind of reminds me of her first dentist appointment... Started out great, then plunging into stubborn hysteria. Sigh... I was really hoping she would be able to enjoy herself, however I am reminded daily what two very different creatures I have in my precious daughters. Such special, unique beings made by God with such different ways they are wired to think and feel. Of course, the following pictures capture their radiant smiles, which makes me happy regardless of how this round of swimming lessons panned out. Ice cream treats to celebrate our "accomplishments"! :)

 

 

Farmer's Market with Brother

The girls got a special treat recently: going to Nana & Poppy's house for a sleepover with their cousins. Although  I wasn't there for all the excitement, the report from the girls & Nana was that it was just what you would expect - fun and fabulous! So during this time, Kyle and I had the rare treat of alone time with our little man. Our original plan was to take him fishing, but we found out that morning that our favorite trout farm... (don't judge all you serious fisher-people, 1 year olds need to catch their fish in 3-5 seconds to stay interested)... was closed for a private event. Cripes!

So instead we went to the Farmers Market, and strolled around with Max just taking in the sights & sounds, enjoying all the treats. The funniest thing is that instead of him relishing "alone time" with Ma & Pa, he seemed a bit discontent to have his big sisters gone. Check out his sass in the pictures. I still think he's the best thing since sliced bread.

Madeline the artist

Maddie is really taking off in the drawing department. Her latest thrill is to draw something special on a paper and secretly tape it to the wall above the headboard of our bed. Just so we have a little "surprise" waiting for us when we head to bed that night. It's so sweet! My favorite part of her drawings is that she always does a side profile view when drawing a lady, and they always have cascading curly hair. It's such an interesting thought, just thinking about how her little mind works, drawing those profile views. I love her and all her little surprises.

This one was a turtle lady with cascading curly hair :)

 

Camping at the beach

We completed the maiden voyage of the ginormous Corrigan family tent! Kyle has taken the girls camping before, but this was our first camping trip with all five of us... in a ten man, two room tent, with swinging doors & thirty zillion zipper windows - AWESOME :)

Our friends, The Burys also joined us on this fun-filled adventure to Nehalem Bay State Park, and it was a refreshing, relaxing and hilarious time together! Refreshing in the sense of being outdoors in the beautiful sunshing, taking in nature. Of course, it was also exhausting in the sense of kiddos waking before the roosters, and grown-ups staying up around the campfire way too late every night. But that's what french press coffee is for.

Our college friends, The Halbachs had an adjacent spot as well so we got to catch up with them & snuggle their cute and charming little boys too.

And to top it all off, our other amazing friends, The Powells drove in from Hillsboro just for the day to help celebrate Sommer's 30th birthday. Such fabulous fun. I seriously can't wait for the end of August when we get to do this again, this time in yurts!

Thanks to all those special people who made this such a memorable trip. Mostly to my longsuffering husband Kyle for wrangling that huge tent so his wife could have what she wanted :) I love adventures with my family!