Fun outings

A few fun outings to capture:
- Timbers game: date night!!! Tried out this fun new place that has a french fry bar :) ha ha! all the dipping sauces... Fun game with our favorite team

- Oaks Park: our church held their annual picnic there this year, so I took three of the kids (Max was sick so the parent who dislikes enormous crowds volunteered to stay home with him), and we rode our brains out on all the rides. Okay though, I now despise those "spinny" rides that make me want to puke for the next several hours. I can't believe I got talked into stepping on those hurl-machines. This is where my 10 year old self could do Squirrel Cages at Enchanted Village for 10 straight hours and be riding high, but one ride now just puts me over the edge. Feel sorry for me. Anyway, despite my complaints detailed out here, I can still say how much I adore special outings with my family... I love making fun memories!! The kids had a buh-last!!

Thank heavens for big sisters who chaperone the 4 year
old when they are too short to ride alone ;)

- Family bowling: we were feeling antsy, and needing to get out of the house. Kyle suggested bowling, which turned out to be super fun for the kids. Lights went off with disco lights half way through, so well... it required dancing... And for whatever-the-heck reason, nobody but me apparently knows how to work a camera phone so the picture of Mom is of my bowling shoes (for the love).

Mom's shoes - ha ha!

- Day with the kiddos at the Portland Children's museum... First time EVER that I could somewhat park myself centrally with a book and let the kids self regulate... Actually, something awesome happened... Marin and Marcus were buddied up, and Marin couldn't see me, so she marched the two of them up to the front desk and announced to the guy working that she needed to borrow his phone - then "ring ring" on my cell phone, responsible child calls me to tell me she misplaced me. I was just around the corner ;) But I just about died. So awesome. Basically she did exactly what I've taught her if she ever gets lost. I'm glad to know we have now "tested" this emergency plan. Now to figure out how to test this on the other kids without traumatizing them.

And she wonders how she loses me ;)

- The Washington Huskies: are having an AWESOME year (finally)... Kyle and all his brothers met up in Seattle at Husky Stadium for the WA Stanford game... When I was checking the score on my phone, Siri told me "Washington pounded Stanford by a score of 44 to 6 today"... ha ha! so awesome! The kids are I were cheering from home. A couple weeks later, Siri summarized the WA-Oregon game like this "Washington crushed Oregon by a score of 70 to 21"

"Make the Huskies great again" hats were a big hit :)

Back to School 2016

The school year started off with a bang for all four Corrigans kids. Big kids are all in elementary and littlest in his last year of preschool. "Mom, how much longer til I'm five?!?" is the daily question from my youngest, who is doing his best to enjoy preschool while he waits "patiently" to be in school with his sibs. Next year I will have ALL FOUR OF MY KIDS AT THE SAME ELEMENTARY SCHOOL. Did you hear me. The one and only time in their entire lives they will all be in school together. I feel the need to somehow memorialize every single thing that happens next year because it will be such a unique time of their lives.

But anyway back to this year, the boys got fresh haircuts and girls got their nails painted to start the year off right :)

Fresh hair

Fresh nails

Four sweeties ready to start the school year!

Maddie's first day with Mrs Jones 4th grade

Max's first day with Mrs O 1st grade

Marin's first day with Ms Huynh 5th grade

Marcus' first day with Mrs Meier 4's preschool

My baby!!! (don't tell him I said that...
he says I must call him "puppy instead... oh my word)

Honestly with the face

Summer birthday club

Birthday club strikes again! A group of friends try to go out a couple times a year for birthdays... The summer birthday girls included Jen & Sommer, so we went downtown to Imperial and ate all the yummy food and had all the yummy drinks. Best times!!

Birthday girls

Fun with Nana & Poppy

While the girls were gone in Idaho, the little boys also got a special treat as well - an overnight with Nana & Poppy in Vancouver! They all went to a really cool train museum in Portland, which included an actual train ride near Oaks Park. The boys got a kick out of watching people go on the big rollercoasters. The girls squeal a certain way, and boys yell another way (according to their report). Funny! The boys also loved trampolining and hot tubbing back at the house. Sweet time with grandparents.

Traditions: 10 years old

My parents have begun an awesome tradition with their grandchildren... A special trip once the child turns 10, and because we have so many kids in a row between me and my sister, they are going in pairs as soon as one turns 10 they go with the next youngest.

So... drumroll please! Marin, being the oldest Newell grandchild and her sister Madeline, got to be the first to pair up with Nana & Grandpa for an 8 day trip to Idaho (Silverwood Theme Park). They road tripped all the way from Camano Island to Portland, to pick up the girls, then drove all day with them to Idaho, got settled in a condo for the week, then proceeded to have the most fun week ever! They had a day at the water park, a day at the amusement park, a boat cruise on Lake Coeur d'Alene, a fun day hike, and a couple days at home swimming in the condo pool, playing mini-golf & lawn checkers, and exploring the grounds with all their fun activities ;)

The girls did so great, and my parents will probably need to sleep for a week to regain their strength. We are so blessed with such amazing grandparents for our kids!

Mini golf with Grandpa

Lunch break on their hike

Marin loving the lazy river

Madeline the fish

Lawn checkers with a new friend

Mini golf with Nana

Happy Baby Shower

It is so exciting to see most of my close friends slowly turn into parents of four kids. Ha ha! It's almost like I planned this!! I love my dear friend Julie and was tickled pink to throw her her very last baby shower, as she is soon going to be a mama of four beautiful kids age 6 and under (a feat I so well remember, or actually I don't remember much at all, it's a bit of blur). But soon she will be in the "two boys ~ two girls" club, and enjoying the fruit of all the hard lessons that adjusting to 3 kids teaches you. I'm hoping her fourth is just a pure joy, and that she can laugh at all the nonsense life throws, and love this last baby stage with all her heart. Congratulations to Patrick & Julie!

Tea Party

Who says tea parties have to end when your little girls grow up? At the fresh tender age of 9, my little doll planned a perfect tea party for the two of us.This may have been inspired by her new teacup/saucer she got for her bday. Invitation, (including correction once she realized what was actually in the frig), food preparation, coffee warming, tea prep, beautiful time with my sweet Maddie. I love, love, love these moments together.

Oranges crossed out - "sorry none" in the fridge - ha ha! the best...