if you give a boy a shovel

and tonight we do portland

girls weekend in portland...was amazing. though i would love to divulge the deep dark secrets of the weekend...i just couldn't do that to my girls.

we forgot to take photos most of the time. but we did take one downtown as a group. and i snapped one of laura telling me that the shirt she just tried on might be a "little too small."
so i made her prove it to me and i helped her see that it actually fit just right. that's what friends are for. very cute, laura. {hee hee. sorry but i had to post this for all to see}

friday we hit the road around 2 and took our time getting into the city. on the way down, we hit an antique mall in kalama. then we ventured on. hit pdx. checked into our suite at the hotel monaco. awesome. ate at the red star. shopped until closing. ordered the best pizza from roccos. talked and laughed all night. and fell into our beds giggling to ourselves. the next day was full of shopping downtown, troutdale antique mall, and the woodburn outlets.

it's safe to say that we all wished we had planned for the trip to last one more day...but it didn't. oh well. until next time...

RAISING BOYS A.K.A. DODGING BULLETS {CARS}

my grandma dyer raised 4 wild indian boys who were about 9 minutes apart. the other day i asked my dad where grandma's journals were. he said that she didn't keep a journal; she didn't have time. i am sure her wisdom would be comforting for me right now...

the only reason i am writing this down is so that i don't forget it. the day that macrae enters the MTC i will feel huge relief..

macrae is still NOT BETTER. he seemed to be better a few days ago and then the unhappy, unsettled boy re-emerged. so back to the doctor we went. i LOVE going to the doctor with my three kids. isla is bored. rhett's carseat is cumbersome. and macrae HATES being touched, examined, and pricked. so we cram into that little room and wait. this time i brought lunches. i thought it would keep them occupied and at least they wouldn't be cranky and hungry.
i was right. macrae IS NOT HEALED. he has swollen glands, ear infection, and tonsils with white spots. awesome. but we made it out of there without too much trouble. it was leaving the building that i really wish to write down.

so, we open the door to the outside we were all intact. isla was leading the way to the car, i was carrying rhett and macrae was following us. i got to the car and macrae was still lingering in the courtyard. so i called to him. and he disappeared from my view so i put rhett on the ground and walked towards him. as i got closer to him he realized i was going after him and started to run into the street. i dropped my purse and started to run so he started to run as fast as he could. a stranger emerged from the building and tried (unsuccessfully) to get to him before he reached the street. i ran into the street without even looking. luckily, he can't keep up with his own feet and he fell in the middle of the turning lane. i scooped him up and hugged him and noticed that traffic going both ways was stopped.

of course we sat down and had a little talk. i mean, the guy doesn't talk.. i talked. he looked stunned and was very quiet while i talked to him. (normally when he's in trouble he won't look at me.) i put him in the car and went to find my purse. i couldn't stop myself from crying. a stranger (who had obvisously seen the whole thing) asked me if i was okay. and then another stranger approached my car (while i continued to drop black tears) and told me she had seen the entire episode and tried to offer condolences. yeah, i was comforted by that.

i took the kids to the park and lamented to my friends for a couple of hours. then when macrae was taking his nap i fell into the lovesac for a couple of hours. just replaying it in my mind makes my eyes water.

brandon brought me home flowers as if to say "thanks for saving my son" or maybe "i'm sorry being a mom is so hard" or probably "i love you." cute husband.

thanks easter bunny

the annual easter egg hunt at the dickson's...

oh boy!

when the sun comes out in april, we in the PNW must take notice. otherwise, we may forget why we will live through 8-9 months of gloom each year. {actually, i sortof like the overcast so it doesn't bother me most of the time}

last week brandon was out of town (as if you didn't notice, i complained enough). and me and the boys were sick. but when the sun shone its beautiful, glorious face we went out. where to? Pt Defiance Park to feed the ducks, of course. afterall, i AM gannah's daughter.

at first it was a calm day feeding the ducks all of our stale crackers.

and then macrae noticed the seagulls. and it was all over. i laughed while gannah worried that he would fall in the mud.

which he did. after he woke up from his nap i decided NOT to comb his hair. wicked awesome.

don't stomp it out with your boots

he can't help himself...it's in his genes

dear tooth fairy

what do you look like? i watched tinkerbell today and i wonder if you look like her.

anyway...

please give me coin monies because dollars aren't real monies. i still haven't spent the two dollars you left me last time because i don't think they are real.

please let my daddy come home soon because he hasn't seen my toothless smile yet.

please help the rest of my loose teeth fall out soon because it's fun when my BooBoo pulls them out.

please come tomorrow night because i like to bond with my teeth before i give them to you.

bye, from isla