Portland Road Trip with the Boys

The boys and I headed to Portland to visit my friend Kara, take advantage of $2 Tuesday at the zoo, and bring Kara and Sierra back with us. It was a tiring trip over, even for me, but very peaceful. Aren't kids cute when they are sleeping!This is JJ's third trip to this zoo, one of my favorites. We were a little bummed this trip that the train didn't let people off at a great park this time of year, but it was still fun to ride. Sierra slept in her front-pack for most of her first outing to the zoo, so she isn't featured much in the pics!

One of my favorite parts this year was seeing the sealions from under the water.

Jacob was a little scared to get too close to the glass, JJ put his arm around him for comfort. Too cute, I almost cried!
We finally got to see the polar bears. They have been "hiding" all the other times we've been there. This was Jacob's first trip to the zoo where he really enjoyed and understood things. He loved it!

Old elephant posing with us.

They had a new baby there too, but he was inside and I couldn't get a good picture of him. Check out our noses...it was cold!!!!

Jacob missed the elephant and penguins due to a much needed nap!

Our last day there the boys and I went to The Old Speghetti Factory and got to sit in the trolley. This was the first time I have taken the boys to a sitdown restaurant by myself. They did really well and it was a lot of fun to "go out" with them.

Jacob, my picky eater, actually loved my mizithra speghetti, along with 4 pieces of bread, apple sauce, half a grilled cheese, and a bowl of ice cream! Looks like we will have to go more often!

Easter and Jacob's Birthday

My sister and her family came over for Easter weekend. We decided to celebrate Jacob and her birthdays that weekend, since he really doesn't know the difference yet! But, on his actual birthday we did have a special lunch of Happy Meals that both of the boys were excited for.My sister has recently added a new member to their family, Bailey the Dog. Jackson LOVES small animals and could not get enough of her.

Jacob loved her too!

Saturday morning we headed to church for an egg hunt. Jacob finally got the concept of it all this year.

Jackson loves seeing what his 10 year old cousin can do.
Justin hid eggs in our yard for the kids to hunt later in the afternoon, as some of the older kids were too old for the church hunt.

Jackson and Justin again. Not sure who thought about the helmet, but it was a good idea as Jackson became a little dare-devil with his cousin at the wheel.

Later that night we celebrated birthdays. Jacob is a lot of fun to watch opening gifts, he loves whatever comes out! He is really into CARS (the movie).

When he is happy...he is very happy! This is his expression when we brought out his cake.Jen was gracious enough to allow me to put Lightning McQueen on their shared cake, as long as it tasted good!

Easter Morning

Once again, a happy boy to discover a new toy!

The attempt at trying to get 5 kids and a dog to smile at the same time.

JJ's Airplane Cake

Thank you to all who were concerned of how Jackson's cake turned out! As you can see, he was happy with it and that is all that counts. He even kept checking on it for the evening that it was in the fridge, too cute! He had a great 4th birthday, the best he has had as he likes to say (even though he can't remember the others!).