our IKEA haul

Well, we survived IKEA last weekend  2 weekends ago (I've had computer issues keeping me from posting this update until now).  On the way up with Ben's parents we were telling them that the stigma is that people get frustrated at IKEA and it puts a strain on relationships. We joked about stepping away from each other if the other couple needed space to have a discussion. I can see how it can be an overwhelming place, but if you go in with a positive outlook and with a goal it's so fun!

{we hit up Starbucks on our way out of Eugene}

When we arrived we started at the food court. I felt like the IKEA tour guide, Ben had been once with me years and years ago and Ron + Debbie had never been. I pointed everyone towards the flow of traffic to get our lunches and we ate a quick bite. 

Next we headed through the show room to browse. Debbie was able to see the Expedit bookshelves in person for a craft room project she's been planning out and Ron found a desk chair he had to have. Ben + I had a fairly long list, but we weren't planning on getting all of it. His parents ended up getting the tunnels for the boys to replace a teepee they had gifted them for Christmas that sadly kept falling apart. 

We were able to compare the bunk bed we thought we were going buy with others and ended up getting something completely different! It was nice to have Ron + Debbie there to bounce off ideas. Debbie pointed out that they'd outgrow the small one, which oddly enough I hadn't been thinking about. I was just focused on what would work for us NOW. If we had unlimited resources we'd get the small one now, then a bigger one later...but we don't. So we talked it over, looked at the small one, went back to the bigger one and decided to buy it. 

I tested out IKEA's registry app on my phone, it was fun to scan items and have them quickly appear on a registry. It was easy to use but it made an annoying ding sound every time, and it drained my phone battery pretty quickly. 

We made it through the showroom and the Children's section in about an hour, then headed down to the marketplace. Ben + I had skipped this entire portion of IKEA when we went for the first time. We thought that downstairs was all warehouse. I discovered the marketplace when I went with my girlfriends last November and was pretty excited to shop there with Ben. So many great things at low prices!

At one point Ben + I had a misunderstanding when I was asking him to grab something from one aisle to bring it to the next one so I could compare size. I turned to Debbie and asked her to excuse us for a moment (alluding to the joke we made earlier), and she thought I was serious! It was pretty funny. Not only were there no quarrels but we had a fantastic time. Ben + I surely did not take for granted the ability to shop kid-free!

We browsed here and there, made a few tiny impulse purchases and then got down to what was left on our list. We made it through in less than an hour and headed to the warehouse. When we found the bunk bed we weren't sure it would fit in Ron's Tahoe, but he thought if we folded down one side of the bench seats in the back we'd be ok.

{forever a kid at heart}

We grabbed it, Ron's chair and browed As-Is with no success. I was surprised that things were discounted very low, I'd rather pay a little more for a new and undamaged item in the rest of the store. Anyway, we checked out the food section, grabbed my mom some chocolate almond cake and then made our purchases. Aside from the beds, Ben + I spent just under $30! 

I'm not expert, this was only my 3rd time ever at IKEA but by the end of 3 hours, Ben + I had mastered a few short cuts to run back to find things rather quickly. We maneuvered through the streams of people (literally half of them pregnant women- not exaggeration) and got back to where we had left off in just minutes. 

Once we got to loading, things got pretty interesting. It took several tries to fit the bed frames in to the back of the Tahoe. They had to fold down the bigger side of the back so only one of us (me) could sit back there, so the other 3 had to squish up front...but they did it! 

When it was done, Ron slammed the back hatch closed...onto a can of Pepsi that exploded all over me. None of it got on him, or Ben- who was standing right next to me. I was covered head to toe. I screamed because the loud sound and gush in my face was rather startling and then I cracked up when I realized what had happened. I had an audience of about 20 or so shoppers coming out with their purchases. Talk about embarrassing. I managed to clean myself up back in the restrooms and not feel too sticky for the 2 hour ride home.

We stopped to drop off our 3 giant boxes for the bunk bed and our bag of stuff before going to pick up the boys. Ben + my brother put the bed together the following afternoon. Nothing like 3 ginormous boxes crowding your living space as motivation!

As you can see from the photos, the boys love the bunk bed. I had a few mini heart attacks at first when Des mastered climbing on his own. He fell from the bottom of the ladder once when he snuck in there and hasn't tried climbing it by himself since.

Malakai loved sleeping up there at first, but I think he misses our nightly 2 minute snuggles because he's been hesitant about it. Still, he falls asleep fast and stays asleep all night so far. Desmond has actually been sleeping better in his part of the bed than he was before. It's afforded us a lot of extra space in their room, which we still haven't done anything with. We're still deciding which pieces of furniture to keep/move/store in the playroom as we transition it to nursery.

We got a handful of small things as well. Mostly storage solutions...

We stocked up on kids' cutlery, which the boys use daily. The other brightly colored items are ice cube trays. I can see them being molds for other fun + crafty things as well. The roll of paper was meant for the boys' easel, I didn't measure first and it's just slightly too long. Sad day. Not pictured above are the awesome tunnels from Children's Ikea and alphabet crackers from the food section that Ron + Debbie bought the boys

We also got a "BYGEL" set, which is the vertical metal bar, the basket, hooks, and black cup. It will go up underneath the kitchen cabinets for extra storage. The black item at the bottom is a folded up under bed storage box from the SKUBB line, which is my favorite of their storage boxes, they are sturdy but cheaper than many of their other options and come in a lot of sizes + types. And of course, we bought another giant .50 IKEA bag, which has about 101 uses.

So, there you have it. What we didn't buy from my wish list I added to the registry app or have on my own personal wish list for gift ideas. I don't know that we'll officially use the IKEA registry when it comes to our baby shower, since it's so far away. However, we do have plenty of friends in Portland that might be able to use it, so you never know.

What's your favorite IKEA find? Do you have one nearby or do you have to plan a road trip to get there?

Day Trippers: Gold Lake Sno-Park

Nearly a month ago we put today's "SNOW DAY" on our calendars in an effort to make sure it actually happened this year. Eugene, Oregon doesn't get a lot of snow but thankfully we don't have very far to go to find some.

Last night we checked the weather report and were really sad to find out that our favorite spot (see also: a place we went once when we were dating) was supposed to be rainy. We checked out another place further away and decided to make the call first thing in the morning. This morning we were thrilled to find that Gold Lake (near Willamette Pass) had 2 new inches of snow and was too cold for rain!

We did not get out nearly as early as we had hoped, but getting 2 kids (one of which was super cranky- Malakai!) and 4 people worth of snow clothes, extra clothes, food, and other supplies isn't a quick task. We pretty much always run late when we don't have a strict time that we have to be somewhere.

We arrived at Gold Lake Sno-Park (I didn't forget the "w"that's the actual spelling.) just before noon and began getting the boys and ourselves suited up. We borrowed some of our snow gear and a vehicle from my in-laws (thanks Ron + Debbie!) and pieced it together with what we had. Like I said, we don't get much snow. Malakai looked absolutely adorable in Ben's childhood snow suit...

Those of you who know Malakai or follow me on Instagram may be familiar with his anti-clothing ways. I got him to wear the snow suit by first, reading The Snowy Day the night before and comparing Peter's red snow suit to this one; and second, he wasn't allowed to get out of the car and go into the snow until he was properly dressed. Worked like a charm, except he refused to wear the hood after the first few photos. You win some, you lose some.

Once we got all bundled up we headed up the cross-country skiing/snow shoeing trail to find a clear spot off the track to play. We didn't go far, which was nice because without the proper gear you sink a lot and Desmond is SUPER heavy.

The weather was perfection. A light dusting of snow falling here and there, fresh powder all over, no wind and some sun breaks. Gorgeous.

Des loved playing on his tummy in the snow, so random. Malakai insisted on making "Frosty" and then snow angels- all his own ideas.

After the snowman and angels were made we explored the snow bank on the other side of the trail. I was so afraid that we'd sink into oblivion if we stepped into it. Ben and Kai tested it out and it was just fine, and super fun to play in.

Kai said, "looka me! I'm in the snow bank!" He kept wanting to climb to the top so Ben tested that out too and it was fine. Up they went...

We had an absolute amazing time. Our day could not have gone any better. The boys were in great moods (once we were out the door), totally thrilled about the snow, but easy going when it was time to leave.

We ate lunch in the warming lodge and listened in on the interesting conversations of the ski-patrol guys hanging out there. The boys didn't last long on the ride home before the fell asleep, Ben included.

Malakai was super sad that we were done with our "snow day" when we got back, but he snapped out of it alright. I hope we can make this an annual trip!

today at the park...

...this cuteness happened-

and there was a LOT of giggling.

July: "Touch-A-Truck"

Yes, I'm still catching up on July events...this one was on July 11th. We found out the night before at a small group barbecue that there was an event called "Touch-A-Truck"that would be free to the community. Trucks from all over the city are cleaned up and available for kids to sit in, "drive" and touch.  I'd heard of it once before but we missed it so I was excited to round the boys up and go. It was right in time to get Kai about his upcoming construction themed birthday party. Unfortunately it was our first hot summer day and it took place on an asphalt parking lot, it was so uncomfortable and we didn't stay long.

While we were there Malakai saw an ambulance and fire truck, then sat in a tractor...

We tried to get him in the bucket with Des, but he wasn't interested. It's actually a miracle I got a photo of him sitting in the tire with how quickly he hopped out.

Once we showed him a couple big trucks that he could honk the horn on, he got pretty excited. He did great waiting in line despite the heat and was really in awe over being able to get up close to the big rigs.

I think his favorite was the garbage truck, since it's something he sees every day but never gets to interact with. For all you local families, I THINK they do this again in the fall, but I can't be sure. I like to keep up with local events like this through a fun website called Go Mom, Go! 

Lane County Fair

After church this past Sunday we hurried across town to the Lane County Fair to take advantage of the free admission for coming early. At $9 per adult just to get in there was no way we'd be able to go otherwise. We got a fantastic parking spot and I had packed lunches, so we were set to take Kai to see the animals for his 2nd year. But before heading to the livestock area we stopped at the photobooths for another tradition.

We thought for sure Kai was smiling for the first photo but he must have moved at the last second. Then we just ended up being a blur, which is what happens I guess when you try to squeeze a pregnant lady, a 6ft tall man, and a toddler into a teensie photobooth space. The limit is 3 people, but I'm hoping that next year we can sneak little brother in for a photo.

On our way to the animals we ate our PBJ + banana lunches. By the time we got there I was already overheated. I guess it was close to 90 degrees that day, I had no idea it would be so hot! It was surely my first time being bothered by the heat this summer, it had been so mild here until then.

First we saw chickens. Kai knew what they were immediately and REALLY wanted to touch them.



Then we saw some other birds, including ducks + ducklings!

In the next room were all sorts of bunnies, some with floppy ears and some with pointy ears. Kai called them bunnies and rabbits...

Then we saw goats + sheep. When I asked Malakai what they were he said "animals!"

{he was laughing so hard at this sheep because her ear would twitch every time he pet her}

{teensie pygmy goats, mama's fave.}

We didn't see any pigs this year, in fact I didn't even realized it until writing this that we had missed them somehow. After washing our hands thoroughly we headed to the stalls to see the horses and cows.

{not too impressed with the cows but LOVED the horsies!}

Once we washed up again we went across the fairgrounds to the exhibit hall. I was relieved to be in air conditioning, but my body was exhausted and couldn't walk much more. We made it about two isles of booths before deciding it was time to go home. 

We had a great time and it was so much fun to watch Kai recognize the different types of animals and get excited about seeing + petting them. Maybe next year we can take him on some of the kiddie rides!

Camping with a Toddler (while pregnant)

Over the 4th of July Holiday weekend we went camping, as we usually do, with some of my family. For as long as I can remember we camp along the Oregon coast. For the past 10 years we've been going to Carter Lake with is near the dunes, 2 miles from the ocean, and right on a small lake. It also has generously sized camping grounds so we get two next to each other and camp all together.

Last year was Kai's first camping trip and this was his second. I was somewhat nervous after the sleeping issues we had with him last summer and being pregnant this time around. Plus, he wasn't yet walking, just cruising last time! Although we did a fair amount of chasing him down we had a great time overall.

We packed up + arrived Friday evening. There were a lot of mosquitos and it was much colder than it had been in town so we put on some layers of clothing + bug-away spray. Then we went to check out the lake just down from where we were camping, which ended up being Malakai's favorite place to walk to. For the entire trip if he saw someone walking that direction he chased them so he could tag along.

That night getting Malakai to sleep was fairly easy. He cried a bit while Ben tried to calm him down but then he fell asleep on my chest. I had to wait until he was in a deep sleep to move him off of me or he would start hollering all over again, but after that he slept the whole night with no problems between Ben + I on a mattress in my parents' pop-up tent.

The next morning we were up bright + early at 7am. After hanging around camp we put on our swim clothes and headed to the lake. Malakai loved the sand and the water. He would have dove right in if we let him. There were some people fishing nearby and a lot of big kids in the water so we stayed close to the shore. He ended up getting so sandy that we had to give him a cold water shower before changing him for his nap. Since we didn't have a contained place for him to sleep Ben or I napped with him in the late afternoons. Having a later nap time worked well with how late we'd end up going to bed. It would stay light til nearly 10pm and then we'd break out the s'mores and not really get to bed til 11pm or 11:30 each night.  The second night he laid himself down in between us, said "nuhnight" and was out within minutes. What a milestone!

Malakai loved on Aunt Deedee + Uncle Mark's dogs, especially Chief, my cousins made up a game similar to pictionary to pass the time, and we snacked all day every day. Malakai also had an obsession with the step on the pop-up tent and enjoyed his mega blocks, play tent and sand toys from time to time.

On Sunday we vetoed the 2 mile walk through the dunes to the beach and found the drive up access. There was a small dune to climb which left me a bit breathless but it was a ton of fun to watch Kai experience the ocean. He wasn't too fond of the waves but he enjoyed looking at it from afar and playing in the endless piles of sand. He made a habit out of crushing everyone's creations. He wore himself out so much that he fell asleep before we even started the car to head back to camp.

That night some of my family were planning on heading about an hour north to see an early fireworks show but that all changed when the boys discovered a fire on the beach. Right behind our campground is a giant dune that once you get to the top you can see the ocean about 2 miles out, which is where the fire was, in the grass. Everyone (except myself + Kai) went up to see what was going on.

911 was called but the authorities got mixed up and were told the fire was at the lake when it was at the beach. My dad showed them where to go and my brother and his friends actually went down to the source. Apparently some girls were camping in the beach (illegal here) and started a fire in the grass with their camp stove. They were too scared to put it out so they called 911 but then stuck around and were trying to put it out once it had spread. It went from 2 acres to nearly 4 acres quickly and some of our camp neighbors said they finally got it under control around midnight that night. It didn't sound like anyone was hurt and thankfully we weren't close enough to have to evacuate.

Monday I attempted a new camp recipe. Usually for breakfast we roast biscuit dough over the fire and smother them with homemade strawberry jam, which we did the first two mornings. Our last morning I wanted to try making omelets on the camp stove the way my uncle makes them. They started out great but apparently I needed thicker zipper bags because 2 out of 3 of them broke. I think we'll be sticking to biscuits in the fire.

After breakfast we cleaned up camp + headed home. We got home around 3pm and were unpacked and showered by 5pm. The entire weekend flew by and was a complete success. Malakai was so busy the whole time that he slept great and sleeping on a semi-firm mattress kept me from having too many aches + pains to enjoy myself. (unfortunately today after a night in my own bed I woke up with spasms and really bad sciatic pain).

Next year, with a 3 year old and a 9 month old we may just visit the campers and make it a daytrip. We'll have to wait + see!

How did you spend your holiday weekend?








P.S. this trip would not have been nearly as successful without the help of our family and especially Ben who spent a lot of time chasing after Malakai. (getting me out of a camp chair takes too long for grabbing kiddo from dangers, ha!).

photo friday: when he's awake

Since I mostly posted photos of my darling boy asleep this week (because I was marveling over every snoozing moment!) here are photos of what we did while he was awake over the past week.

{mouthful of crackers}

{lucky shot from underneath a blanket fort}

What did you + your little ones/loved ones do this week? I also did laundry, worked in my office, entered a million giveaways, and figured out appointments for Kai's surgery, but those things aren't as fun.

Happy Weekend!

park picnic

Last week we planned a park picnic with some of my friends from my old job. Which included Henry (who I used to do daycare for). We don't see them nearly enough, it was so fun to get together. The weather here is hard to predict in the spring. It can be beautiful and sunny or grey and rainy. Somehow we landed on a perfect sunny (but a bit windy) afternoon.

After work we met up at the park by our house. We each brought something to share for the picnic. The park was really crowded when we first got there, but soon the crowed thinned out as it neared dinner. Once we finished eating we had the whole playground to ourselves!

{we broke down + let Kai play in the sand cause all the cool moms were doing it}

{Jenny + her almost 2-year-old Henry}

{Kacie + her almost 10-month-old, Emmiana}

{Jacoby, Henry, + Malakai playing on the "car" before we headed home}

We had such a great time and even Ben (the only dad that could make it) enjoyed himself. All three of us were EXHAUSTED when we got home. We gave Kai a very thorough bath and had some quiet playtime before he conked out for the night. We weren't far behind him. 

photo friday: finally spring

I've been agonizing over blog posts + facebook updates from those of you in warmer climates talking about your lovely weather and calling it "summer" already. In Oregon's Willamette Valley spring is a bunch of rain mixed with some sunshine (which makes vibrant rainbows), but mostly cold.

This week we were finally able to experience the spring that the rest of you have been talking about. Unfortunately yesterday I was feeling quite miserable so we stayed inside, but this morning we went for a walk to the park and played outside for a good hour and a half. It was warm enough for me to take off my sweater on the walk home!

We ate lunch with the back door open, airing out the house, and I felt too productive to take a nap wile Kai snoozed, so I worked on things for my job and calling doctors, nurses + schedulers to figure out Malakai's consultations + surgery stuff for the next couple of weeks. Plus, we're finally getting our flu shots! Well, I am, and Kai is getting his booster. We're so late that our doctor's offices were both out of the vaccines so we're going to Public Health.

Of course I grabbed my camera while we were out this morning and snapped some photos of play time at the park and a few things blooming out my front door.

{looking cool in daddy's shades}

{top left: asking me "please" for help...then he learned to go down by himself!}

{he loves to climb!}

{he kept putting the bark in the holes on the stairs, driving the car, sitting at the table}

{he discovered a stick, it was the most fun he's ever known}

{pink hyacinth lining the walkway to our front door}

{the first tulip}

What has spring been like where you live? 

Happy Weekend!