Go Ducks!

Today is the National Championship Football Game. Eugene, Oregon is buzzing with activity and excitement for our University of Oregon Ducks.

{Kai's 1st UofO outfit, Oct. 2009}

Ben sent me the following tweet just a little while ago:

Before our move last March we lived on University Street. Obviously, we were right on campus. Our house was a short 6 blocks or so from Mac Court. It was convenient to be within walking or biking distance from where we were working at the time, and it was nice to have plenty of restaurants and other amenities. Once we were expecting Malakai, it started to become a nuisance. Our college aged neighbors were loud late into the night, the traffic on game days made it impossible to get anywhere. 

So, while we support the football team on their big day, we are so thankful to not be in the middle of what will surely be a wild + crazy night on campus.

Tonight we'll watch the game on the other side of town with some family. Dressed in our best green + yellow.  

{At the game, fall 2010}

{my fave of Kai's game day shirts, 2009}

We might even have to let Malakai stay up past his bedtime for this momentous occasion. Then we'll head home to our quiet (hopefully) cul-de-sac for a good night's rest to return to the regularness of tomorrow.

Go Ducks!

are you ready for some football!?

Ok, I think that's actually the NFL theme song...but we went to a college game. I'm not a football person really, obviously.

Anyway,  Ben's parents have season tickets to the University of Oregon home football games. We haven't been since November 2008 which was actually the day we found out we were expecting Malakai.

We bundled up, grabbed our rain jackets and left Malakai with his Aunt "Nanner" for the afternoon...

Then the sun came out, it was gorgeous and way too hot for long sleeves. The first quarter of the game wasn't very eventful (the score was 0 to 0) but it picked up in the 2nd thankfully.

At one point they had a fist pump cam and everyone in the stadium was doing fist pumps. This of course made Ben + I think of the Loerke's over at Today's Letters (our most favorite blog) and I scrambled to get a photo for them as fast as I could. 

{snapped this on my cell phone}

Ben + I had a great time and we were able to enjoy ourselves knowing that Malakai napped well while we were gone. The Ducks went on to win the game remaining undefeated, still #1.

Maybe we'll take Kai with us next season for his 1st game. 

What did you do over the weekend?

photo Friday: it's been awhile

It's been a while since I've done a photo post... I doubt they've been missed since I can rarely bring myself to post anything without photos.

Anyway, we got our family pictures back. Here are a few {ok, a lot} of our favorites.

first summer days

Of course I avoided all the sickness our household went through just to get something else during the first weekend of real summer weather. It has been in the 80's here, sunny and beautiful and perfect for a day by the pool or a stroll through the neighborhood in the evening.

Despite being sick, I did both of those things. I know I'm bad and it probably didn't help to subject myself to the Willamette Valley's infamous pollens, but I couldn't help myself. This weather could turn at any moment and we could have cloudy rainy days for the next 3 weeks. {no, that is not an exaggeration}

On Friday Ben came home from work early as he already had enough hours and some over time and I was struggling with my cold. I sounded (still do) like a frog man. So he brought me some decongestants and some propel and I vegged-out on the couch while he took over the care of the house and little mister.

When Malakai woke up from his nap we decided to take him to the park down the street. We lounged on our picnic quilt in the shade and Malakai got to swing, one of his favorite past times.

Ben and I love going on walks. When we were dating we used to stroll through the neighborhoods behind his apartment complex and daydream about what our house would be like some day. After enjoying the park we took the scenic route home and explored parts of the nearby neighborhoods we hadn't yet discovered. Malakai fell asleep in the stroller while Ben and I talked about the houses and yards that we liked or what we would do differently if they were ours. The conversations are similar, but mean something different now that we have our own place.

Saturday we slept in {after a rough night up with Malakai, something about the weekends...} and I once again took it easy as the nights and mornings seem to be when I feel the worst. We went to my in-laws for a belated Father's Day lunch. Malakai got more adventurous in the grass than he'd ever been before.

Sunday we went to church and after Malakai's nap we headed out to my parents' place to visit and take advantage of their pool while it was still hot outside. Malakai went on a floatie {isn't that what everyone calls them?} for the first time and really enjoyed himself overall. I think his swim lessons may really be helping him get used to being in a pool, yay!

That evening my mom made spaghetti so we let Malakai dig in. Another first for him. It was a lot of fun to see him eat and get so messy. He LOVED the sauce, he kept sucking it off of his fingers.

It was a wonderful weekend and although I'm still pretty sick, I'm glad I took advantage of the great weather instead of staying indoors.

Today I'm sitting out for swim and taking pictures of Ben + Malakai in the pool.

Keep checking back this week for a featured retailer and giveaway that I'm sure you'll just LOVE!

a river runs through it...

On Saturday Ben + Malakai took me on my belated Mother's Day walk down the Willamette River. We started at Alton Baker Park and were shocked at what we saw...

{Ben had to have some fun}

If you look closely, you can see a duck floating by the bench. This is actually a bike/walking path that runs along the river. Thankfully, just the lower part was flooded. The river was raging just at the tree line in the back, but then lapped up like a lake at the edge. We walked underneath the footbridge you can see up at the right and along the river. It felt strange to be that close to the water.

Along the way we saw a large group of geese. I am normally not a fan of birds, but there were goslings. Baby animals of all kinds are my favorite. Malakai really loved watching them search through the grass for worms. 

Although it was warm, it was very overcast which makes for great lighting for photos. We stopped several times along the way to take pictures.

I also took some photos of the scenery. This is McMenamins North Bank. McMenamins has unique restaurants spread out all over Oregon & Washington. We love them. There are 3 in Eugene, but North Bank is a favorite because of it's location right on the river.

This is Ferry Street Bridge. A main bridge to get from one side of the Willamette to the other. It goes right into the heart of Downtown Eugene.

On our way back we came across the geese again. This time they were hiding in some blackberry bushes behind the railings.

Aren't they so cute?!

We had such a good time getting some fresh air and experiencing new things and places with Malakai.

Sunday was a fun day as well, more on that tomorrow.