A few years ago we spent spring break at the Oregon coast in an attempt to see whales. Well the weather was horrible and we saw nothing but wet. In spite of this, we decided to go look for Grey Whales at the coast again this spring break.
Another incentive on this trip was a chance for Greg and I to attend the Portland temple. The Boise Temple has been closed since last summer so we have made visiting temples a priority in our travels. The Portland Temple was the 8th temple we have been in since July(Boise, St. George, Draper, Columbia River, Boston, Twin Falls,LA, Portland). It has been so wonderful to enjoy the different beauties of each of these amazing buildings.
We arrived in Portland late Wednesday night after a rather uneventful car drive. Andrew saw an animal that he didn't think was a house cat so he convinced himself it was a bobcat. The rest of us weren't quite so gullible. The last thirty minutes of the drive were spent trying to keep Emily from screaming. We tried singing to her and soon learned that "Itsy Bitsy Spider" and "There Was A Little House in the Middle of the Woods" created calm, while "Teach Me to Walk" and other song routinely sung at bedtime, caused screaming that could break ear drums. We were glad to get to the hotel.
Greg and I took turns going to the temple the next morning, then headed to the OMSI. The huge science museum kept everyone busy for hours. Natali loved the exhibit with fetuses from every week of pregnancy (This was the only thing I remember from visiting this museum in my youth - even more fascinating as a mother). Mack loved the Lego exhibit that had huge Lego sculptures. Andrew loved the earthquake simulator. Kate playing in the childrens' play area and Emily loved pushing the stroller and exerting her willpower.
Then we headed to the coast hoping for clear skies. Friday morning no boats were going out so we enjoyed the hotel pool. Natali swore that she packed her swim suit, but it mysteriously wasn't in her suitcase. So she rented Mack's suit and a soccer jersey for 50 cents. He wore his pajama shorts.
The Newport Aquarium was so fun. Emily walked around saying "Fishy, Fishy, Fishy". We could hardly keep up with her. They have one building with a number of different tunnels of glass ( I'm not sure how to describe them). There is glass all around you with fish swimming above, below, and on each side. It was amazing. The shark tunnel was by far the favorite.
You've probably noticed the lack of pictures. Let's just say I have a hard enough time keeping track of 5 kids so if Greg doesn't bring the camera, we don't have pictures.
That night Greg and I checked the weather. Our boat trip seemed unlikely and we started thinking of heading out first thing in the morning to go to the zoo in Portland before heading home. Well we slept in, ate our breakfast and started preparing to head to Portland. As an after thought, I checked the weather again. It looked like the afternoon might clear up. So we hung around the coast until we got a confirmation that a boat would be going out. So within an hour, we were on a boat.
Honestly, I never really thought we would make it on the boat, so I failed to take Dramamine - big mistake. I was sick before the shore was out of sight. The two little girls were scared and snuggled in close to me. I got real comfortable on my bench holding a sleeping Emily on my chest with one arm and my other arm holding my barf bucket. Kate fell asleep laying on my legs. The girls slept the majority of the two hour boat ride; I was sick the whole time. But the worst part was that Andrew got sick. You know that boy is really in pain when animals are being sighted and he doesn't even try to get up and see them. The poor boy was so disappointed that he missed the whales. Luckily, Mack seemed impervious to sea sickness, standing at the bow of the boat the entire time. Natali felt a little sick and Greg said he had never seen waves that big. They enjoyed the whale sitings but we won't be signing up for another ocean voyage any time soon.
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| Emily, on the boat, before we set sail. |
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| The boys, land still in sight. |
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| Sea Lions - the only wild life Andrew saw before he lost it on the deck and took to his sick bed. |
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| A whale tail. Proof that some people saw whales. |
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| There is a whale in this picture - just under the water of that little white cap. |
The amazing thing about motion sickness is the instant relief you feel when you stop moving. However, as we learned, if you continue moving, even if much less violent, the motion sickness seems to return. After the boat ride we loaded up and started driving home. Well I was pretty miserable, keeping my eyes glued to the road, but I failed to think of Andrew. He managed to get most of the barf on the plastic mats, my arm, and Mack's snuggle blanket. We were laughing so hard to keep ourselves from crying or gaging as we cleaned up the barf. We decided to get a hotel room and do a little laundry that night.
We had a great trip but we're thrilled to be home, out of the rain, and on solid ground.
I had a great time watching them explore everything. They were very interested in the white granite, but I think they learned more about parking meters than anything else. Andrew had so many questions about why you put in money, what happens if you don't, and loved to comment on the status of everyone else's meters. It was so funny.
Then we picked Greg up from the airport (yea!) and headed to the skating rink.
Natali's roller blading paid off and she took off with confidence.
Kate's skates only touched the ice from the stroller - shocker!
Andrew borrowed the ice walker and did fine, as long as he held on tight.
Mack took off with his usual "can do" attitude and managed pretty well.
Emily loved these sunglasses for a few days.
Yummy frosting!
Emily loves snow. It was one of her first words. When she sees it, she beelines for her snow boots. It didn't actually snow much this year but of course one day it did Emily had been crying all day with (I would find out later) a sinus infection and bronchitis. Sick or not, when she saw the snow all was forgotten and out we went. She walked around it in and let me push her in the stroller so she could look at it. It was the happiest she had been in days. However, when Kate and I were ready for lunch, Emily would not come in. I was pretty miserable with my own cold and was not staying in the snow any longer. She screamed in the garage for 15 minutes, refusing to come inside. She eventually stopped screaming when I put her in the stroller. And there she stayed outfitted with all the snow gear. She wouldn't get out or let us take off the gear and so she napped there. It must have been warm.
