Reunion in Oregon, part 1

After living abroad for close to a year, and returning to California for a month and a half immediately following our adventure, we figured it was probably about time to make a trip up to Oregon to see our family. ;)  In all seriousness, a reunion with each of our family members was highly overdue and we were blessed to be able to spend some vacation time with them.   We had a late flight on July 3, so the real fun began on the 4th.  This seemed so fitting and comforting to me, to be back in my home country, celebrating our freedom while reuniting with family all at the same time.  [insert heartfelt music here]

We were welcomed with delightfully warm and sunny weather for the duration of our trip, and many of our days were filled with water play of some kind.

As soon as breakfast was over, Uncle Seth wasted no time filling up water balloons.

Geoffrey was into them.

I mean, he was way into them!

My soul-sister, April, who just so happens to be my sister-in-law.  So blessed.

Like I said, much of our vacation was spent with water play in some form or another.  Grandpa Dale just had the need to get wet, in full clothes.  Don't ask why.  Ask, why not?

Coming down is the best part!

I was finally able to meet the newest Himes' family member, my niece, Leilani (Brant met her on his brief trip to the states last February).  She stole my heart immediately.

It was noticed that several of us were wearing patriotic colors, this being the 4th of July and all.

Happy to be home!

We couldn't get by for long without some extra goofiness settling in.

We had a wonderful day, filled with laughter, catching-up conversation, outdoor games, water fights, bbq and togetherness.  Brant's cousin, Gavin, made a surprise appearance that afternoon, as he was in town for a visit from Hawaii.  We haven't seen him for many years, so this was a treat.

Grandpa Doug, Gavin, and Uncle Steve, enjoying the food.

Real-live baby doll.  So adorable!

Back-yard-o-fun!

Justin, Zoie and Amber

This kid was told to sit down before going down the slide, many times...but somehow, he always managed to sneak one of these moves in.  :)

Brant and Gavin - both doctoral students.  They had plenty to talk about together. 

Dusk settled in, after what seemed like forever, and we began to slowly bring out the sparklers, as a prelude to the firework show.  This was Maddie's and Geoffrey's very first experience with sparklers.  Brant was a bit on the edge of his seat, seeing Geoffrey wave around a fiery stick in the air.  I, on the other hand, must have been too relaxed to care...especially when the next morning I discovered a quarter-sized hole in Maddie's nightgown, and had failed to see any potential problems that night.  Oops.

See?  They're fine.

Love.

After the sparklers were dwindling down, Justin began to light a few small, but noisy, ground fireworks.  Geoffrey perked up, quietly and quickly walked inside, and returned with these.

We always knew he was a problem solver!

Cousins, lined up and ready for the show!  (Geoffrey kept his headphones on for at least 15 minutes.  He was happy.)

Grandma and Grandpa, with Leilani, on her first 4th of July - she's in her pajamas and about to go to bed, but it still counts!

Himes' cousin love.  Geoffrey has to make sure Maddie is cool with this, so he can be cool with it.  Just checkin' in.

Adalie and Maddie

Let's get this party started!  (The headphones have moved off the head, but hands are there to protect, just. in. case.)

We had quite the line-up for our private show!  Thanks again, Justin!

Love this girl.

The three oldest girls sang a song about the US Presidents to kick things off.  My kids?  Well, they just fell in line because they didn't know any better. :) 

Protective daddy.

I don't know what he was worried about!! 

We had a very special, albeit short, weekend with the Himes' crew.  Although there are no pictures of the rest of our time together that weekend, it was memorable and cherished.  The kids and I were able to spend some more time with some of the family later on in our visit.  Stay tuned for a later post on that!

"Bring your own wheels!"

For Maddie's birthday party this year, we tried hard to link some of our experiences from the Netherlands into a theme.  Tulips? Delft blue? Wooden shoes? Windmills? There are plenty of ways to decorate with a Dutch theme, but making the party into a theme that is fun for a 5 year old was a bit of a different story.  I thought about it for awhile when we were still living in Kampen, really wanting to bring a piece of the Netherlands back over for her party, when it finally hit me.  What does Maddie enjoy doing the most in Kampen?  Riding her bike.  And a theme was born.

We threw a "bring your own wheels" party, where party guests were asked to bring whatever riding wheels they desired, from bikes, scooters, wagons, tricycles, etc.  The party scene was not decorated to look like the Netherlands, but the idea was for Maddie to partake in an activity she loved so much with her friends back home.  We set up a bike decorating station, complete with streamers, balloons, license plates, stickers and baskets - just like we had in Kampen.

We also made sure to have a "refueling station" for everyone to stay hydrated.

At one end of the driveway, we designated a spot just for bike parking.  Geoffrey was ready to set the example for this one - with his new-to-him balance bike he got just in time for Maddie's party!

We were blessed to be able to have Maddie's party at the house we are currently living at.  Right next to the house, is a very large greenbelt, which was where the second half of our party activities took place.  We had all sorts of food goodies on hand beneath some shady trees.

"Stop-light Skewers" (strawberries, pineapples, kiwi chunks)

An assortment of "Biker Snacks" to munch on.

"Bike Streamer Pasta Salad"

"Wheelie Wraps" (turkey, lettuce, cheese, tomato, avocado wraps)

The idea of having all of the food located down in the greenbelt, away from the driveway was due to the fact that we had rented a bounce house for the party, and it was going to be set up in that location.  (This is where I become a little crabby when talking about the party...)  Our rental was supposed to begin at 9:30am (the party started at 10), however, the crew did not show up until 11:15 (party was set to "end" at noon).  I had conversed with them on the phone several times that morning, not a happy camper, and after they arrived, we managed to get a bit of a discount on the original rental price for the delay (and the bounce house remained until 6pm).  The kids were very curious where the rumored bounce house was, but were also happy as can be decorating bikes and riding around the cul-de-sac.

All sorts of wheels came along to ride.

Bicycles! Bicycles! Bicycles!

When other people bring bikes around, they always seem to be more appealing than your own "new" bike.  Oh well. :)

Maddie's gifts even had their own set of wheels.

The positive side to the bounce house being delayed was that it gave the kids a chance to play on their bikes for awhile.  As soon as the truck pulled up with the delivery, all the kids bee-lined it down to grassy area for the big reveal (I kept my mouth shut as to what the bounce house would look like).

It's sort of difficult to see, but I love Geoffrey's expression as the house is being inflated.

Maddie with Audrey, one of her besties, who she met last year in preschool.

A pink castle!  Maddie immediately exclaimed, "How did they know I love pink castles??" :)

Ariel view from the driveway above.  

The bounce house was an anticipated success.

Many of the adults even took turns bouncing and playing around with the kids. (It was a lot of fun!)

After we bounced for awhile, Maddie opened some gifts her friends had blessed her with, and then we enjoyed some cake.  I did not make the dessert this year (which is a first for me), but we were delighted with our choice from our local store.  Maddie chose the cake, which was vanilla with big strawberries in the center, and we both decided upon a cake with pretty tulips on the top.  The only thing that was not made clear to me when I ordered it was how they were going to write a message.  I've never seen it done this way, which was sort of silly, but they wrote the words on plastic and placed it over the top of the entire cake.  So, you sort of have to look closely to see the design underneath.  Looking back, I would have just had them forget the writing all together.  It still tasted great!

I placed a small bicycle I had found, just on the edge of the cake (there was almost no room because of those plastic sheets!).

Tulips, in honor of the Netherlands.

Group picture of most everyone (minus a few of the little ones).

Maddie's bashful look, as everyone is singing to her.

She asked all of her friends to help her blow out the candles. :)

Hooray!

This one also makes me laugh - after the first round of applause, she turns to her friends to clap for them for doing such a great job with all the candles!

All of the kids were given a little token of thanks for being Maddie's friends and special guests for her big day.  It was a waterbottle, with sunglasses, a bouncy ball and stickers.

We had an assortment of friends who either left or stayed around for a better part of the afternoon.  It was great, because we had the bounce house available for several hours, giving kids lots of time to play.

Geoffrey and Dean (just a few months older), exploring in the red wagon.  

Maddie and Audrey, who stayed to play for awhile, helping to make this "the best day ever!"

Our obligatory family pose after a birthday party.  These two little monkeys keep getting older and bigger and better!!

Happy 5th Birthday, Maddie Mae!! May this year bring you to new experiences, bigger blessings, profound discoveries and deeper love, compassion and joy towards all who have the pleasure of meeting you.