Come on down to the State Fair!

Today we loaded the boys up into the van and scooted on down to the happiest place on Earth (Salem, according to Gabe) and took in the wonders of the Oregon State Fair. Ok, so first we stopped in Sherwood to get a new accessory for Max at Target - a Monkey backpack leash. Don't we already have both a monkey and a dog backpack you ask? Well, true, true, but we searched the garage about as much as we could without actually unpacking anything else, and they were nowhere to be found. Perhaps the thieves who stole John's old computer tower and our tent also took the backpacks...hey man, you never know when a leash shaped like a monkey might come in handy!

In any case, we got to the fair (eventually), and took the bold step of going somewhere BIG with all three boys and NO stroller for the very first time. Great place to train up Max on how to walk with the MonkeyPack... sink or swim, baby! Max actually did pretty well on the MonkeyPack, so long as we could keep Ben from grabbing the "tail" and shaking/pulling,twirling him about. The key with Max is to make him think he has more independence than he actually does - so he wears the pack but holds your hands, giving him the illusion that he's actually free to run off at any moment, so he stays with you our of the goodness of his little chubby baby heart...mostly. Whenever he would try to run off he'd discover that he was firmly attached to Mommy via the tail, and MAN was he every unhappy about that! But a few minutes of tickles to distract and forget, then it's back to our previously scheduled program of hand holding and walking while forgetting about the tail. And he LOVES his MonkeyPack, cuddles him in the carseat and coos to it...

After a good round of climbing on the tractor toys, we went off in search of the Powerland train display. We met a nice man who reminded us that the SteamUp is coming on September 24th so mark your calendars for free tractor/train/engine fun! The engineer dude in stripey overalls blew the steam whistle on an old timey tractor for us, which promptly ended out time at the Powerland display as both Gabe and Ben were (shockingly) in agreement that the whistle was too loud. When we turned to go, though, Gabe slid and fell, scraping his knee very badly (read, it was a little red and maybe a LIIIIIITLE bit of blood) so much drama ensued (insert crying, tears, screeching, threats-that-we'd-have-to-leave-because-we'd-have-to-go-to-Target-to-get-Bandaids). Finally, Gabe reluctantly agreed to move on, but insisted on holding up his shorts leg on that side so much you could practically see his underpants with every step. Pick your battles, right?

Gabe's name is on his right.
Ben wrote BEM over in the bottom left corner.



See the horrifying knee injury?



We graffiti'd a wall (allowed), then Gabe tried to graffiti Ben for pushing in on Gab'es wall photo (not so much allowed), then we all were a little overwhelmed so refreshment was sought. It came int eh form of gelato, which is a big deal around here as "Olivia goes to Venice" is just about the #2 book the boys love this summer, right after "Olivia and the Missing Toy". The plot involves a visit by piggy Olivia and her family to Venice, where they consume gelato every five minutes because Olivia is overcome by the beauty of Venice. Tourists! Always too much gelato!". So to say that Gabe and Ben were excited to find out that the ice cream stand in the artisian's village was actually gelato...understatement. Gabe wanted vanilla, and Ben wanted green, because there was a picture of green gelato on the front of the cart. They did not have green gelato. Ben decided that vanilla gelato was better than no gelato. But as the gal handed him his cup of gelato he said in an accusing voice, "Your picture has green gelato though!".  Point well taken, buddy, and at least the gal laughed about it. Ben didn't seem to mind once he was scarfing down his vanilla gelato however.

We decided to go to the Lego display they usually have in the 4-H building but they didn't have it this year. Someone said there was once two buildings over...but there wasn't. There was a display of already built legos int he arts hall, but this was also not satisfying to the boys. They refreshed themselves with free watermelon smoothies (watermelon and ice blended - how easy is that?), then we saw a sign for the Lego Ninjago tour! Awesome - count us in! After a bit of lunch and a pow-wow with Smokey the Bear where Ben held hands with Smokey like the bear was one of his friendly mannequins, off we went to check out Ninjago!

After a ten minute wait in the hot, hot sun to get in, it turns out the Ninjago tour is a 4 minute commercial for Ninjago toys in a very hot and poorly ventilated tent. The boys loved it. They stared at the screen openmouthed and practically drooling. I turned to John and said,  "We are in so much trouble." Gabe even helped scream NINJAGO! with the MC dude at the end. Gabe does NOT do class participation.

Then you are let loose into the "backyard" where you build a Ninjago fighter, which is basically a top with a Lego miniman on top. Then you "fight" by spinning your ninja top on a circular tabletop "on stage", meaning with a Lego employeed screaming, "1! 2! 3! NIN-JA-GO!" on a microphone 2 inches from your ear so you can't hear anything but her voice. Then after they do this three times you get to drag your screaming, irritated preschoolers over to the clear bin and force his clenched fist open to relinquish the awesome Ninjago Lego man and get a poster of Ninjago toys he can whine about owning all day long. Your 20 month old baby can now scream NINJAGO! Both older boys can't stop talking about which Ninjago dude they are going to be. And the kicker is that we checked at Freddy's on the way home and the Ninjago guys are $10 a piece...yes, a $10 Lego miniman with a detachable top runs 10 bucks each. Oh my gosh - trouble indeed.

We let the boys finish off the day with a trip to the petting zoo for Gabe and Ben, and to the BiMart toddler area of Max. Gabe was ticked off about that - he could not believe that he was too big to go into the toddler play area. He went off to feed goats with a very grumpy face, and Max was thrilled to have the toddler play area all to himself with no brothers. He played cars, slid on the tiny slide and read an ELMO book while sitting in an adult sized lawn chair - sweet! Gabe was still mad when he came back. But the promise of redeeming his free ice cream coupon at the big red barn on the way out brought back his smile, even if I will pay through the nose tomorrow for his bad food consumption today...with much whining about NINJAGO I'm sure. Guess we know what'll be on the boys' Christmas lists this year...and heaven help me as they play Ninjago spinning tops with their bodies...

Of course, it was totally worth the trip. On the way out, we passed the baby piggies again, and the boys were cooing over how cute and sweet they were, reminding us how cute and sweet the boys are. The older boys fell asleep on the way home from Salem, and Max sang happy babbling baby songs all the way to Wilsonville. For favorite things tonight it was only 80% about how cool Ninjago is and how Gabe is the Cole Ninjago and Ben in the blue Ice one who's name we don't know. They also enjoyed the gelato, the ice cream, making wood necklaces in Smokey the Bear land, and the baby chicks hatching from eggs. NINJAGO to all!

Cookie Making with our new friend, KitchenAid

On the last visit from the grandparents, they very generously brought an early Christmas present - a new KitchenAid Stand mixer. Now, I've been dreaming of one of these babies for a LOOOONG time, but never thought we'd actually have one. And now that we have one - it is SO worth it! Thanks so much to Grandma and Papa Coffman - we are going to use this mixer so much!

We broke it in on a batch of gluten free cookies. Yum. I know what you're thinking. We've been doing the gluten free thing for months now, and I've yet to find a truly good substitute for cookies. Since we're also low carb, it's not been too big a problem, but Gabe loves him a good old fashioned chocolate chip cookie, and the gluten free baked goods we've been making are definitely not that. I found this recipe from my new obsession, Pinterest, which led me to this blog post of awesome step by step pics on how to make these cookies. But you don't need step by step - it's so simple! The boys totally "helped" and we've made them twice since we found the recipe. Genius!







Ben right before he fell
off the step stool.



Awesome Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies1 cup butter (softened)

3/4 cup sugar (we're pretty much off the sugar, so we used sucanat)

3/4 cup brown sugar

2 eggs



1 tsp. vanilla

2 1/4 cup rice flour

1 tsp. baking soda

2 tsp. xanthan gum

1 tsp. salt

12 oz. choc. chips (or other variety)

 

Max crying, "Cookie! Cookie!" before
they were done baking.

 Cream the butter and sugars together. Add eggs and vanilla. Add in all dry ingredients - it might be a little wet, but don't add more flour. Scoop out onto baking trays and bake at 350 for 11 minutes - will look underdone, but stiffen up as they cool. Let cool on pans for 10 minutes, then move to trays to finish cooling. Try not to eat them all at once. Makes 4 dozen!

Pancake Breakfast

This weekend we hit the Tualatin Crawfish Festival Pancake Breakfast. This was a major treat for Gabe, as those of you who've heard me talk about the GAPS diet we're doing - pancakes are definitely not GAPS! But I was going to be headed off to a day long team meeting, so I figured if Gabe freaked out, it would be a good experience for John in understanding why I'm so committed to GAPS...  In the end they had a fab day, so I think that doing the GAPS is really starting to help heal our guts!

We hit the pancake breakfast at 7:30 when it opened, so our main company were a few of the hardcore boaters and the runners who were going to participate in a 5K race. Ben was fascinated by these folks who were RUNNING down the street early in the morning - how cool! We got through the race line up area and into line for pancakes. Ben was jumping up and down frantically screeching, "Pancakes, please!" repeatedly. The gal serving told him that he needed to eat some eggs and bacon too for protein. Ben replies, "Yes, it's very important to eat your protein." Guess the GAPS discussions are rubbing off on the kids...and he flabbergasted that gal going from crazy monkey to serious dietitian in a split second!

Everyone enjoyed their pancakes of course. They were small, so it probably wasn't such a huge excursion on the diet front as we had worried...and it was so nice to be sitting outside, enjoying breakfast by the lake. We'll certainly go back next year. Max was just thrilled they had Bacon - it's one of his favorite foods. Maybe one of these years Ben will be a runner too!

Kindergarten School Shopping

We were off to Target bright and early this morning to get our Back To School supply list filled. Gabe starts kindergarten September 6th. It's still weeks away but it feels like it's just too soon. Don't get me wrong - some days I'd love to send him off to school for a bit, but as the big day gets closer it feels like such a big turning point for him. Going to preschool wasn't as big a deal, I guess, and he is changing so much right now!

Here's Gabe with his new backpack. In the past there wouldn't have been any question - it was Buzz Lightyear all the way. And even though Gabe doesn't watch any superhero TV - never seen Spiderman, or Batman, or Ironman, it's like little boys have some kind of built in sensor that goes off and makes a biological imperative to love all things superhero. He knows how Spiderman throws his webs. He corrals Ben into attacking invisible villains. He protects Baby Max from the forces of evil. Where does he learn this stuff?

By the way, on a side note, apparently I am often a villain, as when I am not giving him his way, he often yells, "Bad Mommy! Eeeeviiiil Mommy!"  I'm trying not to take that too personally....plus I don't know too many 5 foot ex elementary music teachers who are addicted to scrapbooking, coffee, and Pinterest who qualify as a force of evil. Just saying....

In any case, Gabe thoroughly enjoys shopping his school supply list. What better way to spend the morning than hanging out at Target putting glue sticks into a shopping cart. Note that in choosing his new backpack he managed to get the only boy backpack on the aisle that is actually glittery. The fabric behind Spiderman is very sparkly, and even a rainbow colored sparkle. Sweet!

Ben got a new backpack as well. I wasn't planning on it, but he was starting to feel a bit left out as Gabe was "choosing" the items from his list:

Me: Do you want the red scissors or the blue?

Gabe: I Want Purple.

Me: They don't have purple.

Gabe: Yes, They do. They are right there. (Points to kid scissors costing 4.99. I am holding the 50 cent sale scissors.)

Me: Those are only for kids who are ten and older. Now, red or blue?

Eventually Ben made it known that he needed school supplies too. Now, considering he's not going to preschool, nor has he had a dry underpants day in, well, what seems like forever, I think his point was debatable. But it did seem unfair that I ended up taking him on a shopping spree just for Gabe, so Ben got his own new Lightning McQueen backpack and a 20 cent pencil sharpener. He took an unreasonable liking to the pencil sharpener, especially considering that he A) doesn't know what a pencil sharpener is, and B) it's not his favorite color (green). There was a green one, but he inexplicably chose red. Hey, man, I didn't argue with this face. He hugged the sharpener all the way through the shopping and up to the checkout line. Any 20 cent item that can get him to sit quietly in the cart through 30 minutes of shopping can come home with us anytime! 

Luckily Max was asleep, since he now echos everything the big boys say. Tonight at dinner I laid the plates on the table and MAX screams out "keee-puuup", which is 18 month old for ketchup. Really? Man do they ever learn fast. Perhaps by next week Max will be Perler beading alongside Gabe too. Until next time...

National Night Out

We had such a fun night out with our friends, the Webbers! They invited us to attend the National Night Out festival in Forest Grove. The city departments host the event there, police, fire, water, etc... and it's such a wonderful event.

The boys slid on a bouncy slide (even Max - that pic of a boy climbing is BABY Max!), jumped in a bounce house, ate popcorn and hot dogs and cake, got their faces painted, won prizes at little games, got balloon swords...it was all so exciting. We even got a surprise visit from our other friends Tina and Nathan.

To finally put us over the top with happiness, the fire department brought out a fire truck...and sprayed water from the top of the huge ladder so that the street was bathed in a gentle rainy mist, perfect for our web footed Oregon children. A good time was had by all - thanks for inviting us, Webber Family!