Erika's Visit (Part 1)

I knew that after the fun of visiting Idaho/Utah we would all be tired; tired of the car, tired of travelling, and simply tired from lack of sleep. So Mike and I decided to see if my niece Erika could help me on the drive back and then stay and play for a while . Her parents were good enough to oblige, and I will forever be grateful for it. The drive home was pretty good all things considered. Erika was a huge help not only with the boys, but with keeping me awake by providing great conversation, funny stories, and a willingness to sing songs with me. We obviously made it alive, but with zero energy left and for the next 2 days we would recuperate by sleeping in, reading books, catching up on tv, sleeping some more, etc, etc.

Then the fun REALLY started:
TUES: We eased into things by going to the park, making cookies and catching up on tv shows.

WED: We stepped things up a notch by going to Harry Potter & the Half Blood Prince. We enjoyed it immensely - like most, I didn't care for the ending, but I am okay with it being different than the book and I am eagerly looking forward to the next two movies. When we got home, my friend Theresa had the boys all dressed and ready to go swimming in her kiddie pool. Rather than intrude on her longer (the movie is already 2.5hrs) Erika and I decided to suit up and take the boys "swimming". This basically ends up being one consecutive trip after another up the stairs and down the slide, so we got our exercise and the boys had a blast. We topped the night off with $5 Little Caesars and TCBY ice cream (did you know every Wednesday is "Waffle Cone Wednesday" and their waffle cones are only 99cents?!)

THURS: We decided to go check out Portland. As usual I had much more on the agenda than is possible if you don't have the utmost perfect sense of how to get around the stinking city. Just like every other time I have gone to Portland, we ended up getting lost, having to call Mike for help, getting stuck in traffic, and yet having a wonderful time. I just kept telling Erika it was all part of the Portland experience - I'm pretty sure by the end of it she was glad to be from Idaho though. :D What we DID get to see was the Portland Temple, The Candy House, and the view of all of Portland by way of the Tram. It was at this point that Erika had a teenage boy fall madly in love with her and follow her around like a little puppy dog just to get another look. He nearly trapped us in the corner of the second floor, but thanks to a quick escape through the outdoor garden we were able to avoid too much embarrassment. :0)

From Erika's Visit Blog

(Side Note: I was pretty impressed with myself when I took this picture. Thanks Mikey for teaching me about proximity to my subject.)

FRI: On Friday we decided to read some more (Erika brought me some great, silly romance books and I got her hooked on the "These Is My Words" set) and chill out. We wanted to go see Multnomah Falls, but wanted to be able to enjoy it without dragging the boys along. So when Mike got home, Erika and I set out for some exercise and silly girl time.

From Erika's Visit Blog

It was fun to hike all the way to the top since I have never had the opportunity in all of the times I have been to Multnomah. We had a great time taking lots of fun pics, talking about boys, and enjoying the awesome weather and beautiful nature. When we reached the top there wasn't a soul in sight to take a picture of us so we had to try and take one by ourselves. After about 100 failed attempts and lots of giggling, this is what we ended up with:

As you can see, by this point in Erika's visit the silliness had set in full force. Mike was such a trooper to put up with so much estrogen (although he will be the first to tell you that he loved having Erika here and would love to have a girl someday). And I loved every single minute that I was getting to spend with my niece. I remember being in her exact position: the family member that is young and flexible and more than willing to babysit or travel or sit around and do nothing, just for the experience. I have so many great memories of being the "extra help" on trips for my older siblings, and it was fun to be on the other end of things and be able to provide fun things to do. I also loved all the girl time that we had, the silliness and girly late night talks and all the other stuff that goes along with having another girl in the house. Mike is not the only one that would gladly add a girl to our family.
(Stay tuned for Erika's Visit Part 2)