The Giant Redwoods and the Coast

What a blast we had over spring break! We were able to take a mini vacation for a few days down to the Redwood Forest and the Northern CA coast. Krissy, Ray and their kids joined the fun, and we are so glad to have made the trip together! These are only SOME of the great pics taken of this highly recommended trip. If you haven't driven down the Avenue of the Giants through the Redwood forest - put it on the "things to do before I die list" because the majesty and beauty of these breathtaking giant trees is something not to miss. Just a recap of the fun we had: sleeping in our cozy camper (that actually had heat!), koa campgrounds, hot showers, huge huge stumps the kids could hide in (and get lost in), agate beaches, fun parks, Ocean World, petting real live sharks, pirates, eating out (literally), eating in (to get dry), lighthouse tour, wind, rain, sun, heat, hot chocolate, smores, crazy campers, ants in the cabin, tent city (never trust an "RV park"), happy kids, grumpy kids, playful kids, carsick kids (well just one), throwing a hat full of puke into the forest that splat on a tree, laughing, napping, Avenue of the Giants, hikes, Paul Bunyun, Babe, driving through a tree trunk (well watching Krissy and Ray drive through a tree trunk cause the truck was too wide), tree houses, more beach, more agates, tide pools, tire swings, where's Kate, grilled cheese on the beach, bags of rocks, bags of shells, pockets full of sand, cars full of dirt, souls full of happy memories. We sure loved it!

"Lamonia"

So tonight as we were finishing up at the dinner table I asked Porter, "So if people ask you why you were in the hospital what are you going to say?" He replied, "Lamonia." We all had to laugh. That was our weekend - a stay in the hospital while we tried to attack Porter's pneumonia. He had been sick all week last week - started a fever Saturday over a week ago. He just wasn't getting better - running high fever, coughing bad, labored breathing, throwing up, diarrhea, goopy eyes, the works. By Wednesday I brought him into our clinic here in Sisters - thought it could be pneumonia, but they couldn't yet hear any fluid in the lungs. Decided to treat the symptoms as a virus - but come Thursday his fever spiked back up to 104.3 and he had a horrible night - coughing, couldn't breath very well. We got him into the pediatrician on Friday - they tested his oxygen saturation level and it was at 82 (normal is upper 90's). After a nebulizer treatment, it was still only at 84 - they wanted to admit him. Long story a little shorter - chest x-ray showed pneumonia and we were not released until Monday morning! It was definitely a roller coaster - Porter is our more dramatic child when he is sick so you can imagine how he felt when he was not only miserable, but hooked up to an IV, oxygen tube, and probe to track his oxygen levels. The first genuine smile we saw was when his best buddy and cousin Josh and Aunt Trish visited and brought him balloons, yummy snacks, coloring book, and stuffed animal - he loved it. The second genuine smile was when he got the official OK from the Dr. to leave the hospital and go home! He is doing SO GOOD - but I'm not sending him back to school until next week so we can get his immune system stronger and energy back. Thanks for all your calls and prayers and concern for Porter and thanks to all our family who were able to help with the girls so we could be at the hospital 24/7 with Port. Lets pray for a much healthier spring!
(Didn't know Tiger Woods was a pneumonia model - gosh, what doesn't this guy do? hmmm, I think we know - be faithful!)

Dad's Tricky

Porter has had two wiggly bottom teeth for quite some time. I kept encouraging him to pull those babies out, but he did not have much desire to lose his precious pearlies. I could see the new teeth were growing in behind them - and getting pushed on weird, they were overdue to come out. So this past Sunday we were just finishing up with dinner and Peter had Porter on his lap inspecting those shark teeth. Peter pushed his finger against one of those wiggly teeth, it popped out into Port's mouth, he freaked, and spit it out! Peter snatched that tooth mid-air - like it was all some clever choreography! The whole thing made Port go a little ballistic, however we were able to convince him it would be a good feeling to get that other tooth out! With a little kleenex and a little tug - he had both teeth out in the same night!

Way to go Port! The Tooth Fairy is going to love those!

Snow......men?

We got a bit of snow last weekend and the kiddos had tons of fun playing in it. Peter even got caught up in the excitement so he, Port, and Kenna built this huge snowman. It wasn't complete until they made a Porter sized version - and they very fittingly named the two snow buddies "SnoPeter" and "SnoPorter" (Kenna came in after the big guy was complete, and my two "snow men" kept on a goin!) Gotta love it!

Grandpa turned 60!

About 2 weeks ago Papa Liddell turned 60! Krissy had the psychedelic idea to throw a "sixties" party for Grandpa, and a surprise party at that. To make things even more trippy Robin and her kids drove over for the big party to add to the surprise! Needless to say he was shocked and it was a great time. I think "costume of the night" award goes to Eric who came dressed to a T - Trish altered some sweet brown cords into bell bottoms, he had an orange flowery silky button up shirt, peace necklace, Lennon glasses, moustache, and short permed wig. Unfortunately I didn't get a good pic of him in full garb - so these are a couple good ones I did get.

We're glad you had such an awesome birthday Grandpa - you are truly one cool dude.

The Pajama Puppy Party

This year the girls had a joint birthday party! Charley's birthday is on Dec. 15th and Makenna's is on January 4th - and with all we had going on this year with the recital, traveling to Bellingham for Christmas, and just being crazy busy . . . we thought this would work super! Ever since August when we were together in Bellingham for the Hatch Family Reunion and threw a "puppy party" for cousin Emmerson's birthday, Charley hasn't stopped talking about it. Makenna was a good sport and went along with the idea for their joint party. Charley wanted to add a little twist to the idea and make it a pajama puppy party - I loved it! This fun event included everyone coming dressed in their pajamas, we made "real" puppy ears for all, we had puppy face painting,they got to decorate their own puppy collar, puppy paw nail painting for the girls and the boys came up with their own idea: they colored their palms with markers to look like dog paws! We had a puppy relay race - the two teams had to get all their dog bones from one dog bowl to the other - even Grandma joined in! The best thing about the whole party was how much all the kids got into character. For much of the night they were down on all fours, chasing each other, barking, and hiding under the kitchen table which was the dog house! We ended the evening of course with gifts, puppy cake, and everyone got to take home a "doggie bag" - full of trinkets and treats! We love you Makenna and Charley and hope you have many fun memories of your puppy party and turning 4 and 9 - can't believe you're getting so old! What would that make you in dog years?!

Charley turned 4!

Just wanted to take a little walk down memory lane and remember our precious moments with Charley as she's grown up. She was born December 15th in Pleasant Grove, UT. What a tiny little bundle of joy she started out to be and has turned into a joyful, funny, loving, animated, smart, energetic, thoughtful, sweet girl.

Her first days at home

Some fun moments in her first year

First time in the snow

First Halloween

Her first birthday!

Charley's 2nd Birthday!

Charley's 3rd Birthday!

And now look how big she's gotten!

For her birthday we had a little at home party and on Friday she and Makenna are going to celebrate their birthdays together with the rest of the family. So a post will be coming in the future on the "Pajama Puppy Party!" Here are a few shots from her party with Mom, Dad, Kenna, and Port:









We hope all your wishes come true!
Happy Birthday Charley girl! We love you!