"Super Jump Shoes"

Last week, Nolan was eagerly waiting for a very special package to be delivered via the Fed Ex man...

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This package being dropped off on our doorstep marked the end of a very long wait that started way before the Fed Ex man was involved...

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You see...Nolan has been saving his money for more than a year and a half for what he likes to call "Super Jump Shoes". This is no easy feat when you are his age. Somehow he stumbled upon an advertisement for these bad boys and just had to find out a way to get his hands on them.

(Just so you know...they did NOT cost as much as that web page states...nowhere near)

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When I took a gander at the advertisement for the powerisers I have to admit I was not thrilled with the idea of my baby bouncing around the hood in those death stilts. I immediately told myself that there would be no way he could save enough money to purchase them, it would take him forever and he'd lose interest by then for sure. That is where I was wrong.

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He's scrimped and saved so diligently that Connor told him that as an award for being such a good saver, we could help him out at least a little with the cost. WHAT? Um...I don't think this is such a good idea...death stilts for my Nolan? Uh-oh. Mom was totally vetoed and the next thing I know, the Fed Ex man was dropping off a package that Nolan pined for and I never wanted to see.

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After pulling them out of the box, we read the manual that was more of a legal statement saying their company would never be at fault for any damages or injuries, yada, yada, yada...

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But look at the look of glee on my son's face. He was stoked! He had imagined himself leaping across the backyard, bounding over fences, having the wind blow through his hair as he glides down the street.

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The first time he tried them on he was a little disappointed. There was no leaping, bounding, or gliding involved. We worked on balancing... One step at a time kiddo.
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But by day two I looked out the kitchen window to see this! He was meandering around the backyard! He looks like something out of a Star Wars movie. Some sort of android robot about to stalk Luke Skywalker or something.

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I was amazed at how fast he learned to balance and maneuver with those bizarre things attached to his legs.

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He's only fallen down a couple of times and I'm happy to report he's still kicking. It's no secret that I'm a huge worry wart when it comes to my kids so I'm glad Connor is around to balance me out. If it wasn't for him, they'd probably sit around covered in bubble wrap. :)

It's fun to watch Nolan enjoy his new super jump shoes so much. He really did earn them. Even if we did help him out a little, he stuck to his guns and saved almost every penny forgoing many eye catching toys at the toy store. He learned that saving for something is not easy, but can be very rewarding.

Lincoln City 2010

As most of you know, we like to head to the Oregon coast every August for a little relaxation vacation.

We usually head to Cannon Beach...AKA our second home.

But this year, I made the executive decision to try out a new locale. Let's just say I wasn't very popular when news spread of my poor decision.

We went a little farther south to the town of Lincoln City. I thought it would be fun to see some new sights and try new restaurants and shops. I'll be the first to admit that my choice was not a good one, and we will be going back to Cannon Beach in the future...Not that the beach wasn't beautiful. It was just harder to get to and flanked by ugly old motels. And the town had the main 101 highway streaking through the middle making it VERY unpedestrian friendly. That Highway is CRAZY busy ALL DAY LONG.
One bright spot in our week was the house we rented. It was very nice! The decor was inspiring and very comfortable...we felt right at home.

It had a great rec-room upstairs that came complete with a huge flat screen TV and this amazingly fun shuffleboard sand table. We must have played a hundred games of shuffleboard, it was addicting!

The first day was a tad windy and cloudy...perfect for Nick to give his parachute kite a try.

And who doesn't love a good game of sand soccer or tag on the beach?

Nick and Nolan are die hard wave jumpers. Let me just say, there weren't very many people in the water... But there were a lot of people on the beach looking at them like they were totally nuts.

Connor joined in the fun... Luckily, someone had to stay back to take pictures. :)

We headed to Newport which is a little farther south to check out their aquarium. It was one of the nicest aquariums we've been to. There are several of these tunnels to walk through.

I think my boys could have hung out at the touch tank all day long.

This is the piranha tank...and yes those are my kids inside. (A funny little capsule you could crawl into in the middle of the tank.)

SUNSHINE!

We had a couple of days of sunshine and boy what a difference that makes. The water is such a lovely shade of blue/green on sunny days.

Hazel was lucky enough to join us on this trip. She absolutely loved the beach... She could chase seagulls all day long. She did get a little tired of constantly running to keep all four of us herded together. (She's a Australian Shepherd) She doesn't like her flock to be too far apart!

Ahhhh....another successful trip.

The expressions on these faces pretty much sum up our vacation.

Well be back again next year!