To Portland!

Joshua and I got back from Cancun on Tuesday at midnight and Wednesday just after lunch we loaded the kids up in the car and headed west. Joshua needed to do some work stuff in Seattle and Portland, and his grandmother and aunts and cousins live a bit southwest of Portland so we went on a working vacation. And his grandmother's sister, Auntie Mare, happened to be in town for a visit from Florida. We hadn't seen her in 9 or 10 years and she's a blast to hang out with so it was the perfect timing for a visit!

Carter warmed right up to Auntie Mare when she started chatting with him about his favorite game on daddy's iPad. Most everyone knows the game as Angry Birds, but Carter calls it "Pigs and Chickens." I caught this pic of him smacking his head saying "awww mannnnn!" when he didn't win the level. Auntie Mare got the biggest kick out of his reactions and the way that he can run that iPad better than most adults.

Joshua also enlisted Auntie Mare to teach him how to play Gin. She plays tournaments so she was an excellent teacher and it was quite amusing to watch the elder generation instruct the younger in the ins and outs of the srategy.

And while Daddy was learning to play cards, Carter and cousin Lexie played with nerf launchers in the front yard. Our kids don't get to spend too much time with their second cousins so it was really fun to watch Carter and Lexie pal around.

I'm quite tickled with this pic of Trevor and Andy playing catch. My camera is pretty slow, so it was awesome that I caught the nerf football mid air.

This next picture is mostly for Andy. As he hung out with our family that weekend, he was quite amused with Carter's attachment to his stuffed bunny rabbit and how Bunny has a personality all her own (puppeted by Carter, of course). Andy was cracking up at conversations like the following happen quite often...

(Carter is making Bunny do some crazy gyrations or making Bunny make loud obnoxious sounds that start to drive the rest of us nuts.)
"Carter, please stop making Bunny freak out."
"Mom, it's not me, it's Bunny doing it."
"Bunny, calm down now or you'll need a time out. Carter, you might want to remind Bunny the proper way to behave. I'd hate for her to end up in time out."
Carter whispers something in Bunny's ear and she calms down, at least for a while.

Well, this is what happens when Bunny doesn't heed our warnings to stop bothering siblings...time out on the dash of the car while cruising down the interstate.

Slighty road weary gazes, hopefully soon to be perked up after a quick run through the drive through of Carter's favorite restaurant "King Burger"!

The long drive home from Portland isn't terribly fun...all five of us and the dog packed into the cab of the pickup...but time passes a bit quicker when Daddy shares his iPad for a fun game of Pigs and Chickens. Brother and Sister try to jump in and give pointers, but Carter can pass levels that even Daddy can't so there's little need for their help haha!