The Cook Family Adventure Blog: 2022 Fall and Holidays

Well - It's fall 2022 and into the Holidays. Writing this a bit late, but going to hit the highlights as we catch up. The kids are a AMAZING! Elliot is growing into a caring and thoughtful big sister, Weston is helpful, curious and energetic and Fiona is a force to be reckoned with - determined never to be left behind!

Crystal and Mac got away one sunny day to hike the Paradise loop from Timberline lodge. It was 11 miles with a lot of up and down and the sun shirts really show how sunny the whole thing was! It was get away for a day and we are trying to do more of this.

Berries, berries and more berries on Sauvie Island. Fiona ate so many she could barely move! As the COVID pandemic began to wind down (!) we found ourselves bursting out of quarentine with years of pent-up energy!

And TONS of creativity. Elliot is a motivated dancer, learning to love music and self-expression. This was a dress she designed and made herself from packing material!

A visit to the Sunflower farm really highlighted to all of us exactly how huge these flowers really are! Wes and Dad together are probably 9 feet tall and barely up to the bottom of the blossom. This was a great day at the farm. The kids loved running through the flower landscape, exploring and adventuring. They are getting big enough that they can start to play together and make up fun games and adventures.

They are super cute, to be sure, though this photo took a bit of prompting and bribing to accomplish.

Big girl turns three!! Fiona is really coming into her own! She is spunky, funny, curious and really a great communicator. She is rough and tumble with Wes and snuggles right down for a book when it is reading time. She is learning to love Magna-Tiles and is going to get working on her scoot bike. This is still a little anxiety provoking for her, but she DOES NOT want to be left behind and so is working hard to keep up. She is our best sleeper, by far, and LOVES a good night-time snuggle.

We had her birthday off from work and so took a parent adventure up to Mt. Hood with Fiona. Her first big hike with just us two and you can see how happy she is to have a little focused parent time. She has a wonderful laugh and a truly impressive sense of humor that we are just starting to really appreciate.

Helping make the cake with mom! Fiona LOVES to help mix!

We made our planned trip out to Cook's camp in Maine for Cook's camp Olympics! The Cook cousins are really growing in number and it was great to see Wes and Ben really get to know each other while Fiona and Maggie kept a wary eye but were happy to follow Elliot around.

Culminated in a cousins camp-out in the woods. Hard to see, but off to the left is Grandpa's cot. He slept out there with them but out under the stars (and mosquitos!)

No trip to Maine would be complete without a trip to the play museum. Elliot is developing a passion for all things nature - animals, plants, trees etc. She loves learning about them, loves asking questions and can't get enough!

Loon and Moose shirts tie-died to match our teams. Crystal was the Olympics organizer and kicked off the week with Tie-dying and color coordination to help keep us all straight. This was a family hike to the top of French's mountain near Grandma and Grandpa Cook's house. It was great to have all 14 (!) people together (you can see little Nora asleep in Betsy's arms).

Swimming, swimming and more swimming!! Smiley Fiona strikes again! She is fundamentally a happy kid who loves to laugh, joke, explore and entertain!

We do also provide healthcare for our kids - here are brave Wes and Fiona at the dentist. They have such a positive attitude about new things!

Farmer's markets are one of the great joys of Portland Summer and no Farmer's market would be complete without smoothies! The kids love getting out in the Bunch Bike and now that Fiona is big enough to be out of the child seat, it is even easier to get them out and around!

Start of the school year!! Elliot is a big second grader and ready to take on the year! She was really excited about starting and this really was the first "normal" year that she has had at Alameda. With Kindergarten disrupted by the pandemic completely and then first grade in the weird grey area between pandemic and "new normal" it was nice to have calm, normal, planned start to the year. Elliot is really turning into a strong student with a love for learning and a desire to be a friend and an includer. While Ms. Largo's class was big - it is a great school for her!

A few days later Wes was at it as well! First day of Kindergarten in teacher Vicky's class. He was a bit hesitant at first, but could hardly contain himself when he was in the room and getting going! While we were a bit anxious about how he would adapt to the new school environment, he seems to be doing FANTASTIC! He listens, follows the rules, is excited about learning and a good friend.

Cutie Patooties going to school together! They are so excited about joining each other on the walk to school, it is a joy to see them grow into such motivated a capable learners.

After a mere 4 days of school, it was time for a long weekend! We planned a backpacking trip to Mt. Rainier National Park. We didn't totally understand that Packwood would be PACKED with people as it was a major Flea market day. Either way we had some burgers, ice cream and watched some live music on the day we drove up.

The whole gang at the beginning of the hike up to Glacier Basin. Dad's pack is a bit smaller this year thanks to a new tent!

We made it!! The kids did great on the hike! Elliot and Wes carried their backpacks all the way and Elliot has a brand new real backpacking backpack. Fiona was a trooped and in between naps on Crystal's back, she was trucking up the trail! The hike up was fueled by gummy worms, skittles and M&Ms. The kids would run a bit up the hill, stop for treats and then start running again! They are joy to see in the nature - curious, brave and encouraging to each other. They love hiking and getting out into the wilderness and, as long as their bellies are full, are a joy to go camping with.

We camped at Glacier basin which is at the bottom of a long glacial valley with the left over rocks of a retreating glacier. There was fine glacial mud everywhere and that was LOT of fun to play with. We had a bit of time to kill in camp and we all enjoyed playing with the mud in our fingers and toes.

And some people had to take an emergency nap because they had too much fun! Fiona was a consistent trooper on the hike. She has developed an endearing habit of asking for naps when she is tired. "Dad...can I go to sleep" and the BAM passing out when you giver her permission. It is something neither of the older kids did and is really pretty sweet.

Dinner of Mountain House meals on the rocks. They eat A LOT when we backpack!

Tent snuggles, kindle reading (Dragon Masters" and parent time!!

We camped two nights at the same place and took a day hike up to a high ridge. Beautiful open mountain country. The kids loved it and it was just stunningly gorgeous.

All good things come to and end, but Elliot looks good hiking out with her real backpacking backpack! She was adamant about carrying her sleeping bag and clothes!

Very photogenic!

Probably can go on the calendar!

Not to be outdone by her siblings, Fiona started at ABC this year! The comedian part of her future career plans really holds true - she is FUNNY! She has an infectious giggle and a true desire (and skill) to make other people laugh. Like the other kids, she started at ABC when she was three, going 2 days a week. She LOVES woodshop and while the farm isn't happening this fall - we are crossing our fingers for the spring!

So supportive!

Tuesday and Thursdays its a whole family outing on the way to school! Down the hill to Alameda and then back up the secret stairs to ABC.

Big girl! Off she goes! She has seen Wes go so much that she was more than ready to head in herself! She could barely wait and practically ran into school on her first day!

Cool dude swinging out back! Fiona is as physical as Wes at this age and loves to run, jump, swing and play!

Sometimes it is hard to make coffee in peace.

Where does the year go! It is already time for Halloween! Matching jeans and shirts make for a great picture! Elliot loves to help her younger siblings though Wes is increasingly independent and Fiona is just happy to be along on an adventure!

Kindergarten field trip to the pumpkin patch and a special Wes pumpkin!

Apple picking outside of Hood River! A crisp fall day and Elliot Showing off her gymnastic skills!

Apples are good!

They keep getting bigger and bigger!

School photo day! These turned out really well - how about that for Kindergarten and 2nd Grade!

Elliot was also active and loving her girl scout troop this year! She became a brownie and really started to integrate well into the group of girls! Crystal helped out with adventures and they REALY love it! Wait until cookie season!!

Soccer was also an important part of the fall with Elliot part of the "Fierce Fairies" coached by our friend Maite and including many of Elliot's friends. Elliot really loves to play defense and gets excited about stopping people coming to score - less so about scoring herself. She is a big booster of her team mates and really enjoys the team and social environment.

There was a chance to Weston's guitar teacher this year as Andy went back to school and we started off with teacher Julia. He was a diligent little guitarist and really was working hard at his concerts. He thrives on attention and praise and focusing on the rewards for his efforts is key!

Pumpkin carving (it was cold and rainy and so we carved pumpkins inside this year!)

Another costume win from Crystal!! The kids have been listening to "Greeking out" which is a podcast retelling classic Greek myths. They LOVE it and so we have spent a lot of time talking about gods, goddesses and monsters - thus we present the Pantheon!!!

Zeus!!

Eros!!

Persephone!!!

and then Athena and Hermes to round it out!!

A few people still doing slide candy this year. The kids were INTO IT!!! A cold rainy weekday night couldn't keep them down and they were charging around the neighborhood with the whole gang!! They loved their costumes and loved the idea that candy was just THERE!!!

The whole alameda neighborhood gang! A group of families we met through Elliot's kindergarten class that has grown and now is a core of neighborhood parents and kids who are just fantastic to be around.

Sleepy Madison. We love her so much!

Jumping in leaves!!

We were able to travel home to Wisconsin for Thanksgiving and started off right by hitting the ice!! While are kids may not be expert skaters - they LOVE it and were right out there trying and having a blast!

Paige was a huge help with Fiona!! Fiona loved her big cousin so much and loved riding around the blue seal!

Zoo lights at the Madison Zoo.

This was the beginning of Weston's OBSESSION with Power Wheels! He drove him and Fiona all the way from the Ruppel's to a Dunkin Doughnuts - probably about a 1/4 of a mile, laughing the ENTIRE way there. He loved it so so so so so so much! I have rarely seen this kid happier.

We also found time to run the 5K turkey trot on Thanksgiving morning. It was a bit chilly but we had fun!!

Cousin time!

OMG - it is Christmas time already!!! No snow yet though.

This is a great family picture. What you can't see is that it is freezing cold and raining a little bit and Wes had just run away into the forest of trees behind us and was hiding. We didn't know where he was for a concerningly long period of time. We are impressed this photo turned out so well.

Yes - he can take good pictures when he wants to!

Great pose! She loves having her picture taken!

This feels right somehow.

As we got ready to say goodbye to Marina, who took over for Lina, we headed out to iFly Portland again and, this time, everyone got to fly!! An indoor skydiving place, the kids LOVED it!!!

As part of an early Christmas present, we took a trip to Disney Land, a trip that was total surprise to the kids - even when they got all dressed up in princess dresses and we could barely contain ourselves.

This was the Spiderman ride as Disney - it was COOL! There were 3-d robot spiders that had gotten out of control and you had to shoot webs from your hands (somehow the compute sensed them) in order to destroy them. It was SO MUCH fun!

We also hit all the old classics - Dumbo!

Teacups (not Mac, he got coffee and couldn't even watch the spinning)

and the new Star Wars Ride!! In this one you flew a millennium falcon and Fiona / Elliot were pilots while Wes / Mac were gunners and Crystal was an engineer. Not exactly sure what was going on the whole time, but we were all yelling and laughing, there were blinking lights and everyone had fun!

Adventure at Disney!!

After a concern from the kids that we didn't have enough Princess time, we sprung for the princess breakfast. This was WAY better than we had hoped for. Elliot and Fiona were dedicated to their princess dresses while Wes really wanted to come, but as Spiderman. They were really, into it and the unlimited desert tray during breakfast didn't hurt.

Aurora!

Ariel

and Christmas day!!! Look at all that red and white and matching pajamas!! Santa came again this year and with a really well decorated tree!

We were lucky enough to have Boni out for Christmas to join us and so pleased the kids got to spend Christmas day with one of their grandmothers!

Who thought it was good idea to give Wes a hammer and a saw?!? (jk....it was us)

There was a lot of snow this winter and we were up tot he mountain a lot. This was during a sledding trip. Wes found a little igloo.

and Fiona loved it!! She is an adventurous spirit who isn't afraid to strike out on her own! She loves her sibling and very much wants to keep up. This deteriorated rather quickly into a combination snowball fight and wrestling match...then dad got snow down his jacket ;(