Appreciating T & T

A few months ago, Tom and Tilly retired as pastors of the Coast Vineyard Christian Fellowship, a church they started and built. (Apparently even Dylan played a role as a teenager in hammering things together and stuff.) The church held an appreciation brunch for them this past Saturday, and when Dylan finagled his way into a rare couple of days off, we knew we could not miss the opportunity to be a part of this special day.

It goes without saying that traveling by air with Gavin gives me nerves. I'll almost be relieved when we are forced to pay for a ticket for him just to have that extra seat to accommodate all the movement and shenanigans. Gavin, however, pleasantly surprised us by being the most well-behaved he's ever been on the flight to Portland, and he even slept for a half hour! After battling another epic tantrum just two days before and skipping his nap that day, I just kept thinking it would be a total disaster. I'm so glad I was wrong.

Gavin climbing in the dog toys the morning before we flew.

He loves his personalized pirate from Nonna and Papa!

Something so unexpected I had to capture a photo. 

Learning elephant noises from Uncle Jace. I've rarely seen him laugh so much.

We had a great night at Tess's house in Portland and even visited Mik at her bakery job. The next morning was up and at 'em early. Like 3:15am early. Gavin was totally ready to party, and he didn't sleep again until about 9am on our drive to the coast. We were at the church with all of the Miller siblings when Tom and Tilly arrived, and they were so surprised and totally happy to see us. At least, I think they were. Gavin was kind of loud during the brunch, but we found the toddler room and partied there for a little while, and all was well. Everyone did a fantastic job making Tom and Tilly feel special and appreciated. It was really wonderful to hear the stories and witness all the love and support shared by all the people whose lives they've touched. The afternoon was spent as a family at the Millers' house enjoying the great weather. I even participated in some game-playing at night for a few minutes before my body reminded me that I had been up since 3:15 and went into shut-down mode somewhere around 9.

A couple of cute little cousins.

Donkey kicks on a trampoline.

Few things beat driving a green tractor with Grandpa pressing the gas pedal with a golf club.

Grandpa is so fun!

We fit in a couple more hours of family time on Sunday before the family headed to church and D, G & I headed to Stumptown. Because we knew it would be a long day, we planned for a few extra minutes to let Gavin run around a park to burn off some steam before heading to the airport. The flight home, though not a complete disaster, was certainly a 2-person job that did not win us any friends. Gavin kept up his incredible streak of making a doody in his diaper at 36,000 feet. And I kept up my incredible streak of not taking care of it, as Dylan is much more equipped to deal with uncomfortable situations than myself, Ms. Nervous Nelly. Also, Gavin thrashes about and sometimes makes a big mess when I'm at the helm during diaper changes, and the airplane lav is just not equipped for that.

Never happier to deplane with this little fireball.

Gavin's first tire swing ride. I'm not sure he loved it.

The ladybug thing was much cooler to him.

Ooh, a dandelion.

Children's play area at PDX. Genius, though still not effective in burning off all the pent up energy. Next time our trip home will happen over two days, I think.

We made it back to Phoenix and subsequently home safely and soundly after a long day of travel. All forms of Easter celebrating were tabled until next year, and Gavin's Easter basket never left his closet, which is just fine, as I'm not sure he'd understand the concept of an egg hunt at this age anyway. I'll be all set with egg dyeing, egg hunts, possibly a bunny visit, and most definitely awkward pastel outfits to make up for it in 2016. I'm so happy we were able to make it to Oregon for this special weekend. Nothing beats a good surprise and being with a loving family!