Papa Andrich

Last week we took a little impromptu trip to Oregon.  Matt's Papa Andrich passed away, so we headed up there for his funeral and to spend some time with the Andrich clan.  We don't get to see them very often (it's been a couple years), so it was really nice to be able to have the whole family together.  Matt's parents were so generous and bought us flights up there.  We are so grateful to them for that!  It was our first time flying with two kids :) We were on the same flight as Chirs, Lisa, their kids, and Alex.  I'm sure it was a sight to see us walking through the airport with all our babies, luggage, car seats, and strollers.  We managed to fit all our stuff into carry-ons, but were able to check the car seats, so that was good.  When our flights were booked, somehow they would only let us book all middle seats, so yes, Sydney and Cooper were both supposed to sit by themselves, in the middle of two strangers.  Luckily, we got it all worked out, and I was able to sit with the two kids.

Flying with these two was a breeze.  They absolutely loved it.  When you ask them about the airplane, Cooper always says, "it was bumpy!"  And Sydney likes to tell that "we got to eat, have drinks, and color."  The only hard moment, was our turbulent landing, when Sydney's ears kept popping.  She wasn't a fan of that!  (funny how I was always worried about her ears as a baby, and never had a problem, but this time I didn't even think of it).  As soon as we got on the plane, Sydney found SkyMall and started checking it out... I love how she crossed her leg, and you can see her foot sticking out at the bottom...

My mom put together some little travel kits for the kids.  They loved having all the special treats!

They really loved coloring in their personalized notebooks... Aren't they so cute?  We drew so many pictures, and Sydney loved writing in it.  Get her a notebook of plain paper and crayons and she's the happiest girl on the planet.

The flight went by so quickly, and it was so fun.  The kids always keep talking about the "hairplane" (Cooper's language).  It was quite the experience for them :)

When we got off the plane, we loaded up 4 cars, and all headed up to Astoria.  It was a couple hour drive, and the kids slept the whole thing, so it was nice and enjoyable.  I'm always amazed at how thick and green the trees are there.  We were able to stay on the Leahy family farm, near Astoria.  There was no cell service or internet there.  So, it was 100% family time, which was great.  Sydney and Cooper had such a great time playing with all the adults, and with Mason.  And of course, Sydney loved taking her turn holding Landon.  They loved having so many people around, and definitely got lots of juice and candy, which they loved.

One of the days we were there, we headed over to Seaside.  I remember going there with Matt when we were engaged, so it brought back some fun memories.  A lot of the shops were closed, because it wasn't a weekend, but it was still fun.  We shopped in several different candy shops, and a toy shop.  The kids, and older girls :) rode on the carousel, and we ate some lunch at Pig-n-Pancake.  

The next day, was the funeral.  It was such a nice service.  Matt's mom spoke, and told a lot about Papa's life.  It was fun for me to learn more about him.  His funeral was held in the church that he was married in, which was really neat.  It was fun to imagine him getting married there.  We weren't able to spend a lot of time with him, but I do remember visiting him a few times.  One of those times, was when Sydney was a baby.  He held her, and did "Captain Jinks" with her.  I was able to find those pictures and am so glad we have them.  The one thing I have always known about him, is that he loved to do "Captain Jinks" with his kids and grandkids... so cute.

All the grandkids and great-grandkids

The whole Andrich clan

Matt and I were so glad that we were able to be at Papa's funeral with our children.  We are so thankful for the opportunity we had to spend time with family that we don't see often.  It was so special that we were all able to be there and spend time together!

After the funeral, we drove down to Salem, where Matt's parents live.  We spent a couple days there, before we flew home. We went to church together on Sunday, and that night a bunch of Missy and Kenin's friends came over for ice cream.  We were able to see the Moore's at that time.  It is always good to see them and their cute family.  Cooper loved playing with Grace, and Sydney had been waiting to see Lucy the whole trip.

Wrestling with Uncle Chris

Brothers 11 months apart, and cousins 11 months apart

Sydney playing with Zoe and Lucy

Cooper and Grace

We also went through a bunch of old boxes, and ended up watching the old swim team video (Chris and my senior year)... and our wedding video.  Both of them brought back a lot of fun memories.  Mason was pretty tired at that point and just sat on Matt... not something he does often, so I had to snap a picture.

Before we left we took some pictures of everyone together, since we aren't ALL together often...

The kids also loved the flight home.  This time the flight attendant gave them "wings" to wear and they loved that... (and yes, they are on upside down)

And I had to take this picture of Cooper walking through the "hairport."  He was walking SO SLOW and leisurely, just sipping on his juice box, with his goldfish in the other hand, and his backpack... too stinkin' cute...

Such a great trip.  Thank you Kenin and Missy for spoiling us with all that you did!  We are so glad we could be there!