Conway Turns Seven!

 Conway at 7 Years Old
Height: 48 in (35.2%)
Weight: 50 lb (39.4%)

Conway is seven years old! He continues to amaze us with how focused and bright he is and he gives amazing hugs. A big birthday party wasn't in the cards this year so we convinced his friends Reid and Finn to join us for some outdoor miniature golfing in celebration of his big day. And he chose sticky monkey bread bites for his birthday dessert, another recipe out of his Kid Chef Bakes cookbook, a gift from his Aunt Elly a while back - they turned out delicious! And here's a bit more about seven year old Conway. He...

• still loves his stuffies and has A LOT of them. He can very often be found playing some sort of make believe game with his brothers and all of their stuffies.
• still loves to snuggle up and rest with his stuffies, sleepsacks, and blankets.
• still enjoys drawing and writing.
• has used this pandemic time to learn a ton about different animals, especially snakes and spiders. Over the past year he's written and illustrated about a dozen books about animals and Mrs. Diller, his first grade teacher, frequently calls him an encyclopedia. He does seem to have a pretty amazing memory.
• amazes us with his ability to concentrate, even when he's surrounded by distractions. His desk during this year of virtual schooling has been in the corner of our dining room, which means that he frequently has people walking past him while he's on a class call or doing school work and he consistently stays focused. 
• has broadened his interest in books. He is now really into Magic Tree House books and other small chapter books of fiction in addition to the non-fiction books he's been obsessed with.
• wants to be a zoo keeper when he grows up. His favorite animals are gorillas, big cats, and snakes. Most weeks he checks out books about animals from the school library and if there is information in them about animals being hurt by people he gets genuinely angry.
• still isn't super social. He generally prefers to do activities on his own or just with his brothers. It can take a lot of coaxing to get him to say hi to other kids at the playground. 
• loves basketball. He could shoot baskets by himself at Coe for hours upon hours.
• is very competitive. We continue to encourage him to do his very best regardless of what anyone around him is doing, but he still often makes comments about his own work/performance compared to that of others. 
• continues to not be a morning person and actually seems proud of himself when he comes out of his room in the morning and finds out that his brothers have been up for ages.
• is still a great eater. He likes most food and he's generally open to trying new things. His favorite foods are peppers, grapes, "chicken on the bone" (aka bbq drumsticks or bone-in thighs that he can eat with his hands), bacon cheese burgers, french toast.
• loves playing with his brothers (most of the time). It's fun to see the different ways he connects with one versus the other.
• still has the cutest, sweetest smile and he's very proud of having four dimples.

P.S. Conway Turns Six, Parker Turns Seven, Conway Benjamin Totten Has Arrived 

Mid-Winter Break in Bend

Team Totten (along with what seemed like half of Seattle) headed to Bend, Oregon for mid-winter break this year. We were suppose to be in Whistler, Canada, but alas, Covid kept us from leaving the good ole US of A. Our friends, the Hueys, moved to Bend recently so the families we usually go to Whistler with made the trek to Bend instead. It was a bit strange to be digging our car out of snow in Seattle in order to get to the snow on Mt. Bachelor, but we did it. And after about 7 hours of white knuckle driving in snow down I-5, through Portland, and across the Mt. Hood pass, we arrived safe and sound in Bend.  

The Mt. Bachelor ski area was not prepared for Seattle to descend upon it, which led to some epic lines just to get into the parking lot and then some pretty crazy lift lines. Our first day on the mountain didn't go quite as we'd pictured, but eventually we figured out a system that avoided parking lot lines and allowed everyone to get after some skiing. There was tons of snow and even a gorgeous blue bird day! 

It's really great that Parker's skills have progressed enough for him to be able to ride up any of the lifts that David and I are interested in so we can just ski together. Conway's skills and confidence improved a lot and by our last day he was riding up the beginner lift with only Parker by his side and skiing down without any assistance. And Monroe got to experience the joys of skiing for the very first time. 😵

We also got to explore a bit of Bend, see friends around outdoor fire pits and on the slopes, and do some sledding. And then it was time to barricade Conway in the back of our car again and head home. It was a really fun time and we're excited to go back and experience what Bend has to offer in the summer!

{I promise Conway is in the car somewhere, surrounded by bags and sleds and ski gear}

{Evidence of a family of five ski day}

{All tuckered out}

{We were finally able to get a glimpse of the mountain on our fourth day in Bend - Beautiful!}

{Not sure what Parker enjoyed more - skiing or visiting the rescue dogs}

{Beautiful Day = LONG Lines}

{Monroe did some shredding...and some wiping out}

{Conway rode the magic carpet and practiced his turns about a thousand times}

{Conway got some good air on the sledding jump...}

{...and so did Monroe}

{Parker brought his skis to the jumps at the sledding hill}

{David's turn}

So long, Bend. Until next time...

P.S. Whistler for Mid-Winter Break 2020 

Snow in Seattle!

P.S. Seattle's First Snow of 2020 

Super Bowl Sunday - It's Mostly About the Food

The rest of my family probably wouldn't agree with me as they are actually football fans, but in addition to enjoying the commercials, the Super Bowl is just an excuse for me to make festive (and mostly unhealthy) food. The boys wanted to have nachos so David did those up. Monroe had a recipe from his teachers for a cracker snack mix so he and I made that together. Conway, my little baker, decided that the best dessert choice for the Super Bowl was...Apple Tarte Tatin? Yep! It wasn't an obvious dessert choice for the occasion, but it was delicious. And Parker was too into the actual game to take part in the cooking, but he did chip in on the eating.

Seabrook for a Change of Scenery

We decided to head to Seabrook on the Washington coast for a little change of scenery. The days and weeks seem to blend together right now so it was nice to at least be in a different location. The boys still did virtual school and the weather was a bit wetter than we'd hoped, but we still got to enjoy the beach, the ice cream shop, and the hot tub. 

{A pic Seabrook from David's new drone}

P.S. A Refreshing Week in Seabrook