We Made It to Portland!

Almost there!



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Megs and Patrick All comfy on the plane!


We made it to Portland!

On April 27th we arrived for the family visit to the movie set. It took two mini vans, one SUV loaded with luggage, three nurses (Sharon, Cathy & Yvonne), one nurses' husband (Eddie), Nana (my mom), Megan, Patrick, John, me, two pilots, one flight attendant, two ground crew guys with a forklift and one wheelchair tech in New Jersey (with lots of tools to take Megan's wheelchair apart) but, yes, we made it from New Jersey all the way across America to Portland, Oregon.....Yes, once again there is a reason why there is a movie being made about us all!

The best part was, when we finally arrived in Portland and finally got the kids' wheelchairs unloaded off the planes, John (yes, my John...) had to reassemble parts of Meg's 400lb wheelchair on the tarmac...in the rain. He put it back together and we hit the "on" button and....nothing. No power. Nada. Zilch. John quietly sighed an foul word (rhymes with "truck"). Got his tools out and went back to work. On the phone with the wheelchair tech he learned what the problem was and was told it could only be repaired at the factory....not an option. John's not one to give in (reference: "Why a movie is being made" above) and I was not going to have Megan carried into the hotel in Portland. So yes, John (still "my" John), twisted, maneuvered, pulled and prodded the chair's batteries and electronics until he had so completely "McGyvered" it that...it worked! Of course, after an hour on the tarmac in the rain fixing the wheelchair, when we finally carried Meg's off the plane, she grumbled "Well, that took long enough." Ah, Megs.

The kiddos loved the hotel in Portland. "The Nines" hotel...very chic! And so, 11 hours after we left home, we laid the kids to bed, shared a glass of wine and crashed fast asleep. Vacation had just begun. Stay tuned for a brief summary of our week in Portland shortly...!

Easter

                                                                         Cousins!

     The boys all look so handsome

  What a beautiful day for a family picture

Finally some beautiful weather in New Jersey!  The kids were all dressed up and we would not let them play outside untill we took pictures...........didn't you hate when your parents did that?

Like We Don't Have Enough To Take Care of...Meet "Little Bear"

This is Little Bear.  He is a 2 year old Irish Jack Russell Terrier and he is ours.  He is cute as a button....and he is, unquestionably, THE worst dog in the world.  (seriously, he makes Marley look like Lassie....).  He doesn't listen to a thing, chases cars (UPS trucks are his favorite), has eaten 1/2 the furniture in the house, taken down a Christmas tree, run away 3 times (including an entire night spent hiding on the minivan), lasted 30 minutes in obedience school (they suggested he comes back and reenroll when he "matures somewhat"), terrorizes his big sister Annie (our 4 year old Jack Russell) all day long, and has rolled in deer poop outside more times that I can count. Oh, and did I mention...he's a biter.  Cesar would quit if Bear was a client.

Little Bear has also struggled with severe allergies since he was a pup. Poor Little Bear ("LB" for short).  Did you even know there is such a thing as a "Dog Dermatologist"?   Oh, there is. After countless trips to the vet, antibiotics, steroids and four chewed paws we were sent to see the"specialists" (long a specialty in our household).  He was tested and retested and, long story short, LB is allergic to everything!

I started giving LB allergy shots every other day a few months ago and the poor little guy just got worse.  John ended up taking him to see the dermatologist when I was in Portland.......like John doesn't have enough things to take care of.  At the specialty vet, they immediately took Little Bear back for blood work.  He returned with the classic "lampshade" attached.  As they brought him back in for his exam with the lampshade on, John commented to John, Jr. "Oh, look John, in case Bear doesn't bark loud enough, now they've outfitted him with a Megaphone. Sweet." They also quickly affixed a bright orange "warning" sticker to LB's file after the bloodwork was drawn (see comment on "he's a biter", above).  They say his severe allergies are likely genetic (of course...).  He is back home and happy again, though on a fancy cocktail of allergy meds (including more steroids).

He is keeping busy enjoying the Spring weather. He ate Annie's bed today again.  That is the 4th bed this year of hers that he has torn apart.   Little Bear adds to the excitement around here for sure.  He is a pain in the a--, but he is ours.  And we love him!  There are so many Little Bear stories that he may soon get his own blog page on the family site.  Stay tuned!  (Oh, and he is NOT coming to Portland....).

We're Leavin' on a Jet plane........to Portland April 27th!

Well, it's official..........we're taking the whole Crowley clan to Portland!  The logistics of getting megan and patrick across the entire country are worthy of a movie in itself!  (We'll spare you details....but will post lots of blog comments and pics to document our journey).  The kids are so very excited.  I am not sure if they are more excited about:  a)  a vacation in Oregon;  b)  their cameos in the film; or c)  meeting Harrison Ford.  When John asked Patrick if he was excited to meet Harrison, Patrick's eyes light up...and then he started humming the tune to "Raiders of the Lost Ark."  TOO cute!!!  We all leave April 27th and will be in Portland for a week.  Much publicity to come soon.  I'll update more about that this weekend.  Have a great Friday!

John's on screen wife

So cool!  Keri Russell drove out to our home to spend an afternoon getting to know the kids......me and John too!  She is so sweet and we all loved spending time geting to know her!

Hurray for Hollywood...........I mean Portland

John and I have both been to Portland now where the movie is being filmed.  John was out two weeks ago just before filming began.  The day he was there the actors were recreating some of our family pictures to be used as props on the set.  Yes, Brendan and Keri actually were dressed in the Hanna Anderson stripped pajamas on our 2006 Christmas card!  John kept calling me because he just could not believe that this movie was actually going to happen.  He only got choked up once when the photographer told the actors playing our kids to take a break and the girl playing Megan jumped out of the wheelchair and started running around............I had a hard time even picturing it. But picture I did when I went to Portland last week.

I flew out Tuesday night (John's 42nd birthday) and spent all day Wednesday on "the set"....it sounds so Hollywood & glamorous doesn't it?  Well actually the set is in a big wharehouse in the back of some industrial park in Portland, Or.  On the outside are the actors' trailers (with our real names on the doors.......cool) and inside the set decorators have built recreations of our houses, John's first company and a hospital.  When I arrived on Wednesday morning one of the producers took me on a tour of our house, so much nicer than I could ever decorate..........I loved it.  I was able to watch two scenes filmed.  It took all morning (about four hours) to film a scene that will probably be 2 or 3 minuets in the movie.  They must have done the scene at least 20 times with light changes and different camera angles.............just fascinating to watch.