Swimming Lessons

Taylor and Aric are taking swimming lessons at the pool nearest our apartment. We figured that during our rainy fall, it would be a perfect way for them to burn some energy and learn something new at the same time. They are both doing really good and enjoying the experience.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ARIC!

(Plus the balance of September pics)

On September 17, Aric turned 3. Because of our move, the regular party with friends didn't happen. However, when Grammy and Grumpy were here, we made him a birthday blackberry pie and had his first mini-party. He got to open gifts from his Grammy and Grumpy, Great-Papa and Great-Gramma, and Great-Aunt Lynn.



Thanks, Grammy and Grumpy, for KARAOKE!

Great-Gramma send a goodie box to all of us, so Tay got in on the fun.


On his actual birthday, our immediate family had his second mini-party. We drove down to Wilsonville and visited Bullwinkle's Family Fun Center. Aric has been wanting to ride the go-karts for a very long time, but the minimum age requirement is 3, so this was his first opportunity. He was quite firm about riding with Mommy instead of Daddy (who, by the way, was far-and-away the winner of the race). Conservative, safe-driver Mommy was near the end of the pack (ok, ok, I was dead last, but at least Aric didn't have anything to be scared about! :-). Later that day, we had chocolate angel food cake that the boys had helped me make and Aric got to open his presents from Tay, Mom and Dad, and Grandpa Lyn and Grandma Janet.


















Since he got a bicycle for his birthday, we've been trying to get out and ride whenever it's not rainy. A few weeks ago, we went to Round Lake (near Camas) and gave the boys their first taste of "trail riding." They lasted about a quarter mile before retreating to the play structure, but it was a beautiful day to be outside enjoying the beautiful fall colors.







Two weekends ago, we went to the coast with our friends, the Hendersons. We visited the Tillamook Air Museum and my boys (yes, all THREE of them) got to drool over F14s and play in cockpit simulators. We stayed in a beachfront rental, which we have never done before. I must say, we were totally spoiled by huge picture-window views of the ocean, not to mention the fact that bathroom breaks didn't require packing the whole family to a public restroom blocks from where we had started. We had a very nice time.






Now Jeremy's upriver and we're settling into the reality of apartment life and waiting for the next step in this interesting process. We're very thankful for sunbreaks, bicycles, soccer balls, and the library. I'm also thankful for the humorous moments that occur every day with my boys. They keep me chuckling a lot of the time. One example from a few months ago: We were eating out at The Old Spaghetti Factory with grandparents. Taylor's menu had a word scramble with noodle terms. He asked me what to do and I told him what each of the terms was. He studiously turned to his placemat and began writing each of them phonetically. He started with "P-O-S-D-U" aka pasta. :-)

AUGUST/EARLY SEPTEMBER PICTURES AND UPDATE


August was mostly a blur. We packed and moved and had lots of company. Jeremy's parents came and helped us move into our apartment. Then, we had a few days of "down time." We worked on getting settled and took a nice day trip up and around the little corner of Washington we plan to call home. We found a beautiful Mt. St. Helens lookout along the way, then played at Yale Reservoir (one of three reservoirs we hope to eventually go boating on near Woodland). At the beginning of September, we met my parents in Hermiston and sent Jeremy off on his first bowhunting experience with my dad. Mom came with me and we had a great day trekking around the gorge while we made our way back to Vancouver. The guys had an exciting hunting trip. They were in a really neat ecosystem and surrounded by big bull elk. Although Jeremy didn't bag one, they had an amazing adventure which ensured that Jeremy will be addicted to bowhunting for years to come.

Here are some pics:


It was hard to say goodbye to our garden. The boys' sunflowers had become monstrous. The morning we left, my great gardener Taylor went out and picked a heaping collander-full of tomatoes and a number of zuchhini, so we got to take some of our bounty with us.


The boys with their sunflowers.


Blowing bubbles with Grandma Janet.


Here we go a-moving!


Thanks, Grandpa and Grandma, for helping us move and playing with us so mom and dad could get things figured out! You were lots of help!


Now Mt. St. Helens will be the volcano in our backyard. We've never been up there, but are excited to go see the visitors' center and other viewpoints.


Lake Merwin, Yale Reservoir, and Swift Reservoir should be lots of fun for us. However, the boys were used to the temperature of the apartment swimming pool, so they didn't really enjoy swimming in the icy Yale waters. Throwing rocks was kinda fun, though.


Grammy and boys at the base of Multnomah Falls.


Taylor and Aric on the trail up to the top of the falls. Aric lost interest fairly quickly, but Taylor insisted we keep going all the way to the top. Aric ended up riding on Mom's back for a lot of the uphill walk. However, he did walk down, and announced proudly, "I'm a pretty good hiker."


Mom and boys at the very top of Multnomah Falls. We made it!


Grammy and boys at the Vista House. They were pretty disappointed that the building had already closed for the day. Aric still wants to go back to the "Bista House" when it's open, and so does Taylor.

SUMMER UPDATE / JULY PICTURES


I know I always say we're really busy, but this time I am not exaggerating. Big news first: We've moved to Washington. Our house sold about a month ago and this past weekend, we moved to an apartment in Vancouver, WA, where we'll live for 6 months or so. We are planning to purchase 5 acres in Woodland, WA and have a home built.

Grandma Janet was visiting for a number of weeks during the busy time when our house initially sold, and she returned this past week with Grandpa Lyn to help out with the actual move. We are very grateful for all the help! There is truly nothing like having live-in childcare and we will miss having grandparents close by when they leave!

However, we won't have to miss it for long because Grammy and Grumpy will be coming to visit in September. [Watch out, Grammy and Grumpy - we're shameless in recruiting Grandparents to babysit for us! It's the price you pay for driving all this way to see us!] We had planned on this summer being the summer of camping, but instead, it's turned out to be the summer of Grandparents! We've truly enjoyed it.

Next HUGE news item: Jeremy has secured his operator seniority position. This means that he has been trained to operate tugboats in the harbor and has been "checked off," so he's officially on his way to becoming an operator (only 600 hours of practice to go! :-) We are very proud of him - we expected this milestone to take about five years, but he achieved it in three and a half years!

Now, for the pictures:


The boys play in a fountain in Tualatin while Dad watches the model boats on the lake.



STRONG MAN!



Look how handsome that long hair is!



Bye-bye, long hair. It's time for mid-summer buzz cuts.



The boys having a picnic with Grandma and Mom at the Tillamook Forest Center.




Grandma Janet and the boys climbing the steps of the fire tower (this one is fully operational, unlike the one we visited unsuccessfully last spring).




Fireman Taylor.



Fireman Aric.



Swimming with the salmon at the forestry center.



Hanging out on the Wilson River near the forestry center - the volcanic rock on the river bank has a number of hollowed out "pools" that have been carved out by swirling water and sediment - perfect for these little boys to wade in.



We went to Nehalem Bay and camped for the night with Grandma Janet. It was a windy adventure, but thankfully, we survived with only 1 bent tentpole. :-( I wouldn't recommend setting up a big tent without lots of extra hands. Our neighbors (smart people who RV at the windy Oregon Coast instead of tenting it) helped us a number of times. We felt a bit sheepish, but it was better than being blown away!



After breaking camp, we drove up to Seaside and visited the little aquarium. It's a bit crowded, but the boys thought it was great to be able to touch the sea life (including chopped up fish that they tossed to the seals - ACK!).



Ari with the Starry.



Taylor tickling anemones.


Well, that's all for now. That catches us up on pictures through July. Next time, I'll try to post all the August pictures.

Hot, Hot Summer!

We're having a heat wave...I know, I know, you all are too! :-) Thankfully, we're having a very different experience this time around. For the first time in our 8 years of marriage (Yes, as of today, we've been married 8 LONG years! :-), we have air conditioning! We gave in and bought a window unit last week, and we are feeling quite spoiled right now. The kids don't like the idea of staying inside in the cool, though, so tonight we had to let them go run around in the sprinkler before bed. They got a little chilled, so they warmed themselves by lying on the hot cement.



In other news, my mom came to visit a few weeks ago. It was a ton of fun! We went to the beach...


(Grammy and the boys)

...We went to Mo's (if you don't know Mo's, you need to visit the Oregon Coast!) and had clam chowder...

(The boys crack themselves up)

...And we flew kites...Grammy even flew two at one time!


The beach was great fun!

We also went mini-golfing with the boys. This picture, though not the greatest, shows my new haircut. I got the bi-annual cut done while Mom was here to watch the boys. My hair grows enough to donate 10 inches to Locks of Love every two years. If any of you cut 6 inches or more of your hair at one time, search for Locks of Love on the Internet and send them your hair. It's a great cause!




(They look like pro golfers or something, don't they?)

We also dinked around at home a lot and I used my mom's help in the garden. We've finished out our pea plants for the year, but as you can see, the sunflowers are still going strong!


Our hydrangea was having a great year until the weather hit 100+. Hopefully it'll survive with the help of these two little gardeners. Notice Aric's rake - he's lost the handle, but now it's a handy hand-rake (or, in darker moments, an interesting possibility for a weapon :-). The boys are only allowed to use their hoes and rakes when working WITH mom and dad, because they are dangerous. When used as the tools that they are, though, the boys have been able to be quite helpful. Unfortunately, they don't make kids garden tools to be used heavily, or at least not in hard clay soil. Taylor bent his hoe into itself the first day he got it. He was quite upset, but we bent it back into shape, and the offending thistle paid the price! :-)



We're really enjoying being home a lot this summer and trying to be intentional about enjoying each moment with our boys. They are growing up so fast and the stages are just flying by. We are so blessed by them and thankful for them.

I'll leave you with a few choice quotes from Aric. Taylor's learning to read and is very aware of language. Consequently, he tends to be careful with his words, so he's not as quotable as Aric at the moment. This evening the boys were running around the sprinkler and making up games, and Aric told Taylor, "There you go, Young Man." He wasn't intending to be funny at all, but Jeremy and I sure cracked up. Earlier today, we were talking about whose birthday is coming up next. I told the boys that mine was coming right up, and Aric excitedly said, "And I want you share some of it with me!" Apparently, in his mind, birthdays and cake are interchangeable concepts. :-)

Sharpshooter Sarah

I went to a handgun class for women last weekend. Even though I grew up in a family that hunted, I've never really had much to do with handguns. I've always been uncomfortable around them, and this class seemed the perfect opportunity to familiarize myself. The only time I've ever shot a handgun was a number of years ago when Jeremy and I took off into the woods here in Oregon. I tried to hit a tin can from 5 yards and couldn't, so I've always considered myself a terrible shot. However, this class taught me the basics of shooting, and apparently, I'm not such a bad shot after all. Below are two of my targets, and the "prize" I won for being the only one to shoot out the entirety of my "red dot" at 10 yards (the #4 target). The targets show my shooting from distances of 3, 5, 7, and 10 yards. I really enjoyed target shooting and I'll probably keep bugging Jeremy to go with me until it becomes our date night habit. :-)




"HANDGUNS ARE A GIRL'S BEST FRIEND!"