Before Thanksgiving arrives, I have GOT to do a recap of our summer! We celebrated two birthdays, went
to a couple weddings, visited grandma and grandpa in Oregon, went camping in 30* weather (yikes!), and ended the summer with a bang with a trip to Disney
World!
Heading into summer, I'm not gonna lie,
I was a bit nervous. I knew I was going to be at home all day, everyday
with three little people 5 and under. I feared we may not make it to the end
with my sanity in tact, but lo and behold, we made it and dare I say enjoyed it!
It ended up being more packed than I realized, and it seriously just flew by.
In May the kids and I ran a 5K and
Daniel ran a 10K called Run Baby Run to raise funds for Hope Women's Resource
Center, and we rocked it. Selah enjoyed the warm-up at the beginning and
impressed us with running pretty much the whole thing. The two year old and 7
month old were slaaaaackers, what up with that? Nah, they did great, cheered us
on from the stroller!
Daniel won in his age group, whoop whoop, go Daniel!!
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| Goof |
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| Sprinting towards the finish!! |
Also in May Selah finished up PreK and graduated.
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| Last
day with Ms. Kara...we LOOOOVE Ms. Kara!!! |
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| the graduate |
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| sweet friends |
There was a suuuuuuper cute ceremony,
they had a video of each graduate saying what they wanted to be when they grew
up and dressed up with props pretending to be whatever it was they wanted to
be. Selah said she wanted to be a mommy...no surprise there :) They also did
some songs, one called I Am A Promise was a real tear-jerker...click here to listen to it and I dare you to imagine your
child singing it without tearing up a bit. They also said all their A-Z memory
verses and walked the stage to get their certificates. All so sweet and
special...onto Kindergarten!!! In a few months...
At the end of May, also known as the
month in which all of Texas flooded, we drove to a wedding in San Antonio. The
drive there wasn't too bad, we missed most of the rain, but most the time we
were there it poured and poured and poured. There were flooding
watches/warnings, tornado watches/warnings. And I was in a hotel with just
Blake and I. Awful. Didn't sleep a wink. But the actual day of the wedding the
rains held off and, although muggy and humid and hot, it ended up being quite
beautiful.
The
drive home was absolutely H-O-R-R-I-B-L-E! It rained the whole way and most of
that rain was a torrential downpour, there were more tornado watches and flood
warnings galore, my weather app was constantly buzzing at me, and the sound of
the rain drove Owen nuts, which in turn drove us all nuts...at one point,
during a torrential downpour, we were stopped bumper to bumper on the highway
and I broke the law *gasp!* and took a screaming Blake out of his carseat and
held him, I couldn't stand the madness any longer!! Of course, once we got
moving I strapped him back in and he was okay, but desperate times
call for desperate measures. Thank God Daniel was driving or else we would
NOT have made it home, I'm pretty sure we would have been on the side of the
road and I'd be in the driver seat in the fetal position while my three
children screamed at me, but Daniel's awesome and got us home safe and sound,
sure it took some time to regain my sanity and ten years was shaved off my
life, but we were home.
So,
to recap, beautiful wedding, lovely time with family and friends, fun memories
made...awful weather and driving conditions! All in all, I'd say it was all
worth it!
Also
in May...
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| doing
an impersonation of Uncle Casey from a picture he found |
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| This
boy LOVES to swing! WEEEEE! |
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| play |
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| cousin babies |
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| puzzle time |
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| Seven months!! |
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The
only way I could get him to keep taking pictures
without him trying to eat the sticker |
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| Summer
just isn't summer without a trip to the sprinkler pads |
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| Our
floor broke :( |
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| Daniel
fixed it :) |
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| science |
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Pump
it up, pump it up
Even in a dress...pump it up |
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| Too cool for school this kid |
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| That
mouth though...can it open any wider?! |
June
was chalk full of excitement!! We were preparing to travel for a couple weeks
at the end of June, which falls on Owen's birthday, so we decided to take him
for a special day out to Lego Land with just Mommy and Daddy to celebrate
before we left.
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| He wants them all... |
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| So
much to look at... |
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| he
could NOT look at the camera, it was comical |
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Short
Lego cartoon time!!
There were no words during the show, just mumbling
which I thought was interesting, and then realized was genius
with a bunch of excited little ones filling the room,
because who can hear anyway? |
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| His
ninja face |
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| First
big kid ride!!! So fun!! |
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| We
had a wonderful day celebrating our spunky guy turning THREE! He's FULL of
energy, thoughtful, so so so thoughtful he blows me away sometimes, very
observant and curious and is ALWAYS talking or singing or yelling or hi-ya-ing.
He loves to be superheroes, ninja turtles, power rangers, star wars people,
anything that fights anything pretty much, and unfortunately Blake is the
unwilling chosen "bad guy" most times. He loves to read and falls
asleep every night with his light on, glasses on, and books all around him. His
favorite part of the day, according to him, is snack time and bible story. Perfect.
Love him and can't wait to see what God has in store for him. Love you bud!! |
Before
we left we also had Blake dedicated at our church.
Our
prayer is that Blake's heart is always being drawn to know God more and to
serve Him and find his joy and worth in Him alone and love others the way way
he's loved by God. We have a strong faith family dedicated to helping our family
on this parenting journey and we are so very thankful.
The
rest of June was spent up north!!
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| Bright-eyed
boy at 5 AM |
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| Didn't
last long though...tuckered out |
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| giggles |
We
arrived in Billings, Montana around 11AM and then we quickly got food and settled
into my cousin Aaron and his family's house temporarily while we waited for my
mom and stepdad to arrive. Everyone was busy bustling around town getting last
minute details ready for the wedding the next day so we just hung out for a bit
and triiiiiied to get the kids to nap, however, being in a new place and with
all the buzz of excitement in the air, it was nearly impossible, but I think
both big kids squeezed in at least an hour or so nap. My mom was a God-send and
offered to watch Blake and put him down at a normal bedtime while the rest of
us went to the rehearsal. Selah was going to be a flower girl and Owen was a
ring bearer/wagon-puller. |
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| Keeping
busy at the rehearsal |
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Selah
was totally zoned in and loving every
minute of full-filling her flower girl duties |
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The
rehearsal went wonderfully, kids did great, we went out to a fun, delicious
dinner afterwards...and then, nighttime came. It was quite possibly one of the
worst nights ever. So both boys were up constantly throughout the night and
then at one point I got sick to my stomach annnnnd I couldn't find my
toothbrush (gross, I know, sorry, it was awful), and then once I settled back
into some restless sleep Blake woke at 5 AM and refused to go back to sleep
sooooo we went for a walk so as not to wake anyone else up.
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Thank
goodness the sun rises super early in Montana in the summer. The view was
absolutely beautiful, the weather was gorgeous, and even though I felt as if I
had been run over by a truck being outside perked me up a bit. Once we got back
and people started waking up and preparing for the BIG day ahead (and
I was able to get a toothbrush, hallelujah!) I felt better and we
jumped right into the day.
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These
guys are getting acquainted,
we're trying to teach Blake
that yelling in one's face is not a great technique
for developing friendships |
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And here she
comes...the stunning bride!!!
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| They're hitched!! |
And that, my friends, was day TWO! Boy did we start our vacation with a bang!! It was a blast, but we had some much needed regrouping to do over the next couple days.
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| We walked to a nearby park |
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| bahahaha |
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| Spent time with family |
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Great-Grandmas are extra cuddly,
so I'm told |
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| Loved spending time with these pretty ladies |
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| Doesn't everyone practice dance moves in their kitchen?! |
After a couple days we moved into my aunt and uncle's abode, and had a whole other slew of adventures.
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| piano playing |
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| puzzle doing |
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| giant Jenga stacking |
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| And smiling, lots and lots of smiling |
Daniel had a couple fun opportunities to go rock climbing and white water rafting,
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| breath-taking |
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| Daniel climbed that!! |
while I stayed back with the kiddos and we had our own fun times, like trying to find our way to Hobby Lobby to buy materials to make Daddy a Father's Day gift with a thunderstorm a-brewing and my phone dying, yikes. I am so directionally challenged that I feared I may end up lost in the great state of Montana forever, but alas, I managed to find our way back and Daniel got a nicely decorated (kid-sized...oops!) grilling apron decked out in Packer paraphernalia. Well the intention was there, and now Owen has a nice Packer apron for helping Mommy bake. Love you hun, and so thankful our children are growing up with a strong leader who loves the Lord first and foremost, and lives a life selflessly devoted to his family. Our kids are so incredibly blessed to have you as their Daddy!!
Since my aunt had just recently opened an assisted living home she had to spend all of her days and nights at the home, which meant we spent many of our days at the home as well. You'd be surprised what kind of fun can take place in an assisted living home!! My aunt would drag the kids down the long wooden hallways on a big sheet...they loved it! Even Blake would get in on the action. There were big rock piles the kids rummaged through. There was chalk and markers and cardboard boxes. They were not bored, that's for sure. And then, my favorite, chatting with the residents. There were two at the time and they are well into their 90's, can you just imagine the insight these ladies have?! As I was changing Blake one of the ladies started discussing how she remembers hearing stories about how her grandmother traveled in a covered wagon with their family and we started wondering how on earth she managed to change the messy diapers of her twin babies...like, seriously, how?! Our best idea of this situation is that she probably used some sort of cloth and pins and then anytime there was some type of water like a creek she'd rinse the cloth out as best as possible, but can you imagine...boy am I thankful for disposable diapers when I need them and a heavy duty washing machine when I use cloth.
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| painting the rocks they collected |
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| enjoying the outdoors |
When we weren't with my aunt we were spending time with my cousin's wife and kids. They are a blast and the girls had SO much fun together...lots and lots of giggles!!
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| rainy day |
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| The rain did not stop our attempt at making S'mores |
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| Attack Uncle Casey!!! |
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| I spot a Spiderman |
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| family dinner |
My uncle is a pastor of a church and his church was hosting a bike clinic one of the weekends we were there.
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| These two thought these empty water bottles were the bees-knees |
One of our last days in Billings happened to be Owen's birthday, so my aunt (along with all the other million things she does on a daily basis!!) planned a party for him at a park with all our family.
Right as we were about to sing "Happy Birthday" and cut the cake the winds really picked up and looked like a chance of rain so we brought the party back to my aunt and uncle's place. Not before Owen ate a huge chunk of candle though, even after asking and being told no...those candles are just too darn tempting, I don't really blame the kid. He brings up this incident to this day, pretty much anytime there is a cake and candle he mentions the day he ate a candle even though Mommy said no and that he choked on it...true story.
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| Party in the garage!! |
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| Snuck in a few more cuddles with this irresistibly handsome little fella |
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| Owen had a blast on his special day and we all felt very loved |
Next on our agenda...Salem, Oregon!!!! Owen, Blake and I, along with my mom and Jeff (stepdad) packed into my mom's small car and drove to Oregon. Daniel and Selah stayed behind one extra day and caught a plane to Oregon the following day.
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watching Ninja Turtles for the first time
under his blanket to keep the sun out |
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| Getting comfy for the loooooong trip ahead! |
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My cousin suggested this place in Bozeman to stop
for breakfast called Clark's Fork and let me tell you,
it did not disappoint!! Not only was the food amazingly
delicious, but the atmosphere was so fun! Interesting facts
were posted around the place about Lewis and Clark
and their journey, and, they had toys and books...genius!
I loved it!!! Can't wait to go back! |
We stopped to stretch our legs in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho and it was such a beautiful place!! They had just built this amazing park right next to the lake and there were hiking trails and shops and neat restaurants. I was bummed Daniel wasn't there to see it, it was just so perfectly beautiful and such a refreshing stop. We hiked a bit and watched some parasailers and just enjoyed the view of mountains, trees, sparkling lake water...perfection.
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| cheeser |
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| How cool is that?! |
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| Owen had a blast!! |
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| Never too young to learn how to rock climb |
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We popped into this toy store that had this huge ferris wheel
display made entirely out of K'nex |
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| This is our lunch stop on our second day of travel |
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About an hour from Salem we made another quick pit stop
to take a peek at Herman the sturgeon at the
Bonneville Fish Hatchery. Owen loved looking at the huge fish!
Blake and I took selfies in the green, green grass. |
Meanwhile, Selah and Daniel are on their own little adventure on their way to Oregon.
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Hanging out at the airport,
can't wait to be reunited!! |
We all finally made it and it was time to PLAY!!
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One of the days my mom took us on a tour of the school
she teaches at, and Owen found the armor of God. |
And eat.
And sleep.
And eat while sleeping.
The sleeping situation was real interesting because my mom and Jeff live in a two bedroom duplex, so we had to get a little creative to fit our family of five. The best arrangement ended up being Selah and Owen sharing the bed in the guest room, Blake sleeping in a cozy pack n play in the bathroom, and Daniel and I slept on an air mattress in the living room, and it totally worked. Best sleep of our lives? Hardly. But it worked, and I'd do it again by golly.
Most of the first couple of days was spent preparing for our two-day camping trip at the coast, something I have been dying to do ever since my mom moved up there 5.5 years ago. Her and Jeff go camping all the time and show us all their gorgeous pictures from their adventures, so I couldn't wait for our family to experience it with them!
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On our way!! Can you tell Daniel is thrilled at the
prospect of sleeping in a tent with a 5 year old,
3 year old, and 8 month old?! |
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| Someone is excited to CAMP! |
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| I can just feeeeeel the excitement from this guy |
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| Making faces like her daddy |
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| Dirt and rocks and bugs...YA!!! |
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| Look at those cheeks, I wanna kiss them all day long! |
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| First night's dinner: sloppy joes |
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The two who made it all possible...camping is WORK!
But FUN! |
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| Love, love, love, love, love |
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| Seeeeee, he really can take a nice picture |
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| this girl |
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Hangin' out by the fire, because, well, apparently even
if it's in the upper 90's in Salem, driving
45 minutes to the coast can cause a drop of 30-40 degrees,
so ya, the fire was my spot of choice |
After dinner we did a bit of exploring the campsite but mostly we made sure all was ready for our COLD night and once it started getting darker we made s'mores (because of course we did!) and then did all. the. things. Liiiiike, getting kids in PJs and brushing teeth and taking potty breaks and singing goodnight songs and feeding Blake a bottle and all the normal nighttime stuff but this time we were doing it in the great outdoors...a little more complicated but also somewhat exhilarating! Once kids were asleep, which once it was dark it really didn't take them long to settle down, the adults strapped on headlamps and played card games, which of course makes it all that much more fun!!
And then...miserableness. I believe in this very post I mentioned I had one of my worst nights ever, well, let me tell you, this first night of camping was worse, not by much, but oh, it was bad. So, Daniel and I are trying to get comfy on our air mattress in the FREEZING COLD (if I hadn't mentioned that already) and not 15 minutes in I start to hear Blake crying. I bolt out of bed as quickly as I can because the last thing I want is to have a screaming baby waking up all the quiet, peacefully sleeping campers, so I start rummage around trying to find his paci and see if that will help but no, I can't find it, so I pick him up while continuing to find the paci, which I eventually do and at this point it seems like Blake has been crying for hours but really it was probably 3, 5 minutes tops. So now I have him in my arms, doing the mommy rock, paci in, and he becomes calm and quiet and seemingly back asleep, so I carefully, gently try to place him back in his pack n' play which results in immediate screaming...ahhhh! Now what?! Here's some thoughts that went through my brain: stand ALL. NIGHT. LONG while holding and rocking him (uh, no); find the keys to the car and put him in the car seat (no idea where the keys are or where to find a light to help me find them, probably lots of screaming while strapping baby in car seat and continued crying until car is in motion, if I eventually get car in motion I WILL get us lost and we WILL die, so no); try to lay Blake in bed with us (perhaps, worth a shot, least miserable option). Okay, so by some miracle after verrrrrry carefully lying back down on the air mattress Blake continues to sleep. Good news, phew. But, with Blake currently on my chest and the blankets only up to my shoulders I am COLD. So, I close my eyes and trrrrrry to sleep but really all I end up doing is staring at the top of the tent waiting and waiting and desperately wanting morning to arrive as quickly as possible. I dozed 15 minutes here, 15 minutes there, but Blake moved and repositioned from time to time and I was at the mercy of his comfortness which often times resulted in a very uncomfortable position for me. At one point he rolled into the middle somewhat but my arm caught him and then we didn't move and so my bare arm was left out of the blankets and turned into an icicle and I couldn't feel my phalanges... I don't do well with cold can you tell?! Needless to say, I was THRILLED to see that sunlight start shining through the tent and hear Owen's little voice asking if it was time to wake up. Blake was still sleeping at that point (6ish in the morning) so Daniel ended up getting up with Owen and they went walking around the campsite while everyone else "slept" a bit longer. Blake eventually woke up and was in the BEST mood, like, seriously dude, do you even know what our night was like?! It really did make it all worth it though to see that he had gotten the rest he needed to wake up happy, next to mommy, smiling and ready to start the day! And once everyone else got up and started moving around and I could pass Blake off to my mom for a bit, I perked right up and was excited to see what the day had in store for us! Plus, coffee. And bacon. One thing was certain, Blake would NOT be camping another night, sorry little guy, camping is for expert sleepers only...maybe next year orrrrr next decade.
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| B-A-C-O-N |
After breakfast we packed into the van and headed to Wal-Mart, not very campy I know but we needed a few items, jackets being one of them, but, apparently in the summer people don't tend to buy things like jackets and sweatpants and earmuffs/hats so we didn't end up finding what we needed anyway. So after a disappointing errand we decided to head to a nearby aquarium, the same aquarium the Free Willy whale lived for a while after shooting the movie, interesting fact. It was super fun, we loved watching the otters play and try to get treats from these PVC pipe puzzles and the kids got to touch sea anemones and get sea urchin "hugs" (because they gently squeeze your finger when they sense touch) and sea cucumbers (SO COOL!), and starfish.
After the aquarium we went to a nearby lighthouse where you can walk around and explore by hiking the hills or walking the beach. We ended up walking the beach, but first stopped to eat some lunch we had packed.
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Since jackets were hard to come by,
a towel was the next best thing.
At one point I had ninja turtle boy undies
on Blake's head to keep his little ears warm
but Daniel wasn't having it.
I thought it was a creative solution... |
The beach was really interesting, it was all made of rocks that had been smoothed by the lapping water. I strapped Blake in the Ergo and he ended up napping the whole time as I carefully walked around the rocky beach where we got to see more star fish and tons of sea anemones and urchins in all kinds of colors. Next, we headed to another beach that is usually a spot that seals hang out, but we were super bummed to find out not one seal was there that particular day. Boo. At this point we headed back to the campground to make hot dogs for dinner and get everything arranged for Daniel to go back to Salem with Owen and Blake, while Selah and I hung back with my mom and Jeff for another night of camping. I was so, so, so thankful to have Daniel offer to take the boys back, because he knew how much I was looking forward to camping and I knew all three of the boys would most likely end up getting a really good night's sleep back in Salem by themselves.
After dinner and after saying our goodbyes to the boys, the rest of us walked around a bit and headed to the nearby sandy beach. The water was freezing but we ended up wading into the water and splashing around a bit anyway. Selah played in the sand for a while and then we headed back to our tents for more s'mores (ya we did!). Selah made friends with our camping neighbors who had four kids around her age in their group and so they all ended up at the table playing Old Maid.
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Selah giggled, and giggled, and giggled some more.
She was having the time of her life!
It was so great to see her having fun
and not having to play the big sister role. |
Once it got dark we all settled in for the night and I climbed under the 50,000 blankets and snuggled in as close to Selah as I could for extra warmth and we slept a good hard sleep. At a couple points during the night I heard crying babies and thought, "Oh dear, I'm so sorry." And, "Thank you Lord that isn't me!"
We woke up in the morning to RAIN. Not hard rain, just a steady rain, on and off throughout the morning, but it sure made packing up a bit tricky. But since my mom and Jeff are pros we were packed up and back on our way to Salem in no time. Our adventure wasn't quite over yet though, we made a few fun stops along the way. We stopped at a couple whale watching points and tourist shops. We saw quite a few whales from a distance and then I got to see one really up close, which was thrilling! It's funny how long you are willing to wait and wait and wait, staring at the vast blue ocean for just a tiny 3 second glance of these magnificent creatures but then once you spot one there's whooping and hollering and excitement all around. Then you think, "Well, I suppose we should go, buuuuut what if another one pops up?! I can't leave now!" Hello, my name is Kaley, and I'm a whale-watching addict. We also got to see some seals, pick up a bag of salt water taffy for the road, and stop for a yummy seafood lunch right on the beach. My first camping experience (that I remember) was a success!! The temperature could have been raised 20-30 degrees and a bit more sleep would have been nice, but other than that it was all perfect! I'd do it again in a heartbeat!!
Once we got back there was unpacking, cleaning, regrouping for the next couple days. And then, since my mom is a rock star, she offered to watch the kids (ALL THREE OF THEM!) for a night while Daniel and I headed out on our own for a couple days. IT. WAS. AMAZING!! Don't get me wrong, I loooooove my children, but I also loooooove my husband and alone time with him is scarce, so we soaked up our time together and thanked my momma profusely for taking on our three youngins for 30+ hours.
I was under the impression Daniel booked a hotel in Portland which is not too far from Salem, but instead he surprised me with a stay at the Oregon Gardens Resort...is was beautiful!!! We had some time to kill though before being able to check into our room, so we passed the time at the capital.
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| we're important |
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waiting on the tram to go on a quick narrated tour of the 80-acre property,
our tour guide had a dry sense of humor that was really quite amusing,
ya know how people will talk in monotone but say
really funny things, that was this guy |
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Out to dinner.
Daniel said he had to take a picture
of me with my food because it just looked like
something I would eat...ok, sure...
it was delicious by the way, I ate every bite! |
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Cute, pretty little town,
and there was live music playing
as we walked around,
little things like that make me giddy |
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| Aren't we just adorable?! |
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| After dinner we explored the gardens |
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| The most selfies I've ever taken in. my. life. |
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| Little hobbit home |
Before heading back to my mom's we stopped at a bakery for some marionberry cobbler to share with everyone for dessert. I had no idea something called a marionberry existed, and I had been searching for huckleberry items since being in Montana, like taffy and syrup and jam, but everywhere I went they only had the marionberry so I finally just went for it and LOVED it!!! We brought home all kinds of marionberry merch...yum! Just last week we finished off our marionberry syrup...time to go back and get more! ;)
Once we got back there was only a couple days left before heading back to Texas, so we crammed in as much as we could! One day we went to the Gilbert House, a children's museum, and then had Daniel bring us a picnic dinner at a nearby park and splashpad afterwards.
Another highlight was getting to meet and visit with Daniel's dad's cousin. So, fun story, Daniel's dad knew he had a cousin in the Oregon area and so he had asked my stepdad, Jeff, a while back if he happened to know anyone (not really thinking he would since Oregon is big and all) by the name of Loren, and, sure enough, turns out he's Jeff's BOSS! What?! Seriously, what are the odds of that! So we knew we had to get in touch with him and his family while we were in the area and I'm so glad we did, they are such a sweet family!! And as soon as we walked in the door we knew immediately by looks, mannerisms, speech that this guy was definitely related to the Treiber Tribe. They spoiled us with a delicious dinner and fun conversations about his memories of Daniel's dad. The kids also got to meet one of their bunnies, Selah fell in love and went from wanting a pig to wanting a bunny, actually both.
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We really had the best time with these folks!!
So fun connecting with family you didn't know you had!!! |
Sadly, our trip was coming to a close, and it was time for us to say our goodbyes.
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Lunch at the airport.
That's Blake napping under there...
you don't wake a sleeping baby, you also
eat when you can so you're not starving
on a 3 hour flight |
Luckily though we were leaving knowing that we would see grandma again in just a few short weeks, Selah didn't know this, but grandma was planning to come down to visit for a week to celebrate Selah's birthday with her AND join us on our trip to DISNEY WORLD!!!
I was so darn anxious and excited, but luckily we had quite a few fun activities planned to keep my mind busy.
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I took the kids to Home Depot on
the 4th of July and they had
projects for the kids to put together
and a bounce house and hot dogs and snowcones
and all kinds of fun stuff going on! |
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| Love spending this kind of time with them! |
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On the way home we saw Mater and McQueen on the side of the road
so we of course had to stop and say hello |
No fireworks this year for the 4th of July, which is unusual, but it just wasn't a good year to go...next year will be a blast though!!
Both kids had swim lessons in July.
And we also got to celebrate my nephew turning one.
My mom and I, along with all three kids, took a mini road trip to San Antonio. We made this trip for two main reasons: One, give my mom a chance to catch up with a few close friends she rarely gets to see, and two, give Daniel a nice little breather and time alone before tackling both boys on his own for 4 days.
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| Can you tell we like children's museums? |
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This is the Doseum, and it was so so so fun,
the kids had a blast!! There were these walking cars
the kids could drive around on a real road and fill up
at a gas station and go through a car wash...how cute is that?!
Everything looked so real, but scaled to their size!
There was a model airport/airplane that they could either pretend to
be the pilot, air traffic controller, or passenger
(there were suitcases and conveyor belts through a security camera and everything)
This is the only section we saw because they didn't want to leave,
there was so much more to see, so next time we will definitely have to go again! |
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| We stayed with my BIL and SIL...fun cousin time! |
Once we got home it was full on preparation for our trip!! We ended up staying at a hotel close to the airport and catching a shuttle at 3AM so that Daniel wouldn't have to drive us with both boys.
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| We're just a little excited... |
We got to Disney on a Monday, and then had a whole afternoon to get settled and hang out because we weren't planning to go to a park until Tuesday. We explored out resort, went for a quick swim, got showered, and then caught a shuttle to Downtown Disney for dinner.
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| Checking out the store at the airport |
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Selah was sooooo
tired, but she was a trooper
and never complained about anything |
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We rode a ferry boat, shopped, joined a dance party,
and shopped some more |
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| beautiful |
Then is was time to get back to the resort and get a good night sleep for our big day the following morning. We got up early, ate a quick breakfast, and hopped on a shuttle to Hollywood Studios.
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| Waiting for Disney Junior Live! |
We pretty much saw and did all that we wanted to by mid-afternoon, so we ate a late lunch/early dinner since we just snacked on nuts and cranberries all day and then we went back to the resort for some more swimming and then bed...another big day was coming up and we needed our princess to be well rested!!
We got to the park when it opened and it was one of my favorite parts of the day because people were lining the streets wearing Mickey ears and gloves and waving, saying "Good morning, princess!" and giving high fives. It sure made us feel welcome! We had some fast-passes first thing in the morning and then it was back-to-back-to-back FUN!! We rode rides and met pretty much all the big characters and did more shopping and saw exciting parades...it was a blast!!! We stayed the WHOLE day, and we really never stopped for a break (we did eat lunch and dinner at some point). We didn't ever have to wait more than 30-45 minutes and that was rare, mostly we waiting 5-15 minutes. Well, actually, waiting to see Winnie the Pooh took a good hour and a half, but that was by far the longest wait. I don't think it could have gone any better, it was all just so...so...MAGICAL! Selah seriously did so amazing, not ONE complaint about being hot or tired or wanting to buy something she couldn't, she did incredible and we definitely made the most of the two short days we had at the parks!
Amoungst all the fun we were having, I became very aware, really for the first time, of how Disney's philosophies of making your dreams come true and wishing on a star are just so not Biblical in any way. I didn't let this epiphany take away any of our fun, but it sure did make me think, and Selah and I had a little discussion about who really makes our dreams come true (GOD), and how sometimes our dreams are not what God's dreams are for us and that it's possible that some of our dreams may never come true no matter how much we wish on a star, we just have to trust that He knows best and be in constant prayer that our heart aligns with God's and that the Holy Spirit guides us in pursuing our dreams for His glory, because that is THE most important we can do as Christians in this life, bring Him glory. Lots of deep thoughts taking place during the nighttime spectacular haha! But hey, I don't have to buy into Disney's philosophies to enjoy other aspects of their creativity and entertainment, at least at this point in my life I don't feel the need to boycott Disney or anything, just makes me think!
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Selah had a hard time understanding
why Ariel sometimes had her tail and sometimes
had her legs...it is rather confusing!!
This trip definitely caused her to doubt the
actual existance of these characters,
man, she's growing up! |
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| Story-time with Belle |
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| Playing her part of the Wardrobe |
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Very special and unforgettable lunch at
Cinderella's Castle!! |
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Dream. Come. True
(Does this comment negate my previous commentary?!
I guess this is a legitimate dream for a six year old?
Hmmm, well my thoughts are still a work in progress...) |
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| Yummy! |
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| Her fav! |
While we were meeting princesses and riding the carousel, Daniel took the boys on their own adventures to a train museum and an aquarium. What a good Daddy he is!!!
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| Love |
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| All kinds of fun going on back home! |
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| Back at Disney... |
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She was so funny because she didn't want to talk to them,
she just wanted to watch them and listen to them talk.
Tinker Bell was our last character and so I encouraged her
to ask her a question, like what do fairies like to eat,
but she just laughed at what Tink had to say and smiled
and nodded and stared...afterwards she said she didn't want
to say anything because she just wanted to listen and not interrupt...sweet girl! |
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One of our parades got rained out, but luckily we got to see
one in the morning and one at night |
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| Waiting for the night parade |
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We had AMAZING seats!!! Right up close to the castle!
(leaving was a bit of a nightmare, SO MANY PEOPLE,
but so worth it, and again, Selah was a trooper!!) |
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This girl is tuckered. out.
Two jam-packed days will do that to you! |
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| Bye Disney... |
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| Hello Daddy, Owen, and Blake!!! |
I am just so incredibly proud of this six-year-old God gave me, really couldn't be any prouder! She is a blast to go on a trip with, and it opened up my eyes to so much I had been missing amoungst our crazy busy days!! Many times, as is expected in a family of five, her needs, wishes, wants, feelings are not always heard or seen and so this trip was such a sweet time of learning more about this thoughtful, smart, silly, playful, kind-hearted, patient, giving, responsible girl. I take for granted far too often her kindness and maturity and selflessness. She cares for her brothers well, she understands mine and her Daddy's limits and understands she's loved regardless of whether or not she gets what she wants when she wants it, I feel this is a lesson all people are continually learning and she is wise beyond her years in understanding this. God knew exactly what he was doing by making her our oldest child, she plays her role well, and I'm thankful! Oh how I love getting to be her Mommy and I love that I get to be along for the ride as she grows and learns and becomes the woman God made her to be. Prayers she always looks to God to make her dreams come true and that His love be ever present in her heart and the truth of His Word ever present on her mind. She is loved so much (yet imperfectly) by me, but PERFECTLY by Him, and I hope she knows that her whole life through!
There was only a couple weeks of summer break left once we got back, and so we spent our days preparing for Kindergarten and soaking up summer as best we could!
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| I hope this smile never leaves this boys face!! |
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Celebrating our anniversary with some Top Golf and lunch,
kept it simple this year |
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| Bananas and donuts in the park for a breakfast picnic |
And just like that our unforgettable summer came to a close and our new fall routine kicked in. Much more about that to come!!
