Moments with Grandma and Grandpa

Emmett took his first (of many) trip to G'ma and G'pa's house! Mom and Dad were so excited when Andrea pulled up with Emmett, who had turned 2 weeks that day! 

Dad is bringing Emmett 'over the threshhold' into their home. 

Mom getting her grandson out of the car seat. 

Time to just admire the cutie pie! 

Mom and Dad just can't get enough of him! 

Grandpa and grandson, enjoying each others company by the warm fire. I find this so precious! There will be many fond memories to come!  

Great Aunt Norma came over to visit as well. 

Emily getting some Emmett time. 

Uncle Nick got home from work in time to get to play with his nephew. 

Emmett gets to meet Buddy for the first time. Buddy was not that interested in him.

Time to go home!! But let's stop at Daddy's work first! 

Mamma and her baby, on there way to see Daddy at work. 

Bill showing off his new baby, and all the nurses ooooing and awwwing over the baby. 

Bill got to take his lunch after we got there, so he got some snuggle time with his baby. 

It was another great family day! I love having a nephew, and look forward to all the memories we are going to make with him :) 

Moments at the Beach

I love the Oregon coast! I have always felt a connection with the beach, and love to go. My cousins were on Spring Break, and even though the forecast was rain, rain, rain, we decided to hop in the car and go anyway! We had thought about going to Seaside, but looking at the roads, there was some flooding from all the rain. So, we headed out toward Lincoln City. As we left Newberg, there was less and less rain, and when we pulled into the beach parking lot, there was not a drop coming down! We were lucky all day with no rain! 

Stopped for some DQ on the way. The kids shared a Blizzard. 

Our back seat crew! Emily sat up front with me. 

When we got there, they wasted no time in terrorizing the seagulls! :) 

We got on the beach, and found a very very long seaweed. It provided hours of fun and games! Everyone there was watching us. I guess they were jealous of all the fun we were having, or they just thought we were weird :) 

My little bor! 

The gang.

Nick and I going for a dip. It's not a trip to the beach unless your toes have entered the water! That's my rule anyway. 

Nick and Kyler, jumping in unison! 

How low can you go? 

How high can you go? Boy, there are just so many things one can do with seaweed! I don't have a picture of it, but we played tug a war with the seaweed as well. Boys against Girls. The seaweed broke before we had a winner, but I'm pretty sure the girls were winning!  

Now it's time to throw people around! We all got turns, but there are not pictures to prove it :) 

Karen and Kyler :) 

This is at Boiler Bay. The waves behind me were HUGE! We had hoped to see some whales in the distance, but not this time. 

Photo opp! 

The boys decided to do a 'Polar Plunge'. Karen is giving Kyler instruction to not go too deep! 

Run boys, run!! Right into the frigged cold water! 

Nick and Kyler got all the way in! They were shivering cold when they got back to the car. I had to crank the heat up! 

When there is a sign that says 'Danger', all that means to the kids is 'Let's get a picture with the sign!' 

We ended out perfect day with dinner at the Otis Cafe. It was my first time there, but Emily had eaten there before, and recommended it. The food was really good!

I am so thankful for my family, and the fun times that are sure to happen when we get together!

Moments with Karen

It was fun to have Karen home for spring break. We had fun in the snow that I posted about, and then the sun came out! We decided to go on a bike ride on some nearby trails in Beaverton called Fanno Creek Trail. We printed out a map of the trail, and Sue drove us to the trail head, and off we went! 

On the car ride over. 

A big, tall, branchless tree we biked by. 

Stopping to take off our jackets, and stuff them in the bag! We went from hot to cold depending on if the trail was in the shade or sun. 

Playing 'Pooh stick'. I had never heard of it, but I guess it's something Winnie the Pooh does. You take one stick each, throw it in, and the stick that passes under the bridge first wins! We threw them in, and they did not move. So, there was no winner :) 

The is the cute bike I was riding. Sue and Ray found it at a garage sale for really cheap. Karen is taking it to college with her so she can ride it around campus. 

We kept our eye out for wild life, but did not see much. 

The trail was a lot of fun, and as it turned out, our maps were not worth much! The trail kept right on going when we entered Tigard, but it showed that it ended on the map. We just followed the trail, and ended up by the Tigard Library! It was a lot of fun! All this bike riding the past few days has made me excited for Summer, and all the fun outdoor stuff we will get to do when it is sunny everyday! :)

Moments with the Boys

I spent yesterday hanging out with my dad, and brother, Nick. What a fun day we had!! After having our little snow storm, the next days were beautiful!! Yesterday especially!! My dad and I had planned on going on a hike by the beach. He had do do some work, mow the lawn, etc. It got later in the day, and going to the beach was no longer an option. So, we loaded up the bikes to go the a nearby park that Dad told me about. By that time, Nick had come home from work, so we squeezed into the pickup, and took off! 

Here we are! 

Buddy was with us too. Dad does not go anywhere without him :)

Nick setting up his video camera to capture the beautiful day! 

Dad buys the yearly pass to the state parks. It's a good thing, cause he goes all the time! Time to play!

Dad and his Buddy.

Our bikes, out and ready to use. 

Taking a look at the trail map first. 

Here we go! It's an easy trail, so not really much of a work out. 

Trying to get a picture with all of us in it, and not crashing. I had to be careful cause I forgot my helmet! 

Nick and I.

We went about a  mile, and then we could go no further. A river was going through what used to be the trail. It was not just a little puddle we could wade across, but an actual river!! 

Standing in front of the largest Cottonwood in the nation! 

Father and Son. :)

Nick found a tree he wanted to climb.

Dad giving it a go.

I had to give it a try too. Dad was a little scared I was going to fall down. 

Hanging on for dear life!! I wanted to picture to look like I was high up in the tree. But, Buddy is right there, and you can see that I am not that high compared to him. Oh well :)

Nick never was able to make it up that big tree. I guess he is not superman! ;) So, he climbed a different tree right next to it. It turns my stomach to see him so high! 

We had a fun time together! I can't wait to enjoy more sunny days outdoors!

After our outing, we were hungry. Dad had a coupon for a Chinese place close to home, so we went there or dinner.

With Dad's coupon, we enjoyed enough food for all 3 of us, for only $10! And there were leftovers! 

The Newberg theater is just down the road from the restaurant. I saw there was a 7 pm showing of the Hunger Games. We finished up dinner, just in time for the show! I had to talk Dad and Nick into going with me. I had just finished the book, and was excited to see the movie, but did not want to go alone! 

What a fun filled day spent with my dad, and brother!!