I have a cute son...

I know I still need to finish the Oregon trip...but Michael's had a few milestones this past week that I can't pass up blogging about.

1. He has officially discovered his feet and is often found with one foot either in his hand or in his mouth...

2. He has fallen in love with the snoring monkey Grandma Peggy gave him and enjoys playing with him (aka eating him) while in his bumbo.


And the most exciting of all...

3. Yesterday morning MICHAEL ROLLED OVER! (from his tummy to his back) We thought that maybe it was a fluke, but then he did it 4 more times last night when we had company over. I'm going to try catching it on video sometime this week...

...and since I don't have a picture for #3, I'll share this one...

I have such a cute son!


PS. Jennie, I finished Chamber of Secrets, Prisoner of Azkaban, Goblet of Fire, and the Order of the Phoenix...and I just started Half-Blood Prince...

Trip to Oregon continued...

It has taken me a little longer than expected to continue posting about the Oregon trip...but I blame Jennie. Sorcerer's Stone-done. Chamber of Secrets-page 164. Thankfully Michael doesn't mind me reading Harry Potter books to him instead of "The Little Engine that Could." Reading a novel aloud makes it a much longer read...but anyway, we now take a break from the Harry Potter World to post...

Day 2:

The Second day we were in Oregon, we decided to do a session at the Portland temple. The outside was covered in beautiful marble and it seemed to be hidden by the surrounding trees...completely gorgeous of course.

Steven and Stephanie were nice enough to watch James and Michael while we were inside...but as Steven put it "What else are we going to do?"

After we got home from the temple, sandwiches were made and eaten, and we made our way to the Japanese Gardens. We were a little late to catch the tour, but when we found the group we couldn't hear what the lady was saying--so we let Paul guide us through the gardens. I think he made up half of what he said ;) but regardless, he was very entertaining and informative. Unfortunately, all I really remember is the shi shi bucket...but everything was beautiful.


Day 3:

On Saturday, August 29th we all wore our matching shirts and hiked Multnomah Falls.

The whole group in our shnazy shirts.

Me and my boys

sista love :)

At the bottom it said it was 1.0 miles to Multnomah Falls--lies. When we hit the 1 mile marker we were not there. Once we started hiking it also said there were 11 switchbacks--more lies. They sometimes counted 2 or 3 switchbacks as 1--very rude if you ask me...giving first-timers a false hope making them believe they're almost there when really they're not! Luckily it was worth every extra step :)

in the wilderness

Proud Papas

hugs!

kisses!

At the top!

Mom made it to the top a little later. Baba managed to get to switchback #3 (which is pretty impressive had you seen the steep climb she was making with her cane) before she had to stop. Mom waited until Steven and Stephanie came back down to take her place and be with Baba so she could venture up too.

Jonathan decides to cool off in the freezing water...

James ventures in too...

The way down was much quicker of course but also much more taxing on the knees and hips. When we got home everyone was ready for a nap, but only Jonathan and Michael got one...

The fun of course couldn't stop there! Later that evening we decided to pick some blackberries and play some baseball. Jennie warned us all that the blackberry bushes are rather prickly, and so in order to prevent my accident prone self from losing my hand to a bush--I picked a total of 3... :)

notice Jonathan in the bushes behind my mom...I think he's eating as he's picking :) sneaky sneaky!

Instead of playing an actual game of baseball due to the lack of gloves, Paul pitched to each of us and we scored a number of points depending on where the ball was hit. Paul's team was getting massacred...and had it not been for James picking up the slack in the end, they would have lost...


Okay, I need a break (as I'm sure you do as well if you made it this far)--Back to Harry Potter...

Trip to Oregon

The much awaited trip to Oregon has come and gone. It was tons of fun to have everyone on my side of the family together yet again this summer. Unfortunately it will be the last time for a while :(.

Day 1:
Jonathan, Michael, and I drove through the night last Wednesday and arrived in Beaverton, Oregon mid-morning on Thursday. Michael was such a trooper with the 11-hour car drive. We only had to stop twice to feed him, but each of those times he immediately fell back asleep. Had it not been for the sun coming out I think he would have slept the rest of the time. That evening, we watched Paul and Jonathan play softball. It's been quite a long time since Jonathan has played ball and he quickly learned that he's not as fast as he used to be. He got a nice lump on his shin to prove it. Unfortunately I didn't get a picture of it...but here are a few from that night:

I don't know what Paul is looking at...

Jonathan manages to hit the ball...

...and get on base. Please notice how dirty he manages to get...

The rest of us just watched and ate snow cones. James however made a new friend at the park:

And Grandma Gracie took great pleasure in getting in as much Michael time as she could...

Paul's team was pretty much masacred in the first game, but they managed to win the second one. I definitely miss watching Paul play ball!

Coming Next:
Day 2: Our visit to the Portland Temple and the Japanese Gardens
Day 3: Multnomah Falls, blackberry picking and a pick-up baseball game at the park
Day 4: The Oregon Coast, Tillamook Cheese Factory, and a visit with Adam
Day 5: Pool time at the hotel and Mariners vs. Angels at Safeco
Day 6: Being Tourists in Seattle and visiting the Whatcott Fun Center

Michael Laughs

I know I just posted a few hours ago...but I couldn't pass up posting this cute video of Michael. He's been giggling more and more, but the first time he seriously laughed was the weekend of his blessing. Of course, the only person who heard it was Jonathan. When we were in Oregon, he put on a show for Paul and Jennie, but I wasn't able to catch it on camera. He's done it a few times since, but I found his weak spot today...

hehehe...too cute.

We're Back!

We just got back from a wonderful Family Vacation in Oregon and Seattle. But...before I post any of those exciting adventures, I first need to catch up with the fun visit we had with Claire a few weeks ago...

You see...Claire had never been to Utah. I've lived here now for 5 years and she's never come to visit--sad day. It took having a baby to get her out here. Had I known that that is what it would take, I would have considered having a baby sooner! (JUST KIDDING) Actually Claire's been all sorts of busy with her most recent accomplishment being that of graduating with her bachelors and getting accepted into a masters program at Chapman University. So she decided to take one last adventure before selling her soul back to school.

I warned her that this adventure would be rather uneventful considering we are rather boring people...but we tried to keep her busy with some vicious games of Uno, Racko, and Monopoly.

We also went on a hike one evening with Diana and Jeff...
I think the trail was called Twin Falls, (Diana, you'll have to correct me if I'm wrong.) and it was absolutely gorgeous. On the way down we picked a flower for Derek since he was generous enough to let me steal his wife for 5 days.

We also discovered on Claire's visit that Michael does much better on long car rides when he has someone in the back seat to keep him company. (This knowledge definitely came in handy on our road trip to and from Oregon...)

On the Thursday she was in town we decided to be touristy and go to Temple Square. We watched the Joseph Smith film and walked around the grounds.


While we were there I also got my first parking ticket....grrr. I figured free parking was the best route to take so I parked behind the Conference Center. It was only 2 hour parking so after we watched the Joseph Smith film we moved it to the other side of the street which was also 2 hour parking. An hour later we went back to the car so that we could pick Diana up so we could all go swim and visit Grandma Peggy. As we approached the car though we saw a not so nice envelope under my windshield wipers...not a happy moment. About 10 minutes prior a ticket was written because it was first chalked and recorded on the other side of the street and then chalked and recorded on this side of the street more than 2 hours later. I was very frustrated and being the pansy I am I was just going to pay the $15 ticket (It was $55 if paid after 10 days). Anyway, Claire gave me the courage to drive the four blocks to the courthouse to dispute it. When we arrived we spoke to someone and found out there was no way to argue it because the person writing the ticket has no way of knowing we moved it to the other side of the road. We also learned that there are 2 ways parking enforcement does their job. One way is to chalk tires, and the other way is to record the car electronically. If it is chalked you have to drive enough for it to come off (or wipe it off) if you are going to park in the same vicinity. If it is recorded electronically, you shouldn't park in the same vicinity for at least 2 1/2 hours after you move it because if they record you at the end of the 2 hour period you were there and you go home or drive to the airport and come back in less than 2 hours you can technically get a ticket. The annoying thing is that you have no way of knowing which they are doing that day or in that area...RIDICULOUS... Anyway the lady we spoke to reduced the ticket to $5 since I had never had a parking violation in the area...Claire and I rationalized that had we parked in any of the lots in the area it would have been a minimum of $6, so the ticket was the better deal :(

Well after taking care of that we picked Diana up and went swimming in Riverton at Grandma Peggy's complex. The water was a little more pleasant this time for Michael, but it didn"t take long for him to start shivering...so we got out and had a nice visit with grandma.

The following day we had to drive Claire to the airport and say goodbye :( It was a really fun visit...and I hope it doesn't take me having another baby for her to come back! ;)