More Visits!

I had to add this picture as an afterthought. I just thought it was funny. Cute girl! She's so crazy about shoes!!

We did all sorts of things while Mom and Dad were here. I probably can't even remember them all. We went to the children's museum and down to the river to throw rocks. Grandpa showed Coleman how to skip flat rocks. We went to Silver Falls and expanded our waterall experience by hiking both directions from the trailhead. The second waterfall was amazing - we walked behind it along a trail - so neat!! We went to OMSI and hung out at Aunt Mackie's house (Coleman really likes all her animal figurines). We went to a birthday party for Jeff's little boy and reconnected with them (after about 15 years). We even had a pre/post birthday party for Coleman and Brooklyn. It was just fun. Between major events, we rested, watched Leave It to Beaver, played Wii (Dad and Tyler were quite the bowlers and archers), read stories, made Costco runs and hung out. It was so great to be together. Dad and Tyler worked on our lawn mower and hung out in the garage and Mom and I chatted and caught up while the kids rested.

My parents came to visit the first week in August. It was so fun to have them. They flew in Tuesday morning and we met them in Gladstone at my great aunt's house. We hung out in Portland and went to lunch at Tebos (a family favorite restaurant) with Mom and Dad and Dad's cousin, Nancy. It was so great to see her too! We had a great time. We drove home squished in our car and hung out for a few minutes 'till Tyler got home. It was wonderful just to have them around. The kids were thrilled to see Grandpa and Grandma and had such a great time playing with them and showing them what they like to do.

Brookie LOVES shoes! She thought Grandpa's were especially neat.

Brookie, Grandpa, Grandma and Cole hanging out at the river.

Coleman learning to skip rocks. (We're mostly happy nobody got bonked on the head and that all the airborn rocks ended up in the water.)

Coleman at the childrens museum climbing in the river in the Chinese room.

Brookie loves the music and the big panda in the China room.

Loves.

At the childrens museum they have a room that shows your shadow in these neat lights. We all had a great time. Coleman espcially loved using the hula hoop.

Grandma is an angel. :)

Coleman making circles with the hoop.

The dino chair at the museum - a definite favorite!

Brookie loves to rock. This chair was her favorite.

Brookie in the bubble room at the museum.

Dad and Brookie walking to the first waterfall at Silver Falls.

Coleman, Mom, Dad, and Brookie at the first waterfall at Silver Falls. We can't wait to see the rest of the falls - there are 10 waterfalls in an 8 mile loop. We're working up to making that happen with our kids. :)

Cole, Grandpa, Grandma and Brookie at Silver Falls

Mom, Grandma and Brookie at the falls.

Grandma, Cole and Grandpa hiking along the trial toward the second waterfall.

Dad and Mom checking out the great views

Hiking

Dad and Brookie behind the waterfall

Grandpa and Cole behind the waterfall chillin' on the bench. What a neat view - and the company was great!

Mmmmmmmm...

Coleman loves cupcakes!!

Cole finally ate his dinner (which he had been holding in his cheek for 30 minutes) so he could have cake. :) We're not sure what is up with his new chipmunk strategy...???

Birthday cake is so yummy!

Opening presents at his birthday party

"Buzz" Coleman Astronaut

Brookie landing the shuttle :)

Brookie Astronaut

Wearing goggles from the chemistry lab at OMSI.

The little mad scientist - he was a scientist, an astronaut and Buzz Lightyear while wearing these at OMSI.

Playing with bubble guns. These kiddos were totally spoiled - not only by Grandpa and Grandma, but Grandma Neff too. They really had a blast with these bubble blower guns. (We're still getting a kick out of them!)

Visits!

We were so lucky to have Grandpa Terry, Grandma Marilee and Uncle Trent come visit! It's always fun to be with them! I wish I'd taken pictures! I think we have some somewhere that Terry took. I'll have to search. I was still in lame-o camera mode. We had a great time together though.

Grandpa and Grandma slept over on Monday night and then spent the day with us Tuesday. Tyler and I enjoyed some great adult company and the next day the kids were in heaven hanging out with some of their favorite people! We hung out at home and went to the childrens' museum. It was a great day! Thanks for all the fun Grandpa and Grandma!

One day the kids and I drove out to see Trent swim at Mt. Hood Acquatics. He was terrific. After (well, kindof during) the meet, the kids, Grandma Marilee and I went swimming at their hotel. It was a blast! Coleman had a great time pretending to be Uncle Trent. We're hoping that he will sometime actually learn how to swim. :)

Grandpa and Grandma met us Friday at Silver Falls where we had a picnic and hiked to a really cool waterfall. It was fun to see them and to be outside! Silver Falls is a really neat place!

Sunday was the grand finale. Grandpa, Grandma AND Uncle Trent had a sleepover at our house and we enjoyed church together. They had to leave really early Monday morning and we were so sorry to have them go, but we can't wait to see them again!

Thanks for the fun times! We love you!

Sumertime!

We've been busy with play groups and visitors and just having a good time. I haven't taken as many pictures as I would have liked, but here are a few of some of our good times!

Cole and Brookie at playgroup at the park. They both had a great time pushing this fun ride-on through the park. Another terrific brother/sister moment. I love it when they have a great time playing together!

Enjoying the backyard
Loves from the dad!

Sitting in the big chair at the childrens' museum. Thanks Grandpa Terry and Grandma Marilee for the passes. What a fun birthday present! Cole (and the rest of us) are really enjoying it!

Fun Fun Fun!

We're loving our new house and just hanging out as a family. Wrestling with dad is definiteley a favorite passtime! :) Ty's rotations have been going well. He's had lots of different changes in schedules, but still always makes time to be with us - and we LOVE IT!

4th of July Celebrations

The 4th of July was fabulous! It was so fun to have an excuse to have a party! Our ward did a breakfast on the 3rd and we went to a BBQ with friends after church on the 4th.

Playing in the gravel at the park during the ward breakfast.

Buzz (Coleman) Lightyear - he's showing us his scarry lazer.

Playin' on the porch at the Platt's house during a fun 4th fo July BBQ. Thanks Platts for the fun evening!

Judd, Clara, Coleman and Buzz

Our little explorer.

Tyler, Steve and Kelly tossed a football for awhile. Nice and relaxing. We all love to be outside.

I love climbing on the steps (or anything else I can find)!

I love playing outside!

Cole and Judd. We love playing in the Platts' backyard. It's big enough to explore for hours at a time! What a blast! We even saw some deer. :)

Yay! Fireworks! Cole and Brookie both thought this was fabulous! We had a great time with the sparklers and loved watching the other fun stuff Kelly and Sally brought. Thanks for the fun show guys!

We're thankful for the opportunity we had on the 4th of July to reflect on the blessings we have and those who have gone before us to pave the way for our families and our country.

New House

Here's a picture of our new place. We were so lucky to find it - especially in the time frame we had. (We gave ourselves one day to find somwhere.) This was the best we found and has proved to be a great place. Just what we need. The kids love having a yard! I love having a washer and dryer! Ty and I occasinally throw baseballs in the back after the kids are in bed. We've picniced and eaten many popsicles on the grass. Ty's washed the cars every weekend. :) We have a little more space for when people come to stay. It's been great so far. If I ever get the inside looking respectable, I'll post pictures. Don't anybody hold your breath. :)

We're MOVING - June

June was a busy month! We packed and played and Ty took the COMLEX. We were reminded many times of the great expereinces we've had in California and the many things we've learned. We're going to miss our friends and our ward. We'll miss the beautiful beaches and plant life, Disneyland, Bass Pro Shop, Joshua Tree, walking to the grocery store, our favorite parks . . . lots of things we've grown to love. We're excited though to move on with Ty's schooling and have the opportunity to get to know a new place.

Our cute friends in our ward threw a going away party for us. It was so fun to see everyone and we so appreciate all the work that went in to planning and carrying out such an extravaganza! We love you all so much and are going to miss you terribly! Please, please, please keep in touch! (I forgot my camera, so I don't have any pictures, but it was quite an affair!)

Ty's dad came to drive to OR with us and he was such a help. The night we packed our truck we had so many friends offer their help! Thank you thank you everyone who worked so hard. Thanks especially to Joe and Janel and Mike and Veronica who stayed until late late and helped us until there was absoluteley nothing left to do!

I didn't take many pictures this month. We were just too busy. Looking back, I really wish I had. Here are the few I do have. Maybe I can beg Brittney for pictures from our fun party. Until then, this is June. :)

(Once again I've posted the pictures in reverse order. Please read backwards. It takes way too long to repost.)

Reading stories at our new house. :)

The week we got here Coleman decided he wanted to use the big boy potty. He wanted to earn a Buzz Lightyear toy. He did so well! We're proud of you Cole! This is Coleman with his full potty chart on our way to get Buzz at the store. Congratulations Buddy! You're so big!!

Having a little fun in our new house. Dad is great at providing fun rides. :) The kids are especially happy the the route is longer than it was in our apartment. Did we mention we love our house?!!

Our last day at our California ward. We'll miss you!

Super Dad reading Brookie's favorite book. She loves the song, If You're Happy and You 'Know It. This book plays the song and she gets such a kick out of it. Thanks Ty for taking time for all of us even in your most busy and hectic times!

Brookie also loves to dress up. She's wearing her favorite costume (besides just beads) - butterfly wings. What a great dollar store purchase!! :)

Cute Coleman is good at sharing - even sharing his daddy. I love the look on his face in this picture! He's a wonderful big brother! Thanks Buddy for being so kind and patient with your little sister.

Cole and Brookie partying in their half-packed room. They were such troopers throughout all the chaos!