Intel Party

Saturday Intel had a summer party for it's employee's. They rented out PGE park (the local baseball/soccer teams play there) so we made a fun day of it. We took the MAX in and had a lovely day, it was a little warm, but overall we had a great time.

The kids really enjoy taking the train into town.

Hailee playing baseball.

The kids enjoying lunch.

James looking very annoyed at me for asking for a smile while he was busy eating his ice cream sandwich. When Todd went to go get the ice cream after lunch he asked if how many he should get....3? So I asked him if he wanted to eat one, I knew James could eat one by himself. He came back with 4 and James was so pleased to get his own.

As we were getting ready to leave we ran into some friends from our old ward. Since they took the max in as well we rode back with them. The girls had a great time cracking jokes and laughing.

Something New

Thursday the kids and I were ready to try something new.

We went to a new berry farm that is really close to our house. It's a little more expensive than my favorite place ($1.40/pound) but this place had a bunch of different kinds of berries. We tried tayberries, jostaberries, boysenberries, red currents, gooseberries, marionberries, and black caps. It was so much fun. We decided that we liked the red currents, gooseberries, boysenberries and marionberries. The black caps were also good, but they didn't have very many. We're going to have to go back after they have ripened some.

So after we got home with our fun new berries I had to decide what to do with them. The marionberries and boysenberries are easy, but I wasn't sure what to do with the currents and gooseberries. I found a fun recipe for lamb chops with a current and rosemary sauce. I had never made or even eaten lamb before so I decided to go ahead and try it. After all we had fresh rosemary in our garden.

It ended up being just one of those really nice days that I felt like I got a lot done, had some fun, and had a yummy dinner at the end of the day. The lamb chops turned out wonderfully. The sauce/marinade was so good and I think it will be good on pork chops as well.

We absolutely love the summer's here in Oregon and I have to say I'm afraid I've been ruined for life. There is nothing better than getting our farm share every week, having a garden with all kinds of fresh herbs, and farms close to my house where I can go pick just about anything I want. I don't think I'll be able to leave.

Our other new thing I found was elephant garlic. Tonight I roasted it and ate it with crusty bread. It was so good. I found it at the farm store of our new berry place. It's about 6 inches across. It is always so fun to try something new.

Lamb Chops in Red Currant and Rosemary Sauce

• 4 lamb chops, fat trimmed
• 4 tbsp red wine vinegar
• 3 tbsp red currants, crushed
• 2 tbsp rosemary
• 1 tbsp honey
• 1 clove(s) garlic, minced
• 1 tsp olive oil
• salt and pepper, to taste

Method
Combine all the ingredients in a ziplock bag and place it into the fridge. Let marinate for two hours.
Preheat oven to 350°C. Remove lamb chops from the bag and reserve marinade. Broil the lamb chops in the oven for about 10 minutes per side. Place the marinade into a small pan and reduce until thickened, stirring continuously. To serve, pour sauce over the lamb chops.

Lost Tooth....New Tooth

The time had come to get Hailee's tooth out. She has been 'babying' it for a month and a half now. When I got a look at it yesterday I told her it was time to get it out. She wiggled and wiggled it for a while. As you can see should could turn it completely around. It still wasn't coming so I decided to have a look at it. (Not really my favorite thing. I didn't like pulling out my own teeth, let alone someone elses. I really needed my sister Deneille, she was great at it.) I wiggled it a little and she complained that it was hurting. Then I had a great idea. I put a little Orajel in her mouth. The second I put it in just one tiny tug and her tooth was out.

She was so thrilled to have it out.

James was pretty excited about it too.

She was super thrilled to put her tooth in her pillow and wait for the tooth fairy.

Baby James has been working on a few teeth of his own. He now has 4 on top and 4 on the bottom, with an extra molar just starting to break through on the bottom. He has the hardest time with his teeth. I'm hoping to get these molars in and have a little break for a while.

Just for you mom

This is just for my mom who doesn't believe me anymore when I tell her how nice the weather is. This is yesterday at 11:45 am on a morning walk to Costco. It did warm up to 80 degrees by the end of the afternoon.

The Coast

After a sad week of 'vacations-over' blues we decided to head out to the coast for a little fun. We spent the day at Seaside. The nice thing about the coast in Oregon is that it's a beautiful drive out there as well as beautiful when you get there. We stopped at a roadside shop and tried some deer jerky as well as a few really yummy cherries. I love summer time.

Once we got there we walked around a bit since James was sleeping. Did a little shopping and enjoyed people watching. There was a bunch of motorcyclist in town for something. I have never seen so many middle-aged men wearing chaps and trying to look tough in my life. They funny thing is Seaside is a town full of ice cream parlors, home made candy shops, and arcade games. Not really a tough biker kind of town.

We also went to the little aquarium to feed the seals. Hailee and James loved watching the seals. They were so cute trying to get you to feed them some fish. They would clap their hands and look at you with big brown eyes.

You can always count on the weather on the coast to be cooler than Portland. Even in July we needed jackets and sweaters. Luckily as the day got a little later it got a little warmer and we got to play on the beach. It was the first time James has really played at the beach. I was curious to see how he would do. It took Hailee a little time to warm up to the beach, but it took James a total of half a second. He loved the sand and water.

Next time we'll have to plan to stay a while longer. I thought it would be too cold to have fun. The water was a little cold, but it didn't seem to bother the kids at all.

Oregon

After coming to my house last year when all the berries were in season my parents are now hooked to Oregon u-pick berry farms. When we were first planning our trip for the family reunion my dad told me he wanted to bring me back so he could go berry picking.They only got to stay for two whole days, but we packed in as much as we could in those two days.

First and the most important thing to do was go berry picking. My parents have a knack for coming at the hottest time of the year. There are probably 2 weeks worth of hot weather in Oregon and I think my parents have hit them both times they have been here in the summer. Even though we had record temperatures (the u-pick farms were closing early due to heat) they still got over 100 pounds of raspberries, blackberries, and blueberries. They have already started planning next years berry trip. My mom doesn't believe me when I tell her how nice the weather is in Oregon. When we went of Friday to pick berries James loved helping Grandpa pick berries. He would pick a berry and say "thank you" as he put it in Grandpa's bucket. He would only help Grandpa pick berries. It was so fun to see him enjoying picking, it was the first time he really participated and not just played.

Friday during the day we went berry picking but that evening when Todd got home we decided to venture out to Portland. For a little extra adventure we decided to take the train in. It was a lot of fun. We had to show Grammy our favorite bookstore and then we went to dinner before coming home.

The next day after a little more berry picking we decided to go to Multnomah Falls. A place none of us had been to before. It was a nice little hike to see the waterfalls. It was still quite toasty so no one was really excited for a big hike.

James was tired and crabby. He wouldn't even stay in his stroller. I guess that is what happens when you miss your nap. After a little while he got a little happier and had a better time.

We even got him to smile for the camera a time or two.

The Drive Home

I was more than a little nervous as to how the drive back to Oregon would go, but in all reality the kids were absolutely amazing. We planned it just about perfectly. We left right after lunch and the kids were exhausted so they both slept for a couple of hours. Then they were happy for a while before we stopped for dinner to let them run around. Then after dinner they were still happy and after a few hours it was time for bed. They slept the rest of the way home. We didn't get in until about 1:00 am but it worked great for the kids. The adults were a little tired, except for Grandma who slept with the kids.

The other thing that helped out a lot was our new ipod touch. Hailee and James both enjoy playing games on it. After looking into several different things we decided on the touch. I love that you can get educational game apps. Hailee's favorite is Math Bingo. I like that she is learning as she is playing. James also likes playing his games we got for him. The only problem with the ipod is that we might need to buy another one or two, since they are everyone's favorite new toy.

Yellowstone

It has been 17 years since my family went to Yellowstone (that makes me feel really old). Since Kristen still had a couple of days off we went to visit her in Idaho Falls before driving back to Oregon. She lives fairly close to Yellowstone so we decided to take a little day trip.

This trip was very different than the trip we made 17 years ago. All five girls were there, but this time we had 6 extra kids and Grandpa has mellowed quite a bit since then. The first trip we were up at the crack of dawn (my dad would get up first to look for animals and then let us sleep in until 6:00 am) and then going non-stop until we collapsed at night around 10 or 11 pm. There were no time to stop for eating or anything else. On the agenda was seeing every geyser, hot pot, waterfall, and animal available in Yellowstone. The mornings and evenings were spent looking for animals and the days were filled with driving from one Yellowstone attraction to another. I think we saw most of Yellowstone the three days we spent there.

This time was a lot more relaxing. Not to say that is was more fun. Just very different. :) Since we were in two cars, Grandpa and Grandma took Derek, Hailee and Cambria. We had the girls, two babies and Ethan in our car. We thought Grandma and Grandpa might rethink their decision. Hailee and Cambria didn't stop talking the whole time until about 20 minutes from home where they all fell asleep at the same time. At one point Grandpa turned out the radio, but he was quickly informed that the girls "couldn't concentrate" with the music on. There were also so many stops to go potty, every time they pulled over we stopped to see who needed to go that time. I lost track of how many times Derek needed to pee.  For their part, the kids loved riding in Grandpa's truck and had the best time. 

When we entered the park they gave the kids a paper with all the animals you could find in Yellowstone and places where you could check them off. They took this very seriously. They searched and searched for animals. On the way home they were a little sad that they hadn't found more animals on the list so grandma told them they could count the "animals" they saw in the gift shop. They were so pleased. When we all stopped the girls were so pleased to show Ethan how many they had checked off, Ethan was a little bugged he didn't get the 'memo' about the new stuffed animal rule. He quickly got caught up with the girls and everyone was so pleased to have checked off so many animals.

It was such a fun day. It was nice to see the park growing back. We were there after the really big fire that destroyed a lot of the park. It was amazing to see how big the trees had gotten in that time.

The kids had such a great time running around together. Grandpa spoiling them all with new stuffed animals from the gift shop was also a favorite thing. He sure is getting soft with these grandkids.

Cousins

As of right now my kids have 4 cousins and as of right now those cousins live 33 hours away from our house.

Because of that we don't get together nearly as often as we would like. In fact these two cousins are only 6 weeks apart in age and this was the first time they meet each other. It was so cute to introduce them on this trip. I'm pretty sure they will become great friends in time. This trip they didn't really know what to do with each other.

I'm pretty sure that one day they will be like these two little munchkins. They haven't seen each other in about two years and it was as if no time had passed. They had so much fun together. It was weird for me the whole time we were together I hardly saw Hailee. Usually she stays fairly close to me, but this trip she was off with her cousins. By the end of the week I was starting to miss her.

Hopefully we can get them together more often.

And hopefully we can get a better picture of these two.

Finishing Up

Hailee and Cambria with a great place to watch the parade....right on Grandpa's lap.

Monday was the last official day of the reunion. Everyone got up early to go on the Freedom Run, except for the kids and I. I was a little nervous to watch 6 kids by myself, but they all slept until it was time to go to the parade. In fact we barely made it in time to see the parade.

The kids loved the parade. The rest of the time was spent playing games, swimming and tye-dying shirts.

Cambria and Hailee loved making shirts. Of course I'm pretty sure they would love doing anything together, but when clothes and the color pink is involved it makes it even that much more fun.

That night they watched The Princess and the Frog on the big screen outside. They started the movie pretty late so I was very surprised both little girls stayed up the whole time, especially after the busy weekend we had had.

It was so much fun to get together with family.  James remembered Aunt Carla from when we were in Arizona for Christmas, it was so fun to see. Wouldn't it be so nice to get together a few times a year instead of every few years. It's so fun to see my kids having fun with aunts, uncles, cousins and grandparents just like I did when I was their age.

Conversations

These are just a few of my favorite pictures of James while we were in Utah. He really is growing up so fast. The first week we spent at my parents then Todd met up with us for our family reunion. In just that week Todd couldn't believe how much he had grown up.

The biggest change he noticed was how much more he was talking. When we would talk to Todd in the evening James would say "Hi Da" and then baby talk for quite a while after. While he still doesn't say a lot of "words" he is "talking" a lot more than he was. I think it was the first time he really wanted to "talk" on the phone. Every day he keeps learning more and more words. He also learned to communicate by shaking his head "yes." and to wave "bye."

I was a little nervous about going for a whole week without Todd since he is such a daddy's boy. When Todd was gone for work for 2 days he was a bear to live with, but he did okay. He was so excited to see Todd when I picked him up from the airport, but Grandpa and cousins made an okay substitute while daddy was away.  He even learned to say "Grandpa" at least he said it once for my dad.

He is just growing up so fast. I love seeing him learn how to communicate. Now when Todd comes home he says "hi daddy, hi daddy" until Todd picks him up. He is super sweet at giving hugs and kisses. The other night he gave Hailee a hug and a kiss, but when Hailee wanted another one he pushed her away and waved "bye-bye." Hailee at this age was stringing words together, but with his few little words he's able to communicate exactly what he wants.