Hailee at Aspen Grove

There were seven babies born within a few months of each other in the Layer Family. Hailee is lucky enough to be born in the middle of that group. With an extra one just a little older and one a little younger there were 9 cousins in her 'bobcat' class. It was so fun to see them all playing together. With 8 of her cousins in her class there was always someone to play with.

Hailee and Annie running off to class together.

One of her favorite things at Aspen grove was swimming at the pool. She got to go every day in her class.

Another thing she was looking forward to was the rock wall. She was a little nervous when she started climbing.

Hailee loved playing with Annie. Even when they weren't in class the cousins were playing together.

Hailee and Joel were born on the same day. Amber and I were due the same day, both went a week late.  They were born within a few hours of each other, weighed within a few ounces of each other, and were exactly the same length. When we got to family camp they both were even missing the same tooth.  They had such a good time playing together.

Joel loves catching bugs so Hailee grabbed her camera and off they ran to catch bugs to take pictures of them. When Todd went to go get them for dinner he found them running up the trail, wet and without their shoes on.

Todd: Hailee did you lose your shoes?
Hailee: No dad, I know exactly where they are.

They decided they needed to walk through a little water so they just left their shoes there.

Hailee and most of the cousins her age (we were just missing Joel). It was really fun to see them all playing together. Hailee created so many wonderful memories with her cousins.She is already counting down the days until we go again.

Aspen Grove

We just returned from Aspen Grove. Todd's family has been going to Aspen Grove since he was 4-years-old. It's so fun to see the kids enjoying the same thing that Todd did as a kid. Hailee informed us that Family Camp just isn't long enough, she wished it was two weeks. I'm pretty sure that even if they did extend Family Camp it would never be long enough.
 
Twenty minutes outside of Portland Hailee asked if we were at Aspen Grove yet. Needless to say it was a long wait for her, but both kids were amazing on the car ride. We stopped in Boise the first night and had a good rest. James was completely amazed at the couch turning into a bed. I wish I would have gotten a picture of his face. He also totally enjoyed the elevator and was so pleased to find another elevator when we got to Aspen Grove.

We such a great time visiting and playing with cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandparents. Almost all of the family were there. It was so great to catch up and have a good time together. When it was time to leave we were all in agreement with Hailee, Family Camp wasn't quite long enough.

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.