Monday, July 27, 2009

I'm a big kid too!!

Camden cracks me up. I get such a kick out of how much he wants to be like his big brother. Right now Brayden loves to Jump and Camden thinks he is just as big. He is learning the hard way sometimes that he isn't quite up for the same things.

Hangin with Kira

Kira is visiting her family that just moved here. Her husband is studying hard for the bar, and so we have been playing during the day. Last week we did a little bit of discovery. We went to the ocean to have a fire, and roast hot dogs for lunch. We had to be in a camp ground and we hiked to where the river meets the ocean. Fun times.
This is a picture of camden watching the big fishing boats coming in from the ocean. I wish you could see it better. It was fun to see.
A little cave, fun exploration. Brayden loved climbing the rocks.






Kira and her baby Melody. The boys absolutely loved her.
Very few of my pictures worked on this, but it was an amazing hike to an old growth spruce tree. It is over 400 years old and you can climb through the bottom. We start and finish by the ocean. This was the view. The two mile hike got Brayden a little tired and I ended up carrying him some of the time. Next time, Justin is coming. :)












Camping in Medford







This past week was so much fun:
Monday we went hiking with our friends to Sweet Creek Trail,
Tuesday we had a picnic and went to the library (I tried to get the kids to go to the ocean with me but the wanted to go to storytime at the library)
Wednesday we went to the lake
Thursday we went to the park
Friday we went camping in Southern Oregon. On our way we got the camera to work and take this picture of the Elk on the side of the road. When we parked the car, it was 102 degrees. That was a culture shock when we are used to 67 degrees. We camped by the river and it was nice. The boys loved it, and we had fun.
Saturday we went to the TEMPLE!! It was so amazing and so much fun to get to go together. We felt fortunate that our friends from Maryland, the Hills moved right by the temple and she offered to babysit the kids while we went through a session. Then I babysat for her while Justin was doing the youth baptism trip, and they bought a car. It was so fun to catch up and see their new life. I wish I would have taken pictures. It is Hot in Medford!!

Going to the lake


We feel so spoiled to live so close to the lake. We have enjoyed spending the summer afternoons at the lake.

Hiking










It is fun to have some cool friends. We went hiking while all of our husbands were working. We went on the WAGON trail. The kids loved finding the salamanders, salmon berries, and playing in the water. We also enjoyed the beautiful waterfall and the fun surroundings with friends. Thank you Kira for having your camera!!

Sunday, July 12, 2009

I didn't realize that I end up taking pictures almost to remind me of what has happened and to keep up with some form of a journal. This week I would have taken tons of pictures.
We went hiking in an old growth area where the trees are huge. We had family home evening with our friends the Wherity's. The kids loved the hiking and the adults couldn't get over how big the trees were. As we drove home, we were struck by the amazing beauty of the sunset over the ocean. It was absolutely breathtaking. I so wish I had my camera.

This weekend we went camping for the first time this year. Honestly it was the funniest experience ever. Justin gets Fridays off and I thought it would be fun to go camping close to home just for the night. Then someone else gave me an idea to go about 40 minutes away and then hike this amazing hike with a large waterfall at the end. As we got to the campground we had the gas light come on and so we decided to head to the next town to get gas. By the time we got there we thought we were close enough to go to Linton Lake. A place we really wanted to go to. We drove and drove and drove.... before we knew it we had been in the car almost 3 hours and still weren't there. When we got to the road there was a sign that said the road was closed. So at 9:30 pm we had to find an alternative plan. Luckily this is camp country and the next camp site was only a few miles back. When we got there the kids were so excited, they ran around while I started the fire and Justin set up the tent. They were running wild with headlights on. That night was a HARD night with the kids. Camden never calmed down and he was running around the tent most of the night. I remember looking at my watch at 3am and Camden was sitting on my head and then went running around. We brought the pack and play, but forgot the binky... big mistake. We spent the night and woke up to the most amazing camp site ever. It was right next to this large river and amazing forest. The next day we went hiking, stopped at the fish hatchery to feed some fish, and went to the Blueberry patch to pick 8 lbs of Blueberries. It was so much fun. Again, I would have taken tons of pictures.

On Saturday Brayden went to the Primary activity and loved the waterwars and all of the fun things the church had. That afternoon, Justin and I went on a date for our anniversary. Our anniversary was last week, and I cannot believe it has been 8 years already. On our anniversary two of Justins YM got their Eagle, and so he conducted the Eagle Court of Honor. I laughed while Justin was putting on his Scouting clothes, saying that I didn't like those clothes because he had dumped me the night before he got his Eagle. Yes, that was almost 12 years ago but the memory remains. The night before Graduation, his Eagle, and His graduation party. Hey, we have now been married for 8 wonderful years, so I guess it was all worth it. We went Kayaking on the lake and had a marvelous time. It was beautiful, and breathtaking. I think we are going to have to go often. It was a fun date.

Going to the Lake

I was able to recover a few pictures from the camera. I am still trying to figure out what happened, and see if we can avoid buying a new one too soon. On a regular basis we find ourselves heading to the lake. In our small town we do not have a pool. This completely suprized me because I have never lived without a pool in the summer. When you get here you realize why. There are 17 fresh water lakes and a few of them have swimming beaches. This is the one the "locals" go to on a regular basis, and it is so much fun. I find that we are usually some of the earliest ones there so we can get back for Camden's nap.
This is what it looks like Before: (I am suprized I didn't get any of the kayakers, waterskiiers or other boaters in this picture)
In the afternoon:
It is fun to hang out, and let the kids get real worn-out before heading home. The kids love sand castles, running in the water, and just having fun. This is one of the bigger lakes, and it is so scenic.

Sunday, July 5, 2009

Journaling


Well it officially happened... The camera experienced sudden death. I guess it was a slow process of terrible abuse, between the kids, SAND, and me. We are so sad that we have missed several events without our camera. What did people do before digital? :)

Recently I found out that Thomas the train is actually a train and he comes to Mt. Hood. I was all excited about the idea of adventure with the kids. I told my sister-in-law about it, and that they were visiting by her house as well. She went and took her kids, Brayden wanted to go too. After more evaluation we realized that it might be better to go on the short train ride here in town. It was a GREEN train, just like Henry his favorite toy, so he was so excited and it was a fraction of the cost, and tons less driving and crowds. Lucky for us.

Camden has been really excited about boats lately. We go for walks around town and every other house seems to have a boat, ATV, or RV. Camden with his limited vocab will yell "BOAT" We decided to take him on a boat at one of the local lakes. They have paddle boats for rent and we went out for an hour. The kids loved it, Camden was ready to jump in the lake multiple times.

We have decided that we are officially climatized. When we first got here in August last year, it was COLD. I was afraid that I would never get to wear my shorts again. The climate on the Oregon coast is 50-70 degrees year round. We have been going to the lake with our friends on a regular basis and I think it is hot. The kids are running through the water making sand castles and never really use a towel. I get back up to the car and the thermometer on the car says: 64...
Who in their right mind goes to the lake at that temp? Well, its those of us who are officially climatized, and it feels great!!! When we go into Eugene and its 80 or 90 degrees, we can't wait to get home. I forget how hot the car gets in that kind of weather.

For the 4th of July we had an awesome ward BBQ. It was at one of the houses in our ward, and it was awesome. We had beautiful weather and fun games. Justin ended up being in charge of all the games and he did great. That night we went to the down town and watched the fireworks over the river. It was awesome, but the fog rolled in from the ocean so it was chilly and the fireworks were so different half way in fog. I did laugh that last year I was wearing shorts and tee-shirts and this year I was wearing my ski coat and cuddled in a blanket because it was only 55 degrees.

We are almost done with Phase 1 of the house!!! We are so excited and feel like we are on the home stretch! Phase 1 will be the most expensive, and the most dramatic. This included:
All new kitchen: cabinets, sink, counter top, appliances, lighting, disposal, and flooring
All new flooring: 650 square feet of tile, and 166 sq yards of Carpet. totalling 2100 sq feet of new flooring (the only thing left is the bathrooms)
All new paint: Every wall and every ceiling has been repainted.
All new doors on the main floor.
2 new toilets, 1 new bathroom,
All new Trim. Trim around the doors,and windows
New sliding glass door
and refinishing the kitchen table!
We currently have to finish the table, and put on the last few pieces of trim. SO exciting and we are ready to take a break before phase 2

Here are some funny kids stories:
At the lake one of our favorite things to do is run in the water and splash all over Camden while he is running with me. Camden kept doing it, and when we got home I found out that he had rubbed his legs raw with the wet diaper. He would take 2-3 steps and say "HURT,HURT,HURT" When I figured it out that it wasn't on his foot and started putting ointment on it, he was so excited because I had finally understood him. Camden has started his little attitude and has to do everything himself, and if something is bothering him, he refers to the word "HURT". It gets a little difficult when that means roll up my pants, or fix my sock.

Brayden has started to pick up some of my phrases and the new ones of the week were:
"Let me tell you the story mom" (as he was telling me something so he could get out of trouble.)
"Mom, stop Freakin out!" (that was a total surprise because I was eating breakfast wondering what we were going to do that day, I realized he doesn't know what that means)

We hope to get a new camera soon, until then it is just a journal without the photos.