Family Walk

This is a picture from a path by our neighborhood that goes along the Willamette River. We can go all the way to Willamette park on a paved path. It is so nice for the kids to ride their bikes on.

Another picture from up by the houses the path is down amongst all the green.
We had some good weather last night for a wonderful Sunday stroll. It is so fun to see all of the different animals. We have several Osprey nests near us. Sometimes we get to see them fishing for dinner or just out flying. We have occasionally seen little rabbits darting out of sight. It's always nice to get out and enjoy the fresh air. Thank goodness our allergies are near the end of the season.

Our Week at a Glance

We have had an eventful week. Hunter has been asking and asking for Ian, his cousin, to come over. So he did. The boys have such a great time together. I'm grateful that the live close enough to be buds.

That was Tuesday. Aaron went out of town on Wednesday for a conference for the new job. He got to go to Seaside. We were planning on me going with him. Oh what fun. Our family members had other obligations. Dana, Aaron's sister, was supposed to do something with the youth in her ward. But she put her back out last week and has been down since. So we couldn't ask them. Aaron's parents moved this weekend. Still in Lebanon just to a different house. Needless to say I wish I could have gone, well Graham and I anyway.

Also on Wednesday we went swimming but it was chilly. There was enough of a breeze to make it uncomfortable. The kids stayed in the water because if they got out of the water they were freezing. Thank goodness we have heated showers at the pool. Graham got a cold and wanted to eat, and eat and eat. Which I don't mind, it gives me more snuggle time with him.

Thursday, just a normal day. Gretchen got to have her cousin Kelly, Dana's daughter, come over. Those two girls are great together. They love to be with one another. When ever the girls are together they are trying to figure out when the next time is going to be that they can be together. Love the great cousins being so close. Graham just wanted to sleep today and would get so mad at me for trying to feed him when he was so tired.

Harrison and Gavin love it when the cousins come over too. The like to do what the other kids are doing and don't want to miss out on the fun.

I also got to watch 2 hours of The Office. Love that show. I got so sucked in and forgot to watch the So You Think You Can Dance results. Just a little veg time.

Friday, another normal day. After lunch Dawn, Aaron's sister, called to see if Gretchen and Kelly wanted to come play with some 7 week old puppies they are babysitting. Of course the girls wanted to. Off they went to play.

Down two kids I decided to lay down and finish watching a movie with the boys. I started to doze off. The kids didn't let me sleep for very long. Aaron ended up getting home earlier than he had said. He likes to do that to me. Boy was I glad to see him.

After dinner, I started to not feel so well. I could feel a fever coming on and thought maybe I had eaten something that was bad. Then I remembered one breasts was a little tender on the side. It all dawned on me I was getting mastitis. I haven't had this since Hunter was born. I had a rough night with not much sleep. Harrison also woke up in the middle of the night with the croup. Not so much fun. Aaron of course slept through most of the night. While I was up with Graham every two hours, not like him, and hearing Harrison coughing and having a hard time breathing.

This morning I got antibiotics and a little rest and I'm feeling better. Thank goodness because we're going to Utah and Idaho on Tuesday. I'm very grateful these things have happened this week. It's times like these I really appreciate those uneventful weeks.

P.S. I still haven't gotten the strawberry jam done. The strawberries are sitting in the fridge mashed and waiting for the next step.

Strawberry Picking

The kids and I went strawberry picking this morning at Twedts. We had so much fun. I think that was because we didn't stay long.

And they also helped themselves to some to snack on, especially Harrison. Now it's time to make them into jam. Of course we'll be enjoying some to snack on also. I love all the berries we get here in the Willamette Valley. We are so lucky!

School's out for summer

This is Aaron with O'Shea. He is such a great kid. O'Shea makes us laugh quite alot. He is autistic and hilarious. He has a great knowledge of keys and loves electronic gadgets. Whatever car you drive, he knows it by your keys. O'Shea is always asking for my key fab. He is one of the many things Aaron is going to miss about Lincoln.

It was a teary day at school for Aaron. Aaron is the longest working teacher at Lincoln. He did his student teaching at Lincoln 10 years ago. Then taught in Lebanon for 2 years and back to Lincoln for the last 8. The staff and kids are going to miss him so much. The teachers keep saying they don't know what their going to do with out him.

Our kids aren't going to know what to do without Aaron there. I'm glad that I good relationships with many of the staff. I can still have the inside scoop on things and happenings. Maybe in the future Aaron will be back in the Corvallis School District. But for now we know he is supposed to be in Fall City.

Summer Trips

We are leaving for our fun on June 25. And we'll get back July 9 or 10. Thank goodness Aaron will be joining us. I don't know if I could do it with the kids in the van by myself.

About school being out, I don't know that we'll get much done. I'm sure that my house will be a disaster most of the time. We'll be spending lots of time in and by the pool.

I am starting to get the itch to get some painting done. Aaron is not thrilled to hear that. In our other house I did most of the painting anyway. Don't know why he's worried. And I had lots more painted in the other by the time we moved in. Here, 1 year and 3 mon. later, same color that the painters painted when we built it. It's a great color, but I would love more variety. If and when it happens there will be pictures posted.

Last Days of School

I can hardly wait. I think I'm more excited then my kids are for school to be done. Maybe I'll get to sleep in past 6:30, Hah! Hah!.
We'll be going on a trip to Utah to visit the Petty's and Idaho to visit my brothers, sister and their families. The kids can hardly wait until we go. It is as if I've kept them locked in the house, or it could be a sense of adventure.
Our kids have never been to Utah or Temple Square. They can't wait to see where their friends Matt, Emma and Ansley live. Hearing about it and seeing pictures is just not enough.
My sister and her family live in Texas and we haven't seen the whole family for quite some time. Playing with the other cousins and going to the water park are more highlights we are looking forward to.
When we get back, we'll be spend our days by the pool, playing with neighbor friends and spending a lot of time with Aaron before he begins the new job. Maybe will even get some things done around the house.

3 months old

Graham at 3 days old

Graham at 3 months

It is hard to believe that 3 months has gone by. He was born March 4 (same days as my oldest brothers birthday). We went to the hospital at 10pm and he was born at 12:45. He ceratinly didn't take long in getting here. It was only 36 hours after his cousin Alice was born. He was 9lbs 5oz and 21 inches long.

It has been so fun having him here. I love to see the other kids playing and interacting with him.