So Tired

I know it looks like Harrison was run over by our armoire. Don't worry he's fine. This is where he likes to watch T.V. lately. I guess he was a bit tired and couldn't move from this spot. We thought it was pretty funny.

Rollin', Rollin', Rollin'

Before we left on our vacation, Graham started to roll over. Now of course he is rolling around the room. That is if his siblings will let him get there. He has been so much fun to have and is so patient with everything that goes on.


Here are some pictures of the cousins getting reacquainted after our trip. Aren't that so cute?

A Trip to the Coast

We took a trip to the coast back in February when Aaron's sister Jonelle and her boyfriend came to visit from Arizona. I was looking through our pictures to see what we had done this year. This picture reminded me of a dream Aaron had the night before we went to the coast.

His dream: we were at the Devil's Punch Bowl and Gretchen climbed over the fence to see an animal I think it was a sea lion. She ended up falling in the ocean or getting attacked by a sea lion. I can't remember exactly. It was something traumatic.

So the whole time we were at the Devil's Punch Bowl, Aaron was on high alert about were Gretchen was. He is the one who took the picture of the sign to remind him of that dream.

Hunter enjoying the view.

Gretchen with Aunt Jo Jo, Charlie, and Grandma Hale.

Dawn and I welcoming the distraction of a day trip to help us forget about still being pregnant.

We had a great time. It was stormy, cold and the tide was in, so the Punch Bowl was churning. The kids loved it. The kids stopped at the Spouting Horn in Depot Bay, with Dawn. The got soaked and were squealing the whole time. It was a very memorable trip.

On the Road Again

No we are not venturing out on another road trip. I have just started running again after our vacation. I had every intention on running while we were gone. Running shoes, and MP3 in hand still didn't help me get out there. We stayed up late so many nights and I didn't get up early enough to beat the heat so the running just didn't get done.

When we got back from vacation, I didn't feel like exercise at all with a yucky tummy. Finally today I felt like getting out there and getting the blood pumpin'. I really did feel good. There are times I love the release running gives me. Also there are times a just dread it. But, I always feel good afterwards. I know my family likes it when I exercise. I seem to be a happier mom.

Saying Goodbye

This weekend we said goodbye to some great friends of ours, The Fosters. Brad, Lindsay, Mae and Ian have left for Oklahoma for more schooling for Brad. Lindsay was such a great friend. We swapped babysitting for exercise. She is the one who helped me keep my weight way down when I was pregnant. We got to exercise 3 times a week. It was so nice knowing who was taking care of my kids and I could trust her. The kids had a great time together. Gavin at times was a bit moody and Ian her little guy sometimes didn't want to come to my house. We have made a great friendship.

One more week

We have one more week until Aaron starts his new job. It has been so much fun to have him home. The kids have really enjoyed it, of course. I know we'll all have some withdrawals with him not here whenever we'll need him. I'm really grateful for the time we've had.

This is a picture of the kids at the zoo. Towards the end of the visit we needed something more than wheat thins. We stayed the night in Portland so we could go to OMSI the next day. OMSI ended up being more expensive than we had planned. There is a Body Works display taking over most of OMSI that our kids weren't going to be to thrilled with and it's was going to cost more than double what we were expecting. We still had a great time together and added one more exciting thing to the list of summer events.

Day 13

After church we had a BBQ at Shale and Carmen's.

Steve, Kamika and Zephyr Coree and Dave in the background.

Harrison, Me and Natalie
Coree and Graham

We had to get some pictures of the cousins together. To think there are still 7 cousins not there.

We had such a good time. The kids weren't ready to go home yet. Aaron kept asking me if I wanted to drive back to Oregon during the night. We decided not to. It's a good thing we didn't. Gretchen woke up in the middle of the night and had thrown up. Aaron and I also had sick stomach. Luckily there weren't any incidents happening on the way home. Today a week later I'm finally feeling almost all the way better. My house is still a mess, but boy oh boy are we having fun.

Day 12

Aaron and the guys helped Shale move his office to a new building. That took most of the day. While Carmen, the kids and I stayed home and relaxed. Ha Ha!

That night we went to Starlight Mountain Theatre. They do Broadway Musicals under the stars. Carmen and Shale were so excited to share this with us. They have been for the last to years and have seen Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. I love that one so much. I can't remember the other one they saw, but they have really enjoyed it.

We saw State Fair. It was not as good as the other years that the Robisons had seen it. The sing wasn't that great nor was the acting. Plus the cost was twice as much as we were expecting. What a fun idea though.

Day 10 and 11

We headed back to Nampa, Id today from the cabin. It was a day of just hanging out at Shale and Carmen's house. We were recuperating from so much fun and getting ready for more at the waterpark.


We were off to


We went two years ago with Carmen and the kids and had so much fun. Aaron and the kids couldn't wait to get back there. Last time we went I was pregnant with Harrison and couldn't go on any rides. Maybe that was just and excuse. I really don't like heights.

The kids really wanted me to go on this ride with them. I had know idea what was coming. The first part of the ride is in the dark and drops several time unexpectedly. My stomach was doing weird things. By the end of the ride I was doing fine. It was very fun. Gavin and I had a good time in the Lazy River. He loved it because he could touch and walk around it by himself. Graham really enjoyed it to. As did Harrison after he woke up. Thanks to Carmen and especially Tanner. I was able to do somethings without Graham.

Poor Tanner, my 13 year old nephew, had to endure Graham screaming while we were waiting in line for the family ride. He was so patient with him.

We ended our day by meeting family at Chuck E. Cheese for dinner.

Day 9

I know you probably thought that we were finished, not quite yet. We had another great day at Cascade Lake. What a way to spend the Fourth of July! This time we had my sister Coree and
family, brother Steve and family, and of course Shale, Carmen and kids.

Carmen and the kids had built the sand castle earlier in the day and Harrison loves to destroy things and knocked it down. Hunter and Aaron reconstructed it and tried very hard to keep Harrison busy with other things.

Graham even gotten in the water and enjoyed it so much. It really did feel good. Gretchen went on the tube with Coree. The day before she really didn't want to. I think seeing all of the kids having so much fun, she didn't want to miss out.

Afterward it was back to the cabin for some dinner and back to Cascade for the fireworks.

Here we are waiting for the show. Well at least some of us.

My sister-in-law Carmen and daughter Kambree. Shaely is getting the sweatshirt on.

Sister Coree, her husband Dave and Ryan and Kaitlin in ther laps. My broher Shannen is lying down and the bottom of the picture.

The Reveal

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We made it to the reveal of the Extreme Makeover House. We only had to wait an hour and a half. The kids were really patient. Hunter was so excited. He got to see Ty a couple of times. Hunter did get some pictures of Ty, a bit blurry. He was on Aaron's shoulders.



Aaron with the kids on him, trying to let everyone see a little of what's going on. What a Dad!

Day 8

My brothers family got a boat at the end of last summer. Carmen was brave enough to unload the boat with out Shale for the first time . She did awesome. Gretchen and Shaely(cousin)

Getting ready to head out in the boat. This was the first time for Gavin and Harrison to be on a boat. They were so excited.

This was Hunter's first time tubing. He was so excited to do it. His face at time showed him being scared to death. He definitely didn't get his courage from me. I wanted nothing to do with the tube.
This is where I spent most of my time after being on the boat. My fair skin dosen't do well in the sun for to long. Graham hadn't been in the sun much either.

Gavin is sticking his hair in the water. McKaylee(cousin) is floating in the tube.

When they weren't out in the boat, everyone was either helping build the sand castle or cooling off in the lake.

After a fun day at the lake we headed back to the cabin. My sister Coree and family, Brother Steve and family, brother Shannen, my Mom and her husband Jim and Shale were coming up for the 4th of July!

Day 7

We were off to the cabin. Carmen, my sister-in-law, and her family have a cabin near Cascade Id. I think that's the closest town to them. We had planned on getting up early and heading out. No such luck. We didn't have to be there at a certain time so there was really no rush.

No rush is right. We needed to stop at Sam's Club and pick up some groceries. When we got there it was lunch time. We grabbed some pizza and then headed to get gas. We hit some construction in Meridian as we were headed to Fred Meyer. It took twice as long to get there then we had planned. Thank goodness for the DVD player in the van.

We got up to the cabin and unloaded. Then the kids played outside and in. And the adults chatted. It was a relaxing time.

We had some dinner then went on a walk the kids were anxious to collect rocks, each with a bag in hand. We had a great time and enjoyed the fresh air. When we got back to the cabin, there were cookies cool enough to eat now. YUMMY!