Hawaii Vacation

We had a blast in Hawaii last week. Stayed at a resort on the Big Island, it was a conference/family vacation. The boys loved the beach (so did I) and the weather was perfect. The morning walks along the ocean were the best.

Pumpkins photo

Pumpkin Patch #2

We visited Lee Farms in Tualatin on Saturday. While there we saw another couple that lives in our neighborhood and their two boys. Adam took his first pony ride which he enjoyed. He did it again later and the pony had an itch and almost knocked Adam over trying to get at it. Needless to say it scared Adam quite a bit. We asked him if he'd like to ride on a different pony and he said "yes". He was still a little upset at first, but he stayed on the pony and felt better toward the end of the ride. I was glad he did it because I was worried that he'd have a fear of horses after that.

Pumpkin Patch #1

We checked out the one that drops the large pumpkin on the car. It was a weekday so there were no "activities" and the place was empty except for us and some folks at the farm store. It was very chilly, too. No trees to block the wind! But, we had a fun time and picked out a few little pumpkins for the boys + stopped at the farm store to buy some apples and salad fixin's (they still had lettuce and tomatoes, yay!)

Adam's 4th Birthday

Here are some photos from Adam's 4th birthday party. He requested a whale cake so that is what I made. I thought it turned out well.

Tomorrow the boys and I are headed out to an orchard south of hear for apple picking. Since last Friday or so the weather has turned cold and rainy so we'll bring our jackets and umbrellas. Also, the local mom's club sent out a list of seven pumpkin patches in the area! I actually have to decide which ones to visit. Two have a train, one has a sternwheeler paddle boat (whatever that is), another has pony rides, and at one they drop a ginormous pumpkin on a car. here's the link: http://www.firpointfarms.com/ - watch the video!

Beach photos

Here are some recent beach photos from last week. We visited Ft. Stevens and Cannon Beach. Both were great, though Cannon beach was especially gorgeous. We'd never been before and found a parking space on a side street around 4:45, parked the car, looked back and both boys were sound asleep. Patrick and I looked at each other trying to decide what to do and then realized we were parked right in front of a pizza/italian restaurant with outdoor seating. So, we ordered two entrees and a glass of vino and sat 6 feet away from our car and had a great dinner in peace.

The photos I've added include: Whiski (she got to come on the trip, too!) hanging out at a small cabin we stayed at, Adam next to a hundred year old shipwreck at Ft. Stevens, the observation deck at the mouth of the Columbia River (with some good information about jetties and how they work), and the boys on Cannon Beach.

Here's Wesley frolicking on the beach in Seaside and some other beach north of there. We visited on an unusually cloudy day for the summer, though we didn't mind (being from Phoenix, you know.) As long as it wasn't raining we were happy. We're heading back to the coast later this month so stay tuned for more beach photos.

Berry picking at Sauvie Island

photos

Here's my dad and Adam blowing bubbles on the back deck!

Recent photos, more to come

Here are some photos from July. Still haven't downloaded the ones from August and the new ones from September. Keep an eye out for those soon.

September

It's been a while since I updated my blog so I figured I'd better get something up now that it's September.

We've had quite a bit of family visit in the last two weeks. My mother, Patrick's mother, Patrick's brother John and his granddaughter Alyssa all stayed with us, though not all at the same time. Alyssa (who is 5) and Adam got along great. They were best buddies the whole time they were together. I'll throw some photos up onto the blog once we download them all from the camera. Maybe if I transfer some video I may throw that on too (if I can figure out how to do it.)