More Summer Activities!

This summer I have really been neglecting our blog! We've been so busy with trips and family and friends and day to day things that the summer has got away from me. Now it is mid-August and I feel like I have accomlished nothing......except that our family has made some wonderful memories that we would like to share with you. The next several posts are a few of the fun activities we have been able to do! We hope you are having a great summer, too!

The County Fair

This past weekend my sister Shellie and her hubby Joshua came to Oregon from Wyoming to visit the family. The girls and I decided to go to Hermiston again to see them and to also support Ashlynne and Myah who raised pigs this summer with their 4-H group, as well as a few other projects. We wanted to see them in action! Here is Emma and Sam with miss Myah.All the cousins and my sisters and brother came to the fair together. This picture is Emma and Samantha with Christian and Camryn at the show barn.

And here is Aunt Shellie with Myah. Aunt Shellie is one of the world's best aunties!

Here she is with little Eliza who is such a doll.

And of course, you can't forget Isaac!

We looked around at the animals and the other displays and then it was time to hit the carnival rides! The girls decided they wanted to go on the roller coaster. (All of their screaming gave me a screaming headache....)

Here is Karlie and Emma on a ride together. I don't know how they manage to not get sick on these rides. I can't go on anything anymore because it makes me feel horrible! I guess the kids are just tough!

You can't make a trip to the fair without stopping at the carousel. The kids loved it! Here is Karlie and Sam who were pretending the whole time that their horses were in an actual horse race. Too cute!

Emma had a great ride, too.

Lillie had her first carousel ride! She was bouncing up and down and laughing the whole time!

The bumper cars are definitely a must! This ride gave me a little insight as to what kind of driver Emma is going to be in eight years! YIKES!!!

Uncle Josh was a good sport and took miss Karlie in a car. I think he even let her drive, too. Watch out everyone! :)

After the fair we needed to do a lot of cooling off so we headed back to Stephanie's house for some swimming and a BBQ. After dinner we had a boys vs girls volleyball game. The girls totally kicked butt!

We had so much fun! The kids played so hard all day and then stayed up really late at Uncle Jon's house playing. They pretty much crashed the rest of the weekend which, as a mom, makes me very happy.

Soccer Time

It wouldn't be summer without Union County soccer! This year Emma decided that soccer wasn't her thing but Samantha couldn't wait to sign up! She's had to sit on the sidelines for the past two years and her turn finally came! Soccer is pretty demanding around here with it taking about two to three nights out of your week for eight weeks. But Sam loved it and it was great to watch her play and get better with each game.

This was the last game of the season so Sam's super nice coaches brought root beer floats for everyone which the kids were ecstatic about!

Good Job Sam! We are proud of you and for the great little soccer player you are!

Happy 88th Birthday Gramma Peggy!

Last week was my grandmother's 88th birthday so the girls and I drove to Hermiston to celebrate with everyone. Any opportunity that we have to get some cousin time is wonderful! All the cousins are very close with one another and have so much fun together! If only we were closer to Luke and Kate in Utah so that we could see them more.Aunt Stephanie with Lillie. Lillie wears a special helmet to help make sure that her head shapes correctly as she grows. She is so precious and is a very patient little girl. It would drive me crazy to have to wear a helmet for six months, twenty four hours a day. But Lillie is such a trooper.

The trampoline is always a big hit for the kids.

Here is Kenniday holding Jordan while Gramma Peggy opens her birthday presents. She is such a good helper.

Emma looks a little tired, but she was having so much fun with everybody.

Here I am with my brother Jonathan. He is such a ham sometimes. :)

I sure love my family! Hopefully Gramma enjoyed her birthday party.

Trip to the Coast!

Mark needed to attend a business meeting in Tillamook, Oregon a couple of weeks ago and we decided that the girls and I would join him and have a little mini-vacation. Boy am I glad we did! We had so much fun and I can never get enough of the coast! If you haven't been to Tillamook, you should know that it is known for its dairy farms and cheese! So of course we had to check out the cheese factories in town. The first was a small factory: Blue Heron. We enjoyed seeing it. I love this picture - not because my husband and children are animals, but because Samantha is looking up to her big sister. Too cute!

The big tourist attraction in town is the Tillamook Cheese Factory. It's very large and the tourists are encouraged to go in and see how the cheese is made and packaged, and also to learn the history and the process. It was really very fascinating, especially for Mark who grew up on a dairy farm in Minnesota.

One of the best parts of the tour is being able to sample all of their cheeses. The girls kept going through the line because they love cheese so much. It was very delicious!

Of course you can't leave without having a Tillamook ice cream cone! Oh my gosh, was the chocolate mudslide ice cream yummy!

After the factory we purchased a few picnic necessities to go to the lighthouse and have a little picnic before Mark needed to be to his meeting. It was so gorgeous there and a perfect spot for picnicing! While Mark was in his meetings the girls and I stayed at the hotel and swam in the swimming pool and played games. Fortunately Mark was finished early and so we drove about 10 minutes up to the coast to Rockaway Beach where my family once stayed years and years ago. It was beautiful!

Of course, if you have never been to the Oregon Coast you should know that it isn't really ideal for swimming. The water is freezing and the temperatures along the coast are only about 60 degrees. But the views are breathtaking and the sand is very inviting. We had a good time chasing the waves on the beach.

I love the ocean. It's a very sacred place for me. There's something about looking out at the vast expanse of water and waves and feeling very close to heaven...but also a little frightened at the magnificence of it. I feel so blessed to view such a creation! If I had my choice to live anywhere, it would be near the ocean.

On the way home we stopped at Multnomah Falls for a quick break. They are so beautiful but it is always crazy busy there.

The trip was a blast and I am definitely looking forward to our return!

Camping Trip

Summer is the time for camping trips! Our family met up with my parents and my sister's family up at Ukiah-Dale campground for a couple of days of fun. The weather was beautiful and it felt so good to be in the great outdoors! Samantha always likes to try to help set up the tent. Sometimes she helps a little too much. :) We got up bright and early the next morning and boy were we cold! It's amazing how chilly it can get in the mountains during the summer. We all worked together and made a nice yummy breakfast for us all to enjoy. The hot cocoa was a big help in getting warmed up!

Here is Sam and Christian enjoying their breakfast with Gramma.

Here is Emma with Ashlynne gobbling up their eggs and potatoes.

Camryn and Myah were having a bit of a hard time getting into the swing of things at 5:30 in the morning. We were awfully tired!

Mark is feeling a little camera shy.....

....And so is Grampa!

Hopefully we'll be able to do some more camping before school starts up again in a few weeks. We really had such a fun time!

Trip to Utah

In July we made the trek to Utah for a college reunion with some great friends of mine. The four of us were roommates at LDS Business College and we have stayed close over the years. At the beginning of the year, we realized that this summer would mark 15 years since we first met and we felt like we should celebrate! We haven't all been with each other since 2002 so we made a promise that we would bring our families to Utah to catch up on old times. Kim and Jim hosted the event at Aspen Grove which is up Provo Canyon. It was so beautiful and a perfect spot to get together. There were lots of fun things for the kiddos (and the parents) to do. This next picture is Emily with her sweet little girl Audrey. She was a little camera shy most of the night but I did manage to get a few shots of her.

There was a little water spray area that the kids enjoyed doing. There's nothing better on a hot day then playing in the water. Thanks to Jim for making it a fun activity for the little ones.

There is a cowboy village which was super fun. Here is Samantha with Aspen (Kim's oldest) who became quick friends. They were working at the General Store when I snapped this picture.

Here is Kim with her little girl Madi. She is so sweet and she and I enjoyed some good snuggle time throughout the day. We couldn't get enough of her!

Most of the time Tiffani and I were fighting over who got to hold Madi and carry her around. (Just kidding....no fighting was involved!)

Samantha has been watching John Wayne movies since she was old enough to sit up on the couch and watch with Dad. She comes from a long line of John Wayne lovers (on both sides of the family) so I couldn't resist taking this picture. Howdy Pardner!

Here is Emma, Aspen, Samantha, and Lukas (Emily's husband). Lukas was a good sport having all the kids follow him around everywhere.

It was such a fun day! I can't believe it's taken us so long to plan our reunion. We made some very special memories and it was wonderful to pick up where we left off. Can't wait until the next reunion!!!!
One the way back from Aspen Grove that night, we stopped to see the Mt. Timpanogos temple. Mark and I were married here and we haven't been back since we left Utah several years ago. We wanted the girls to see where it all started. It was so beautiful that night.

We stayed with my brother and his family in Herriman while we were in Utah. It was great to have some cousin time with Katie and Luke! We went to a splash park near their home and the kids splashed around like crazy!

Even Kate got in on the action....

Here is Luke and Emma drying off.

We had a fun filled day with cousins playing around and having a yummy lunch out. Then we came back to the house for more water time in the back yard. We got the Slip 'n Slide out and had popsicles to cool us off. It was about 100 degrees that weekend!

Here is my man Luke! What a buff guy he is! :)

We really had the greatest weekend with our family and friends! Wish we could see more of each other and that we weren't eight hours away. Todd and Sue were great hosts and made us feel right at home. We hope to see them again very soon!