I'm the only woman in his life at this point, so I'm most certain he's picking daisies over me :)
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Oregon for July
Wow! It's been awhile since I last posted and so much has happened. I guess that's what summer is for. It's not even August and we've already been camping six times and seen most of both of our families. The rest of the summer will be moving at a slower pace, I hope.
We got back from Utah and then the boys and I left for Oregon a day and a half later. Got back last Thursday and then went camping with our ward this weekend. We've been having tons of fun but I realized today, after spending 3 hours at the zoo, that I need to just slow down and take it easy. I think Jasper and Gid are a bit tired out from all the go, go, going we've been doing. Jasper told me today that all he really wanted to do was play with is Tinker Toys... Sweet boy... Sorry, Jasper, for not giving you more time to just do what you want to do. I need to re-remember how important unstructured play time is for a little 3 year old.
Okay, back to the post. We had a blast in Oregon. Our reason for going to Corvallis for an extended visit was so that Rob could have some intensely dedicated time at work so that he could get this paper published by the end of July. My parents were actually out of the country for the first week we were there. We went down to house sit and take care of Pepper, their dog. We experienced a major heat wave so we spent most of every day in the water.
We had a lot of plants to keep alive too. Jasper was a big helper.
The boys had a great time riding their bikes. Jasper is now 100% on a two wheel bike all by himself!
I had a great time seeing some of my old friends. Lynda and Ben met the boys and I down at the splash pad in downtown Corvallis one morning. Lynda took some great pictures that I'm "borrowing":
My good friend Kari Caulder came down from Salem and we had a nice morning catching up. We hadn't sat down and had some good heart to heart time for a couple of years. It was nice to have our kids play and talk about motherhood and memories. She's amazing balancing a full time job and being a mom. I admire her a lot :)
We had a little party at my folks house one evening. Lucy and Matt were in town from Chicago, Lynda and Ben, Chrystal and Ben, Lori, Sally, and Robin and her husband came. We had a really, really nice evening. Lots of laughs over memories from high school days. We were quite a funny, awkward bunch at times. Lori has the best memory of anyone I have ever known. She remembers the funniest, little details about things people said and did. We were seriously rolling out of our chairs as Lori recounted stories about our youthful adventures. Good times...
My mom, dad, and brother Bobby came back from Dominican Republic and the real party began! Bobby, the boys, and I went to Otter Beach the following day. What a great water park! Jasper and Bobby went down this huge water slide about twenty times. I couldn't have gone without Bobby, so I was really grateful that he was excited to go with us. He's such a great uncle. Gid says "Bobby" about 50 times each day. Seriously. I don't know if he remembers exactly what the name goes with at this point, but he loves to say it regardless.
My Grandma Dorthea came to stay at my parents' house for a week while I was there too. It was really nice to spend some time with her. She'll be 102 next month and she can't do very much for herself anymore. It was challenging to help my mom with lifting, changing, and entertaining her, but I'm happy I was able to help. My mom did such a great job caring for her, though. My dad, too.
Rob rode the Seattle to Portland Classic (STP) last Saturday, so I was able to drive up and meet him at the Finish line. I was so proud of him!!!! He did it in ONE DAY! It worked out perfectly because he was able to come down to Corvallis and go to church and rest up before heading back to Seattle. I cheered louder than I think I've ever cheered as he rode across the finish line.
My mom took us to Enchanted Forest the day before we left. What a great time we had! Jasper and Gid loved it. Jasper cried and cried when we had to go home. He said he never wanted to leave :) It is the perfect amusement park for little kids.
I always love being with my mom and dad. We got some good scrabble games in, nice outside time working in the garden, walking along the riverfront, enjoying time with friends and relatives. It was a wonderful visit. We sure miss Corvallis when we are away.
Saturday, July 10, 2010
Utah
We got back from a fabulous trip to Utah about a week ago. We had such a great time! We saw lots and lots of family. We saw friends and old Orem neighbors. We saw the beautiful Utah mountains and forests. It was a very fulfilling trip, in my opinion.
Started our trip out by taking public transportation all the way to Utah. First the bus and then the light rail and then the airplane. It was an adventure and tons of fun for the kids.
This is Jasper in the airport making a ridiculously funny face:) Apparently, he was very serious about something.
Mt. Rainier from above
We started off in Bountiful. Spent two nights with Rob's sister Kris's family. Rob's sister Kim, who lives in Chicago, was in Utah too so that was totally great. Spent the first morning hanging out at a neat park near their house which has a little creek running through it and the kids had fun throwing rocks and sticks into it. Jasper ADORES his Pexton cousins, especially Oliver who is five (I believe). Oliver is the coolest, nicest big boy cousin ever. He's so inclusive with Jasper, always taking his hand and showing him things and talking with with. They played together super well. It's interesting to see Jasper doing more and more social play with kids. He's very much aware of when he is included and not included. Recently we were at a park in Seattle and this group of older boys were very mean to Jasper and told "go away" and "you can't play with us". He came to me crying :( So cousin Oliver is the best! I'm so glad they played so well with one another.
Swinging with cousins and aunties.
In the afternoon, Rob's sister Ally picked Kim and I up and we headed down to Orem for Ally's baby shower! It was so much fun! Thanks to Elena, Rob's oldest sister, for hosting the shower and Kim, for organizing and putting a ton of work into it. It turned out really, really nice. A lot of old friends and neighbors came. Almost the entire Egbert and Wright clan was there. Ally got so much nice stuff. Her baby is due in October and it's going to be a girl. I'm so excited to meet this little baby!
The second day, we headed up to Huntsville to hang out with Rob's BFF Woo and his family. He's got four cute kiddos. Woo's wife Chelsea is super cool. She's like Wonder Woman to me. Four kids and she seems to have it all totally together and under control. Amazing. Huntsville is beautiful. Up in the mountains and it's nice and green there. We had a great afternoon riding bikes (yes, they had enough bikes and trailers for four adults and six kids!!!), swimming in the lake, eating a picnic lunch, swinging in the hammock, and hanging out. It was a very nice afternoon.
The kids in Woo's office chair
That evening we drove up to Granite Flats to camp with the Egbert clan. What a beautiful place to camp! It was great. The only problem was that our particular campsite was bordered with a swamp so we had more mosquitoes than you could possibly imagine. Poor Jasper got eaten alive! Rob's brother Dave too. Had a nice evening, though, chatting around the fire, singing songs, climbing a big boulder, playing in a nice big meadow. Jasper slept in till 10:30 the next morning. He's so funny when we go camping. He'll sleep and sleep way longer than he ever sleeps at home. We did a little bit of kayaking the next morning. Dave and Kris both brought their kayaks up which was very wonderful of them. Rob and I didn't stay in the water too long because Gid and Jasper were both screaming and crying. We'll have to attempt that again next year.
We then headed down to Woodland Hills to be with Larry and Glenda for our last few days in Utah. We always, always love the time we are able to spend with Larry and Glenda. They are so warm and loving to us. Jasper and Gid just adore Grandma and Grandpa. It's so nice up there in the mountains, too. Larry's yard and garden are amazing. My sister, Lisa, and her family and Kim came down and had dinner with us. It was very nice to chat with them and catch up on everything that is going on in their lives. Wish we could have hung out longer but we had to go to bed early because we woke up the following morning at 6 am so that we could see the hot air balloon launch in Provo.
Jazz with Grandpa Larry, bright and early
I'd never been to this event before. It was really neat but there was a bit too much wind so the launching didn't happen as expected. It was still neat to see all the balloons, though. Jasper even got to help blow one up! Larry, Kim, Kayley, Kayley's boyfriend Jordan, Jasper, Gid, Rob and I all were quite the troopers waking up so early to see the balloons :)
We spent the afternoon with Larry, Glenda, Kim, Ally and Vince up at Woodland Hills. Larry roped Kim and I into 13 rounds of Crowns. We planted a bed of marigolds and zinnias. We all enjoyed some time napping. We then all got ready to head down to the Brooks in Orem for a 3rd of July BBQ and fireworks show! It was a very nice evening and wonderful to be able to see everyone.
This trip seemed way too short! Wish we could have stayed longer this time. We miss all our Utah family very much.
Started our trip out by taking public transportation all the way to Utah. First the bus and then the light rail and then the airplane. It was an adventure and tons of fun for the kids.
This is Jasper in the airport making a ridiculously funny face:) Apparently, he was very serious about something.
Mt. Rainier from above
We started off in Bountiful. Spent two nights with Rob's sister Kris's family. Rob's sister Kim, who lives in Chicago, was in Utah too so that was totally great. Spent the first morning hanging out at a neat park near their house which has a little creek running through it and the kids had fun throwing rocks and sticks into it. Jasper ADORES his Pexton cousins, especially Oliver who is five (I believe). Oliver is the coolest, nicest big boy cousin ever. He's so inclusive with Jasper, always taking his hand and showing him things and talking with with. They played together super well. It's interesting to see Jasper doing more and more social play with kids. He's very much aware of when he is included and not included. Recently we were at a park in Seattle and this group of older boys were very mean to Jasper and told "go away" and "you can't play with us". He came to me crying :( So cousin Oliver is the best! I'm so glad they played so well with one another.
Swinging with cousins and aunties.
In the afternoon, Rob's sister Ally picked Kim and I up and we headed down to Orem for Ally's baby shower! It was so much fun! Thanks to Elena, Rob's oldest sister, for hosting the shower and Kim, for organizing and putting a ton of work into it. It turned out really, really nice. A lot of old friends and neighbors came. Almost the entire Egbert and Wright clan was there. Ally got so much nice stuff. Her baby is due in October and it's going to be a girl. I'm so excited to meet this little baby!
The second day, we headed up to Huntsville to hang out with Rob's BFF Woo and his family. He's got four cute kiddos. Woo's wife Chelsea is super cool. She's like Wonder Woman to me. Four kids and she seems to have it all totally together and under control. Amazing. Huntsville is beautiful. Up in the mountains and it's nice and green there. We had a great afternoon riding bikes (yes, they had enough bikes and trailers for four adults and six kids!!!), swimming in the lake, eating a picnic lunch, swinging in the hammock, and hanging out. It was a very nice afternoon.
The kids in Woo's office chair
That evening we drove up to Granite Flats to camp with the Egbert clan. What a beautiful place to camp! It was great. The only problem was that our particular campsite was bordered with a swamp so we had more mosquitoes than you could possibly imagine. Poor Jasper got eaten alive! Rob's brother Dave too. Had a nice evening, though, chatting around the fire, singing songs, climbing a big boulder, playing in a nice big meadow. Jasper slept in till 10:30 the next morning. He's so funny when we go camping. He'll sleep and sleep way longer than he ever sleeps at home. We did a little bit of kayaking the next morning. Dave and Kris both brought their kayaks up which was very wonderful of them. Rob and I didn't stay in the water too long because Gid and Jasper were both screaming and crying. We'll have to attempt that again next year.
We then headed down to Woodland Hills to be with Larry and Glenda for our last few days in Utah. We always, always love the time we are able to spend with Larry and Glenda. They are so warm and loving to us. Jasper and Gid just adore Grandma and Grandpa. It's so nice up there in the mountains, too. Larry's yard and garden are amazing. My sister, Lisa, and her family and Kim came down and had dinner with us. It was very nice to chat with them and catch up on everything that is going on in their lives. Wish we could have hung out longer but we had to go to bed early because we woke up the following morning at 6 am so that we could see the hot air balloon launch in Provo.
Jazz with Grandpa Larry, bright and early
I'd never been to this event before. It was really neat but there was a bit too much wind so the launching didn't happen as expected. It was still neat to see all the balloons, though. Jasper even got to help blow one up! Larry, Kim, Kayley, Kayley's boyfriend Jordan, Jasper, Gid, Rob and I all were quite the troopers waking up so early to see the balloons :)
We spent the afternoon with Larry, Glenda, Kim, Ally and Vince up at Woodland Hills. Larry roped Kim and I into 13 rounds of Crowns. We planted a bed of marigolds and zinnias. We all enjoyed some time napping. We then all got ready to head down to the Brooks in Orem for a 3rd of July BBQ and fireworks show! It was a very nice evening and wonderful to be able to see everyone.
This trip seemed way too short! Wish we could have stayed longer this time. We miss all our Utah family very much.
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