Saturday, April 5, 2014

March 2014

Another great month with lots of fun! Here are some pictures of our adventures.
 
Miss Eisley is all ready to go.
 Olly got a haircut. It's crazy how fast he has grown.
 I think he really wanted to be outside playing with the boys.
Grandma Kristi took the boys One night for a sleep over at her house. They had so much fun.
 I had a nice girls' weekend and went to Time Out for Women. My Mom always buys us tickets and we go. It's a fun tradition. Ashley, Maddie, and Brianne.
 My Mom, me, and Jandell.
While I was gone to TOFW, Grandma Kristi had the kids for a pizza party! Emmy, Eisley, Lilly, Corgin, Ashton, Link, and Carter.
 Corgin had his Spring Break, so we decided kinda spur of the moment to go surprise Jake and Janelle in Portland. It was also Jake's Spring Break, so Brent and Kristi flew in the night before we got there to spend a few days with them. I kinda think they may have been more surprised to see us than Jake and Janelle were.  I've been to Portland once before, but had forgotten how pretty the drive is. This is a picture I took along the way. (and that's not the moon, just a glare off the window) It was raining and there were clouds low in the mountains and we thought it was so pretty, and of course pictures taken with my phone, while in a moving vehicle, never do it justice.
 We spent our first day driving and then surprising. And then we spent the next day shopping, which, of course, meant a stop at the Lego store. My kids were in Heaven. Here's Link.
 Here's Eisley.
 And here's Corgin.
 Here we are hanging out a Uncle Jake's and Aunt Janelle's.
 Back in the car again the next day. Yippeeee! On our way to the OMSI.
 Eisley found a fun toy at the OMSI.
 Link and his Dad found water.
 The boys built stuff.
 And pulled funny faces when I said "smile".
 
 Once we got done at the OMSI, we went to check out Voodoo Doughnut. We stood in line for almost an hour in the rain, but now we can say that we tried them and they are good doughnuts!
The next day we headed to Seaside. Trisha and Danny arrived late the night before and were ready to go first thing in the morning (before I was ready). We went through the Tillamook National Forest and I was so busy looking around at all the beauty that I totally forgot that I was going to put on my make-up on the drive.
 So, we got to the cheese factory, and I went in with out my make-up on. Ahhh! Good thing nobody cared but me. The kids all piled in the Volkswagen for a picture, except for Corgin, he didn't want to get in.
 Then they all wanted pictures as the cow and farmer. Here's Link and Ali.
 Eisley loved it. Here's Eisley and Ali.
 Eisley and Ali again.
 We actually talked Corgin into this picture by telling him that Grandpa Dewey used to be a dairy farmer, so if he was the farmer in the picture he'd be just like Grandpa Dewey used to be. So here's Link and Corgin.
 Everyone checking out the cheese being made and packaged.
 After filling up on cheese samples and ice cream, we drove along the coast and stopped at a few beaches. It was supposed to rain all day, but we lucked out and didn't get any more rain the rest of the day. This is the first beach we stopped at. Corgin and Link's first time to see the ocean! I just wished it was a little bit warmer, not that it really slowed them down any.
 Jake, Clint, Link, and Grant.
 Link is just like Clint and went right in and was running through the water and all over the beach.
 Eisley stayed with Grandpa Brent.
 Link and Clint.
Link, Corgin, and Grant.
Kristi got a few family pictures for us there.
Link was the one having the most fun, but he sure doesn't look like it in the picture. He must have been sad we made him stop for a minute.
All of us on the beach (minus Kristi since she took the shot).
The next beach we went to was Hug Pointe. Corgin didn't like getting wet and cold at the first beach, but he sure loved climbing the rocks at this one.
 
 Link liked the cave.
All the kids liked the cave.
I even tried it, to see if it blocked the wind or not.
 Corgin got a little more daring and played a little in the water.
 Eisley again stayed with Grandpa Brent. She was pretty tired by this time.
 Corgin and Linkoln.
 We went to Cannon beach next. Clint took Eisley in her stroller and headed out. I followed with Link, who was in his flip flops and swim suit by then (like his Daddy) so he slowed me down. By the time we got out to the rocks where Goonies was filmed, Link was freezing and ready to go back to the car, so I took him and Eisley back and didn't get any pictures there. Kristi got this cool panoramic though.
By the time we finished with that beach we were tired and hungry. So we checked into our hotel and found a place to eat. Here's Grant and Corgin at the restaurant. They're good pals!
 The next day we went to church in Seaside and then grabbed lunch before going out to the beach at Seaside. It was windy again, but still no rain like the weatherman predicted, so we made the best of it. Here are my boys and Grant playing.
 
Corgin and Grant were pleased with their sand castle.
 Eisley was bundled up and happy as can be, as long as we didn't turn her face toward the wind.
 We left the beach and headed home. We took a few detours on the way. The first one was to drop Brent and Kristi off at the airport. Then we stopped at Multnomah Falls. I really wish my kids weren't so washed out because they all were smiling so cute in this picture. They must have been happy to be out of the car. I love how green everything is and all the moss that grows on everything.
 In front of the falls. Link, Eisley, and Corgin.
 We stayed in Pendleton and made the rest of our way home Monday. Then Link, Eisley and I went to pick up Olly from my Grandparents Tuesday. Link was happy to see his puppy.
 Eisley helped unpack. My silly little lady did this all by herself.
 And she thought she was pretty funny too.
Now we'll see how April goes. I'm excited to see what it has in store for us!

Thursday, March 13, 2014

February 2014

Our February has been a fun one. Here are some pictures!
 
This is a pretty common sight at my house. Eisley is running and jumping on things while my boys entertain themselves.
 One day on our way to church. I love this little face!
 Corgin was waiting to go to school one morning and Eisley went and cuddled with him in his little chair. These two get along so well.
I also had my birthday. Clint made sure I was spoiled, like always, and gave me lots of gifts. His parents came over and brought us lunch, and cake and ice cream! So we had a little party, ate our lunch, opened presents, and enjoyed some cake and ice cream. Here is my birthday hug from my Linkers!
 
We had the opportunity to go away for almost a week. For Christmas my parents rented a big cabin in Driggs for us all to go stay in and play. Here are some pictures of our time there. It was really windy and cold the week we were there, so we spent most of our time in the cabin. Good thing it was a whopping 4,000 square feet so we didn't have to get in each others way too much. My parents, Jake and Maddie and us went up together, then Luke and Brianne joined us on the weekend when they got done with their classes.
 
This is little Miss Eisley one day when she was so happy. That was before she started the fevers.
 She was absolutely intrigued with Saydie. I happened to catch a few pictures of them interacting.
 Miss Saydie doesn't seem to mind Eisley's interest. She even has a smile for her.
 
We were there for Valentine's Day. Here are the boys playing with their new toys and Corgin in his new clothes from Grandma.
 Here's Eisley in her new clothes from Grandma. I think this little one might have an idea that she's cute.
 Playing again with their toys. And some Jenga blocks that they found. This kept them entertained for quite some time.
 
 Eisley and Grandpa looking at a book together.
 Grandma and a couple of her girls!
 Eisley jamming out to some music on Clint's phone.
 One of my kid's favorite things to do and for once there was no fighting.
 And of course there was a lot of time to do whatever we wanted, so I tried a new hair-do on Miss Eisley.
 We did manage to get out a few times to go out and eat, get some groceries and there were about 2 days that were not windy or foggy enough that we ventured out to go skiing. The Tetons were beautiful on our way up the hill, so we stopped and took a few pictures.
 
 Between Jake being sick with the flu, and a few kids sick and grumpy, and even Clint and I having a couple days that we felt a bit congested and had headaches, I think we had an enjoyable time together, playing games, watching the Olympics and hanging out as a family. A Big Thank You to my parents for paying for the cabin, the groceries, and the skiing. We appreciate it!
 
Then, for my birthday, Clint had given me some crochet hooks and some yarn. I had practiced a little while we were at the cabin and learned how to make flowers. I decided to use a flower that I made and make an ear warmer for Eisley. Here is the finished product.
 And of course I had to get a picture of her modeling it.
 
 One of her first ponytails, and my first time to try to french braid back her bangs.
 We've also been trying to get things cleaned out of our basement so we can finish it. I found these when I was cleaning and they made me smile. From my brother, Jake, when we were kids.
And that sums up our February in a few pictures! Now that we've had our winter vacation, I'm totally ready for spring! Here's to a hopefully warm March.