County Fair

Who doesn't love a trip to the fair? How could you not enjoy the many booths full of cotton candy, elephant ears, funnel cakes, giant ice cream cones, and even deep fried Twinkies? Yes, the fair is the one place where eating all the junk food you can is not only acceptable, but encouraged. We did our part and indulged in a few of the above mentioned treats. Although it was still pretty hot outside, we had a pretty fun time last night. The kids had a fun time seeing all the animals, although Claire didn't really care for the smell. She walked through most of the barns holding her nose. :) Grace just loved seeing all the different kinds of "doggies". Although by the end of the night, she was calling all the animals "horsies" instead. At least we made a little progress.

One of the highlights was watching the pig races. They provided free betting, so we all chose a pig to win and got a corresponding colored ticket. Then we sat back and got ready to cheer on our pig. There were 2 races, and the "blue" pig won both times...the only one in the family with a blue ticket...Grace! She won a blue ribbon that said "my pig won". She wore it proudly around the fair (We had to put it on her back for her to keep it on).

License to Nurse

It's that time again...renewing my RN license. I was expecting to pay around $50 for the privilege of being a nurse. It turns out that in the State of Oregon it costs $145 to renew my license for 2 more years. Really?!? I mean, why on earth do we have to pay so much, just to continue working during this nursing shortage? It doesn't make much sense to me. Oh well...sorry for the rant. At least I am good now until 2011.

Road Trip

This last weekend we decided to road trip out to Idaho to visit our good friends Nick and Kara Johnson. They had recently had a new baby girl, and we were anxious to meet her. We left our house on Friday night around 9pm. The plan was for the kids to sleep the whole way, and for me to lay down in the back seat for naps. It didn't go very well. Grace was awake the entire night! We were all super cranky because Grace wouldn't be quiet. Let's just say Saturday was a rough day for the kids. We mostly relaxed and played with water balloons outside. We went out for lunch to a Mexican place, and made yummy salmon for dinner. Sunday morning we all went to Church, and then came home to get ready for a fun afternoon at Kara's parents' house. My sister Bree and her date, David met up with us there. We played with water balloons again, and there was a kiddie pool. Grace loved the pool! They had horses too, which was defiantly the highlight. First we shucked some corn and fed the husks to the horses. The kids really liked feeding them, although Grace wasn't quite sure about getting too close to the big "doggies". After dinner we took turns riding Cocoa. He was really nice, and let us all have a turn. It was Chris's first time ever being on a horse. Claire loved it! She never wanted to get off. Later she asked if we could have a horse at our house. She didn't really understand why our "yard" wasn't exactly big enough for a horse. Grace just kept calling them doggies, but she was pretty excited to see them.

On Monday we went to a fun tumble place that had trampolines and a big foam pit to jump into. We had been there once before, and it is always a hit. Grace loved being able to run around and jump on everything. It is even fun for the adults! They have this really high ledge that you can jump from into the foam pit. It doesn't look very scary until you get up there. It definitely makes your heart skip a beat when you get up the guts to jump.

Tuesday was time to go back home again. This time we drove during the day....a much wiser choice! The kids did really well on the drive, and we were home by dinner time. Overall, we had a really great time this weekend! Thanks Nick and Kara for letting us come stay with you!

Birthday fun

Claire turned 4 on July 1st. She has been looking forward to her birthday for the entire last year! This year we decided to have a party at home with a few friends and a whole lot of family.

The day of the party Claire, Chris, and I went out on Hagg Lake with Grandpa Moyle and Bree. We went on the tube behind the boat and then had fun splashing around in the water. Afterwards, we rushed home and got ready to party!

We made foam picture frames for fun with glitter paint, space stickers, and gemstones. The kids had fun being creative, and they turned out pretty cute. Even Grace got in on the fun.

Claire sitting next to her cousin Reann...

One of Claire's friends Clark...picking out the perfect spaceship...

Camping at the coast

This last weekend we packed up our van to the brim and drove down to Nehalem Bay State Park for some camping fun! It was a family affair. Both sets of grandparents were there along with my sister and Chris's brother, his wife, and their son. We stayed for 4 nights!!! That is a record for us! We all survived, although we did come home a little sunburned. The last 2 nights, Claire started asking us if she could go to bed around 6pm. I'd say, "We still need to eat dinner." She would reply, "...and then we can go to bed?" Suffice it to say, between all the trips down to the beach, riding bikes, roasting smores, coloring, climbing trees, and making crafts we wore the kids out!

This is the view from Hwy 101 on our way south towards Nehalem. Our campground is in the distance along the spit of sand. Claire was a little upset that we weren't going to be camping here along the road.

This is the first day...after we got our camp all set up and ate some yummy pasties for dinner we took a quick stroll down to the beach for some fun. It was a little cool outside, but the kids loved it!

We did a lot of relaxing while we were camping. Chris read a couple of books, and we took Claire to a kids presentation about bats. It was put on by the ranger and at the end we got to make our own bat. Claire thought that was pretty cool. She also entertained herself by climbing all the trees that we around us!

The sun did come out, and although it was still a little windy, we had a great time playing on the beach in our swimsuits. We even went in the ocean! It was freezing! Although, once you are in for 5 min. your legs go numb, and then it almost feels warm. Grace LOVED the water. She kept pulling on us to go out further. She would jump each wave and laugh. It was really funny to watch. We had to drag her out of the water kicking and screaming when we decided that she was getting really cold. She would have stayed in the water for a long time.

We also had a chance to go out on Nehalem Bay in the boat and do a little crabbing and salmon fishing. It was a gorgeous day, and we caught 4 keeper Dungenous crabs! That's pretty good for only dropping the pots twice.

Last, but certainly not least, was our trip to the Tillamook Cheese Factory on our way home. What trip to the coast is complete without a stop here? It is mandatory. You can see how tired and red Claire looks. She's ready for her bed! We all got ice cream and cheese curds and were on our way back to Hillsboro. We all had a great time, and can't wait to go back next year!

Rough Day

As a labor and delivery nurse I get to be a part of some of the most precious moments that people experience in this life. Along with all that joy and new life, inevitably come some of the most heartbreaking and emotionally draining situations. As a nurse I am right in the middle of the situation. Anxious and fearful patients are looking to me for support, love, information, and any shred of hope. It is a very difficult thing to go through a major trial along with another person. All you can do is cry with them, and let them know that everything that they are feeling is real and ok. I can't divulge any details about what exactly happened with the patients that I saw today, but needless to say it made me stop and appreciate my beautiful girls. Pregnancies don't always go as planned, and each life truly is such a miracle. I am so thankful to have 2 healthy, happy kids.

Tribute to Dad

This Father's Day I have been thinking about all the great things that my dad has done for me over the years. He has made many sacrifices that have enabled me to enjoy the life that I have today. By always being such an amazing example of hard-work, honesty, selflessness, and excellence, I found myself wanting to be more like him. His unwavering faith and diligence in living the gospel propped me up during difficult times. Thank you Dad! Thank you for always being my rock.

A couple of weeks ago we had the chance to go out on the boat with my dad for a quick fishing trip. The weather was a bit on the cool side, but we bundled up and still had a great time. Claire wasn't so sure about going fast, but once she was on her dad's lap things were just fine! We didn't see any fish...only a few jumping around us, but we did see plenty of worms! Claire and Keara had a good time playing with the bait while Chris was able to get in a power nap. It was a pretty relaxing afternoon out on the river. Thanks dad for taking us!