Happy Birthday Tegan

Happy Birthday Tegan!!!

Finally the much anticipated number 5 is here and Tegan is so happy to at last be a big girl! She has been waiting for this birthday for months, mostly because she knew that it would be her first party with friends and because she'd get plenty of presents. She chose Super Bounce for her party place. When all was said and done she rated it 10-8 billion on a scale from 1-10. Success!!!

This link pretty much sums up all the reasons we love Tegan. She keeps us constantly laughing. Happy five to our BIG girl! We love you Tegan.

Sauvie Island and the Beach

I've always wanted to go to Sauvie Island, but since we moved to Salem it's not just a hop and a skip away from us. Summer was winding down and I was feeling a little bit sad that we hadn't really been able to hang out and swim somewhere. We were headed up to Portland to visit family so we jumped on the opportunity to give it a try. We LOVED it. It helped that it was a HOT day and the water was quite refreshing.

 The beach was our next trip. We went with our favorite peeps the Hathaways. It looks like typical Oregon Coastal weather and it was, at first. We even got to see a lightning storm our first night there out on the beach. We quickly realized it probably wasn't safe for us to be hanging out down there. We also noticed that the water was much warmer than I ever remember it being. I have no physical proof, but would you believe me if I said we actually were able to dip more than our big toes in the water??? We immersed our whole bodies in the water and actually enjoyed it. I realize this may never happen again which made it all the more exciting.

 A family gathering wouldn't be complete without a muscleman contest between the guys.

Lainey playing with her cousin lexi.

Hood to Coast

Each year we say it might be our last, but every time we're invited we can't fight the fever. This year was extra special for me because I got to be in Van 1 for the first time ever. It was nice to be at the starting point at Timberline lodge and see people getting all hyped for the next 48 hours of running, trail mix, honey buckets, and sleep deprivation.

Starting point

Tom prepping for a run

One of our super star teammates Maricela

The end of my last leg

We survived.

Update on The Girls

This little applesauce making Miss is in the 2nd grade. She is growing up much much too fast. I'm always surprised at the "grown up" conversations we're able to have and the thoughts that go through her mind. I was sad to see her go back and her sisters are missing her. The other day I took her with me to jog and she was determined as ever to stay right along with me. I love this girl.

This girl never tires of keeping us entertained, sick or not. She got a piece of glass stuck in her foot and that above picture was taken just after she found out she would be getting a shot in her foot so they could open it up to remove it. She thought a latex glove would be the best thing to use to wipe some of her tears away. She was a trooper for the whole procedure and her foots healing up well. She is anticipating preschool in October along with her first big birthday party! She asks me about it every day.

Miss Lainey Loo aka: The Screamer is as active as ever. This girl's got a temper and she's not afraid to show it. She's mostly giggling but she also likes to serenade us with her screams, and shrieks when things don't go her way. She can clear out a drawer in about 10 seconds and has an unhealthy relationship with her blanket, but we love our Lainey Loo oh so much.

Seattle

Without hesitation I would have to say that this past summer has been my favorite to date. Maybe it's that the weather was perfect with a few highs, but mostly right where I like it, maybe it's because Lainey is a little more independent, therefore less dependent on me despite the other challenges that that brings, or maybe it's that I got to spend all kinds of one on one time with my main man--alright, my only man. Anyways, it's been wonderful. Seattle was one of the trips we decided to take this year with the Johnsons. This was Kristin's birthday trip and we begged to tag along. I'm so glad they relented.

 Our first night there.

 We laugh about this picture because it looks like Tom is giving me the heimlich maneuver.

 Goofing around near the gooey, sticky, stinky gum wall. Won't be revisiting that place again anytime soon.

 This picture pretty much sums up what we did most of the time. Laughing, my favorite past time.

 This was outside of an awesome Mediterranean Restaurant. Soooo good!

 Got to watch the Mariners play, and lose pretty bad, but they also inducted Ken Griffey Jr. into the Seattle Mariners Hall of Fame. He played back when I payed a little bit more attention to the game.

I finally fulfilled one of my dreams, getting to ride one of those 5 passenger bikes along the Seattle Coast line. It made it hard to say goodbye.

Utah

A few years ago after a scary drive over to Utah in the Winter Tom and I decided we would not be making that trip again for a long time. For the last two years we have made the trip during the summer. The girls love going to Nana and Grandpa John's house and they live on a quiet street where they can safely ride their bikes up and down and play with the neighbor kids. My brother Shane and his family was there too so we were able to spend plenty of time with them too. Shane took us fly fishing one day and was patient as ever showing us the ropes. He did well teaching us because we were all able to pull a few trout out of the river. We went to see the play Annie and the girls were singing those tunes for the next few days.  I was able to catch up with a few friends from high school and see a few that I hadn't see in years.  And we had fun celebrating Pioneer Days there with the family. Mostly it was just nice and relaxing. My mom made sure to keep us happily stuffed the whole time. We've decided this is a trip we want to keep making each summer. 


I feel like I never can get enough pictures to recreate the memory for them later on, but a few pictures were snapped along the way.

Temple Square. It was so great to be back there. The visitor center is amazing and they've changed quite a bit since our last visit there.

Nana and Grandpa John got Jessie a new bike for her birthday. It took some getting used to after riding around on her miniature circus bike these past couple years, but once she figured it out it's all she wanted to do.

 Tegan got to take over Jessie's old bike and she was pleased as punch.

 I LOVE this picture of Tom and Jessie. It depicts perfectly what I so often get to see between their relationship. Tom being patient and silly with Jessie and Jessie laughing laughing and adoring her Dad.

 Tegan never runs out of things to say to her Grandpa and he is always game for listening.

 Shane being Shane.

 I LOVE this picture too of my Mom with Lainey. She loves all her grand kids so much and they know it.

 Sis-n-law Julie taking the girls for a stroll on their four wheeler.

 Our niece Macy who always keeps us laughing.

 A few pioneer games.

 Trying to make pull taffy. It didn't go quite as planned, but tasted good.

 Cousins.

 Overlooking the Snake River Canyon on our way back to Oregon.

A quick stop at Multnomah Falls with the girls.

Portland to Eugene

Portland to Eugene was awesome this year. Possibly my favorite year yet. Maybe it's that I've missed it the last two years, but most likely just because we had a great group of people we ran it with.  I've decided for now that I'm happy running just for exercise and will rarely compete in events, but this is one I wouldn't dare miss if I can help it. This video that Blake made explains it all.