Pacific City 2010

For the second year in a row we spent a week in Pacific City in a Beachhouse. We went with my mom and Step-dad for most of the week, then Daddy came down to spend the weekend with us!Everyday when we would go to the beach Kelsey would make different things in the sand. This day it was a flower and a bee. She also made a elephant, monkey, and a penquin.
One night Kelsey watched the kids so Nate and I could enjoy a romantic sunset. Luckily the sky cooperated to create this breathtaking view, it was beautiful.

Noah's favorite was going on the boogie board. It never mattered what the weather was he was in the water. We also spent a lot of time riding bikes on the great bike paths and we played lots if games at the house.

Some days were sunny and warm but oh so windy, others day were overcast and perfect, we even played on the beach in the rain one day. It didn't seem to matter to the kids, only Aubrey got sick of the wind by the end of the week.

I love going to the beachhouse, I get to take a break from my usual chores and relax. My moms there so I go for long runs on the beach in the morning, take naps in the afternoon and play with the kids in between. It doesn't get much better than that!

And so it begins...

My sweet little Sydney, on the first day of preschool. She cried hysterically when I left after I stayed half the day. Had tears in her eyes when I picked her up and told me she didn't have snack because she was crying.....*sigh*It seems like yesterday I was bringing them home from the hospital. Ok not really it feels like four years ago but a fast four years. Luckily, there are two wonderful teachers to pry them off my body as I squeeze out the door.

Aubrey also cried hysterically when I left but eventually settled down. However, whenever she left her sisters side it would start the tears for Sydney. The next day was also traumatic but better overall I'm hoping the tears will end soon!

Here's my big girl. 6th grade, middle school, lockers, 7 different class periods, changes into gym clothes, gets on the bus at 6:50am. Its a whole new world for us both, she seems to handling the transition probably better than I am!

Her backpack was so full she could'nt zip it shut, and it was soooo heavy. The supplies were outrageous...5 binders, dividers, 5 zip pouches, notebook paper, calculator, protractor...you get the idea.

Last but not least my third grader. By far the easiest trasition this year. He's mellow and easy going about the whole school thing which is great for me since its not been that way for his sisters. He likes his teacher, and so far our biggest issue has been understanding why he can't wear the same outfit everyday to school.

As much as I love summer and the more relaxed schedule, I seem to crave the structure of school and my big kids were getting close to killing each other so forward and onward we go.

summer snapshots

Were keeping busy this summer doing some fun things. This day we went to Wildwood. We hiked had a picnic lunch, played at the park then the kids rode thier bikes around. It was hot but we had fun.Another hot day we went to the Sandy Mountain Festival Parade in Sandy.

There's Kelsey and Sydney.

We sat next to a bunch of our friends. Here's Terry and Selena. Selena's holding her super cute, chubby, baby Ian. Check out her daughter in the stroller doesn"t she look like she's having fun?

Me and Aubrey!

We took off one weekend and went to Ka-nee-tah. Once again it was pretty hot but the kids had a blast in the pool. The twins splashed around for hours in their tubes.

Kelsey and Noah loved going down the slide and going to the buffet dinner and breakfast at the lodge where we stayed.

Nate liked floating around on the air mattress and I liked getting to spend some time with him since he's been working such looong hours.

One day we did put-put golf and we played games in out hotel room. As always it was nice to get away.

Punch Bowl Falls

Last Saturday we drove out to the Gorge and did some hiking. I love hiking and we haven't been able to do much of it with the twins being little but we decided they were ready!It was four miles round trip. We didn't think we were going to make it. We each took turns carrying the girls they got tired. There were also some very narrow parts with steep drop off along the trail. It made Nate and I more than a little nervous!

But this is what we saw when we got to the end! So it made it all worth it! It was a fun day we sang songs and played games as we hiked and the girls both had their first outdoor bathroom experience. Which is priceless!

Aubrey got a new nickname on this hike...pokey. She's often in her own little world and while she'll keep coming she's never in much of a hurry. We took turns staying back with her and encouraging her to keep going.

The only problem when we got there is we knew we had to hike back, but it went much faster and had lots more downhill.

On the way there we took the fruit loop in hopes of enjoying lots of fresh fruit only to discover Nate had left his wallet at home. We were bummed about not getting goodies at the fruit stands but really bummed we wouldn't be getting any ice cream in Cascade Locks after the hike.

Oh Well just gives us an excuse to go back again!

Sunriver

Why I love Sunriver...by Kelly Perry

Free Fishing Day with activities for the kids and a free BBQ lunch.. No fish were caught but we discovered Sydney loves to fish!The pool...complete with a slide and the perfect depth for the big kids to enjoy hours of splashing in.
The kiddie pool....once again the perfect depth for the twins to enjoy hours of floating around in while I read, relax, and soak up the sun.

The park. The house we stayed at was very close to the park and the kids loved among other things the tether ball and merry-go-round.

Not pictured the bike paths. Perfect for hours of biking and morning jogs complete with beautiful scenery and wildlife to enjoy!

The hot tub. Great for family time together and more fun. Yes, I'm fried from the pool!

Picnics together.

The horses. The twins were a little freaked out at first but their so beautiful.

Goody's ice cream shoppe. Arguable the best ice cream shope ever. Adorable stuffed animals, all kinds of candy and popcorn and of course ice cream.

Last but not least....time with my favorite guy. Since starting his own business he sometimes works 6 days a week...10 to 12 hours a day so its great to spend time together as a family. Nate prepared all the meals and cleaned up, encouraged me to go on a run, take naps, and lay by the pool. Kelsey and I even got to go shopping and got some cute clothes!

Thats why theres such a big smile on my face. I can't wait to go back next year.!

Baseball Boy

I survived my first baseball season as a mommy. Until now my kids didn't show any interest and my other mom friends warned me not to do it so I never encouraged them!

Grandma and Grandpa Perry made it to a few games which was great because I liked having someone to talk to and it gave me a break from having the girls hang all over me!There's my boy, he did great and had a lot of fun. There were a lot of rained out games this year but they made them up with double headers on Saturdays. It was rough on my and Noah's allergies but we did it!.

Great catch Noah, one inning he made two outs on the other team. The games were really long, were talking 2 hours, and most were in the evenings so it was very cold! It was rough!

It was coach pitch but if the boys needed it they got out the tee. Noah was very proud he never had to use the tee. He made great hits every time. Doesn't he look cute!

Halfway through the season I discovered a way to make the games bearable....bring my book! Nate didn't approve but I always looked up and watched when Noah was playing. It made the games so much better to sit through!
Playing around in the dug out was one of the boys favorites parts and getting junk food at the snack shack! I almost wish Noah didn't like it as much as he did because he just may want to do it again next year...

Happy Summer Everyone!

Planting a garden

Yes, this is a dog Dash. He is just one of the reasons we haven't had a garden the last couple years. He likes to dig things up. Another reason is we live in the middle of a forest and have ALOT of tree roots in the ground and the soil isn't so great.It is somewhat ironic that living on an acre we haven't be able to find a decent place to grow a garden. It's not because we haven't tried. Some years are more successful than others. But this year it all changes!
See those huge pots surrounding the twins? Those are the brainchild of my Landscape company owner husband. He plants ALOT of trees and has an excess of large pots so what a better to reuse them than to plant a garden in them?

In between rain stoms we went out to plant squash, cucumber, strawberry's, tomoatos, green beans, watermelon, zucchini and more. Hopefully the dog and the racoons will stay away from our "garden" and we'll have a banner year.

We had fun planting until the kids started complaining about their hands being dirty and cold. Then it started to rain hard so we all went inside and let Nate finish himself. Aw such wonderful family memories were making!