Enjoying Summer

I can hardly believe June is going to be over in a week.  This summer came in quickly and its just flying by.  As I get farther along in this pregnancy some of the days can seem so long, but really, I just want to freeze time and enjoy these beautiful days with my sweet hubby and boys.  Several evenings, Peter and I have sat in our backyard and just felt so "rich."  We'll watch our boys play together, they'll snuggle on our laps, and our hearts are overflowing with joy.  And we just can't wait to add another little boy to the mix in 6 weeks (still so crazy to think about!!)

Here's a few random pictures of some of our summer fun....

they have soooo much fun playing together on their playground

they spent an afternoon enjoying the train set we picked up for super cheap at a garage sale!

it is one of the best things to watch them bond!

One morning it was a bit overcast but I felt like the boys still needed to get out of the house to burn some energy.  So I headed to a nice little park about 8 minutes from our house where you can play in the river or on the playground.  The boys had fun on the playground then we walked down to the boat ramp area so they could throw rocks in the water.  It wasn't long before they wanted to play in the sand and water though, so once I relented and just let them be the dirt loving, gotta get filthy all the time boys that they are, they had a blast.  They didn't wear pants on the car ride home and immediately had a bath, but fun was had by all!

One weekend, I went with 11 other moms from our church to Black Butte for a 'moms getaway' at a beautiful home owned by a family in our church.  We left after dinner on Friday and came home around just after lunch on Sunday, and it was really fun.  It was so good to get to know some of the other moms in our church that I hardly knew.  We had all our meals made for us and we just chatted, went for walks with stunning mountain views (of course I didn't get a picture!), enjoyed quiet time with the Lord and group devotionals.....it was a nice pause on life to connect with other ladies.  My boys enjoyed spending a little extra one on one time with Daddy.  They even got to sleep in a tent the first night in our backyard.  We set it up before I left and they were soooo excited.  They went to a local parade in town Saturday morning and also went on a hike to a local waterfall.  Both boys walked the whole time and I was so impressed.  It was a fun weekend all around.

A few more pictures of our summer...

the boys still love Friday night movie nights.  Ben loves watching the movie (this night it was How to Train Your Dragon) and Jonah loves the popcorn with a candy surprise at the bottom :-) 

Having a 'Just Dance' dance party with our 4 extra friends one morning while their mom was at an appointment 

summertime just begs for you to attack your Daddy with squirt guns when he comes home from work now doesn't it???  Good times :-)

Summertime, we're glad you're here, don't go by too quickly!

Poppy & GongGong came to town!!

It had been almost a year since Peter's folks had come to our house for a visit, so we were delighted that they were going to come and join us for some fun over Memorial Day.  And they brought cousin Jack with them so he could play with Ben.  They arrived Friday night and we just enjoyed a nice dinner and catching up on life with them.  Of course, it took the boys about 0.005 seconds to want to wrestle with their Poppy :-)

The next morning we ate a big breakfast then decided to head to OMSI for the day.  Peter's parents hadn't been so we headed out to spend the day in Portland.  The boys couldn't wait to show their Poppy & GongGong all the exhibits.  We arrived late morning and enjoyed all the activities.  Then I ran to the Burger King next door to grab burgers for our lunch, then we played some more.  We let the boys take a rest in the stroller while we went for a walk across a big bridge and walked along the river.  Then we headed back to let the boys play some more.  They did so good and loved it all.  We grabbed a Frosty on the way home, then we made spaghetti when we got back.  Showers and a late bedtime capped off our fun day!

Sunday we had a great church service, then a quick ham sandwich lunch so the boys could get a nap.  I got some rest while Peter walked with his parents, then we enjoyed a delicious roast dinner.  Then we all watched the Memorial Day concert on PBS and loved the music and personal stories.  As always, the night ends with storytime with GongGong :-)

The next morning we were trying to figure out what to do and we determined to head to the coast for the day.  We had never taken them down to Yachats so I quickly packed up a lunch and all our gear then we headed out.  The boys were beside themselves with excitement, they've been asking to go to the ocean forever and we were so glad we finally had time to do so!!  When we got there it was sunny, warm, with hardly no wind, which doesn't happen very often on the Oregon coast.  We felt so blessed by the perfect weather!  We ate lunch, explored the rocks, watched the waves, took a walk, played in the sand and spent all day long enjoying the beautiful ocean.  The boys finally got a nap on the way home (at 7pm!) and we grabbed a quick pizza for dinner when we got back.  It was a fabulous day.

The next morning they had to head home and though we were sad to see them go, we're already looking forward to their next visit!  Come again soon!!