My Trip to Oregon - Day 1

My sweet little niece, who lives far too far away in Oregon, made the decision to be baptized on October 8, 2011. I really wanted to support her big day. My loving husband agreed and a fun trip was born! I left on Thursday, October 6th. Flying all alone was very exciting and it made me realize how much Dave does for me when we travel. It was just me! Flying alone is far more simple than hauling kids and their belongings. I sat peacefully in my seat, entertained just me, and even took a few pictures. Bliss....well, until the turbulence started...the worst I've ever experienced. The captain even called off the beverage service and the attendants frantically returned to their seats. I will admit that I said a few prayers. It was scary.

 My parents also drove out for the weekend and picked me up at the Portland airport on the way through. My brother, Scott and his wife, Traci let me stay with them and I loved reconnecting with their family. I got to be a fun aunt since I didn't have my own kids to watch after. And another treat...My sister, Laurel and her family arrived late that evening from Colorado.

The next day we drove to the beautiful Oregon coast and stopped at a few sites. 

 We visited the Hatfield Marine Science Center. It was a small aquarium, but there was a lot to see. This exhibit allowed us to touch the sea anemones.

My brother Scott, nephew Ethan, nephew Joel.

 

 From there we drove to Yaquina Bay and saw the tide pools at low tide. It was so awesome to see and touch anemones and starfish in real nature. I finally got the guts to stick my finger in an anemone and the yucky suction feeling made me scream and pull my finger out. They asked us not to pull fast, but it was a reflex...sorry little guy. Kari was my little buddy at the tide pools. I had fun exploring with her.

My mom and sister, Laurel at the Yaquina Bay tide pools.

The shore was covered in these black rocks. I think my mom said it was Basalt. I wanted to take some home but it was a protected park. Blast.

Nephew Joel, Brother Scott, Sister-in-Law Traci, Nephew Rex (under Traci's coat), Nephew Kurt, and Niece Kari

 I cannot describe the excitement of our next stop. We walked up the path from the tide pools to a LIGHTHOUSE!!! I don't know why I have such a fascination with them, but I've wanted to see one as long as I can think of. This was my first! If I recall correctly, I'm pretty sure I did an actual happy dance when I saw it. They are just so amazing to see...and just as fun to photograph!

View from the Yaquina Head Lighthouse.

Our last stop of the day was Lincoln City. We drove our cars down onto the beach and watched the tide come in. I love watching ocean waves!

What?! I really missed him, okay!

My parents and me.

My sweet niece, Kari and me, at Lincoln City beach.

As you can see from the pictures, there was a light mist the entire day and by the end of it, we were soaked. We drove up to a fun little restaurant and enjoyed soup and salad. Such a fun day! I kept saying how much I wanted to bring my family back here someday and I still plan on it!

September = Soccer = Insanity

Soccer season is crazytown! For the past two seasons Derek and Taylor have played on opposite nights, so we are hanging out at the fields Tuesday through Friday. Add in my Mutual on Tuesday night, Derek's piano lessons and Scouts and things get really crazy. I just remind myself over and over that it's just 6 weeks. I think I add undue stress by demanding that the entire family come to all games. But once we get there we have a fun time together. 

 Both of my boys love playing goalie and volunteer every game. It is too much stress for me to watch. I want to yell at the other team "don't you dare score on my baby!" I have to send Dave over to coach them when to jump on the ball. And of course they do get scored on but they keep volunteering for more turns. Crazies!

Ryan started walking at 14 months.

He is looking up at his daddy. You can see the love in his eyes!

You just know the main reason for playing soccer is the treats at the end of each game.

Derek is great on defense as he loves to power-boot the ball.

Our city league has a contract with the worst photographers! Ask any parent and they will agree with me (Denise, back me up on this!) So this time I paid for the picture, so I wouldn't feel guilt, and snapped my own picture over their shoulder. I have to say that this picture turned out way better, but that's not too hard to do.

Don't feel bad for him. He's just grouchy that I was taking his picture.

So it was literally THE last play of THE last game (Oct. 4) and Derek was diving to stop the ball from going in the goal and he got tangled up with an opposing player and they both went down on Derek's shoulder.(Seconds later the whistle blew for the game to end. Urggh..) I didn't see this happen since I was on the opposite end of the field, but I could see a crowd gathered around a player lying on the grass. Like every mother, I scanned to find my child, didn't find him, and realized that the kid on the ground was mine! I jumped up and ran the length of the field,  and sure enough Derek was lying there on his back and that's when I got the story from the coach. She said he "got wailed-on hard". He complained that his shoulder hurt but we waited it out. The next morning he couldn't put weigh on his arm to sit up, so I called the pediatrician. After exams and x-rays, we were told that he had a broken collar bone. It was pretty clear from the x-rays that I saw. (Update: So for 5 weeks he became a left-hander. I am amazed how well he handled things. He was determined to do it all on his own and not be a bother to us. His teacher was also impressed at how well he adjusted. He never complained. Derek sure can do hard things.)

Stewart Falls...A Classic

Yesterday after school my friend and I got the crazy idea to hike Stewart Falls up Provo Canyon for our Family Home Evening. I've hiked this since I was a little girl and I have many different memories of this hike in different stages of my life. Dave and I hiked here when we were dating, but that story would take up the whole post. Anyway, because of our late start and the slow pace of a couple three year olds, we made it to the waterfall just before sunset. We were about two-thirds done with the hike back when it was completely dark. Derek, the little scout that he is, came prepared with a flashlight in his backpack. So I stuck by him...I do not like the dark! I especially do not like being in the wilderness in the dark. Thankfully, we made it back safely and the kids did really well. McKenna refused to be held and walked all on her own. Until towards the end when it was dark when Dave held her and Ryan. I can't blame her though. I wanted someone to hold me in that dark! :)

McKenna and her friend, Abbie.

 

A Loss in Our Family

I clearly have attachment issues. I become way too attached to things...in this case, cars. I remember feeling sad as I watched my brother's black Ford Ranger drive away with a new owner. Not even my car! And I will admit that I have been guilty of naming cars that I drive.

We bought our first minivan from Dave's parents in April 2004. I was not ready to be a minivan owner! I was still so young and had only one child with one on the way. I still wanted to drive a small car, but we needed something to replace our two-door Escort that died and Dave's parents were kind enough to give us a great deal. So I became an official mother...a minivan-driving mother. I soon came to love my van. It was roomy (back then anyway), and it was convenient being able to change diapers on the floor.

This van became a part of so many memories over the years, and even before we owned it.While Dave and I were dating I flew out to California to meet Dave's parents and he proposed the night I arrived. The next morning the two of us drove in this van to the Oakland Temple to do baptisms for the dead. I remember sitting in the passenger's seat staring at my new fiance on the driver's side. Oh the love I felt! We brought home three babies from the hospital in this van. Many many hours have been spent on road trips. We drove to California several times and to Pennsylvania and back. And no, I'm not being overly dramatic! I bonded with our little van. However, with four larger kids the van had been outgrown. It had been randomly shutting off for a while and it helped our decision when it died twice in just the time it took us to get through the McDonald's drive thru. So with Winter coming I didn't want to be stranded in the cold weather and we figured this would be a good time to let the old girl go. Sniff sniff.

 This van was very unique...Not many cars these days have a cassette tape player. And one of these...

...How many kids these days know that this device rolls a window up and down?

This van had no cargo space (back window almost touched the headrests), the air vents were only in the front, it was a 4cylinder (had to turn off the air conditioner for enough power to get up hills), and only one sliding door. But with all its inconveniences, we still loved our van very much. These next two photos were not staged. The kids were so sad to hear that we had traded it. I felt the same way. I literally almost cried several times. It really did feel like we were losing a family member. I felt sick inside.

And it didn't want to go either. On September 15th, The kids and I were loading up to meet Dave at the dealership to sign papers on our new van and trade in the Dodge when I found this.

It was literally THE LAST TIME I would drive the van and it had a flat tire down to the rim. It was almost like the van was saying, "Don't make me go! I'll be good, I promise!". (See what I mean...In my mind vans can talk.) So I called Dave and we signed the papers the next day. We gave the van one last day with us. :)

 I've thought it would be fun to take a picture when we end our time with a vehicle to see how our family has changed. Our last family picture was in front of a blue Ford Escort 7 1/2 years ago. Derek was 1 1/2 and Taylor would arrive two months later. We sure have grown!

 I felt real guilt, sadness, and loss when we drove off without our 1999 white Dodge Caravan, but out with the old and in with the "new", I guess. Meet our new van. A 2008 Honda Odyssey. It's bossy and wants to do everything on its own. :) It has taken some getting used to. It has so many buttons and gadgets....especially since I went from nothing automatic to power everything. However, I am used to it and I am very thankful for my van. I've already used the V6 to win a few races. :) And the cargo is a dream!!

 And you can imagine how much it ripped my heart out to find this picture on ksl.com. It still does! I'm so sorry, Baby!! :(

Derek's Zinnias

When I was a little girl (around age 6) my mom gave me space in the garden for my own flowers. I remember how proud I was of the flowers I grew "all by myself". Later, my Nana also reserved a section in her sideyard just for me. I planted the seeds and she promised to water my garden while I was away. Over the phone she would give me updates on the state of the growth of my Zinnias or Cosmos,  and whenever I came for a visit she would tell me that my garden needed watering and I'd get right out there. It's crazy to me that I now own my own yard and am now saving space for my own kids. For the past two summers, the boys have picked out their seeds, planted, and watered their gardens. Both years poor Taylor hasn't lucked out. The first year only one plant came up and the second year Daddy didn't know there was anything planted and sprayed RoundUp in his space. Maybe this year will be his year! Derek's Zinnias did amazingly well this year. Hopefully he'll plant them again because I really do love them!

Derek and his 2011 flower garden.