catch up 2

Last catch up from Portland! The week before we left, some of my family came to visit.  My parents have been visiting Portland during August for the last while and this time my sister's family came too.  We got to spend a little time with them and it was such a good change of routine for me, plus it was great to see them.

We went to the Rose garden with them.  Here is Matthew playing in the water fountain thing.  He picked a few coins out and was excited he "found" some money :)

Here's Rose sitting by the fountain. She loved the water.

Hannah and Hailey loved running around and smelling different roses.  We discovered how different roses can smell if they are different types. 

We also went to the beach. We got up pretty early so while the kids played in the sand, dad took a nap on the beach blanket.

Angela didn't want me to take her picture, but I think it turned out cute.

Here's Matthew playing in the sand.  The kids all took their pants off because they got wet? I'm sure it made the playing more fun!

The girls digging holes that Logan loved to fill back in.

I love this picture of Hailey.  She thought it was so funny how Logan loved to fill in the holes.

catch up 1

I still have some catch up from our last bit in Portland. We did some fun things that I didn't want to forget to document. 

First, a hike that I remember doing at least a few times growing up visiting family. It's called Multnomah Falls.  It is paved all the way up so we (Darrin) pushed Logan all the way up in his stroller. Here's a picture--we hiked to the top of the falls.

Logan relaxing in comfort...he didn't mind! :)

At the top

I took Logan to the Lloyd Center, a mall in Portland.  There was a mini splash pad there and although I forgot swim trunks for Logan, I let him play a little in the water.  He was very disappointed when we left.

One time I left a bag of cheerios on the couch. I didn't realize Logan could reach that far and this is what I found about a minute later. Oops

We went to a Koi fish festival.  Darrin likes these fish a lot and these ones were HUGE! He was quite impressed.

We went on an aerial tram over downtown Portland. It wasn't quite what I was expecting but the view was cool.  Looking out from the tram:

Another tram about to pass us:

Right before we left we went to a blueberry farm and picked 8 pounds of blueberries.  They were only $1 a pound since we picked them.  They were huge and delicious.  We froze most of them and we are about halfway done with our last bag :(

Delicious!

well...

change is the name of our game lately. We have moved yet again (the 3rd time in the last 8 months or so). Am I tired of packing and moving? Yes, definitely. But, I'm glad we are where we are (after some big attitude adjustments on my part). I feel like this is right for our family right now, but I am grateful it is temporary...wait, we have to move again?! Luckily this is a year-long residence. We moved from Portland, knowing we would only be there for 8 weeks for Darrin's internship.  Now, Darrin is officially a....

BULLDOG!!

He started his Master's of Accountancy at...

Many may wonder where?! It is in Spokane, Washington (on the east side of the state). It seems as though he likes it. His classes are much smaller here than they were at BYU. There are even a few other former BYU students in his classes. Our apartment was a little shocking at first, but it feels much more like home now.  I  had to find an apartment online and I guess the pictures didn't exactly show its true colors. (it especially didn't show that all our neighbors smoke and we would be suffocated if we open the windows at night). But, after cleaning it up a bit and getting our things settled, things are looking up.  All I need is a friend or two :) 

Why Gonzaga you may ask?  

Anyone remember this guy?

Well, I guess he's a small part :) Also, Gonzaga's Accounting school is in the top 25, so it will be great for Darrin for jobs and such. 

One more exciting thing...Darrin officially has a REAL job! (not that his others weren't real, this one is just more permanent?) Starting NEXT fall, he'll be an accountant for...

WAY TO GO DARRIN!!! This is where he did his internship. So, come next fall we will be packing our things once again to go back to Portland. I really am proud of him!

Well, we don't currently have internet, but I'll still be posting, so see you soon!

Rockaway Beach and Tillamook

Maybe the 3rd weekend we were here we heard the temperature was supposed to be in the 90s.  That's not common for Portland in June, or July for that matter. We decided it would be a great Saturday to get away to the beach, since it is always at least 10 degrees cooler there. We went to Rockaway Beach, a quaint little beach town and to the Tillamook Cheese Factory.

Logan LOVED the sand.  He couldn't get enough of how it felt, even in his mouth.  We think maybe he ate more sand than lunch that day :) It may have been one of the first times he was more interested in something other than food during meal time. Here he is holding a roll in one hand while feeling the sand with the other.

Sand all over his mouth!

We had a picnic on the sand when we first got there.

Right as we arrived at the beach.  It was perfect weather, although a little chilly with the wind right next to the water.

Logan also loved walking on the sand.  He couldn't quite get the hang of it when the sand was dry and squishy, but where the water and salt had hardened it from high tide, he was a pro.

Here Darrin and Logan are at a junk shop by the beach. Really, it was full of absolute junk. I don't know how that store survived.

After the beach, we headed about 20 minutes inland to Tillamook city where the cheese factory resides. they let you walk through a self-guided tour, sample cheese, and read things about cows.

Logan as we wait in line for Tillamook's famous ice cream. Do you think he knows what he is about to get a taste of?

Still in line...

This is how excited Darrin was to get cheese curds. One of his favorite things in life.

It was a long but perfect day. I could spend a lot of time on the Oregon coast.

Portlandia

Portland has been an adventure. Darrin and I have gotten the chance to explore a lot while we have been here. To think that we have less than 2 weeks left here is an odd thought. It went by very quickly and soon we'll be off to our next adventure. I've been bad about posting while we've been here and The Work and the  Glory series is mostly to blame for that. I have engrossed myself in those books so that I can finally finish the series and move on to my endless "books to read" list.

But...here are a few things we documented since being here. Some of them are a little odd, like this one:

While walking through one of the many many parks here this lady bug landed on Darrin.  If the saying about dots and their age is true, this one would be really old!

Portland seems to have an endless amount of flowers. Darrin especially loves these:

A hike that is in Payson Canyon is called the Grotto, so we couldn't pass up this opportunity to go to "The Grotto" in Portland, which happens to be a monastery :) It had beautiful grounds and gave us another thing on our "free things to do in Portland" list (which is mainly where we've been finding activities from).

A copy of Pieta --one of my very favorites, one I actually got to see the real thing while in Italy.

One of the main buildings of The Grotto.

To keep Logan and I busy, we go to the nearby park at least two times a week. He would sit in the swing for hours if I let him.  Usually I'm the one that calls it quits so we can leave.

Logan can't get enough daddy time lately. He's always begging to play with daddy or read with daddy. I don't think Darrin minds too much :)

Logan is obsessed with hats lately and will ask you to put one on if he sees it. This was one of those times.  I just thought these pictures were funny...

This last one reminds me of when I got my wisdom teeth out...ha!

independence day

The 4th of July has always been one of my favorite holidays. When I look back it is one holiday that it seems like my family has the most traditions. For that reason, it definitely made me homesick this year being away from home. 

That being said, we still had a lot of fun and it made it feel a little closer to home. We started out the day with a ward breakfast--much like the one I'm used to at home! We got to know more ward members, eat good food, and serve a little as well. Later, we took Logan to the park.

For dinner, I decided we should have some things that remind me of summer--bbq ribs, corn on the cob, chips, and Darrin wanted some rootbeer.

Logan loved his corn on the cob. I had to post all three:

Here's a picture of our meal

After dinner, we did some sparklers that my kind friend, Maren gave to us before we left. Logan wasn't too interested, only a tiny.

After putting Logan to bed, we watched a few fireworks on tv, but they just aren't the same so I fell asleep :)

Not too fancy of a holiday, but it sure was great spending it with my two boys!