Cannon Beach...

A few weeks ago my mom and I took the kids to Cannon Beach for the day. I love that it is only an hour away. My sister Heather was already down there with her kids, so we met up with them to play. It was a perfect day. The kids had a great time swimming, building sand castles, flying the kite and jumping over the waves.




We always make a stop at the Bakery. Kate got her "pourple cupcake".



Heather's boys have been in swim team all summer and have showed Zach the ropes. He started out the summer scared as ever to enter water where he knew he couldn't touch. But now he is jumping into any and everything. Thanks Jacob and Thomas! And way to go Zach!

McCall 2010 Finally...

Every summer my side fo the family gets together for a week up in McCall, Idaho for a little water fun on Payette Lake. The grandkids are outnumbering the adults!!! I have waited awhile to post these pictures because my sister Paige and sister-in-law Mari, also took pictures, but they have fancier cameras than I do so I wanted to be able to link up to their posts of McCall. SO you can check out their pictures HERE, HERE and HERE in addition to mine. Needless to say we had a great time!

Zach took part in his 1st Polar Plunge. He looks up to his older cousins and is always up for the challenge to do whatever they are doing.






Kate and Heath really took a liking to each other. Check out their Bubble Party they had HERE. Here is a sneak Peak...




Here are all the grandkids...19 and we knew one more was on the way with Paige. But Heather secretly knew she was pregnant with her fourth, so that will make 21!



This year Zach was always up for a run on the Aqua Glide. With Parker and Alec in tow Zach would do all his "cool tricks". Watch the video for more. We got Kate to ride it too. You wouldn't know it from the picture but once we got started she was all giggles.





And of course the annual family picture.



Zach had his fair share of water fights.



As for Kate she was either hanging out on the dock or in Uncle Jeff's boat for a ride to the gas station for ice cream.

The Garden Party...

A few weeks ago Justin, me and the kids tagged along with my parents to the most amazing garden party. The party was at their friend's family farm. They had a huge bottomless Texas BBQ, and all the entertainment one could ever ask for. Zach was in heaven. Endless cotton candy and snow cones was just the bonus.



This was Zach's first ever mechanical bull-ride. Needless to say he enjoyed it very much! "Hee-haw" He was one of the youngest to test this bull out. I think we have a future cowboy on our hands.



When we couldn't find Zach he could be found standing in line for the Bungee. By the end of the night he was doing three flips in a row. He is certainly getting independent. Justin offered to stand by him, and Zach told him to stand to the side. I guess he is feeling a little grown-up these days. Afterall he can make his own breakfast now. Eggo Waffles that is.

You Know She has an Older Brother...

When you are driving home in the car tonight and you hear your little 2 year old girl sing a new version of K-I-S-S-I-N-G...it went a little something like this.

"Daddy and Poop sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G, first come carriage, then comes love, then comes poopy in the baby carriage, sucking his thumb, pee-ing his pants, trying to do the hula dance."

In my head I giggle, but on the outside I am just praying this "potty" talk phase leaves faster than it came. That bar of soap might be getting some more love afterall.

The Pool...

If you know my sister-in-law Mari, then you know she is never without her camera. And for that I am grateful! Hopefully she won't mind that I am sharing these pictures on my blog, but I just have to brag about how telented she is...check out these pictures she captured of my kiddos in Grandpa's pool! I am loving Zach's canon ball...Here is a link to her photography BLOG.







And now we are headed out this weekend to see all the cousins again up in McCall, ID for a little water-skiing and tubing action. Zach has been counting down since Monday. Needless to say he is excited!

All in One Week...

Wow! I think I finally have to time to actually breath. From the moment we left Utah until tonight we have been going going going.

Before we moved we said several good-bye's to friends. I made some great friends, the kind that even though time goes by will still be there for you and feel like nothing has changed the next time you see them again. I miss them already and of course our friends the Broadbents. The entire ride to Portland Kate kept saying, "I go to Gracee's house?"



We also got a special visit from Aunt Debbie and Uncle Gary and Annie just before we left. We haven't seen them in a few years so it was fun to catch up with them. It made Justin and I miss the days we would go to their house in Alpine for the holidays when we were both going to BYU, dating and then even after we were married, before we had kids, when Emma was eight! Time goes so fast!



After packing, taping, and cleaning it was onto the big move. And for the record still no wedding ring. Seriously sick to my stomach!!! Come to find out the girl we rented from had also lost her wedding ring in the same town home. Talk about bad luck!

Not really moving on but for the sake of this post we just barely fit everything into our moving truck. I swear we didn't buy much while we lived in Utah, but it was a miracle we fit everything in. On top of that our nephew, Parker and nieces, Maddi and Lauren, came along with us to Portland so they could spend a week at Grandma's house...which ended up being a bonus for us because our kids were entertained the entire 12 hour drive. It was a bonus for my brother Jeff and his wife too knowing they would pretty much be kid less...until we got the news that our Grandma Thompson had passed away and they would be flying to Portland the very next day that we had left. We were packed to the brim. Zach and Parker rode in the truck with Justin, and the girls and Kate and my Mom were in our little Honda with me. The girls described it perfectly..."squishy." We stopped halfway in Boise to see my brother, Casey and his family and got to meet our newest cousin Joshua. He is a great baby! What a fun addition to the crew. We stayed overnight in a hotel there. I don't know what it is about hotels but the kids love them! Both my nieces and nephews wanted to stay for the entire week. I guess who wouldn't when you've got a pool, 24 access to Otis Spunk Cookies, hot breakfast, flat screen TV's to yourself. They were all in heaven! Needless to say our little road trip was a success, and we made it into Portland safe and sound.



Next up was the Fourth of July festivities. We went to my sister, Heather's house for a BBQ and watched the Oak Hills firework show with the family that night. This is a tradition for whoever is in town. As always I attempt the family photo and come up with Justin and I looking at the camera and the kids off in their own little world. I have high hopes that someday we will all look at the camera smiling at the same time. Oh well.



Next was my Grandma Thompson's funeral. The last few years she has been battling Alzheimer's, and actually a month ago we were told she was going to pass, but she held on for another month. It actually turned out quite convenient that she held on so long because we were coming to town and bringing some of the great grand kids along. My cousins Gina and Janet also had planned a trip to be in town. Funny how things like this seem to fall into place. There really wasn't a cause of death, but she just kept sleeping and so naturally starved. She is in a much better place now. Thank goodness we have the knowledge of the plan of salvation. I think what makes me sad the most is seeing my grandpa alone now. To watch him close the casket was really hard, and then to hear my dad and his brother's talk about their fondest memories of her and to see them and grandpa tear up was even harder. One of the benefits of a funeral is seeing all of our extended family and that was fun to catch up with everyone.



Justin started work yesterday. I know I wrote Tuesday in an earlier post, but that was before any funeral was planned, so he ended up starting yesterday. So far so good. With everything that is new it all takes a little getting used to and finding ways to make it work for him. The kids and I went swimming of course to soak up this 95 degree weather before it starts to cloud up and rain again.

At the end of the list of to do's was seeing the Broadway show, The Lion King, today downtown in the Civic Theater. It was fun and the costume design and function was really amazing. Most of us loved it and some(Kyle)were not too sure, or maybe just so hungry he couldn't make up his mind. Pictures tell it all.

The End of the Residency...

Last Tuesday Justin and I went to his end of the year residency dinner thingy...where they say good-bye and good luck to the old residents and welcome the new residents. Now tell me that year didn't go by in a flash. As part of the program the assistants give each of the residents a parting bag of goodies(or bag of inside jokes) to show the residents they were appreciated, and to wish them well in the future. Mallory presented Justin with his and as part of the gift they had created this picture in a frame photo-shopped with all of the assistants and office staff laying a hand on some part of Justin's body from the picture they had found on our blog months ago. Remember that soccer picture of his that he conveniently forgot his uniform, but posed in front of the year 98? If you can't remember check it out below. Now picture that pose with his assistants and office staff standing behind and around him leaning towards him with their hands out-stretched for him. On the frame they had Team Marostica. It was the perfect gift! He will never live this one down. He had such a great experience with this residency and misses it and the people he interacted with on a daily basis. We made some lasting friends that's for sure.

Happy 4th of July...

We got up-rooted again. Moving is always so bitter sweet. We left some great family and friends back in Utah and now are in Portland for what will most likely be the rest of our lives. I hope I find the same happiness here as I did in Pennsylvannia and Utah. I get so nervous having to make new friends. Justin starts work on Tuesday. I am hoping everything goes well for him. For now, we are just living in my parent's house until we can find a place to fit in and belong. Happy hunting right? You gotta start somewhere...

Anyways, Happy 4th of July! I made these blocks while I was in Utah. I guess I was feeling a little festive, or just had to check out Wood Connection before I left. Anyways, this is what the end result became.

Toy Story 3...

Throughout the year I have been telling Zach that I would let him have a play date with his friends, Ian and Grant. Every week I tried to pick a good day, but it just never seemed to work out, especially because of the one car that we have and the limited amount of seats in our said one car. And you can't just invite one, leaving the other out! I was feeling like the slacker mom. So when Justin had that afternoon off last Wednesday, I had him stay home with Kate while I took Zach and his buddies to see Toy Story 3. All three of them were dying to see it the day it came out and loved it! I am so sad that Zach has to leave these two boys. They are so fun and all get a long so well. He hasn't quite realized that he will be leaving friends behind, because he is looking forward to playing with his Portland cousins. I am afraid that when school starts he will be asking where Grant and Ian are.

My Second Quilt...This Time Minky!

Back in March Justin's mom was out for a visit. Since making my first quilt with her help one of our favorite things to do when we are together is to go to quilt and fabric shops to scope out what's new. One of our stops was at Elaine's Quilt Shop in Sandy. We both spotted this Minky Kit and had to have it! So here it is all finished! The squares came with the kit all pre-cut(love that), but I went back a month or so ago to pick up some different binding material(the original was white flannel...that would have gotten so dirty), and picked out the backing material. Thanks to my friend Melody, who let me use her sewing machine, and my other friend Cammie, for quilting it for me, I am the proud owner of this cuddly blanket.

So I learned a lot making this quilt.
1. When you sew minky you have to use a walking foot. I have never heard of that before nor have one, hence the reason why I used Melody's machine.
2. You can use minky on both sides of the quilt. I must have stood in Elaine's for a half an hour debating between minky and flannel...so glad the nice lady that works there talked me into the minky. I figured that the stretchy-ness of minky would be hard to quilt. Obviously not for Cammie. She did an amazing job.
3. I think I finally learned how to bind the corners. My first quilt was a some what of a disaster around the corners, but this time I think I got it!