Grant Turns 4!!!

Labor Day.... also Grant's 4th Birthday, brought another beautiful day to Portland! A friend of ours invited us out for a boat ride and so we could hardly resist. After telling Grant what we were doing that he told us...it's what I always wanted!!

After the boat ride we headed over to the Zervis house for an End of Summer BBQ/Grant's B-Day celebration. It was such a lovely evening, and all the kids had so much fun. I really can't think of a better way to say good bye to summer (tear)!

Grant and his friend Myles showing off their muscles!

Jaxson swimming in the freezing Willamette...we were up by Newberg so not as nasty as being downtown...he did shower immediately after!

BBQ at the Zervis house, so wonderful!

Getting to see Amelia walking for the first time!!

Sweet Aubrey!

Loving the swings!

Nick and Grant relaxing after a hard days work!

I cannot believe my little Boo Boo Bear is four! I know I always say it, but it literally seems like yesterday that he was born!! He has brought so much laughter and love into our lives and I am so grateful that God chose us to be his parents.

Before I get too mushy, I must remind myself that he is four and along with that comes four year old tantrums and four year old stubbornness...sometimes it's a real challenge to say the least! I know this is just a phase though and in between the tantrums is such a sweet amazing boy that never stops surprising me.

Some of the things Grant loves:

-Action Figures: He is begging me to take him to Target on a daily basis to get new ones. Captain America, Spiderman, Ironman, Dare Devil, Superman, and Incredible Hulk are at the top of the list!

-Motorcycles: LOVES motorcycles, and can spot one from a mile away! He loves to ride on them as well, and literally asks me everyday when he get to go riding again.

-His Brother: He idolizes his brother, and most of time is copying everything he says and does, much to Jaxson's chagrin of course. They fight like crazy, but mostly it's because Grant wants Jaxson's attention and if he can't get it he will poke him, steal his toys, scream in his face, or lastly and most offensive go in his room!! You can see why the fighting starts.

Riding his bike: As soon as we get home from school or any outing, Grant is outside riding his bike! He is no dare devil, but loves to ride around and around our cul-de-sac! We let him ride his bike on our walks too, which usually ends up with me pushing him up the hills, and holding on down the hills, but he loves it just the same. Whenever we go up or down a big hill in the car he always and without fail asks...could I ride my bike up/down this hill? I know he would never, he is too cautious, but I always answer...of course, you can do anything!

His favorite color is: "All the colors"...especially loves blue and green though.

Favorite Sayings: "You gotta be kidding me", "He started it", "Feel my muscles, I am getting bigger", "yummo", "Who you think your talking too"...mostly directed at Jaxson.

Favorite TV Show: Scooby Doo, Spiderman, Young Justice

Favorite Movie: Astro Boy, Bolt, and Spiderman

Favorite Book: Any book that you get to push a button and it makes noise to coincide with what you are reading, and his all time Favorite: His Mickey Mouse book.

Favorite Food: Sushi, Cottage Cheese, Yogurt, French Fries (which is really brown rice), Blue Berries.

No more babies in our house, all big boys :-(( Trying to enjoy every minute while maintaining my sanity all at the same time!

Let's Go To The Beach!!

The last Sunday before school started we woke up to a beautiful Portland morning....what to do? I check Facebook to see that everyone I know was at the beach on Saturday, and it was 90 degrees...WHAT? Feeling kinda left out, I decide we must go the beach immediately, because when have you ever been to the Oregon coast when it has been 90??

We pack up the kids and hit the road by 10! Well, after we passed North Plains it was apparent that most everyone else in Portland had the same idea. We decided to cut off at Banks and head to Oceanside, one of our favorite beach hide-aways.

When we got there it was gorgeous and I thought we had made an excellent decision, but a few hours later the clouds rolled in on us like a scene out of FOG. We decided just to head home, but we did have fun for the few hours we were there!

Right after we got there, the weather is beautiful!

Sand everywhere...literally!! Sun was out and in our eyes too!

I kinda felt like we were in Southern California, I had never seen so many people at the beach!

There was even a wedding!

The fog rolling in...about another 30 min later we were socked in...bummer!!

The beach is still one of my most favorite places, and I never regret a drive out there! 

PaPaw's 87th Birthday!!

Sunday after H2C we rushed back to help my grandfather (PaPaw) celebrate his 87th Birthday!!! He has some great stories to tell...when he was little they did not even have electricity in their house, and they had to go outside and use an actual outhouse for a bathroom, times have certainly changed!

We decided it would easiest on my grandparents to bring the party to their Assisted Living facility, and we set up camp in the yard. The kids had a blast, and my grandpa was so excited to have his family all together!!

My MaMaw and PaPaw safely out of the sun, so you can't see them very well!

Poor man's swimming pool...kids loved it and it entertained them the whole time!

Carterman was in heaven!

H2C 2011

I kinda skipped over one of my most favorite things to hate all year...Hood to Coast! Every year I think I am not going to do it again, and then every year I jump at the chance to go again! I actually compared in to child birth...the training (being prego) kinda stinks and sometimes you just want to give up. The actual event totally sucks, but after you are done you are so happy and forget about the pain five minutes later. Soon afterwards you are thinking I could do that again. See the analogy?

I think the thing that draw me back every year is the beach. We all get to stay at Camp Corrado when we are done, while sharing all our crazy adventures and enjoying some of the best food ever!! Sometimes I wonder what hurts more, my legs from running or my stomach from laughing so hard? I am sure I will do it again next year, and like I say every year...hopefully I will start training earlier than Aug 1. I am happy to say I have continued to run after H2C this year, which has never happened before.

I did not take very many pics, but here are some of them:

My van got to experience all the luxuries the Lanphere Employee shuttle has to offer...let me tell you, it is way better than a U Haul van with no windows!

U Haul Van...not as nice!

Enjoying some tasty road sodas!

The ladies of Van 2!

Andrew before his night run...it is so dusty that most runners wear these bandannas so they can breathe.

Ahhh all done! Nick runs on a different team than me, but we got to meet up at the finish line!

As much as I hate to admit it, I am looking forward to next year!!

Nine Year Anniversary

This past week we celebrated our nine year wedding anniversary!! I was planning on doing the usual dinner and movie, not complaining one bit though I love getting dinner and a movie with Nick!! Nick had different plans for us though. He planned a two day getaway to Five Pine Lodge in Sisters. It was absolutely amazing and I loved every minute away... I missed the boys, but honestly I could have stayed another day.
The rooms were these really nice cabins, and we got the opportunity to go hiking, ride bikes, and spend time at the spa. My favorite thing we did was lay in bed and watch a movie and snack on chocolate in the middle of the freakin afternoon...so much fun!!

These pictures are from my phone, I forgot my camera....thank goodness for smart phones!

This was our room!

I am not sure if you can see, but the water comes out from the ceiling, and there is a window into the main room...just really cute.

This is from the hike we went on...so beautiful!

On our way back we stopped at Suttle Lake Resort...I had always seen the signs for it, but never stopped. It was amazing, and they had these adorable cabins that you could rent. This was the main lodge that also had rooms available. We are coming back here for sure next summer!

View from the lodge!

This whole trip just proved to me that I married an incredible person who loves me just as much now as he did when he married me!! Even though it's tough sometimes, moments like these make it all worth it!!

Contagion

Just a funny Jaxson story:

We were driving in car, when Jaxson asks me: "Mom what is puberty?"

My heart sank and I thought, this is it...the beginning of many discussions I have dreaded since the day he was born.

I quietly and calmly answered: "Well bud, it's when a boy becomes a man and he starts to grow hair on his body and his voice starts to deepen."

Not what I was expecting from him: "Mom I think (anonymous) got the puberty already, cause his arms are really hairy!!!"

Thinking to myself that puberty was like a disease to me when I was that age, I simply answered back: "Well, I don't think  (anonymous) has puberty yet, but some people are hairier than others."

That seemed to satisfy his curiosity for now...whoosh!!!

I wish there were a cure for puberty as well, so not looking forward to it!!

Bathroom Remodel

As part of getting our house ready to put on the market, we finally had to remodel our master bathroom. When I told people that we were doing so, most look confused and said they had never even seen that bathroom before. Not to my surprise though, because it is probably the most hated room in the house!! It is truly hideous, and I rarely let people in there. So now you get to see the before and after:

BEFORE:

AFTER:

So much better, wouldn't you agree?