Summer Fun 2012

One thing we like to do during the summer months is LIVE IT UP!! It is only sunny here in Oregon for a few months and I absolutely LOVE having my kids home for the summer.  This summer is no different.  In August we played and played and played! Here are just a few of the pictures I took this summer of our adventures. I know its a lot, but look at those cute kids!!

 We rode the train over to the fairgrounds and went to the county fair.  The kids got a free ride from the library and they chose a little car ride.  Brady especially loved looking at all the animals.  The cows and horses were his favorite.  Tyler and Sydney liked all the snakes and birds.  It was a fun afternoon.

 
 
 
 
 Our friends the Watsons gave us this picnic table and the kids LOVED it.  We have had many dinners outside while playing with balls.

 Sydney and Tyler took swim lessons for part of the summer.  Their teachers name is Seth and they have loved the water.  Tyler was a little timid at first about putting his face in the water, but by the end he was doing  a fantastic job! He loves to float and relax.  Sydney is doing well at doing her swimming strokes.  She is learning how to breath out the side of her mouth while she is working her arms and legs.

 
 Brady is very patient while the kids are swimming. He gets to hang out with me!

 We have also been playing at lots of parks! We even tried a few new ones around the area.  I love playing at parks for many reasons.  The kids love them and my house stays clean while we are out! Its a win win situation!

 
 
 

Grammy gave the kids sunglasses and the boys have loved having them.  Plus they look so cool at the park. Very stylish!!

 
 For part of August we had Grandma come and visit.  While she was here Sydney really wanted to learn to sew.  Sydney has her own sewing machine that Grammy and Papa gave her for Christmas a couple years ago.  She has loved learning and even graduated to the big machine.  She made Kleenex holders and was so proud of herself!

 We went and visited the Pittock Mansion in Portland.  It was a beautiful building and had unbelievably pretty gardens.  We took a picnic lunch and the kids were able to play on the grass.

 Tyler loved the marble staircase.

We took a day trip out to the beach.  We went to seaside and the weather was beautiful! The kids dug in the sand and played in the freezing water.  This is Tyler and Brady showing their muscles for the camera.  Brady wasn't sure of the sand at first, but after awhile he was a pro!


 
 
 
 Everytime that Grandma comes the kids make cake balls with her.  My favorite is lemon, but the kids like chocolate. So we made both kinds!

 Sydney had her last Polynesian Dance performance.  She is a beautiful dance and practices all the time.  She is such a little performer!

 
 The boys liked watching all the dancers too!

 
 A friend of mine gave me some tickets to the Country Music Festival.  So my Mom and I headed down to Brownsville for a girls day.  We started out by shopping in Woodburn and then hit the road to hear Billy Currington and Martina McBride.  It was such a fun day!  The concerts were awesome! I'm so glad we were able to go.

 
 
 
 At the first of summer I signed up the kids for a pirate party at the library.  I thought it would be fun.  The kids loved it.  they especially loved talking like pirates and dressing like pirates.  I'm glad our library does fun free things like this.

 
 
 

Bend Trip

This past weekend we took a Ryan took a couple days off and we took a mini vacation over to Bend. Grammy and Papa are super nice to let us stay at their house. While we were there we went on a little hike to Tumalo Falls.  It was a beautiful waterfall and the kids loved walking.  Next time I'll bring their tennis shoes instead of flip flops.  I gave them a bag of chips to snack on and they carried it up all the whole way. It was a beautiful morning.

While we were in Bend, Brady got sick with Hand, Foot, and Mouth. But before he was sick we found this very cool Pirate Park.  We took the kids scooters and they played pirates who walked the plank. It was so much fun!

We had originally planned to go to the bike races in Bend on Saturday night.  Because Brady was sick, Sydney and I stayed home and played trouble.  She told my Mom that she got to play games like a "grown up." Tyler loved going to the races with Daddy.  He thought the bikes were super fast.  Afterwards they stopped and picked everyone up milkshakes.  It was a great end to a good weekend.