A little Fresh Air!
The boys and I were in serious need of a sick day, so E skipped school and we headed to Seaside to enjoy some fresh ocean air and cotton candy ice-cream. We happen to have my nephew's Flat Stanley that we needed to take on an adventure and an adventure we did have. We rode the carousel, ate caramel pop-corn, ice-cream, lollipops. I even tried a deep-fried Twinkie and it will probably be the last one ever. Maybe sometime I might try the deep-fried bacon sometime but our stomachs were feeling pretty heavy. We ventured towards the beach but although it was beautiful and clear it was incredibly windy and the sand was blowing in our eyes. We didn't spend long enjoying the ocean, but it was a wonderfully relaxing day and just what we had hoped for.
The Good Ol' Days
It's not a very flattering picture, but it's a snapshot of some of the fun I've been having. It's been an absolute blast playing basketball with my fabulous friends. It's my favorite sport to play and oh, how I've missed it
It's a Beautiful Day!
We have seen entirely too much rain around here. The Saturday before Mother's Day M took the boys for a nice walk and spent the afternoon at our favorite park. It has an old school merry-go-round and see-saws. They came exhausted and with some fabulous pictures. I just LOVE my boys with their sweet little faces and their love of everything fun.
Best Job in the WORLD!
When I grow up, I want to be a mother and have a family with one little, two little, three little babies of my own. That's a song I use to sing when I was a little girl and I wanted nothing more then to be a mother. Now that I am, I think it's the greatest thing in the world. I LOVE being a Mom and I LOVE Mother's Day. This year I was especially spoiled. I got to sleep in real late, a very rare occurrence, and I awoke to my favorite breakfast; Puff pancakes with buttermilk syrup, bananas and whip cream. Thanks honey for slaving away in the kitchen! Can you tell we just woke up? I love bed-head!
Bowling is Harder without a Wii-mote!
We have a super fun group of friends here. The girls are best friends and our wonderful husbands just go along for the ride to make us happy. They all get a long well and if you asked them I would bet they would admit to having some fun. We met up at the bowling alley and despite our efforts and natural bowling skills the boys beat us in both games. The girls definitely won as far as style and celebratory dances go, but alas that does not earn us pins. We hit the Sports Look afterward for a Panookie (a pan sized cookie smothered in ice-cream and terribly delicious). We always have a great time with this bunch!
What do we do around here when the sun shines?
Stick em' up Cowboy! You better watch yourself around here or you might end up a little wet.
We take in some of the natural beauty around and see the sights Portland has to offer.
We went for a nice hike in Forest Park. We hiked down to the ol' stone house and then up to the Pittock Mansion. It was the perfect temperature for hiking and the boys were real troopers. Family time is my favorite time and we have so much fun on all our adventures. I wish we could do it all the time everyday, but I guess M has to work so we can eat and E has to go to school so he can learn and D has chase me around the house to keep me on my toes. We're trying to do as much as we can before we say good-bye to this place. It is a beautiful place, but we are excited to see the sun a little more often.
What Makes Me So Happy?
I LOVE these boys and they are just getting to be so much fun the older they get. I'm always laughing at the silly things they say and do. I wish I were better about writing them down because they just crack me up. I think they're the most handsome little boys too. Check out dapper-dan in his suit. Funny story about these pictures. We received the suit from someone who had grown out of it a year ago. E immediately put it on and insisted on wearing it for a day or two even though he was just swimming in it. I believe he is wearing it in some of the pictures after my surgery last year. I finally convinced him that we should put it away until he got a little bigger. Imagine his delight when I pulled it out again and it fit. He was so excited to get all gussied up for church. He sure does look handsome and I'm already preparing myself to fight off all the girls that will be chasing my little cutie. Don't touch my baby!
Another funny story about Mr. Broom man. I had actually made him for a Sharing Time (sunday lesson) I had prepared and I called him Wimpy Wally. We had to make him strong (fill him with little balloons) my making good choices. E was pretty proud of this guy since he was wearing his clothes and after we got home from church they spent the entire day together. He named him Nevan and Nevan ate dinner with us, played games with us and even did the bedtime routine with us. The next day when I tried to take Nevan apart E got a little teary about it. We had not done the whole imaginary friend thing so it really caught me off guard, but Nevan stuck around our house for a few days. Until I couldn't stand my dirty floors a second longer and I begged with E to let me use his pal. He pulled off his head and hands and stuck him under the bed for a while. Every once in a while we'll hear, "I miss Nevan." Hmmm, did I mention I love this kid! He has a soft little heart and is so full of love for his family. I get to enjoy his hugs and I love you's every day!
Now this kid on the other hand is a whole lot mischief. He's got this strong little personality and so many little things that I find peculiar but he knows what he wants and that's that. He's big into body art so finding him like this is not too big of a surprise. He knows the rules around here but just can't help himself. I'm grateful that it stays mostly on the body and very rarely on the house like his brother like to do. He sure does everything with passion. He's passionate about jumping and about playing hotwheels. He is passionate about chocolate milk and oatmeal. He has always been selective about his clothing and has dressed himself, not heeding my input, since he was 2. Right now, his latest fashion statement is going commando. For those who may not understand that term, the kid doesn't like to wear his underpants. It's just one of the little things that make this kids so darn lovable. He does everything with gusto and zest and likes to remind us who really is the boss around here. Funny, I always thought that whoever scrubs the toilets and folds the mounds of laundry got to be the boss. He's definitely got a hold of my heart and I can't imagine life with out his bright blue eyes!
Birthday Girl
May is a pretty great month for me since I get to enjoy Mother's Day and my birthday. I just get spoiled all month long. For my birthday we went to A & S's because she is the master of birthday bashes. We had a wonderful dinner and followed by my usual birthday treat, cookies instead of cake. I got to open presents and enjoyed them all. S got me a fun wall-plug scentsy with some yummy smells. M and the boys gave me a sewing basket full of Peanut Butter M&M's, essential oils and olive oil for tub soaking and some nighttime tea. He also framed a picture of us that a friend had taken. The boys made me some beautiful cards and blessed with countless hugs and kisses. It was a great night. Thank you!
The next night my girlfriends had me schedule sometime with them, but it was all a big surprise. It was actually pretty funny. I got already to go, but I couldn't find these flip-flops that I wanted to wear even though I knew I had just worn them. The girls said I looked great with the ones I had on so we snapped some pictures and were on our way. They had a present for me to open while we drove to our first stop. You'll never guess what was in there.
Well, from this lovely picture you can see that I was surprised and found it pretty humurous. Wrapped in that pretty little package were the very flip-flops I had been searching for high and low. We were headed for pedicures, which I absolutely LOVE, and they wanted to make sure I would have the proper footwear. Isn't that such a great action shot? I had no idea I opened my mouth so wide while laughing hysterically. We enjoyed our pedi's and then snagged some mouth-watering chocolate cake at Sanford's. It was a fabulous evening as it always is with these girls. I just LOVE em'!
I tell ya, I'm spoiled rotten. S came over a couple weekends later and took me out for more birthday celebrations. I LOVE my girl time with her. We just never stop talking and I'm so lucky to have a sis-in-law that feels more like a sister. We snagged some Sushi and did a little shopping for laughing our behinds off at "Date Night" with Steve Carrell and Tina Fey. The funniest movie I've seen in along time, but I definitely think you need to be married with children to understand the real humor of it all. The kids next to us on a date didn't laugh near as often or as loud as S and I. We weren't ready to call it quits after the movie so I introduced her to that delicious Chocolate Cake at Sanford's. Twice in one month is not nearly enough. It was a great night and it's so fun to have birthday celebrations with the people that I love so much.
Camping Adventure
We decided to go camping over memorial day weekend. And guess what? It rained on us most of the time. What a surprise. But we did manage to have some fun. Especially the second night as our neighbors in the next site decided to stay up all night and be loud as can be. This was a problem as our tent was set up about 5 feet from their car and the alarm went off a few times as a few of them felt the need to have loud conversations between their car and our tent. they were so close they were rubbing up against our tent at times. It would have been ok if around 2 am one hadn't decided to show off his fancy gun.
Guy 1: "Duh-hur, Is that a 9mm?"
Guy 2: "You betcha Cletus, it shore is"
Gun (five feet or less from our tent): "Pow"
Bethany: "Are you kidding me?"
So we were a bit frightened, but soon after the party broke up and the gunman drove off. We managed to sleep pretty well after calming down. Next day we told the ranger and he called the cops after coming to our site and picking up the bullet casing all CSI like. I think it pretty much made his week. Cops came and escorted the hillbilly out after finding a gun in his car. Good times. We didn't stay the next night. But returned home and had a great Memorial day BBQ with everyone and cooked up the camp food that had been planned for the last dinner.
Fun at the beach. And this time Dallin didn't get run into by the boat skeleton.
We checked out the Ft.Stephens battery. Figured it was a good Memorial day weekend activity.
Fishing Fun
Remember kids, don't feed the animals.
Ok maybe just this one.
It was our last big get together before the group starts breaking up. The Tingeys move the end of June and then we'll leave in October. Sad and exciting times! We have so many fond memories of our great Hillsboro friends. Lifetime friends for sure!!!!
