Dad's 60th Birthday!

A few weeks a go Aaron volunteered to watch the kids so I could drive out to the Skamania Lodge for my dad's 60th birthday party. All of my siblings, except Nate (who was out of town for work & was VERY missed), surprised my dad there. And he was surprised! We enjoyed a really good buffet at the lodge. Lyle (my sister Darcy's husband) Dared my brother Brian to eat an oyster for $10, and he did it! Yuck, yuck, yuck!! I'm not a seafood person anyway, & this was extra gross! We sang Happy Birthday to my dad, laughed & had a great time together.

After dinner we went congregated in one of the rooms & read all of the memories we kids (haha) wrote down about about Dad. It was so fun to hear what everyone wrote & to see what common threads there were. 

Then we all went down to the pool, or, in my case, the hot tub! My nieces Haley & Kenady, & my nephew Erik were there & played with my dad, Lyle, & Brian in the pool. My mom & sisters opted to stay dry & took pics. 

Good morning!

Mom, thank you for organizing this & for EVERYTHING! Everyone had a great time! Dad, we're shooting for another 60, ok?

***

I stayed another night out in Washougal with my parents & had a girls night (without makeup) with my mom & sisters. We went shopping, got a treat, & spent a long time in Barnes & Noble (where we saw my cousin, Larry & his wife Amy)! Always a fun time!

I always have a great time with my family. It was so weird/ kind of nice this time without the kids OR Aaron! The only person I needed to take care of was myself. I forgot how easy it used to be (but not nearly as fun). I missed my little family & was so excited to see them when I got back. I will definitely be doing this again, though!

Tangled Thanksgiving

We had a nice quiet Thanksgiving at home (Aaron worked the day before & after which would have made traveling difficult). We had a great time together, & enjoyed some good food. Logan & Aaron got to have some guy time while Junie & I went to go see the new Disney movie Tangled.  

Aaron snapped some pics of us right before we left. We were both super excited to have a fun outing together!

I think June thought she was in heaven.

The flash was too bright, but it did a great job showing the nacho cheese on June's face.

It was so much fun & the movie was really cute. I think it measures up to the other (fantastic) Disney princess movies, & June keeps wanting me to tell her the story of Rapunzel over & over.

After the show:

Speaking of Tangled, when we got home we all went outside & the kids & Aaron played while I UNtangled our christmas lights!

Snow Day!

We got about a foot of snow a couple of days ago, & all went out together in back yard to play in it. June really likes to throw snowballs, & Logan mostly liked to sit on our little toy 4 wheeler (which did not go anywhere due to being frozen!). 

Halloween

Yep, it's almost a month later & I am just posting about Halloween. It's been a busy month. I'll have posts up about it next month...Anyway, I am getting off track. Halloween! My parents drove out to spend Halloween with us & we all had a lot of fun at the carnival/ Trunk-or-Treat at our church. My dad dressed up as himself (really scary!), Aaron was a dentist, as usual, my mom went as Aaron's patient who was in desperate need of an emergency appointment (June kept staring at her teeth & told her she needed to clean them!), I was a cowgirl, & Logan was a.......

And little Miss June was..........

Utah Trip-Part 4: All The Rest (finally)!

OK, I am WAY behind on my posts (I have like 5 more to do), but I am so happy that I've at least finished all of the posts for out Utah trip! 

We (our little family & Rob, Amanda & Mason) had a wonderful breakfast with Aaron's dad, Clayton, and his friend Jean. It's always fantastic to see them. A big THANK YOU to them for the books & the very entertaining CDs of the boys talking & singing when they were little!

 Next Amanda, all of the kids & I went to hang out with Mary Ann, Brian, Julia, & Nicole (the Stevens boy's mom, stepdad, & sisters) while the boys went shooting with Clayton (& they all survived. No one was maimed or hit with microwave shrapnel...). June had so much fun helping her Grandma Strong make cinnamon rolls. She giggled the whole time. Then Julia & Nicole dressed both June & Logan up. Then, we were off to the zoo!   

The zoo was a blast. We saw many animals (duh), & got to ride on the Merry-go-Round, too. Thank you Mary Ann for such a fun trip! 

That night we went to a family gathering at Aaron's aunt & uncle's house. The kids got to see their great grandpa Matheson (Aaron's grandpa on his mom's side), I finally got to meet Aaron's aunt June, we enjoyed a very good taco salad bar, Logan tried to poke Adam's (Aaron's brother) eyes out, and we enjoyed everyone's company. I just have to say that Uma's sari was stunning!! I wish I had one:)

The End

"The dance is done, but we'll be back!"

 -Sandra Boynton (Barnyard Dance)

Utah Trip-Part 3: Journey

Our drive to UT went VERY well! June and Logan were champions. They didn't cry or whine even once! A few things contributed to this angelic behavior:

1. We got to stop in Boise (actually I think it was Middleton) for lunch & to play with the Brooks family!

Becky has been my Bestie from 3rd grade on:) She & her  very nice husband (Steve), and their four adorable kids met us at a park. We got to chat, eat, play & take a few pics before reluctantly getting on the road again!

Becky & I normal. I was so excited to see Becky that I buttoned up my shirt crooked & didn't notice until way later (as you can see in the pic)!

Becky & I normal, again!

Little Tori striking a cute pose

Tori & sweet older sister Sidney

Little miss June

Steven, with a fantastic battle pose

The beautiful Brooks family

I think Junie wanted to go home with them:)

2. After the park: A NAP!

Our fantastic, ridiculously handsome, driver (he is frowning because he knows I get aggravated when he makes faces in pics, and then my frustration & attempts to get a nice pic entertain him....Oh, the fun!).

We surprised the kids each with a new little toy on the latter end of the drive to help keep them entertained

So, yeah, my posts are totally out of order, but I'm getting them done ;) Still more to come!

Utah Trip-Part 2: Rob & Amanda's house!

SOOOO, we got to stay with some of the coolest people ever while in Utah. Robert & Amanda Stevens were kind enough to put us up, feed us, & even weren't too embarrassed to hang out with us......Hehe! Oh, & to top it all off they babysat for us while we went on our anniversary date♥! We always have a great time with them & miss living closer.

Utah Trip-Part 1: The Cabin

On our recent trip to UT Our little family and Aaron's brother Rob, his wife Amanda, and their little guy Mason (Oh, and our soon to be nephew who will be born in Feb ;) spent a night at Aaron's family's cabin. It was a really great time. I love going to the cabin. It's so peaceful, and at the same time so much fun! June & Logan explored every corner of the cabin, Amanda & Rob played the piano (and the rest of us played WITH the piano), we goofed off, talked until it was very late, had a cozy fire, 

AND....

....had S'mores!

 During the night we survived a lightening storm and a power outage; and when we woke up in the morning we had 

S

      n

            o

                    w!!

When June woke up Aaron had her look out the window & asked her what all of the white stuff was and she said,"Bird poop." Hehe! Luckily, it was not bird poop because we all bundled up & played in it! It was Logan's first time playing in snow & being cognitive of it & he was giddy........until his hands got cold. We didn't pack mittens, so we had to settle with using socks for gloves! We took turns riding in a sled which Aaron pulled with the Suburban, and those who were not riding got to sit in the very back of the Sub with the back door open to watch the ones being pulled! 

There are more FUN UT posts coming..........