Just joys of June

Sometimes it's the simple things that thrill me!

Grandpa (Wayne) has a fascination with John Deere, and loves to buy the apparel for my kids.

Aren't they cute in their matching John Deere outfits?

Cohen gets a kick out of matching his little brother. 

They were as happy as could be playing around in their matching clothes.

We got a visit from Jessie and Robbie who are looking to buy a home in nearby Vancouver, WA.

It was so nice to see them, and they treated us so well! 

They stayed at the Red Lion, and this specific hotel overlooks the big river that separates Oregon from Washington.  Thanks to their generosity, we ate at the nice restaurant in the hotel that overlooked the river.

We even got to sit in the glass windowed corner of the whole place.

Pretty!

We got a deeper understanding of Parker's personality while Jessie and Robbie were visiting.

No joke, it took HOURS for Parker to warm up to them.  At first, while holding Parker, I couldn't even be within 10 feet of the "strangers," and he had to cover his eyes or turn his head.  No eye contact was allowed.

It did take some time, but he finally got comfortable with them around.

I was so thankful!



I've blogged about this place before, but let me remind you, I LOVE Crystal Springs Rhododendron Garden!

I took the boys for a pretty quick trip, and they loved it, and I loved it.

There is an unbelievable amount of ducks and geese there (among many other variety of birds.)

We come prepared with bird seed that's sold at a nearby farmer's market, and love feeding all the ducks and geese.

Parker just wanted to touch, hold, and pet the ducks.

That wasn't going to work out so well; the birds are quick... thank goodness!

I was actually trying to get to this garden several weeks earlier so the beautiful flower bushes would be in full bloom, but it just didn't happen.  We saw lots of beautiful flowers on the ground, and a few on the bushes and trees.

Take note, Parker is afraid of the stranger taking our picture.... that's why his head and eyes are down.

Funny little guy.

Then there's my cheese ball right in front. 

Getting a good picture of him is only getting harder. 

He's either cranky and doesn't want a picture, feels like making a weird face, or grins so big that it doesn't even look like his real happy face. 

Oh, well.

The other exciting thing in June was our Utah trip!!!!

We'd like to thank our sponsors, Wayne and Debbie, for making this happen!

:)

The boys were, no doubt, excited to fly.

The morning we left it was about 50 degrees and rainy.

We randomly picked the same flight as my good friend Ashlee who was moving to Utah.

It was sad for me to see her go.  We did lots together, and helped each other out a lot.

I learned a lot from her, and feel like I became a better person from knowing her.

Those are the kind of friends you don't forget.

She's simply an amazing lady.

Ok, back to the trip....

The airplane ride went pretty smooth.

Our gift wrapped dollar store toys that I prepared worked wonders for the kids.

(Cohen is choosing to make a goofy face.... I don't love it.)



My aunt Ann had a layover in the SLC airport!  What a surprise it was when I stepped off the plane and she was standing right in front of me!

I wished we would have had more time to chat, but our ride was already waiting for us, and was on a time limit.  It was so good to see her and at least catch up a little. 

Thanks mom, for making this happen!

I'll have to update you on the whole Utah trip another time.

Thanks for checking us out!