Dozer Day

Last weekend we attended Dozer Day.  We could not believe the event once we arrived!  There were SO many construction equipment operators driving their machines back and forth giving rides to kids.  Not only were there excavators and bulldozers and cranes but there was also a fire truck and an ambulance and a cement truck!  Tyler has such a draw to ALL of these he was in heaven!  Tyler didn't want to go for a ride yet, we tried but he wasn't having it.  He was just content to watch all of them working and admire them from afar for now.  The one thing he did want to do with no hesitation was run a garbage truck.  Every Wednesday, which is our garbage day, he anxiously waits and then watches as the garbage trucks come up and then back down our street.  He got to push the buttons that make the garbage can go up and down and he loved that!

Happy 5th Penny!

A "Hot" Day?

Our sunny days are so rare around here so when it happens full advantage must be taken... even if you must break a few rules in the process.  The forecast was for mid to upper 70's with a chance to hit 80... I think we saw 78 that day, a record high for the day I believe.  I snatched up sunblock, dogs, food and drinks and we headed for my parents house where we played in the sun all day! I typically would NEVER wash a vehicle in the direct sunlight, according to Mick and Sara's car-washing bible, but we broke a rule and went for it.  The water spots were worth it.  Tyler helped clean grandma's car for a while but really enjoyed playing with my brothers 35 year old Bell Electric truck and throwing rocks in Grandpa's drains.  I ended up putting Tyler down for a nap there and calling Jason to come over after work for a BBQ... the clouds rolled in on us just as we finished our meal... but we got it all in while the sun lasted.  I gave Tyler a quickie bath, he ran around and gave a little nudist show in his froggie towel and the we all went home.  Can't wait for the next sunny day....

Clackamas Fire Station Tour

Jacque took Tyler to visit the Clackamas Fire Station recently and Tyler had an amazing tour.  They brought out the fire hoses and took him all around the station showing everything to him.  He has such a thing for emergency response vehicles of any kind so to see a real fire truck up close was a big deal.  They returned to the station later to take a thank you note in that Tyler made and apparently the guys were happy to see him.  He made quite an impression Jacque said.  :) The fireman complemented on how polite and sweet of a little boy he was.  Last week Tyler and I were driving near the fire station and he said, "Mommy, Tyler and Jacque took thank you note to fire station right there."  I didn't even realize where we were until he pointed it out to me... funny what they remember.

Jason's 35th

Happy 35th Jason!  I had our families over to our house for cake and ice cream on Jason's birthday to celebrate.  Jason asked for chocolate ice cream with cream cheese frosting and peanut butter ice cream for his big day - and I delivered.  I served him up a challenge piece of cake (he has a bit of a sweet tooth) and he nearly finished it with Tyler's help.  Hope your day was great JJ!

Marcus Turns 5

April 10th our first born turned 5.  We did all of Marcus' favorite things... Went for a walk, went for a ride in the truck, went to the park to run, ate unlimited cookies and had an extra scoop of food at dinner.  He was a very happy boy all day.  HAPPY BIRTHDAY MARCUS!!!

Easter 2012

This Easter was beautiful, a nice day for an egg hunt or two.  Tyler was very excited for his Easter basket as he has really grasped the concept of presents.  We had an egg hunt at our house and then went to my parents for Easter dinner where Steve, Jen, Kamryn and Justyn joined us.  

 Tyler with some new Thomas The Train utensils

 "Here's another egg".  We heard that a lot throughout the day.

The kids before the egg hunt. 

Steve, Kamryn, Jen, Dad, Justyn, Jason, Me and Tyler

Easter Preparation

We have been busy dyeing Easter eggs to get ready for Easter Sunday.  We started at Grandma and Grandpa Hunts with a pre-Easter brunch and egg dyeing last Sunday and this week I took Tyler to my parents to do some more.  By round 2 he was getting the hang of dipping them and using the "egg-dyeing tool".  He did have a green hand for about a day after exploring what it would be like to dye his hand but no harm done :)  The best part of the day was when my Mom and I discovered that the "magic" crayon in the dyeing kit wasn't so magic after all... we ended up using regular crayola crayons after breaking the magic one - who would have thought it took us this many years to figure that out???  Never to late to teach an old dog (or a couple of women) a new trick.

March Madness 1

March Madness 2

March Madness 3

Shamrock Run 2012

Last summer I saw Jason training to run the Hood to Coast relay and I was in between soccer leagues looking for a way to stay in shape.  I decided to start running... and I have not stopped.  Don't get the wrong idea here, by no means do I consider myself a "runner" in fact I only really do it because it gives me the endurance I need to keep up with my 2 soccer teams. I decided to enter a run/race, something I have not done since I ran the Starlight in Portland I think when I was a 6th grader.  Anyway... the plan was to do the run with Jason but he had to be out of town for business so I met up with Steve and Jen, and some friends before the race while my parents watched Tyler and off I went.  It was SO much fun!  There was a mass of people running downtown and at times I felt like I was in a herd of cattle rather than a race.  Regardless I was glad I did it... Happy St.Paddys Day!

Me, Tonya, Rusty and Misty

Snowboarding

Recently a few friends and I took a snowboarding day trip and had an absolute blast!  There was some snow falling when we first got to the mountain that turned to rain but we still kept boarding and had a great time!  There was some crazy weather and a lightning strike shut down all the runs temporarily but we knew what to do.  We jumped out of our bindings and sprinted to the bar, just like every other skier and snowboarder on the mountain that morning.  Great day ladies! 

 Kelsey, Me, Stacey and Theresa

Snow Surprise

Yesterday was a typical Oregon day, it rained ALL day, shocker, but then around 10pm it turned to snow and it kept snowing all night.   We woke up to about 3 or 4 inches this morning and it was still snowing.  What a nice surprise!

BULLDOZERS and DUMP TRUCKS!

Tyler and I drove over to Sherwood and visited Uncle Steve and Grandma.  Tyler watched some race cars on TV with Uncle Steve before he had to go back to work and then Grandma had a surprise for us.  Mom told me that she wanted to go to a park but did not tell us that it would have the most amazing sandbox that ever existed as far as Tyler is concerned.  Tyler LOVES bulldozers, dump trucks, excavators, skid steers, front loaders, cement trucks... anything construction he knows it and loves it.  When we are out and about he actually requests that I drive by construction sites near our neighborhood to see the excavators working.  "Go up the hill mommy... see excavators mommy".  He was in HEAVEN here today - thanks Grandma.

That's MY Baby

Whats that, a real smile?  No "cheeeese" silly face for the camera?  And who is Tyler looking like??? I think he is looking a bit like Mom here :)

Tyler in a Basket

Puddle Stomping

Puddle Stomping

PUDDLE STOMPING!!!

When I was growing up in Sherwood we would always drive by this very stinky dairy on Hwy99.  That stinky dairy got converted in to a wildlife refuge and now offers a variety of fun activities to the public, one of which is called puddle stompers, something my Mom has taken her other grandchildren to enjoy.  It was really fun to take Tyler to a place that I remember from my childhood, minus the stench :) The morning started out with a fun classroom environment where they read the kids stories about slugs and water.  After that we got to parade through a board member meeting and then finally on to the main event, puddle stomping.  As Tyler and I drove over to Sherwood from Happy Valley that morning I could barely see 20 ft in front of me it was raining so hard, but as we got to Tualatin the skies cleared and the sun came out.  We enjoyed a beautiful day stomping in puddles with the sun out, as we Oregonians know a rarity :)  Mom - thanks for the invite!

We got to look at a bunch of bugs that they scooped up from one of the ponds.  Tyler showed no fear (very unlike him) and stuck his hand right into the buckets of crazy organisms...

Tyler was the only kid to actually fall in the puddles... he took it like a champ, wiped it off and kept on splashing.