Cannon Beach 2011

We weren't sure if we would be able to go to both Montana and the beach this year, but we were able to fit it in. We had planned to leave Sunday morning but when I got home from work Saturday night, Jeremy mentioned us leaving that night. I kind of brushed the comment off and didn't think he was being serious. He mentioned it again and I asked if he meant it. He said he was wide awake and if we drove through the night, Aaron would sleep the whole time and I could sleep as well. So I got into action and finished packing things up and we left the house about 10:30pm.

I dozed off and on while Jeremy drove and listened to music. Going through Portland was a breeze in the middle of the night. Jeremy tried to drag out the trip so we would pull up at the beach house just a little before my parents woke up but we ended up getting there about 4am. We parked outside and reclined our seats back and tried to get some sleep. It wasn't very comfortable and then Aaron woke up and needed changed. Jeremy took a picture of the front of the house and sent it to my moms phone. When they didn't answer, he sent another one and finally we saw them looking out the window. They were so surprised and excited to see us.

It was great showing the ocean to Aaron for the first time. He didn't even flinch when we put his feet in the cold water for the first time. Our time there was spent walking through shops in town, catching some waves, eating pizza at my favorite place, buying ice cream cones, spending time with mom and dad, getting pictures and eating s'mores at the bonfires.

Montana

This year we decided to vacation in Montana and meet up with Jeremy's Aunt Jane, cousin Paul, his wife Heather and their son Rylan. We headed to Flathead Lake in Polson for a week of camping.

Now realize that Aaron was only 5 months old and we were taking him "tent camping"! Was I crazy!!

First of all I am not a camper and so packing was difficult to try and remember everything especially all I needed for Aaron. Thank goodness he wasn't eating baby food yet because it was much easier to get bottles ready for him.

The drive was uneventful and Aaron slept most of the 6 hours it took to get there. Our campsite was quite a distance from Paul's and so we spend most of the first day at theirs visiting. Jane had planned a get together lunch for family from the area to come.

After everyone left the boys went to our campsite and put our tent up. While they were gone, the clouds started building and getting darker. We started hearing thunder and seeing lightening. I kept hoping the boys would get back soon and they did right as the rain started to fall. They barely made it under the cover before the rain started pouring. Jeremy came right over to me with a blanket to cover Aaron and he tried to shield us from the rain. It felt like the rain wasn't going to let up and I was a little worried about sleeping in a tent. The storm didn't last that long and we enjoyed the rest of the night.

Jeremy's mom and stepdad arrived the next day and checked into their room at a resort close by. That next day we took advantage of the shower in their room and as I finished getting ready, Jeremy said he had a surprise for me. He knew I had a chance to spend the day on a boat out in the water and so he rented one for all of us. I was super excited and his mom Carla was nice enough to watch Aaron for the day. We drove across the lake to put on our suits and pick up Paul, Heather and Rylan. We had a blast going all over the lake and I got really burned but it was worth it.

The rest of the trip was spent visiting, eating Jeremy's awesome steaks, sitting around the fire and playing games. Camping turned out to be a really fun experience and we had a great time.

4th of July

I was excited this year for the holiday because I could go to the parade I had missed the past few years and Jeremy and Aaron could come with me.

We set our chairs up in the same place with our same friends. I had brought Aaron's frog chair for him to sit in but the majority of the time he was passed around. I made sure to watch for when a loud noise was coming and to cover his ears.

I was curious to see how Aaron would react with so much going on. He did great and even fell asleep for the last part of it!

The afternoon was laid back while we got ready for the bbq. Before heading to the river I opened up some sparklers I bought. I wanted to see what Aaron would do and he was pretty much in awe! I was a little worried about taking Aaron to the river to watch the fireworks but he ended up falling asleep and not making a peep.

It was a great holiday spending it with family.

Shinedown concert

Concert highlights:

-riding with friends to concert

-eating dinner at Red Lobster and having crab legs

-getting to hear 10 years, Sevendust, Puddle of Mudd and Shinedown perform

-knowing it was the last concert on their tour and they were recording it live

-getting to meet Shinedown and get their autographs

*Favorite moment: Jeremy worrying that the music was too loud for the baby. I then tell Randy next to me who says not to worry that the baby will come into this world "rockin out!!"

Cannon Beach

Every year going to the beach is such a highlight and something I look forward to. This year we couldn't go as long but it was still well worth it.

Just like last year, Jeremy was up bright and early ready to go. Most mornings I got up with him but it was vacation and that means relaxing and getting extra sleep.
What's great about my family is everyone gets up and randomly decides what they want to do. We either go on our own or ask if someone wants to tag along. There are so many things to do that sometimes it is hard to decide.
We spent time walking down on the beach, reading books, building bonfires and making s'mores, eating pizza from our favorite place, setting up camp on the beach to read, flying kites and sun bathing, collecting sand dollars and driftwood, watching movies, eating ice cream and shopping in downtown.



Another great year at the coast with my family.

Umatilla County Fair

Highlights from fair week:

Tuesday:

- Rachelle and I work in hospital booth for two hours
- scout out food to eat
- eat hotdog, elephant ear, nachos and kettle popcorn
- walk around a bit to walk off food!

Wednesday:

- hadn't planned on going today
- Jeremy worked at the elephant booth from 11am to 2pm
- Jeremy asked me on a date to go
- got off work and ate dinner Jeremy had made
- went to fair and watched Joe Diffy perform, one of Jeremy's favorites

Friday:

- at work and excited to go to fair and listen to Uncle Kracker
- got off work and had another fantastic meal Jeremy had made
- met up with Rachelle, Jennifer and her boyfriend Chris and Brittany
-watched and sang along with concert
- ran into Ron, Lori, Calvin and Trevor and got to visit
- visited briefly with Roy, a guy Jeremy works with

It was a good year at the fair this year!

Jeremy the softball fanatic!

Jeremy loves being busy and being involved with sports.

Not long after he was done coaching baseball at the high school in Umatilla, the softball season started for the competitive co-ed team he plays on.

Of course, I went to show support and cheer him on. The schedule ended up being double headers on Monday nights. Gradually I was asked to help keep the book and I really liked doing that. It helped me pay attention more to the game and I got to know more of the players. I had a great time joking around and visiting with everyone.

It was a competitive league they were playing on and sometimes things got a little heated. It was hard for me to understand that since I'm not competitive and really it was just a softball game. Sometimes my thinking didn't go over so well! Haha!

In addition to the league games there were also some competitions on the weekends. One of those was called the Watermelon Festival and it's held in Irrigon, OR every year at the end of July. I was able to be there both Saturday and Sunday to watch the team play and visit with everyone. It was mighty hot and I wasn't the smartest about putting sunblock on and got myself a nice shade of red. Oops!

The team really had a good time even though they only won two games. The rest of the time was spent having our own batting practice, playing volleyball and just sitting around talking and laughing.

The other competition is held in La Grande, OR and it's called Moonlight. The reason for the name being that the games are played all night long regardless of the time. Jeremy was able to ride down there with some teammates. Unfortunately I had to work and was on call and couldn't make the trip down there.

Their first game was at 10pm on that Friday night. They lost that one and then played again the next morning and won that game. The next game wasn't until 3pm on Saturday but they lost that game and ended up being out of the running. They could have come home that night but since Jeremy rode with other people he had to wait until the next day. It worked out fine though since I was on call and wasn't home that much that night anyway.

The softball season has come to a close for the year. We will see what next year brings with the new baby and our schedule.

Mariners game

For Father's day, my sister and I bought Mariners tickets for my dad. We let him pick the day and he chose July 25 against the Boston Red Socks.

Since the game was on a Sunday, I already had the day off and Jeremy was able to get the day off work. We left home at 6:30am and got to Seattle at 10:30. We all rode down in one car and dad found a great parking spot and we didn't have to pay!

We decided to buy the cheap hotdogs on the way in this time and we also bought some peanuts and licorce. We saved some money but maybe next time we get the food on the inside where it is so much better!

After getting inside the park, Jeremy and dad decided to go watch batting practice and us girls found our way to our seats. Jenny was able to find us tickets on the third deck in the first row in between first base and right field. They were great seats! You could see everything on the field, the Seattle skyline and the main screen.

During the game there was a chance to send pictures to a website and then they would post the ones they received later in the game. I had already taken a picture of Jeremy and I and when the announcement came up, Jenny helped me remember the address. Later our picture was only one of 10 on the big screen. We were famous!!The score was pretty close in the beginning and the Mariners were behind. It wasn't looking very hopeful until a couple of bunts made all the difference and then they ended up coming from behind and winning the game! Go Mariners!!!

After the game we drove back to Jenny's apt and then walked up the street to have pizza outside on the patio with my Aunt B. We had a great time even though we knew we were going to get back late, it was worth it.

The trip was fast and furious but awesome!

4th of July 2010

4th of July highlights:

- my favorite holiday

- seeing my family and sister

- driving to Tri-Cities

- eating good food at a bbq

- visiting with friends and telling them I was pregnant

- walking across to neighbors bbq to visit

- surprising family with Jeremy driving up

- walking down to the river for the fireworks

- watching one of the best firework shows in awhile

- watching a fire start right after someone set off illegal fireworks

- spending time with my husband and family

Trip to Seattle and Mariner's game

Monday:

-decided to head to my parents and spend the night, already had dinner planned so took it with us and all of us enjoyed bbq chicken, sweet potato fries and grilled asparagus. YUM!

Tuesday:

- took our time waking up and getting ready, sat down to breakfast, finally left around 10am, picked up Jenny's apt keys at her work, chilled out at her apt, drove down to meet her after work, rode the light rail to the Mariner's game, bought hotdogs, fries, licorice and beer, brought luck to the Mariner's with a win for the night.

Wednesday:

- Jeremy and I went to breakfast at the 5 Spot on QueenAnne, walked down QueenAnne to Seattle center, rode the monorail to Westlake Center, met Jenny for a long extended lunch, went shopping at Old Navy, Sephora and H&M, got sunglasses for Jeremy and bought Starbucks to keep us going, Jenny heads back to work and we check in for our Ride the Ducks tour, take the tour and have a blast, meet Jenny again and take a cab back to her apt, head to dinner at Aunt B's, spend about 3 hours there, head back to Jen's apt to hang out and watch tv.

Thursday:

-head to Noah's for bagels and Starbucks for coffee, stop by a gas station to fill up, head home, stop at mom and dad's to visit, finally arrive HOME!!

We had a great time and I can't wait to be able to go again.