Thursday, August 27, 2009
sweet moments
lane county fair
We got into the Fair for free with our Bi-Mart cards on Friday. It was an overcast morning, but ended up being sunny & warm by the time we left. We had gone to the Fair last year, but Finn was much younger & didn't remember. We had so much fun showing him all of the big rides like the Ferris Wheel & the Zipper + some new rides that go really high & super fast! He seemed so amazed & would have been fine with just watching other people go on rides. One of my favorite moments was when a man on stilts came up & shook Finn's hand. Afterward, he told us, "That guy was really tall!" I love to think that he really thought that guy was tall & had no idea that he was wearing stilts. ;) What a fun experience for our bright boy!
We met up with Gretchen, Josh & their boys to go on some rides! Finn's first experience on rides of any sort, so we were pretty amused by his huge grins & laughs!
Ronan & Griffin were on the motorcycle behind Finn. Ronan seemed to have a great time, but Griffin seemed quite shocked & a little concerned. :( He's a much more cautious, little boy than his older brother & cousin.
Griffin decided to pass on the canoe ride. This one cracks me up because it's slow & not too exciting, in my opinion. But I heard Ronan say, "This is really fun!" :)
I was a little worried that he would get scared on this one, cause it's a bit faster & has a little dip + all the kids were screaming. But Finn just practiced his scream while in line & had a blast!
I had a hard time narrowing down my choice of photos from this ride because Finn had a huge smile in every shot! It was totally worth the $3 we paid for this ride to see him so happy!
We met up with the Greens for a quick visit & Amy took a photo of our group, minus Josh who had to go back to work after lunch.
We wrapped up our Fair experience with a walk through the farm animal exhibits. Finn & Griffin loved all the little baby animals - they're checking out the chicks here. :)
The whole walk back to the car & drive home, Finn repeated "I not want to leave the Fair" over & over. He had such a great time & was very excited to tell everyone about his fun. :) We will definitely be going again next year!
The whole walk back to the car & drive home, Finn repeated "I not want to leave the Fair" over & over. He had such a great time & was very excited to tell everyone about his fun. :) We will definitely be going again next year!
scandinavian festival
Sunday, August 23, 2009
7 years!
Kenton's parents watched our kids so that we could go to dinner at Ring of Fire! We had a gift certificate & some gift money, so we felt like we could splurge & get dessert - Ruby Island! Yumm.
It was quite indulgent, considering how well we've been doing at only eating local produce this summer. The banana, pineapple & oranges were definitely not local! But marachino cherries were invented at OSU, so that has to count for something, right?!?
Anyway, it was a wonderful evening & a great chance to spend some alone time with my best friend. The past 7 years have been absolutely incredible & I love to look back to see how much we've done & how our lives have changed. We have two amazing little boys (I never thought I'd have 2 boys!) & a lovely home, near our family. It's been so fun to work together with Kenton to create a loving marriage & to raise 2 cool kids. I can't wait to see what the next 7 years will bring & feel so blessed that I get to do all of this with such a wonderful man! Thanks for a great 7 years, Love! It's been a dream. :)
Anyway, it was a wonderful evening & a great chance to spend some alone time with my best friend. The past 7 years have been absolutely incredible & I love to look back to see how much we've done & how our lives have changed. We have two amazing little boys (I never thought I'd have 2 boys!) & a lovely home, near our family. It's been so fun to work together with Kenton to create a loving marriage & to raise 2 cool kids. I can't wait to see what the next 7 years will bring & feel so blessed that I get to do all of this with such a wonderful man! Thanks for a great 7 years, Love! It's been a dream. :)
old friends
We had a fun visit at the Ruddick's with Matt, Jessie, Cameron, Claire & Cadia, friends that were visiting from Iowa. Matt & Becca are birthday buddies (exactly the same age) & he's been a friend of the family for many years. It was fun to meet his kids & see our kids enjoying some fun play time together!
happy birthday becca!
another graduation
On Thursday, August 6th, we graduated another group of preschoolers - heading to kindergarten! We got a photo of us ladies while Matthew was running an errand...but never got a chance to get us all together. Whoops!
L-R: Becca, Tamy, Angie, Katrina & Jacque.
L-R: Becca, Tamy, Angie, Katrina & Jacque.
We had over 100 people (parents, kids, grandparents, siblings, friends) attend the graduation. We love to have a big celebration & it's always amazing to see how many people are excited to see their favorite preschooler graduate. :)
Kenton always comes to support me & this year he had our two boys too! Finn did a pretty good job through the ceremony but really just wanted to play on the playground & eat the pizza & cupcakes we were serving afterward. :) It was a great evening & we were all so thankful that we avoided the forecasted rain. Congratulations graduates! We can't wait to see what amazing things you will all do!
Saturday, August 22, 2009
randomness
A couple photos of my big kid, looking quite handsome!
He got some cool new shoes from Finland & I've been having fun picking out clothes that work with them. :)
In other news, one of my random, scraggly bushes in the backyard decided to bloom & identify itself!
I was so excited to discover that I have a hibiscus growing in my yard! It has purple & white flowers opening at the same time. It's also a specific breed that has blossoms that last for 3 days, instead of the typical one day. It's a little out of control, so I'll need to prune it to get it looking nice again. But I love the flowers!
happy birthday dad!
Our little family tradition is to open presents as soon as we wake up! We just can't wait. :) So on Monday, August 3rd, we let Dad open his presents quickly before heading to work.
We love La Perla pizzas because they are the only ones around that actually taste like the pizza we had in Italy. So yummy! Only thing wrong was that we couldn't order Cokes - only Pepsi...so not authentically Italian. :P
After dinner, we gathered at Kenton's parent's house with the Hecht group & had dessert - cookies, of course! We also watched home videos of Kenton as a little boy. What a silly kid! :)