Airplanes, Beaches, and Long Car Rides

After over 12 hours of driving, we are back!  For the past week we have been hanging out in Oregon, relaxing and enjoying each other's company.  

First we flew into Portland.  Logan loved the plane ride, and kept looking out the window shouting "Mira, Mira!"  

We met Ry's parents at the airport, and drove to Seaside.  This was Logan's first trip to the beach and, despite the cold weather, absolutely loved it!

After Logan watched Ry throw a live sand dollar back into the ocean he followed his dad's example by throwing every thing he found, alive or dead, back into the water. :)

Gooshy stuff

The Candy Man Store!  We love saltwater taffy!

We went to Hug beach (where there are tons of cool caves to explore) and (are pretty sure) that we saw members of the Roloff Family from Little People Big World.  I was only brave enough to get a pic as they walked away. :) 

Logan and Grandma Enz building sand castles.  

:)

Some cool waterfalls that ran down the beach into the ocean.

Above a cool tide pool we found in one of the caves.  There was a crab, some fish, and some anemones in it.  

At Grandma & Grandpa's house Logan liked to play with Pippin the Dog, the Kitty Cat, and to sing songs.  Logan liked to torment Aunt Ashlee, following her everywhere and knocking on her door whenever she was trying to do homework. :)  We also ate dinner with Chad and Chelsey, and were able to see our soon-to-be niece's nursery.  So cute!  It was great to see family!

Dad and Logie looking at a slug.

Our big climber!

How did I get so lucky to get two amazingly handsome guys?

Sweet boy playing in the Oregon forests

:)

We drove up the Columbia Gorge one of the days and hiked up to Horsetail Falls.  The trail leads to a cave behind this waterfall. So neat!

Ry guy drinking the falls. :)

Logan and Daddy swinging with Grandma.

We broke our drive up by staying in Boise overnight.  Here Logan is in the king bed warming up after 'swimmin'.

Our little fish

We had some fruit roll up things for the trip... Logan just wanted to wear his as a hat. 

Love this kid!  He is so tricky.  After pleading and crying to get out of his cars eat, he finally told me that there was a lion in his diaper that was growling at him, so he needed to 'hurry, hurry' and get out! :)

I gave Logan the camera for a little while, and when I got it back there where lots of  pictures just like this.  My one year old knows how to take pictures with a digital camera!


Well, there's a short and sweet summary of our trip.  We are glad to be home, and are excited to see the other side of our family in the coming weeks!

Hi Grandma :)

Here are a few cute videos of the man for the grandparents. :)

Hi Grandma :)

Here are a few cute videos of the man for the grandparents. :)

Fourth of July and Monument Park

Holy dang, I can not believe that it is already July 10th.  This summer is flying by WAY too fast!  Ryley starts his second year of medical school on August 1st, and we have heard that this year is killer.  He takes his boards next summer, so this is really our very last "normal" summer together.  But so far, it has been great, and we have lots of fun plans coming up.  Here is some of what we have been up to:

As usual, Logan and I spend a good majority of our time at the zoo.   Lately Logan has fallen in love with this "Gator" and loves to just sit on him and watch other kids play.

Love this kid.  Whenever he sees me chewing gum he ask, "What in Mouth?", and when I say gum he puts his little hand under my chin and demands that I, "Pit it out." :)  

About a week ago Logan and Ryley were playing with the neighbor's dog.  The dog got a little bit too excited and bit Logan on his tummy.  I was so worried, and cleaned it like crazy every 12 hours, but it has closed up nicely and is now just a little scar. 

Here is Logan on the 4th of July last year....

And here is our big boy on the Fourth of July this year!  He is such a little nut.  He is so smart, and loves to tell jokes.  He speaks in sentences, and can count to ten and recite part of his ABC's.  He loves to read stories and tell his own stories to anyone who will listen. :) He knows all of his body parts, and has recently started asking to "poop in the potty."  I just don't know if I am ready for that big adventure. :)  He has the funniest sense of humor, and loves to pull pranks on me and his dad.  Logan is very friendly, and as we walk through the zoo, or the mall, or the store, or church. he waves and yells, "Hi! How doing?" to everyone we see.  He is also a little mocking bird, and surprises us every day by reciting words we had no idea he heard.  The other day we saw a baby bunny, and when it ran away Logan asked me where it had gone.  I told him this long story about how it had to go home to it's mom, and read stories, and eat a snack, and say its prayers, and go to sleep (because it was also Logan's bedtime.)  He watched me with the most inquisitive eyes, and at the end of the story thought for a minute, and then said, "OK," and nodded his little head, like he was accepting what I had told him.  A little while later he told me the same story, but replaced "bunny" with "dinosaurs."  :) 

We had so much fun on the 4th this year, and I am so grateful to live in a country where I can celebrate and live with my family in peace.  We are so incredibly blessed to have a warm home, good food, clean water, and each other.  I am so thankful for all the men and women who have fought and continue to fight for the freedoms that I take for granted every day.  God Bless America!

He loves to go on walks and views the stroller as an instrument of torture due to the fact that he can't jump out and grab everything he sees.

At the neighborhood 4th of July breakfast in front of the firetruck with Daddy.  

The firefighters were spraying this big "slip'n slide" at the breakfast.  Ryley wasn't planning on going down it when we walked down (hence the jeans), but his Young Men talked him into it.  :)

At Liberty Park with a snow cone

Us!

We got to spend the day with Kayla, Aaron, and Zoa.  It was so much fun!

My 4th of July cheesecake.  Melskitchencafe.com has become one of my best friends. :)  I have seriously never ever been disappointed by a recipe from there.  

Another creation from Melskitchencafe.com.  Giant Cookie!

It really is giant... and SO easy.  It makes the perfect "Thank you" or "Welcome to the neighborhood" gift. 

Last week Logan and I visited This is the Place Park.  Logan loves running around with the baby animals, riding on the trains, and panning for gold.



Within the next month or so we will be heading to the beach in Oregon and traveling to St. George to visit family.  Yeah!

File Folder Games

This past month I was put in charge of creating tons of file folder games for a ward humanitarian project.  After figuring out what these were, I fell in love with them!  They are compact, simple, and Logan loves them.  They inspired me to make some family home evening file folders.  Here are the results:

(I used a friend's Cricut to cut out the characters, I cut out the backgrounds by hand, and used a laminator to Logan-proof everything.  Then I put velcro on all the pieces. )

The tree of knowledge, Heavenly Father, Satan the snake, the apple, Eve and Adam

Heavenly Father, Jesus,  The Angel Moroni, The Book of Mormon, and Joseph Smith

Daniel and the Lion's Den

Jesus and Lazarus

Noah and the Ark (and Noah's wife)  I actually have tons more animals, but Logan stole them before I could take the picture.

Baby Moses, Pharaoh, Grown up Moses, Ramses

David and Goliath

Nephi, the gold plates, and Laban

Joseph and the Coat of Many Colors

Sheep, Abraham, Isaac, Sarah, and Abraham's first wife and her  boy
I don't remember their names... :)

The Nativity

Shadrach, Meshach, & Abednego with the Angel in the Furnace
Also shown are the king and his idol

Closed up in the furnace. :)