Camping 2013

This year we were lucky enough to get to go Camping on the beautiful John Day river twice! The first time we went was in June and the weather was beautiful, river was pretty cold but the camping trip was very relaxing! 

The second time we went was in August and we took my niece Hannah on her very first "Roughing it" camping trip (from hell). NEVER again will I go camping in August! It's way too hot! We moved camp sites twice, I almost fainted from heat exhaustion, got bit 2 or 3 times by horse flies! By the time we moved to the second and final camp site we were ready to jump into the river! It was so nice to just lounge on the river all day! Come evening time, while making dinner hundreds of yellow jackets showed up (had to of been a nest somewhere!) So poor Hannah spent most of the evening in her tent. There were also these big fluffy black and white striped bee like things that were BIG and kept buzzing around our ears! Of course Lenora couldn't figure out why me and Hannah were running around like saps! That many bee's and you would be too! 

Among other things, I forgot to bring one of the nights dinners (still at home frozen and marinating in the freezer) I forgot butter as well, so on Day 2 we drove into a small town and bought $4.99 Tub of Butter, $2 warm pops, and checked out the local craft/cantaloupe market.

When we got back to camp we had "Craft time" to see who could construct the best yellow jacket trap! 

We decided to go home a day early, and on the last morning made a BIG breakfast and then ate inside the tent. 

So we learned to NEVER go camping along the John Day River in August. At least not at this particular campsite. Regardless Lenora had a blast and did an amazing job with safety around the river and fire! She is definitely a camping/outdoor girl!

Medford/Coos Bay Trip

Among many of our fun adventures this summer, Lenora and I traveled down to Medford, OR and Coos Bay, OR. We got to visit Family at the campground and do some swimming in the lake...the photos look like its cold, but it was just REALLY windy! After picking up Hannah we did some sight seeing at the Bonneville Dam!

 Lenora also got to spend time at the beach in Coos Bay. We were there for two and a half hours and she loved it! 

Summer 2013 Recap in Photos

This summer has been one of the busiest summer's we've had in a long time! My niece came and stayed with us for about 4 weeks, we went camping twice, we went to a wedding, went to the fair, I drove down to Medford, OR twice and went to Coos Bay, OR. It flew by so fast! 

Lenora rode her first horse (to my surprise) at the Hermiston Fair. She ate her very first corn dog (EVERY last bite) and had her very first snow cone. The fair was a good experience for her but it was SO HOT! None of the event's started until 1 pm and by then it was almost 100 degrees outside! She had her first pedicure and did an amazing job being patient and sitting the whole time. We also took her to see her first movie in the theater. It was a summer of FIRSTS! 

She was able to visit with her cousins a lot during the summer, and now she talks about how they flew on the airplane to come see her and how someday she will fly on an airplane. 

Here are a few photos from the summer. 

No more Mimis

Lenora turned 2 in February of this year. I always thought we'd have the biggest battle trying to get rid of the mimis (pacifiers) since she not only has one in her mouth but she has to hold one while she is laying down and while she's sleeping. Yesterday I was just so tired of seeing her running around and playing with it in her mouth and whining for it everytime she went to lay on the couch, so I said enough is enough! I told her that it was time to put her mimis away into a box so we can give them to all the other babies that don't have mimis and then she'll be a big girl. I took her into the spare bedroom and told her to pick out a box from the gift wrapping tub. She kept crying and saying "please don't take it, I need it" But I finally convinced her and she picked out a drawstring gift bag and finally put them all in there after giving them kisses of course and Mugga Muggas (from Daniel Tigers Neighborhood) We went and searched the whole house for more and she willingly gave them up! We filled two small bags! She did fine the rest of the day and if she would ask about them we'd just say "remember your trying to be a big girl" we never used the words "No, you can't have them back" that would of just devestated her.

 

That night while I was grocery shopping and she was at home with Martin I guess she found one and when daddy saw her she say's "Haha I found one" but after a short talk she wilingly gave it a kiss and put it in the bag with the others. So proud of her. It took about 40 minutes to put her to sleep that night (while my husband laid on her floor) No crying, just a lot of tossing and turning. She woke up about 5 times throughout the night, and she cried and was SO mad at us! She didn't want anything to do with us telling us to "GO AWAY" which devestated me into a crying fit because I felt like a bad mom for taking her mimi away from her, but after a short calming talk about how she was trying to be a big girl she fell back asleep each time. So it was a rough night but not as rough as I thought it'd be and today she only asked for it once and then forgot about it! We'll see how tonight goes. Next step POTTY TRAINING! But if we can get through the binky battle then we can do anything!

Tonight for bed instead of getting 5 mimis she picked out 2 stuffed animals. I laid down on her floor and after a couple "knock it off or I'll take Zoey and Lucky away" (her stuffed puppies) she was asleep in 5 minutes!!

Just had to share our success story because i honestly thought we'd lose our minds trying to get rid of the pacifier!

Trip to Tillamook

 I haven't done a blog post in forever because we've been so busy with birthday parties, easter, vacations, home renovations, yard work, etc! But here is a few pictures from our trip to Tillamook in April. Lenora was the best behaved little girl ever so we had a wonderful time! It rained the whole time, but what do you expect for Tillamook! Lenora had a great time anyway, playing with her cousins, seeing the airplanes, and sampling the cheese.

 Visiting the Octopus Tree- Tillamook, OR

 

                                                        At the Tillamook Air Museum

At the Tillamook Cheese Factory

 

At the Bonneville Fish Hatchery

 

 

 

Sugar high!