Summer Portraits

Look! I'm finally blogging again!  I'll be honest, it's tough to keep up with this blog when there are so many things to take up my time!  It doesn't help that the photo snapping has been just about absent around here.  It's sad when my iphone takes better photos than my digital camera - and they still aren't that great.  Oh well!  So here we are!  I am working on a few posts to update you all on our summer adventures! 

Let's start with introducing you to my very favorite two-year-old!  I took David in to get some photos & he had a lot of fun hamming it up.  I scanned these photos from prints, & am just now realizing that there must be some gunk on the scanner... sorry!  But you get the the idea... Mr. Personality is alive & well at our house!

I think he's in the middle of talking or singing... I just love that eyebrow!  It reminds me of this picture from when he was almost 3 months old:

And lastly, my favorite photo of all.  This has been gracing our front entry way, but will make it's home in David's room eventually.  He had a lot of fun playing with that flag. :)  God Bless America!

Happy Birthday to you... you live in a Zoo

Last Friday, was David's buddy, Tyson's 2nd birthday. Ashley invited David & I along for a trip to the zoo. We were very happy when the boys were very patient & well-behaved for the fun, albeit long day. We were sad that Jamin had to work while David took his first trip to the zoo.. but I think we'll be going back soon! David & Tyson had the treat of watching the elephants get their morning bath. We saw all the elephants, including the little 1 yr old baby, who weighed in at over 1300 lbs that morning. We loved seeing the new cat exhibit, where there was only a pane of glass between us & the cheetahs. It was really neat to be so up close. The only sad part is that David & Tyson were both quite camera shy. Why don't they understand my scrapbooking duty? :) The fun day was ended with a trip on the zoo train & then a nice long nap for two busy little boys.

Camping

We took the opportunity as summer was closing, to take David on his first camping trip. We skipped the Labor day crowds & met up with my dad & his girlfriend, Lisa, the following weekend, just outside of Sweet Home, OR. It was a nice relaxing 3 day trip, with a few walks in the beautiful outdoors, cozy time around the fire (with s'mores of course! David loved those!), & time around the picnic table, playing games & catching up. It was a lot of fun hanging out with my dad & Lisa. They had a couple fun new toys for David to play with while we were there (& he's still having fun with the bowling set & truck) We took a few group shots, but I think all the good ones ended up on my dad's camera.David was way too curious about his new outdoor surroundings to get a nap in the first day, much to our chagrin. But he slept well that night, cuddled between Jamin & I in our sleeping bags. He enjoyed the tent quite a bit - I see a future fort-builder in him. ;) He also very quickly caught on to the little boy notion of always having a stick in his hands. It was pretty cute. We had a nice spacious camp site near a river & went on a few supervised wanderings with his daddy. I am very much looking forward to next summer when we can take a few more trips with David. Camping & hiking created many favorite childhood memories for me & I am sure Jamin as well. We are looking forward to help David cultivate his own appreciation of the great outdoors. (and a clean shower after 3 days of camping! hehe)

the Clark County Fair

I've lived here for over 7 years now & this is the first time I attended the Clark County Fair. I grew up going to the California State Fair.. so I know a county fair sure wouldn't live up to those lofty expectations. We DID have a lot of fun, though. David pet a lot of animals (thus washing his hands a lot - he was such a trooper!) & saw a lot of interesting people. Jeri went with us & we had a lot of fun checking out the animals & exhibits. We sat down just as the last Dock Dog was making his jump into the pool for the show. So we know to look for that schedule next time. It's a dog competition where Dogs jump across a pool to catch a flying frisbee or something & we see who jumps the furthest. We did catch a pig race though & our pig won! (go Red!) The experience was topped with a funnel cake! It was a day full of new creatures & fun memories. I'm looking forward to going back next year!

A Fun Surprise

David & I were gone most of last week, making a trip to California to surprise my stepmom, Debbie, for her birthday. Debbie's birthday was Wednesday & her husband, Jim, said he had a hard time keeping our visit a secret for all these weeks. David & I flew in on Tuesday & Jim picked us up from the airport. Debbie had no idea! It was such a treat to see the huge smile on her face when Jim came home with us! The last time we saw them was in January, before David was even crawling.. now he's walking & babbling away. There were no plans for the week, except to enjoy each others company & catch up. I helped Debbie with some paperwork & David tested the kid-proofness of Grandma's house (he kept us pretty busy!) Jim grilled dinner for us a few nights & we enjoyed beautiful summer weather! It was the perfect time to go to California, as we totally skipped the 107 degree heat at home! yuck! I even had the opportunity to catch up with a couple of friends! We had a wonderful trip & it ended all too soon! I am looking forward to the next opportunity to visit again!

Independence Day

We had a fantastic, fun-filled 3 day weekend celebrating the 4th of July! It all started off Thursday with a bonfire @ Tammy & Latu's, including a dip in the hot tub. We let David have some fun with lots of splashing, of course. He didn't have a s'more, but David did stuff his mouth full with a giant marshmallow.. it was pretty funny! Friday we took some time to get things done @ home & prepare for Saturday's BBQ with friends. We started off the fourth by heading to downtown Ridgefield, where there was a parade & a whole day full of festivities. Not only was it Independence day, but Ridgefield is celebrating it's 100th year in 2009. It was a great parade with lots of tractors, classic cars & the local high school band (yes, there was a marching horn.. I checked). I loved the opportunity to experience the small town charm of the city we live in. It's small, but not too small. Ridgefield has big plans to grow with more housing developments coming in down the road & rumors of a grocery store & cinema in the near future! This is such a funny thing to me since I grew up in the Sacramento area & there were no less than 3 grocery stores within walking distance of our home. Now, I'm driving about 6 miles to get to the grocery store (or anywhere, for that matter) But I've gotten off track...
David spent much of the parade on his Daddy's shoulders, conducting music & pointing to new & different things. It was a lot of fun with no sunburns! YAY! We then joined up with friends for a nice relaxing afternoon & evening. There was BBQ, a kiddie pool, David's splash/sprinkler toy, bubbles, games with friends, a little nap & of course, fireworks. This is a cute quote that a friend posted on the 4th of July:

Erma Bombeck..."You have to love a nation that celebrates its independence every July 4, not with a parade of guns, tanks, and soldiers who file by the White House in a show of strength and muscle, but with family picnics where kids throw Frisbees, the potato salad gets iffy, and the flies die from happiness. You may think you have overeaten, but it is PATRIOTISM."

Birthday Party Fun!

We had a full house this Saturday & it was a lot of fun! It was our first real party since moving into our new home a couple months ago. There were streamers everywhere & more than enough cupcakes to go around! Jamin grilled hot dogs & we had fun hanging out with our local family & friends (there were nearly 20 of us & finally plenty of room to accommodate!) David got the hang of unwrapping presents pretty quickly & has just had a blast this week playing with all his new toys! Enjoy the pictures!

Kiddie Pool

Yesterday, David had fun with his buddy, Tyson, in a kiddie pool for the first time. The water was cool & I thought David might be timid about hanging out in the cool water. Boy was I wrong! He LOVES bath time, especially splashing around. He got right to work emptying the pool, splash by splash. Tyson started in too & the boys had a lot of fun!