Chehalis

Hey everybody! Daniel and I are in Chehalis, Washington to attend our nephew's wedding on Saturday. I'll be taking pictures and posting them later, but I wanted to send a quick update so ya'll didn't think I had stopped blogging again. It's the first time all 4 of Daniel's nephews have been together in one place in a very long time, and the resulting wrestling has already caused one bloody nose. Daniel's Dad is here as well as Aunt Joyce and Uncle Bud, so good times are sure to ensue. Updates to follow. Hope everyone has a great day!

Blast From the Past

My hubby and I went to the movies today. We don't go all that often, I am very picky about the movies I see. For some reason, spending money on a movie that ends up sucking makes me very, very mad. And for that reason, we only go to a movie that I am pretty sure I will like. Today's movie was a no-brainer. We went and saw THE A-TEAM!!!!! First of all, I'm a huge fan of Liam Neeson. When I found out he'd be playing Hannibal, I was even more excited than before! See, I LOVED the A-Team when I was a little kid. Back in the 80's Mr. T was the MAN! (He's still the man, but you get my drift) Anyway, I really enjoyed this film, and if you like stuff blowing up and fools being pitied, go see the A-Team. And take your husband. Men love movies like this, and don't you think it's time to see a movie he wants to see?

Things I Learned From Mandy's Visit

As I've said at various points and in various ways over my last several posts, we had one hum-dinger, rip-roarin', boot-scootin', fun-tastic time while my sister and her kids were here. I think it was a great experience for all involved. I am so glad that my niece and nephew were able to warm up to Daniel and I. Since we live so far away, they don't really know us. It was so wonderful to have their attention for six days. By the end they would even give me a kiss! That's major progress!

I think I learned a lot of really important lessons from this visit, and I just thought I should share them.

1. My sister Mandy is an AMAZING mom! She takes everything in stride and never lets her children frazzle her. She has taught her kids to be well behaved and they obey her without too many fights or problems. I'm sure it helps that her kids are very sweet and have happy personalities, but most behavior is learned by example, and Mandy has been a terrific example to her kids!

2. Don't worry, be happy. Mandy's kids had the best time on the airplane. My sister even told me about a guy on the plane with them that was nervous about flying, but after seeing my niece and nephew giggling with delight about being so high in the sky, he realized he doesn't need to be scared. He should just enjoy the ride.

3. Take the time to truly be amazed by the world around us. If I learned nothing else from my time with my niece and nephew I learned this: Our world is amazing, and EVERYTHING deserves to be studied and appreciated. Cannon would pick up sticks and fallen leaves and bring them to me like he'd found treasure. He would have spent the entire day at the aquarium watching the sea lions swim around or touching the starfish in the touch pool. When we went to the waterfalls, he'd see each one and exclaim "WOW, look at THIS ONE!" Kylee loved the beach and the ocean so much we almost couldn't get her to leave. I asked Kylee when we were on our way back to the airport what her favorite thing about the trip was. Without the slightest hesitation she said "The sand". We went shopping, to the aquarium, the cheese factory, saw 4 different waterfalls and yet her favorite thing was the sand on the beach. All she needed to be happy was the sand and her imagination.

4. A person can get A LOT of stuff done in one day if they just keep moving. I had to keep moving, Kylee and Cannon never stop.

It was truly an amazing time for me. I love my sister and her kids so much! Mandy and I might be swimming in completely different ends of the gene pool, but we are sisters and friends. I hope she comes back to see me again real soon.

THANKS FOR THE WONDERFUL EXPERIENCE!

Tuesday

Tuesday was, sadly, the day Mandy and her kids had to go home. We got up kinda late, but had plenty of time to get the cars packed up and get to Portland to see some of the sights.

Our first stop was the Portland Temple.

This is a wonderful picture! The kids had a great time. They loved the gardens and the reflecting pond. And ran around the Visitors Center. Our next stop was the Portland Rose Garden. Which had many lovely blooms. This is the time of year to go!

Kylee loved the view from up high.

Cannon loved the water fountain.

After the rose garden, we returned Mandy's rental car, and dropped off her and the kids at the airport. I wanted to cry, but I did my best to hold it together. We hugged and I kissed the babies, and they went home.

LOVE YOU MANDY AND KYLEE AND CANNON!!!

COME SEE YOUR AUNT TONYA AND UNCLE DANIEL AGAIN SOON!!!!

Memorial Day (Monday)

Monday was the last full day of Mandy's trip. I was rather upset about the weather. It was looking like it was going to rain on us and this was the day we were going to go to the beach. I got up early and watched the weather report, and it gave me some hope that after noon or so we would be able to go to the ocean without getting rained on.

We spent the morning shopping the Memorial Day sales at the local outlet mall. Just outside of the Old Navy they had a kiddie ride. It had Elmo and his little friend. (Don't know her name) Cannon HAD to play on it for a little while. Kylee too. After we got done shopping we had lunch at "Old McDonald's" as Kylee says and then it was on to the BEACH!!!! Mandy loved it so much as did the kids. Daniel bought some beach toys for the kids, which they enjoyed very much. I wish we could have spent the whole time on the beach because everyone loved it so much, stupid rain. Eventually we all started getting sleepy. And of course, Daniel did what Daniel does best.

After we went home and got all cleaned up, we went out and had dinner at the world famous "Mo's" I had the 'Cannonball', which is a bread bowl full of clam chowder. (YUM)!!

After dinner we went out for a walk on the dock at Siletz bay, behind Mo's. When we left we went to Walgreens to get some children's Tylenol. Cannon had a fever. It was a great day, but a rough night. Cannon felt much better in the morning!

Sunday

Sunday was a day of rest. We woke up and were able to get to church on time. Being out here on the coast, we see a huge increase in membership during the summer months and especially on Memorial Day weekend. Our chapel was so full, people had to sit on the stand up in the choir seats.

After church, we came home and changed. Mandy put on a bracelet she had bought in Depoe Bay the day before. Kylee wanted a bracelet too, but being Sunday, Mandy had to try to convince her to wait until tomorrow.

In comes Aunt Tonya with her supply of beading items. I let Kylee pick her colors but I made the bracelet. She really seemed to like it. Cannon wanted one too. I tried to make it as manly as possible. Uncle Daniel fell asleep in his Lay-Z-Boy while we were waiting for our dinner to cook. Cannon took the the opportunity to try on Daniel's slippers.

After dinner we decided to take the kids back to the park. It was raining so we had to take some umbrella's. Cannon wanted to carry his own. It was really cute.

It was another fun and happy day.

Saturday

I think Saturday was the best day of the whole trip. It started out with a trip to Newport to visit the Oregon Coast Aquarium. Daniel and I have been here many times but today was the first day of their new exhibit, Swampland. They had many swamp creatures, most of them being ginormous snakes. I was glad my Mom wasn't there!

Here is a picture of Mandy and the kids swimming with piranhas. Cannon climbing a mangrove tree root. Touching an alligator. I touched it too, it felt like a purse to me! A warm purse, but still. This is a blue-tongued skink. Cannon went to touch it and went "eeewww!" But soon he got braver and was soon petting it like a puppy. Kylee liked the aquarium too, but Cannon was in total awe. He loved everything and we had a hard time getting him to move on to look at new things. Here are a few pictures of the rest of the aquarium adventure.

Giant Tortoise, Cannon loved it. Jellyfish. Kylee's favorite along with Starfish. Cannon was again, in total awe. This is the touch pool. Cannon could have stayed all day on this one exhibit. They had starfish, sea anemones, clams and so on. Watching the Sea Lions swim by. Cannon REALLY could have stayed here all day. We eventually made it to the children's play area, where Kylee was very content. They have a bunch of animals for the kids to play on. Big gold turtle from their turtle exhibit a few years ago. On the way home we stopped and took a look at the Devil's Punchbowl.

Then we went to Deope Bay , which I think is my favorite place on the entire Oregon coast. We did MAJOR souvenir shopping and took some pictures of the boats going into the bay.I got some caramel popcorn which Cannon shared with me. And we fed some to a local squirrel. When this child smiles, the world smiles with her. Just look at this shot. All-in-all, it was a happy, happy day. I wish Mandy and the kids could come back and we could do the whole thing over again!!!

LOVE YOU GUYS SO MUCH!!!