Family Camping Trip

The little nature trail bordering the campground

 You know what's really sad?  Because I relied on Brian to take pictures on his cell phone, we have basically NO pictures of Hollyn on her FIRST camping trip. :-(  And we're not camping again any time soon.  These pictures you see are it.

Still, despite the lack of evidence, we had a great time.  Just 2 nights, but that was the perfect amount.  Concerns:
Hollyn Sleeping: Although she took hours to fall asleep the first night and nap time, she was quiet and didn't disturb any neighbors.  The first night around 3am she spent about two hours moaning, "mmmmm-nnnn-mmmmm-nnnn-mmmm-nnnn..."  It was cute.  I think a result of being so chilly in the tent.
Hollyn hanging around campsite: She was rather a beast to watch around the campsite, but thankfully when I picked out our site months ago, I picked one that bordered the playground.  It could not have been MORE perfect!  We had a straight-shot view between the trees which allowed us to send Hollyn with Brennan, and I could keep my eye on him playing with her. :-)  Brennan basically lived at the playground as it was the hangout for a whole bunch of boys who made up a specific game of tag with a slew of rules and terms ("You forgot to say 'upsies'," "no cherry picking!" "You have to say one two ten!")

We stayed at Beverly Beach, and just as you can guess, it's located at the beach. :-)  Although very hot in the valley, the coast was in the low 60's with some awfully chilly wind.  We spent a couple hours playing there and had fun, but spent most of our time in the non-windy campground.

Visiting the Bay Front on our way home

Some picture catch-up

Well, my camera is still in Idaho so the only pictures I have are from Brian's cell phone.

After our SUPER fun weekend at Sunriver with my parents at the end of June, we took a pit-stop at the High Desert Museum in Bend.  What a neat place.  I was at first disappointed at how expensive it was, but soon realized that it was worth every penny.  The only whining we heard was when it was time to leave!

Don't you love this?  Daddy and Daughter... so sweet ♥

Remember how we went to Oaks Amusement Park on our way to Idaho?  I love that place.  Another recommend from the Stevenson Family.

I'm not sure if Brennan realized he was in the girl spot (lol).  I think his focus what on getting his hot-pink squid in the shot.  And what's with Asher's 'tude?

Not too afraid to ride the Ferris Wheel with Dad

 Going to the Idaho Falls Zoo is always a hit... and always super hot.  I've been there many times now, but never (not once!) have I NOT roasted through the whole experience. :-)  Clearly a fun enough place to be worth it.

Roarrrrrr

Brennan was nervous about his surgery.  But not so nervous he couldn't do a few model poses for us.

The serious underwear model face

The, ummmm, sleeping model look?

This is how he thought he would look when he returned

This is how he actually looked when he returned

All told he got several hours worth of Sponge-Bob Square-Pants in, plus a bunch of Fairly Odd-Parents.  Not bad, eh?

Catch-Up

I didn't look at when my last entry was, but it feels like it's been a while.

The first week and a half of July was busy getting ready for our trip to Idaho which took place the rest of the month.  We left on a Friday and spent the afternoon at Oaks Park in Portland with my sisters, nieces and nephews, and parents.  That was super fun.  Hollyn rode a couple rides but seemed indifferent to them.  That evening we continued on Pendleton and stayed the night, which was great to break the long drive up. The following day we took MANY stops and finally rolled into the driveway after 9pm.  Whew!

Idaho was great!  We (as in Brian and I) got to attend the temple with a whole bunch of family as it was his brother's first time before leaving on his mission in a couple of days.  It was a-mazing(!) to do a session with so many loved ones. ♥  Also on our trip we went to playgrounds and restaurants, cheep kids movie at the theater, Zoo, bike ride, Lava Hot Springs/Water Park, Riot Zone, and the Art Show.  We visited with family and played games in the evenings.  And we pigged out on good food and cool treats.  After spending 6 weeks losing almost 15 lbs, I gained 3 back the first couple of days there!  Thank goodness I reined things in (cutting the soda back out was the key, I think) and came home none the worse. ;-)  Anyway, it was SUPER to see everyone!

Arriving home was busy.  We had several appointments to get to the first several days, including Brennan's surgery 3 days home.  He had ear tubes put in again, PLUS an adenoidectomy.  (With our camera left in Idaho :-( the pictures were taken on Brian's phone, so I'll post some when I get 'em.)  Reaching the adenoids is done through the mouth, (they're located behind the tonsils) so we were warned that Brennan would probably experience a sore throat and may need a soft foods diet for up to a week.  So I was prepared.  I bought all sorts of soft goodies for Brennan, and won him over with talk of getting out of chores and watching movies all day while he recovered.  Turns out this kid is an amazing rebounder.  Maybe it was the priesthood blessing.  All I know for sure is that he was skipping to the car as we left the hospital, and eating chips a couple hours later at the Company Picnic held the same evening.  His prescription Tylenol was never taken.  He only mentioned his throat being sore when he suspiciously wanted something like ice cream for breakfast.  Lol.  His snoring seems to have hugely dissipated, and I'm excited to note if he ceases to snort/sniff or breath with his mouth open all the time.  Yay!

Yesterday at church little Miss Hollyn was bested by her mischievousness.  As I often do, I let her out of the library to wander a little during the down time - up and down the stairs.  I've mentioned these stairs before - they make a raised hallway with several classrooms on one side and the stage on the other.  Usually the door leading onto the stage is closed, but yesterday I saw Hollyn enter it.  Fearing that she was interrupting Elder's Quorum who meet there, I went chasing after her.  I entered the stage to see, thankfully, it was still empty.  Except for Hollyn standing near the edge overlooking the great expanse of the gym.  I went towards her to get her, trying not to move too fast.  Hollyn turned and noticed me coming and, with a challenging gleam in her eye, immediately dropped onto her tummy and started backing towards the edge of the stage, trying to get down as she would a simple stair-step.  I ran towards her, crying "No Hollyn, NOOOO!"  But my lunging towards her only caused her to determinedly move even faster.  And I was too late.  She dropped over the edge and I barely missed grabbing her, arriving just in time to watch her landing on the hard gym floor.  She was NOT a happy girl.  I had to take her outside because she was crying so loud.  But, within a couple minutes the crying subsided and she fell asleep.  A nice sound sleep which allowed me to set her on the floor where she slept until the end of church.  She seems fine, except for a nice shiner on her cheek which we think may have occurred by her face hitting her knee during the landing.  Poor baby.  I read recently in my own baby book where my Mother mentioned me being strong-willed and that when I decided to wanted something no one got a moment's peace until I got what I wanted.  That must be where Hollyn gets it from.  Because if she knows she isn't supposed to have or do something, then she wants it real bad.  I already have to use reverse psychology with her to avoid a fight.  Oh man are we in trouble when she's a teenager!

4th of July and The Difference Being In Shape Makes

At the parade

 On Tuesday afternoon I finally thought to myself, "I should see if there are any community things we can attend on the 4th... after all, we should do something, right?" So I hopped online and, among other things, noticed there was going to be a 5k held downtown.  "Hmmm.  I have been jogging further and further at my (admittedly unregular) gym visits, and last time I even made it 3 miles.  So, I'm probably o.k. to take on another 5k short notice, right?"  To you runners out there, this may sound trivial, but let me assure you, this is a huge deal for me.  Shall I rehash last time?  The short version is, we signed up, we "trained" for about 6 weeks, then due to sickness, we fell off the wagon for the 6 weeks leading up to the race.  Day of, I pushed myself MUCH harder than I should of, and still did the race in 43 minutes.  It was so much for me, not only did I throw up immediately after crossing the finish line, but I also got a horrible fever with the worst body-aches and sore muscles I've ever experienced in my life.  I couldn't even move.  It felt like I'd pulled every muscle in my body at the same time! So it was pretty clear that if I was ever going to do another 5k I would need to prepare myself much, MUCH better.

So there I sat Tuesday deciding that I would do a 5k the NEXT DAY.  Brian declined to join me (he remembered the consequences of last time more clearly I guess), but I didn't want to do it alone.  So, like any selfish Mother I convinced Brennan that since he (literally) ran circles around me on our 2k last March, he shouldn't find the 5k too hard.  So Brennan agreed and we signed up.  Yeah, we're crazy like that.

So yesterday, we started off the 4th of July with our race.  Brennan complained frequently about being tired.  He walked a lot which caused me to walk more than I otherwise would have.  And we came in I think dead-last among the running group.  And yet, even still I shaved 2 whole minutes off my time from last time!  I hardly pushed myself at all!  When I stopped to walk with Brennan it was knowing that I had enough in me to keep jogging if I'd wanted to.  And when I crossed that finish line, although tired, I knew I could have gone further if required.  And I didn't need to throw up at all! ;-)  Wow, what a difference it makes to exercise somewhat regularly for 8 months versus 6 weeks.

And despite Brennan's complaints during the race, he said only an hour later that he would be willing to do it again some time.  So I say a win for both of us!

Finishing in 41 minutes, number 56, BRENNAN STEVENSON...

After our leisurely morning jog, we met Brian with Asher and Hollyn to watch the parade.  And I use that term loosely.  It was basically a crowd of kids and parents walking and biking (the "anyone can be in the parade" part), followed by the Democrat and Republican trailers, some lamas, old cars, and a firetruck.  They didn't even block off the streets officially.  Police cars parked sideways to stop traffic from crossing for the 10-15 minutes the parade lasted, then got out of the way again to let traffic continue.  Still, the kids gathered lots of candy and had a great time.

Father and Daughter, watching some parade

After all that I sat outside to get some sun.  But I stayed out longer than I thought.  I am horribly sunburned on my knees and shins with stark lines showing exactly which direction the sun was from me.  Oh man, I have been in SO much pain.

Lastly, we have an awesome barbeque feast, and as it got dark the boys and I walked to the edge of our neighborhood to watch some neighbor friends light off their fireworks.  Good enough for me!

Sitting comfy for the neighbor's fireworks show

The way Brennan watches fireworks

Double protected with headphones and hands

I hope everyone had a great holiday as well!