The Bowling Family

Here's Jeremy picking up a spare.
Taryn making faces at me and Cody trying to be invisible.
Cody is giving Jeremy bunny ears! Jeremy didn't want his picture taken.
Now he does! Smile honey. I love you!
Taryn making her shot and it looks like Tamara got a gutter ball this time.


We like to take the kids bowling when ever we can. Jeremy bowls league so we've been doing this for years. When the kids were younger they played with the bumpers. Now that they're older they don't use them. They're never going to get better if they always use the bumpers. The bowling alley that we bowl at has dollar Sundays during the summer months so that makes it affordable to go more often. Dylan got his high game last weekend bowling a 132 and I got a new high game score of 116 yesterday. The kids always have fun competing to see who can get the best score. Rachael took some tips from Jeremy this last weekend and seems to be doing better. Dylan usually takes the lead, but this last weekend it was Tamara!

Cody's Blog

We took the kids to the river two weekends ago when it was 100 degrees out. We wanted a spot where it wasn't too crowded so we decided to walk across the shallow river with our chairs and towels. Rachael did not want to cross this river by herself, so I went back and helped her across. Jeremy helped Dylan about halfway through because although it was shallow there was a current that was pretty strong in some places. Now Cody has no problems or fears playing in the water, but Rachael and Dylan like to stay close to the edge. We all made it across and we hung out there for a while.
On the way back was the part that Cody wants to blog about. He was still in the river playing in the current while the rest of us were walking back across. Halfway through I lost one of my sandals and it floated towards Cody so I yelled for him to grab it for me as I was carrying a chair and holding onto Dylan's hand. Cody caught my sandal and then Dylan lost one of his sandals, so Cody went after that one too. As he was reaching for Dylan's sandal, Rachael lost one of hers too! Dylan's passed him and so did Rachael's. There was a kid who helped Cody grab them both and by now he had drifted into the deep water. As he dogie paddled back to shore with all three sandals in his hands trying to stay afloat he was running out of breath. He made it back safely, but he says he almost drowned saving the sandals. Cody was our hero that day. I did tell him that his life was way more important than some sandals that could be replaced and that next time if it was a life or death situation, he could let go of the sandals.
I didn't get any pictures this day.

A Day at the Park

Here's Cody and Rachael spinning and Dylan just fell down.
Here's Rachael and Cody Spinning on this thing.
Here's Rachael, this thing spins too!
Here's Rachael keeping her balance and Dylan just about to fall!


I took the kids and one of Dylan's friends to the park today. The kids call this park the Dizzy Park. It's new in town and the kids have a lot of fun here. There's not too much shade here so we didn't stay very long.

Party Time!

Taryn with her birthday hat getting into her goody bag.
Taryn got a Wii Game.
Tamara got a Wii game too. It was just what she wanted.
Here's Tamara trying to hit the Pinata.
Taryn and Tamara with their cakes and their little sister in between.


Last Saturday the girls had their eleventh birthday party at the park. Their mom planned it all out and set it all up while the kids went swimming. First the kids played Pin the Tail on the Donkey followed by a game called Spoons. One of their little friends won both games. After the games the kids got to swing at the pinata while blind folded. Surprisingly no children were harmed during this event. Next, the girls opened their gifts and then we all had cake and it was time to move on to our next birthday party of the day.

Swimming at the Pool

Taryn
Tamara
Rachael
Dylan
Cody

Last Saturday the kids got to go swimming for two and a half hours before Taryn and Tamara's birthday party. The kids all had a blast. Dylan had to get out early because he couldn't follow the rules that the lifeguards were enforcing. He was told over and over and over again not to jump in the pool at the shallow end. He thought he was being sneaky by making sure that the lifeguards weren't watching before he jumped in. He didn't realize that mom was watching I guess because he forgot to look in my direction. Maybe next time he'll follow the rules.

Adventures Down Town

Here's Cody on a big fish.
Rachael's being eaten by a fake fish.
Silly kids having a good time.
Tamara got eaten by a fake fish.
Dylan posing with a different fish.

A couple weekends ago there was a Hawaiian Festival going on downtown so we went down there and met up with my sister and her kids. We walked around and looked at different boothes that were set up, we had snow cones and we listened to Hawaiian singers. We missed the Hula Dancers which would have been really neat to see.

Ecola Park

These are Sea Lion rocks.
I love the Ocean, it's my favorite place to be.

This picture below is my nephew, Rachael, Dylan and myself.





This is the view where my grandmother rests. So beautiful.



After the Family Reunion Jeremy and I followed my parents to the place where my grandmother rests. This was my first time being there and it was so beautiful , it took my breath away. I miss her so much, but I'm glad she's in a beautiful place. I can't believe that of all the times I have been to the beach I've never been to Ecola Park. I look forward to going again the next time I'm at the beach.

Family Reunion

My nephew and Rachael eating.
My nephew, niece and Dylan playing together.


Dylan, Rachael and my nephew climbing in a tree.



This year for our Annual Family Reunion it was at Fort Stevens State Park near Astoria. The day started off cold and a little windy, but eventually the sun came out and we got to take off our jackets. I love that we all get together once a year and enjoy great food and conversation. The kids get to know their cousins and you get to see and hear how everyone has changed in the last year and what they've been up to. This year most everyone camped out. We didn't this year, but are planning on it next year. Cody got to stay and camp with his favorite uncle Jake! I told him that he could only camp if someone had an extra sleeping bag because we didn't come prepared. So he asked around and he did manage to find a sleeping bag to borrow. For some reason we always seem to leave to the picnics before everyone else. This year we stayed to the end and helped clean up. I'm already looking forward to next year's picnic! Thanks for all your hard work that you put into our picnics every year Stephanie.

Fourth of July

For the Fourth of July we went to Yvonne and Dominick's annual BBQ at their new house. There was pretty much all the food you can eat as usual. Dominick barbecued hot dogs and hamburgers. While we waited for the sun to go down the kids all ran around and played in the backyard and the adults got to visit. Jeremy won the poker game that was played. When it was time for fireworks, we all grabbed a chair and headed to the front yard to watch. Cody was excited because he got to help with lighting the fireworks. Dylan and Rachael sat back and watched. Yvonne's neighbors all had huge fireworks that put theirs to shame (sorry Yvonne, but you agreed). When we got back home, the kids watched more fireworks from our back patio. It was quite a view being 3 stories up. This was a good night.

Our Trip to the Zoo

Back in June we spent a Saturday at the Oregon Zoo. This year at the zoo, just for the summer, they have a really cool life like dinosaur display. We went on the dinosaur path that featured 20 different kinds of dinosaurs that moved and made noises. At the end of the trail they had a couple of tables set up with real fossils that you can dig up. Each of the kids got to bring home a small souvenir. There was also a dinosaur simulator ride so we got to go on a dinosaur adventure in 3-D. In the ride every 2 seats were attached and Dylan was sharing with a lady that was in line in front of us. Now before the ride started the person running the ride said that if at any time you get frightened to just raise your hand and he would stop your seat. Poor Dylan, right after the ride started, his hand was up in the air. That lady that he was sitting next to was so angry that she stormed out of there before I had a chance to offer her money to ride again. If I had put any thought into the seating arrangements before hand, I would have sat next to Dylan instead of Cody.

After the Dinosaurs we had lunch at the Rain Forest Cafe (I think that's what it's called?). During lunch we got to watch a bird show that was happening on stage. The bird trainers had big birds that were trained to show off for an audience. That was really neat to watch. After lunch we went on the 3 mile train ride around the zoo. The kids thought that was the coolest thing ever.