October

Pumpkin patch, pumpkin carving (Madi got to wield a knife this year), Trunk or Treat, Batman, Glinda and the Cowardly Lion

  

September

Oregon adventures, kevin passed licensing exam, river walk, first day of school, monster truck rally



Lake day in Washington

Miss Paige turns 1!!!

 

August

Sorry, I'm too lazy to write this all up, but here is our August...
(in the reminder format so that I can complete the journal later)


- Visitors (Great Grandma J, Aunt Judy, Grampa, Gramma, Auntie Maea)
- U Pick Peach Orchard


- Neskowin Beach day-trip (chilly water but beautiful day.  Shayne still isn't a fan of the ocean and requested that we go to a different beach where there was no ocean :o)
- Oregon State Fair (Madi got to help in the clown show and we went back to the petting zoo 4 times)
- Aumsville Corn Festival (treasure hunt in the hay was the highlight... as well as corn to eat for weeks)
- More exploring town (secret path to the water tower)
- Shayne loves soccer with his Daddio

 

July

July has been a busy month!  Here are the photobook pages:

• Papa and Tutu came home from South Africa
•  We got to enjoy fun at home and the park, Eagle Fun Days, an ice cream date, many stories, loads of help packing, lots of kid snuggling and fun as housemates for a week and a half before the move... We feel so lucky to have had time with them before moving farther away.  We're so lucky to have such fun and loving grandparents!
•  We moved to Oregon

• We got to see my college roomie lil J in Portland
• Dave, Kellie, Sydney, Collin and Sophie also met us in Portlandfor a visit before their big move to North Carolina
• We've started exploring our area, starting with Silver Falls State park (the largest State park in OR)

• We're getting used to our new sunset :o) It's beautiful out our front window every night
•  Mom took the kids on bikes to explore the town... the bike portion was not a complete success (look closely at the pic to find where Paige was demoted to) but the exploring was great.  We played at 2 parks, attended story time where the kids got to play the drums, stopped at the grocery for water, threw rocks in the river, and got a swim schedule from the pool.  The timing was perfect because we finished at the same time Dad was retuning from training in Eugene so he took us home and we didn't have to do the uphill part :o)
• We celebrated Kevin's first week of work
• Enjoyed several picnics in the backyard
• Picked cherries in the backyard
• Went for a swim
• And Paige finally flashed a sweet smile showing off her cute new teeth

All in all we are VERY happy and adjusting well. 

Its already July!

Papa and Tutu are home! Okay, they've been home since the 4th of July but I've been away from Blogger much longer than that.  They returned from South Africa and we were lucky enough to live with them for almost 2 weeks before we left for Oregon. I don't have good airport pictures, but I did catch a few cute moments since then. 

 

 

 

And we have arrived in Oregon!  I must say I am quickly falling in love.  We have such kind neighbors- two have already stopped by to say hello and brought gifts of zucchini bread and berries from their backyard. This morning we went outside, cut flowers for the table and picked cherries to eat with lunch.  Can't beat that!  We were planning to ride the bike down to the library for storytime this afternoon but I am short one nut for the kid seat... life's tough :o) I may have to walk a mile to the hardware store or settle for the nearby park today and library tomorrow.  We'll see how I feel in 6 months, but I'm pretty sure I'm a small town girl at heart.  The library, swimming pool, Kevin's work, church and a couple parks are all within 2 miles.  Costco is 15 or 20 minutes from the house (in Salem) and I'm sure we'll be able to find any retail we need in Salem too.   We're off to a great start here!  Now just to put everything away in between visitors and park trips :o)  Here's a few pics...

First day with pony tails :o)

  

The untamed yellow cherry tree hiding behind the shed in the backyard (the ones that are actually in the yard were picked before we arrived, but this gem hides so it is FULL of cherries)

And the flowers... how can fresh cut flowers not make you happy??

 I guess I should mention the most important news of this post too... Kevin started work yesterday.  He passed the NAPLEX and will take the Oregon state exam soon before he can officially be licensed, but until then he works as an intern.  I'm pretty darn happy about that too!  Employment!  Oh how I have longed for you.  There is life after college!