Harvest

Over the last two weeks:
48 Quarts of peaches
30 Quarts of applesauce
14 Quarts of pears
14 pints of salsa (not pictured)
1 messy kitchen
3 dirty children
{sigh}

Go me.

New Beginnings

It's hard to believe that this summer is almost over and that Trevor will be starting school in a week and a half. Yes, he did preschool but going to kindergarten is different...probably because I was there and I remember oh so well the good and the not so good from a teacher's perspective. They are such babies when they first begin and then almost like magic they grow-up so fast and before you can blink they are ready for first grade (okay, I'm exaggerating but it sure feels like it's that fast!). I'm not really that impressed with the school that he's attending so I don't have high hopes for any spectacular learning but maybe I'll be surprised. My job is to watch and listen and then watch some more and then fill in the gaps that are sure to happen. My hope for him is to feel successful and be challenged and then meet those challenges with the "good choice". He's a good kid and knows right from wrong but we will see how good he is at doing what he's been taught. So, with Trevor starting school, we are all entering into a new phase of life.

Another new beginning for us is that I'm doing child care (gulp!) for a friend of mine who teaches school. The child care they had lined up for this year fell through at the last minute and needed help. They have two adorable kids (the oldest is 4 and the youngest is 10 months) and the money will come in very handy as Christmas approaches. :) The nice thing, though, is that my friend will be going to half-time in December and then I will only be doing child care two, sometimes three days a week. And, I get to do fun preschool stuff with the two little girls! I might be crazy but I'm looking forward to this and other new experiences that come our way this fall!

Summer Fun

Can it already be the middle of August?! We have had the craziest summer ever, but it has been the most exciting! I really could go on and on with details of what we've been up to but I will spare you all a novel. Instead, here is a condensed version of our summer so far...


Trevor and Cambria enjoy playing in the sprinklers with the neighbor kids to beat the heat (we got up to 107 the end of July).


We all took a trip to Medford to visit the Thompson family and G & G Allen (this is Great-Grandma Allen).

While in Medford, we visited a kids museum and had a picnic right inside.

Trevor loved playing a life-sized game of chess! The favorite thing of the whole trip was swimming in Grandma Kirsten's pool.

We went crabbing for the first time in Newport and caught 5 crabs. They weren't very big, but Tyler and Trevor enjoyed eating them. We actually caught 2 star fish too, but decided it would be better to throw them back into the sea than to eat them.

Trevor had swimming lessons for the first time in July and learned to go all the way under water and to blow bubbles and kick at the same time. (This is great progress for a kid who was scared to put his face in the water before swim lessons).

We went on a camp-out with all Domans that live in Oregon. We camped in Yurts (pictured above) and I recommend that for any family with small children. There was a heater (!) and a light switch and we slept on bunk-beds.

Ethan enjoyed eating the marshmellows...

and the dirt {sigh}.

Trevor helped dad fix-up the dune-buggy for his Priest/Teacher super activity and then enjoyed lots of rides out on the Doman farm.

At the ward camp-out, Trevor learned how to fence and mom learned how to camp with little kids. Luckily Nana took care of Ethan at home so we all enjoyed a pretty good night's sleep.

We've had lots of activities and lots of fun!

The Oregon Coast with Cousins!

Today was an exciting day for us all in the Doman household. Tyler had the day off and Toren (Tyler's brother), Cindy and their kids are here visiting from Utah, so we all decided to go to the beach.
The day started off a little strange...we couldn't find our cat but could hear her meowing as we were packing the car. I finally found her inside the fridge out in our garage! Someone (named Trevor) finally confessed (after much prodding) to putting her in there and then forgetting about her. We had a long talk first, about being honest and then what is okay to do with the cat and what is not. She was not hurt and appears to be fine but was very happy to see us...good thing cats have lots of fur!
It took us awhile to get to the coast (imagine that with six kids under the age of six) but when we finally did get there we were lucky enough to have pretty good weather. It didn't rain, the wind was very calm, and it was overcast but not too cold. The kids all loved the sand (except Lily who doesn't really like to be dirty) and enjoyed getting completely covered in it. The highlights include:
- Trevor finding parts of a crab and digging until he found water
- Ethan falling head first into one of the holes Trevor dug
- Cambria getting sand in her mouth and trying to get it off her tonge with fingers covered in sand; it was a vicious cycle of getting more and more sand in her mouth and then crying about it.
- Running away from the waves as they came up on shore but never quite making it and getting very wet...

Cambria licking my sweatshirt to get the sand off of her tonge. An inventive way to get rid of that sand!

Trevor's crab leg...he was a little grossed out.

Ethan still smiling after going head first into one of Trevor's holes.

All of us playing wave tag.

A Life Changing Experience

I did it and it was so much better than I could have imagined! I actually finished the Helvetia 1/2 marathon (13. 1 miles) in Hillsboro and it was so awesome! (This is huge for me...someone who hates to run). I totally want to do it again next year...though I think I might let my sore body recover first. I was so nervous the day and morning before and I kept wanting to back out thinking "what's the big deal? I can run 13 miles here and still have reached my goal." I'm so glad I had the guts to stick it out and go anyway...it was so much fun and I've never had a better run. The weather was perfect, it was great to run with family (Kelly, Kirsten, Anna, and Eric) and the scenery was beautiful. There were about 4 thousand participants and I was pretty much intimidated. However, the fact that Kelly and Eric (my uncle and cousin) have done many full marathons and knew what they were doing made me feel like I could do this and the fact that I've been training since January gave me the confidence to see what the big deal was. The funny thing is that I swore I would never do anything like this... I have never been a runner and never had any interest in this kind of thing. Well, now I think I'm hooked. I still don't really want to do a full marathon but any 1/2 marathon...bring it on! The icing on my cake for that day was getting to the finish line and having my husband and kids there cheering me on...what a rush! I'm so glad I had the courage to get to the starting line; honestly that was the hardest part. It was an unforgettable experience. Thanks Kirsten for being a great running partner and for not letting me back out! We rock!:)

Trevor's Big #5

This day has finally arrived and Trevor couldn't be happier. Since the day after his birthday LAST year he has been looking forward to this day. He woke up at 6:30 this morning with a big grin on his face and asked, "Mom, am I 5 now? and can we go to Chuck E Cheese yet?". Then we had tears because he had to wait until 4:30 this afternoon for his party. Waiting any amount of time to a 5 year old is an eternity! He has been holding up all five fingers all day and grinning to himself and then saying, "Hey I'm 5 now". We decided to invite all of his friends in the neighborhood to a Chuck E Cheese Bday party and I have heard about it all day long. I've never seen them all so excited about something (honestly they drove me crazy about it and Trevor was the worst of them all). When 4:30 FINALLY arrived we couldn't get there fast enough and then it was a blur until we left at 7:15. They informed me that they had fun and the party was a success. Oh, and BTW, he is now old enough to go to kindergarten (He's been telling everyone he sees).

The very cool Batman cake Trevor picked out that I DID NOT make! Everyone had a blue mouth when they were finished.

Classic ChuckE picture. What a cute face!

Cambria would not get off this Bob the Builder ride for about half an hour...it's a good thing no one else wanted a turn and I had endless tokens!

Ethan's first experience with Chuck E Cheese...he loved it! He wanted to touch the noses of all the cartoon figures and loved dancing in the studio with the loud music.

According to Trevor there are never too many presents, and he's not too shy to tell you that!

Happy Birthday Trevor...we love you!

Moments

For the last couple of days I have had some random moments of gratitude. I don't know where these moments came from but it started me thinking of the many blessings I enjoy but often just take for granted. For example, I was vacuuming yesterday and found myself feeling thankful (don't laugh) for my thumbs. There are so many things I do everyday that would be so difficult without the use of thumbs and I really was thankful to have all my digits! Then, a little while later Tyler and I were having a conversation about someone we know who has diabetes and all the struggles he's going through and I realized I've never had any real health problems. I don't get sick often, and I only go to the hospital to have a baby (and no, I'm NOT pregnant). The other "moment" I had was watching my kids play together and laugh, and knowing that that sound was one of the sweetest I've ever heard. I really have to appreciate that now because when they are older it will be sounds of fighting and arguing (I remember so well the fights I had with my siblings). So for now, I am so thankful for the small seemingly insignificant blessings that surround me every day.