Summer Blahs

I think I'm going through a bout of the summertime blahs. We've had a fantastic summer, don't get me wrong. This week however, I'm tired and have very little motivation to do much. At the beginning of the summer I always have lofty goals of things I want to accomplish for myself and for the kids. This year I started off very motivated and had some great days of doing just what I wanted everyone to do. Now I look at the calendar and realize that summer is just about over and I didn't get everything done. Now I don't care. I guess I just have to keep thinking in terms of the "glass half full" and not get down on myself. I also find that I'm letting the kids watch more and more TV-- it's just easier. I know many of you have had your kids start school already and I REALLY wish we were starting soon but we still have TWO WEEKS! Trevor is VERY ready for school and I'm ready for him to be ready to start school. So, any ideas on what to do to stay motivated? I'm just curious...

Garden Update

I'm so excited!! We finally have our first garden produce! I was very skeptical of a garden growing this year and actually producing because it was so cold here for so long. We didn't plant anything until the middle of July and yesterday I went out and picked 4 zucchini. Yay!!

The cucumbers are coming as well as the green peppers, but the tomatoes and corn will still be a while. This years garden was a little experiment to see if it got enough sun and as you can tell the plants love their spot!


I'm already planning next year (hopefully by then we will have raised beds) and all that I want to grow. Trevor is most excited for zucchini cupcakes and zucchini cookies...he asks me everyday if I've made them yet.

Baseball with a kick

For his birthday, Trevor got a t-ball set and so this past weekend we decided it would be fun to take the kids to a baseball park and teach them how to play baseball. They all enjoyed it and of course, fought over whose turn it was to hit the ball with the bat. Ethan fought and cried the hardest and is still asking us everyday if we can go the park to "hit the ball". Tyler was telling Trevor that you have to step with your foot before you hit the ball and Ethan took his words to heart in this video. He is a determined, very adorable little ball player!

Busy Summer

I've been very neglectful of my blog lately and I'm going to try and do better...I promise.
We've been pretty busy the last few months, so here is a quick catch-up:

The last days of kindergarten were filled with all kinds of events for both mom and Trevor...

We had a watermelon celebration, a field day, and of course, the graduation ceremony (didn't get any pictures but it was so cute).

Next came Rachael's wedding. That filled up most of May and part of June. She was married on the 11th of June in the Portland Temple to Chad Kingston.

Rachael was a beautiful bride and Cambria was never far away, always watching and admiring.

We only had one major trauma, which was her dress, but luckily Mary (my sister in law) came to the rescue. The weather was pretty good for Oregon and the reception was lots of fun.

The day after the wedding was Trevor's birthday and Charlie's (my brother) graduation from OSU. Congratulations Charlie!!!!

We had a big water party for Trevor and all the cousins and aunts and uncles who were here with a Transformer cake (my first attempt at cake creative-ness. Thanks Melissa)


After the wedding and party craziness we decided to have some family time and the following weekend, went camping. It was Ethan's first time and we were all in the tent together so sleep was hard to come by. After going to bed at 11pm everyone went to sleep in about an hour, except me and Ethan. I think I got about 2 hours of sleep that night but hey, we all had fun.

The next weekend we went crabbing down in Newport and stayed in a hotel. That was new and exciting for the kids, and we even caught some big crabs. Yum!

The Fourth of July was pretty low key with a few sparklers and a BBQ at the Doman's with lots of cousins. Trevor especially loved the pop-its (the ones you throw on the ground and they pop).


So now we are staying HOME so I can water my garden (yes we actually got a garden planted with lots of veggies. I'm so excited!) and Tyler can paint the house. Yippee!
And maybe I'll have a nap...just writing this is making me tired.

Fun on the Farm

Last night for family home evening we went fishing at the Doman pond, out at the farm. (Grandpa Doman and Uncle Tim stock the pond with trout every year so the grandkids can go fishing). We were pretty lucky to get some great weather (it's been raining and raining and raining...) Cambria caught the first two fish and just stood there watching the first one flop around in the net and kept saying "it's so cute!" Then Tyler told her we were going to eat it for dinner and she looked at him with a furrowed brow and asked, "why? I don't want to." Then all night long she kept saying, mostly to herself, "I like to catch fish but not eat them." We'll see how she does when given a bite or two to eat.


Ethan caught a fish with dad's help and giggled and screamed something none of us could understand the whole time Tyler was reeling it in. He mostly liked feeding the ducks (Grandpa Doman also buys ducks for the pond every year) with mom and grandma and riding the 4 wheeler.

Ethan's favorite place to be.

Trevor caught three fish, one of which he caught entirely by himself. He cast the line, hooked it when the fish bit, and then reeled it in. The only thing Tyler did was help with the net. He was very proud of himself and didn't stop grinning the entire night. He says he doesn't want to eat it but we told him that's the point...you catch it and then eat it.

Trevor watching Grandpa Doman bait a hook.

We feel so fortunate to live in Oregon with Grandmas and Grandpas close by...and we especially love the benefits of going to the farm and riding 4-wheelers, camping, fishing, baby animals and playing with cousins.

Growing Up

Today I went to go pick up Trevor from school and as he got in the car he handed me a calendar with end of the year events listed. At the bottom of the June calendar (his last day is the 14th of June) his teacher wrote, "Happy summer vacation! Good luck in first grade!" Out of nowhere, I got a huge lump in my throat and tears came to my eyes as a realization hit me: my baby is almost done with kindergarten! I just want to know how in the world that happened! I'll admit, having taught kindergarten, that I have a soft place in my heart for the world of 5 year old kids. I've been on that journey and know most of the stages they go through that first year of school. It's been great to watch Trevor as he is learning to read and write and gain the confidence that comes with that. He is very ready for first grade...I'm just not sure his mom is!
With every milestone my kids hit, I'm reminded over and over that they are, and will continue to grow up. Mother's day reminded me how blessed I am to have three beautiful, unique, amazing children that are the sunshine of my life. Some days I wish I could just freeze time and have my kids this age always--maybe because I'm a little worried about what's coming: Teenagers! (I'm sure it will happen sooner than I think!)

Oregon Spring

Today in Oregon we had all kinds of weather...sun, rain, snow, hail, and a couple very loud claps of thunder. Trevor was outside trying to catch "some of those white balls falling from the sky" and then a huge clap of thunder rolled overhead and he didn't waste any time coming back inside. While most of the time I love living in Oregon, this spring I'm starting to feel like I've grown webbed feet. It has been raining and raining and raining and raining...you get the idea. It's not the gloomy winter rain with endless gray skies, but the rain that comes down in buckets for 15 minutes or so, then it stops and the sun comes out. Then an hour later it does the same thing, on and on and on. AND, it's been cold.
I'm waiting and waiting (I'm not a very patient person) for the nice weather to come because I have some beautiful flowers I bought that I can't wait to plant out in the yard. And I can't wait to plant our garden (this one might not happen but it's still our goal). So, go away rain...we've had enough!

On the bright side though, my lawn looks fantastic!