Back in Virginia

 A few months ago Paige asked if I could come help her in Virginia while Zach had to leave for the week and of course I was happy to come help.  I love these little guys so much and I can't believe how much more of a pain it is to visit when they live all the way across the country in Virginia!!!  Paige is loving Virginia and Remy loves his school and Zach enjoys his job, but man, it was so easy to visit them when they lived in Las Vegas!

Back with my boys

Little Alistair is getting so big.  He is the cutest little one year old and is such a sweet and good boy.

A favorite activity...feeding the ducks.  There were 2 ducks that wanted bread and about 30 turtles that swam up to have some bread!

Alistair's first ice cream popsicle that he got all by himself:)

Zach showed me how to make musubi.  We were the only ones that ate it, but it was super fun to learn how to make it.

I took the boys to the Nature museum.  They had a really cool dinosaur exhibit.

This mama bear sure had her hands full!

Cute baby turtle on a lily pad

Fly away butterfly Graham!

Paige's backyard.  Oregon is green but Virginia is a different kind of lush green!

We took the twins to see the new Little Mermaid.  Graham loved it but Cecil hated it:)

I took the boys to the trampoline play area.  Alistair had so much fun playing with this red ball the entire time!

We went to Colonial Williamsburg.  This cute little baby horse let the twins pet him

The fife and drum presentation

Naughty boys got locked up!

Alistair with his tri-corner hat:)

Paige and her boys.  What a handful of fun/craziness!

Little Alistair with some tiger lilies

Love these cute boys.

I love that I can help Paige out every once in a while.  I know what it's like to raise crazy active boys and I know she trusts me to love and take care of her kids.  It's a real treat for me to be around these little guys because I don't get many hugs, hand holding or snuggles from my teenagers back home!!!!

What Else Happened in May?

While I was in Australia Hyrum and Julian went on some fun walks and bike rides...and even planted a garden!

Riding around Hillsboro

Our new garden

Cooper Mountain nature park

Sailing on the Columbia River

Enjoying a "Frosty Mug" at A&W 

Bike ride along the Columbia River...I love this shot!

My niece, Taylor Jensen, and I are in charge of the Activity Day girls for our Ward.  We took a group to the Portland Temple visitors center to enjoy a morning at the temple.

We stopped at Dairy Queen for a treat on the way home:)

Oma and Andrea came to Oregon for a visit.  Oma wanted to see the boys campus and dorm so we drove down to Corvallis for a quick visit.

Katrina and I took Oma and Andrea to the rhododendron garden here in Portland.  I had never been and it was so beautiful, I will definitely be back again.

Baby ducks make me happy

Look at these gorges flowers everywhere:)

While Katrina took Oma and Andrea up to Washington to visit her daughter Ellen I went out to the coast for a fun hike with friends.  We stopped at Tom's in Cannon Beach for some fish tacos!

On the beach headed to Cape Falcon trailhead

The day was so gorgeous and the view from the lookout at the top was spectacular

These ladies are so nice to invite me on hikes...I'm definitely the slowest hiker of the group:)

When I got home that evening and showed Oma and Andrea the nice hike they missed they decided they wanted to go...so I went on the same hike the very next day!  Unfortunately the weather was not so wonderful, but it wasn't raining...just cloudy and not as amazing as the day before.  You never know what the coast is going to be like.

Oma is amazing!  Still hiking 5 mile trials at 86 years old!

The same spot, same photo from the day before, just much cloudier.  But there is beauty in the clouds and overcast sky and we still got the fantastic view from the top.  At least it wasn't fogged in with no visibility!

At the top of Cape Falcon trail

Our big adventure on the way home.  About 5 miles from home I got a flat tire.  Luckily, the first place I could turn into to get off the highway was the Oregon Department of Transportation highway maintenance building!

These awesome guys got my flat tire off, spare tire on and I was back on the road in about 15 minutes.  I was so lucky they were willing to help me out:)

Hyrum took Katrina, Andrea and Oma for a sail.  The wind was pretty gusty and they had a real adventure on the boat.  I'm not sure Hyrum will ever get Oma on the boat again!

A walk around Fernhill Wetlands is always a nice time

A walk around the Wapato greenway on Sauvie Island

Julian's friend Ian invited Julian to join his family for the Hillsboro air show. We have lived here more than 10 years and have never gone to the air show.  Julian said it was "loud" but that's all the info we got from him!

We had a very fun evening at the symphony.  They played Led Zeppelin songs and there was a singer and electric guitarist (no Jimmy Page or Robert Plant...but it was still a lot of fun!)

Biking with some friends on the Banks-Vernonia trail

A little deer came to say hello:)

My friend, Marci Daley, teaches early morning seminary.  She asked me to sub for her one day. I think I did an OK job but I'm not sure I would say yes to this calling!

The twins came home for Memorial Day weekend.  This was our first family sail on the Dan for the year!

Back in Corvallis to drop the boys off we walked around Martin Luther King Jr. park. It was a great place with lots of trails to explore...we will be back

Emerson and his dad

Townsend in a tree!

Out for another bike ride with friends.  This time we road on the Banks-Vernonia trail to Tophill.  It's a bit of a climb up to Tophill but then you get to coast on your bike all the way down hill back to your car!

Julian's very last piano lesson.  I told all my boys they had to take piano lessons until they were finished with 8th grade.  I always hoped my boys would want to continue taking lessons on their own but so far none of them have wanted to continue.

Hyrum's happy place!  A great way to finish out the month of May!