Special Visitor

Noelle's birth mother came for a visit in August.  We were very happy to see her and for her to see, in person, just how sweet of an angel Noelle is.

She brought her dog, Bella, and even though it was nearly 100 degrees outside, Noelle found her matching dog PJs and put them so she could match.

Birth moms are wonderful!

Land of the Golden West

We also spent some time in Oregon this summer to visit Chad's family.  Yes, we had a busy summer.  Here are some highlights from that trip . . . 

Feeding the ducks at the pond behind Grandma and Papa's house.

  It's a protected wildlife area and I was surprised, walking through the small forest to get to pond, how moist everything was.  I had forgotten, Oregon is moist . . . even in August.

Grandma Woolner let the kids take turns walking Zeke.  Noelle told Grandma, "I can do both.  I can hold your hand and hold the dog."

A shoulder ride through the forest.

We went blueberry picking and had so much fun.  I spent many summers when I was little helping my mom pick berries (I mostly remember strawberries), I was glad my kids got a "taste" of berry picking.

Growwwwl.  Chad and his oh so attractive belly buster can for picking convenience.

Blueberries are Ruby's favorite food ever.  When she discovered that she was surrounded by them, she could not stop eating.  I'm honestly surprised she didn't get sick.  She started off by picking them and then decided she could save more time by just putting her mouth on a lower hanging branch and eating them that way.  I wish I had gotten a picture.

We could not drive all the way to Oregon without seeing the coast.

Do you know how cold the water is?

This was Ruby's first trip to the ocean.  She spent hours shoveling sand and was very happy to do so.

A little taste test never hurts.

Kite flying!

We acquired our nephew, Riley, on the trip home. 

Everyone slept, but Ruby . . . she never did.  It was not fun.

The Poor People Project

A few weeks back, Sam found some change on the ground.  He brought it home and said,  "Mom, you know those poor people on the road that don't have any money for food or homes?"  Yes, I know those poor people.  "I want to give them this money so they can buy some food."  My son has a has a heart of gold.  I told him I thought it was a great idea for him to save spare change he finds and then give it to someone in need.  He then got really excited and started running all around the house asking me what things I didn't need that he could sell to get money for poor people.  Finally, he remembered I had about a billion cucumbers in the garden that needed good homes.  So, he concocted a brilliant plan to sell the cucumbers.  We asked our neighbors to contribute any superfluous produce they had growing in their gardens and ended up with a pretty good stash of cukes, many varieties of tomatoes, squash, zucchini, blackberries, green beans, and more.  We also froze a box of Otter Pops to entice a younger crowd.  On Friday, Sam went to the business park where Chad worked and sold Otter Pops and then on Saturday we set up a little table and sign on our driveway.  All in all, Sam earned over $50 for poor people and the money will go to the Boise Rescue Mission (his choice).  Love my boy!

It's My Turn

Ever since last year, Noelle has been dying to go to preschool.  Here she is on her big day.  She walked right in and didn't look back.  She loves school, being social, and doing big girl things.  Oh how I love my Noelley and I'm glad it's only two days a week . . . I miss her around the house.

Just a Couple More Things

Before we flew to NC, we drove to SLC (well, Orem/Provo actually, but I was trying to be all cool with my initials) and visited our dear old friends and my little sister who happened to be there simultaneously for a wedding. Here are some tasty morsels from that visit . . .

 

Can you handle this?  This is Noelle and her future husband, Nash.  They are already best buds and they have matching hair, so it's pretty much settled.

Here they are playing "Tangled" which went something like this:

Nash:  "Let's see, where is my princess?"

Noelle:  (Bashes him on the head with an imaginary frying pan).

Yes, we went there and it was pretty fancy compared to the one giant cement room they had when I last went there as a college Fresham . . . ahem, fourteen years ago.

 

Head, down now!  Seriously, that is one huge noggin'.

You can pick your husband's nose.  You can pick a dinosaur's nose.  You can picture your husband picking his nose picking a dinosaur's nose.  You can.

Sam and his cousin Lincoln on the Heber Creeper.  They are just two weeks apart in age.  I love them.  After the train ride was over I asked Sam if, given the choice, he would rather ride on the train again or play putt putt golf and arcade games (Trafalga was an option and the train ride was actually ridiculously expensive).  He picked the train ride, so, at least we made a good choice.

My nephew Isaac and his classic pose for the camera.

Anna and Elijah Rock.  "Rock" is what his middle name should be or possibly even "Rocker", that would be even awesomer.

What are they doing?  Jon is adjusting his bro which is a mansierre.

Noelle's forced smile.

The Cosby kids.

Ruby getting to know her Aunt Anna.

It's my classic face.

Elijah Rocker and his uncle.

I love this.

It's a stick up!

Elijah did not like the train heist.