Summer Silliness

Well, we've had a fun week. We got a crazy rain storm Friday evening, and Kyle and Natalie headed outside to dance in the rain. It came down hard for about 15 minutes or so and gave everything a good soak, thunder and lightning and all. Here is Natalie just before the hail hit...


This weekend was Old Timers in Hayttville where they celebrate those that have lived here the longest. There was a good BBQ and picnic, and they honored Grandpa and Grandma Tharp. Grandma Phyllis has lived here her whole live and Grandpa came when he was about 12. This was the 99th annual celebration, so next year's will be 100 years. This year they had a street fair and parade and horse races, so it was a lot of fun.

They gathered up a lot of little kids to dress up in pioneer garb for the parade. Natalie was all set to be in it, but when Kyle took her to change into her dress she had to go number two, and it took too long and they missed the parade! She wore her dress for a bit anyway and we'll try again next year. This is a dress Aunt Karrie wore when she was little to dress up as Little Bo Peep! Natalie loved how it twirled...

And of courseshe had to have another pony ride...

In other news, we only have 7 weeks left until we get to meet Baby Beckett (hopefully less)! He is very active now, so I have a feeling he may be early. It feels like he does jumping jacks and summer saults...a lot more than Natalie ever did. However, he still lets me sleep most of the night, so that's a good sign. I go to the doc every 2 weeks now, and everything looks really good.

We also have a new neighbor...we rented out our little cabin to a guy Kyle works with. He's very friendly and loves animals, so he fits in well. He's been looking for a house but has not found what he wants yet, so he'll probably be here through the winter. His name is Ted, and our dogs love him and never bark at him, which is strange. It is a nice comfort to know someone else will be here to help me if I ever need it while Kyle is gone.

Not much else is new with us...just getting anxious about the new baby. Natalie will have her open house for preschool next week and she is excited beyond belief! She'll start going 2 days a week at the end of August. She's just changed so much over the last few months I'm having a harder time with it than I thought I would! She moved out of diapers and into a big girl bed and will now start school, all since February. She's also gotten so much taller recently! Good thing I'll have another baby to cuddle for a while soon. Hope you all are having a good summer and safe travels, wherever you may be. Hugs to all.

We're Back!!!

Well, we survived the long car trip (2,700 total miles in 2 weeks) and are now home safe and sound. It was fun to see everyone and visit, but 2 weeks is a long time to be gone with a 2 year old and one on the way! Natalie was fantastic in the car and never threw a fit or had a potty accident. She's such and angel. We are so lucky. We went to a wedding, jazz festival, resort in central Oregon, the MALL and to dinner with friends, but first on the list was the ZOO! She had been asking to go for weeks before we got there, and we spent a whole day there. Momma's legs were tired for a few days after that. On the way home we stopped in Washington to visit an old friend of Kyle's and stayed with them for the night. They have a great place with a Billy Goat for Natalie to feed and chickens. But I thought the best part was the fresh fruit farm and antique mall just up the road! We loaded up on peaches, dried fruit and fresh salad dressings, and I even found a cream can to cook in in the antique mall. I would love to go back there some day. Anyway, thanks to all who watched our plants and animals, and here are somephotos for you. There are lots, so keep scrolling down!
Grammie and Auntie Hannah with Natalie
Here Miss Natalie is hugging and bronze penguin since we couldn't hug the real ones (Daddy said they are the grossest smelling birds ever!)

Here is as close as she got to a real one.
Here is a pretty sun bear out for a nap and a stroll.

Grooming a goat at the petting zoo..

More Fun In The Sun

Well, Natalie started swimming on her own this trip! She got comfortable with the life jacket and didn't want Daddy to help her. She was dog paddling very well. She even got to go on a special fishing trip alone with Daddy.

Here is a beautiful spot in central Oregon. We headed down there for a few days with my dad, and it was beautiful. This is the Crooked River which flows through an amazing canyon. There are actually signs in the parking lot to leave dogs in the car because many have fallen to their deaths. Needless to say, Natalie was not out of our arms. While we were walking on the gravel path she tripped and fell and immediately got up to tell us she needed to go to the doctor for her scraped knee.
Here is Natalie with Ipa at the resort in Sunriver.

And here is Momma with her sisters and Natalie...
And the picture I promised mom of her three girls.

The Wedding

Here we are at the wedding of our good family friend. The setting was beautiful on Mount Hood, and the reception was a lot of fun. Rachel and Ben Oh make the cutest couple! Her mom's speech was so great...I will never forget it Anne! Natalie had a blast and loved the fabulous food.
Here is Natalie with the bride, who looked STUNNING! It was so good to see all of them. They had three girls who all got married within a year! Our summer trip out last year was for Rachel's older sister Mariah's wedding, and we're now pregnant together! We grew up together, and it's so fun that she's due with her first little girl about a month after Beckett is due. We can't wait to meet her at Thanksgiving!
Here is Auntie Hannah and Justin...
And Auntie Sumner and Ted...
And Grammie and Natalie.

More of Sunny Portland

Grammie and Natalie in the Portland sunshine

OK, I've had several requests for the belly picture, so here it is. We have a little less than 9 weeks left to go now!
We hit a huge Jazz festival in Portland with Ipa (my dad), and Natalie found it very stimulating. Actually, I couldn't get her to nap before we left, and she crashed there.
Here is one shot of the festival, which is days long and attracts thousands of people. It's a fundraiser for the Oregon Food Bank, and they said that day they raised over 350,000 pounds of food (you had to bring cans to get it) and more than $54,000. There were several stages going at once, but my personal favorite entertainment was a boat captain walking around with his fake and bake tan in a zebra stripe THONG speedo. Lots of people just park their boats along the shore to listen all day, and he had his boat "The Easy" parked right in front. It was hysterical. He had long flowing blond hair, maybe a relative of Fabio. Ah, the joys of people watching in the city.

Here is Natalie after she woke up being tickled by Ipa.

Nebraska Sun

Well, we had a fun but quick trip to Nebraska to visit Karrie, Chad and Madison. We got back Monday evening. They have a nice little lake about 15 minutes from their house, so we went boating and swimming twice. Natalie had a blast.

More splashing for Daddy (we did spend Father's Day there). Momma got in the water but didn't swim a lot because she doesn't have a suit that fits right now!

She would have stayed in the water all day if we let her...

And here is Daddy with both girls. Madison was a little hesitant to get in the water at first, but she eventually joined in the fun. On the way home we stopped at Cabella's and got Natalie her own life jacket and new fishing pole. She was so excited. They had about 12 to choose from, and we let her pick the pole out on her own...she chose the only pink and purple princess one. Since Monday she has been BEGGING to go fishing, so she is with Grandma and Grandpa this weekend, looking forward to her private fishing trip with Grandpa Guy on the boat tomorrow.

And here is a snapshot from just before we left. Against my better judgement I left her in the kitchen for about 2 minutes while I ran back to the bedroom, innocently thinking that because she was having yogurt for a snack it would keep her occupied for a minute. Well, it was a little too quiet, and when I came back out she was finger painting with her yogurt. It was everywhere, including her hair! It was too cute to not take a picture.

Another cute story from last week...she was "having a movement" on the potty and I could tell it was taking quite a bit of concentration, so I just let her be for a bit. When she was done she stood on her stool and looked in the toilet, raised her arms triumphantly and yelled, "Ta Da!" It was too funny for words, and of course I didn't have the video camera. That will just have to be one I tell in person when she's older!

We had fun in Nebraska and are home for the week. Kyle has to work on our anniversary tomorrow (5 years!), so we went out to dinner and a movie tonight. It was fun and great to spend some time alone together. He bought me some O'Douls so I could have a beer from the fridge if I ever feel like it. We decided to just do cards and not gifts because we're headed on a big trip, so the evening out was just right. Anyway, things are good with us. I have a doctor appointment next week before we leave and lots of house cleaning to do. Hope everyone is well in the great beyond. Hugs to all.

It Must Be Genetic...

Well, Natalie has been BEGGING to ride Momma Stormy this week, and I am now convinced some of it must be genetic. I remember when I was little all I wanted to do was ride, even more than play basketball! She is so energetic about riding and has no fear yet, and after an hour of her asking if she could ride again today, I finally gave in. She's ridden several times this week, and today we worked on stopping. She really is a natural, and I can't wait to keep teaching her some things as she gets older. For those of you who don't know my horse history, I started riding very early but didn't get my first horse until I was 15. This mare was my absolute favorite horse to ride on the ranch in Wyoming when I was younger, and I called them to ask if I could buy her when Mom and Dad finally said I could get a horse. She's a very nice mare, and of course they said she wasn't for sale! Well, last year I bought another young horse from my friends there, and Grant gave Stormy to me, remembering how much I loved her. She's up there in years now and can't have adults riding her, but she's a good starter horse for Natalie. I just love that we'll have this beautiful mare as a connection to share...

I even got her to wear her pink hat...

Saturday we spent hours and hours outside planting new shrubs and relocating old ones. Natalie loved all of the worms we dug up, including this giant monster we found under the horse trough. When he was all stretched out he was way more than a foot long. She carried the poor guy around for a long time before we told her he had to have some water or her would die...

So, she then carried him around in this pot of water for a while before we put him back in the ground. I have rarely seen a worm that big around here, but we've had so much moisture lately I think they all had growth spurts!

Anyway, we had a busy but fun weekend, including a trip to Powell and Cody to celebrate Grandpa Chauncey's birthday and Guy and Jill's 34th anniversary. We also went ot a fun BBQ Friday in Ten Sleep to visit friends and celebrate Nate Boyd's birthday. It was good to catch up and visit everyone. I'm taking my filly JJ to the trainer tomorrow for her first riding sessions. I've been doing a lot of work with her over the last few weeks, and I think she'll be a smart little horse. We're headed to Nebraska Friday morning, so we'll have more pictures to post of our visit next week! Hope everyone is doing well and hugs to all.