I am just noticing that this is my 100th post. How fantastical!
Still doing that catch up work from the summer so I'm just going to start with the Volmer reunion and then hop back to what we did this past week.
Oh how I love going to the Oregon Coast! We go the first week in August every year. On my dad's side, there is a Volmer reunion there every other year and this was the on year so there were so many fun people to hang out with while we were there this year. Sadly, I lost my phone about half way into the trip so I didn't get to take very many pictures. Logan is really good at taking home videos but not so good at the videos... and I'm the opposite so we ended up with a handful of pictures to share with you.
Our family was split into two different cabins, with all the married kids in one and the singles and my parents in the other. The first night we got there Logan got to work with my mom, Kelsy, and Leisha making our reunion shirts. It ended up taking like three hours sadly but they turned out great. Black shirts with a white chicken head saying "Bagock!"... which is something my dad has always said to us. I can't tell you how many times we listened to the messages on the answering machine when I was younger and there would be a missed call from my dad and all he would be saying on the message was, "Bagock!" over and over.
We started the week off going crabbing in Netarts Bay. The fellows are always eager to get that in first thing (probably as eager as us girls are to go shopping first thing hehe!) Our kids were still a little young to go out on the boat but they enjoyed feeding and chasing the seagulls and flying kites on the cold beach.
Those guys are getting better and better at crabbing. My dad just got a new boat and they have all their own gear and are learning the secret spots. This year in just a few hours they caught 77 crab! I think that is a new record.
My dad, Carl, Logan, and Steve gutting the crab.
Logan's hands after wearing his leather gloves all morning. I feel like I get a picture of him like this every year. Its funny to think of how he came to the Oregon Coast for the first time with us seven years ago when we had only been dating for like three weeks. We have pictures of us crabbing back then too.
The kids just loved the water, especially Tommy. Sadly, the beach in Tierra Del Mar is pretty cold and the water is even colder. Little Tommy would go straight to the water and get his clothes all wet. He did this every time we went to the water. I finally brought him in his swimming suit one morning because I was tired of his jeans getting nasty. He fell in right away and a wave washed over his head. After that he hardly wanted anything to do with the water and would run away from the waves like Elsy was. I guess he had to learn the hard way but it made watching him near the water a whole lot easier!
Our family has stayed at Tierra Del Mar, with few exceptions, every year since I was little. It is located near Pacific City, OR. Everyone has heard of Cannon Beach, OR because of the haystack rocks there. Pacific City also has a big Haystack Rock but it is farther out in the ocean and you can't walk to it on low tide. But there are some big, big sand dunes and some fun caves and things to explore which we spent a morning doing with all the extended family.
The kids were old enough this year to go climbing around all the rocks with us. Elsy had been asking to see a starfish for quite a while and was so excited to finally see one because the tide was out.
And of course Tommy was in heaven getting to climb and explore everything. I sadly don't have any pictures of the huge sand dune! :( Every year all the cousins climb it and then race down at the same time. It always reminds me from that scene in Mulan where all the Huns are racing down the mountain of snow on their horses. Anyway, I didn't climb to the top this year with everyone. Instead Elsy and I would just climb up a little ways and then ride my cousins sand sled down over and over. Logan spent the time trying to keep Tommy out of the water... this was before his wave incident so he was still pretty set on getting in. Logan is so good at keeping after Tommy and his energy. I should trade him more often.... hmmm...
The cabin we stayed at was three stories so there were two really fun balconies. The one on the second floor went all the way around the whole cabin. It was the perfect little race track for all six of my kids and their cousins to run laps on... literally for hours. They ran around the cabin ALL day long. Logan brought his hammock and set it out on the porch and we all took turns taking naps in it and reading books. Here is Elsy in it. There was also a hot tub which was really fun because we all would pile in in the evenings to watch the sunset. The cabin had a beautiful view of Sand Lake.
We have many traditions when going to the Coast as a family. We know all the best places to eat and shop and tour, and what not. Every year we spend a day in Tillamook. We always start at the Blue Heron Cheese Factory to try all their jams, brie, and dips as well as pet all the animals they keep.
Then we head to the Tillamook Cheese Factory for some good ole cheese testing and ice cream cone eating. They put all the cousins in the Baby Loaf car but you can't see them all because some, like Tom, were on the floor of it haha!
Last time we went to the cheese factory was on Memorial Day so they were not making cheese then. Elsy really liked to see all the cheese and climb all over the big cow there and "milk" it's udders.
I have actually been pretty disappointed in the Tillamook factory's ice cream quality as of late. I'm not talking about the stuff that you buy at the store, just what they have at their factory at the ice cream counter. The last few times it has been so soft its basically melted by the time you get to your seat. They also used to have the most amazing flavors like German chocolate cake, cinnamon bun, bubble gum, cake batter, and many more but now they just have the most boring flavors its kind of a bummer. So I am seriously thinking of not getting their cones anymore when we go... because one cone costs almost the same price as a gallon from the freezer section anyway and its not melted that way.
But it is just to fun to sit eating ice cream with everyone and maybe that is really what you are paying for anyway. :)
Here we are in our reunion shirts! We had some really fun activities with the extended family reunion. My grandma arranged one thing each day for us all to do together. One of the days we had Family Home Evening, another we had a progressive dinner. We had a few bonfires and a sandcastle contest too. One of the fun ones was a day of service where each family had another family to do a service project for. We ended up picking blueberries and Elsy picked a little bouquet of flowers for the family we had.
The cabin we were in was a little drive to the beach, instead of a short walk like usual so we didn't spend as much time in the sand usual. I was a little bummed that I didn't even go on a walk on the beach... but I guess that's the reality of vacations these days... a little more about making the vacation fun for the kids than for ourselves. But it was worth every minute! Logan loves to dig holes and he would dig big deep holes for the kids to get buried in.
It was so fun sitting out with our family and getting to chat while our kids just got dirty, dirty, dirty! My sisters and brother are all such great examples to me. I love getting to spend time with them! They are my very best friends. I am so glad to have them because I always know that they will share the same values as I do and will always accept me for who I am. They are true friends and we understand one another because we have known each other longer than anyone else. I am so grateful to my parents for living worthy of their temple covenants so that I can be with my family together in the eternities.
A beautiful last evening on the beach! There is Haystack Rock in the background.
Tommy is Logan's little buddy.
Here is my little sunshine girl!
We worked really hard to get a picture of Tommy smiling at the camera that wasn't blurry. He is constantly moving! There is Cape Lookout in the background.
Growing up, whenever we drove to the coast we stopped at a fish hatchery to eat lunch and stretch our legs. Sadly, that fish hatchery isn't on the way when we drive from Issaquah. So on the way home we discovered a park that boasted the tallest totem pole in the world so we decided to stop there to make some lunches. We were traveling home on a Sunday and we have been trying to make the effort to not go out to eat on Sunday's when we are traveling. We decided that just because we were on vacation didn't mean we shouldn't sacrifice a little to try and keep the day holy. It makes sense to eat out if you don't have anything, but since we had a cooler full of food that we were bringing home we decided it wasn't necessary and had some sandwiches. I am grateful we are trying to do little things like that to make Sundays feel a little more special when we are away from home.
We had a great trip and it totally stunk to come home.
We have been trying out different activities for family night these days. Elsy always wants to make pink cupcakes (blaming Pinkalicious) so we made some for our neighbors and friends and dropped them off. We ended up leaving them on doorsteps because people weren't home but it is fun to see Elsy get excited about trying to make someone's day better.
Tommy at his 18 month check up! I forgot to take a picture of him in his diaper on the table. He was just under 28 lbs (90th percentile), and 34 inches tall (93rd percentile) and his head was 20.25 inches (98th percentile). He is a big boy and is so strong and stocky, not really fat. I love his extreme eyebrows and his gappy teeth.
Here is one of those family pictures that could be used as a stock photo because we totally look perfect. ;)
So this week was a fun one because I had something to get done everyday! I haven't had a week like that I don't think since we moved from Redmond when I had all those fun activities callings! So it was nice to have every day be full of purpose. Joy School was at our house this week (which was Mon and Wed) and then I taught piano lessons on Thurs and I had lots of errands to do on Tue and Fri so it was really fun.
On Sunday we finally walked around the temple. Elsy has been asking for a few weeks now but we have been getting there to late to get to do it before church and afterwards we are always so tired and hungry we just go straight home. It was fun to smell the flowers and enjoy a beautiful autumn day on the temple grounds.
The letter this week was C so we did caterpillars. We started by stringing beads on yarn and making little caterpillars. Then I read them a book I wrote in college about the stages of a butterflies life that Logan helped me illustrate (back when we were just barely engaged). Then I passed out leaves I had collected that morning for their caterpillars to eat. Sadly, the kids noticed little bugs all over the leaves and there was a little bit of chaos until I got all the leaves thrown outside haha! But they loved it.
Then we made caterpillar C's! (Quick side note, I was noticing the other day that my refrigerator looks like a mom's refrigerator... with animal and letter magnets, paintings from the kids, and artwork that Elsy has done at school. I just had this thought like, oh gosh... that's me now! But then I got an overwhelming feeling of pride... like, yes! This is my fridge! What and accomplishment. Kinda cheesy but it was actually a really special mom moment.)
Then after making the C's we just threw about 600 pom poms all over the living room while dancing to Mena Menah. The kids loved it and we are still finding puff balls in the couch and around the house.
Oh! And on of the moms sent me some more pictures from the first day of Joy School! Haley, Elsy, Ella, Cache, and Doran. :)
And there was even a picture of us together on the first day! Except, Elsy was trying to wrestle away from me, that is a face of distress not just a little smile... more of a grimace. Haha! And hurrah for double chins. :(
On the second day I taught them about the "Ch" sound and then we learned about different chores. We sang "When We're Helping We're Happy!" and I had a bunch of chores for the kids to rotate through. One was washing the windows, folding washcloths, vacuuming those pom poms up, washing dishes in the sink, and sweeping pom poms in the kitchen (I had to get my money's worth out of them pom poms!)
Tommy really misses Elsy when she goes to Joy School so he really enjoyed getting to be a part of it this week. :)
And of course we did coloring time. It is really hard to keep Tommy in his chair.
Another thing I did this week was make a "Bathroom Steps" chart for Elsy. She can totally go to the bathroom on her own but she hates to do it because she hates washing her hands. So I thought a little chart like this would help. Guess what!? It didn't work. :(
This weekend was conference and it was so wonderful! I have always heard people say they are excited for conference and I have never felt more than just a little bit excited. But this time I was super excited, I think because I actually had some specific questions that I was seeking answers too. It was really a spiritual weekend for us at our house with a lot of prayers answered, and a lot of reassurances that we are on the right path, and just some really overwhelming moments of feeling the Spirit testify of the truthfulness of what was being spoken.
After Saturday afternoon session Logan went in to get the kids up but never came back. The monitor was next to me and I saw he had gotten in the crib with Tommy.
Elsy looked lonely so I climbed into her toddler bed with her and read to her too. It was a nice little afternoon activity.
A few days ago my wrists started hurting and aching quite a lot and my ring and pinkie finger have been going numb. I think it is carpal tunnel related because I have been crocheting a lot more lately as well as have been playing the piano more for teaching lessons, and I have started some new weight exercises that have been hard as well as journaling (I have been trying to write in my journal every day). Anyway, the combination of all this and carrying a super heavy boy has made my tendons in my forearms hurt a lot. I woke up this morning and the pain was pretty terrible. After searching the house for a wrap Logan finally made me one out of the sparkly, stretchy leftover fabric from Elsy's Ariel costume from last Halloween. I told him I felt like I was going to be in some sort of Cosplay and we laughed but I was grateful because it helped if feel a bit better. I think I'm going to have to go seek out a doctor though here in the near future.
My dad and my sister were able to go to conference today and so was Logan's brother Hiatt. It was funny getting this picture in a text from them. It's funny how even though there were thousands of people there, they still ran into each other.
Tonight my dad was walking around temple square alone and he sent a little video to all of our family that I really appreciated. He was filming the Salt Lake Temple and he said something along the lines of how the pioneers left all the imperfections in the granite. And it was proof that even things with imperfections can make something so beautiful and holy as a temple. And then he shared how that's the same with us, how we have imperfections too but those are there to help to make us beautiful and make us something more. That was something that I felt was a recurring message to me throughout the course of Conference Weekend. How our trials and our challenges are there to help make us who we were meant to become while here on earth. That is why we are here.
Our friends Tandy and Jason are really good singers and they taught Logan an arrangement they put together on the ukulele this weekend when they came for conference Saturday morning. It is an arrangement for "I'm Trying To Be Like Jesus". They do such a beautiful job of harmonizing and Logan and I are trying to learn it. But it has been nice today to listen to Logan practicing it over and over and singing it.
I'm trying to be like Jesus;
I'm following in his ways.
I'm trying to love as he did, in all that I do and say.
At times I am tempted to make a wrong choice,
But I try to listen as the still small voice whispers,
"Love one another as Jesus loves you.
Try to show kindness in all that you do.
Be gentle and loving in deed and in thought,
For these are the things Jesus taught."
(Janice Kapp Perry)
I like how the song says "I'm trying to be like Jesus." Even though I know I make mistakes, I also know if I keep trying then I will someday be able to be like Him. If you missed out on conference, set some time aside to watch it. You will never regret it. :)
