A Little Summer and a Little Fall

Yay!  After this post I will have finished catching up from summer.... although I may also be a little behind from fall.  The next few posts are going to be a little brief because I want to catch up but I still also want to document what we have been up to the past little while!

This summer was our 5th anniversary!  August 12th, 2011 we got married in the Columbia River Temple.  I cannot believe it has been five years!  What a ride it has been!  Logan took us to my parents house for the weekend so he and I could go on an extra long date.  He didn't tell me what he was planning but we got ready for the day and went out.  In the car he told me that our date consisted of four different events.  The first thing we did was go to the mall.  Logan took me to one of my favorite stores, Downeast, and told me to pick out a fancy dress for our date later that night.  I loved getting to pick out and try on dresses and accessories and Logan even seemed to enjoy himself too.  We went out and bought him some new church shoes as well.  It was fun just spending time with my good friend.

Then he took me home and told me to get all done up for our date at a fancy restaurant.  My sister Lenise helped me curl my hair and I painted my nails.  It was fun to feel like I was getting ready for a big dance or something like when I was younger.  My sisters and mom watched my kiddos the whole time.  For dinner Logan took me to a really nice restaurant right on the Columbia River called Cedars.  It was sooooo so so delicious! 

Afterwards we went to a movie, the new Jason Bourne movie.  Logan loved those growing up so it was fun to get to see that... although Logan has turned me into quite the movie critic (he has had five years to do so) and so the pair of us together are pretty hard to please!

For the fourth event Logan took me to the place where he proposed to me, up on Badger Mountain to a place called "Top of the World".  You can look out and see the whole Tri-Cities and at the base of the mountain is the Columbia River Temple, where we got married.  We had a good laugh because it is a place that is notorious for young couples looking for a smooching place and there was actually a couple sitting in the exact spot Logan proposed to me so we had to drive around and find our own place but it was nice to just sit and look out at the view.  I have always wanted to raise my family in the Tri-Cities, the way I grew up with family and cousins all around.  This summer Logan has begun to really feel that desire too.

Every year for our anniversary we take a picture like this (although we racked our brains and can't for the life of us remember what we did last year for our anniversary and I can't seem to find a picture of us holding up four fingers! haha!)

Some summer fun activities playing with shaving cream on the back porch!

I had some good experiences at the temple this summer, finding peace during a crazy time.  It is such a blessing to live near a temple.  I am so grateful that the church is working hard to make that a possibility for more people around the world.

This summer we decided to go on the ward camp out.  I had been wanting to go camping all summer and just try it out and see what it would be like.  We decided the ward camp out would be a pretty tame go at it so we tried it.... and we learned our lesson.  We don't think we will EVER go camping again!  Or at least not with a kiddo as young as Tommy.  Elsy absolutely loved it, so I think three will be our cut off age.  I like the above picture because you can see Tommy in the background doing what he did for almost the entire trip, beg to get in the car and 'drive' which we let him do for quite a while.  Logan cooked us some hot dogs and we at lots of Pirate Bootie.

After eating we went on a little walk.  While Tommy tried to jump in the lake, the three of us sat up on the path.  From the time we arrived at the camp site (which was just at Ensign Ranch) Tommy acted nervous.  I think he could sense we were going to be there for a while and he wasn't sure what to think.  He was pretty clingy and fussy.

At bed time we read a few stories and we all got cozy.  That was my favorite time, all of us in the tent with cozy blankets and flashlights, getting ready for the night.  I know this picture makes it look like we had a wonderful night but we most definitely didn't.  Everyone fell asleep alright but at around 12:45 everything went wrong.  Tommy woke up and wouldn't fall asleep.  And he was inconsolable!  Like he would just cry and cry when he usually calms down okay when I hold him.  I was shocked that Elsy slept through most of it, but Logan and I had a hard time.  We were worried about keeping other people in the ward up who were camped around us and we felt bad because we knew Tommy just was scared and didn't understand where we were.  We would get him calmed down for a while and he would just lay there with wide eyes as if paralyzed with fear.  Around 3am Logan loaded him into the car and tried to drive him to sleep.  An hour later he came back with no luck.  I think Tommy may have fallen asleep around 5am.  It was a long night.  And then we were all up by like, 7am.  Yuck.  It is hard not to be cranky when you don't get any sleep.  I am sure if we went camping more often Tommy would have gotten used to it, but that's the problem, we don't! Haha!

To escape the crankiness we headed out for a mini 'hike' in our pajamas.

Then we went on a little canoe trip!  You can't tell much from this picture but Tommy was just so dirty by the end of the trip.  I feel like I got some satisfaction out of that part just because I feel like when your child is dirty you know they are having at least a little bit of a good time, right?

I think Elsy had the most fun out of everyone on the trip.  She loved canoeing, hiking, sleeping in her sleeping bag, the glow sticks and flashlights, everything.  We all went home and had a niiiiice long nap.

I thought I should include some pool pictures, since we love to swim!  Only I don't have very good pictures of that.  This summer as Logan would be building the entertainment center, after working in the sun he would go out and float on his back at the pool in our complex.  I have been pretty bummed with the pools around here because they aren't heated at all and nobody puts covers on them so they are always dirty from rainy weather and ice cold because it doesn't get very hot here.  We had a very rainy summer.

It took all summer but we finally got Elsy confident enough in her puddle jumper to go swimming in the big pool all by herself.  She is pretty water shy which drives me a little crazy since I am a swimmer and love the water, as well as was a lifeguard and taught swim lessons.  So I have had to really exercise my patience and let her get used to the water on her own but I think it finally started to pay of there at the end.

Look at this smiley guy!  He had a rough summer with teething but by the end was smiling so much more!

Elsy upgraded to a bigger bike that we found at Value Village.  It was $10 so I couldn't help myself.  It is Pinkalicious and has a diamond bike bell and Elsy told me tonight that it is perfect.  We bought her a rainbow sequined helmet to top it all off.  She learned to ride it very quickly and all summer would ask to go ride at the blacktop at our complex.

One of our favorite parks we discovered because of my friend Carissa Wood was Big Rock Park.  It is not your traditional park, but has a some mounds of dirt with piping through them that your kids can craw through and then has a slide built into a hillside.  And of course, there is a big rock you can climb on! Haha.  The best part is a long zip line that we all love.  Tommy can even do it!  Its so cute to wrap his chubby legs around the rope and watch him fly along.

This girl completed the summer reading program at the library!  Tommy did too but he didn't want to take the picture.  She was so happy with her medal and paper for about five minutes. Oh brother.  What happened to getting a new book to keep from the library when you finished the summer reading program?  I have been pretty disappointed with the awards the past couple years.

I completed my summer reading challenge, only a little late.  Our ward challenged us to read the Book of Mormon in the summer.  I ended up reading three chapters a day and so it took me a little longer than the summer but I was so grateful I did it.  This time I tried to keep in mind more how it parallels our day and I was blown away at how closely our world resembles theirs.  It was hard for me to read it because I was having a really hard summer and had a lot of things to do but I am so grateful I made the sacrifice to read it because it really brought me a lot of peace during a very trying time.

I love morning visits from these two... usually!  I mean I love them when they are like this!  All smiley!  Usually I wake up to Elsy in front of my nose crying about being hungry. 

Tommy is starting to finally get old enough to walk with Elsy and I in parking lots. However, he sure hates to hold my hand.  If I can get Elsy to do it he will hold hers.  Elsy has always stuck so close to me in parking lots but Tommy is a bolter and it really scares me.  Sometimes I still carry him if he lets me.

We went to visit Logan at his work for lunch for the first time in a long time.  Tommy didn't want to take the picture haha but we had fun.  The kids love going there because they have a snack closet and free juice to eat... as well as an always full jar of peanut M&Ms.

We went to the Children's Museum a lot this summer as well.  I just love what the protective goggles do to my kids cheeks.

They sat an put puff balls in test tubes with tweezers forEVER.  I am constantly amazed at how easily my kids are entertained sometimes and then sometimes nothing will make them happy.

Elsy started Joy School so Tommy and I have had a lot more outings with just him and me.  IT has been fun to get to know him more and I really feel like he has come out of his shell now that he gets so much one on one attention.  At first he really didn't like it, but now he loves it.

Here is the only picture I got of Elsy at her first Bomber football game.  The kids got bored after a while so we took all the cousins over to slide down the giant cement H on the side of the grassy hill.  It was so nostalgic for me to get to see them having fun doing exactly what I used to do when I was little going to my first Bomber football games.

Elsy absolutely loves puzzles.  Which makes me excited because I love puzzles too... Logan does not.  So when she is older I will have a puzzle buddy!  Yippy skippy!

We went to visit my family for Labor day and we went out to visit the graves of our family members.  We went to see my Grandpa Merkley, our family friend Rube Peterson, and my dad's brother Kenny as well as some great grandparents.  It was a beautiful evening and we fed the fish and swans in the pond, another fun nostalgic thing I used to do with my family growing up.  Elsy, Hannah, and BooBoo ran around the rose garden path the way I used to as well.  They are such good buddies.

My mom carried Tommy around.  He is really great at pulling hair when he is up there.

And now, if you can't tell from our change in attire, we skip into autumn where we are a lot chillier.  We had to discover shorter walks, because the walk around the lake was just to long for the cold weather.  (Now that we are into deep winter we don't even go to our short walks sadly).

We got our first Christmas toy magazine and the kids had a blast looking at all the pictures and seeing what there was to see.  We don't have regular TV so thankfully my children don't beg for toys but they did like seeing what was out there.

In the evenings, since it is to dark and cold to go for a walk around the lake or to play at a park, we usually play Trap with the kids and wrestle.  Trap is a game my dad played with my siblings and I where he would just hold onto one of our limbs while the rest of us tried to pull the trapped one away without getting trapped as well.  It always ended with tears when we played it but I have tried to tone it down with my kiddos.

The kids love their daddy.

When Elsy was little I used to take her to Story Time at the library every single week.  I decided to start taking Tommy while Elsy is at Joy School.  He also loves Story Time but for much different reasons... like playing with the string on the curtain blinds, playing with the floor outlets, or just running amuck.  Elsy used to sit on my lap and do all the songs and listen to all the stories but Tommy is just not like Elsy.  When I DO convince him to sit on my lap and do a song he is so shy about it.  It is adorable.

And lastly, I had to show you the difference between a set table by Logan (on the left) and a set table by me (on the right) Haha!  It happened like this almost every day until I showed him these two pictures.  He laughed and has done a whole lot more thorough job since then.  Its funny how if you just have a chat about things with your spouse, instead of expecting them to do what you want, things actually start happening. :)

Joy School and the Oregon Coast

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. :)