Florence, Oregon

We did have a few days of "blah" weather (it's beyond my comprehension that anywhere could be cold in July!!!), so on one of those days, we decided to visit the coast. The town of Florence was about an hour away from the lake. It was a fun town. We had some really good burgers and fries at the Bay Street Grille and did a little shopping. I was surprised by the ocean - I expected the coast to be rocky, but it was really nice and sandy!
Christen and Gibson in town.
Brady, Christen and Gibson at the ocean.
The hill down to the ocean was HUGE! Of course, Gibson wanted to run down it!
Gibson and Christen playing in the water.

Wine Tasting!

The Friday before Brady went home, Monica, Rob, Monica's friend, Johnnie, Brady and I all went wine tasting. There were several vineyards/wineries in the area. I had never been wine tasting and it was so much fun! We tasted some really good stuff and some really crappy stuff. We learned a lot and even got to take a tour at one of the vineyards.
Brady and Christen standing in the gardens at the Kings Estate Vineyard.
The red wine aging in oak barrels at King's Estate. White wine is aged in steel containers.
Johnnie, Monica, Rob, Christen and Brady ready to go wine tasting!

The Story of the Bat!

So... one night when I was asleep, I woke up because I could hear this weird scratching noise. I sat up and listened and came to the conclusion that there was a mouse in my room. I had a sack of food on the floor, so I turned on the light and moved it off the floor. Then I went back to sleep. I woke up a few more times and could still hear the scratching noise. Then I woke up around 3 am and could hear this "th, th, th, th, th, th, th," noise on the floor above me. Monica and Rielly and Gibson and I were the only ones at the cabin this night. I couldn't believe that Monica couldn't hear the noise, too, because it sounded like something was running around on her bedroom floor upstairs. I started wondering if a raccoon or squirrel had gotten into the house. After sitting there for a few minutes and realizing that the noise wasn't going away, I sat up and turned on the lamp. A bat flew one inch over my face! The noise wasn't an animal running around on the floor, it was a bat flying around my room. And it wasn't flying near the ceiling, it was doing figure 8's around the room only inches from my head!!! So I quickly pulled the sheet up over Gibson and I's heads and started panicking. Gibson woke up and pulled the sheet off his head and I said, "No! There's a bat flying around!" So now we're both wide awake and terrified. We couldn't even roll over onto our sides to get out of the bed because it was flying so close to our faces. Finally it stopped, but it perched right above the door! So we were still trapped. Then it started flying around again. Finally it stopped somewhere else and Gibson and I bolted from the room and slammed the door! But then I realized we needed our pillows! I opened the door back up and the bat almost flew in my face! I slammed the door again. Finally, we got our pillows and went to bed in the other guest room. In the morning, I told Monica our story and we tried to decide what to do. We were the only ones up there. The only guy around was the next door neighbor. So we took Aaron some pancakes and bribed him to come over and catch our bat. He came over, but could not find where it was sleeping. Later that afternoon, Monica laid on my bed with a flashlight and finally found the bat! It was sleeping on a log right above my head! Kim was at the cabin playing Go Fish with the boys, and she said that she would catch it! We equipped her with gloves and a butterfly net. But the bat wouldn't budge. Finally I got a wire hanger and pushed it out of its hole and Kim caught it with the net. However, it got out of the net and Monica and I SCREAMED! Monica ran out the bedroom door and I ran out the sliding glass door. Kim was running around the room with the butterfly net trying to catch the bat by herself! But she finally caught it and we let it go outside. Fortunately, he never came back to visit!
Christen and Kim trying to get the bat to come out of its hole.
The bat in the butterfly net after Kim caught it the second time!

Our Oregon Friends

We met so many nice people at the lake and made some new friends.

Gibson and Rielly had never met before, but had a ball playing together everyday!
Rob, Monica and Rielly
The neighbors: Aaron, Kim and Kara (and their dog, Ellie). We had fun playing games with them. Kim is a children's librarian and would read stories to the boys at night. She also taught Gibson how to play Go Fish! (so he could play cards like the big people).
Monica's parents, John and Donna. They were absolutely wonderful hosts! We love them!
The grandchildren from next door: Tyler, Connor and Maddie. They were at the lake for 4 days and Gibson had a ball playing with them. Their grandma, Debbie, was so good to Gibson - she fed him and played with him; she built a big fort with all the kids!

Gibson with Jim (from next door - Debbie's husband). Gibson and Jim really liked each other and they hung out a lot.

First Airplane Ride!

Our flight home from Oregon was Gibson's first time on an airplane! When we got off, he said, "That was FUN!"

Fun at the Farm!

So it has been a few months since we've been to "the farm" (Wheeler Farm). We go there so often that it's not really that big of a deal. But since it had been awhile, it was really fun. It was a nice day because it wasn't very crowded. Which meant that the geese and ducks were actually hungry (they hadn't been overfed with old bread all day). Gibson and I went on a wagon ride (thanks Colleen for the coupons!) and Gibson went on a pony ride (but he calls it a 'horse'). Then we had a picnic. All the animals that were babies in the spring are so big now! Gibson was excited because he got to watch the pigs get hosed down (they loved it!). We also saw a kitty that looked like Two and we saw 2 new additions to the farm - donkeys! All in all, a fun morning at the farm.

Gibson on his pony (horse) ride!
Gibson wanted me to take a picture of him 'right here'. I had to put it on here because the grin on his face is so cute!
You would think the geese never got fed! They ate right out of our hands - I was glad Gibson wasn't afraid of them.

Funny Thing Gibson Said...

So all summer it has been a battle to get Gibson to wear his sunscreen. It got really bad in Oregon where we had to apply it 2 - 3 times a day since we were outside ALL day. So we had a battle again on Sunday. Then, as we were driving in the car, Gibson started talking about winter and how he likes the snow. Brady said, "you know what winter means, don't you? It means mommy and daddy will be depressed because it's cold." So Gibson gave that some thought and about 5 minutes later he said, "They should have Winterscreen. You put it on your body to keep you warm." What a smart kid! You could almost see the cogs turning in his brain! We told him that he should invent winterscreen so mommy and daddy can be happy in the Utah winters!

Thanksgiving Point Gardens

We love visiting the gardens at Thanksgiving Point and have been meaning to go for months now. The $2 Tuesday special was just what we needed to get our butts in gear and get down there! We had a great time. Everything looked so beautiful. And even though there were a lot of people, it wasn't bad because the gardens are SO big (however, I wouldn't recommend trying to go to the museum, etc. on $2 Tues - those were some lines!). We ended the day in the Children's Garden and Gibson and his friends had a ball playing in the water!

Brady and Gibson running down the BIG hill! There was another big hill and I think that Gibson probably ran/rolled/fell down the hills at least 50 times that day!
Brady and Gibson sitting in front of one of the small waterfalls.
Christen and Gibson in front of one of the BIG waterfalls!
Gibson playing in the fountain (and trying not to get splashed by the annoying "babies")!
As I said, we ended our day at the Children's Garden, where they have a huge water playground.We didn't bring any towels, so Gibson, Mason and Tyson dried off in the sun!

A HUGE THANKS!

A HUGE thanks go out to the person who left flowers on my doorstep this morning. Wow! They are absolutely beautiful and completely cheered me up. For those of you who know what we are going through right now, I have been so stressed. These flowers just confirmed that others are thinking of us and we are so blessed to have such wonderful friends for support in a time like this. Thanks again - you don't know how much this meant to us.

Quick Update

So... it's been a long time since I've posted anything. But, then again, it's been a long time since I've been home! I had ZERO internet, phone, cell phone, etc. access in Oregon - which was definitely nice in a way. Here's a little bit on what I've been doing since Gibson and I got home.

I could not believe how big my plants had gotten while I was gone! Look at the size of these Hibicus and the vincas (below - in the island). Wow!
We got to babysit Lukas (Courtney's little boy) yesterday! What a cutie! He is 2 1/2 months old and weights almost 16 pounds!

Yellowstone!

We had a wonderful trip to Yellowstone this month! We headed there directly from Bear Lake. My parents met us there. They stayed in a "cabin" and we had our trailer. So they were able to eat meals with us in the trailer and we were able to use their shower when our trailer tank busted! Here is just a sampling of Yellowstone and some of the pictures I took. I had to narrow it down from the 150 pictures I took in only 4 days!


This is Old Faithful! We thought we had it timed perfectly, as we got there 5 minutes before it was supposed to erupt. However, it was 20 minutes late that time! So after a lot of little "teasers" it finally gave us a show! Gibson was ECSTATIC! When I have more time, I'll put the video on here of him yelling, "AWESOME!". It was the first gyser eruption he had ever seen.

This is a family pic in front of "Morning Glory Pool" - one of my favorite pools. It looks like a rainbow, it has so many different colors. But it's quite a walk to get to it and I'm still kicking myself in the butt for not bringing the stroller - what was I thinking?
Gibson refused to go on any more hikes this day, so he and daddy stayed to play in the river while mom, grandma and grandpa walked to see the Grand Prismatic Spring (a HUGE version of Morning Glory Pool).

This is a pool runoff into the river - I think it's absolutely beautiful! This is boiling water running into the river, so where Gibson was soaking his feet, the water isn't too terribly cold.
This is my mom and dad's "cabin"! It was SO tiny, but it was cute. I'm just glad Brady and I didn't have to try to fit on that bed together!

Our trailer was right on the shore of Yellowstone Lake. The lake was the highest I have ever seen it. The waves were huge, and they kind of intimidated Gibson, but he played in it a little bit.
This is Gibson by a very stinky (so I'm told) sulphur pot. It's just on the side of the road. I think the puke-green color adds a nice touch!
Everyday we would stop and have a picnic. This area was surrounded by wildflowers. This trip was the first time I'd seen the wildflowers in full bloom at Yellowstone - they were so gorgeous! What a treat!
This pool/cave is named "Dragon's Breath" and we have Gibson convinced that a dragon family lives in there. The cave is very spooky because the noises that come out of it really sound like a dragon roaring (again - if I get time, I'll put some video/audio of it on here). And the water is just bubbling and churning. We couldn't drag Gibson away from this one!
We were very fortunate one morning to come across a HUGE herd of bison in Hayden Valley. There were a lot of baby bison, too. Gibson was fascinated! The next morning when we drove past this exact same spot, there wasn't one bison.

This staircase is the "Uncle Tom's Trail" - more than 300 steps down to the base of Lower Falls. It's a nice workout, to say the least! I have a very hard time on this trail, as you can see through the stairs to 'nothing' below you. I hyperventilate if I look down, so I have to hike the entire way looking straight up at the sky!
A view of Brady and Gibson going up Uncle Tom's Trail. This hike is definitely worth it - the view of the falls is breathtaking! They are so loud, you can hardly hear yourself think.
Brady, Christen and Gibson at the bottom of Uncle Tom's Trail - Lower Falls in the background. By the way - this day was Brady and Christen's 11th wedding anniversary! What a way to spend it!
A view of Lower Falls - there's always a beautiful rainbow at the base!
Christen and her dad at the campsite! This was our last day - we were getting ready to leave.

Bear Lake 2008

Look at the awesome sandcastle Brady and Gibson built! (It's filled with seashells)
Our campsite! (All packed up and ready to leave)
The view of Bear Lake from our campsite!

Since the water has receded so much in recent years, the campground isn't next to the beach anymore. So we have to load up the truck and drive about 1/2 mile down to the beach. The first day we get there, we take our shade tent down to the beach and "claim" our spot for the week. Then everyday we pack up everything we need for the day (chairs, toys, food, beer, water, books, music, etc.) and head down to the beach for the entire day! We love the beach in Bear Lake because it is so shallow for at least 200 yards out. The kids can play in the water without worry and the water gets really warm because it's so shallow!
Gibson and his cousins playing on the floating island (before it's 'floating')! We drag this out into the water and the kids (and adults!) have a ball on it.
This ranks as one of my most favorite things it the world to do. Give me the beach, a beer and a book (oh - and Sassie!) and I'm as content as can be!
Gibson and Kayden playing with the remote control car.
Mom and Sassie taking a nap after a long, hot day in the sun! (Notice how Sassie is laying in Brady's spot on his pillow!)

What a Cool Dog!

Sassie's the best girl - and she's stylin', too!

Enjoy your summer!