Fantasy Trail

We have a tradition every Halloween to drive to the middle of no-where to visit the Fantasy Trail.

We walk around the trail looking at Halloween lights and decorations. It is a fun family activity to do for Halloween.

Hudson was scared the first time we went around, even though the decorations are not scary at all.

And the favorite part of the trail are the slides at the end!

I'm glad we started this family tradition when Porter was just a baby and will keep it going each year for Halloween!

Muah!

I wanted to add this video of Brody. Soooooooo dang cute! Sorry it's sideways... don't know how to turn it.

My Sweet Little Guy...

Is 9 months old!

Is so curious of the world around him.

Has decided to crawl on his hands and knees instead of scoot on his tummy.

Has two little pearly whites on bottom. (He was not happy that I was trying to show his teeth off!)

Pulls up on everything!

Brody is growing & changing so much. We love him and are so glad he is a part of our family!

Soccer

Porter was so excited to play soccer this year!

It was so funny to watch the "games".

Porter was great at scoring goals... in the other teams goal! Guess we'll work on that for next year.

I love this picture! It show's Porter's personality. He got hit on the head with the ball and this is how he reacts. I LOVE this little guy!

Watermelons & Monkeys

For Family Night on Monday we did a bunch of yardwork and then for our treat we picked the watermelons that were growing in our garden. We have been enjoying all of the yummy veggies from our garden and this is the first time we have grown watermelons!

And I just wanted to add this picture.

That's Porter jumping off the swing mid-air.

My little monkey and dare-devil.

Eight Months

I can't believe it's already been 8 months since our little Brody was born!

He is the sweetest thing and so easy-going!

He's not crawling yet, but gets everywhere doing an awesome army crawl on his belly!

I just want to eat his little cheeks up!

PRESCHOOL!

Another year of Preschool is here! The summer went way too fast, but this house was so ready for preschool to begin again! This year, Hudson gets to go to Preschool. He has been sooooo excited!

Porter and Hudson with their Teacher:)

Hudson was all grins the first day.

He felt like such a big boy!

And Porter feels like a Preschool Pro, now!

Train Ride

I am sooooooooo far behind on my blog, so I decided to post my most recent happenings, and then hopefully slowly get caught up. But we'll see, because preschool starts next week & I am going to be busy with that.

This weekend was Brandon's birthday and we celebrated the whole weekend. Friday night we went on a date. It was so nice to have a break from the kiddos. We went to P.F. Changs and a movie. On Saturday we drove into Washington to ride the Steam Train in Chahalis. So much fun!

Hello Mr. Conductor!

Waiting for the train at the train station. Those two are best friends!

Porter was happy to have a little friend come on the trip with us.

Hudson leaning out the window... not too far, of course! We are responsible parents:)

Brody was just glad to be with the people he loves.

Cheese!

Porter mesmerized by the view.

After the train ride we came back to Portland and went to Red Robin for Brandon's b-day dinner. On Sunday we had his family over for dinner and my famous chocolate cake. Yum! (sorry, no pics, though) It was a great birthday weekend.

The Big One-Zero

Ten years ago today I married the love of my life! I am amazed that ten years has gone so fast! I really still feel like we are newlyweds, which is a good thing, right? This guy of mine is such a good husband and father. I am so blessed to have Brandon and three little but amazing sons in my life and to know that we will be a family forever! I love Brandon so much and can't wait to see where we're at for our 20 yr, 30yr, 40yr... anniversaries!

***I know you probably thought I dropped off the face of the earth, but I'm still here! I just don't know where July went!!! We have been sooooo busy having fun and now I can't believe it's time to be getting ready for another year of preschool.  I will slowly be updating what we have been up to, but the Summer's not over yet and there is still a lot of fun to be had, so I'm not making any promises:)

6 months

Stats:
Weight 15 lbs 7 oz.  10%
Height 27 1/2 in.  65%

Father's Day and Summer Fun!

I'm pretty sure Brandon had a super great Father's Day this year. It started on Friday when he went on a "man trip" with a bunch of his friends. They went to Detroit Lake, and while there, their boat broke down so they couldn't get back! Brandon was supposed to come home Saturday, but I think he was really heart broken that he had to stay an extra day;) When he got home, we gave him our gifts. Brody gave him this book "My Day with Daddy". Hudson gave him some new shoes. I gave him a picture of the boys to put in his office. And Porter gave him a new drill that he loves!

Then we went to visit Grandpa Hoopes. He hasn't been in good health and has been at this Rehabilitation Center for a couple of months. Good news, though! They are going to let him come home on July 4th! Yay!
We love you Grandpa Hoopes!
( I am also excited because my mom and dad are coming up here on Saturday, so we will be able to give him his Father's Day gifts in person this year!)

Yesterday we decided to take advantage of the sunny warm weather, so we went swimming in Grandma's pool. It was a blast! So fun, I think we're going to go back today, even though it's not supposed to be as sunny! We are definitely ready for summer here! Hudson took awhile to warm up to the water, but by the time we left, he was comfortable in the pool and having lots of fun!

Brody hung out in the pool the whole time, just chillin'.

Porter was having so so so much fun!

Swim lessons sure paid off! He is doing really good with actual swimming. I'm just glad he isn't scared of the water like he has been the past two years!

Notice anything missing in this picture?...

The training wheels are off! Good job Porter!

I just had to add these pics of Brody! This is how I caught him sleeping for one of his naps!

Face completely smooshed into the mattress! I had to check and see if he was still breathing! Silly baby:)

5 months

My little guy is 5 months old!

Brody is rolling over a lot, drooling tons which must mean teething, and very close to sitting on his own!

He also got his first taste of rice cereal today. He wasn't sure what to think of it and made some pretty funny faces:)