Palm Desert trip

We had such a great vacation with Barbara and Tom in Palm Desert and really appreciate the chance to join them at Barbara's time share. After a little break from the Portland rain and a fun visit, we drove home through Bishop, CA. This included one night camping and then some mineral collecting near the Bishop area. Amazing little boys were okay with a 12 hour drive home!



Silly Sauly.



First trip together in the desert.



Reunan with Grammy and Pappa.

 

Double trouble (I mean, double-stroller!)



Reunan and Barbara playing golf.



And finishing up dinner at Barbara's time-share. So appreciative of the chance to join her in the desert.



Swinging in the wind



Preparing to go mineral collecting for the first time.




And Reunan napping in the stroller.



Newest generation of collector.



Hungry boy.

Saul's vacation note to Claire

Hi, Claire.

One day on my vacation we went to the Living Desert Museum and saw lots and lots of train tracks. And trains. I goed zooming around...and I looked and there were even more and more and more. There were two longest trains and one time they were zooming really fast and then choo, choo, choo, choo....then they stopped.

Saul and Aaron admiring the trains.Then I went hiking on a tall, tall mountain. And, I had a rock and you know what I did with it? I dug and dug... Grammy Barbara and Pappa Tom and Mommy and Reunan came on that hike, too.

Saul getting a break from all that hiking!

Claire, I saw jack rabbits! Can you find the little one in this picture?
Then I saw lots of flowers and flowers and flowers.

Claire, I, was riding, riding all around the tennis court and on the pedestrian road. But then I was playing golf with Grammy Barbara. I just wanted to tell you that about this picture.


Then, you know what, Claire?! Then we went camping. And my daddy read me a book before we went night night. Mommy and Daddy heard coyotes while I was sleeping. But I was sleeping and so I didn't hear them.In the morning it was sooo cold and so it was a pajama day. And then we drove for a long time.

And then I had lots of energy to get out so we went to a park.

Yes, Reunan is on this trip with us! (Mommy, that's all I want to say to Claire. Can I watch Busytown now?) Bye, Claire. Talk to you later, Claire. (Mommy, I want to go home now and play with Claire. What day is it today? When are we going to see Claire?)

More August pics...before November's over

Here are some more pictures from August, meaning on either side of the reunion trip to Tillamook. Next will be September, really!

One of Reunan's first food adventures - at just over 5 months.

So, so sleepy and teething. But, he really wanted to watch his brother building.

Saul's having fun!

Classic Reunan - shaking a toy, body tense in effort. Notice the toes on on foot pointed and the other not.
Now, start noticing his feet throughout pictures - one foot tensed and the other not.

I remember those warm days. I also remember when Reunan was content just laying on this blanket. What a difference two months makes between 6 and 8 months!

Sweaty Saul playing with his brother.

When Reunan would help Aaron water near dusk and then fall asleep in the pack.
Can't remember the last time he fell asleep in there.

A happy husband. Jim & Patty's black tiger mocha and homemade waffles with garden fresh blueberry in the grid pattern.

Playing.

Laundry baskets are fun!

Hey, what's Saul doing over there?!

Swinging, big boy style!

And, the creative train track play begins. Two nights in the kitchen and we moved the creativity to the dining room. A few days of that and we moved it to the living room. And then we re-arranged the living room. Next, we will be rearranging his room. The boy loves to pretend and we love to encourage it - just not right where we're walking!

20 year high school reunion

Seriously?! 20 years since highschool?! Has it really been that long. Apparently, the answer is 'yes'. Back in March, when Reunan was just a few weeks old, Jill and I were talking about our reunion and the realities of trying to attend with such little babies. We decided to get a house for all of us to share. It was going to be so much fun!

It took some effort to find a place, but we did and we were excited as it was down on the beach in Netarts. After seeing how well Kate and Saul played together in June, I was even more excited. And then....the sand hill behind our rental house collapsed and we couldn't stay there. We found another place for Jill to stay and Aaron and the kids and I stayed at Grandma's. It all worked out just fine, though we did not get nearly as much fun time with Jill, Doug and the kids as I would have liked. Another time, I guess.

For the reunion evening itself, we had grandparents watch the boys. Originally, we would have had Jill's parents and Tom and Barbara and my parents all with the kids. Doesn't that sound fun?! Instead, Jon and Ginny were at Jill and Doug's rental with the kids. And, Barbara and Tom were with my Grandma Simmons taking care of our boys. How lucky are we?! It was such great fun.

Below are just a few pictures from the fun weekend. I didn't get nearly as many as I'd thought. Still, this reflects the fun of mid-August, Tillamook County Fair, reunion weekend! What's missing, though, is a picture of Jill and me together. Another thing for another time.

Kate and Saul swimming in a warm little pool of water on the beach near Netarts.
They had so much fun together!

Another angle. In the distance you can see the row of homes including the original rental we would have been staying in....and the construction vehicles working to move sand.
Grandpas and boys.

Grandmas and boys.

Reunan sitting on the table. Grandma Simmons in the background
enjoying the boys running all around.

Saul loved the ferris wheel! He had no fear and smiled so big!

On the beach in Oceanside with my dad.

Reunan watching all the action. I think Saul was playing baseball on the beach at this point.

My Grandma Simmons with two of her great grandsons.

Reunan at 6 months

The below was written right after Reunan turned 6 months. Now that he's 7 months, I think I'll post it! Oops!

Reunan's 6 month statistics are pretty impressive:

• Weight: 19 lbs. 3 oz. (80th percentile)


• Height: 26 1/2 inc. (90th percentile)


• Head circumference: 97th percentile - do inches really matter at that point?!

So far, he's remaining a little leaner than his big brother, though neither boy is petite!



The not-so-little guy is determined to grow up quickly! The last few weeks have involved a lot of teething. His bottom two teeth popped through 3 months ago. And now his top two teeth are fully popped through. This evening I noticed that the next set of teeth is just starting to show white through the gums. Basically, we'll have a 7 month old with 6 teeth!

Reunan's stability is only increasing! He loves to sit up and watch Saul. His own toys are not nearly as exciting as Saul's and he very intently says, "oooh, oooh" alot while charging all of his arm and leg muscles and showing us how much he would like to reach everything.

Jill and Jade (and our kids)

It seems like months ago now....because it was months ago! Shortly before I returned to work, we had a great visit with Jill, Kate and little Max. How fun to have such a great friend with kids so similar in age - and not at all planned, of course!

Saul and Kate running to the park.

Swinging fun.
Tire swing and kiddos.

Back from the park, now time for the sandbox.

And snack/lunch for 3 of the 5 in this picture.

Post sandbox and pre-nap bath time = very happy kiddos.

Reunan playing while the big kids bathe.

Max chillin' in the swing. I remember when Reunan was that small in the swing....

Happy kids eating lunch. The power of suggestion with these two was crazy. "I have to go potty." "Me, too!" "I want some milk." "Momma, I'm thirsty. I want some milk." It wasn't that one followed the other in the same order, it was that they both latched on to the idea of whomever suggested it first.