Beijing or bust!

Kevin's sisters are in the Northwest band that is playing for the Olympics. His parents are chaperones. They left for China on Tuesday. Check out their daily blog here or here or click Jen and Jess' link to the right.

Tolman Reunion, Lincoln City, Oregon

Well, I've been preoccupied with other things (soon to be noted on this blog) and haven't had a chance to post for a while. On July 20, my family headed West and spent a few days at the Oregon Coast. We had an absolutely fabulous time. My younger sister, Tara and her family came. My mom and dad came and brought my older sister's children. The only thing that would have made the trip better is if Aimee and Todd could have come and Jud and his family could have come. We really, really missed them. Maybe next year.

Here's a little recap of some of the events: We stayed at my friend, Michelle's, house. She was kind enough to let us use her beach house--again. It's very close to the beach so we had several walks down to the beach to play in the water. The weather wasn't bad for the Oregon Coast. A little windy and a little overcast, but actually kind of pleasant.

On Sunday evening we had a little birthday party for all the grandkids that were there. All of them have birthdays in June or July so they each got each other a "Dollar Gift." It was a lot of fun. Kyler especially got a kick out of the noise-makers. We also especially celebrated Zane's birthday and Maggie's birthday since they were just that week. Zane, once again, hadn't had his nap and the party was past his bed time so he wasn't super happy in the beginning. But after opening a few presents and some help from his Daddy he was back to his happy ol' self.

It's my party and I'll cry if I want to.

All better!

Monday we made a day of it. We started by visiting Alder House Glass Blowing. It's a great little place off the beaten path. The woman there gave us a great demonstration of glass blowing and my dad had to go back the next day and buy the piece she made. Then we headed to Yaquina Head Lighthouse. Zane was sleeping so I stayed in the car with him. I hear the rule is you have to be 48 inches and able to walk up on your own. I think with a little persuasion my dad was able to convince them that Kyler really needed to go up whether he was carried or not. I think it would have broken his heart not to be able to go to the top. He seemed to really enjoy it up there!

We also went to Newport to the aquarium. After about five minutes we lost Kevin. I really was not surprised when my mom got a text-message saying that he was in the theater watching "Secrets of the Deep" or something like that. I think Kevin could spend all day in certain museums and I think he enjoyed this one as much as the kids did. Zane also had a great time. I never thought I'd let my kid crawl around on a public floor like this, much less lick the glass people had been walking on, but hey. . . what can you do? He was really giving those fish down there a good story.

Tuesday everyone but Mom and I and the babies and Eli went on a whale watching charter. They said they saw a great whale. Unfortunately Tanner and Tara got a little green in the gills, but they were good sports about it. We spent the rest of Tuesday at the beach and playing in the water.

Wednesday we cleaned up and headed for home. We had to stop at the Evergreen Aviation Museum to see the Spruce Goose. Of course, Kevin was lost again in about 5 minutes. He could really spend all day there. He was a good sport though and left when we got hungry. Zane really liked the education center there and had a good time playing on the little planes.

We played games every night, stayed up too late, ate too much, but had a lot of fun. If only everyone could have stayed a few more days.

Happy Birthday Zane!

Today is Zane's actual birthday and I wanted to do something fun. So, we started the day by going in for his well-baby exam and vaccinations. What a nice mommy! Then after his nap he got to take one friend to Jamison Park. He chose Adrienne. Jamison Park is an awesome park in the Pearl District. The big attraction is the water fountain. We also treated Zane to his first ice cream cone. When we got home I tried to make a plaster of his hand (a very thoughtful gift from Kedra). After about 15 attempts I said "Good enough." You try to get a one-year-old to put his hand in plaster and not grab it and squish it! Tonight he gets to spend the whole evening just with Daddy. Then more celebrating this weekend with G&G Tolman and cousins.

You Go Gramps!

My 88-year-old Grandpa went skydiving Saturday in Ogden and survived! How awesome is that? I'd like to think I have some of his spirit of adventure. Maybe when I'm 88 and my kids are grown I'll do the same. . . . Way to go Grandpa!!!

HOT, HOT, HOT!

Our weather has been so warm lately. We've been using the heat as an excuse to go visit Grandpa & Grandma Pickup more. Zane seems to have fun in their pool with Mommy or Daddy--until someone else decides to jump in. Then for some reason he gets scared. We've decided next time we'll have everyone else get in first and then have Zane join them.

We've also been going to a tiny water fountain down the street. Zane likes to get wet, but prefers to stay on the perimeter. You can hear him squeaking with delight in this video:

We had a little birthday celebration with G&G Pickup and Aunties Jennnifer and Jessica. Can it be my little baby is a year old already? I have been pretty nostalgic this week. I remember how little he was and how totally helpless. I couldn't imagine the day he would babble, crawl, walk, fit into those gigantic clothes he's wearing now. Yet, here it is. Twelve months later and he's a completely different baby. He has been such a blessing to us. I love the way he can just make us laugh and smile. He is such a happy boy (most of the time). I love how busy and active he is. He loves to be around other people, especially other kids. Now, I can't imagine him as a two year old. I'm sure that day will be here all too soon as well.

He was a little grumpy this evening and it was already his bedtime by the time we started celebrating. He wasn't quite sure about opening presents. Daddy had to help a lot. Let me just say, I'm glad we splurged at the last minute and got those alphabet blocks for a whole dollar and the $1 spot at Target. Those have provided a lot of entertainment the last few days. He also got a ball and a little truck from Mom and Dad. G&G got him a cute book and made him a big, fuzzy blanket. Mmmm.

Zane also loved his birthday cupcake. As you can see in the video we have regressed during self-feeding. Instead of just putting the food in his mouth he has to "feel" it first--smooshing and smearing everywhere. Fun for mom.

This video is quite long (3 1/2 minutes). Feel free to skip around. He had 2 more cupcakes after this!

And with all this warm weather, Zane reminds us how important it is to stay hydrated!

Here she is. . .

Well, here are the pictures of our little girl. It is going to take a while to get use to the idea of using ribbons and barrettes, wearing socks with ruffles and lace and having a little pink around the house. Honestly, I'm a little scared. I'm not sure I know how to "do" girls, but we are so excited. I just know Kevin's going to melt into a puddle whenever he's around her. Now we just need to start thinking of girl names.

Independence Day 2008

This has got to be one of my favorite holidays. It just seems like it's a great time for families to be together and have fun without a lot of pressure. We don't have any set 4th of July tradition. I guess the rule is to just have fun. This year Kevin had Thursday and Friday off. We drove up to Seattle to spend the weekend with our friends Chad and Kedra. On the way, we stopped in Kent and took Zane on a bike ride in the trailer. He's still not so sure about it so we spent a lot of time singing. We looked pretty cheesy as we had coincidentally dressed in the same khaki cargo shorts and yellow shirts and we're riding along this trail singing silly kid songs.

Let me interject right now with an explanation. You may notice in some of the pictures Zane has a dark "smudge" from the right corner of his mouth to his right ear. Also, another "smudge" on the top right of his forehead. Those are not smudges. They are bruises. Will this kid ever have a face without a bruise again?

We had a great time in Seattle relaxing, eating good food and having fun. Olivia is getting a new baby brother in November and she was very curious when I was changing Zane's diaper. So, one of the first things that happened when we got there was that Olivia got an anatomy lesson. I won't go into detail, but kids are so curious and cute!

We went to their ward's 4th of July breakfast. It was at a great park and Zane had a lot of fun going down the big slide. Unfortunately, the medics had to be called for someone in their ward, but Zane was pretty exited about the fire truck. He also became such good friends with their daughter, Olivia, and loved following her around.

Friday night we drove down to the pier and had a picnic and let the kids run around. Zane was dying to get in the water. He hated that we were holding on to his hands and would only let him wade. Unfortunately we left his swim diapers and extra clothes at home. Somehow he ended up getting quite wet any way, so he ran around pantless all night. Poor child. He enjoyed the fireworks, but could only sit still for so long. As we were leaving, the driver of our car backed into a huge cement wall. It was a pretty loud crunch and dinged up our bumper pretty bad. It was scary for a second, but it looks like everything's going to be okay.

Saturday we decided to take the kids for another ride. Unfortunately, by the time we got going it was about nap time and Zane decided he just wasn't up for it. His being upset made Olivia upset so it was a short ride. But everyone was happy after we stopped at the Pilchuk Drive-In for some food. This was one of the best parts of the trip. There's nothing like drive-in restaurant food. Zane, we discovered, loves chocolate shakes. Hmmm, no surprise there.

We're home now. We had a great time with Chad, Kedra and Olivia. Zane and Olivia became good buds and Olivia was so sad when we left. She's going to be a great big sister! Thanks for a great weekend guys.