The Hazel Dell Parade

A few weeks ago Tyler worked a Saturday at the Gresham branch while Quincy, Braxton, and I went to the annual Hazel Dell Parade with my parents.

I remember going to this parade as a kid. Some years it was raining, some years it was cloudy, and other years it was hot and sunny, but because it's held in May the weather's always changing from year to year. I remember watching the parade, heck... even BEING in the parade one year. It was never a really big parade, but large enough for a small child to get excited about. So as you could imagine, I was happy to be able to take my boys to it... even more happy that this year it was SUNNY and hot!

That is until we got to the parade...

It was crowded... more so than it has been in years past. It was also difficult to keep Braxton out of the sun. It doesn't take much for new baby skin to sunburn, so I tried to keep him out of it for as long as possible. He wasn't too happy about being stuck in the stroller and mostly looked like this most the time:

Quincy, however, LOVED it. What kid doesn't like cheap free hard candy being thrown from parade floats and cars, clowns, fire trucks, pirate ships, music and tractors. Meanwhile I was able to find humor and pleasure in watching some of my old schools perform in the parade and got quite a kick out of some of the ridiculous costumes some of those poor band kids had to wear. I know the pictures on here aren't fabulous... I was snapping them from behind a stroller... You get the point.

Needless to say it was still a fun parade. Maybe we'll even manage to go to the Rose Parade or the Starlight Parade in Portland this year. Quincy would LOVE it!

Random Belated April Photos...

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this picture.

One.) Because Braxton is kind of smiling a little in it.

And

Two.) Because of the way the light it reflecting through our sliding glass window in the morning onto his face.



He is such a handsome little boy!

This is typical dinner at our house. Quincy in the high chair, Braxton in the swing. This is how we eat dinner together at the table. (Yes, I know Quincy is probably too big for the high chair, but it is easier to clean than my dining room chairs and until his baby brother needs it... he is going to stay in it, with his mess, during meal times. Braxton is pretty content to just chill in the swing. )

I love this picture of Braxton... he's just SO chubby. A stage in one's life where being chubby= cuteness. Not so cute when you're older....

These are the kind of faces I get from Braxton when the camera comes out. You wouldn't believe all the sweet smiles and faces he gives me when the camera's put away...

What every Mother wants to wake up to in her bed...

A puking baby. Let me note that while my baby Braxton woke up puking all over me, my sheets, the blankets, and himself... apparently that's all he needed to wake up for. Directly after his puking fest... he fell right back asleep, puke and all.

Lovely.

My little Braxton's hands. They are nearly as big as mine are... though it wouldn't take much to be bigger than my hands. Someday he will have big teenage and manly hands. And someday it won't be so cool to hold his mom's hand anymore. These are the little things that I want to treasure from motherhood.

Braxton's and my feet. Precious! I wish they could stay this little, but be independent at the same time. I love my boys being tiny like this, but could do without all the nursing and diaper changing. :)


The above two pictures of the boys sleeping on the couch I had to post. Both of my boys fell asleep with me on the couch, which NEVER happens!I just had to post these pictures to remember the moment.

In early April I was able to attend one of my good high school friend's, Katelyn, baby shower. She now lives with her husband, Nick, in Texas so it's rare that I get to see her much. In fact it will probably be even more rare when she has that baby boy of hers. Traveling with kids and babies is SO much harder.

While at the shower I also got to see another schoolmate of mine, dating all the way back to 2nd grade, Sophie. She is also expecting, her second girl. Both of them are due around the same time. I wish both of them the best.... And don't they look BEAUTIFUL? They were mad that I wasn't pregnant, but I reminded them that it's only been a few months since I was that round. :)

Another favorite part of Braxton... those cheeks. We all can't get enough of kissing on them. Of course, don't they just say: "Kiss me Already!"

I want to forever remember that Braxton's hands used to be this tiny. I love seeing them next to his Dad's hands.

Quincy funnies...

***We ask Quincy about how nursery was and he tells us how much he loves it and wants to go again. He then very seriously looks at us and says in an excited voice, "Hey! Lets go right NOW!"

***While we're all in the car driving Tyler to work we drive over a patch of gravel where they were doing some construction. It was a minor bump in the road, but Quincy yells from the back, "Hey Dad! Watch where you're driving! Stay on the road!"

***One day, while feeling a little down about motherhood I look over to Quincy laying on his bed and ask him in I'm a bad mom. He smiles and answers, "I think you're a great mom!"

***While watching the Price is Right one morning I comment on how I want to go to one of the destination showcases to some Caribbean place. Quincy looks at me and says, "You can't go there Mom, the TV is closed."

***After commenting on how Quincy's jeans are starting to get old and ripping a bit at the knees I tell him we need to buy some new pants. He says, "Yeah we need to get some more at the jean store."

***While Tyler sings Yankee Doodle, Quincy looks very puzzled and asks Tyler, "What's a pony dad? Is it like a motorcycle or something?"

***When Quincy stayed with my parents while we were in Vegas he watched Grandpa Loren cleaning Grammies hair out of the bathroom drain. He says to Grandpa Loren, "My mom's hair plugs up the drain and my dad gets mad at her." (What's funny is that my hair has never plugged up the drain, nor has Tyler got mad at me. But he associated seeing my hair go down the drain to the situation and put two and two together.)

***Also while at Grammie and Grandpa Loren's house Quincy tells them, "My dad's toenails are GROSS because someone stepped on them while he was playing basketball."

***Yesterday I was watching the end of the movie 'Ghosts of Girlfriend's Past' and while Matthew McConaughey speeds down a snow covered hillside blaring Elvis Presley's 'Burning Love' from the car radio and barely dodging trees and bushes I say to Quincy, "He's driving like a maniac." Quincy who appears to be fixated on the crazy driving from Matthew McConaughey pries his eyes away and gets a serious look on his face only to say, "Yeah he's a crazy driver. Just like Grandpa Loren!" (Ba ha ha HA! IT was SO funny!! )

Oh this little boy can be such a handful, but when he says funny things like this... I can't help but love him to pieces!

Happy Mother's Day

By the time that Mother's Day came around we were back home... My gift from Tyler were some potted flower planter boxes for our outdoor patio. It is in desperate need of some color out there. And for some time I have been asking Tyler if I could get some, as one of my greatest loves is gardening. (It's one reason I can't WAIT to have a garden of my own when we own a house someday.) I think I'd spend every minute outside gardening, or at the very least enjoying a little Vitamin D...

Quincy even gave me a gift! Another thoughtful one... a bookmark with his picture on it, a painted flower made from his fingerprints, and a little stamp that says: 'Of all the Mother's, I'd pick you!' It was such a sweet surprise to get it from him, as I had no idea they were working on it in nursery. His teacher in nursery is the bishop's wife and she is quite on top of things in there! I love my book mark and have put it to good use with the last few books I've borrowed from the library.

We had dinner with my parents at their house... which was delicious. I helped my mom plant some of her Mother's Day flowers in her outdoor deck pots and somehow managed to get stung by a wasp twice! TWICE! It hurt REALLY bad... and even though it's been a week since it happened I still have the marks on my leg where it occurred. Ah well, you win some, you lose some (at least when it comes to fights with a wasp, though I might add I did nothing whatsoever to provoke it!!)

Overall it was a wonderful Mother's Day! I am so lucky to be a Mom.

Oh, and as a side note: I'm so thankful for my wonderful mother who has always been there for me... and still is to this day, though I'm 'grown' and out of the house now. She'll always be my Momma.

Vegas Part Two:

Aside from all the smoking, gambling, drinking, and the occasional sleazy posters you see in Las Vegas I found there were some very beautiful sights as well...

I just had to capture some of them on camera:

The ceiling in Caesar's Palace...

Delicious cheesecake from The Cheesecake Factory...

A little snapshot of us watching one of the free shows...

More Caesar's Palace... beautiful fountains.

The show at Treasure Island...

Something I loved about each hotel and the casinos were all the magnificent fresh flower arrangements....

The beautifully manicured landscapes outside the hotels...

More yummy food, from Baja Fresh....

Some scenery from the strip at night...

The Bellagio has an exhibit indoors which is filled with fresh flowers and plants. While we were there it was some sort of insect theme. I was intrigued by this frog which is entirely made of tiny Kermit chrysanthemums and moss! Imagine the amount of hours this must have took to complete...

Making some progress on my tan... (which of course is quickly fading now!)

The hotels lit up at night looked divine...

More fountains at Caesar's Palace...

The ceiling of the Bellagio...

The water show outside the Bellagio...

Was amazing to watch... it was almost like the water was dancing in perfect rhythm with the music. So beautiful!

Something amazing is that at night the strip was so alive with lights and colors and people...

It was truly and amazing vacation! I can't thank Tyler enough for making all the arrangements and taking such good care of me.

I love you Tyler Howard. Happy 4 Years Anniversary!!

Vegas Vacation...

Tyler and I celebrated our 4 year Anniversary on May 6th. Tyler took the liberty of planning a little vacation for us to Las Vegas. We flew out Wednesday afternoon and came home late Saturday night. It was WONDERFUL! I have never been to Las Vegas, only flown into the airport there briefly. The weather was beautiful, in the mid to high 80's and sunny. We couldn't have asked for better...


We stayed at Mandalay Bay. The hotel was modern, tasteful, and didn't reek so much like cigarette smoke as come of the other hotel and casinos. Not to mention it had some of the best pools there on the strip!

Our hotel suite... with a nice king size bed. I never realized how much of a difference there is between a queen and a king size bed. Now I understand why my parents, who have a California King size bed, complain about anything smaller. Once you have that much space it would be hard to imagine downsizing.

My favorite part of the bathroom... the gigantic tub! I wish our little apartment had one of these, as you would frequently find me hiding from my kids in it. :)

Tyler's favorite part of the bathroom would probably be the mini flat screen TV mounted on the wall. :)

The view from our 32nd floor hotel room....of all the pools.

Where we spent most of our time... well, within reason. We couldn't be down by the pools ALL day, or we would have been fried! Luckily we came prepared with sunscreen and only managed very light sunburns. Not too bad, considering that our skin hasn't seen the sun in AGES!



One of the nice things about the Mandalay Bay pools was the sandy beach and the wave pool. I spent the majority of my time laying on the 'sandy beach' and Tyler spent a great deal 'riding the waves'. It was perfect for the both of us!


We spent most of our time relaxing, eating great food, and laying down by the pools. It was truly a great vacation. While we there we didn't go to see any shows, though someday I would like to (as I think they would be fabulous), but there was plenty to see anyhow.


While we were down in Vegas we decided to hit up In'N'Out Burger for lunch one day. It was yummy. I love their fries... they actually still taste like potatoes and aren't covered in grease and salt!




Palm trees are one of my favorite trees.... they remind me of when we lived in California when I was little. I especially like when they are grown like this in an X shape.

On the night of our Aniversary we decided to go to a Brazilian Restaurant called Pampas. It was SO yummy. Tyler claimed that the food at the all you can eat salad bar didn't quite compare to Tucanos, but it was good enough for my liking.

This was my plate: a mix of things from the salad bar and meats from the all you can eat meat they serve hot from the grill.

This was Tyler's plate: consisting of rice, beans, and meat. Oh and one roll.... Typical Tyler meal, though he claims these are the things he craves from eating on his mission.

The best part of Pampas, was that Tyler was able to speak a little Portuguese with a few of the waiters. They commented, in Portuguese, on how well Tyler spoke for an American. This was probably one of Tyler's treasured compliments. :)

More continued in a little while...