Fun at the Portland OR Zoo!

Our great friends the Robinson's are so nice. They always offer to take us with them to the Zoo, which of course my boys LOVE! Last time we went with them we saw lots of animals and Quincy loved it. Braxton was still pretty little and so this time around he enjoyed it much more.

 Not only do we get to hang out with the Robinson's (Tiffini- mom and her two kids Casey and Sophie), but we get to ride together in their minvan-- which Quincy loves because they have a built in DVD player. And did I mention they have a zoo pass... so we get in free?? Seriously, they are the coolest.

 (Sophie, Braxton and Quincy)

 Braxton was a little tired by the end of our fun day at the zoo.

 Casey and Quincy.

 Not only did we get to see the animals at the zoo, but this time we got to ride the train! The boys LOVED it.

 It was a little hard to get Braxton to obey the rules of keeping all arms, hands, and heads inside the train... so I had him sit on my lap... which he wasn't too thrilled about.

Braxton was happy about being able to get a little freedom here and there.

We are so happy to have such wonderful friends like the Robinson's!

Blonde for the summer

Well... it's been a while, but I decided to mix things up for the summer and go back to blonde. It's been a few years since I've been blonde and personally I prefer it... however, the maintenance is rather tedious. I'm sure by fall I'll start going back. In the meantime, I plan on having some fun as a blonde. :)

Memorial Day Weekend

For Memorial Day weekend we headed up to my parent's house to celebrate my mom's birthday. Tyler also got a new golf club and so we went to the driving range so he could test it out. Since one of the missionaries serving in my parent's ward had the same birthday as my mom they both celebrated with us by having a delicious dinner of steak, grilled asparagas, baked potatoes, green salad, and a cheesecake.  

 The boys of course had a blast playing out in Grammie and Grandpa's backyard.

 Quincy is always finding things to do like playing with sticks and shovels.

 Braxton of course had a fun time getting pulled around in the wagon.

 Recently Braxton has been obsessed with looking at these family pictures that are in their room on a shelf. He looks at them daily which is really cute. He can only say the names of Dada, Mama, and recently he has added "buh-pa" for grandpa.

 We really need to get some more recent family pictures in their room because half of the Howard family isn't in this one we have. Good thing we are here in Fruitland now and taking some new pictures.

 Our attempt at getting a shot of the boys with Grammie and Grandpa Loren.

 It's crazy to think that Quincy was wearing this shirt las summer and it fit him.... it looks SMALL on B!

 My sweet boys playing in their room together.

 Braxton has been really interested in the camera lately and insists that I take his picture and then show it to him.

 Then he sat on my lap and "begged" me to take a picture with him. (Ignore the fact that my hair is greasy and I'm not wearing any makeup and my pajamas have been on for a few days. )

 Love my little B.

This is Braxton's new favorite place to be in his room.... in the rocking chair. :)

Happy Valley Splash Park

One of our boys' favorite parks is the Happy Valley Park. I have to admit, it's a rather well laid out park. There are soccer fields, baseball feilds, dog runs, a small creek with a hiking path, tons of playground equipment, a basketball court, tennis courts, tons of picnic tables, and a gazebo, but our boys favorite area is the splash pad (well at least when it's warm out).

 On one of the few weekends that it was nice out we were able to head over to it. The boys had a blast. Quincy was reluctant to get in the freezing cold (and when I say cold... I mean ICE cold) water. However, after they saw the other kids spashing and running around in it we had a hard time getting them out.

 I'm pretty sure that Braxton had purple lips and STILL refused to leave the water. I had to drag him out and he WAS NOT happy about that. I let him warm up with me on a towel and then he ran straight back in the moment I let go of him.

 Braxton really is our WATER baby. He loves the bath and so what could be better than an outdoor bath, so to speak.

 Quincy was making friends with other kids that he didn't know and spent the whole time running through the water.

 Gotta love those few warm days we get!

 Freezing cold and still has a smile on his face!

 Braxton was getting drenched in this water and didn't mind ONE BIT!

 A moment to warm up.

 Notice that he's pointing... hmmmm I wonder what he's pointing to. The water, perhaps?

 Tyler working on his tan. :)

We can't wait to go back to the splash pad some more during those hot days of summer.... granted we actually GET some more hot days of summer.

Save Some... Spend some...Give some Back

Every now and then we allow Quincy to have our spare change. We rarely have spare change in our house so he doesn't get it often, however, over the past 6 months he started to accumulate enough money to buy something.

He has also been helping earn money by recycling used soda bottles. We recently counted his change and found out that he had $1.70. He was so excited that he had enough money to buy something. He decided that he wanted to buy some new sunglasses... so he went to the dollar store, he picked out some that he liked, and then he proudly paid with his change for the sunglasses.

We are teaching Quincy about the value of money and so he understands that it takes a long time to save up for things we want. Just like it took him a long time to save for his new sunglasses. He also is learning about the importance of paying tithing and was VERY proud to hand over his .17 cents in change for his very own tithing. He shook our bishop's hand and told his directly that it was HIS tithing. Very cute. We then asked him what he wanted to do with the rest of his money and he told us he felt like saving it.

Do you suppose his parents are frugal? And maybe that his dad is a banker? At any rate hopefully Quincy will learn the value of money and how to wisely use his in his future. We are very proud of him for getting a good head start!

The Fair Part II

A few weeks ago when the weather was nice we decided to take the boys to the Multnomah County Fair. Who doesn't love free admission and fun activities? Because the fair was held INSIDE Oaks Amusement Park we could see the Willamette river really well and had a chance to the watch boatsout on the water.

The boys had a blast watching the Alaskan Racing Pigs, petting all the animals in the petting zoo, watching the mystical Professor Bamboozal perform a magic show and seeing the kids ride on rollercoasters. After taking in all that fun stuff we decided to head out to Mikes Drive In (a local favorite) for lunch. We ended our day by taking a drive through the beautiful Sellwood area and looking at houses.

Our boys were thoroughly exhuasted by the end of our fun-filled day.

The fair Part I: