Summer so far

Here in Eugene we went straight from winter (55 degree days) in May and even June to summer in July.  It is nuts.  But here are some pictures to document our summer.  Granted we have done a lot more going to the lake, visiting friends and family and such however I am TERRIBLE at taking pictures!  So here is what we got so far.

We were just playing outside enjoying the warmth and sunshine for the first time in forever!

Grayson had his first birthday!  Bella, of course, had to help him open his presents.

We went to Seattle to visit friends and go to a concert.  We had a BLAST with the Sassers, we went to the zoo and Bella LOVED it.  Bella and I were able to ride a camel which was super cool.  But Bella mostly liked the sharks.  She is obsessed with water and water animals.  One of her favorite movies is a dolphin documentary.  A girl after my own heart for sure!

U2 concert!!!  Oh man, seriously, I cannot say enough about this experience!!!  Dave got me tickets for the concert Christmas 2009.  We didn't think we'd be able to go because at that time the concert was scheduled for 6 days before I was due with Grayson.  But then Bono had back surgery and it was delayed for a year which worked great for us.  We stayed with the Sassers and they were wonderful in not only taking our kids for the evening but also my friend's baby girl so they could go as well!  It was my first real concert!!  I was so stoked and WOW, what an amazing experience!!  The music was amazing and it was SO much fun to see my all time favorite band live!  I gained a whole new admiration for the Edge!  Our seats weren't the greatest, but we moved down after a while.

In July my long lost brother, Greg, and his Canadian family came to visit.  Well, they aren't really lost, they just live in Canada which is really hard for them to come visit and difficult for us to go visit.  I hadn't seen them in two years!  I hate that.  Really hate that.  But it was so great for them to come and they even stayed at my house, which was awesome because with baby schedules we got to see a lot more of them than we would have otherwise.

Grayson and cousin Tati playing in the sand and having a blast being so silly throwing the sand and putting it on their heads.

Grandma Leora found a starfish, the kids were amazed with it.

I got to hold my nephew baby Gavin.  Oh, what a sweet boy he is!  Greg and Julie sure are blessed with such sweet kids!

We went on a hike and I actually took the camera!  Aren't you so proud of me?!  I am!  Bella hiked as much as she could.  The trail was kind of overgrown with ferns that were taller than her so I had her on my back for a lot of it, but she was a trooper.

I know, this is a bad picture, but it is the only one I have of the boys!  Grayson totally fell asleep in the pack, he had his head all the way to one side, it looked like it was going to fall off.

And thank goodness for Bono.  We don't have to take our own backpack when he comes!  He carries all our water, snacks, diapers and wipes in his pack, it is awesome!  Oh and it tires him out really well.

Well, we've done a lot more than documented with pictures here, we went camping for the first time since Bella was born.  It was a difficult first night (3 hrs of sleep) but the second was good.  It was fun to finally go camping.  Camping runs in my blood, but I also know we all need good sleep to enjoy ourselves so we haven't ventured out until now.  It was a lot of fun and it was good to go with some friends. 

We've done some fun yard saling, actual sailing, hiking, road trips, lots of time at the lake with friends and family, BBQs, fishing, clamming, walks and just enjoying nice weather before it disappears. 

We hope all of you have had wonderful summers so far as well!  Hopefully we will have great weather for a couple more months so we can enjoy the outdoors some more!