Helicopters & Horses

We have been blessed in that, when we moved out to the coast, that we made many friends with interesting jobs. This month, we have been able to visit a few of them and learn a little bit about what they do. Did you know that car seats are required on helicopters?



Here is Daniel with some of his friends touring a local dairy. The calves were not thrilled with all the nosy attention, but the boys were!



For Father's Day, we went to Wallowa Lake. When I was little, we spent a lot of time in this area, so it has been fun to come back and relive some of the traditions. Here is Daniel, in front of my all time favorite breakfast restaurant. The couple that run the place are from Hungary, and they make fresh doughnuts. Those warm doughnuts alone are enough of a motivation for me to get up early while on vacation.



Here are Don and Caleb getting ready for a walk. It rained most of the time we were there. So, the kayaks that you see on the top of our car spent most of the weekend staying just where you see them!



We did manage to get out and go fishing, though.





I have been really happy to watch Daniel develop an enthusiasm for horses. Here he is on Doc.



Here are a couple of other pictures of our little guy. He is always interested in what grandpa is up to.

Road Trip

We have put 2000 miles on our car, and we still aren't home yet! We've been busy the past few weeks. Don and I took the boys on a road trip through California. Here are some highlights:

I know, its a little weird, but I am going through this phase were I think farmers markets are really cool, so we stopped at a few on the way down through Chico.

Kelly, if you are reading this, this picture is for you:



It was not like we had veggies the entire time. Daniel actually had his first ever hamburger. I think In-N-Out was a good place to introduce the idea.



We finally made it to San Diego, where we met up with some friends. On one morning, we went to one of my favorite places: Balboa Park. If you have never been, it is definitely worth a trip down. There are several museums, all with interesting exhibits. We chose to go to the Model Train museum, (of course) from which I had to pry my husband and my child away. I am not a train person, but it was pretty cool.



So, we finally get to Disneyland, and the one thing that Daniel wants to rids is the Carousel... you know, the ride you can go on in any major city in the country? Not very exciting, but still fun.


We did get to some more exotic rides:





Daniel is still pondering why Mickey was wearing his bathrobe when they met:



And, Caleb got to take in a few rays at Huntington Beach:



Many people have questioned our taking this trip when the boys are so young. "You know," they say, "they are too young to remember the trip." Well, I guess we will just show them the picutres.

March

It's been a little while since I have posted anything, so I thought I would put up a few pictures of what we have been up to this month.

Daniel had his first sleep over at Grandma and Grandpa's house and when I came in to pick him up, we stopped off at the zoo to meet our friends April and Zachary. We are so thankful for our friends in Portland.




This photo makes me laugh because Daniel was in a "mood" and I was trying to make him smile so I could get a good photo with him and the elephant. You have to look hard to see the elephant, and the smile! Can you see Zack's little eyes in the corner?

The weather here has been gray and a little dreary (no surprise there) so we have been spending a lot of time indoors. In this time, I have learned how to make socks! I am very proud of these Italian socks! I think Daniel likes them, too.


Don's birthday was also this month, and I learned how to make an apple pie, which is his favorite. I am begining to feel like the Beav's mom!

Some other noteable things have been happening as well: we are in the process of purchasing of the house we have been renting. It has been tricky, since we have gone down to one income, and still own our old home in Milwaukie (which is being rented out) but I think we will be the proud owners of a home at the coast sometime next week.

I am getting asked a lot about Don's health. He is doing well. In fact, if we did not know better, we would not have any suspicions of a problem. We are continuing to visit with multiple physicians and get multiple reports of what, if anything, should be done to prevent another problem. We plan to have an angiogram of his brain sometime soon. We are continually reminded of God's Grace as we move through this situation.

Sunshine!

Sorry for more beach shots, but I can not help myself! We live in such a beautiful spot. I have really been encouraged by the 50-60 degree weather we have been having.






Don was able to spend his lunch break with us, where we dined on P&J sandwiches and Cheetos. I know, I am quite the gourmet. Daniel was pretty impressed, anyway.

People keep asking about Don's health, and we are happy to say that he is not experiencing any more issues. We met with a Doctor who specialises in the Gamma Knife procedure, and there is still a lot of head scratching going on trying to determine if we should intervene, or leave well enough alone. There is a significant risk that we would take on by using radiation to remove the malformation. They have asked Don to have an angiogram in the near future to learn a little more about the blood flow to this spot in his brain, which should (we hope) make the decision a little clearer. We will continue to keep you posted, and we are thankful for the prayers of our friends.

Here are a couple of shots of the boys. It has been fun watching the two learn to play with and enjoy each other. Now if we could just have the same learning with the potty!