Hiking in the Buff

We headed out for a family-day field trip before heading back to PA for a family wedding and other family and friend visits. After rushing home from church and packing up some food, water, and anything else we just might need in the next 8 hours (We might need to buy a bigger car...never know what kind of storms may suddenly hit this time of year...), we took a nice leisurely drive to a place called Silver Falls State Park. When we got there, we made sure everyone's bellies were full and bladders were empty and off we went! We embarked on an approx. 8 mile loop that led us to 10 different spectacular waterfalls...not quite 7-wonders-of-the-world material like Niagra Falls, but spectacular none-the-less. Actually, there were more than 10, but the others were little bitty trickles compared to the 10 main ones.

DS enjoyed the day. He just rode along most of the time, enjoying the scenery. He started to get pretty warm at one point, so we stripped him down...hence "the buff." He was able to catch some cat naps as we went, but he seemed to wake up every time the trail led us right behind the waterfall where we caught a lot of mist and wind! My engineer husband was pretty excited about how the wind was caused by the water falling and pushing the air out of the way...he mentioned modeling it somehow...perhaps in a lab for one of his classes. I was fascinated, but slightly less enthusiastic. :)

We returned happy and exhausted, as all good family field days should end.

Pearlie Whites

After seemingly months of unexplainable fussiness and downright miserableness, we finally have something to show for it! DS has his first tooth peeping through. I can only assume that there are more to come...

High Maintenance Pup

We went for a bike ride today and decided to take the pups along. Beau did great. Ollie, however, decided about half way around the loop that he had had enough. He rode the rest of the way... It is a good thing I decided to invest in a bike basket! :)

Tulips, Trails, and Tractors

Sunday afternoon was a perfect day for a family field trip. We headed to the tulip farm nearby. The yellow and red tulips were in full bloom. The rows with the multi-colored tulips were budded, but not yet completely open. DS thoroughly enjoyed the sights...and the shoes.









It was a nice day for the trip. It was sunny when we got there, then it rained for about 20 minutes or so, then the sun came out and it got really warm, then it poured down rain just after we left--typical Oregon spring day! DS enjoyed helping Mommy hold the umbrella. :)




We took a walk down history lane with the steam tractors that were parked for show...I do believe they are still fully functional!




And, what would a family field trip be without a family picture!

Special Ceremony

Sunday was a special day! At the beginning of the service, we had the opportunity to dedicate Noah to the Lord--a wonderful celebration of the amazing little boy that God has blessed us with!! Near the end of the service was another special ceremony--this one of baptism...another celebration of the amazing life that God gives us. We left church that day with an incredible feeling of hope and of God's love being poured out all over us. Talk about warm fuzzies!!

Firsts

With a baby comes all sorts of new firsts, some of which are milestones that fall into the "Exciting" category, and some "Not So Thrilling." Today while DS was taking his bath, we had the first little bathtime floating poopie. That one I would consider "Not So Thrilling". I imagine this will not be the last, but we can certainly hope for the best.

The other day I got out my guitar and tuned it up. That was a first for me in many months. Sitting next to me, DS started rocking back and forth and singing back. He's a natural!

We had beautiful weather this week, but this morning, it is pouring down rain again. Yeah, Oregon!