Here I Come Grandma!!

Austin started walking almost a week before his first birthday. At first, he would walk from one person to the next, or cruise along something, then walk. But if he fell, he would crawl the rest of the way. He is walking more readily now, not cruising to the end of things, just pulling himself up, then taking off. He still isn't standing up without pulling up on something though. He fell three times today, hence the bruises on his forehead.

Happy Three Years!

Short blog, I have to go frost my cake for my decorating class tonight. Zach and I have been married three years today. Yay. It is also our best anniversary. We woke up and he told me he wasn't working tonight and we went and saw Dark Knight at noon while Micah watched Austin for us. Yup. That's it. So far anyway. And it's still the best we've had. Our honeymoon was 108 degrees everyday, with nothing to do closer than 100 miles away. For our first anniversary we went camping during a national heat wave. We lasted one day, then spent our last $100 on a motel room for a night, with all our camping stuff in the bed of the truck where anyone could have stolen it, (They didn't) Then, when we got ready to leave Lewiston (Yup that was where we rented the motel. Lame huh?) the battery to the truck was dead. Last year I was 9 months pregnant, and little did I know, 2 days from delivering, so obviously I was in no shape to do anything. So this year wins the prize. But no matter how lame our anniversary, marrying Zach was still the best thing I've ever done. Thanks for putting up with me honey. I love you.

These are from bowling right after we started dating.

8 Things Tag

Bri is famous for tagging me. I guess you could say that anyway. Out of the two times she's been tagged since we found each other, she has tagged me both times. But it's ok Bri. I actually find them kindof fun. But I think I hear Buzza up, so I will finish this later. Well. It's later. The magic of internet, no time has passed for you.


8 Things I'm Passionate About:
My Family
Nature
Outdoor activities (ie camping, hiking, fishing, etc)
Being a patient and understanding parent
Letting my kids be kids (Make messes and have fun)
Sleep
Cake Decorating (ok, I'm not passionate about it, it's just my newfound fun)
Tennis shoes. (I love 'em)

8 Things I Say A Lot:
I can't believe he's up already!
Have fun at work.
That's not for Austin.
I love you.
With my luck...(followed by something bad that would happen in a given situation)
I think it's bedtime.
What do you want to eat?
What do you want to do?

8 Things I Would Like To Do Before I Die:
Travel
Be better about doing the things I know I should. All of them
Have my farm
Pay off my student loans
Get in shape
Have a clean house every day
Do temple work for some close relatives
Get another degree

8 Books I've Read:
Twilight Series (I had to see what all the fuss was about. Started eh, then got lots better.)
Harry Potter series (just reread the whole thing)
The Entire Standard Works
Pendragon
House of the Scorpion
Charlotte's Web (it was one of my favorites growing up)
Chronicles of Narnia
Horseshoes, Cowsocks, and Duckfeet (By Baxter Black)

8 Movies I've Seen 8 Times:
Night at the Roxbury
Spider Man
Harry Potter (all of them)
The Waterboy
The Italian Job
Elf
Office Space
Cars

8 People I Tag:
Ok, not eight, but anyone who wants to do this, just for kicks.

Big John

So I'm doing this one last, but the way it posts them it will be first. My family (particularly Dad) has had a rough year. He has lost many friends and family in a short period of time. Probably one of the nearest and dearest was a good friend and neighbor of 15 years. Well, at the parade I saw a log truck coming, (not unusual in Winlock) and I noticed that the truck looked familiar and it had a beatiful load on it. I didn't recognize the name on the side, so I just figured it was coincidence that it looked familiar. As it rounded the corner where we were at, I saw this sign.

John was a log truck driver. He bought my dad's truck after Dad got hurt. He lived in my Grandparents house, where my dad had grown up, not 100 yards from mine, for 15 years. When he moved in Nicole and I made him cookies and took them over. He never forgot that and I wish I had done it again. He was a good man and a good friend. Thanks John, for everything.

The Rest of the Weekend

Here are some random pictures from the weekend.

Layne, my nephew, at his baseball game.

Austin going on his first quad ride.

Calyx, "Take a picture of this Crystal!"

Playing fetch in my parents field.

Dakota doesn't mind the water. This is at the Little Pond. (Yup, we have a Big Pond too. Aren't we creative?!)

A couple pictures of a small part of my parents' beautiful property.

My handsome boys.

Austin playing in the water. It was a little cold, so he preferred to be outside the tub and just splash.
Just look at all this fat. I gotta do something about this.

Austin loves the puppers, and she loves him too.

Our neighbors brought us a huge pan of the yummiest strawberries. Dark red all the way through. This one stood out from the rest for some reason.

The class of 98. Or, those that came to the reunion anyway. Not a bad showing for only having 45 that walked.

Egg Day Parade

We went home last weekend for my 10 year class reunion, which was held on Egg Day Weekend. Now, most of you are probably like Zach, not realizing how big Egg Days really is. The whole town turns out. Plus some. If you're coming to Winlock at all over the summer to visit family and friends, this is the time to do it. Everyone is there. The parade was over an hour long. Quite an accomplishment for a town of a little over 1,000. Here are some of the resulting pictures. I tried to take a variety of the floats to give you a feel for the town. First, a couple that I can't take credit for; the giant egg in our town, and a few of the chickens around local businesses.

Yup, the pride and joy of our town.

For some reason, they have started putting these chickens all around town.

Our Egg Day Royalty float.

Austin wouldn't nap before we came downtown, so he ended up conking out right before the parade. This was taken as the fire trucks and ambulances were going by.

Cedar Village IGA Float. They usually throw out mini loaves of bread. This year it was Twinkies. Mine got smooshed in the stroller before I got to eat it. Bummer.

Our buddy Calyx bustin' it getting candy.

One of the many many chickens seen in the parade.

Live 95 has a Wonder Truck they give away each year. This is the current one.

Sheriff Steve Mansfield. His daughter was a year younger than me. Great family.

Xoee helping Christine Webb get elected. The huge red shirt and red hair kind of make her disappear in front of the red truck.

Xylee hand delivering some candy to us.

Roller derby chicks that kindof stunk in my opinion.

Only in Winlock (and the other towns near it) would you see goats promoting a politician.

Jane and her girls Xylee, Alex & Lexee (twins), Xoee, and Calyx. And Zach of course. He burned his head the day before at Layne's baseball game, hence the really cool hat.

At the end of the parade, still snoozing. He woke up just a few minutes later.