McKay visit

One of the highlights of our summer was when some of our friends from Iowa, the McKays came to visit us.  We celebrated Megan's birthday at the park and ran through some fountains.  We had a great time - it felt like we had picked up right where we had left off.  Boy, do I miss our Iowa friends!  We have been so lucky to make such great friends.  I forgot to bring my camera, so I stole these pictures off of Jessica's blog. :)

Berry Picking and the Tram

 We took our cousins to do one of our favorite things that we had done in Portland so far - berry picking.  It is just beautiful, the kids love it, and I love berries. :)

 

 We also visited John at the hospital.  So, the main hospital is at the top of a mountain right next to downtown and the clinic John works at is at the bottom of the mountain.  The hospital has a tram that most people ride to get up and down from the hospital to the clinics.  This is not one of John's favorite things about the hospital, but on a clear day it's a great way to see the city.  James loves to ride the tram - anytime we drive downtown he sees it and asks over and over if he can ride it. 

 Above you can see Mt. Hood - I'm in awe of how high it is every time I see it.  It's August and it's still has plenty of snow on it!

Also, from the tram you can see Mt. St. Helen's. 

The weather was beautiful while Gary and his family visited.  We had a bunch of fun playing at a park and going to a bouncy house place. 

 Mom - the picture below is for you. ;)

 Cute girls!

 

 The giant bouncy house place was a blast.  Even the adults had the sores on our arms to prove it (the slide was so fast that if you put your arms down to slow yourself you got a rug burn).  James was fearless!  He loved it.  The first few times I went with him and then he was flying down it himself, laughing the whole way.  I was just amazed he could climb up to the top of the slide by himself. 

Rose Garden with Cousins

After the zoo we went to the International Rose Test Garden in Portland.  You can see some of the buildings in downtown Portland behind us through the trees since the zoo and the garden are up in beautiful tree filled hills/mountains.  The roses were all gorgeous; I've never seen some many in one place before.

 Cute girl cousins (Tori blends right in).

 It was a pretty warm day, so James couldn't help but play in the fountain.

 Above is the look James gives you if you ask him to smile for a picture. :)

Below he is our "little" linebacker.

 Don't forget Ellie.

Zoo with cousins

John's brother Gary and his family came out to visit us and we all had a blast.  Gary took some great pictures!  We sure love our cousins and it was so fun to have them visit!!  These are a bunch of pictures of us at the Oregon Zoo.

I included the picture above because we're walking in the middle of the zoo and look how gorgeous all the trees are!  I'm sure John is sick and tired of hearing me say how beautiful Oregon is over and over again since we moved here.  (It's espeically nice when the sun comes out ;)).

Above: Maren, Sidney, Tori, Jordan, Cole & James in the eagle's nest.

Below: Maren, Cole, Tori, Sidney, Jordan and Samantha.

Ellie was super sweet and slept lots during the zoo and James loved the plastic curtains.

Below is when he had to be done playing with the curtains.

James' favorite thing at the zoo was when he discovered the hand sanitizer - he was obsessed!  I love the crazy picture at the bottom left.

Jordan, Tori & Cole.

We rarely get a picture of all of us together, it's nice to have one.

Ellie is 4 months old

Weight: 12 lbs 11 oz

Height: 26 inches

 4 months old and she has found her toes!

Ellie is still our sweet, little, even tempered baby.  She is a mover just like her sister was and is already a pro at rolling over.  And though she doesn't talk, she still finds a way to make herself heard over her older siblings.  She is such a rewarding baby - you give her just a little bit of attention or a little smile and she gives you back giant grins and giggles with a cute little dimple.  It doesn't take much to get her to laugh and she loves being tickled.

 

 I loved her in this little dress - the pictures don't do it justice.

Below is just a little video of Ellie smiling.