The Coast

It's so fun being near the ocean.  We're only about 1 1/2 hour drive away from the coast.  Though as you can see, even in the middle of August it didn't feel warm enough to wear swimsuits.  James and I kept our jackets on because it was also quite windy.  The sun was shinning and the scenery couldn't be beat - it's such a beautiful coast!  We drove around for awhile enjoying the scenery and then we stumbled upon this beach that was perfect.  James and Tori loved playing in the sand, building castles with dad, running away from the waves, and collecting sea shells (Tori came home with quite a collection). 

I also realized that I hadn't posted a picture of where we're living yet, so below is a picture of our house for the next year.

Berry Picking

This was probably one of the things in Oregon that I loved doing the most.  We went berry picking.  It was just so picturesque.  Nothing like being outside with gorgeous scenery, nice weather, eating blueberries, raspberries and marionberries right off the bush.  It didn't hurt that we finished the day at the farm playground drinking freshly made blueberry and strawberry shakes.

I feel like Ellie is left out of most of our posts.  She's such a sweet baby that she spends most of our outings asleep in her car seat, so I forget to take her picture.  She did wake up for a little bit of berry picking.

Zoo

A new place, a new zoo. This new zoo has been a lot of fun and it's so beautiful surrounded by giant trees.  The kids love the sea lion above and elephants below.  (Don't worry, Tori didn't hurt her eye - she just wears an eye patch every now and then to strengthen an eye that wanders a bit.)  In the picture below James wanted to take pictures with his camera, too.

Tori and James were super cute sitting together watching the bird show.  One of the large birds (I think it was a vulture) flew so low across the crowd that it's wing actually touched Tori's head, which she thought was really cool. 

I think their favorite part was getting to brush the goats.  I'm always really nervous in these situations with James since he is such a big boy and has so much energy, but I was very impressed with how gentle and sweet he was with the goats.

Above Tori and James are in an eagle's nest
We also visited the zoo with the kids of the two other ENT fellows in the department.  It was very fun to hang out with them, since it's always nice to chat with someone who understands what you're going through.

3 months old

 Hooray!  Our sweet little girl is 3 months old!  She is super sweet natured.  Ellie loves to smile.  She is a good little sleeper so far (even though she had to sleep on the floor for awhile since the screws to her crib were lost in the move).  No one makes her happier than her brother and sister.

Portland waterfront

We loved walking around downtown by the waterfront and the Willamette river.  It really is a beautiful place.  Tori and James loved the water fountains you could play in.  Even in July it got a little chilly after awhile of playing in the water.

Museum & the 4th

One of the first fun places we found in Portland was their children's museum.  Tori and James were thrilled to find out that Portland had a museum just like Iowa and loved exploring all the new stuff.  A big favorite of James' was the water room.

Above - it was fun to have Dad and Grandma at the museum with us. 

Below - Ellie spent most of her time sleeping through the fun.

Here are all the kids in their 4th of July outfits.  It was a lot of fun to get to spend the 4th with my cousin and her kids, eating good food and watching fireworks.  Tori and James thought the sparklers were really cool and I loved getting to spend a holiday with family.

 Trying to play a little baseball before fireworks on the 4th. James had to try out his new mit.

More UT

We also loved going to the Dinosaur museum with cousins while we were in UT.  Tori and James loved the museum, but I think they loved playing around with their cousins even more.  It was wonderful for me, since I had a bunch of extra eyes watching my kids for me. :)  (Above Grandma is with James riding Jordan) 

Above (Samantha, Tori & Maren)

Below (Sidney and James)

 

 Ellie spent most of the time cozy in her car seat.

Below - Cole, Samantha, Tori, Maren, Sidney, Jordan & James

 

Playing with the water and sand was a big hit - if only I could have kept James from putting sand in his cousins' hair. 

James isn't too thrilled in the shark picture because he had just fallen over the railing and scratched his back, poor little guy.