Oregon

I spent this past week visiting Sara and Jarem and their boys in Oregon. Elizabeth had been there for a week already, with her two boys, by the time I got there. Sara had her baby (Jude) on the 13th of August and we all converged on their place to help out and have some fun. I have to say (and I think I already mentioned this in a previous blog) that mothers (and fathers) are absolutely amazing. I was exhausted every day from being around those little bodies and I didn't even do the diaper changing and feeding. I admire my sisters and their husbands, as well as my own great parents. I can't praise you enough.

Anyway, on with the pictures. It was a fun week.

Diapers need changing anytime and anywhere, and we're not keeping this thing in the car, fine or no fine.

With nephews Ari and Anders at Multnomah Falls, the second-highest, year-round waterfall in the nation.

Multnomah Falls

Ari was more interested in playing with the chains along the trail.

The upper falls

We realized there was no way we were going to take three little kids with us all the way to the top, so I took off to see what it was like up there. This is the view from the top.

This is also what it's like at the top. I love the moss-covered trees (moss-covered everything!). This could be a scene from Twilight. By the way, I loved the weather in Oregon. It was cool, misty, cloudy, and a little rainy at times. I guess I just like the fact that it was cool.

Why are you taking so many pictures of me?

Don't even think about touching my chain.

He got my chain!

He's holding onto the lock that keeps the chain hooked onto the wood. I took a minute to try to get him to say "Lock". I emphasized the "L" and he sure caught on, tongue and all. "LLLLock".

Soren liked the chains too.

We went to a beach along the Oregon coast. Now this is my kind of beach. Cloudy, cold, misty. :) I don't care about sitting out and tanning for hours. I just want some interesting scenery.

There was a huge sand hill on the beach. Some used it for sandboarding (like snowboarding, but on sand).

The first time I told Soren, Anders, and Ari not to throw sand at each other Elizabeth looked at me and said something like, "Ha, good luck with that one." Obviously I'm not experienced with little kids on the beach. I think all three got some sand in their eyes, in their shoes, in their diapers, etc. It wasn't too bad.

This was a dangerous move. If you get close to little kids on the beach you might get sand in your diaper too.

Hey Jude! You know, I usually think that newborn babies are a little boring (they just cry and poop) and that they look like aliens at first, but I loved this little body. He is such a big baby that he can hold his head up on his own and he already looks around a lot.

He's also following in his brother's footsteps. He already has quite a few different faces.

"Mom! I'm hungry!"

I was very gently patting him on the back when Lizzie (Elizabeth) told me they like it much harder. It helps with the burping, I guess.

One night we strapped him to my chest and Lizzie, Sara and I went for a walk. He was moving around and making noises for a bit, but quickly fell asleep for the rest of the walk.

What a cute little guy!

After dropping Lizzie, Soren, and Anders off at the airport (they went back to San Diego a day before I came back to Provo), Jarem and I went to the Portland Temple. It's a beautiful place, but I have to admit I didn't get much out of our visit. We were exhausted! We had to get up around 4:00 in the morning to get Lizzie to her early flight.

This one doesn't have anything to do with Oregon, but I didn't want to do a whole new blog for one picture. Dad, Joseph, Uncle Don and I went to the first BYU football game of the season. It was against Northern Iowa and was a pretty easy win. This was the first time in a while for me to "rise and shout" for the Cougars.