Trip to WA (to drop off kids!!!)

At the beginning of August we drove up to my Mom's house...to drop off our kids so we could skip off to HAWAII!!!  My sister Melissa and hubby Andy came to visit for a few days before we headed out. 

We got my Mom a kiddie pool for her backyard, to help entertain my girls and their cousins.

Liam, Kael & Kiera (yes, she ended up shirtless!)

 Mom getting Liam warmed up, his lips were blue!

 Mya was not liking the splashing, plus the water was chilly!

 We drove up to Snoquamie Falls to do some walking around.

Mom and Ava

 Andy & Melissa- It was nice of them to come all the way from UT for only a couple days to visit!

 Jeremy, Mya & I

 Beautiful Blondie!

 Cute little Mya!

 Ava trying on hats with Aunt Lissa

And of course they got treats!

It was a fun little trip....but the real FUN trip is next!!!!

Be good for Grandma & Grandpa kids, we are outta here..... :)



Summer time fun!

One Summer day we went to visit the Portland Temple grounds and see the new Visitor Center.  But we didn't realize they were re-landscaping the grounds, so we had to stand across the street to get a picture.  The visitor center is pretty cool though, Mya loved the touch screens and couldn't keep her hands still! 

Jeremy got Ava to do some chores and wash my car!  Isn't that what kids are for, to do things I don't want to do?  And anything involving water is fun for her.

 What a soapy mess!

 Yep, Mya and I sat in the grass and watched! 

 One afternoon we went to Blue Lake Park's spray pad. 

I think the water was cold...

 Mya wasn't too fond of it!

 And to keep them entertained at home we set up the baby pool with the slide and the kitchen,

lots of fun in the water!

 And we got a gecko that sprays water, or can be used as a drinking fountain!

Got to take advantage of the sun and warmth when we get it!!! 

Only lasts a couple months here in Oregon!

Oh Canada! (June/July 2012)

Apology first, this post has LOTS of pics!  We spent a week in Whistler, B.C. from the end of June and into the beginning of July.  In fact we spent July 4th there, not even in our own country!  That was weird.  But we didn't miss out on fireworks because July 1st is Canada Day and they had celebrations all day long and fireworks at night!  This trip was courtesy of my Dad and Stepmom.  They booked 3 awesome rooms at their timeshare up there and they ended up being next to eachother.  We split up the meals and cooked alot, so we didn't spend too much going out.  It turned out to be a really fun trip and the cousins had a blast together, and the grandkids had fun with their Grandparents! 

 We have the cool minivan, it has a built in DVD player!  So we squeezed them in together and they had a good trip watching movies for the long drive up.

 My Dad

This in Whistler Village, so gorgeous.  It's a cute little shopping/eating area.   And the Olympics took place here in 2010, so there was lots of cool things from that.

 They had some pretty fun toys at the park in the Village, not like ones here for sure.  We went there at least 3 or 4 times that week.

 Very fun swing!

 Mya and Daddy chilling! 

 Showing her Canadian Love by licking it's flag!  But then she ripped it up,

not sure what to say about that. 

 Ava got some face painting and her own flag, she's ready for Canada Day!

 Kael, Shanda, Liam, Kiera, and Brian- my brother and his family in front of the rings.

 Grandma and Grandpa Aurich with their squirmy grandkids!

 Shanda, Brian, Kiera and Darlene in front of some falls, can't remember their name!

 My cute Hubby and me

 One day we drove back down to Vancouver, B.C. (2 hour drive) to go to the Aquarium. 

It was a great Aquarium!  They even had dolphins that did tricks and jumps.  And gorgeous Buluga whales that splashed the audience.  And these cute little garden eels that just stuck in the sand.

 This child was the hard one!  She is not into being in the stroller or following the way you go.  So there was lots of chasing her and lots of tears.  Eventually she crashed, thank goodness.

 We went on a walk around Lost Lake, very beautiful area. 

Ava, Kiera, Kael, Liam & Grandma having a snack.

 Our view from the timeshare.  There is a lake down there.  And beautiful mountains all around.

 Sorry for the bum shot of Jeremy & Ava!  They had fun playing in this freezing cold lake though.

 We dared a canoe ride with all the kids.  Mya did pretty good just sitting between my legs, while Jeremy still expected me to paddle, thanks hun!  Was a gorgeous morning ride.

Jeremy working hard. 

Jeremy, our canoe Captain! 

 

 

Thanks again to Dad & Darlene for the great week, it was nice to all be together. 

 Just wish more of my siblings could have joined us also.  

Trip to Minnesota (May 2012)

Here I am, doing a new blog post just a day after the last, amazing.  Making my way forward in time...we come to end of May with a trip to Minnesota.  Unfortunately we haven't been since Oct 2010, so we were due to see Jeremy's grandparents and friends who don't make it here for visits. 

Here is Mya while we were visiting her Great-Grandma Frey.

She was standing on this air vent, letting her skirt blow around.  It was cute!

 Ava relaxing with a distant cousin (well kind of cousin) and doing her makeup. 

 Grandparents wanted to take the girls to Chucky Cheese.  Mya LOVED riding next to him, hard to get her off.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And we can't go to MN without visiting the Mall of America.  We let the girls go on a couple rides and I got to do the balloons with them, fun.

 Carole & Lester- Jeremy's parents.

 We then had a crazy, long adventure at the Rainforest Cafe! 

The power went out right after ordering our food, then it came back on and I think they lost our order.  Then it went off again when Ava and Terry were in the bathroom, scared Ava to death.  After 1 1/2 hours we got food and the manager comped our whole meal, thank goodness!

Below is Aunt Terry & Mya

 Great Grandma Frey with Ava, Mya and Jeremy

 Mya and I playing on the grass behind their house.

 Chloe and Ava

Chloe is one of Jeremy's good friends daughter.  Last time we visited they played and went Trick or treating together.  And we've Skyped them once or twice.  Fun to have friends when we visit!

 Jeremy, Joe, and Terry- the siblings!

 Ava and Chloe went on this ride multiple times, that had so much fun that day.

 Uncle Joe blowing some bubbles with the girls.

 We went and watched Aunt Terry play some softball, though I think we were too much of a distraction.  She just wanted to come hang out with her nieces!

In all it was a great trip to see Jeremy's family and friends!  And we got to go on 2 dates while there, which was nice.  Somehow I don't have pics of Jeremy's other Grandparents, but it was good to see them also. 

 

Next up....Canada!!!