Labor Day Weekend

This weekend has been a rather unusual one since Nate has been working the big holiday down at Sand Lake playing deputy! He's been on night shift from 8pm-8am! No fun, poor Nate! He came home on Saturday completely exhausted and I knew it wouldn't be easy to keep the kids quiet enough to let poor daddy sleep! So we headed down to Lincoln City and did a little shopping and played at the beach. Nate also worked last night the same shift. I'm very grateful after this weekend that Nate has a regular job which allows us to see more of him! It's been hard to be 'single mom' this weekend, but we look forward to daddy having Monday off and hope we can find something fun to do on a very special birthday!! That's right our little sweetie Mara turns two!! I can hardly believe it! I've put together a little slide show of memories from the past two years of Mara's little life! She just gets more beautiful and fun everyday! We are so grateful to have her in our family! She just brings us so much joy and happiness!

Mara's Two Years

Preschool

Well it's time for us to make a decision about Ty going to preschool. It starts next week so I've been calling around to different preschools in the area and trying to find a good fit for Ty. I've been so back and forth on this issue, my family knows I keep leaning one way and then the other! Ty is a smart cookie and academically doesn't really need preschool, he knows his shapes, colors, numbers, letters... but it would be a nice social outlet for him. I called this one preschool and talked to the lady and it sounded great, but when I asked how much it cost she said two days a week it's $100, 3 days a week $150 and so on. What I heard her say was $100 a week and when I calculated that out I thought it would cost $400 a month!!! Yikes! Well, that answered my question--we could never afford that! I've been talking to family and friends about this matter and soon discovered that I must have heard wrong there's just no way! $400! So I stopped by today to take a tour and just see if I heard correct and it was actually $100 a month for two day! Few! That's more like it! So I'll just throw the question out there and feel free to vote on the pole---should Ty attend preschool?

The Beach & Waterfalls

What a week we've had! From home improvement projects, playing, working, serving in the church....life keeps us busy!! But for the most part the weather has been fabulous! Tuesday was really nice and I asked Ty what he wanted to do he said, "Play with my buddy Kase!" So Amber and I took our kids to Pacific City and played at the beach all day long! It was wonderful! We waded our feet in the water and surprisingly it was actually a little warm! Usually the ocean water is freezing and numbs your toes, but it felt really good! And notice--no jackets at the beach! It was quite a bit warmer than usual days with no wind! Ty, Kase, and Mara loved racing the waves! They would walk out as far as they could until the waves started rolling in and then they would run as fast as they could before the wave caught them! On one run Mara slipped and did a total belly-flop, head first, hands straight out face in the water dive! She was not happy about that one! She got salt water in her mouth and kept saying "blaah blahh" (which is her way of saying nasty!) But soon got over it and began running around again!


Today we were blessed with another nice day. We spent the morning cleaning the church and as we were cleaning my friend Shirlee called and said let's go play! So we hurried with our little service for the day and packed a quick lunch and we were off to Munson Falls for a hike and to play in the stream! Shirlee has a little seven month old baby girl named Calee--she is so cute and the kids just love her. We babysat her a couple weeks ago so her mom and dad could go on a date and the kids just smothered her with loves and attention! We had a fun hike with Calee and Strider the dog and then finished up the afternoon throwing rocks in the water.

Beach

Trip to the Cascades

We just can't get over what a beautiful state Oregon is! Just when we thought we've seen all it's beauty we go on a road trip and see more glorious sights! We spent the past few days camping, hiking, fishing, and playing in the Cascade Mountains. We met our friends the Bastings on Friday and it was so fun to go on a camping trip with friends.

The first night we arrived around 9 that night. It was getting dark so we hurried and set up our tent and went for a night hike. We couldn't get over seeing the stars so bright. Many would think little or nothing at star gazing, but since we've moved to Tillamook we never see stars at night because it is always cloudy!

We stayed in the Three Creeks Campground on the Deschutes National Forest. I must admit I was a tad bit worried because we were camping in a wilderness area without any running water or real restrooms. But let me just say that it was great! I loved it! I really and honestly love camping! So thanks to great husband who saw potential in teaching a wife how to love camping in the great outdoors--you succeeded Nate, I owe it all to you!

Friday was sunny but quite chilly in the morning. We went for a hike around the lake and did a little exploring on the mountain side. While exploring our campsite Nate found a few toads to play with. Mara loved holding them and watching them jump around. Nate has really wanted to become a real fisherman. He attempted to catch a little fish while we were there, he has all the gear but hasn't got much luck! Good try honey--don't give up!

One of my favorite parts of the day was rowing a boat around the lake. We rented rowboats and paddled around the lake taking it all in: the sun, air, water--!! It was great. Mara did not want to wear her life jacket. She wasn't too sure about this rowboat. In fact she cried the first twenty minutes. By the end she was putting her hands in the water and walking from the front of the boat to the back and really enjoying herself. Ty loved the rowboat. He said "This is so fun it tickles my nose!" He even tried out the oars himself and did quite well--for a four year old!

We went for a great evening hike up to another lake. It was a perfect hike for the kids, about 3/4 of a mile and both Mara and Ty hiked it both ways. The lake was full of tadpoles and frogs. I'm not usually one to touch moving creatures such as lizards, frogs, and snakes, but I'd do most anything for my kids and I felt like I needed to set a good example so I too caught these cute little green amphibians and it was awesome!

That night we had a really nice evening around the campfire. We had a yummy dinner of chicken stew and what says camping more than roasting marshmallows? Ty As we sat around the campfire all the kids fell right to sleep in our arms! They were too tired from the hike and long play day they went right to sleep and we stayed up talking with Seth and Amber around the campfire.

Saturday morning we had a big day ahead of us. We planned to hike the Tam Mcarther Rim Trail. It is a strenuous 5.5 mile hike, winding switchback, up the steep mountain, along the rim to the very top to a breathtaking view all the way around of mountain peaks and valley below. I knew Nate and I would have no problem with the hike, Mara was all set in her backpack but I wasn't too sure how Ty would hold up- he's nearly too big for his backpack and he'd be hiking up the mountain on his own. I just want to say that this kid never ceases to amaze me. I knew he was an incredible little boy, full of energy and is just awesome, but I left yesterday with a whole new view of what a strong, and courageous little guy (tough guy) I really have! As we started up the mountain he wanted to be the leader! He set the pace for everyone else! He didn't once complain of being too tired. He kept hiking and when he needed a break he stopped for a minute and said "I need a little rest" and just kept pushing along. It was a really neat experience to hold his hand up the mountain and talk to him. When we reached the top we all had lunch and rested our weary legs. Ty and I were walking along the rim and people stopped us and asked "Did he hike all the way up here on his own?" They were astonished that such a small kid would be able to hike such a strenuous hike. "We start them young" I told them! It was incredible to feel like you were on top of the world. You could look out and see up to Mount Hood, Mount Washington, and other mountain peaks. We looked down below and saw the lake we had previously rowed our boat around. It was definitely worth the energy getting up there. On the way down we could tell Ty was getting tired. We all were, but he ran down the mountain setting the pace one more time for the rest of us. On one part Ty said "Daddy can I please ride on your shoulders." He took a turn riding in the backpack for less than a quarter of a mile. I'm sure his little legs were tired! Then he got out and kept on hiking down. What a trooper! I'm so proud of Ty for not giving up and making it to the end. He is a great example to me and so fun to be around. I'm glad I had that bonding experience hiking up and down the mountain with my Ty, he sure is the greatest son!!

Across the road from the trail head was a perfect little stream to soak or hot and tired feet in. It felt so good and refreshing to put our feet in the cold stream. The other thing that hit the spot was the tasty blackberry and black raspberry shakes from the Snowcap-- a famous little icecream shack in Sisters on the way out of town!

The Cascades

Our little artist!

This morning -right after breakfast- Mara found the paint and was ready to do an art project! I was still working on breakfast dishes, it seemed a little early to be creative!! So I suggested to Mara we get dressed first and then we could paint. So what did little sweetie do? She went and got her clothes so she could get dressed! She picked out a shirt and pants--they even matched! First she tried putting her clothes on over her pajamas, but that just wasn't working! So her nice big brother helped her take the pj's off! Then Mara was bound and determined to put her clothes on all by herself! Boy did she try! I just watched in amazement as this little girl knew exactly how they should go, but just couldn't quite get them on that way!! So mama finally stepped in, (although it wasn't really wanted she might have spent the rest of the day trying to get those clothes on! but I could tell she was getting frustrated!) I gave her a tiny bit of assistance and the rest she did on her own. Well she did exactly as she was told she got dressed and so it was time to paint!!


I think our nice weather is officially gone! Who knows, maybe it will be back in a week! Today was rainy, rainy, rainy and very muggy too. We snuck a walk in between rain storms, but mostly we just entertained indoors. We have a camping trip to the Cascades planned this weekend--we are hoping for nice weather for one more fun camping trip!!

Highlights of our week!!

This week has been pretty busy...but we did lots of playing too! Here are a few things we've done to keep us going this week!

• McDonald's Playland with friends

I often take the kids over to the high school track to exercise and play. Ty loves riding his bike around the track and Mara hangs out in the stroller for a couple laps then she has to get out and run too! They also love playing on the risers climbing up the stairs and down--so it's a pretty fun place to play in the mornings. One day this week as we arrived a couple of my friends I met at story time were there and invited us to meet them at McDonald's to play. So after a little exercise we headed over to meet up with them. It was a lot of fun for Ty to play with the other five boys that were there and Mara had a good time going down the slide. I was glad to get to know Christina and Krissy more, I talk to them every Thursday at the library and it's been nice to meet other moms around Tillamook.

• Manzanita Park and Beach

We were blessed with a beautiful sunny day and hot too! I love going to Manzanita--it's north of Tillamook 30 miles. It feels like a touristy beach getaway spot! They have an awesome park that the kids just love. So we headed up there for our little adventure for the day. We had a great time playing on the playground. It was a little hotter than we were used to but felt great we won't complain!! After a yummy picnic we decided it was perfect beach weather. When we got down to the beach however it was so windy!! It nearly blew us over! How could it be so perfect at the park and so terribly windy down on the beach? Ty said, "Mama it hurts, can we please go home?" Bummer! Finally a perfect beautiful sunny day and it's too windy to enjoy it! Oh well!

• Blueberry Jam

Blueberries are finally on, and we have been loving them!! We bought two big boxes and although they weren't really cheap they were worth it! We've been eating blueberries on EVERYTHING and in EVERYTHING!! Ice-cream, cobbler, cereal, fruit salads...I froze several bags and with what was left I made some yummy blueberry jam! It was so delicious on toast this morning! In a few weeks blackberries will be ripe and we can hardly wait to start pickin'!!!

• Canoing down the river

For young womens last night we took the girls canoing. It was great! The ward has two canoes and our yw's secretary's husband has a motor boat. So we were able to go out on the water up and down the Trask River. It was sure a beautiful night too. We saw many fish jump out of the water and along the river were a bunch of cows. They thought we were so peculiar they chased the boats and started jumping up and down! It was hilarious!

• Library story time

We just love going to the library for story time. Miss Kathy (The Children's Librarian) does an awesome job with the kids. Ty just loves her! All summer they've been doing a reading program. The theme is 'Catch the Reading Bug'. For every fifteen minutes I read to Ty had put a bug sticker on his chart. Today he was awarded with a certificate which says he completed the 2008 Summer Reading Program and picked out a new book to keep at home. He also go a mini pizza coupon for Papa Murphy's. Every week when we go to story time we enter Ty's name for the summer drawing which was held today...drum roll please! And Ty won!! He got to pick out a prize, and he chose a wooden snake! Way to go Ty!

• Playing in the Trask River

Today was by far one of the greatest days in our history! At story time I was talking to my friend Christina and asking her if she knew of a good place to play in the river. She suggested going up the Trask River to mile marker 7 and there we would find a good place to play. So I took her advice and sure enough we found the most beautiful and perfect place to play in the river! After eating our tasty picnic Ty put on his swimsuit and we went to play in the water. On the side of the river where we were playing was in the shade and I could see over on the other side of the river a perfect place to wade our feet, throw rocks in the water, and explore...it was just getting to the other side of the river. Now I'm not a good judge of depth of water and let's just say that it's a good thing I brought towels because we sure got wet! Ty held my hand and I held on tight to Mara and the camera and the water just kept getting higher and higher! Luckily it only got up to my thighs---high thighs that is!! But it was worth it! On the other side we found salamanders and had the best time playing in the sunshine and water!
We played for a while and I knew there was only one way getting back to the car...we had to cross the river! So I acted brave for the kids and again we crossed the mighty Trask River, but this time it was deeper! This time it was up to my waist! The water hit Mara's toes and she started to wiggle and giggle! There was one part that Ty couldn't even touch the rocks and the current was a little swift so he held on tight and I pulled him along until he could reach! It was actually really fun crossing the river, I felt very accomplished and proud of myself after I did it!! We can hardly wait to go again--next time we have to take our daddy! It just wasn't the same without him! Ty was so excited when we got back to the car, he said, "I can't wait until daddy gets home and I can tell him all about playing in the river! It was so much fun!"

Fun times this week!

We LOVE Family Night!!

Our family just gets such a kick out of Monday Family Night's!! It's the greatest thing especially with a four year old and a two year old! Last night Ty asked "Does every family have Lewis Family News?" We said no, just our family. "Doesn't Kase do Lewis Family News too?!"
Nate came up with the greatest lesson and activity! First he helped Mara give a cute lesson on Jesus calming the sea of Galilee. Then we made and colored paper boats. I was quite impressed that Nate remembered how to fold paper boats from when he was a kid!! Then we took our little boats to the stream and raced them down the water! It was so fun to watch Ty get so excited about the boat race! He was quite disappointed to see them drown! Nate folded his a little sturdier than the other three so his went quite far. It did well racing down the stream until it got caught in the grass. Mighty Mama came to the rescue in her flip-flops and retrieved the little boat when it got stuck! Eventually daddy's little boat sunk as did the others and the Lewis Family boat race was over!! We took a few minutes to play at the park and then we sang 'Give Said the Little Stream' on the way home!!

Our morning at the beach

This morning started like any other normal morning: breakfast, getting ready for the day...but something was a little different. Oh wait we had a little sunshine this morning! I thought of all the things I needed to do today: laundry, clean light fixtures, straighten the upstairs...but with a nice sunny day I knew staying home and doing chores was not a good idea! Instead we headed to the beach! As we were driving there Ty and Mara were laughing in the backseat, I don't really know what they were laughing about, whatever children find funny and Ty says to me, "Come on Mama, laugh with us!" What it would be like to be a kid again! I did laugh along with them and wasn't it fun! It was the absolute perfect morning at the beach! Sunshine, no wind, it was great! There is just something about feeling the soft sand in your toes, and smelling the clean fresh sea air, and hearing the seagulls and waves! I LOVE IT! It was so refreshing and a wonderful way to start our day! We went for a nice walk along the beach, through a tunnel, and eventually waves and rocks came to the end and we could no longer continue walking so we turned around walked back to the car and went home. I wish we could have stayed all day! Hopefully tomorrow will be the same way and we can begin our day with another nice beach walk!

Our morning at the beach

Fun times at the Fair!

A Day at the Fair!

Yesterday I took Ty and Mara to the Tillamook County Fair--the biggest thing to come to Tillamook, well okay the only thing to come to Tillamook!! We had a blast! Ty and Mara loved looking at EVERYTHING!! There is always so much to see and do at the fair. We walked around and saw all the animals. We checked out all the booths not to mention the best booth there done by yours truly Nathan D. Lewis for the US Forest Service! His presentation on the forest service was awesome and even won a blue ribbon!! Way to go Nate! While we ate our lunch we watched a magic show. Ty was in awe at the many fabulous tricks the magician could do! Ty's favorite thing was riding all the tractors! He wanted to try them all out! He kept telling me 'I really want to do just one more mama!"







Mara loved seeing all the farm animals and she loves to 'baaa baaa' when she sees sheep! It's so dang cute! Although she likes to look at the animals she wasn't too sure about
touching them!!


Ty was pretty brave to touch the animals in fact check out what he's touching here: a real live alligator named little Al!! Ty loved the reptile exhibit! He thought the snakes, lizards, chameleons, and frogs were just so cool!!

I was afraid my allergies would have kept me out of the animal barns--thank goodness for Zertec!! One pill and I was allergy free! My favorite animal was the enormous cow! This cow is only four years old and is already over six feet tall and still growing!!


The kids got in free to the fair, but the price of rides is what gets ya! I told Ty he could ride on one ride so he chose the cars! Mara wasn't a fan of the ride and although the pictures show her content and happy she cried every time she saw me!
















The fair wouldn't be complete without a treat--or two! We enjoyed a delicious melty, gooey, cinnamon roll but can you really go to the Tillamook Fair and not partake of Tillamook ice-cream? No! Ty convinced us we really needed an ice-cream cone too so we all tasted one of our favorite kinds: Oregon Strawberry! Oooh yummy!

Check out Ty and Mara's moves at the fair! The music started to play and they both started dancing!

Mara's New Do!!

Mara had her first real hair cut today! I don't know who was more brave: Mara for letting Mama come at her with scissors to cut her hair or Mama for cutting Mara's hair!! I asked a friend to give me a few tips and pointers on cutting her hair. I've got the boys hair cutting down no problem! But with Mara it's a little different! I started by trimming off a little on the bottom, and doing a few layers around the side and back, then we shaped it in the front and helped her to see past those long shaggy bangs!! I must say I was very nervous to cut her beautiful head of hair! But it was to the point of looking like a mullet and it was too long to hold curl! So we just trimmed a bit and ta-da! The new Mara! I think it turned out great--but you can see for yourself!

Lewis Family Night!

Last night we did something a little different: instead of having the traditional Lewis Family Home Evening in the comfort of our living room we had FHE in the car! I know that sounds kind of silly, but for our activity we wanted to take a walk on the beach, but day light was quickly coming to an end so we had Lewis Family News, our songs, lesson, and even prayer while driving to the beach!

Just to fill you in about last night's Lewis Family News here was the news of the week:

Daddy: finished hammering out the tile in front of the fireplace so we can retile this area.
Mama: played the organ at a funeral yesterday for someone in our ward
Ty: built a house with lincoln logs, and was reverent in primary and didn't do any more somersaults as he did the previous week!
Mara: didn't cry with a new babysitter; and she learned how to say basketball, jam, and plum this week!


While walking along the beach last night Ty was strolling behind Nate and I and he quickly ran up to us and started getting so excited about finding a starfish! Well we weren't really at a beach known for starfish and we questioned whether or not this was really true. So we turned back and started looking for a purple starfish Ty had found. We couldn't find it anywhere and Ty said, "I know I saw it, it was here a minute ago!" Sure enough we did find the purple starfish Ty had seen, and decided he needed to be thrown back in the ocean so he could live!

It must look really crazy to be wearing our winter coats on in the middle of August!! It's summer for pete's sake! But it sure is cold here especially on the beach! We have a hard time quite honestly thinking that in other places (like Utah, California, and anywhere else for that matter) it's hot and everyone is using air conditioners. Seriously it barely cracks 60 and it's always jacket weather. Today however when I checked out the weather for the day for Tillamook it said "Abundant Sunshine, high of 78!!" YES! Summer might be here today!

Man of the Year Award!!

I wish I could nominate my husband to be the man of the year! Nate is one awesome guy for many reasons:

• He is really funny and makes me laugh
• He honors his priesthood and is a great example
• He watches chick-flicks with his wife (and stays awake)
• He lets me win (sometimes) at games
  
• He's hardly ever wrong but when he is he'll admit it
• He is the best daddy and loves his children almost too much
• He is a very hard worker at home, the office, church...
• He asks me for advice and opinion even when he doesn't need it
• He loves me and shows me he loves me

All these reasons make Nate an exceptional husband, but let me give one example that happened this morning which says it all. When we woke up this morning Ty had a great idea to make mama breakfast in bed! No it's not my birthday, anniversary, mother's day, I'm not even sick! But Nate thought it was a great idea too and so he carried this plan into action! Nate took the kids into the kitchen and cooked up the best breakfast! He insisted I stay in bed, which I did and read my book, and it was wonderful! Breakfast was absolutely incredible: waffles with strawberries and whip cream, yogurt parfait, orange juice! I thought I had gone to heaven! He once again insisted I stay in bed while he cleaned up the kitchen and I stayed in bed and read my book! I almost felt guilty for being so lazy, but it sure felt good! Is that one awesome guy or what? I don't know how I found such a winner of a husband, but somehow our stars aligned and I was blessed far more than I deserve with the most amazing man in the world! Thank you Nate for making my day! Thank you for a yummy breakfast and for taking such good care of me and the children! You are the man of the year in my book! I love you!