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!"