Thanksgiving Eve

Rusten decided to take a small break from studying today. We drove to the coast and spent the day there. We saw a lighthouse near the Umpqua River. Then we spent the rest of the day on the beach playing in the dunes. The kids had so much fun and we had a nice chance to relax together.

Joel Bear

Darion was excited about the "pirate ship" on the sign.

We tried to get a good picture of the boys together. This is the best one. Darion has a hard time sitting still.

Playing near the water. It was warm, but too cold to get in the water.

Climbing the dunes

Joel was eating sand. What did you expect? (Rusten ate dirt as a child and admits he still likes the flavor of "natures peppa")

I love you Rusten!

Darion running up and down the dunes

Happy Birthday Joel!

My baby turned 2 on Saturday!!! I can't believe he is two. It feels like yesterday we were bringing him home from the hospital and at the same time it seems like there hasn't ever been a time in our lives without him. We love you so much Joel! Thank you for making us smile every day!

Joel opening his presents.

He stayed on his rocking horse to open the rest of his presents. He LOVES it!

Cake

My big two year old

Blowing out the candles (don't you just want to kiss those little lips?)

happiness

Here are some recent photos of the boys. They never cease to put a smile on my face. I love you Darion and Joel!

Nature Walk

Yesterday we decided to take an afternoon drive and enjoy some of the beauty around us. We drove up into the cascades and enjoyed a short nature walk. I'm convinced that we have moved to paradise!

Best Friends

Darion was pretending this stick was a "bow & arrow"

Joel (he was eating blackberries but you can't tell in the picture)

Rusten, I love you!

Now for all of you smart people- you probably know what this plant is. We weren't sure what it was until Rusten's hand brushed up against it and a blister appeared. I wondered if it was poison ivy, but I didn't say anything because I thought Rusten would for sure know what poison ivy looked like. It was EVERYWHERE. I went home and googled it and sure enough it's definitely poison ivy. Luckily the boys were wearing long sleeves and long pants and didn't touch any of it. Now we know for next time! Glad Darion and Joel didn't get into it! Poor Rusten!

LAZY SUNDAY AFTERNOON

Sundays have gotten a lot lazier since we moved to Oregon. We don't really have anywhere to go or anything to do and it's GREAT! These are some pictures of the kids playing outside yesterday afternoon.

Joel almost ran away from home in order to get this dandelion. He is so cute!

Silly Face

Darion was riding his bike around and wouldn't take his helmet off.


This is Kayson. He is one of our best buddies!

As you can see, we really love Oregon! It hasn't started raining here yet so we might have a different opinion here in a few weeks, but right now it's paradise! Rusten, thank you for getting into Law School here. We LOVE LOVE LOVE it!

That's Not Really Your Color

So on Saturday Rusten decided to take a small break from Law School and we thought we would deem the day "football day." The boys were playing quietly in their room and we heard some occasional giggles. We were thinkin' that it was going to be such a relaxing day. We talked about all of the college games that were going to be on that day and we noticed that it was getting really quiet in the kids' room. Rusten went in to check on them and he found quite the surprise! Darion and Joel had found a tube of lipstick and decided to "paint" with it. I don't even usually wear lipstick. I have no idea where they found it. We had a good laugh though.

Joel's entire body was pink

They were pretty proud of themselves

This was the rest of the mess we cleaned up

There was a pink ring around the bathtub after they got out

We got a good laugh out of it!

Labor Day Fun

Labor Day weekend was so much fun. The weekend involved: Grandma and Grandpa Lubbers (truck grandma & grandpa) staying with us, a trip to the aquarium in Newport, and visiting our beach. Thank you for staying with us Grandpa and Grandma! We love you!

Mesmerized by the fish

Petting some sea animals

Petting a shark

Jellyfish

Looking at a seal

Our happy family

In the tunnel of love (and sharks)

Dad, were the kids wearing you out? You look tired!

Joel fell in the mud!

Darion's "pirate gold"

Crazy Joel! How does that sand taste?

Just relaxing

A Great Weekend

We were lucky enough to have Alanna and Caleb, Rusten's sister and brother-in-law, stay the weekend with us. It was so nice to see them and we had so much fun while they were here. We were able to show them some of the fun and beautiful things to do around here.

Joel and me

Alanna and Caleb

Darion was screaming, "I'm the King of the Rocks!"

Darion and Dad

Darion in the freezing cold water

Joel was drawing in the sand with a stick

Crazy Adorable Fun Cute Alanna (we love her)

Alanna and Caleb by some whale bones in Newport

Joel enjoying wild blackberries

Darion letting Joel smell his flower

Darion's flower (he even picked it for his mom)

I love Joel's smile

Handsome Darion at Skinner Park

Going down the REALLY REALLY big slide at Skinner Park

Joel going through a tunnel and Skinner Park - Dang he is cute!

Darion at Skinner Park

Joel- I'm sure he was getting ready to take his shoes off!

Joel at Skinner Park

We LOVED having Alanna and Caleb spend the weekend with us and we miss them already. Thanks for such a fun weekend!