Googley Eyes

Evan has a bedtime chart - he gets a sticker for every night that he sleeps in his OWN bed, ALONE, for the entire night. Though this is a slow process, he has earned two different toys by completing 3 nights (for each toy). The first toy was a Super Soaker. For his 2nd chart, he chose "googley eyes". Don't know why he wanted these in particular - but they're much cheaper than Super Soakers!!

His next goal is his own camera - so for that one, he's going to have to spend waaaaay more than 3 nights in his own bed. I'm thinking at least 10 nights to earn a kid-proof digital camera.

Here's my silly boy!

Evan & Cayla Bowling

Cayla & Evan

The two "drinkers"

The two "dancers"

Our cousins Karla and Cayla are visiting from Denver, and unfortunately they missed Evan's birthday party at Big Al's.... so..... guess where we went today?

The kids (and adults) had a great time bowling (I got a turkey!), then playing arcade games afterwards.

Thanks Karla for all the cool pirate stuff! Look how cute these two cousins are together!! :)

Idiosyncrasies

I don't really have anything special or new to post, so I thought I'd take a little poll. Hmmmm..... let's see. How about this? Name something (good or bad) about yourself, that you wouldn't normally tell anyone! Not that this is an anonymous or private place to put it, but - there are such a limited # of people who read this blog (mostly MC friends), so what the heck...

Here's mine:
I type words in mid-air. Huh? Oh, and it gets better. They have to "fit" whatever melody is in my head. It's a weird math, rhythmical thing that probably NO ONE would understand, and I have no idea when or how I started doing this. It's not like my hands are out in front of me and I look psychotic. No. If you looked, you would probably just see my fingers moving a little. But for most of my adult life, I've been doing this! Ok, now I'm embarrassed. (insert Twilight Zone music here)

Let's hear YOURS!

Rainbow Trout Fishing

Evan had his FIRST EVER experience with fishing - and it was so much fun for all of us! Thank you to Melissa (from MOMS Club) for posting about this place. It was a huge hit for both my boys (and a co-worker of Ryan's).

Rainbow Trout Farm - 7 miles east of Sandy, OR. We brought nothing because you don't have to! They provided the rod, bait, bucket and net. They even clean and "gut" your fish for you! You just pay for what you catch (but be careful, whatever you catch you have to keep! We paid $30 for 4 fish). Aside from the expense, this experience was well worth the cost! It was beautiful day, and I got to see my son do something completely new - and ENJOY every bit of it! (including the fish "parts" that were gutted - eeewwwww)

Fascinated, but grossed-out at the same time. (hooking the worm)

Reeling him in!

"Look Mom - my FIRST fish!"

Fish Hatchery

Sunday, we decided to take a drive to the gorge. We'd never taken Evan to Bonneville Dam's Fish Hatchery, because last time we drove out there, we were on the wrong side of the river! Multnomah Falls was JAM PACKED, so we happily passed by and headed to the hatchery. Yes, there were a lot of people there, but it was comfortable and didn't feel crowded. Our highlights were: feeding the rainbow trout, "Herman", the 10-foot long white sturgeon (Evan was fully engrossed with him and must have looked through the window for at least 20 minutes at his gills), and the perfectly warm and breezy day. We even stopped for pizza beforehand. We loved the pace of this day - it was so relaxed and happy!


Daddy showing Evan that sturgeon aren't scary

Rainbow Trout feeding frenzy

Pretty fountain

Mommy & Ev jammin' out

Happy Birthday Evan! (Phase 2)

Sunday (Evan's actual birthday), July 6th - we had a "cousins" party at Big Al's. Guests included: Mariah & Chante (mel's nieces), Anthony & Linnet (ryan's niece and nephew), Natalie & Sydney (mel's cousins' twins) and Haley (mel's cousin's daughter). The kids got one hour of bowling, followed by pizza, soda, cake AND $5 each in arcade money. It was a lot of fun!! Though it was a spendy place to have a party, I highly recommend Big Al's. Everything went so smoothly, and our party hostess was really on top of things. Most of all, it looked like the kids completely enjoyed themselves!

And now, a note to my son:
Evan Noel Edwards - I love you more than I can humanly express. You are the love of my life, and I can never "get enough" of you. Before you even entered this world, you were wanted, prayed for, and LOVED. Out of all the dreams I have for you, it is most important to me that you feel this same love for your child one day. It fills my heart and soul to be your Mommy, and I will love and cherish you every single day of my life.

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Fun On The Fourth

Evan with cousins Peyton and Lindsey

Evan & Peyton's silly faces

Mmmmm....

First time with sparklers

Last night we headed to Oregon City, hosted by Michele (Ryan's cousin) and her husband Braden - a yummy BBQ and firework celebration. They set up 3 tents, a jump house for the kids, and an ENORMOUS array of bbq ribs, chicken, and all the trimmings. It was such a relaxing and fun time spent with family - and Evan really enjoyed the "kid" fireworks at the end. We got home at midnight, and thankfully the people in our neighborhood really didn't make any noise past that! This turned out to be a GREAT 4th!