All the Good Guys are Named Fred

Sometimes it feels like this whole world has gone crazy upside down.  I sometimes fall prey to thinking there is nothing good left or good people out there.  I saw this youtube video and it touched me to think that good people still exist.  Fred's love for his wife was inspirational and made me reflect on the beauty and nobility of a committed husband and wife.  Best line, "She gave me 75 years of her life."   

If you have a second check it out!  Keep some tissues nearby







Growing up I loved Mister Rogers.  It was one of my favorite shows.  Last night I saw something about him on PBS and then I saw the above video about this Fred and I couldn't help but think there must be something with that name that makes people pretty special. 


"Love isn't a state of perfect caring.  It is an active noun like struggle.  To love someone is to strive to accept that person exactly the way he or she is, right here and now."

                                                                                                                                 ~Fred Rogers

Tim's Project At Last

The project that Tim traded more than a year of his life was finally released last Sunday.  In stores it is called Disney Infinity.  At our house it is simply called "Dad's Game." 

It is by far the coolest and biggest, in terms of scope, game that Tim has ever worked on.  There have been commercials on the radio and TV and that has been fun to see.  These are the advertisements in Times Square....

 

 

The kids have been playing/thinking/talking about it since Tim brought the game home on Monday afternoon.   Pretty snazzy.   

Oregon

 

 

In late July we spent a week in Portland Oregon with my sister and her family.  We thought it was so beautiful there and we could see why Rach likes it so much there.  I thought the people were friendly and Tim loved the 55 mph speed limit on the freeways!  They also don't let you pump your own gas there so that was a little weird and might I say ineffective.  I felt totally rejuvenated when we came home.  It was a great trip! 

 

 

 

 

Gage's favorite animal is a mandrill.  He was heartbroken, last year, when after a long and hot day at our zoo we found out that the mandrill had recently died!  Portland, zoo had several mandrills and Gage was in seventh heaven. 

 

 

 

 

We must have spent at least a half hour at this one exhibit! 

 

 

Pieper and Luke driving a truck in the Africa exhibit

 

 

Gage feeding Parakeets by hand

 

 

Both Pieper and Claire have the "pose" down

 

 

 

 

The Oregon coast is so beautiful.  It was such fun to see the kids discover the ocean for the first time

 

Claire's run sort of says it all.  Fascination mixed with a little healthy fear

 

 

 

I love the green of the pine trees with the blue ocean

 

 

 

Luke surprised the heck out of me because he is so afraid of swimming at pools but he had not fear of wading out waist deep in the frigid water!  I didn't get a picture of that...dang it!

 

 

Don't let the fact that Claire is in a swimming suit fool you into thinking it was warm.  Kids apparently cannot feel the cold.  They played in the water and sand for hours.  I had a fleece on and hid under my towel. 

 

 

 

Luke liked the water more than the sand

 

 

 

A sand castle?

 

 

Gage liked it all

 

 

On our way to the beach we stopped at Camp 18 to eat.  It is huge logger's cabin with the cutest decorations and incredible pan cakes called flat cars.

 

 

 

 

Luke loved the hot chocolate.  Pieper asked for the stuffed cougar on the wall for Christmas.  Have fun with that one Santa!

 

 

The woods are dark and dense.  Maybe sasquatch is in there somewhere!

 

 

 At one beach we had to hike through some forest to get to the ocean.  The kids loved trees big enough to fit in the roots. 

 

 

 

Gage looks like a hobbit to me

 

 

 

Neat

 

 This is an enormous piece of petrified wood.  We visited an awesome rock and mineral museum.  I never knew rocks and crystals could be so interesting.  I came home with my own little piece of petrified wood as well. 

Portland is called the rose city for a reason.  We missed the rose festival but the rose gardens were still in bloom and we loved going from rose to rose smelling the difference and checking out all the unusual names.  

 

The smell in these gardens reminded me of my Grandma Humphries who loved roses and boasted a beautiful garden of her own. 

 

 

 

Hydrangeas are my favorite flower and they grow everywhere and so big.  It is hard to tell how vibrant these ones were from the picture. 

 

 

 

Very clever Tim

 

 

 Close to the rose gardens are the Japanese Gardens.  The peace and beauty is hard to describe but I have it filed away in my memory so I can visit again in my mind in times of stress! 

 

All the moss is cool but kinda creepy at the same time

 

 

Do you feel serene? 

 Just outside of Portland is forest and awesome hiking.

 

 

 Just over that River is Washington

I love hiking in the shade especially when it leads to....

 

 



the most beautiful water falls

Picture all these people quietly contemplating nature and then our crew gets on the scene and does this!  We were quite the spectacle....but so much fun!



Notice Bianca and Gage in the background.  I am more convinced than ever that these two were meant to be twins and the Lord knew one family could not handle them both.  

 Multnomah Falls is probably the most famous.  The tie dye lady is so Portland 

 

Cousins are the best!

All I want For Christmas is my Two Front Teeth

Growing up I was so bummed I did not loose my two front teeth at the same time.  Luke however lost them within days of each other.  The first one hung by a string and caused many an anxiety attack before it finally fell out.  The second was pulled by none other than Luke himself without any crying.  The pulling of the first front tooth proved to be quite the bonding experience for Luke and Tim.  Luke had zero faith in me and my ability to just wiggle and not PULL the tooth.  Tim wiggled very patiently for several days until it fell out.  Now Luke says he likes his dad just a little more than me.  That sniffling sound is me crying into my pillow.   

 

 

 

Is there anything cuter than a toothless smile?

Nate's Visit

Nate is just two years older than me and he is one of the most persistent memories from my childhood.  Nate married my close friend from high school and he returned the favor when I married his friend from High School.  We had a lot of fun together growing up.  Nate takes credit for teaching me the days of the week and how to find North, South, West and East.  Our bedrooms were across from each other in the basement and we liked to play jokes on each other.  The wet washcloth at the bottom of the bed was a favorite.  We used to stay up late and sing together while I played my guitar.  When I had my heart hurt by a boy; guess who brought me flowers.  That's right, Nate....what a big softie.  I guess he is a pretty good brother.

 

   

Nate moved to Ohio 7 years ago and I've miss him a lot.  I haven't seen Nate since my mom's funeral more than two years ago.  I have missed him way more than he has missed me, he is a man after-all, but it was so nice to see him and his family again!  We found that the cousins got along well and even Nate and I didn't fight while he was here.  I guess we are all grown-up!

 

I finally got to meet this little cutie.  Squeezable Benjamin.   

 

That's a lot of kids right there.  Nate contributed five.  If you live in Utah, eating at the Prairie Schooner in Ogden is a must.

 

 

 

Notice how Nate is the only "adult" on the train at This is the Place State Park?

 

Good times with Grandpa. 

These boys are excited because we were panning for Gold and it looks like possibly Luke found some. 

 

 

The train museum in Ogden is also a must for train lovers. 

 

 

 

Eliza and Claire were the lone girls among all the other yahoos.  They loved doing laundry, pioneer style, at This is the Place 

Claire's and Gage's Birthday



I can't believe that it has been months since I updated the haps at our house.  I want to start with the summer birthdays.  Claire turned 4 in mid June and Gage turned 9 in July.  Claire had a family party.  She was happy because there was pink, cupcakes, crowns, lip gloss and Aunt Pam.  Basically covers all the essentials! 

 

 

 

Claire loves being with the girls

 !

  

Claire chose these cupcakes months before her birthday when she saw them at the bakery. 

What a diva!

 

 

Gage had a birthday party with a couple friends and cake and ice cream with family.  He and his friends went swimming and he had a blast.  I have no pictures of the event because I was too busy catching Claire while she dove from the side of the pool.  My brother Nate and his family came into town from Ohio on Gage's Birthday and they were a nice addition to the family party.   

 

 

 

 

I can feel his excitement in this picture. 

 

 

 

He saved the biggest for last.....

 

 

  

 

Something tells me he liked it!  Lord of the Rings Legos. 

 

 

 

 

Can't believe there are nine candles!