Odin and Sarah playing Legos

People have been asking for pictures of Odin, so here he is playing Legos with Sarah tonight! Sarah will be two April 29th, and Odin is 4 months. Both of them are 26 pounds!

Our visit to the Griggs family!

Today we went to visit our friend Tricia Griggs and her 4 1/2 month old son Kellen! Tricia was Ryan's teacher in 2nd grade and is no longer at the elementary school because she is staying home with Kellen. We miss her, but are so happy she can stay home with her beautiful baby!

Tori holding Kellen and Sarah smiling for the camera!
Ryan holding Kellen! Ryan is thrilled that Kellen liked him!

Tricia, Sarah, Tori, Ryan, Kellen, Ryley, Tyler and Brandon!!!

Our trip to Newport, Oregon

On Wednesday we took a trip to the coast along with our friends/neighbors, the Land family. It was a beautiful blue sky day (and a chilly 52 degrees) and we had a great time.
Our first stop was the Rogue Brewery in Newport, Oregon for lunch. It is quite an interesting establishment. They have the brewery on the ground floor and you maneuver your way among the metal containers of beer to the back of the building where you head upstairs to a small restaurant.

Lunch for kids were served on a frisbee ~ much to the kids delight!

Behind the brewery is the "Port of Newport" where we took a walk along the pier and were able to watch people pull up their crab nets and collect their crabs!

The kids stopped for a photo with the bay in the background!

Our next stop was to the Oregon Coast Aquarium!!!

The favorite stop was the shark tank, that you could actually walk through as sharks swam above and below you. Here Tori is observing a leopard shark!
I was trying to capture the kids with a shark behind them, but as you can see the shark was swimming right behind Ryley's head!

This is a picture inside the jaws of an actual shark!

Our final stop was to Yaquina Beach. Let me just say it was quite an adventure to get down to the beach...the steep stairway that was supposed to lead us to the beach was blocked by a huge murky lake of sorts, so we had to get adventurous and create our own trail down the hill (I deemed it a mountain when I had to climb back up it). Pictured above, Tyler, Lydia Land, Ryley, Brandon, Sarah, Tori, Ryan, Logan Land, Peyton Land.

I shot this photo right before we left the beach for home. What looks like a bright light behind them was actually the sun setting on the ocean!

The Martinez family comes for a visit!

Our good friends from Eugene stopped by for a visit today on their way to Seattle!




Pictured is Tina with LeeAnne Martinez!






The kids all had a great time playing the Nintendo Wii and Basketball when we were lucky enough to get a "sunbreak"! Yes, that is a real meteorological word here in Oregon!

Pictured from left to right -- Brandon, Ryan, Tori , Ryley, Sarah, Gabby, Hayden, Tyler and Kobe!!!!

We've gone stainless!!!!

The highlight of our weekend was buying new appliances!!!! They were delivered today and Matt installed them this evening when he came home from work!



Our old dishwasher!!!!


Our old stove, microwave and fridge!!!

Our new stove -- gotta love it. It is a convection oven with a warming drawer on the bottom!

The new microwave has a "crisp" option that the kids are thrilled with because they can now reheat pizza without it getting soggy. The fridge is the highlight now because the kids can choose between crushed and cubed ice (at least we know they won't be dehydrated this summer!)
Here's our new dishwasher!

Ryan and Ryley visit Oahu!!!!

Ryan and Ryley turned 10 this month and decided they wanted to go to Oahu for their birthday trip! Matt and the boys headed to Oahu for 4 days of non-stop fun! Ryan and Ryley spent most of their time in the water. Here they are in their snorkeling gear!

Matt took the boys to Fort Randolph Museum. Ryley and Ryan playing with a cannon above. Ryley is always our comedian!

Another picture with a cannon at the museum!

The boys went on a submarine ride and submerged to 115 feet. They saw a shark, turtles and several different types of fish!

The Atlantis 13 submarine is pictured above. It is the world's largest passenger submarine and can seat 64 people.

The resort the boys stayed at was the Hilton Hawaiian Village resort and spa right on the ocean in Waikiki.

Pictured above is on the grounds of the resort. In the back on the left is a church that is used for weddings and a stairwell leads to a gazebo. Absolutely beautiful!

Tori's new haircut!

Tori Lynn had her hair cut and she loves her new "flip" style!