Mt. St. Helen's

We have just been busy busy catching up on our summer fun!  We decided to trek into Washington to see the infamous Mt. St. Helen's.  We packed our snacks and toys like we were going on a mecca thinking it was going to be an extremely long drive only to find it wasn't far away at all!  We drove about 2 hours to the first visitor's center and Ross was a hoot the entire way.  We've finally faced his car seat forward which I think he was quite happy about.  There's a lot more to see facing forward that's for sure.  
So this little video is proof that we did little to no research about Mt. St. Helen's beforehand...

Haha!  We thought the information guide we talked to said the mountain in front of us was Mt. St. Helen's.  We were quite puzzled since it was completely covered in trees, but hey - the guide should know what they're talking about!  

The fake Mt. St. Helen's! ;)

The Forestry Learning Center

They had these beautiful purple flowers all along the highway.

I love that the playground had a slide in the shape of Mt. St. Helen's

Then when we were chatting with a few other visitors they said you couldn't even see the mountain from there anyway.  So the whole trek up to the Johnston's Observatory we kept guessing which mountain we thought it was.  Now - you have to understand that it was pretty cloudy that day too with the mountains ALL being mostly covered - so we weren't complete simpletons.  When we finally got to the observatory it was pretty obvious which one was Mt. St. Helen's.  We had a great laugh the whole time.

Okay- you have to give it to us - the clouds covering it doesn't make it COMPLETELY obvious!

Ross took a nice little nap before we went into the observatory.

I was surprised to find that 57 people had died - a relatively low amount - but more than I thought.  Johnston - the volcanist geologist who died radioing in the explosion and who the observatory is named for - was killed because their predictions of St. Helen's erupting were that it would erupt from the south side even though there was a huge bulge on the northern one.  The blast after the mudslide traveled 5 1/2 miles in 40 seconds.  There was no way anyone could get away from that in time.  The force itself snapped thousands and thousands of trees right in half.  There are stumps remaining for miles around.  They had closed Mt. St. Helen's public access previous to the explosion inspite of all the pressures to reopen it.  They had interviews of people saying they wanted to be back on their property and it was ridiculous they were banning them from getting in.  Thousands of people probably would have died if they had let people in!  They had some really interesting stories from people who were there.  One couple basically had to jump from log to log down a river of gushing sludge trying to find safety.  Some loggers were severely burned and separated ways at one point.  The one who left the group had his body found later.  Two others died within three weeks after being found.  Only one of the four in that group survived.  Anyway - there's a little bit of info for you!

Checkin' out the facts

You can't see the top of the tree - but it's completely snapped off.

After the little movie we got to watch - the curtains raise so you can see St. Helen's itself!  Pretty cool.

Clearing up.

There we go.  That bulge in the middle has kept erupting a bit every few years.

All the dead tree stumps - it's like a tree cemetery.

After enjoying the gorgeous view and amazing still active volcano, (Steve found out if you pay $500 you can hike up it with a guide...he's extremely temped) we headed back down stopping at the Mile 19 restaurant for some delicious burgers and to-die-for mountain berry cobbler.  

The had some sweet bridges getting to Mt. St. Helen's...I feel like I've said Mt. St. Helen's about a billion times already.  Have I mentioned we went to Mt. St. Helen's?

Ross was jealous he didn't get a wristband...I guess they weren't worried he would sneak in.

 So while Ross napped Steve snuck up to the top to see the view before we went into the visitor's center.  The ranger up there eyed Steve suspiciously so of course - like any normal person - he stuffed his hand into his pocket limping around so they couldn't tell he didn't have a wristband.  Little sneak.

Our view at dinner. :)

Patty's Place - letting Ross run off some energy.  He kept trying to find the dog that was wondering around.  The dog didn't want anything to do with Ross unfortunately.

Who wouldn't want to be around this cute face!

On the way home we had to wait while this cool draw bridge went up for a passing ship.  I'm sure all the regulars were just annoyed they were too late to get across, but we were quite fascinated!

It was a GREAT day trip and we enjoyed every minute of it. :) 

Oswald Beach!

So now that I'm feeling better we've been trying to live it up the rest of this summer.  We went to Oswald beach after hearing all the ravings about it lately.  It instantly became my new favorite beach of Oregon.  Hardly any wind, beautiful sand, GORGEOUS atmosphere, and great water!  We stayed the entire afternoon soaking up the sun.  I actually got some color on my WHITE legs (pun).  Steve got nice and burned on his shoulders too.  Ross loved the sand, the waves, and all the drift wood.  They have a nice picnic area above the beach that we'll have to bring lunches to next time.  Oh Oregon - you keep winning over my heart again and again!

The sand boy

Ross just may be part seal - he's got a nice belly and loves the water!

Feed him to the fishes!! :)

Climbing the drift wood

Very pleased with himself

My hot husband hauling away the boy. :)

Isn't that a great face. ;)

Crazy beach hair and no make-up on my part!  But a cute family pic otherwise. :)

The walk in...or on our way out in our case.

We stopped at a "Ma and Pa" restaurant (as Steve calls these cafes in the middle of nowhere) on our way home - super yummy!  No we didn't get cocktails. :)

You know it's got to be good if they have a giant frying pan by their sign. :)

Free natural spring water also off the side of the road!

 There's nothing like a great beach trip is there?! :)

Baby Boo #2

Ross has an announcement to make...

He's super excited!...

Maybe :)

I suppose now's as good a time as any to share that we're expecting baby boo #2!  No - I'm not just getting fatter and fatter in each picture - there's a real baby in there!  We are super excited and panicked at the same time - okay - maybe me more panicked than Steve.  Ross still has no idea what's going on and is still enjoying all the attention he can command.  I have a feeling he's going to have a mind blowing experience when the baby comes.  I'm 18 weeks along, due January 13th.  Funny - Ross was due March 13th.  Let's hope this baby isn't 5 days late like Ross.  

Here's Baby Boo #2 at 12 weeks

Baby Boo #2 at 16 weeks.  That long white curved line is the spine - what a poser. :)

I was pretty darn sick the beginning of the summer - more than I was with Ross - accompanied with some miserable headaches that lasted quite a while.  I'm quite proud of myself for hanging in there exercising for the most part.  Steve has been inspirational there.  He's been so committed to running and lifting weights - even doing my Jillian Michaels occasionally - and he was super encouraging for me to go to the gym while he watched Ross.  I must say - I do feel good getting my heart rate up and trying to stay healthier this time around.
The whole idea of having two children still seems mind boggling to me.  Ross has been the sun, the moon, and the stars to all our family and extended family, that is just didn't seem possible that we could add more!  We have no inkling whether it's a boy or a girl.  Steve says he would be happy with either, but thinks a girl would be fun, while I have no idea!  We find out August 30th because I couldn't sleep not knowing.  Pretty sure that's how I'll be for every kid we have.  
I'm feeling much better these days and much plumper - I forgot that feeling of having a little basketball attached to you.  I felt the baby move for the first time at about 14 weeks and have felt him a handful of other times as well.  I LOVE that feeling.  That may be my favorite part of pregnancy. :)
Steve has been a champ this whole summer - really taking on the role of dad and a big part of Mr. Mom.  He was designated poopy diaper changer, dish doer, trash taker outer, and chef for quite a long time - and no he never complained.  I married a saint!  I've become SO attached to having him home all the time - I have no idea what I'm going to do when he goes back to school.
It's crazy we're actually becoming more and more of a family - not newyweds, not a couple with their first baby, but a family of four!  We couldn't be more happy.  Heavenly Father is so kind and mindful of us.  His timing always seems to be the way it's supposed to as I look back on the events we encounter.  Hooray for families!   

Anniversary Part 1

Well as a belated post about my and Steve's anniversary - we did manage to go out on our actual anniversary.  We finagled our friends to watch Ross for the evening and decided to go to the temple and the beloved Cheesecake Factory for dinner.  We drove all the way into Portland and as we were coming into the temple's parking lot, I saw a man up at the top power washing the Moroni.  I thought that seemed pretty cool and didn't think anything of it.  Within about 30 seconds we realized the temple was closed for cleaning!  Of course we wouldn't check the dates for that.  
We decided to head for the Cheesecake Factory and then maybe a movie we had a groupon for afterwards.  After a very delicious dinner where I of course ordered avocado egg rolls and the chicken bellagio, we showed up at Cinetopia - the Utopia of movie theaters!  The Dark Knight Rises had just come out, but I told Steve - since he had already seen it - that I wanted to see something romantic since it was our 4 year anniversary.  We got in line and out of the 24 movie theaters they had there were only 4 movies showing total - two of which were rated R, the other being Brave which we had already seen.  Guess what movie we ended up with to commemorate our wonderful 4 years together?  None other than the most romantic movie of all time (probably in a man's opinion) - The Dark Knight Rises.  I actually liked it quite a bit - more than the Dark Knight.  We still managed to have a great time together and are looking forward to our night away in a couple weeks!  Happy 4th anniversary to us!   

A Love of Summer

The air show came to town this last weekend.  Ross has had a complete fascination with airplanes the last couple months.  He can hear or spot one the second it starts flying over us.  We decided we should probably let him see these cool airplanes so we headed to a splash park near the air show since it's been the hottest weekend yet in Oregon.  We had quite the time.  Ross loved every second of it.  

Some friends brought watermelon...Ross inhaled it!  Note the streaks down his belly. :)

I know. I know.  We're totally hot!  Steve needs a shave though. :)

Trying to get a picture while Ross is totally distracted by the planes!

My one lame picture of the planes.

Ignore the whiteness. ;)

Ross is his dad's biggest fan!

Ross got a cool water bottle at the store.

Can you tell he loved it?

Summer Boys

Well my Baby Ross is turning into Mr. Little Boy Ross way too fast.  He has the funniest personality alive.  We've deemed him the "Drama King" as he is an expert at being Mr. Happy Pants one moment and the next throwing a very impressive tantrum about whatever is not going his way.  He finds that doing something he shouldn't (such as smacking the TV screen), throwing something nearby, or smacking himself is a great way to express his frustration that you are not making him happy!  Another quite humorous response has been his entire body going rigid and then erupting like a volcano with the loudest yell he can muster.  This is funny until we're at church...then it feels like a mid-life crisis as parents - mostly Steve since he gets to take care of him the last two hours while I teach Primary.  Only a month and a half till he goes to nursery...pray for Steve to make it. ;)  Ross also likes to collapse to the floor "crying" his fake cries, rolling over onto his back, and then looking at you for a reaction.  What a little stinker pants we have.  We adore him though, and he doesn't throw tantrums all the time.  He LOVES doing anything grown up - thus his coming to not appreciate his high chair so much.  He'd rather sit on your lap and eat your food with you than his.  He's really sweet about it though - he'll look up at you adoringly every few minutes while you both eat.  

We're about to Skype with family - look at that little pop belly. :)

Ross is really excited :)

He's found another drawer he can get into.  There is NOTHING so cool as pans and cookie sheets!

An especially wire racks

He brought my socks to me and wanted me to put them on his feet...okay.

Ross also enjoys doing laps around the house - through the kitchen around the couch and back while doing an awful lot of talking with very intense facial expressions.  Outside is a huge favorite of his.  He gets a thrill out of walking over the speed bumps in our parking lot as well as climbing all over the playgrounds.  If he's put on any push bike or trike he will stand up and walk in order to make it move.  If he sees a huge garbage truck go by or some other amazing contraption he will immediately follow it in the direction it goes.  He also has his ears trained to alert him the moment an airplane or helicopter is flying over.  The air show is this weekend, we're super excited to take him to see all the planes.
Yesterday we decided to get Ross a little chair since he seems to like to hang out on the bottom step of the stairs and sit and stand up from it over and over.  He loved it so much he had to sit in it the rest of the grocery trip and then cried all the way home until we got it out for him to sit on at home.  Crazy kid!  

The new throne

He's quite pleased with it.

Ross LOVES to help with anything around the house.  He actually helped Steve this morning while he loaded the dishwasher.  This pic is evidence that Ross loaded everything on that bottom rack.  What a helper he is isn't he?!