Road Trippin

Last Saturday we left for Oregon.  Kyle got home from his mission a few weeks ago and we were having a repeat of our time on the coast two years ago when he left for his mission.  It is crazy how fast two years went by.  

We had to book a lot of hotels for this trip so the trip became pretty pricey.  I was looking for ways to save money so I found an cabin on airbnb that we could share with Paul and Tiff.  It sounded much better than being stuck in a hotel Saturday evening and Sunday morning.  We found a cute place in Washougal, Washington, it was just over an hour to their church from there.  It worked out great because church didn't start until 1 PM.  

The cabin was near the Columbia Gorge.  We stopped there for some dinner.  We all got some food and some ice cream at a local burger shop. The area was beautiful, I wish I would have taken some pictures.  We started heading up the canyon to get to the cabin and we had to drive over the Bridge of the Gods, I wish I would have taken a picture of that too.  

It was a long drive and we were all ready to be out of the car.  The cabin is used as a nature school for kids so there was a lot of fun things in the cabin for the kids.  There was a lot of stuff in the cabin though, so it made it not kid friendly at the same time.   

There was a river behind the cabin.  You had to walk down some stairs and then a steep path to get to it, it was a good warm up for all of the stairs at the beach!  We had fun throwing rocks in the water and exploring a little bit. 

We were excited when Paul and Tiff got there and we went back down to the water with them.  We were all very impressed with Paul's rock skipping skills.  Jonah was excited that he skipped some after Paul showed him how he does it.  

The kids had fun playing together and checking everything out in the cabin.  Hallee loves to play with Damon.  She is so sweet with him and she will share everything with him. 

Hallee and Keith had fun playing Sleeping Queens on the deck.  After a while we got the kids down for the night and we stayed up talking with Tiff and Paul for a while.  It was fun to laugh and visit with them.

The next morning I slept in, but I think the others went to the water again.  We all got ready for church and took a few pictures before heading out.  I love how much Jonah loves and looks up to his uncles.  Paul is definitely a good one to look up to. 

We look pretty good all cleaned up.  We got to church a few minutes early, but not early enough to go give Kyle a hug, he was already on the stand.  He gave a fabulous talk!  It was so great to see him again and see the growth in him.  It was great to give him a hug after Sacrament Meeting.  He is definitely more grown up, but he is the same hilarious Kyle.   After Sacrament meeting, we headed up to the coast with Tiff, Paul, Matt and Lori.  

Our stop took a long time so we didn't get out there until a lot later than I was hoping.  Unloading wasn't too bad because our unit was right up the stairs from the parking lot in the back.  It was a great location, it was only one flight of stairs and straight up from the pool and the beach entrance.  We unloaded and settled in as quickly as we could so we could head down to the beach. 

We were all so happy to be at the beach!  Hallee and Wyatt got right to work gathering shells. 

Somehow Cody looks older every time I see him!   

We saw a seal swimming into shore, it was so fun to watch.  I loved hearing the water and feeling the sand between my toes.  The beach really is my happy place!

Birthday Boy

We were in Oregon for Wyatt's birthday this year so we had to mix it up a little bit.  The kids gave Wyatt his presents the night before we left.  He was so excited to open presents!

He loves his art supply carrier from Hallee.

He was very excited with the punching bag from Jonah.

He loved the sword Caitlyn got him. 

We checked out of Otter Crest on his birthday and drove to Pendelton Oregon.  We had already given him most of his presents, but we saved a few small ones for him to open on his birthday. 

He loved this tool box because it has real tools, not toy ones!

He was so excited about it and played with it in the car a lot. 

We got him a salad at Jack in the Box for lunch and another salad at the hotel.  He was excited that all of the Utah family was staying in the same hotel on the way home.

He couldn't wait to go swimming at the hotel, especially with Rockwell!  The water was freezing, but the kids didn't seem to mind.

Grandma and grandpa Ham brought Wyatt a present.

He is excited about his baptism book.  

He spent the evening swimming with his cousins and having a great time.  We tried to make the day special for him and I think he had a great day. 

8-years-old

This handsome boy is officially 8-years-old.  Each year seems to pass more quickly than the last one.  I feel like Wyatt should still be my baby.  He was such a great baby. He was so easy going and so much fun.  He was adorable as a baby and is adorable now.  

We went to the Provo City Center Temple to take his pictures and we had about five minutes before it started pouring rain, so we only got a couple of pictures there. 

Wyatt is a great kid.  He really has a desire to do what is right and he feels really bad when he makes mistakes.  I worry about him because he is too hard on himself.  We are trying to help him realize that we are all going to make mistakes and that is okay. 

Wyatt reads the scriptures on his own in bed a lot.  He loves the picture story books and he knows most of the stories in the scriptures.  He loves primary.  A couple of months ago he wanted to get up during fast and testimony meeting and tell about the bird that came into our house.  I explained to him that it was a cool story, but that is not what fast and testimony meeting is for.  I explained what a testimony is and he sat down and started writing.  When he was finished he showed it to me and it said, "I'd like to bear my testimony, I know this church is true, I'm thankful that Joseph Smith translated the Book of Mormon, I'm grateful for the temple."  After that he stood up and bore his testimony.  

Wyatt is a funny kid.  He loves to laugh and tell jokes.  His first grade teacher loved that about him. She loved that he would tell her riddles and laugh at her jokes.  He comes out of his room every night to show me funny parts in his books.

He is so handsome.  I tell him all the time that I have a crush on him.  

I love his smile, it is so cute! 

Wyatt is very bright. He can figure out multiplication and division problems in his head and he is an excellent reader.  He loves to learn and loves any type of workbook.

Wyatt is a social kid and loves to play with friends.  He loves any chance he gets to play with Rockwell and they laugh so hard together.  Wyatt is similar to Caitlyn where he looks for kids who are playing alone and plays with them.  

One day while we were swimming at Katie's Wyatt looked over at me and winked and made a gun with his finger and pointed it at me.  Adorable!

Wyatt gets overwhelmed easily.  He is very well behaved out of the house, but he has a hard time controlling his emotions at home sometimes.  When he gets overwhelmed he is very irrational and has a hard time calming down.  He is getting better at going to his room to calm down.  Poor kid, he isn't trying to be difficult.  

Wyatt loves sports.  He is a great athlete.  He is excited to play soccer again soon.  He loves soccer and basketball right now.  He loves to play with Jonah and learn new tricks and skills.  

He loves to build things with Legos or other blocks.  He loves to collect things, especially rocks, sticks and sea shells. He loves to explore and discover new things.  

He is our healthy eater.  He loves vegetables, fruits and especially salads.  He also loves grilled chicken.  His favorite thing is a grilled chicken salad.  He is a hard worker.  He likes big jobs that make him feel grown up.  He will work really hard when he has a job to accomplish.  He loves to go on walks with me and play outside. 

Wyatt is so excited to be baptized.  I have seen him grow and develop this year and have a desire to learn and I know he is ready to make these covenants with his Heavenly Father.  We are proud of Wyatt and we love having him in our family. 

6-years-old

I usually do a photo shoot with the kids around their birthday to get a new picture for the wall, but I love the picture I have of Hallee and we did it in the Fall so I don't feel rushed to replace it.  One day while I was shopping Caitlyn and Hallee did their own photo shoot, so I will use those pictures for this post.  Caitlyn did a great job!

It is crazy that our baby is already 6-years-old.  I can see how the youngest child always gets treated like the baby because we all do it to Hallee.  She loves it!  She loves all of the attention that she gets from her siblings and she loves to make them laugh.  

The things that come out of her mouth make us laugh a lot!  She says things that are hilarious coming out of her young mouth. She is great with the one liners and loves to say things that make her seem like a teenager.  Lately she has a little too much sass, but I guess that will continue to grow with age. 

Hallee loves to dance.  She is a great dancer and has great rhythm.  She also loves to sing.  She will walk around singing all day.  I think it's adorable, but her brothers get a little annoyed with it.  When we were in Target there was a Trolls boom box and it started playing a song and Hallee yelled, "mom, it's my jam," and then she sang it the rest of the time while we were shopping.  She can also do the Fro Yo rap from Liv and Maddie and that is adorable.

Hallee uses so much expression. Everything that she says is funny because she adds the best facial expressions to go along with her words.  She can be a little intense sometimes with how dramatic she is over things, but she is usually pretty easy going and just likes to laugh and have fun.  She has always been very good at going with the flow.  She has a hard time going with the flow if she is hot, tired or hungry, but hey, we all do!

Hallee is a beauty!  I love her red hair and I love her contagious smile.  She loves to wear cute clothes and shoes and put on make up any time I will let her.  She also loves to wear jewelry and she loves bags and purses. 

This picture makes me laugh.  I love the things Caitlyn came up with for the photo shoot and I love that Hallee was all for it.  She had no problem changing clothes over and over and doing lots of fun poses.  Caitlyn and Hallee love to do girly things together.  They play dolls together, play house, do art, put on make up and paint nails.  I'm glad my girls have a sister!

Hallee loves to watch shows and play games on our phones.  She loves taking pictures with her phone (Caitlyn's old phone).  Hallee is extremely bright.  She learned and developed a ton in Kindergarten.  She is a great reader and can read most things that you put in front of her.  She loves when her siblings give her math problems and she loves to learn about animals.

Hallee loves to act like one of the big kids.  She is more of a home body.  Sometimes I will ask her if she wants to have a friend over and she says she would rather just stay home with me.  She will always play with Tessa if she is given the chance.  I'm really going to miss having her home with me for half of the day this year.  It was so fun to have that one-on-one time with her last year. 

Hallee loves to swing in the back yard.  She loves to play in the treehouse back there and jump on the trampoline.  She is becoming more adventurous and willing to try more things.  She is doing great at going on hikes and walks with me.  She loves to swim and is doing great at getting around in the pool and jumping in. 

We feel very blessed to have Hallee in our family.  She is the perfect caboose to our crazy train!