Building block towers and loving it...

Holland's Visit...

This past week we had the awesome privilege of having Holland and her parents stay with us for a few days. While the kids kept each other quite entertained, it was nice for all of us to just hang out and visit. We miss the whole Young crew but truly cherish the time we get with them. Plus, we spent some of the time they were here with Allison and her boys, and I always enjoy time with my sisters! There are a few more pics in Picasaweb.

On a different note, C.J. and I got completely spoiled this weekend. We went to a wedding in Portland ALL BY OURSELVES! Owen got to stay with Grama and Grandpa Saint (thanks SO much guys!) and I am pretty sure he got spoiled rotten. But more importantly, it was oh so nice to spend time alone as a couple and just enjoy one another's company. Although we love our little guy to pieces, we certainly appreciate our alone time!

I can't think of a title, so...

Ok, so I know I always put way more pictures on here than writing, but that's mostly because I'm not the world's best writer and never feel I have anything entertaining today. But this is actually worth mentioning: Oliver, my sister Allison's oldest boy (pictured with Owen above), has from the very beginning of his life seemed to be a bit ahead of the game. He is not even 2 yet but he can count to 19, sing just about any song you request, has extensive imaginary conversations on the phone (conversations that include full sentences and go something like this: "Hi Holland! Uh-huh. Owen's here and Auntie Jen's here and Baby Jack's here and Mama's here. Yeah. We're playing with trucks, Holland. Yeah. Ok, talk to you later. Bye!") He can do a whole bunch of other impressive things, but the point is, Oliver seems to be REALLY smart. But even knowing that, today the little twirp completely surprised me and brought tears to my eyes. So here's the setting: I was making lunch for the clan and was reaching for the raisins to put on the salad when I accidently knocked our container of strawberry Quick mix on the floor. Basically the entire container of pink sugar flung all over the kitchen floor. Yeah, huge mess. And...I was also really bummed because most of it went to waste. So as I was kinda frustrated and fuming and on my knees cleaning the mess up, Oliver walked up to me and in his sweetest voice said: "I'm sorry Auntie Jen." Ok, Oliver had nothing to do with making the mess. I was the one who knocked it over. Oliver was merely trying to comfort me and trying to show me the he felt bad for me. I don't know about you, but I've never in my life seen a 1 year old show empathy....and then express it to me. And I've been around a lot of kids in my life. He's a sweet one, that's for sure!

Here they are playing with Grandma (again):

Uncle Brian and Owen enjoying each other's company:

At Hudson's birthday party:

A warm summer morning with Oliver and Grandma...

A long awaited return...

So you know how some people have the problem of losing socks in the wash? Well in our house, we some how have a problem with losing books.  For three months we were missing Owen's very favorite book "Skippyjon Jones, Up and Down"...(not quite sure it will still be his favorite since he has changed a lot in the time it's been missing)...But....We found it.  Today when C.J. was home for lunch, he noticed something peeking out of the side of one of our chairs.  Lo and behold, there was Skippyjon Jones.  Problem is, I KNOW I looked in every cushion crack in this entire house at least 10 times.  But somehow,  I missed it.  Now we just need to find "Row, Row, Row Your Boat."  Maybe it, too, will show up one of these days.

A Special Day with Grant...

This morning, Leah and the boys came over to play for a while which was SO much fun. I LOVE those boys!!! And as if that wasn't enough of a treat, Mr. Grant ended up staying the whole rest of the day to play! We had a blast, and Owen DEFINITELY loves his cousin! We had a picnic outside for lunch, played store, went Wii bowling, and went to see Shawn's fish at least 5 times...which Grant loved because he got to touch them and they kinda kissed his fingers. It really was fun to spend time just with Grant for the day. Oh yeah...and just so you know, we saw a snake in our yard. I HATE snakes and this was the second time this summer I've stumbled across one in the yard...........SICK! But the boys thought it was quite exciting, so I guess it was worth it.

Something you need to know about the pictures: Not a single one was prompted by me. I really only captured the boys doing what they do. If you look at the rest in Picasaweb, you'll see that they definitely love spending time with eachother. Enjoy!

How could you not LOVE those freckles?

Happy 4th of July!

Here are a few pics of our 4th of July fun. We had a wonderfully lazy day at home topped off by a visit from the Davila fam for a BBQ. It was really nice to just lay low at home. It would have been even nicer if my ear drum hadn't ruptured and I wasn't taking drug-addict amounts of painkillers and wasn't completely deaf...but hey...you win some and lose some. But seriously, we had a wonderful 4th of July and hope you all did too. More pics in Picasaweb...

BIG NEWS...

Owen decided today that he wanted to start walking! He has been pretty reluctant to venture away from the furniture until today. We'll see if he keeps it up, but for now we are excited about this big event in his life. Here's the proof: