August 22, 2009 Umatilla County Fair, Oregon

I was very impressed with the Umatilla County Fair, in Hermiston Oregon. It was about the same size as the Elko County Fair but with more things to do and better options for kids. The boys enjoyed the kids science center portion. Then we decided to go look at the animals. Everyone was enjoying them until Joey realized that they weren't fake but real. A rooster crowed at Joey and from that point on he was scared to be near any animal. He was even afraid when a sheep tried to come near him, or a goat, or any other type of animal. Benji enjoyed looking at and feeling the animals. We then decided to let the boys ride the carnival rides. The first ride that they both wanted to go on was the roller coaster. They thought that it was a choo choo train. Adults could not ride, but Ben was tall enough. However Joey was not tall enough and couldn't ride with Ben. He was devastated. He tried as hard as he could to get into the ride but mommy was stronger. Ben did really good and enjoyed it. They then rode a ride that they both could ride, the car ride. Joey had fun but he wanted a little more excitement. They decided to ride the spinning dragon ride with daddy. They really liked it. They then wanted to fly in a rocket ship. Lastly they went on the carousel. Dad even enjoyed himself. They had so much fun on the carnival rides. All in all it was a fun day had by all!

August 9, 2009

I have never seen two little boys get so excited about playing in boxes and packing peanuts, or as Benji calls them, marshmallows. Who needs toys if you can entertain you kids like this for an hour?

August 7, 2009
Ben and Joey playing in the sprinklers in our yard.

Weekend of August 2nd and 3rd. Having fun with the Nathan and Kourtnie Spencer. Kourtnie did a great job making this collage!

With barely any help Benji climbed this rock wall. However, Eric needed a the help of Benji to climb the wall.

The boys defeated the rock wall!

Kourtnie and Nathan were hard to keep up with all of the ballroom dancing. It was a blast!

Pat and Penny's 30th Wedding Anniversary Celebration

June 20, 2009

The week of the 20th Eric, Benji, Joey and I headed for Elko NV. On the way we stopped off in Salt Lake City to visit Grandma Jill, Grandpa Glen, Aunt Sara, Rose and Riley. Eric stayed in Salt Lake City for the week. I headed over to Elko on Tuesday. That night Matthew, Summer and I told my parents the truth about their party. They were expecting a barbecue with just us kids and our families. Little did they know that they would have brother's and sisters, and my dad's mom and dad attending also. Which was wonderful since they missed the actual wedding because my parents decided to elope. We told them they were going to be having a more formal celebration at the Red Lion Inn. They seemed to be excited. Thursday family members started arriving and Friday Eric and Uncle Dan came in from Salt Lake. That night we had a barbecue at my parents house. Unfortunately it rained and we had to move inside. Which was nice also. Saturday was the day of the party. We went to the Red Lion and I was surprised how wonderful everything looked. The cake was beautiful, we had a wonderful

photographer and it was wonderful have the family members that could attend. We were glad that we had decided to do the 30th versus the 25th because grandchildren were able to be there. Active as they were it was a delight! We had an enjoyable time and we hope everyone else did too.

Jill, Glen, and Rose Come For a Visit

23 - 26 July, 2009

On Thursday Jill, Glen, and Rose came up for a visit. Their arrival was a surprise to us all, not because we didn’t know that they were coming, but because they arrived so early in the morning. It turns out that they left around midnight from Salt Lake to make the drive. Benjamin and Joseph were so happy to see them. Ben and Rose played together almost all weekend long and did everything from jumping on the tramp to playing with bikes and scooters. Ben was so happy they were here that he made headbands for him, Glen, Rose, and Joey so that they would all look the same. This was Glen’s first trip to the Tri-cities and he seemed to like it. The family went to a farmer’s market and went and saw the river. Ben and Joey were as sad as Dad was to see them go.

Our Trip to the Pound

21 July, 2009

When our van was in an accident we had to get an estimate done at a local body shop. Right next door to the shop was the Humane Society, and Benjamin being who he is, we had to go look around. Although the building was small, the kids had a great time playing with the kittens. Joey was running up and down in front of the cages, pointing at the kittens and going “wow, wow, wow” in a voice that only mom and dad could understand. Benji was a little bit more reserved in his joy. He would play with the kittens using his finger to get them to climb the cages. The boys and the kittens made a big impression on each other, but not enough for mom and dad to make the mistake and get one (our dog Sadie is hand full enough).