Whidden Reunion - Oregon Coast

We headed down to Florence, Oregon for the Whidden Family Reunion. Out of all 29 family members, we had 28 in attendance (we missed you Jonny!), so it was definitely a party. We stayed in a beach house on the ocean and did lots of fun activities. Prepare yourself for alot of pictures...

Oregon Coast Aquarium:

Cooper and Carter

touching suprisingly soft fish

really low roof? or really tall Whiddens?

the Hutchins

us

all 13 grandkids

Avery and Carter

Playing on the beach:

Deegan, Dryden, Ryker, Cooper and Carter sliding on sand hills

Riley, Alivia, Gina, and Kaysa

Mom, Gary, Allie, Kaysa, Gina, and Easton

Byron, Jared, Dad, Ben, and Seth playing baseball

my studly husband

Heceta Head Lighthouse:

Gary and Allie

Carter and Hayley

The Newlyweds (Tim and Ashton) in their matching hoodies

Hiking:

The Silver Family

the gals

Hobbit Beach:

Ryker and Hayley

Alivia

Hayley wasn't too impressed that I stuck a starfish on her lap, haha

Avery

Carter

It was a blast and we were so glad we got to see everyone. Especially Mom and Dad Whidden who are leaving on their mission to Germany TODAY! Good luck, we will miss you!

Wasa Lake

Wasa was so much fun. Beautiful sandy beaches and warm water - I want to go again very soon. Carter and Hayley had a blast and soaked up every single ounce of attention that my teenage cousins gave them (especially Hayley). We swam, went knee boarding/wake boarding/tubing, ate yummy food, watched movies, camped in my Aunt and Uncle's 35-foot luxury trailer, and spent way too much time in the sun.





And this video is mostly being posted for my Mom to see. Describing it to her on the phone doesn't do it justice, but I don't think this video does it justice either. The kids were playing hopscotch with the older girls and Hayley was hilarious. She would throw the rock, watch where it landed, and then just skip right through all the numbers, wild hair blowing in the breeze, thinking she was doing it perfectly.

I know, I know

It's that time of year again. Ya know that time of year when you're just too busy having way too much fun to actually stop and blog about having way too much fun? Here's what we've been up to these days:

• renovated my downstairs bathroom... for a total cost of about $43. Paint, flooring, toilet. Yep.

ugly before:

much improved after:

• Went to Sherwood Park for 5 days to visit my family. Carter and Hayley had so much fun with Grandma, Grandpa, and Carly. We rented movies, played games, did some shopping, visited old friends, went to a kid's birthday party whom we had just met, went swimming at the Legislature pools, took the high level bridge trolley train...

me and my best friend growing up Becca

and our kids together

My Mom and I wanted to do alot of shopping together. We all know shopping with kids is almost impossible, so we'll do whatever it takes to entertain them while browsing Walmart. Like letting them use my camera to take random pictures. Looking at the pictures afterward is hilarious enough in and of itself...



...but especially when you find pictures like this on your camera:

There were pictures of everything in Walmart, and I mean everything!

Funny story for the day: While shopping, Hayley sees something similar to the bra in the picture above and goes: "Mommy! Look! Those are seashells, just like Ariel wears!".

Have I mentioned before that I think my kids are hilarious? Because they are.

• Summertime means more baths for those dirty little feet, and Hayley especially enjoys her baths. I secretly videotaped her in the tub, just to prove that she really never stops talking. Never.
  

• We've been having alot of crazy thunderstorms here these days.
  

Coming up:

• Today the kids and I leave for Wasa to go camping with my Aunt and Uncle and family for 2 days. Boating on the lake in 30* weather - I could get used to this.
  

• On Thursday, we leave for our 17 day vacation, yes that's right I said 17 days. We are heading down to the Oregon coast for the Whidden Family reunion in Florence. Afterward Jared, the kids, and I have 12 more days to mosey our way back on up home, through Oregon, Washington, and BC stopping and staying wherever we feel like. Sounds relaxing, doesn't it? *We have some ideas of what we could do (California Redwoods? Seattle? Trail/Nelson/Kelowna? Any other suggestions?)* I am so excited.

• Mendenhall Family reunion near the end of August. Huge, crazy, and always a good time.
  

• My brothers come home from Russia on August 21st. There are probably no words to express how excited I am to see them.

Well that's it peeps. You are officially updated. Now don't say I never did nothin' for you :)

Hope you are all having a good summer!

Prepare to be Amazed

Have you ever been at a ball game and someone whistles super loudly by sticking 2 fingers in their mouth? I always wished I was talented enough to whistle like that. Apparently it's easier than I thought because even my 2-year-old can do it. She's pretty talented, hey?




I think the funniest part is that she is absolutely convinced she's actually whistling.

Finally!

I have been wanting to run in a race for awhile now, and finally just stopped procrastinating and signed up for one. I ran with some friends of ours (despite much convincing, Jared declined running with us and opted to be the photographer this time). We did the RBC Sole Survivor in Crowsnest Pass. I ran the 5k and Jason and Vanessa ran the 10k. The race started at 7:30 pm and the temperature was 31* C, so it was definitely a hot one!

Some pics before the race. I know, we are dorks...

Me after crossing the finish line:

Vanessa, Jason and I after the race.

I had so much fun and I'm so glad I finally got around to actually doing a race, instead of just talking about doing it someday. It makes me want to enter more.

Like Father, Like Son

I found Carter outside "fixing" his quad. Gee, do you think he takes after anyone we know?

jacking it up

Checkin things out underneath. Notice the creeper (a la Ninja Turtles pool floatie).

Measures right - check!

Goodness, this kid cracks me up. It's a good thing I love Jared so much because now there's two of him!

The long-awaited arrivals

This past weekend, our friends the Stevensons (Brad, Kirsti, Skye and River) and the Hayes (Andy and Trena) came to visit us. It was a packed house - 6 adults and 4 kids. I think we were outside almost the entire time though. The weather was so hot and we went quading, to Josephine Falls and Blue Lake for hikes and picnics, visited on the deck, played Rockband, watched UFC 100, and ate alot of yummy food. The kids played together awesome, and we were sad to see them all head back home to Edmonton after the weekend was over. My new mission in life is to convince them all to move here so we can see more of them :)
















Great weather, great scenery, great friends. What could be better?

Today I am...

... watching Carter play soccer in his week-long soccer camp.


... still laughing at Carter imitating his British Soccer Camp instructors English accent. Oh my goodness, kids are hilarious.

... going to Crowsnest Pass to look at kitchen counter tops. Wishful thinking? Probably.

... wishing I didn't need sleep to survive. There's just not enough hours in the day to finish all my little projects.

... excited to have loads of company this weekend. It's going to be so much fun!

... not gonna lie: P90X is kicking my butt.

... wondering if my partying neighbors know it was me that filed a complaint. Whatever, I wasn't woken up at 4 am by loud drunkenness last night so it must have worked!

... watching my grass grow. Over a month ago, we rototilled the garden patch and planted grass seed - it's not going so well. For reals, how long do I have to wait for it to just grow in thick and lush already?

... wishing I could just say "no" when I get asked to do things I just plain don't want to do.

... realizing that drama with girls starts young. Hayley came up to me and said (in a tormented voice), "But I just want to go home this weekend!" (a quote from the movie "Bolt"). And then walked away, giving a huge sigh.

... thinking I should host huge get-togethers every weekend. It's great motivation for me to finish all my little at-home fix-it projects that I've been procrastinating for way too long.

... looking forward to the Whidden reunion on the Oregon Coast in less than a month!

... realizing that my brothers get home from Russia in a few months - so stinkin' excited!


What are YOU today?

Canada Day Weekend. A tad late.

Just like everybody and their dog, we headed to Raymond for Canada Day again this year. My grandparents live there and every year it's a big party with almost everyone in attendance. We spent the day watching the parade, eating good food, and visiting with family and friends. We decked the kids out in Canada shirts, hats, and fake tattoos. And... the next day they had tan lines on their faces in the shape of Canada flags. Pretty funny.


The sirens were a bit too loud for Hayley, who must take after her wimpy, sensitive-eared Mother.


The three little Mendenhall boy cousins:

After all the partying we went camping (just the four of us) to Ridge Reservoir, which was recommended by a friend. Good thing my hard-working GPS memory got us there.


Carter and Hayley love camping, and we're so glad they're such good little campers. This weekend just reaffirmed the fact that these kids were meant to be born into our family. They are just so laidback and chill with doing whatever we feel like doing - whether it's camping, or spontaneously driving across North America! It's happened before.

Happy (belated) Canada Day everyone! Especially to all our American relatives who, deep down, secretly wish they lived in this awesome country! (ahem Gina... Andrea...)