Fathers' Day

Well, this is embarrassingly late...Oh well, you do what you can.  In case people didn't know, Nate is working at Pumpkin Ridge Golf Course for the summer.  It's a pretty fancy golf course that is actually a PGA course where Tiger Woods has played.  Since Nate gets his golf for free he has been playing whenever the sun is shining.  Matt LOVES Nate's golf set and gets so excited when Nate plays with him in the house; which is pretty cute to watch the two of them play together. Nate and I had the same idea one evening to get Matt his own (plastic) set so that he could play while dad plays.  The morning of Father's Day, Nate was a sweetheart and played golf with Matt.  Matt pretty much thinks Nate is coolest, and really he is!

Nate showing Matt how to hit the ball with his new set! Look at that grin on Matt's face!  Ignore the unfolded laundry on the couch...

I think Nate is a bit too tall for this set.





  

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Nate really is an excellent dad; many times I find myself wishing I could be half as fun as he is.  Matt loves spending time with his dad, and gets excited when he knows Nate is coming home.  He is the one who comes up with all of the creative ideas of activities for our family and makes our life more fun and interesting.  I can't imagine what our life would be like without Nate, I do know that it would be a lot more stressful, since he balances out my type A tendencies.  He is a great example not only to our kids but to me of how to be a hard worker and also balance out having fun.  During the school year Nate did his best to get good grades (3.9 GPA!) as well as spending time with us.  It was tough sometimes for him, but he did a great job and we appreciate all that he does for our family.  Our children are so lucky to have him as a dad and I appreciate all of the sacrifices he makes for us.  This really is the tip of the ice burg when it comes to all the things that he does for us, but I just wanted to publicly acknowledge what a great dad Nate is!  Happy Fathers' Day Nate!

We Made a Zoo!

You would think that living in Oregon, we would be so used to the rain that nothing would stop us from going to the zoo on a rainy day.  You would think, but you would be wrong... we're not the type of people who could withstand the rain outside with a 6 and a half month old.  I know, we're wimps, but oh well.  I told Nate that he would have to be the one to break the news to Matt, especially after I got him all pumped up to go see the giraffes.  Nate, of course being the much more awesome parent than I am decided to make our house into a zoo (as if it's not already one all the time).

This would be the elephant that I drew in like two minutes!

We had Matt play in his room for about a half an hour while Nate made stove popped popcorn, and set up the zoo and I drew pictures of the animals to go on the walls.

The Insect Tunnel.  this is where Nate and Matt put on the insect masks and pretended to be bugs.

The Bear's Den.  We couldn't get a real bear on such short notice, so Whinnie the Pooh had to stand in.

The Tiger House.  Tigger was a good sport to be our fill in tiger.

I think one of Matt's favorite things about the zoo today was the train.  Nate was a good sport and took Matt on a daddy train ride (Matt rode on his back) touring the zoo, all while holding his popcorn. So, even though it was disappointing not going to the Portland Zoo, we still had a great time!

Thrifting in Oregon!

Hello all,
I realize that I'm really lame and I will not consistently update this blog, but what the heck, you might get a few updates here and there.  Really truly, our lives are  not very exciting, but we live so far away from family, so I will try to exaggerate give you an accurate account of the goings on in here in Oregon.  First thing's first, and I'm not going to exaggerate on this one: thrifting is the BEST here in Oregon!  Let me educate all of you who do not live in the bounteous land.  Why pay full price, or even a discounted price at a retail store when you can reap the rewards of very frivolous people who donate extremely nice clothing to thrift stores?  After going thrifting to my favorite places nearby I have acquired an almost exclusive wardrobe for my children of Baby Gap and Gymboree in perfect condition, Nike, Aeropostle, American Eagle, Gap, Anne Taylor Loft, Nautica, and many other brand name clothing for Nate and myself.  How much do I pay for said items you may be asking?  29 cents to $2 a piece for each.  Being on a very tight student budget with an appetite for well made clothing can be tough if it were not for AMAZING places like Thrift City, and the Goodwill "Bins".  Although, thrifting is one of my hobbies, I feel incredibly blessed to be able to have this available to me.  It also provides for a fun activity to do with friends, and I always have a good time with my fellow Optometry wife, thrifty ladies!  Maybe sometime I will post pictures of my awesome finds so those that haven't experienced the thrill of a truly great buy will understand :)  Oh, and by the way, all of the clothes that we are wearing in our family photos were thrifted, just thought you might want to know that...