Hiking (Jade, not me)

Jade and his brothers gave his dad a quality time present for Father's Day this year- they decided to hike Mt. Washington, which is the place where they go deer hunting every fall, and put a salt lick in a meadow, so that the deer will be drawn to that particular spot. They also put a motion-activated camera in a tree, so they could see if the salt lick gets any action over the next couple months (they're nothing, if not thorough). It's a dirty trick, and I don't like it, but they had a great time spending a Saturday hiking together and bonding. Those guys are truly Jade's favorite people to spend time with, and I'm so glad he gets to do it so often.

Jade and Jeremy (Justin wasn't able to go that particular day)

Grandpa

This is an unrelated picture, from family dinner the next day, but I loved it. Peyton was loving on her grandma and she decided to snatch her glasses and put them on. It didn't last long- I think they hurt her eyes a little.

Lately...

We've been busy! Actually we really haven't been busy, we've just been trying to soak up every minute of sunshine Portland has to offer. We've found some fun summer things to do around here. Peyton did a round of swim lessons at our athletic club (they were only just okay- I wish I would have just done private lessons). We've been going to the park a lot, the zoo (only once because it's been so crowded) and we went to an outdoor mall twice where Radio Disney sponsored an event for kids (one was a cooking class where the kids got to make their own noodles, one was a dance performance). Peyton couldn't take her eyes off the dancers- she loved every minute of it. She also loved the face painting and balloon creations (what kid wouldn't!). I went to my equally pregnant sister in-law's baby shower (on her 4th try she's finally getting her girl!) and I also went and saw The Help with my book club (it was really good!). Jade and I took Peyton to the LPGA tournament that was at our golf club last weekend. She really enjoyed herself, and surprisingly she was super quiet and on her best behavior. On the 22nd, I celebrated my 25th[!] birthday. I feel a little elderly. The day was great- Jade took Peyton in the morning to go get my tires rotated and my oil changed in my car, while I got to sleep in. It was awesome. Then my "mother's helper" came over and played with Peyton while I did a ton of chores, uninterrupted. It was extremely productive. While I was at home, my brother-in-law Jeremy surprised me with a visit and a flat of blackberries he bought for me just because he passed by the fruit market and remembered it was my birthday. So sweet! And my brother and sister-in-law Justin and Ashley rode their bikes over to our house with their whole family and brought me some gorgeous flowers and artisan bread. I felt so loved, and so spoiled. Jade let me choose where I wanted to eat my birthday dinner, and for some reason I couldn't get my mind off Outback, so that's where we went! Jade even got me an ice cream cake for after dinner, and some darling pink Nike golf shoes. Then the day after my birthday, my friend Lacie invited the 3 of us over for a delicious birthday dinner. Peyton was in heaven with all of her favorite people around, and Jade and I were in heaven eating Lacie's awesome cooking. I again felt a little bit spoiled. It was really a great birthday. And this will be the last year that I change ages. From now on, I'm sticking with 25!

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Peyton has been really interested in nursing lately. I have my lovely post-partum box of goodies in my room, and she decided to get out my breast pumps. She watched Steph pump when we were visiting Utah, and apparently she learned how they work!

Her swim teacher thought she was hilarious

The only picture I have from my birthday

Peyton loves black beans. These pictures crack me up.

Peyton and Tink sharing an early morning cuddle

Honeyman 2011

Remember how I'm almost 8 months pregnant? Well I get a medal, because I just spent 4 days and 3 nights real-camping. We did have bathrooms, which was great, but other than that, it was legitimate camping. My favorite part of the trip? Having an equally-pregnant sister-in-law there with me to share my pain. This year we went back to the Thelins' original campground, Honeyman State Park in Florence, Oregon. Those of you not familiar with the area should know that Florence is in Southern Oregon, right on the coast, where there are miles and miles

of sand dunes. It's actually pretty amazing, because it goes: beach-dunes-forest; all within 4-wheeling distance. We had a great camping trip this year. The whole family was able to go, with the exception of Nipper, who opted to stay home with the triplets rather than take them camping. It was probably a smart move, but we really missed him. We did some awesome things- Jade set up a zip line again this year, and this time it was even bigger and better than the last few times. We went 4-wheeling, rode bikes, sat around the fire and visited, ate awesome food, ate a ton of junk food, let the kids play on the playground and ride bikes and scooters, and ended our trip with an afternoon at the beach on an atypical Oregon Coast day- warm and sunny, without any wind at all. That was probably the highlight for our entire family, including Peyton and Tink. Other highlights include: Jade and I going on a romantic 4 wheel

ride to the beach one night, and literally watching the sun set over the ocean, Jade taking Peyton every single morning so I could get some extra sleep, Trenton and Ike's joint superhero birthday party, and having a pregnancy to blame my out of control binge-eating on. Not-so-highlights include: having to go pee 2-3 times every night (I even cut myself off from beverages around 7pm, and "went" before I got into bed, to no avail), the brake on the zipline breaking while Jade was coming down (thankfully I was not around or I probably would have gone into early labor), and Peyton and Taryn having an almost constant battle over Taryn's scooter and Peyton's bike. My all-time favorite moment of the trip was on our first day. Jade and I were unpacking the truck and I looked over and saw Peyton with her pants around her ankles, pooping in the middle of the camp-site. She has no issues with modesty, that girl. She was constantly trying to "go" in the camp area instead of the bathrooms. Surprisingly, out of the (approximately) 20 times she just popped a squat and took care of business herself, she managed to only pee on herself once. And after the first incident, she was disciplined enough to keep her #2s in the potty. Next time we're going to be as smart as Justin and Ashley were, and bring a little portable potty for her. It's good to be home and great to be clean, but we really had a fantastic time.

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Jerai and Phil announced to everyone that they are expecting[!] so technically 60% of the girls in the family are pregnant right now. Kristin and I were about 32 weeks, Jerai was about 9. I am jealous of her cute tiny waist and flat belly, but not jealous of her morning sickness.

My little beach baby kept picking up gross things like seaweed, crab legs and feathers.

My girl was in heaven.

We're missing a couple here, but you get the picture. Don't we all look amazing?

Weird night-vision eyes. Peyton loved being in the tent and sleeping in her big girl sleeping bag. She would ask to hold my hand as we fell asleep every night. So sweet.

Taryn was sharing grandpa's harmonica with Peyton. A rare occurrence.

Having a snack with grandma around the campfire. Peyton is sitting in her special camping chair. She was obsessed with that thing.

It was in fact planned...

Peyton and Boyd get along famously, and it is so darling.

[It's finally] Summer Fun

We are in the midst of a VERY mild summer over here in Portland. I'm not thrilled about it, though maybe I should be grateful, since I'm pretty pregnant, and maybe excessive heat would make me cranky (though I doubt it). We have mostly overcast mornings until about 1 or 2pm, then it clears up and is warm-ish (high 70's or low 80's) until the sun goes down, at which point it becomes sweatshirt weather again. Anyway, it's at least warm enough for us to enjoy the outdoors a little bit. Jerai, Phil and Boyd came in town for our annual family camping trip, and we got to spend a lot of quality time with them. We had a family pool party, a birthday party for Jerai, Phil and myself (our adult-August birthdays) and Jade, Dad and Phil even got to play a round of golf. Good times. Also, Jade indulged my love of outdoor festival-type things, and went with me to a little party in the shopping center that's near our house. It was so fun! We didn't want to have to worry about parking, so we rode on the dirtbike- all 3 of us. Peyton was in the front, Jade drove, and I hung on back for dear life. We all had helmets, and we drove in the bike lane, so no one worry. We've been at the park a bunch and lots of outdoor play dates, which are always fun for both Peyton and me. Peyton took a break from gymnastics for the summer, but is doing another series of ballet classes from Miss Katie, which she loves, so that's fun too. We're looking forward to a few more fun weeks of summer (MUCH TOO SHORT!)

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These 6 cousins were all born within 10 months of each other!

Peyton decided to lick all the frosting off the candles when she didn't think anyone was looking.

She's been doing this a lot lately, but I can't quite figure out what it is!

My friend Janet, and her daughter Arellia with Peyton and me at the festival

Precious Peyton

I caught this real-life moment of Jade and Tink cuddling. I think she thinks he's her husband and I'm just the maid or something.

Maternity Pictures!

Jade's beautiful and very talented cousin, Sydney, took some maternity pictures for us when we were visiting Utah. I love them! Here are just a few of my favorites...