Working in the Yard

On Saturday the weather was nice enough to get out in the yard and finally mow for the first time this season. It was nice last weekend, but we were at the beach and Kyle doesn't usually have time during the week because of school, so Saturday was the day! Eddie got to help Dad mow the lawn with his bubble mower. He followed him all over the place with that thing and loved every minute of it!

Gordon has been wanting to walk around the back yard for weeks now, but because we have a dog and this was the first time we have gotten out in the back yard to take care of doggy "gifts", Gordon has been able to walk around and play in the back yard, so Saturday was his day to enjoy his yard!

Grim loved having us all in the yard to play and throw the ball for him. Our new neighbors have a little yappy dog who wanted to come play too, so we promised to set up a doggy play date soon. The kids loved playing outside while we worked. Gordon didn't want to get off the swing, he had so much fun. It was a nice afternoon for everyone!

With as much as we love winter and all of the excitement that it brings, I think the Hunter family is ready for some summer fun around our house!

The Oregon Coast 3/20/2010

A few weeks ago Casey and Roy'l called us and asked us if we would be interested in going to the beach for a day in March. Casey had to take some vacation, so they thought it would fun to go to the beach. They also asked Cavan and Sarah if they would like to go and they asked Cameo, but she said they were just there, so she wasn't interested in going again. A day before she decided that she would like to come with us and bring Leann to play with her cousins. Unfortunately Mom and Dad ended up having other plans by the time they learned that we were all going, so they didn't get to come, but we will definitely have to plan another trip with everyone next time!


We decided we really wanted to spend the whole day there, so we left Gresham just after 7am and drove straight to Tillamook for ice cream for breakfast! Since we were there so early we didn't have to worry too much about the kids because no one else was there. We wandered around and took lots of pictures of the kids in the face cutouts that they had. We went and watched the workers making the cheese and packaging the cheese then went back downstairs to sample cheese and get our squeeky cheese. Then, it was on to the ICE CREAM!! They have a new flavor called Grandma's Cake Batter that I just had to try, and I have decided that it is really good and I like it. It honestly tastes just like cake batter with sprinkles!

We then went on to Cannon Beach. The wind was really strong, but Cavan and Kyle had to try out the kites they bought at one of the shops there. Celeste also bought a mini kite that she was able to keep up in the air fairly easily and Eddie got to try it out as well. Gordon got to feel the sand on his feet for the first time and wanted none of it. He cried and insisted on being held the whole time so he didn't have to touch the ground!


I really wanted a family picture on the beach since we had people there with us to take a picture, but Eddie wanted to keep playing and did not want to waste time on a picture, so we didn't get a nice picture with him because the sand is much more fun than standing still!

We then went on to Seaside. It was still really windy, so we found a place for lunch then went on to the carrousel for the kids. It was Gordon's first time on the carrousel and he loved it. He and Eddie both cried when they had to get off of it, so once again, we had to fight with them because they were kicking and screaming to stay on. By the time we got off the carrousel it was raining outside, so we didn't go to the beach and instead went shopping. Now, when I drive all the way to the beach, I like to play on the beach, but when it is raining, I don't want to fight with grouchy kids, so we shopped! Mostly just looked, but it was fun to go into shops and the outlet mall and walk around.

Then we went on to Astoria for dinner. The last time Kyle and I went to Astoria with our family we found this great cafe called "The Wet Dog". We LOVED it and that was my only request when we went this time is that we go to Astoria for dinner there. Everyone else agreed and all seemed to enjoy it as much as Kyle and I enjoy it. By the end of dinner it was after 8pm and the kids were exhausted and ready to fall asleep on the way home. We are lucky in the fact that our kids will sleep in the car and then go straight to bed afterwards, so we had a great, quiet trip home and no fights at bedtime! I don't know about my siblings, but it was a great day for us and I hope we can do it again sometime!!

Scouting has begun!

I know, it's a few years early to start scouting, but not within the Church! I guess Heavenly Father knew that Kyle will always be a kid at heart and he loves scouting, so he was the right choice to be the Cub Master. He's so excited about it. Of course, he was called right after the scout training and the parent committee meeting, so he hasn't actually had any meetings with the parents, but he did get called in time to make it to his first round table meeting before the Blue & Gold dinner tonight. Apparently the pack hasn't had a cub master for a while and the den leaders have had to take turns handing out awards and conducting meetings, so they were excited as well to have someone in the calling that wants to be there. Our home teacher figured out that if we don't move out of the ward, Kyle could potentially be in this calling for the next 9 years. (Kyle said he wouldn't mind!)

Anyway, tonight was the Blue & Gold and Red & Green dinner combined to celebrate 100 years of scouting. It was actually really fun for the whole family because Celeste's friends and one of Eddie's friends was there to support their brothers. Celeste's primary teacher was there for her son in boy scouts, so she sat next to us. Kyle has a few things to learn, but over all, he actually did really well for it being the first time he has ever met the boys and not having been in cub scouts in a long time. For those who know Kyle, you know that he has no problem being silly and speaking to people, so this will be a fun calling for him.

The first two pictures are of Kyle passing out awards and meeting the boys for the first time.The third picture is the scouts with the cakes they made with their moms for the celebration.

My Birthday

Well, yesterday was my birthday, but it's much more fun to celebrate all weekend, right!? Saturday night we invited our friends over for games after the kids were in bed and we could enjoy ourselves. We stayed up playing games and eating all sorts of unhealthy food until we couldn't think any more. It was so fun to have our friends here, thanks so much for coming everyone who was able to. I know it's hard to find babysitters sometimes, but I sure had a good time!



Then on Sunday evening we had all of our family over at our little house for tons of noise, dinner and birthday cheesecake! My mom did a great job of taking pictures of everyone for me. I have to thank you for that Mom, I had too much on my mind to take pictures, so I'm grateful you thought about it!

Last night we finally went to experience Buffalo Wild Wings. It was actually really good. I got this massive burger that I could only eat half of and had to bring the other half home for lunch today. The kids shared some pulled-pork sandwiches and Kyle had to get the wings. He also asked them to bring some Mango sauce. He thought it would be nice and sweet and taste really good just to find out that it was three from the top on the very spicey side, so he was burning up before he realized what it was! It was fun to take the kids out. We have been doing our best not to go out often and have been succeeding so well that our kids were a bit crazy. We went early enough though that no one really cared, so it was an enjoyable night. I had a great birthday weekend and am so glad that I was able to spend it with all of the people that I love. Thank you all for celebrating with me!