The Perfect Summer Afternoon

Recently, Marissa and I headed to Wilsonville to try out the amazing splash park that we have been hearing about. It's about a 25 minute drive, so we packed some lunches and headed down right after work. Upon arrival, we discovered that the city shuts the water off after Labor day... it was the DAY AFTER LABOR DAY! It looked amazing, even without the water. Imagine how fun it would have been with the water on! Well, Marissa made friends with a very nice woman with 2 kids in tow. This woman told us that she lived in an apartment complex up the street, which happened to be connected to Bally's fitness and she could get us in for free! They had a kiddy pool and a big pool. So, we accepted after little... or no hesitation! We were SO glad we took her up on her offer! The kiddy pool was perfect! There were no other kids there and it is the first time in a LONG time that I was able to just lay in my lawn chair and get tan without being worried about Addy drowning. The large pool was far enough away that the kids didn't even notice it until quite a bit later. It was wonderful! The sun was shining, there was an occasional walk through the pool to cool off, and Addy got to play! THIS is what summer is all about!

An Update on the One and Only... Addy!

Addy has the biggest personality I've seen in such a little body. She knows exactly what she wants, how to get it, and if it's not done her way there might be a problem. Addelyn is fun, loving, sweet, kind, a trouble maker, a joy, and a terror. I will take the good with the bad. :)

Things Addy is into right now:
~Addy loves picking her nose and eating it... disgusting! If you try to pull her finger away from her mouth after she picks her nose she gets fairly upset.
~Loves doing "deads" (more commonly known as Beads).
~Absolutely loves swimming and being in the water!
~Has the cutest little tan lines.
~Loves not wearing any clothes other than her panties.
~Likes to help to clean up.
~We taught her how to say Addelyn Nicole Bendixsen... however, Bendixsen sounds more like Benchicken. :)
~She knows that she is 2.
~Sings along to some songs on the radio.
~Loves nursery and her friends that are there with her, she talks about them all week.
~Loves playing with any friends... she especially loves playing with older "friends" (kids she randomly goes up to at parks).
~Demands on doing everything by herself.
~Loves anything close to a slide... especially daddy! When Tyler is sitting on the couch she will slide down his legs. Tonight, he was laying on with his head on the couch and Addy climbed right up and started sliding down him. She had a blast, Tyler... not so much!
~Doing really well with potty training!!!

Oh Addy, even though at times you can be a bit of a drama queen, we love you! Our little home would not be the same without you as a part of it. I love watching her grow, but hate it at the same time. It just means that she is getting closer to being even more independent than she already is!

Addy's Prayers

We've started trying to teach Addy to pray. She's not the greatest, but she's learning! Last night I tried helping her say the dinner prayer. It went something like this:
Tara: "Say, Dear Heavenly Father"
Addy: (loud burp)
Tara: "Say Dear"
Addy: "Dear"
Tara: "Heavenly"
Addy: "Yeah"

That was our first attempt. Our second attempt was for family prayer the same night. She almost said the whole prayer, with Tyler's help! This is kind of how that went.
Tyler: "Say Dear"
Addy: (nods her head)
Tyler: "What do you say?"
Addy: "Dear"
Tyler: "Heavenly"
Addy: (nods her head)
Tyler: "What do you say?"
Addy: "Heavenly"
etc.
By the end she would just repeat a word after he said it. She's learning! It makes me so happy to see Addy learning about praying and reading scriptures. I felt the spirit so strongly when she was saying the prayer last night with Tyler. I love her to pieces!

2 Weeks of Family and Fun!

What better way to spend the first 2 weeks of Tyler's six week break than with family? We started off with Tyler's 10 year High School Reunion, and the fair and rodeo in Hermiston. We then headed down to the wonderful Sunriver, OR. We spent a week here. We rode bikes, shopped, played games, swam, golfed, played games, ate yummy food, shopped, went in the hot tub, laughed, played minute-to-win-it, and made wonderful memories! We were sad that Connor was not able to make it. But... he got a new job, so it was worth the sacrifice! Next time Connor! After a relaxing week in Sunriver we headed back to Hermiston where we spent another week. Tyler's brother and his wife and baby were visiting for those full 2 weeks and we wanted to spend lots of time with them since it's been about 2 years since we last saw them. It was so fun! We ate, shopped, golfed, and swam. (pretty much the same stuff as in Sunriver). We've missed them and it was so fun to catch up and spend time with them! It was Tyler's first time meeting our niece, and he enjoyed it. Addy had so much fun trying to help Kennedy with EVERYTHING. She loved being the boss and playing with K. Now it's back to real life. Tyler is "studying" for the boards. As I am typing this post he is out golfing with friends... nice studying! :)

Grilled Cheese Grill!

We ventured to "the other side" of Portlandia today! We ate at the grilled cheese grill! Tasty and cool setup! You order from a little food cart and then eat inside a double decker bus! It was so fun! We sat on the top floor and Addy loved the view from up there. She was so excited!

More Sun!

This whole past week the afternoons have been sunny and high 70's - low 80's. I have been loving it! We've tried to get outside as much as possible. This week we went to the Lake Oswego Splash Pad! Addy loved it! We also went to Wilson Pool... Addy loved going down the big slide with me and playing in the shallow water!




Look at that cute bum!


Running in circles with friends!





Addy loved pushing Alexa around on the blue mat! (they are the two in the background)


And being pulled around by me! :)

I stole the pictures from you, Danielle! Thank you! :)

Oregon Berries! Yummy!

One of the best things about Oregon Summers are the berries! There are always some type of berry in season! Saturday we went to Smith Berry Barn and picked til we were full! :) We got raspberries (my favorite), boysenberries, and marionberries. It was perfect timing for raspberries! They are so delicious! Some of the boysenberries and marionberries a little bit tart, but still good. Addy had fun helping us pick berries and watching the chickens and goats. She was so tired by the time we were done!

First Ice Cream Cone!

This summer has been slow going. We are finally seeing eighty degree weather which means lots of water parks and cold treats! We went to Jamison park with friends and after playing super hard decided to get some ice cream. I realized that Addy had not yet had the joy of her own ice cream cone! She LOVED it!