Robin Hood

This weekend was Sherwood's Annual Robin Hood Festival: probably Spencer's and my favorite weekend of the year!  We started out with the parade on Saturday morning.  I walked and Spencer road his bike - good to avoid traffic, but tiring on a hot day!

I'm still bad at selfies.

His candy bag is ready!

I thought Spencer would get less candy this year because he was standing by himself.  But no, everyone just threw whole handfuls of candy just to him.  There must be at least 5 lbs. of candy in that bag!  (Some of it has already been thrown away or put into our Halloween stash for October.)

We went home for lunch and then drove back down to the festival in the afternoon.  Spencer loves dunk tanks.  He missed his three balls, but the man was nice and let him push the button anyway.

Next, we got ice cream cones and watched the sword fighting show.  That's my favorite part because these guys take their gig so seriously.  Check out Robin Hood's hair!  I wish mine was that thick.

Spencer's ice cream cone was enough to finally knock out the tooth that had been hanging by a thread all week.  Not realizing what it was, he spit it out on the grass.  Luckily, we hadn't moved and were able to find it when he noticed his tooth was missing a few minutes later.  Whew!

Last up, was the bouncy house.  I didn't get a picture of the whole thing, but Spencer really liked this one with a slide attached. 

We looked at a few more booths and then called it good because we were hot and tired.  It was another fun year in Sherwood forest.  It only would have been better if Alan could have come with us. :(

Movie Date

The whole reason Spencer did his lemonade stand was to earn money to see Planes Fire and Rescue in the theater.  Well, it opened on Friday and we were at the very first showing!  He was so excited and the movie did not disappoint.  Spencer's review was, "It was a bit scary, but I really loved all of the action parts!"  Checking out the book from the library a few weeks beforehand really helped his nerves and prevented any crying in the theater.  Thank you library!

Since Alan was working all day Friday and Saturday and couldn't go with us, Spencer had quite a bit of money left over.  He had to put some of it in savings, but used the rest to buy Wind Lifter (a helicopter from the movie) and yet another Car's eye guy.  He's a happy boy!

Old Friends

Spencer's best buddy from a couple of years ago came back for a visit last week.  Their mom was taking family pictures so Andrew (almost 6), Jimmy (4), and Luke (1) got to hang out with us all day.  Their friendship wasn't quite what it used to be, but they still had fun together.  We played at the park, had a picnic in the front yard, and spent a lot of time playing outside since my car can't hold that many kiddos.  Old friends are good.

Summer is Here!

With all the busyness of trips, catching up on life from trips, and celebrating holidays, we hadn't really had a chance to relax and just enjoy summer until the 2nd week of July.  Not that those other things aren't fun.  We were just ready for some warm-weather down time.  It's so lovely to not have a full schedule and just have time for picnics and playing at the local splash parks.

This one is just because we hardly ever get to see pretty sunsets like this.  I took this from the balcony off our master bedroom.

Alan's Half Marathon

Alan ran a half-marathon on the 5th of July.  It wasn't an ideal day after getting very little sleep for the previous two nights, but that was the only Saturday he had off for the rest of the summer.  He had set a challenging goal of 1:30 for himself, but the exhaustion and heat took their toll.  It wasn't his best race ever, but he finished! 

The course was a big loop that Alan ran four times.  That makes for easy cheering, but kind of a boring run.  I think we were the only fans out there.

Katelyn and Zac went to the waterfront while Alan, Spencer and I went to a baptism in the early afternoon.  Later, we took Spencer to the awesome new Lego store in Sherwood.  They both built boats.  Katelyn's was so awesome that the clerk said he was going to put it in his display case and sell it! 

Thanks for coming Kate and Zac!  We had such a great time celebrating with you!

Land that I Love

I'm pretty sure the 4th of July is my favorite holiday.  My American Heritage class during my very first semester at BYU introduced me to the idea that our country was founded by righteous men specifically so the Gospel could be restored.  I gained a strong testimony of that fact that semester and those feelings of gratitude and reverence for our founding fathers have stuck with me ever since.  Plus, this year I've been feeling extra grateful for the freedoms we have and the opportunity they give us to experience the adoption process.  I don't know how it works in other countries, but it seems work very well here.  And even though summer in the NW doesn't officially begin until July 5th, the 4th is usually still pretty warm.  Summers in Oregon are pretty much paradise.  Independence Day is a celebration of everything I love the most about life: religion, family and summer!

This year was especially awesome because Katelyn and Zac came down from Seattle to celebrate with us for a few days.  We started out the day at the Freedomthon.  (Alan's day started at 2:30 am when he had to get up to prepare for the race.  Yuck!).  Zac and I ran the 5k and then Spencer and I did the 1-mile kid's race.  I surprised myself by getting a good time of 23:01 in my 5k and taking 2nd place in my age division!

Uberthons served a breakfast of pancakes, sausage, and fruit to the finishers.  Katelyn didn't get to run because she had surgery the week before, but she got pancakes anyway for being the sister-in-law of the race director.

Alan, hard at work timing and announcing finishers.

"Finish hard Spencer!"

Spencer was super-grouchy after his race.  He was starving because I wouldn't let him eat any pancakes until after he ran.  Running in the heat with a pancake stomach = a sick tummy!

He felt much better after breakfast though.

After the race was cleaned up and we had all rested a little, we had a bbq in our backyard.  I didn't do anything fancy this year - just regular burgers and hotdogs, but it was good.  We had our traditional homemade ice cream for dessert, but I tired a new recipe that was a winner!

Playing croquet while waiting for dinner.

Darwin and our friend Moe joined us.  I don't know why Alan thinks it's so funny to take bites of food during pictures.

Doing tricks on the trampoline.

All three of them on their phones looking up the same thing!

Katelyn and Zac joined us for fireworks at Tigard HS again this year.  The men took a nap while Kate, Spencer and I played games, divided up glow sticks, and joined the dance party (that's my favorite part of the evening!).

Spencer loved the fireworks as usual.  Red Vines and gummy bears helped keep him happy until the show started.  It was such a fun, tiring day!  Happy Independence Day!  May we never forget how blessed we are to live here even though our government is far from perfect. 

Spencer's Sweet Shop

Spencer has been wanting to do a lemonade stand for a couple of years now.  This year, I figured he was finally old enough to handle it and actually help a little.  Since he is REALLY wanting to see the Planes Fire and Rescue movie that is coming out in two weeks, I told him he could help earn the money for the theater by having a lemonade stand.  He was THRILLED!  I didn't realize what I had gotten myself into.

We decided to open the shop on a Monday and a Tuesday afternoon that were supposed to be hot.  Alan (forever the business man) wanted to post fliers on doors in our neighborhood to help drum up business.  We made cookies, cupcakes and fresh-squeezed lemonade (only because Safeway had a great sale on lemons!).  Spencer was actually a really good helper once he quit complaining and started helping. ;)

I thought we had plenty of supplies prepared, but when our first customer bought every drop of the  lemonade I had squeezed and every cupcake, I had to madly make more.  We ran out of lemonade after a little more than an hour.  So, I bought 30 more lemons the next day to be more prepared. 

By the end of the 2nd day, Spencer had about $38 in his money cup!  He was super excited that "his" business had been so profitable.  Too bad I spent at least $30 on supplies.  :)  Even though I have a citrus juicer, it was a ton of work and I spent the majority of those two day just doing the lemonade stand.  Hopefully, Spencer learned a little about work and money though because that will make it all worth it.  

We knew almost everyone that came and are so grateful for their support!

Back to Missoula

After stopping at two Barnes and Noble stores to track down a Planes Busy Book for Spencer (that was his prize for getting along so well with Porter!), my buddy and I headed up to Montana to stay with Dani for about a week.  Spencer is seriously the best traveling buddy.  We had checked out 11 movies from the library before we left was perfectly content to watch them the entire time we were driving.  I made him do a different activity between each movie though.  He never complained once and we only had to make one emergency bathroom stop on the side of the road.  Good thing he's a boy!  It makes those stops so much easier. ;)

Spencer had never been to Ryan's new house in Montana and they had a great time playing trains and Legos together.  They did have some issues with sharing (that's something that's really hard to teach to an only child), but still loved playing together for hours.  Dani got a bad sore throat and felt even worse than normal and we had a few cold, rainy days so we spent a lot of time just playing at the house.

Dani had planned this awesome Lego Movie party though and still pulled it off even though she felt crummy.  She made cute Lego decorations, Lego popcorn bags, and awesome Lego brownies.  Very impressive for a sickie!  It was Spencer's and my first time seeing the Lego Movie.  I thought it was hilarious, but Spencer was a little scared.  I'm excited for it to come out on Redbox so I can watch it again with Alan.

At the end of the week when Dani was feeling a little better and Scott had the morning off work, we took the kids to a cool park in downtown Missoula.  Spencer and Ryan loved running around on this playground.  I've seen lots of them in other states, but don't know why Oregon doesn't have any.

The park has a carousel that you can ride for $.50-$1.  Spencer wanted me to ride with him and I was really glad that he chose a horse that didn't move up and down.  I had to close my eyes the entire time to keep from getting sick.  I wonder why my motion sickness has gotten so much worse as I've gotten older?  Everyone else loved the ride though.  After the park, Scott treated us to a yummy lunch at Red Robin.  If you haven't tried their Banzai burger, you should!

Spencer and I packed up and headed home the next morning.  The nine hour drive was a breeze as Spencer watched movies and I listened to audio books.  Smart phones are awesome for that!  We had a good trip and a great time visiting family, but it was nice to get home to our own beds!

Meeting our Birthmother and Family!

I didn't take any pictures, but the main reason for this trip was to meet our babies' birth mother.  We got to meet H. and most of her family at a park near their home in Orem on Saturday afternoon.  I was incredibly nervous beforehand.  I am much more comfortable in small, close-knit groups than I am in large ones.  Add to that the fact that these people would be sizing us up to see if we were acceptable as adoptive parents, and you have a lot of stress.  I think Alan was even feeling it a little and that's rare for him!

I needn't have worried though.  The whole family welcomed and and made us feel at ease the moment we walked in the door.  They were so open with us and so down-to-earth that we felt immediately comfortable.  Rather than feeling like we were in an interview, it was more like H. had made her choice, they supported and loved her 100%, and now they wanted to get to know us.  What a relief!!  Spencer, who normally won't say a word to adults he doesn't know, even answered a few simple questions.  We had invited Alicia to go with us because she had already met H.  We hadn't intended for her to be our babysitter, but she wound up entertaining and playing with Spencer while the rest of us talked.  Thank you Alicia!

H. herself was exactly what I pictured and knew her to be from our emails and phone conversations.  She is so genuine in her desire to use this challenge in her life to bless our lives.  She is seriously such a gem!  While the waiting and the lack of control have been difficult for me at times, this whole situation is SO much easier and less dramatic than I expected it to be.  I keep wanting to pinch myself to make sure I'm not dreaming because it all seems to good to be true. 

We now have about 2.5 months left to wait.  We've talked a lot about names and have a few ideas, but don't love anything yet.  Spencer's top choices are "Diego," "Ethan," "Carson," (both names of friends from his kindergarten class), and "Duck!"  It's weird for me to be actually thinking about and planning for a baby.  I've spent the last 5 years avoiding those thoughts as much as possible.  It's fun though and I laid in bed last night just thinking about how special it's going to be to have a baby in the house again.  This is really happening!

Playing at Elise's

We spent most of the rest of our time in Utah just hanging out at Elise's.  Lindsey was kind enough to drive down from Rexburg just to see us.  She hadn't seen Spencer since before her mission 2.5 years ago!  She was an awesome aunt and let the little boys chase her all over the yard.

We had several corn hole competitions.  Who knew such a simple game could be so entertaining and bring out so much competition?!  Spencer always wanted to be on Lindsey's team.  She was a good sport about it even when they took last every time. :)

We were there on Father's Day and had a delicious dinner of grilled salmon, rosemary bread, corn on the cob, and strawberries with brownies and ice cream for dessert.  Alan had to fly back to Oregon Sunday evening, but Spencer and I got to stay one more night with Elise before heading to Montana on Monday.

These two played with Porter's hot wheels cars in the dirt for about two hours on Sunday evening.  So much fun!  We need a big pile of dirt at our house.  Somehow though, I don't think Spencer would play in it without a buddy.