Evan's new glasses

This is Evan (with a blue mustache from who knows what).

This is Evan with his new glasses.

This is Evan with his new glasses and a patch. Arghhhh!

This has been a long time coming. Finally, Evan was old enough that they could more accurately test his eyesight. He does not have a lazy eye. They are using the patch to try and strengthen his eyesight in his right eye. Turns out he has perfect vision in his left eye, but his right eye, not so much. Hopefully this will improve the vision in his right eye over time and he won't have to wear glasses anymore. That would be nice, because they are a pain in the you know what.

Before and After

One of the projects I have been working on this summer has been to reupholster our dining chairs. I finally found some fabric I liked in Portland. After getting a quote of $800 to have them done I decided to attempt it myself. I think they turned out pretty good. What do you think?

What the freak are diapers made of anyway?

Ever wondered what would happen if say, a three year old were to take a full urine soaked diaper and swing it joyously around his head and then slam his nine year old brother in the head with it?

It Explodes!!!

And there would be plump gelatinous urine soaked BB things everywhere. In the rug, the carpet, furniture, you get the picture. There would also be clumps of other indescribable clumps of pee fiber from wall to wall. Good times!

In case you were wondering it would not be a good idea to try and clean it up with a vacuum. That would just smush the gelatinous pee into the carpet and rug. You would have to pick up each individual little pee clump up one by one.

It would also take every fiber in your being to not beat said three year old. Lucky for Evan he was spared. He did however get to help clean up the pee goo. I think he will be taking a nap today.

Our 4th of July!

We had a fun and busy 4th of July. This year our ward had a flag raising and breakfast. John took the kids while I stayed home and packed everything up for the rest of the days adventures. After the breakfast we started our traditional activities.

We go to the parade in Monmouth every year and sit on the same corner. They have a kids parade before the big one starts. The kids decorate their bikes, scooter, wagons or whatever and get to ride a mile or so with the crowd watching on. Our kids love this every year.

My little firecrackers.

Chloe sat and took in all the excitement, when she wasn't trying to run into the street.

Evan hung out with Aunt Michele in the back, as far away from the loud noises as possible. Thanks Michele.

All the cousins sit on the curb so they can run out and grab the candy that is thrown.

After the parade we went to Grandma and Grandpa's for a BBQ. The kids had lots of fun playing with their cousins.

And lastly, we always go to the Salem/Keizer Volcanoes game. It is lots of fun and they have great fireworks after the game. This is the only good picture I got from the game.

All the other pictures of the game turned out like this. Basically because I really have no idea how to work our camera properly. This is with the fill light maxed out so you can even see the people. Oh-well. Better luck next time?

The end of the Colorado pictures

This was the view from one of the windows in the Museum of Natural History. Great view of Denver.

When I saw this picture I laughed so hard. Apparently Evan's swimming suit is a little too big. Luckily it didn't come all the way off.

While we were in Denver we also went to the Museum of Natural History. This was some sort of satellite thing where you can find your house and see it from space. Kind of creepy when you think about it.

Evan and Brock had the same jammies. This is their tough guy pose.

Karissa's brother Zac, has a dog and Evan loved playing with it. This dog was so well behaved and very tolerant of the kids.

Evan also had lots of fun playing with Zac.

Elitch Gardens

How cute is she? She is getting more personality now and is really starting to crack us up.

Chloe and Brock. Brock isn't too excited for his airplane ride. Chloe was reluctant until the ride started and then she loved it.

Ryan had to squat so he met the height restrictions. They pretty much let him get away with it except for one ride.

Evan loved the bumper cars as long as he could ride with Ryan. Since there were so few people there the guy just let them ride over and over without getting off.

Evan loved this little roller coaster, although you can't tell from the look on his face.

We were lucky enough to catch this awesome Bob the Builder show(note sarcasm). Evan loved it since it is his favorite show.

We had a fun day at Elitches. It was overcast and looked like rain so there weren't many people there. We were lucky and it never rained and we got the whole place to ourselves almost. I had the camera with me most of the time in the kiddie section with Evan and Chloe. That's why there aren't any pictures of John and Ryan. They went and did the rides in the rest of the park. They had lots of roller coasters. Ryan loved them all! I think John was a little queasy by the end of the day.

Garden of the Gods and USAFA

OK, so I am still not done posting all of my Colorado pictures. We seriously did so much while we were there and we took so many pictures. I have been going day by day but I might just squeeze the rest in and call it done. Look for the last of the Colorado pics tomorrow or the next day.

Garden of the Gods is one of my most favorite places on the planet, that I know of so far. It is so beautiful and awe inspiring. The whole area is just gorgeous and it made me soooo homesick for Colorado. As an added bonus, for my pleasure I am sure, the whole time we were hiking the trails it thundered and echoed through the rocks. It was awesome! Oh how I miss a good thunder and lightening storm. It was a great day.

Since we were in Colorado Springs we stopped at the US Air Force Academy. It is right at the base of the most beautiful mountains. It is a gorgeous campus. My dad used to take us to the Air Force vs. BYU football games. We didn't have time to walk to the chapel but we hit the gift shop and the B2 bomber. Ryan couldn't believe that the guard searched our car and trunk when we entered. We had to explain to him about the evils of the world and keeping our country safe.


The chapel is in the distance. It is such a beautiful building.
The boys had so much fun chasing these poor geese. I was kind of worried they were going to get annoyed with the boys and turn and attack, but they never did. The smart ones flew up on top of the bomber.