May

·   May was full of happy reunions for our small family. We were lucky enough to have my parents and sister Melanie come visit us and we were able to spend a weekend in Black Butte, Oregon with Cody's parents, his sister Brandi and her family, and Cody's brother Jay and his family.

Our trip with the Lambs consisted of:

 -a trip to Riverside park to ride the carousel and see the giant globe

-Brunch at Word of Mouth- we enjoyed the creme brule French toast and the flying biscuit

-A picnic at the park complete with climbing and sliding with Madi

-The Iris Festival which is just down the road from us. We also enjoyed driving past all of the Iris fields this month

-Shopping and lunch at the Saturday Market

-Mother's Day celebration with my mom

-A trip to the Oregon Gardens

-Cody, Melanie, and I were able to attend a session at the Portland temple while Madi played with grandpa and grandma

-Swimming and breakfast at the Grand Hotel

No trip to grandma's or grandma coming to visit is complete without Madi getting new teeth. She now has two new canines on the top- number 13 and 14. 

Our trip with the Mangums at Black Butte consisted of:

-Playing with cousins and visiting with family

-Swimming and Madi going down the waterslide with Cody

-A trip to Clear Lake where we walked around the lake, rented a boat, paddled around, and caught fish. 

-The boys played a round of golf and we got to watch them play the 12th hole- the house we stayed on was just off the fairway

We also took a day trip to the coast and got dumped on by rain. We visited the Tillamook cheese factory where we sampled cheese and ate ice cream, and then we hiked to the Octopus tree.

Madi is growing fast and is learning to do many new things.

-Madi can open the fridge. Most of the time she gets her bottle or a piece of raw broccoli out and then closes the fridge.

-Madi loves playing with bubbles- we are on our second bubble machine, the first one was used so often that we wore it out

-Madi can play at the park all by herself- I don't have to follow her around everywhere and get to take a break and talk with the other moms

-Madi is good at putting things where they belong. She puts her toys away in the tub when it is time to clean up, she puts her bottle in the side pouch of my diaper bag, she likes to pretend to use a broom and dustpan, she picks up the tv remotes and puts them into the box. 

It's hard to believe that one year ago yesterday we moved from Minnesota. I can't believe how time flies!

Week with the Lambs:

 Mother's Day

 Iris Garden

 The Girls on Mother's Day

 Interpretive dancing by Madi

Madi can spot a dog a mile away and loves to pet them

 Oregon Gardens

 Riverfront Park

 

 

Country Glen park for a picnic and playing

Week with the Mangums:

 

 Paddling around Clear Lake

 Madi's new favorite spot

 Aunt Brit and cousin Michael

 Cousin Evie and Aunt Brandi

 Listening to music with Pa

 Madi has become very good at sharing. Sometimes to the point of not eating any of her own food.

 Madi was not happy to be in the boat. She took a few quick pictures and returned to dry ground. 

 Cody's parents- Pa and Nana

 Nana and Cody

 Enjoying a nice day on the lake

Cody's first catch of the day

 Katie's catch of the day

Madi's new favorite toy- a dog from Aunt Brandi and cousins Chandler and Emma

 

Madi and cousin Evie

 Showing her artistic side with flour paint

 Trying to take a picture for grandma for her birthday

 Madi's favorite treat is a soft serve ice cream cone, she even eats the cone :)

 Playing at the park

 Getting rained on at the Octopus Tree

 

The Oregon Coast

April

Our family loved April in Oregon. The weather was nice and we spent a lot of time outside, which we all enjoyed. It is starting to be golf weather and Cody has taken advantage of it; he has been to the range and played a few courses with his brother Jay. I got to start a garden which is something I have never done before. We have never been in one place for the summer (we have done a lot of moving) and we now have a deck where I can plant. The good weather also allowed Madi and me to spend a lot of time at the park. I think Madi would live outside if she could. She knows that putting shoes on means a trip outside and she gets excited every time. The click from unlocking the front door sends her into a frenzy and her fingers strain to pull the door open for us.

Being outside in Oregon we run into a lot of dogs, so it is a good thing Madi loves them. She gets excited when she sees our neighbors' small dogs and yells out "da" and points to them. She also says "woof" and reaches her hand out to pet them. Madi can spot dogs from a distance and is always on the lookout for a 'da'.

Madi is quite the climber these days. She now climbs up her shelf and lays inside, she climbs onto the tower of the toilet, onto chairs, and she can maneuver her way into her high chair. Apparently I was a master climber; she is only taking after the best :)

Easter was a fun weekend for us this year. Madi got to go to three Easter Egg Hunts and collected a lot of candy that she never ate; she enjoyed collecting the eggs though! We visited the Easter Bunny and Madi cried the whole time. I thought she would be fine because she didn't mind sitting with Santa, but the Easter Bunny was just too scary. We were also invited to a special family home evening with Jay and Brit where we talked about the resurrection and made disappearing marshmallow tombs. 

This month we visited the Tulip Festival in Woodburn and we were amazed by the fields of tulips, we felt like we were in Holland. I've never seen so many flowers. We were able to take a lot of pictures and Madi and her cousins Michael, John, and Evie had fun running around and playing.

Madi rode her first horse at the Riverfront Carousel and had a blast. Her cousins were able to come and they all enjoyed the carousel and playing at the park. We are so glad the weather is warming up so we can play outside!

 My Hanging Gutter Garden

I planted lettuce, strawberries, onion, basil, oregano, cilantro, thyme

 Madi's first ponytail

 A quick trip to the doctor for some breathing treatments. Thankfully she only needed to do them twice and is feeling and sounding much better

Our climber in her shelf

 Crazy climber on the toilet

Climbing into her high chair

The Mangums are ready for Easter!

Easter Egg Hunt #1 with the Clearlake Ward Playgroup

Easter Egg Hunt #2 with Keizer 1st Ward

 Madi and her cousins John and Michael

 Stealing eggs...

 Easter Egg Hunt #3 at our apartment

 Easter Egg Hunt participants- Madi, Michael, John, Mabin, and Evie

Such a sweet cousin to help her up. He even gave her a few eggs from his basket after he helped her to her feet :)

 Easter basket

 Chocolate Easter Egg from Grandma

 Farm Puzzle with animals that make noise. Madi's favorite is the dog.

 Bubbles!

 New Easter Dress

 Riding a big wooden shoe at the Tulip Festival

 John and Madi

 "Da" "Woof"

 Riding the carousel at Riverfront Park

 Riverfront Park