Happy Birthday, Sam!

My nephew Samson Luke was finally born on August 22nd after a long wait. You see, my sister had my niece and nephew at 36 and 37 weeks, respectively, and the doctor did not think she would go past that with this pregnancy. At her last few appointments he kept telling her the baby was so low and since she was dilated a few centimeters he didn't expect her to make it to her next appointment. Well, she did. She made it to week 39. We went walking, bounced her on an exercise ball, and did everything we could think of to put her into labor. But apparently baby Sam was comfy and cozy in there and her water bag was like "leather," as the doctor put it, when he broke it! Ouch!

Anyway, her doctor put her on the schedule to be induced on 8/20, but told her to start calling the hospital on 8/18 to try and get in early since he was on call. However, the hospital was full and short staffed so she had to wait even longer. I cannot tell you how frazzled, excited, and anxious we all were! We had never had to wait this long. I do not know how my sister did it. But she did and on that warm, summery August morning the hospital told her they could get her in at 9am. She progressed fast and by 3:30 we had a baby! Yay!

My mom and I had my niece and nephew all day and took them to get balloons and flowers to welcome their new baby brother. They loved him so much! They immediately wanted to hold him or "it" as Harper calls him. It was such an exciting day and a great way to top off the Summer.

If you have seen my niece and nephew you know they are blond, blue eyed, and beautiful! Well Sam fits the bill... but has brown hair! And lots of it! So funny compared to the bald heads Eli and Harper had! Sam has more hair than these 2 did at a year! His hair is beautiful and he looks just like big brother E!

I love him so much! All 3 of these kids are such blessings and I am such a proud auntie. I can't even put into words how much love I have for these kids and how much joy they bring into our lives! August 22, 2011 is another day that I will hold dearly in my heart forever and thank God for.

 Welcome to this big, crazy world Sam :)

Try This!

Arnold Palmer 1/2 Tea 1/2 Lemonade is my favorite over-sized canned beverage. A co-worker had this drink at lunch about a year ago and raved about it so I tried it and have been buying it since. Refreshing, sweet, and what a fun name!

Strap Perfect - My grandma bought me these a few years ago and I wasn't sure if I would really use them. I had some of those fancy bras that the straps can go any which way you need. However, I was always fighting with them to stay in place and stay up! I don't have much to keep them where they need to be. Well, I decided to try one of these one day with a racerback top and a regular bra and was rather impressed. Not only did my bra stay up and the straps in place, my top half looked a little, um... well, let's just say happier ;) I always wear these now instead of messing with hooking, unhooking, and falling down bras. They're so easy to use and poor Jeremiah even knows how to use the things, thanks to me constantly asking him to fix my straps.                                                          

Darigold Refuel Milk - Jeremiah and I rode our bikes to Safeway the other night and were picking up some beverages for the ride home and spotted this chocolate milk beverage. We are chocolate milk connoisseurs and so we had to try it. It contains extra vitamins and protein. There is even a PB Chocolate flavor we have yet to try. Anyway, we both enjoyed this treat! It didn't taste weird and vitamin-y like I was worried it might with the extra protein in it. This is one of my new favorite chocolate milks. Creamy and tasty, but not super thick and sweet like some brands.

Talenti Gelato in Sea Salt Caramel. My sister bought it and told me how good it was and she was not lying!  Fred Meyer sells it.Get it! Enough said!

Oh Those Summer Nights (And Days)

I meant to post this ages ago! Oh well, here it is :)

This weekend was one of those Summer weekends you don't want to end. Perfect weather, good food, road trips, and family fun.

On Friday, we participated in Free Fries Fryday, thanks to Lambweston! Several area restaurants give out free fries on this day and for every free fry given out Lambweston donates .10 cents to Second Harvest. This yearly event is a great opportunity to eat some yummy fried goodness and give back. Jeremiah and I got our free fries from Arby's this year and they were not just the plain old small fries, they were a medium curly fry! I was impressed. Thanks Arby's and Lambweston!

With Our Art Show Yummies

Later that evening, I headed to Art In The Park with my mom, sister, niece and nephew. We strolled through the art, saw some old friends, and topped off the evening with delicious fresh squeezed lemonade and Kettle Corn... that I am still munching on as I type. Love this tradition :)

Drive To Walla Walla

Hubby At Olive's In Walla Walla

On Saturday, the hubby surprised me with a day trip to Walla Walla. Before we went to bed on Friday  night, Jeremiah told me to get up and get ready in the morning... no lounging around (well, he let me lounge a little). Then we were off to Walla Walla. What a sweet boy :) I forgot how pretty the drive is, despite the stinky Boise Cascade paper factory. We ate lunch at Olive's and strolled main street before getting candy and root beer floats and heading home.

Next up, we met my mom, sister, bro-in-law, and of course my angels to watch the Dust Devils beat the Vancouver Canadians. It was a blast watching my niece and nephew at their first baseball game. We ate sweet potato fries, nachos, and ice cream, and even met Dusty the mascot and  got his autograph. The game ended with a great fireworks display. I am like a kid when it come to fireworks. Sparkly explosions in the air excite me.

Eli In His Pirate Gear Enjoying The Game

Harper Enjoying Some Snacks At Gesa Stadium

The Atkins

On Sunday after church, we picked up some milkshakes and drove down Canal to catch the air show at The Columbia Cup boat races. We don't usually pay to go the races themselves, but I always like to see the air show! Diving, stalling, spinning low flying B-15's are just a little amazing! Later that night, I finally saw "Avatar". How I managed to not see it in theaters is pretty amazing, but we had moved it to the top of our Netflix queue so it was time. My review: Eh. Maybe I needed to see it in theaters, but it was a little slow in the beginning and blue naked aliens are really distracting to a storyline.



In Awe At The Air Show



Hope Summer is going well for everyone!