Busy Full Week

Well our week, mostly weekend, was full and fun! Justin's sister Nia and her family were in town so we spent a lot of time with them. On Wednesday I took them and his other sister Jessica and her kids to the OSU lambing barns. The three kids who were old enough, loved it! Lincoln is still just five months or so, so he couldn't really appreciate it. The kids ran around yelling "Baa!" at the sheep and waiting for them to reply. Levi and his cousin Bentley really love each other and ran around holding hands and getting into trouble together. Nia's daughter, Madeline, joined the fun too, and Levi held her hand at times as well.

Thursday I spent the day with my mom since we haven't had much "fun" time since she got back from Chicago. She or I have been sick most of the time. But it was nice to have a day to spend with her. We also made some pants for Levi. He wears size 3T, but the waist never fits him. We've tried the adjustable ones, but with how tight we pull them, it bunches up too much to wear comfortably. He's not skinny either. He is actually on the pudgy side for his age, but he is also on the tall side for his age. So he needs the length, which is why I made him some pants on my own. My mom also made him some shorts from the scraps of material left over. He should have plenty of bottoms now! This was also a big day because we got a dog! Yep, you heard me right, a dog. We've been looking for a small dog to get for Levi to play with for quite some time. We had finally decided not to get one since they were all so expensive, then this one seemed to fall into our lap. It took some convincing to get Justin back on board, but I think he is really warming up to her. She is a 9-year-old fox terrier/chihuahua mix. She is black and tan in coloring, and looks like a mini doberman. She is very sweet, and great with kids... even a lot of them together. Her name is Lala. I don't like the name, but she is so old that we can't change it, so Lala it is. When I got her home, she sniffed everything and then curled up next to me on the couch and slept. Ever since then she follows me everywhere. She likes Justin, but I am definitely her favorite.

Friday started early, we headed to Justin's parents around 8:30 AM. Justin had to go to class, and we didn't want to drive out there twice. So I went to his parents while he was at class. Our little dog was scared of Nala (his parent's dog) at first, and it took them a while, but they warmed up to each other somewhat. Our original plan for the day was to go to the beach, but that had to change because Skipper (Nia's husband) had an interview of sorts with Nike and their main contractor Kelly Services. He said it all went well, so we'll keep him in our prayers. So, in the early afternoon we all headed up to Salem to spend time with Jessica and the boys. We first went to the Riverfront Carousel. Levi loved watching it, but once he was on it he didn't like it too much. By the end of the first ride he was okay, but not loving it. So we went again, and I think if he did it on a regular basis, he would love it! Then we let the kids play in the field where they ran and chased geese. It was the cutest thing! We then headed back to Jessica's where we hung out for a while. Jessica and Braydon (her husband) had a dinner for his work to go to, so we let the boys play for a bit before heading home.

Saturday we decided to go to the coast. We went to Mo's first, where Justin was thrilled he got his clam chowder. On the bay front in Newport they have a new place called 'Mini-Donuts'. They are homemade mini-donuts with cinnamon and sugar on them. Very similar to ones you would get at the fair. They were delicious! We may have to make that a tradition when we go to the coast. We then tried to go to the beach, but it was cold and wet. I lasted maybe two minutes before I took Lala back to the car; we both were freezing! The rest of the gang came within five minutes as well. So we headed to OSU's Marine Science Center to let the kids have some fun, and they did! We even got a good shot at the octopus being aggressive! They also had a sea turtle on a table that they were going to do an autopsy on to find cause of death, but we couldn't stay the extra hour to watch it; too bad, it would have been cool! That evening was a family dinner where everyone could say goodbye to Nia before they left. We left earlier than we thought we would, but with Lala and Levi both getting restless, we had to go.

Sunday was a bit more relaxing. After church we headed to my parents to help my mom make dinner. Lala loved having all the space to run around. I made a grasshopper cake that was delicious! It was mint and fudge and yummy! Lala loved the kids and they were very good with her too! We had a scare when my oldest sister left, we couldn't find her oldest daughter Sofia anywhere, inside or out. We all were outside screaming for her, looking everywhere. My heart was racing so fast and my mind was whirling around so many bad ideas of where she was or what happened; I feel I only got a glimpse, though, of what her mom must have been feeling and thinking. We did find her, she had wandered off (which isn't like her at all). All ended well, but I was really scared for a bit there.

Since I started out with a messy story about Levi, I'll end with a cute one. He has really learned his A-B-C's, and loves to point out the letters he sees. His favorite is 'W', for whatever reason. But if you are wearing a shirt with large letters, he will spell what is on your shirt. We got a video of him yesterday spelling 'Wyoming' from Justin's shirt. It was so adorable!

That's all from us, hope you all are well!