Busy August

Well, I thought I’d let ya know what we’ve been up to the last month. We got to celebrate with my cousin, Kasie, as she got married on August 2nd. It was a beautiful night for an outdoor reception, and everything looked fabulous. It was the first time Zoe had been around a bunch of people dancing, and she thought it was a blast!

A few days after the wedding, we headed to Oregon to visit Corey’s family. His mom’s 60th birthday was on the 2nd, and she planned an open house for the celebration on the 9th. Zoe traveled very well, although, since she is newly potty trained, we had a lot of stops just to make sure she wouldn’t have an accident. It turned a trip that we use to drive (before Zoe) in about 10 hours into a 13 hour trip. She did do quite well squating outside, which was a good thing ~ she thought it was very cool! As I said, she traveled very well, so the 13 hours were not too bad. She had a blast "dancing" in her seat and singing Veggie Tales the very last part of the trip when we figured she might sleep. It was very entertaining for us, and I think she was just too excited that she was going to see Grandma and Grandpa Beam. Oh yeah, and here’s the "Zoe quote" for that day… (an hour or so prior, Corey had mentioned something about having to put gas in the car in Ontario) after we had arrived in Ontario, and stated so, Zoe said, "Should we go and put grass on the car?" We laughed, thinking about the fact that she loves to pick grass and put it on our dog Dixie…just imagine what her little mind was thinking!

So, we hung out at Corey’s parents home most of the week. Corey helped his dad with a lot of outside work (they both really enjoy that), and I felt quite spoiled getting at least one latte a day (I think as good as they make at a shop) made by Corey’s dad, as well as enjoying their hospitality ~ Dale and Cathy, you guys bless us! I know that it is a lot of work to keep things going with extras in the house. I wish I was more help! Zoe loved playing with Grandma and Grandpa. I think her favorite was playing Ring Around the Rosie over and over and over and over and over with Grandma. And I believe Grandma loved it too!

We went to the coast and met Corey’s brother and his family. We shopped a little and ate lunch at Mo’s, and then headed out to the beach. It was Zoe’s first time to see the Ocean. Of course, it being the Oregon coast, it was too chilly to be in the water, but we had a great time on the beach! Here are a few photos…

In the evenings, we all tried to get out for a walk, and a couple times we went to the river. Zoe had a blast throwing rocks into the river and saying things like, "That was a big splash!" and "We did it!" ~ over and over again. She could have been quite happy doing that for hours. We had a wonderful time visiting Corey’s family and celebrating with them, and we left wishing we could have stayed longer.

Well, we’ve been home for over a week, and there is always something to be done, whether it be house work or yard work or harvesting veggies from the garden (so much this time of year) or running errands in town. Plus, we musn’t neglect hanging out with friends here and there and getting in another swim before the summer is over. Since we got back, Corey has been very busy swathing either hay or straw when he isn’t on shift, and Zoe and I are missing how much we usually get to hang out with him. Along with all that, Zoe has decided to bring out some of those "terrible two" tantrums and bossiness, and boy am I looking forward to getting through it and getting back to fun, sweet Zoe for most of the time. It sure is hard being a mom sometimes ~ they like to push the limit at times, but I wouldn’t trade her for anything! I am blessed to be Zoe’s mommy, and I pray that she feels blessed to be my daughter.

We look forward to life slowing down just a bit in the next few weeks…do ya think it really will? I guess we’ll see...