Labor Day Fun

Aaron has always wanted to go kayaking. He never misses a kayak on top of car, and always points them out to me. So we decided to go kayaking when my parents came to visit - they were wonderful babysitters. And my Dad took a turn in one of the kayaks. So did Adele, she sat with Aaron. We had 2 single kayaks rented on the Tualatin river.

Dad in one kayak, Aaron with Adele in the red one. Mom and Samuel watch.

We spent Sunday at Grandpa and Grandma Severson's. Adele loves asking her great grandpa to shell pistacchio nuts for her.
Monday was spent at the Columbia River Gorge. We were impressed by the Bonneville Fish Hatchery, the beautiful ponds there, and the 6 foot sturgeon. Didn't know river fish could be so big!

I barely held Samuel all weekend. My parents always had him.

Samuel is SUCH a happy baby. He puts up just fine in the car now, victory!! (Adele NEVER liked the car, and still isn't an angel in it, Samuel hated it for the first 5 months of life). We can actually drive around without hearing him cry. It's such a peaceful difference.

Samuel has been doing the belly flop crawl these last 2 weeks. He can get everywhere he wants, which is keeping me on my toes. Because he puts everything in his mouth, still. So even when I pick him up and move him, he just turns around and crawls back to where he was headed. He turns 6 months tomorrow!

Adele went to a new ward (great grandpa and grandma's) and didn't cry when we left her at nursery!! With total strangers! And this last Sunday, she was Excited to go back to her class. Amazing! I never even sat with Aaron at church in Lompoc. He spent all his time in nursery (also because there was only one nursery leader for 10 kids back there). It's nice to see my husband at church now, since neither of have callings at the moment.

Although most people have said not having church callings during our traveling would be a "nice break," I believe that church callings actually enrich our lives. It's better to be spending time serving than doing most other things. I do miss playing the organ at church. I have no instruments and nothing to play these last few months. I miss the kids in primary that showed me they could learn songs easier than I could! Well, I don't miss playing the piano at choir... I liked playing piano, I just didn't like going to choir practice. Anyhow, point is, our callings bless us in ways we can't imagine.

Enough sentimentality. I want to be back in a kayak, lazily floating on the river with my dear sweet love, talking about our dreams and memories. Oops, getting sentimental again. This post is OVER.