Memorial day weekend roundup

Jarrod spent memorial day weekend with the boys in Bend, OR. It was time for a boys weekend for him and I'm so glad he got to go and spend the WHOLE weekend with Andy, Noel and Gidley. The first night they went to see Tenacious D which apparently is Jack Black's band (to be honest, I didn't even know this existed haha). They then spent the rest of the weekend playing golf, drinking beers, and hanging out. He had a blast and was very tired when he got home... those boys sure wore him out! 

Brayden and I stayed home and my mom and sister came for the weekend. We did A LOT of shopping, and A LOT of eating really yummy food. For some odd reason, VERY odd reason I didn't take any pictures... (We will have to recreate this weekend soon so I can document it with pictures)! Here is a picture of my sister and mom from a while ago... they just needed to be in the blog post :) I'm so lucky to have them so close and I love spending time with them... (yes, even my sister) haha. It was great weekend and Brayden and I had so much fun! 

Don't I look like I was adopted? haha I promise I'm not :)

Thank You : Memorial day

Jarrod and I have a lot of family members who have and who are currently serving in the military. We also have a lot of friends who have been in the military as well. It's such a special holiday to remember the servicemen and women and to be thankful for our freedom. We are so thankful to everyone who is apart of the military, who give up their lives to fight for ours, and who have made that ultimate sacrifice. Thank you, from the bottom of our hearts we thank you for allowing our family to be our family and have the freedoms we surely take for granted.  

Left : My grandpa Ogawa, top right : my brother Jesse  and bottom right : my brother in-law Jeremy

Grandpa Oren's tags

And I'm proud to be an American,
where at least I know I'm free.
And I won't forget the men who died,
who gave that right to me. -Lee Greenwood

Just because he's cute...

So, I love taking pictures. Obviously. I don't know what I would do without my iphone. I have more then 2,000 pictures on my phone right now (maybe that's why it's ALWAYS acting up)! Here are some cute pictures of Brayden I snapped while we were eating lunch. We are working on eating with a "big boy" plate. 

1st "horsey" ride

Before the long weekend Jarrod and I took Brayden for pizza at a near by pizza place (ok, pizza was more for mom and dad). When we walked in there was this blue horse... Before we left we let Brayden ride on it and he had so much fun! LOVED it actually. I took a video of it on my phone, but of course my phone was acting up and didn't save it :( At least I captured some really cute pictures off my phone of him though! 

Walking soon? Fingers Crossed!

So, Brayden doesn't crawl. I know, I know... how can a 10 month old not crawl? But, according to the doctor and after doing a lot of research, it's really not that uncommon. He is 100% on track with everything, but crawling. He can scoot on his bum from one place to another, but he ALWAYS wants to be walking. He's still a little top heavy (I mean he's going to be one smart cookie with all those brains in that big noggin of his) hehe. He's still finding his balance, but he wants to walk everywhere holding on to your fingers. This morning he was walking everywhere with the laundry basket. I really hope he starts walking soon, because maybe then... just maybe, I can get more stuff done around the house :) oh yea, and apparently his really cool jeep walker we got... he's too cool for that and ONLY wants to walk with someone's fingers. This mama's fingers are crossed that we start walking SOON! 

flashback : "I got my shades on"

I know as a parent we all think we have the cutest kid... but I really do think I have the cutest kid EVER! On this shopping trip we tried on our first pair of sunglasses... he looked so cute (even though I think these were girl ones). 

flashback : learning to yell... he found his VOICE!

These pictures make me laugh so hard! One morning while I was getting ready for work Brayden started yelling. Not just a little yell and not a yell for any other reason then to hear his own voice. He thought it was the coolest thing EVER. In these pictures you can tell he's so serious about his yelling and he's getting so into it. I'm glad I captured these because I think they are so cute!

fun little photo shoot

Brayden and I have so much fun during the day. One of our new favorite things is skyping or doing "face time" with Jarrod while he's at work. Brayden loves seeing Jarrod on the phone, but I think he might enjoy seeing himself more! On the picibooth app on my phone you can see yourself as you take your picture. Here is a cute one of Brayden and I today. What can I say, you have to be inventive when it's raining outside! As I was going through my phone I found a few more we have done. It's crazy to see how fast he's growing up...

Weekend roundup May 18 - 20

Friday 5/18: I worked for Anthem college for over 2 years and friday they were having their graduation, which happens twice a year. I knew a lot of the students who were graduating so I packed up the family and we went down for a little while to say hello to everyone! It was good to see everyone, but made me so thankful I get to stay home and watch Brayden grow up... which is happening so fast, I can't even believe it! After graduation Jarrod and I picked up some of our favorite Hawaiian food and headed home to enjoy it while watching Gray's season finale (so disappointing)... and hung out before we crashed from a long week.

Saturday 5/19: Saturday Jarrod's cousin Luke, aunt Pat and mom came up to visit. Luke is going to borrow our 4 wheelers, so we got them out and decided to see if they were working. Mine started right up, but Jarrod's needed some work. Luke and Jarrod took it all apart and did a bunch of crazy stuff to it, but it still wouldn't start. We have passes to take them in so we loaded them up and took them to the Yamaha shop. I haven't ridden my bike since before I was pregnant and just riding it for a second on our street made me really miss it! I think we are going to have to take a camping trip to the beach this summer with them! We took Jarrod's mom out to lunch for a late mothers day present and aunt Pat and Luke joined us... It was really good seeing everyone and getting to spend the day with them. Oh, I almost forgot, we hit up the Beaverton Farmers Market for the first time this year! We are so excited to get all of our produce and fun things from the farmers market!! It's a weekend tradition for sure! 

Sunday 5/20: Sunday we got up early and headed to church. It was a very good service and we got to meet some new people. Brayden loves going to the church nursery and has so much fun. After church we headed back to the house and made a yummy breakfast. Jarrod and I hung out while Brayden took his afternoon nap (I got to read and he got to play his xbox)! After nap time we headed to the library and Costco (one of our favorite places)... Brayden got to play in this really cool car they had... birthday present? 

We are so thankful for the weekends and those few days we get to spend all day together as a family. We look forward to the next one (even though Jarrod will be off for a boys weekend in Bend... I'm sure there will be many fun adventures while he is gone)! 

Brayden at the Yamaha shop sitting on his new quad? (no, no, no)... and at Costco in his new car (maybe)...

Picnic at the park

The weather was so beautiful last week that Brayden and I had a fun little picnic at the park. We live in such a great location, parks are within walking distance all around us. This day we happened to walk up to Reedville park, which has a huge play structure, water fountain, tennis courts, basketball courts, a skate park and even a baseball field. It's beautiful! So beautiful, that this is where we decided to have Brayden's first birthday party! We rented out the picnic table area and I'm so excited to start planning it! But, the day was beautiful and the sunshine was out... here are some pictures of the handsome little guy! 

Grandpa Oren 1921-2012

While we are the beach over mothers day, we got a very sad call. Jarrod's grandpa had passed away on Saturday night, he was 91 years young. He passed away of natural causes and Jarrod's mom, aunt and his sister got to be with him. The family had an idea this may be coming, but it was still such a sad day for everyone.

Jarrod and his grandpa have always had a very strong bond (Jarrod is his first grandchild). I know Jarrod has looked up to Oren throughout the years, asking for advice, admiring his work ethic and his passion for life. Jarrod would try and call grandpa at least once a month to check in... they would talk mostly about the weather, but it was still nice to her from him. We are so thankful that Brayden got to meet and hang out with grandpa Oren twice. The most recent trip was just a month ago when he came to visit with his sister... I wrote about it in this post Oren and Opal are here to visit!

Grandpa Oren, you will truly be missed... but we know you're in heaven watching down on us and we are sure to meet again. May you rest in peace.

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

John 3:16

You can view his obituary here

Beach Trip With My Boys!

For mothers day weekend, Jarrod and Brayden took me on a mini vacation to Lincoln City. I love the beach and I love spending time with my boys, so this mom was so thankful to have them both and for 3 whole days none the less. We spent the weekend relaxing, talking, doing a lot of "firsts" with Brayden, playing, eating and taking pictures! I think (ok, I know) Jarrod was getting a little annoyed at all the pictures I wanted to take. But hey, it's my first mothers day as a mom and our first over-night trip to the beach. (We did get some very bad news while we were there, but another post will be about that later)...We have taken Brayden to the beach before, but just for the day. So, this was a very fun adventure and he was such a trooper! I'm so thankful for my wonderful family and couldn't imagine life any other way. I think this is going to be more of a picture post b/c it's true what they say... A picture is worth 1,000 words~

Jarrod's favorite seafood restaurant Mo's! 

Headed to the beach in my new shades! 

Getting ready to get in the pool! 

Walking on the rocks in Lincoln City, OR

At the Newport Aquarium (with my mouth full of snack)

LOVED watching the sea lions...

SHARKS!

Excited to run on the beach... 

first toe in the ocean... 

... Not so much... LOL

Then dad made me... and I was MAD

Beautiful sunset on the 2nd night

Wouldn't change a single thing...

Enjoying the sunset with dada

Breath taking view from our room...

On our way home we drove up 101 and there was a Kite festival in Rock A Way beach... 

It sure was windy!

Dada being silly! 

So, there you have it our amazing trip in a nutshell. I can't wait for our next family adventure... and there are quite a few on the horizon!!

Oh yea, the boys also got me a new 32" tv for the playroom (with a built-in DVD player) for all those Disney movies Brayden will soon be enjoying! Post about the playroom coming soon...

Here are some Instagram pictures off my phone I wanted to share as well!