Since I have been terrible about blogging this summer, I'll post a few pictures of different trips we took over the last few months. First Trent and I went to San Francisco so he could go to a conference. I just tagged along to play. :)
Chinatown.
Alcatraz Island
We got our exercise on those steep streets!
We also met Ernie and Jackie in San Diego for a quick trip to the beach! Mason and I visited my Uncle Hal and Aunt Ann for a day, then the Garrisons and Trent flew in to meet us. Mason saw the ocean for the first time. The first day all three kids loved the beach, they played in the water and the sand all day. The second day, we took them back to the same beach...and all three of them screamed and cried and ran away in terror. The adults stood there dumbfounded. Apparently the kids were done being on vacation.
It's been way too long since I've written anything, we have been so busy this summer. We moved to Vancouver Washington about 5 weeks ago, and it's been crazy and stressful, but we're finally getting settled in. Both Trent and I have started our jobs and Mason loves his new daycare. We live in a smaller city called Camas, just east of Vancouver and north of Portland. Camas is known for it's schools and close knit community, and so far everyone we've met here has been very friendly and kind. We like Camas so far, but we have been driving around every weekend exploring different areas of our new home. It's beautiful here, there are trees everywhere, we live close to a lake that has a running trail around it, and the Columbia river has trails and parks and little beaches all along the riverfront. Portland has all of the big city activities to do, but we avoid the traffic (mostly) living across the river.
The family in front of Lacamas lake, near our house!
We are going bee crazy this year. Our hive did really well last year, so Trent split it in half, so now we have two hives in our yard. A few weekends ago, I was looking at our pear tree, and I noticed a huge swarm of bees in it! Trent was so excited, he ran inside and got another bee box, we put the dogs and the baby inside, put on our bee suits, and Trent cut down the swarm into the new box.
So now we have three hives in our backyard. I felt like this was a bit excessive, since I can't even walk into our garden right now without being surrounded by bees, so we found someone to host that swarm. The beehive will be on someone else's property, but Trent will take care of them and we will split the honey.
After talking to a few friends in the area, we found more families that were interested in hosting. So now we will have six beehives this year. SIX. Pretty soon we are just going to quit our jobs and sell honey for a living!
I was playing with my slow motion camera again and got a pretty
cool video of our bees....
This is "my" hive (I claimed it) and the queen's name is Beeeyonce. Named by my friend Michelle. The other queen's name is Freddie Mercury. Get it?
This is a piece of honeycomb that Trent pulled off of the hive. It's so perfectly symmetrical!
Mason even has bee jammies. I'm telling you, they're taking over our lives.
Notice how he is already going through dad's wallet?
Mason received a gift in the mail this week from Great Grandma and Grandpa Russell. They are so sweet to think of us and he will look very handsome in his new shirt!! He is growing so much that we need new clothes all of the time!! And of course, the paper and the box provided an entire evening of entertainment. Thank you Grandma and Grandpa!!
We went to a Kentucky Derby party at our friends' house over the weekend. We had fun dressing up in our derby wear and cheering on the jockey from Idaho. Trent helped me sew real lilies onto my hat, and they smelled so good! Unfortunately every time I hugged someone I would sprinkle pollen all over them. Oops.
Mason went crazy in the sandbox. We had to hold him upside down and shake all of the sand out of his hair.
I can't help putting sunglasses on this kid. :) He just looks so good in them!
While Trent went fishing, Mason and I visited friends and family in Jerome. We went to see Grandpa at his classroom at the high school, and as we walked by the football field, I realized that Mason needs to experience his first time on a track! His birth family would be very proud!
