Children's Museum

This Summer, Brendan, Hobbes and I have enjoyed visiting the Portland Children's Museum quite frequently. Our libary has family passes that you can rent out for 3 days. I think I put the pass on hold over a year ago and it was finally our turn to use it this Summer. Boy was it worth the wait!

Here are some pictures of the fun we had.

Brendan had just as much fun as Hobbes did with this water exhibit.

Hobbes had tons of fun playing with this enormous train layout. The picture only shows a small bit of the track.

Tillamook Part II

So I'm trying to catch up on a lot of things before the baby comes. Our Blog has been on the list for quite some time. I'll try my best to bring everything up to speed. I apologize for the lack of detail in the posts. That's what I get for procrastinating, a mediocre product.

Our second trip to Tillamook started by picking Liz up from the airport. It was so fun to have the whole family there, anxiously waiting in the airport for her to come walking down the hall. It brought back a lot of fond memories of my own mission and the bittersweet moment of coming home.

Here are Mom and Liz hugging after 18 long months.

Here is the whole family before Sacrament meeting on Sunday.

Welcome home Sister Snyder.

The trip was filled with spending time catching up with family and having fun. We got to eat lots of yummy foods, from Turkish cuisine to Brazilian beans and rice. We also spent a lot of time having fun outside. Oh it is so good to spend time with family!

Tillamook Part I

Hobbes and I visited half the family in Tillamook last week as we all gather for Liz to return home from her mission in Brazil. We will be heading over there again tomorrow after picking Liz up from the airport.

During our first trip there our days were filled with playing in the water, running around outside, chasing Misty the dog, and catching up with family. One morning Grandma Snyder asked some of the cousins to help her pick raspberries and strawberries in the garden. If people were going outside Hobbes wanted to tag along as well. After that first visit to the garden Hobbes couldn't get enough of it. He was always out there opening the gate and going in the garden. He wouldn't touch anything, he just enjoyed walking around in between the raised beds. He even convinced his cousin April Kunzler to join him.

But I think his favorite thing was having Grandma read him books!

Helping Mommy Work

Last week I had a lot of papers to shred. Hobbes liked watching and helping me empty the shredder into a bag or box to carry outside to the recycling bin. I stepped out to empty a box and wasn't gone for more than 30 seconds. Look at what I came back to find:

Why spend money on toys?

My adorable little boy!

Independence Day

Sadly this is the only picture that really turned out from our Independence Day celebration. Don't be fooled by the look on Hobbes' face, he really did enjoy the fireworks. This was just the last sparkler and it was very, very late and he was tired and ready to go to bed.

He talks about fireworks almost everyday now. He enjoyed the colors, sounds, and experience of a good firework show. Dad had to work that night so Hobbes and I spent the evening with Brendan's Dad, Shayne and Jen. It was a very fun evening.

Parks, Parks, Parks

Hobbes loves to go to the nearby parks. We try to go at least once a week if not more. I'm positive that if we didn't have a lock high up on our door, that Hobbes couldn't reach, that he would be out the door and on his way to the park everytime Mom turned her back on him. He is becoming so independent and likes to do things all by himself. He doesn't like help with ladders anymore. But he still needs help with the swings even though he says "no, no, no" when Brendan or I stand behind him or put our hand on his back. It's so fun to watch him as he interacts with other children at the park. He likes to look at them and then run away and pretend they are chasing him even if they aren't. He just laughs and gets a kick out of it.