Labor Day at Oceanside

You know how you have these traditions that are so old you don't even remember where they came from?  Well Labor Day in Oceanside is kinda like that, except I know where it started and I LOVE it.  Last year we went to Oceanside with our friends Erin and James (plus their daughter Jadie).  It was a blast.  We hung out on the beach and did nothing the entire weekend. When they offered it again this year, we couldn't resist!

The friends!

Another reason we needed to get go was to get this little one some beach time!  Her mom is a fish so she has to have a lot of exposure to the water!  To bad she was in hibernation mode.  

One reason we like going out with Erin and James so much is they have the same money sensibilities that we do... meaning they are cheap! One night we splurged and went to Ruby's, which is a restaurant at the end of the Oceanside pier.  The food was pretty good!

It is kinda a long walk from the beach out to ruby's but Brent always manages to get some great pictures!  This is one of my favorites.

In front of Ruby's was this gentleman.  He was AWESOME!  He made balloon animals for kids.  It was seriously an art form.  He listed off about 40 things he could make and when he was making it he would talk to the kids and tell them their balloon animals back story.  It was so cute.  I would love to have a talent like that!

Jadie and her butterfly.  Erin, James, Brent and I thought it was adorable.  Until she started playing with it at five in the morning.  The squeaking was a lot less cute at that hour.

Most of our day was spent on the beach.  I would look for sand crabs. I am not sure why finding them is so much fun, but I find it really relaxing. I thought about collecting them in a bucket but if I were a sand crab I wouldn't want to be in a bucket, so I would catch them and then free them. I know they probably don't like being caught at all but I need my fun, so they can deal.

Jadie and James setting up Ladder Ball.

On Saturday Brent and James were pretty concerned with watching the BYU vs Virginia game, which was rained out. I hit the beach for some boogie boarding.  It was fun because several families had their phones out waiting for the rain delay to end as well.

Why do we only get pictures of the back of Erin's head?

Brent likes to skim board.  I do  not have the balance for it.  He got pretty good towards the end!

Oh Harper!  Although she slept the majority of the time she also pooped at the most inconvenient times!

Brent boarding.

Isn't she gorgeous!  I love Jadie and I have several little nephews I would hook her up with in a few (13?) years.

On the last day, Brent and I woke Harper up to take her in the ocean.  Brent wanted to sit her all the way down, until a wave came and almost soaked her all the way through. 

Then it was a stand up moment.  She looks SO SO SO small here.  Especially not as big as she is now.

Going to the beach is a really fun tradition and one I hope continues on for years and years to come!  Next year we should get to take another little one along with us as well! 

The Swimming Pool!

My doctor said Harper should be about 6 months old before going swimming... well she didn't know Harper is part fish!  Just short of 12 weeks Harper Anne Huntley entered the swimming pool for the first time! 

 She is getting very close to entering and has a pensive look on her face, as many part-fish humans do when entering the water for the first time!

 My boss from work found a 3 month old swimsuit when I had been looking for one for months! Since swimming is one of my favorite things, it only felt right that I have a swimsuit for her!

 I think Daddy went a little to deep a little to quickly!

 Handing her back over to Mom!

 Audrey and Austin joined us, but Austin sometimes chose to participate in the action another way!

 Water Tummy Time

 Straight legs and pointed toes make for some good kicks!

 Her tounge is OUT OF CONTROL!  It is always out of her mouth and I LOVE IT!  

 Attempting to get some cute family pics!

I am really glad we were able to get her in the water.  It was starting to storm but still really warm.  The wind calmed down for the hour that we were there and overall Harper seemed to really enjoy the whole experience.  She was so worn out by all her hard work that she slept for almost 4 hours after getting home.

Now I just hope she sleeps through the night!

Six Years and Counting...

Have you ever watched the show 19 Kids and Counting?  I haven't, but it seems that have has to change the name of the show to add one more kid.  Well that is how I feel like marriage is, I seem to turn around and another year has gone by.  Well since having Harper our lives have changed for sure but it is nice that we are able to get out and have some fun just the two of us (Big thanks to Toren and Austin for watching the Harps!)

Here is our date with a few facts of why I love my husband!

We are trying to do a better job of experiencing  Las Vegas.  It is for this reason we decided to go to the top of the Stratosphere to be scared and thrilled!  I never did imagine what the strip looked like from above, and I am not sure I am really impressed by what I saw.

#1 He can not tell Actors and Actresses apart, even when it is the same movie as 5 minutes before.

 This is the view form the top of the Stratosphere!

#2 He will read any book I ask him to, just so we have something to talk about.  For the most part he enjoys them all.

At the top, we were waiting for one of the two rides that were open.  

#3 I told him I didn't want to have kids until I had been to Europe, man he took that one to heart!

Strapped into the ride that shoots you from 921 feet to 1081 feet!  I really enjoyed it except for that first decent, when my stomach was in my throat. 

#4 He thinks I am adorable.  This may sound odd but the boy thinks the silliest things I say and do are hysterical.  He likes the songs I make up and often request specific ones, it is nice to not have to be serious at all when I am around him! 

You take the elevator to the top it drops you off at the inside of the stratosphere.  There are no rides in that portion but it is a fun place to look out.  

 When my mom came to help with Harper she took me shopping.  I got some new fun clothes, and on our date I promptly spilled soda all over myself... not just once but twice! 

#5 He gives the Harper Bear so much love! He is so open about cuddling her and always helping with the harder times!

 This is from the top of the observation deck.  Two of the three rides were open and we rode each one 4 times.  It made the the 34 dollar unlimited ride ticket totally worth it! The lines at the top were so short we often didn't have to leave the ride before going again!

 #6: Brent has always been the more calm one and never has prevented or discouraged me from doing what I want.  He has always been and always will be supportive of what I want and what would be best for our growing family!

I will openly admit that the best choice I ever made was getting married to this AMAZING MAN!

Northwest Tour: Portland

To round out our northwest tour we had to make a stop in Portland.  When Brent flew out from Spokane Maren drove the hour and a half to pick Harper and I up.  The next morning we hit the road for Portland. 

Neither of us really had much we wanted to do but I did want to check out the Saturday Market. 

 I love looking at all the different interesting items that people create.  Maren is holding a fruit bowl made out of chopsticks!

 This piano was just placed in the middle of the city for anyone to use.

 A metallic marching band also made an appearance.  That is part of the fun of the market it the most random things will just show up for you to enjoy!

 Enjoying the marching band

 Brody wasn't so sure about the picture with me but he just had to ring the bell.

 A Barnett family picture plus Grandma.  I am not really sure what this weird little iron man is but I think I would take him home!

 My Mom has these cement balls that leave tracks in sand. She wanted some more but hasn't found the maker the last few times.  it was one of the last place I looked but I found them for her!

 Grandpa is always willing to do a little Haper duty so I can browse.

 Can you believe we used to fight all the time!  Not any more, now we just like to enjoy the Portland riverside together.

 All in all it was a great trip to Saturday market, and I feel no desire to go again for at least a year.

The rest of the time in Portland was spent relaxing.  We visited the Portland Aquarium, which was small but very fun, unfortunately no pictures. The other big milestone that happened was Harper started sleeping 4-6 hours a night.  That was probably the best part of the whole trip!

Northwest Tour: Northern Idaho

For some reason Brent thought it would be a good idea to go to his Family reunion when Harper was 5 weeks old.  I will give him this: It wasn't a terrible idea.  I love the Huntley family reunions because they are so nature based.  This year we went to Kingston, which is in northern Idaho.  Most of the Family (Jason, Ryan, Christi) stayed in campers and the rest of us stayed in a house close by. 

The campers were right on the water, which made it super easy to spend time swimming, fishing, kayaking, four wheeling, nature watching, and generally playing around. Brent and I love spending a LOT of time with the nieces and nephews. For the moment they think we are pretty cool, so it is only a matter of time before they figure out how boring we really are!  Here are some of the fun things we did around the site.

Below is Michael and Hayden fishing.

Mike and Micheal out Kayaking.  Everyone was really nice about watching Harper so Brent and I could do a few of these things together!

At night we would all play games.  It got chilly so I would wrap Harper in the Mobi and then put her inside my jacket!  It kept us both nice and toasty!  Card games are always awesome!  Of course things get a little crazy, and I doubt any of us will forget pineapple!

 On the second day Brent and I decided to go to the small town of Wallace to explore.

 This was my first time carrying Harper in the ergo, and overall it was a success!

 The town was really small but had a brothel that was in business up until 1988.  Brent and I just had to take the tour.  This is the doorway were customers would come to negotiate prices before services.

 I am half ashamed to say that I learned entirely to much about that business on the tour.  It was super interesting though.  This is the private entrance customers would use. Some of the interesting rules that we learned 1.) no local girls were allowed to work there 2.) there was a menu of services with set prices and lengths of services 3.) all items in the rooms were actually left there by previous girls who fled due to a prospective raid by state troopers and never came back because the brothel shut down. 4.) On days off the girls were not allowed to be seen around town. 5.) although prostitution was outlawed everyone turned a blind eye as long as the girls made sure to see the doctor once a week 6.) the tour guide learned most of her knowledge by previous workers who had come back to take the tour themselves!

I told you, entirely to much!

 If you are thinking Wallace, ID sounded really familiar it is because the movie Dante's Peak was filmed here.  I still remember how much that movie freaked me out!

 After Wallace we got to enjoy gorgeous views like this!

 Harper really enjoyed it as well.  She spent a lot of time outside but we had to retreat to the house during the warmest part of the day.

 Rope swings were a big hit!  This is William and I think Landon. 

 Huntley and Hayden goofing off.  They were attached at the hip during the whole trip!

 Landon was the rope swing king!  He would go whenever he could.

Tyler and Landon had to work pretty hard to convince me to go off the swing.  I am just not very good at these types of things, but I did i!

 Tyler showing off her stuff!

 Even Ryan got into the mix.  Ryan has the best farmers tan I have ever seen!

 Huntley was amazing.  She had the upper body strength of a gorilla! 

One of my favorite parts of seeing the entire family is making some great memories, and this trip is one to remember!

I can't wait for next year!