County Fair

We returned home late last night from Oregon. We had a great time visiting lots of family and doing lots of fun things.
On our final full day in Oregon, we went with my mom and sister to the Columbia County Fair. Even though I grew up in Columbia County for basically 10 years, I had never been to the fair. I've only once been to the Oregon State Fair. But I'm slightly ashamed to say that I've been to the Oklahoma State Fair probably four or five times. Nothing against Oklahoma, because I really enjoy the OK State Fair. It just seems silly that I've been to the OK fair more than the OR fair and I've spent waaay more time in OR.
Anyway, back to this fair trip. We had a great day at the Columbia County Fair. The highlight was seeing all the animals. And I think we saw every one of them too. We also looked at most of the exhibits and found several winning entries of some friends. And what fair would be complete without at least one ride. (Many of you, including my husband, are probably thinking that the fair is also not complete without a turkey leg. But we skipped the way overpriced food this time.)

Here are my two turkeys with a 4H entry.

My little piggy trying to join the big piggies.

This one was the grand champion. It made me think of Grandpa Hart and how we usually eat the Union Co. grand champion the following year. Mmm, bacon. (My apologies to all you PETA types.)
Carly found a few gentle horses with trainers who encouraged petting. She thought it was great.
This is some lavender that our friend Christy entered into the fair. She was the grand champion for the fruits and vegetables category with this entry. She and her two kids also entered a ton of other items and were winners of some degree for almost everything.
Carly's choice--the carousel.

Stonebrook Farms

On Monday, we went to Stonebrook Farms. Ok, that's not really what it's called, but that's what I like to call our friends, Mike and Christy's place. They have so many animals and garden items that it feels like you're on a farm. And Carly thinks she is. She always enjoys feeding the chickens, checking for eggs, feeding and petting the goats and donkeys, and this time she got to ride one of Christy's horses. Isaac had a good time too, he was in the carrier on my back while we walked around and looked at all the animals. So I had to keep my hands over his toes while we were near the donkeys so they wouldn't nibble on them.

Yesterday, we went over to my grandparents house for lunch and visiting with some other aunts and cousins. I also got to meet Josh, the fiance of my cousin, Samantha. They are getting married later in August. I had such a good time visiting that I didn't get any other pictures than these. My grandparents now live right next door to my aunt and uncle and have a really nice small lake in their backyard. You can kind of see a sliver of it in the top of the picture below.

9 Months IN, 9 Months OUT

This last week has been pretty big for Isaac. He turned 9 months old on Monday, started crawling and said "momma" on Tuesday, and welcomed tooth #7 on Thursday. Whew!

All of his accomplishments are big, but turning 9 months is really special to me. It's such an amazing age and even more amazing to think that his time with us--out in the open--has now been equalized by the time he spent out of view--in Momma's belly. I can hardly believe it's already been that long. It seems like just yesterday that we brought him home from the hospital. He is such a special boy. He's generally happy, but especially when he's with his momma. I believe he's the complete definition of a Momma's Boy. And for now, that is just fine with me. Sometimes it gets a little tiring to be the only thing that will calm him down and make him happy, but I know it won't last forever. I'm sure in the blink of an eye my little boy will be independent and I'll be longing for these days when my magical momma touch is all that's needed. So for now, I'll try to treasure these moments so I can remember them long after he's talking, potty trained, going to kindergarten, and beyond.

After we get back to Juneau, I'll try to post some other pictures of Isaac from his first 9 months. For now I hope you enjoy these ones taken on Monday (his 9 month birthday).

O, Brother Where Art Thou?

This morning, my brother, Eric left for a new adventure. He is moving to Richland, Washington and starting his career in chemistry. He starts his new job on Monday. He can't move into his new apartment until Friday though, so he's really only moving up a few things today and the rest will follow later this week. Until his big move in day, he's going to stay with Shawn's Aunt and Uncle who live in Richland too. Actually, Eric will be working at Bechtel, the same company as Dan. What a small world it really is.

So the picture above is Eric embarking on the next phase of his life. He's truly leaving home for a life on his own--no more college for a few terms and then back home for the summer. This is it baby! We're very proud of him--not just the great opportunity and job he's landed, but also for the fantastic young man he is. Eric, we pray the Lord continues to bless you richly in all you do.

Here's all of Eric's worldly possesions.

Just kidding, it's really just what he wanted to bring up for this week.

This was what we had for breakfast this morning--Eric's bon voyage brunch.

Mom's maple twists--yum. We had already dug in to enjoy when I took the picture.

Having a Hay Day

I took this picture of the kids tonight on a hay bale in my parent's "backyard". I really like how well it turned out. Hopefully you enjoy this picture as much as I do.

Portland Zoo

We went into Portland on Tuesday and went to the zoo. It was $2 Tuesday and we were not the only ones there. We had to wait about an hour in a line just to get on a shuttle bus to get to the zoo. Then we waited about 30 minutes at the front gate just to get our tickets. But surprisingly it wasn't nearly as crowded inside as I was expecting. Especially as the afternoon went on, the crowds seemed to thin out.

It was a fun outing for all five Phelps kids. My parents and brother also joined us so we had a great defense strategy with 6 adults for 5 kids. They didn't stand a chance against us!

Unfortunately due to construction, we didn't get so see quite as many animals. And I think a few were just too hot and hiding in their dens. But we did get to see a bunch and everyone was entertained. We all got our $2 worth.

This mountain goat looks eerily like a throw blanket we have. Hmmm.

Old Friends

This evening, Carly, Isaac, and I got to reconnect with some old friends that we went to church with in Newberg. We worshiped there between Japan and Alaska for a few months. Sam and Nikki became good friends very quickly. And since Sam was already a police officer when we were looking into Shawn's current profession, they were a huge help when our family transitioned into this work.

Anyway, this great family was on their way back to Newberg after visiting some friends in eastern Oregon over the holiday weekend, and they were able to make a pit stop in Hood River on their drive back. We met up at McDonald's and the kids had a great time on the play room toys. Shawn was really disappointed to have to miss out on this gathering. But hopefully we'll have future opportunities for our whole family to see them and stay connected.

Here are my kids with Sam, Nikki, and their two boys, Paden (5) and Nolan (almost 4). The last time we saw them Carly was about 2 months old which made Paden about 2 1/2 and Nolan about 9 months. So our kids have definitely changed since then.

Little Firecrackers

My two little firecrackers. (They're so excited for the show, they can't keep still which is why this one's a little blurry.)

It was just us three Alaskan Phelps' celebrating with the clan in Hood River, Oregon this year. Shawn had to be back in Juneau to patrol during the fireworks show and the parade. Check out Lela's blog to see a picture of him on bike patrol.

We returned from a night of camping at Lost Lake earlier in the afternoon. After dinner, we rested a bit and then went downtown to watch the fireworks show. We parked a good way from the river, but we walked down and had premo seats on the east side of docks and popular windsurfer area. But don't be fooled by the pictures we were not on grass, it was fake stuff next to a windsurfer shop. Anyway, the show was great--a good 30 minutes and the weather was just perfect. We actually overdressed a bit.
Carly loved the all the fireworks and cheered for many of them, but she kept her hands tight over her ears the entire time. Isaac wimpered a bit during one of the first fireworks, but after that he was great. He just sat on the blanket or in a lap and enjoyed the show.

Here's the whole Phelps clan together.

Carly's fireworks watching pose.

The Cousins are Here!

The E Phelps' arrived last night around 6pm and these four have been playing non stop ever since. Actually they did stop to sleep for a little. Isaac has also been playing well with them. It's funny, I think he's realizing that he's not just one of two and so he's blending in much more, and not being nearly as demanding.

These are some pics from our dinner last night. We had a bunch of extended relatives come from all over--LaGrande, Richland, and Bend. We are so glad they could all make it. It was fun to have so many of us together even thought it was short. So I was calling it our "Mini Hart Family Reunion". Mini for two reasons. One because not everyone was there (we missed all you who couldn't make it). And two, because of overlapping schedules everyone was actually together for about 1 hour. Shortly after our family photos, Great Grandpa and Great Grandma hit the road.
Great Grandpa and Great Grandma Hart with their Phelps great grandkids.
(They also have one and a half Hart great grandkids.)

Our group--18 out of 28--pretty good.

A Busy Day in the Hood

(Amy Britton, I titled this post for you. Talking about "the hood" made me think of you.)
Yesterday was a full day in Hood River. We went downtown and walked around the shops with Shawn's parents. We also got a tour of the police department. That's it in the second picture with the blue awning.


After our walk the four of us met Grandpa Great and Grandma Great at The Crazy Pepper for lunch. Yummy mexican food. Isaac was just so cute sitting in his high chair after we were done eating. Just laughing and having a good time.


After lunch we met up with Shawn's parents again and walked from downtown to the Columbia River and watched the wind surfers and kite surfers. There were so many all over the river and it was only Monday.

Isaac smiling in the park grass on the edge of the Columbia River.

Carly with her serious smile and her new silly face.

Two happy kids.
Grandpa and Grandma with their grandkids (2 out of 5).

In the afternoon, some neighbor girls came over and asked if Carly could play with them. So Grandma set up the sprinkler in the front yard. Kennedy and Jessi are 6 and 4 and live down the street. We met them Sunday night while we were out in the yard.
Carly and her new friends.
After dinner, Isaac woke up from a much needed nap and was so happy to gnaw on Carly's corn cob. He is getting tooth #6 so he's been chewing even more the last few days.
My Grandma teased me that so many of the pictures I post on our blog of Isaac involve eating. But that's just when he's happiest. Just kidding. He's happy at other times, too. I guess it's just that he's in his own seat, not in my arms, and having a good time. It makes a good time for a picture.