Happy 4th Anniversary to us!

Stu and I have been together for 4 LONG years! ;) But seriously, it's been the best years of our lives and even after all this time, we're still madly in love with each other. Stu is the best husband, father, partner, dog owner, worker, fixer-upper, and friend in the world! It's as simple as that. He is the man of my dreams and I am happy every day that we found each other. We are perfect for each other and LOVE being married. This anniversary was extra sweet because we have Burke too. Happy Anniversary Baby....I love you!

Happy Birthday Calvin!

Happy Birthday to my brother Calvin!!! Calvin is such a hard worker, I've thought that for years. I remember thinking how cool it was that he was so responsible in his last job (I can't remember the name of the company) he would get up at like 5 in the morning and work all day...for years, or however long it was that he worked there. And now I watch how hard he works at Santek. I respect his work ethics. I think he is so handsome and one of the funniest, coolest guys I know. He is so good at the guitar and such a good uncle to Burke. I love watching them together. Plus I love the name Calvin. You are the best Cal and I am so glad that you are my brother. I love talking to you and spending time with you. Happy 26th bro!!

Happy Birthday Dad!

Happy Birthday to my Dad! He would have been 60 this year. I think about him often and miss him so much. A few of my favorite memories of him are 1) many years ago when I was going through some stupid boyfriend drama and had just been dumped, I remember calling my Dad every night for like 2 weeks and I would cry and cry and just talk about things and he was such a good listener. I loved having my Dad's voice and advice to comfort me. And 2) how he LOVED his cup-o-joe in the mornings. Or should I say cup-o-cream with a splash of coffee. :) I love you Dad and miss you all the time. I tell Burke about you often so he'll know about his Grandpa Clay.

Vacation 2010

We had an eventful September! We were fortunate to enjoy 3 whole weeks as a family on vacation on the Oregon Coast. It was an epic journey for all of us. We learned a lot about traveling with a baby and grew closer as a family. The whole trip was different than we expected, but so wonderful! We had the best time ever. It was especially nice for Stu and Burke to spend so much time together. I get to be with Burke every day, so it was a treat for them to be together like that. Burke fell madly in love with his Dad! I mean he loved him before, but you should see him now whenever Stu walks in the room. He lights up like the sky on the 4th of July and starts to laugh and squeal and smile so big. Burke calls Stu 'Nan' and me 'mama' or sometimes 'nana'. Seeing them together was one of my favorite things of the trip.

A few things we learned about traveling with a baby:
1. start the day early if you are traveling a long distance that day.
2. bring ear plugs.
3. hug and kiss your significant other a lot, or Mr. and Mrs. Grumpy will be your new names. :)
4. enjoy every minute because it flies by.
5. don't expect to get any sleep or alone time. This was a big one for me. :)
6. pick one destination instead of a lot of little stops.

Enjoy all these photos. BTW, there are a few pictures in here from the week before we left on vacation.

Burke in his sneakers. Or 'sneaks' as I like to call them.

First morning of vacation! Where am I?

Dad and Burke dressed up in 50's wear for our neighbor's Sock Hop themed bday party for their 1 year old.

The whole family in 1950's get-ups.

Me and my boys! :D

Burke having fun in his kiddie pool out in the back yard.

Burke LOVES the water!

We harvested 151 peaches in 1 day!! And there are about 50 more still ripening on the tree. Wow!!

We saw this street sign in beautiful Winnemucca, NV.

Burke gets a bath for the first time in the camp trailer. He loved it and it was so great to have a place to bath him while we were on the road!

Burke and Simon snoozing in the van together.

Our camp spot in Nice, CA. It wasn't very nice. :)

Standing next to Clear Lake in Nice, CA on the way to the coast.

Cool bridge in Oregon.

Burke playing in the trailer with his Nerd Hat. It's too small for him, so we call it his Nerd Hat. He is loving camping and seeing all the new places.

First time Burke sees the ocean!!! We are in the Redwoods National Park near Klamath, CA.

Dad and Burke enjoying the ocean. Two sea dogs.

Mom and Burke.

This flower garden at the Klamath River RV Park was unbelievable! This was by far the most beautiful RV park we've ever stayed at. Right on the river with the Redwoods behind you. So beautiful!

We took a walk along the Klamath River the night we got here and it started to rain. Dad and Burke are still having a blasty blast! Burke pretty much had this face the entire trip (well almost). He was such a good little camper!

The rain and fog rolling in over the Klamath River.

Simon is trying to get Burke to play ball with him. He doesn't get the concept to throw it yet, instead he tries to put it in his mouth. In time Simon, in time. :)

This was the view from our trailer of the Klamath River.

Another angle. It was seriously so beautiful! Burke took his morning nap while Stu and I sat on our lawn chair, read our books and sipped our coffee. It's good to be on vacation baby!

Oh and of course, Simon was bundled up at our feet, enjoying the view too. :)

On our way to check out the 'Big Tree' Redwood.

Stu and Burke in front of the Big Tree. Being in the Redwood Forest always is a humbling experience for us. It is an amazing feeling standing next to something so big.

The middle of this tree was all black and hollowed out from a previous fire. And the tree is still thriving!

This is an accidental photo taken on our walk down Cal Barrel Road in the Redwoods, but it turned out pretty cool.

On Cal Barrel Road. Dogs can't be on the trails in the National Park, but since it was a 'road', the ranger said we could take Simon there.

Burke fell asleep in the stroller on our walk.

I love this photo of Stu and I.

Our camp spot on the Klamath River in CA. We stayed here for 2 days and explored the redwoods.

The fam at Klamath River.

From the Redwoods, we went to Brookings, OR, on Guy and Sue's lot. What a view they have!! Burke LOVES seeing his Grandpa and Grandma!!

Grandpa Guy and the little guy.

Stu feeding Burke his afternoon porridge.

These 2 were connected at the hip. Burke really enjoyed playing around with Grandpa and Grandma.

We went on a walk on a country road near the lot, and Burke kept looking up at Stu and Old Granddad like this from his stroller.

Done with our walk and headed back to the lot.

We went to a Brew and Arts Festival in Gold Beach, OR. This is Burke and Old Granddad standing next to a 1939 car. A '39, next to a '39.

The Boy King in his Pharaoh sized bed. Guy was joking that it is bigger than a king sized bed, it is a pharaoh sized bed for Burke. :)

Dad, Burke and Old Granddad next to the ocean in Brookings, OR.

Kissing at the beach in Brookings, OR.

Posing for a picture along the coast line in Brookings, OR.

We drove down to the harbor every night in Brookings to watch the sun set. Burke and I are enjoying one of those awesome OR sunsets.

I thought this picture of the dew on Stu's axe at Guy and Sue's lot turned out pretty cool.

This is taken from the top of their property.

Simon snuggled up in Burke's bed. He pretty much claimed Burke's bed as ''his bed most of the time.

Saying goodbye to Grandma Sue and Old Granddad as they make their way home. It was wonderful spending time with you guys! We love you so much.

Burke being cute in the trailer.

We stopped at Bandon, OR to have lunch. We walked along their boardwalk and had some delicious fish and chips. This is Burke enjoying the walk.

More pictures in Bandon, OR.

This was one of our favorite spots on the coast this year....Sunset Bay State Park. We took about 15 of these pictures in order to get this good of a pose. Most of them Burke was looking at Stu or Simon was aiming his bum right at the camera. Our camp spot was in front of us and the ocean was behind us. So beautiful!!

Sunset Bay.

Some babe we saw on Sunset Bay. Oh wait, that's me...... This is awkward. :)

Me and Sir Burkeshire at Sunset Bay.

Our camp spot at Sunset Bay State Park.

Sunset Bay State Park, OR.

Some jellyfish at the Oregon Coast Aquarium in Newport, OR. This was a fun pit stop. Burke enjoyed it almost as much as we did.

Huge Japanese spider crab.

Mom and Burke checking out the puffins.

One of Simon's distant cousins showing off. Yes, Simon and the seals are related.

Wow Mom! Check out all those fish!

Burke and Dad in the SHARK TANK!! AHHHHHH!

No Way! A Bat Ray!

Next stop....Cape Lookout State Park. Where it rained so bad that all the tent campers left in the night.

Funnin' around at Cape Lookout.

We had fun at the beach.

What a cute picture!

Could he be any cuter? Burke loved chillin' in the back pack perch and watching the ocean.

Yep, I guess he can be cuter!

One of the many beautiful pullouts right along the road.

Simon playing ball on the beach at Fort Stevens State Park.

We went on a long walk on the beach and checked out the remains of the ship wreck of the Peter Iradale. Burke fell asleep in Stu's arms on the way back to the car.

A close up of the sleeping angel.

Cool view of where the Columbia River meets the Ocean.

We came into Astoria, OR and had an amazing dinner at the Baked Alaskan restaurant. It was out on pylons over the Columbia River. Burke was such a champ and behaved so good during dinner.....of course.

Outside the Baked Alaska.

Our camp spot at Fort Stevens State Park. Say goodbye to the coast, we're headed home.

We saw a lot of logging on our trip and it was sad to see all those trees being cut down. We actually saw them clear cutting a huge section of the mountain at the Cape Lookout State Park. This is a picture of a massive logging company along the Columbia. :(

Beautiful bridge over the Columbia connecting Oregon and Washington.

We pulled over at a nice state park in Washington to have lunch.

We camped at Ainsworth State Park just a few miles from Multnomah Falls in OR. This is Burke in front of the falls.

Me and Burke in front of Multnomah Falls.

The whole fam in front of Multhomah Falls.

We ate at the Multnomah Falls lodge restaurant. Burke was, of course, the best! This is him at the table.

Burke playing around in the trailer.

Our camp spot at Ainsworth State Park, OR.

We left Ainsworth State Park very early (7:30am - thanks to Burke waking us up at 5:30!!). So we got to watch the sun rise on the mountains along the Columbia. Thanks Burke! :)

We arrived at Farewell Bend State Park, OR. Right on the border of OR and ID. It was right along the Snake River and it was so super sweet.

Our last destination was at Lake Walcott State Park in ID, near Rupert. We camped right along Lake Walcott and it was so beautiful. This is Stu and Burke having fun watching the sun set.

I can't believe we did it! What an epic journey!