The Papworth's Visit

Michael and Kristi and Will flew all the way from Denver to visit us in Oregon this last weekend and we had a lot of fun. The goal of the weekend: get Kristi as excited about moving to Oregon as Michael (probably never going to happen). We spent a few days in Salem and then spent the rest of the weekend at my parents house in Portland. We showed Kristi and Will around Portland and Lake Oswego, and the weekend was absolutely beautiful.


I couldn't believe how much Will has changed and how cute he is! Nick and I are planning on taking credit for his improved walking skills.

Look how cute they are!

Of course Nick and Michael had to bring a football or frisby everywhere.

Beautiful view of Portland. And oh yeah, the family is pretty attractive too.

Tag, Picture Version

I was tagged and had to post my fourth picture in my fourth folder. This is one of our many classic family pictures where we are all in color coordinated outfits. I am about eight years old I think and I think I am getting impatient, which might explain the look on my face. My other favorite things about this picture: Landon's outfit and pose, McKenna's bangs and sailor dress, the awesome bows that Bri and I are wearing.

The following people now have to pass on their fourth picture in their fourth folder on their computer: Amanda, Carly, Meredith, Sam.

It's Raining Men! Hallelujah!

This was us last week, but . . .

Thanks to our Young Men's President - Brett - and the priests in our ward, the tree got cut down. They were so nice to come chop the thing down. And I do mean chop, because the chain saw wasn't working. I would have helped, but I was watching the Presidential Debate, and I don't trust myself with an axe. But now we have lot of firewood laying on the side of our house, so anyone need some firewood?

A Tree Fell on our House

This Friday, in the middle of the night, a tree in our backyard fell onto our house. Luckily, it didn't do much damage, it just bent the gutter. But at about 4 a.m. I thought there was an earthquake. I tried to wake Nick up to explain to him that a tree fell on our house, and his response was, "What do you want me to do about it???" He's a little delirious in his sleep. It's still there, and now we have to figure out how to get rid of it. Any ideas?

Family Visit

Briawna, Palmer, and Portia came to visit last week from Utah. McKenna decided she felt left out, so she flew up from L.A. I was pretty busy during the week, so I didn't get to see them until the weekend. We went to Eugene on Friday for a family company bbq, and then we were in Portland on Saturday and Sunday. I had so much fun with them, and was very proud that even though I don't live in Utah, I'm still their favorite. Portia calls me YuYu, always with a big smile. So I apologize, but be prepared for a lot of pictures.

All of these pictures were taken at one of my favorite places, the Portland Rose Gardens:

Bri was trying to get Palmer and Portia to sit still to take a family picture. But Portia enjoyed hitting Palmer too much. Here she is slapping him on the back. He's very disturbed by it, as you can tell. She gets particularly violent every time Palmer tries to hug her or kiss her.
They're singing along with Papa to Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes.
Palmer smelling the roses with Papa.Nona taking Palmer for a walk.
Cheese!
Again, singing head, shoulders, knees and toes. She likes that song. But it's still not as entertaing as the Wiggles Song.

My Belated B-day

It has taken me a while to post about my b-day. But I have been pretty tired, recovering from the party that it was. Actually, no, I've just been lazy. Nick took me to the coast for my b-day. It was so fun and relaxing. I love the Oregon coast, even if its not the warmest weather! The fact that it was sunny was pretty much all we could ask for.

Nick and I bought a 99 cent Ninja Turtle kite from Walgreens. We were very impressed with its high flying abilities. While we flew our kite, we watched the local surfing competition.


This was our cute hotel we stayed on, right on the water. Our hotel room was the bottom one on the right. It was so relaxing sitting on our deck, reading, listening to the ocean.
This was our view. We were on a little bay right off of the coast.
I got really warm after playing volleyball with Nick, so I decided it was worth the pain, and I went in the water. Once my feet got numb, it wasn't even cold!

Mo's has the best clam chowder!
There were a ton of sealions out on the coast just hanging out. Nick is imitating them.

We took a long walk on the beach, and watched the sunset.

On my actual b-day, we went to my parents house and my Mom cooked me a fabulous meal. It was mostly fabulous cause I didn't have to cook it. I opened presents and Nick gave me a beginning of the school year blessing. The best present I got was a new brown, leather, loveseat. I'll have to post a picture of it. But it is SO nice. The couch in our office so I can start my counseling business. I had a great b-day and felt very loved.

I am cheap

So don't take my title to mean the wrong thing, but I really am cheap. It's something that I am very aware of and it can be a bad thing at times. But I pay attention to money and find eternal joy when I discover that I have saved money or gotten a bargain. Today I was driving to work and I realized that I have not had to fill up my car in over a month!!!!

The last few years, I have been commuting up and down Utah, driving anywhere from Salt Lake to Orem. And now, I drive five minutes to work in downtown Salem. I seriously almost cried for joy when I realized this. Not to be sacriligious, (or sacrilicious as Meredith would say), but it's truly a "tender mercy" from the Lord. My lean green Honda machine has served me well. And now I don't have to fast for gas prices to go down (although it couldn't hurt).