Poor Baby

Jonah was awfully cranky yesterday. Could it have been the large goose egg on his forehead from when he fell off the bed, landed on the dresser and we ended up in the emergency room getting a CT scan just to be sure there was no brain damage? Or could his stomach have been upset from having to drink the smelly, back-up soy formula because Mom mis-counted how much we had left? No, (though I'm sure none of the above helped the situation) it actually turned out to be his first tooth breaking through. All that drooling finally paid off and he has hit yet another milestone of babyhood.

PS His head is fine and you can hardly tell where his head met the dresser knob.

Seattle tourists

I'm slowly going to play catch up on some of our summer festivities now that school is starting on Wednesday. I've mixed feelings about school being in session yet again. Our Lucas will be a 4th grader and that makes me feel old. And I LOVE the loose schedule of summer, fun vacations, lots of family, random day trips with the boys and the mostly sunny weather. It went by way too fast. But it will also be nice to be back into a routine again. My house, laundry and projects have all been neglected for summer fun. Plus I love volunteering at the school, being in Lucas' classroom and working with the PTA. At least Lucas still likes me at the school and I want to take advantage of that as long as I can.


My parents were able to come for a weekend in August and we did a very Seattle touristy activity: the "Ride the Ducks" tour around Seattle and Puget Sound. Would have been a slightly boring tour if it hadn't been for the slightly insane tour guides. "Cha-ching!"

Jonah Byron being fed by his namesake.

Check it out...

Look in the "Our Creative Friends" section in the September '09 issue of your Friend.

It was a fun surprise for Lucas since I didn't tell him I sent in the picture he drew for his baptism program. But it did take a year and a half to appear in the magazine and Lucas wants everyone to know his artistic abilities have much improved since then. :)

Speilberg would be intimidated

I'm slow getting the camera out and I always seem to miss the action. Plus I can't figure out how to edit the videos on my computer. And, I know. I go from no videos to inundating the blog with video posts. Just be patient, the novelty of it will wear off and I'll be a little more reasonable. And lastly, remember these are for the grandparents, especially the ones who haven't seen Jonah since his blessing.


Lucas, as always, found a way to make Jonah laugh and wanted to get a video of it. Lucas' whisperings in the beginning are him stating how much he doesn't like his voice on tape.



More laughing. JB is such a happy kid and loves to squeal. It comes out all the time. If you want to hear his trademark squeal, be patient and wait for 36 seconds in. I couldn't figure out how to edit out the beginning.



I was too slow as usual but here Jonah had been mesmorized for what seemed like forever by Lucas staring into his eyes, holding onto his jacket while Lucas kept trying to get him to say "Luke."

Ca-a-amping in the Rain....just ca-a-amping in the rain

An overnight at Lake Whenatchee was this year's DitWill adventure. It was no cruise or kid-less week in Sunriver but sometimes you take what you can get. It was a blast and felt like the old times before our dear friends went and abandoned us for the bluer skies of Spokane last summer. (Has it really only been a year?!) Lake Whenatchee was a great half way point between said city and Seattle and a perfect place to meet up. Dinner was eaten in the car due to the thunderstorm and pouring rain. Makes it all that more memorable, right? Plus very picky Lucas found a new love: canned chili. Hey, I'll take what he'll give me.

Sun came out long enough for a quick evening swim. For some. I have an extreme aversion to cold water. It is miserable and I avoid it at all costs.


Cute mama. Getting ready for #4. I can't believe it! We became friends before their first was even in the picture, and now they will have 4 under the age of 5. Can't wait to meet this new little Ditto.

No vacation would be complete without pictures of "The Pose." No idea where it came from or how it started (I think it's from Logan's family or something) but you can even see it in the kid's picture above. Both Lucas and George have assumed the position.


Kids waiting oh-so-patiently for smores. Jane and her thumb. BFF's 4-ever.

Trying to keep warm any way he can while waiting for breakfast to cook. My cousin said he looks like a Jedi.

Luckily JB is very happy in his front carrier. He spent a lot of time in it this weekend since it was too wet to put him down much.

Calming beautiful sunset over Lake Whenatchee.


Very calming...


Here's my first posted video. It's one of Aaron's many silly songs he makes up and we all end up singing for years.

We have a lot of video of the kids on our regular camera but not digitally. We've finally got our act together and got it on the computer. More to come...

Summer Camping

For the past 7 years we and/or Lucas have been attending my brother in law Mark's family reunion in Central Oregon. It started years ago when their son Jackson was the only little kid there and it would be fun for him to have someone to play with. So the tradition began. There is now quite a gaggle of kids and babies but they still let us come and play. And some years my sister has been kind enough to just take Lucas while we painted our house or went galavanting off with friends at Sunriver. This year we all went and despite the heat had a wonderful time with Mark's wonderful family on the banks of the Metolius River.


The hammock is a favorite place to hang out, relax, read, nap and listen to the water.

One afternoon was filled with water games, a trip to the lake and of course a water balloon fight.

Every Saturday morning they have the annual Gunson Fun Run, a 1.3 mile run to the store and back. Lucas and Jackson ran it this year and actually didn't even come in last. Lots of people in the family are training for the Hood To Coast run in Oregon at the end of this month. Aaron has been training hard and hopefully will be ready for the 200 mile relay race in 3 weeks. There's sure to be a blog about the whole experience.

Gotta love breakfast while camping...

Actually the eating during the family reunion is the BEST eating you have ever had while camping. From homemade onion rings and grilled salmon to hand picked Oregon berries and avacoda chicken salad. Breakfast every morning consisted of blueberry or gingerbread pancakes, 20 lbs of bacon, sausage, hashbrowns and bisuits with homemade strawberry jam. Aaron helped one morning and cooked up 5 dozen eggs. Good eatin'.



This was Jonah's first camping trip and he did fabulously. Luckily there was an RV with air conditioning so during the hottest time of the afternoon we were able to go in and cool down a little. Plus the ice we put in his formula didn't hurt.
The first night JB woke up some time around 2am and decided just to be awake, happy but talking and cooing to himself for over an hour. Finally I grabbed him to change his diaper and realized he was a human popsicle! A completely happy frozen baby who wouldn't sleep because he couldn't feel his toes. So we wrapped him tight, snuggled him up with Aaron in his sleeping bag and the babe was out. The next 2 nights we layered him up real good and we didn't hear a peep.


Friday night is Bingo night with $12 jackpots, "special" hot chocolate and table side food service. I vow to walk away with some money one of these years!


Thanks to the Gunson family who have always been so welcoming and let us join their wonderfully relaxing weekend. We love it!