A little while back I met my sister at the Oregon Zoo with all of the children in tow (sans one- Jared was in Sacramento, lucky duck!) I had a blast, and I think the kids did too. We had great weather and all of the animals were out enjoying it as well.

Sea otters... they were so playful kicking off of the glass and doing flips right in front of us.

Bathroom break (again,) each bathroom break took a while! 7 kids under the age of 8 =)

I thought this was funny. They look so relaxed... maybe they would like to push my stroller up the hills?

These guys did great! Jud was so animated for some of the animals. I thought Paisley would go crazy like she does over babies but she was pretty quiet the whole day.

And now we are beginning to feel the long day... Gracie has tired eyes and she fell asleep in the car almost instantly on the way home.

We ended our day at the zoo by having to walk up the looongest hill!

We saw the walruses up above sunbathing; why did I walk down below only to walk back up yet another hill? It was totally worth it, the littles had a final burst of energy here. I love to see them enjoying each other.
We all had a great day. I am so glad that we decided to go. When I checked the forecast monday night it said rain and showers- 90% chance of precipitation all day! The girls and I prayed that night for good weather, and then we found out so did Jesse! So thankful for the Lord's answer! And thanks for meeting us there Kuykendalls- We love you!

Paisley took her first few steps at 15 months. She still prefers to scoot around, but slowly and surely she is walking more and more.

The girls have a "barbie hair book." Not to excited about it being Barbie, but it is mostly just girlie hair styles. One morning they came to me and had each picked a style out that they wanted... here are pictures of our attempts! And I am happy to report that they were both thrilled with the results (even if they weren't exactly right!)

It's been a while since I posted some pictures of our little one. She is not quite as little any more, and soon to be a big sister. Here she is loving life...

Not long ago we decided to take a family day-trip to the coast. Here are a few pic's of us exploring the new town of SeaBrooke, and what a great little place it is! It's full of beautiful construction, so much attention to detail (I loved the outdoor lighting) and had great paths and trails to enjoy. We had a great day.