6 Reasons Why I haven't been Blogging:

Matt. Laurie. Brennan. Callie. Connor. Ethan.

My brother and his family came from Utah to visit us, starting last Saturday. They used to live here in Oregon, so we are really close. They haven't visited us in Oregon for three years, so we have been busy catching up and making new memories. It has been so good to have them here, and I am sure all of us are exhausted from all our activities. They left today. Pictures and details will follow after I catch up on some rest.

Father's Day Fun

I didn't get a lot of pictures of the fun on Father's Day because I was pretty tired after the graduation, but here are a few. . .

All the cousins enjoyed riding around in the wagon, but after the older kids abandoned it to move on to bigger and better things, Eleanor and Caleb attempted to pull each other around in it. They made some progress, but not much to speak of.

At least they took turns. Caleb is about 2 and 1/2 months younger than Eleanor. It was so funny to see him try to pull her around in the wagon. They think they can do anything.
Caleb wanted a close-up.

Sheer determination. While we took pictures, Eleanor tried to pull around Daniel and Carter. She only made it about a foot or two before they gave up on her.
My saggy-bottom-girl.

Graduation

In case you didn't hear, Grant graduated on Sunday, and we are so proud of him! He graduated from OSU with a BA in Liberal Studies with a minor in Political Science (it would have been a Political Science major if OSU had more online classes). He graduated Suma Cum Laude (hence, the white cords). He plans on working on a masters degree in public administration as soon as he can get accepted at PSU.
I remembered from my graduation how long you actually have to wait before you walk over to the stadium, so while Grant's parents saved seats (thank you, Dana and Duane), we had a little picnic with the graduate on the MU quad. It was nice because we didn't walk over to the stadium until the last minute when the graduates were starting to walk over there. We made it to our seats long before Grant ever came out, though; he had a very long line to get into the stadium.

Here's Grant with the reason it took him so long to get his degree. Nah, just kidding. She's really only one factor. Grant worked full time after we got married and put his school on hold in order to help me finish my degree. Then, as he continued to work full time to support our family, Grant chiseled away at his degree with any online classes or classes outside of work hours he could take. He worked even harder after Eleanor was born, and had quite a load with a fulltime job, a fulltime load of college classes, and a new baby (and exhausted mommy) at home.

Grant had to get Eleanor an orange shirt the night before so she could be in the school colors. Go Beavs!

Dana and Duane were really nervous about Alex having to sit still during the whole graduation, so I brought Eleanor to entertain him and keep him pleasant.


Proud parents.

We got out of there as soon as Grant was done, so we didn't hang around to take pictures on OSU campus. We had a BBQ waiting for us at Dana and Duane's to celebrate dads and grads (thank you, Ben and Cindy and all who helped), so we hurried back to Salem, which is where these pictures were taken.
Brother, Alex.
Me, the wife.

Thank You, Grandpa and Grandma Matthews!

I am blogging from my backyard right now. You might ask, how could I have a calm moment outside when I can blog, without having to chase around my toddler? I'll tell you how. Grandpa and Grandma Matthews decided to get sandboxes for the grand kids, and they brought ours down last night and filled it with sand. Eleanor is sitting in her sandbox, scooping sand, feeling it between her fingers, and enjoying her new sandbox toys (we made a trip to Wal-mart today because what's a sandbox without toys, right?) She loves it! And I love it because it will provide hours of low-Mommy-maintenance fun whenever we want it. I might actually be able to read a book!!! Larissa and Audrey will have to come play with us!This one is from last night. Eleanor was really excited about the sandbox, but she was getting tired. She can always make herself comfortable on Uncle Alex.

Thanks again, Grandpa and Grandma, for my peaceful afternoon outside and for Eleanor's fun in the sand!

Happy Father's Day!

Bubbles with Daddy

Must Have Been a Beautiful Baby...

Grant and I are finally getting some of our old photos organized, and I thought I'd share some of these old pictures of Eleanor. I can't believe how fast the time has passed! She has grown and changed so much since these were taken! I miss that sweet little gurgly baby, but I just love my rambunctious, jabbery, busy little toddler.

Best Buds

Eleanor and Larissa had a great time at our ward activity on Friday. They walked all over the church, holding hands the whole time. Even at this age, they were attracting boys. A couple of the five-year-olds in our ward couldn't get enough of them. I didn't get a picture of it, but two of the boys lengthened the chain for a while by holding the girls' hands. It was so cute!

Eleanor's Recent Favorite