the start of football season

The Beavers played their first game versus Stanford last night. Unfortunately, they lost. But we had a great time hanging out with everyone nonetheless! And we look forward to better games in the season ahead.


Mia, Alex, and Cole with larger-than-life Benny.

camping (kind of)

This weekend we were invited out to a party at our friend Kimberley's mom's house. It's was really more like a festival than a party. Tons of people (around 200 I'd say), food, beer, music, swimming, and golf. Yes, that's right, golf. They set up a golf course right there on the property. We were excited to be able to go, but weren't sure how the little man would do with sleeping in the tent. But, hey, there's a first time for everything. Jen and Mike kindly offered up half of their Taj MaTent (it's huge!), so we could fit the travel crib plus our bed, and we were in good shape. We swam, ate, danced, played horseshoes, and enjoyed catching up with the crew. Cole finally crashed out around 1opm, and slept soundly until around midnight, at which point he woke up crying. And he cried. And cried. And we realized that he might not stop, which meant no sleep for us or anyone else in the vicinity. At which point we decided it was time to pack up and head home. I want to love camping, I really do. And I do love the idea of camping. But Cory and I agreed that maybe we just aren't the camping type. And after this weekend we don't think that Cole is either. At least not for a few more years. But we tried!

Here are a few pictures.

Cole, the pointer. Pointing is his new thing. He points at everything! It's adorable.

Karla and Andrew (6 mos)

Erin with McKenna (6 mos) and Taylor (2 1/2 yrs)

The guys playing horseshoes.

The Baughman's Taj MaTent (thanks Jen and Mike!)


Cole helping to set up the air mattress. That never actually would stay blown up. Lovely.

The band.

Brian and Riley on the hammock.

mornings with cole

Any parent (especially moms) will agree with me, I'm sure, when I say that getting ready is never the same once you have kids. Especially when you're getting ready for work with a limited amount of time and no one there to help you.

Here Cole is entertaining himself in the bathtub, which was a great place for him to play until he learned how to turn on the water.


and figuring out that unrolling the toilet paper is so much fun. And I just stood there and let him do it while I took the photo. Hmmmm....I'm not saying that any of these photos display great parenting.

all the fun birthday weekend festivities

Where do the days go? Seriously. By the time I get around to posting photos from the last weekend, the next weekend is almost here.

This past weekend was so much fun and so busy. Here's a short (kind of incomplete, but trying to hit the highlights) list of the festivities:

* The weekend officially started on Thursday, when Brad, Mercedes and the girls arrived. We headed over to Lebanon for a bbq @ Walt and Yvonnes. Here are a couple photos of the cousins.


* Friday was my birthday. Yay! The last one in my 20s.
* I spent Friday afternoon at 7stones getting a pedicure (thanks, kel!) and enjoying the steam room. oh, and a couple of glasses of champagne, too.
* That night we celebrated my birthday with a dinner party at our house. Dinner parties aren't quite the same as they used to be, that's for sure. There were a TON of kids running around, which was fun, but not so relaxing. Still great to see everyone.

Did I mention it was a really hot day? Hence the fact that we all look a bit hot & sweaty in this photo. Did I also mention that we don't have AC? Not so great when it's 100 degrees.

We all enjoyed the yummy ice cream cupcakes that Shahnaz made. Especially the kids.



I'm guessing they are looking for Farley. Natalia loves that cat! Not sure why, but I'm glad that someone does.

* Saturday evening was Kim Turpin's wedding. We had a blast! I didn't take any photos, but Krista has some great ones posted on her blog.
* Sunday we headed up to watch a Volcanoes baseball game in Keizer with the Badgers, some of their friends, and my parents and Mia came as well. I actually took some pictures there, with my phone.

Mia and Natalia enjoying their treats.

Cory and Cole.

Cole and Grandma B reading a book about dogs. He loved it and "barked" throughout the whole story. He seems to really be loving dogs and cats these days.


I've been kind of bad about taking photos recently, but hope to get some good ones this weekend when we head out to experience the annual Muddy Bottom camping extravaganza, an event that some friends put together. I've heard it's lots of fun. Looking forward to it!

mama faw

Last weekend we spent the weekend in Seattle with Keli. Our last trip up there before baby Faw arrives (Keli's due date is August 22nd, so it could be any day now!). It was a wonderful weekend. We went for a couple good walks, did a little shopping in their neighborhood, went to the Farmers Market, ate lots of good food, and made a trip to Target for some baby essentials. And Cole did his best to break their house in a little bit more getting it ready for the baby. Here are some pictures of the lovely mama-to-be.

the fair, yee haw!

Last weekend we headed to the Benton County Fair for a night of animals, music, and rides. And Cole loved it all. Here are a few pictures (from my phone, so the quality isn't the best).

Playing in the grass in between bands.


Cole with Eden during Johnny Limbo and the Lugnuts (a fair favorite)

Daddy & Cole on the carousel (we also enjoyed the Dizzy Dragons and the big ferris wheel)

Hangin' with Obama.

Checking out the tractors.

who needs toys

Hey, what's this cool thing I found in the cupboard?

Hmmm ... lets see what it tastes like.

Feels good on the gums, but doesn't taste so good. Now, what else.

Oh, I see, it goes on my head. And that makes mommy laugh, so I'm going to do it over and over again. This is fun!

crazy hair badger

These days Cole's hair is a bit out of control. We keep thinking about getting it cut, but then we're not sure exactly what we would have the barber do. So it just keep getting longer and crazier. Today it was looking especially awesome, so I thought I'd share a few pictures.