September Trip to the Zoo

The middle of September my family had an opportunity to go to the zoo for my dad's company picnic. The timing couldn't have been better because we got a chance to see the newest addition to the zoo: a baby boy elephant named Samudra (Sammy for short)! Here are a few zoo pics for your viewing pleasure...



These are of Samudra. Sorry the pics are a little blurry!!



While we were standing in line (I have to say it was very hot and we were in line for a very long time) this nice lady came up and asked us if we could figure out what it was she was holding. We all took a shot at guessing, but come to find out it was an elephant tooth. Who knew?!!




A cute little porcupine!! He kept trying to make a great escape into the bushes!



All of the penguins were grooming.




This monkey was so funny!! Blake was kneeling down in front of the glass, and the monkey came over and sat right in front of him and starred at him.



The new CAT exhibit.

Various Summer Events

Apparently I'm really behind on my posts, so I guess I'll get to it. I have some pictures of various summer events to share!! Enjoy!



For about as long as we've known Vanessa, she and Beth and I have talked about wanting to take a cake decorating class. Since we don't really have time (or money) to take a real class, we decided to give it a go at home! I think this was around June/July-ish!! We had a lot of fun, and I have to say our cakes turned out beautifully!! Although, I don't think any brides will be hiring us for our cake decorating services anytime soon.




Celebrating Beth's 25th Birthday with a barbeque on the deck!! Mom and Dad were there (I promise), but I couldn't find any pics with them.



The newest Toland family. So cute!!

Trip to Long Beach, Washington

Two Saturdays ago, Ryan picked me up and told me we were going somewhere. Our destination, however, was not something I was privy to, so I just went with it. We gassed up, hit the road, and then he told me we could either go up to Mt. Rainier National Forest or to Long Beach. YAY!!! Well it was already 2pm, so Long Beach it is!! I was so excited because we had not been ANYWHERE all summer, despite our good intentions.

The weather was absolutely beautiful, and I thought we had really lucked out. That was until we reached the Astoria bridge and I saw a huge bank of low clouds toward Long Beach. Uh oh!! For those of you who don't know, the Oregon beach is not like California beaches. Our water is cold and most of the time the weather is just as cold and cloudy. I didn't take this into account when we left Vancouver, because it was a clear, sunny, HOT day.

So we got to Long Beach, and it was COLD and WINDY!! We were unprepared (no sweatshirts and Ryan was wearing shorts), so we didn't spend as much time actually on the beach as we would have liked. We did take a few pictures for your viewing pleasure!!

 

 

 

 

I should also mention that traffic in Long Beach was a bear. Somehow we managed to end up in Long Beach on the same weekend as the "Rod Run". We saw some really awesome cars, and I even managed to get a few pictures. I'll have to post those later on because I don't have access to them right now.

Finally, some results...

Well, I got my results today for my test, and I PASSED!!! I'm officially a Certified Professional Midwife!!! The news was received with much relief, as you can well imagine!! What's next?? Well, now I have to save up some money, so I can get my license. Some money will go to the school (about $600), and a lot (more) will go for my license, in the amount of $1900. Small hurdles, all things considered.

La(z)bor(y) Day(s)...

I hadn't realized it had been such a long time since I posted! Things have been pretty busy in our neck of the woods. Shall I catch you up?

Last week I made a few functional and cosmetic updates to our blog. You can now enter your email address into the box on the right and new posts from our blog will be automatically delivered right to your email inbox. Pretty cool, huh?!!

Let's see...Ryan had a great first week of school last week. He's feeling really good about his classes, as the homework load for all of them is fairly light. Monday's are his insane days starting at 7am and not ending (with the exception of a 3 hour break from 12pm-3pm)until 12:30am. The rest of his week is light in comparison, and he is just as glad to get his long day out of the way early in the week. Basketball tryouts went fine last week, and they started workouts/practice this week. He's also doing some custodial work at the school, so he's keeping very busy. I have a feeling this semester is going to be over before we know it!

Saturday was spent with the Schoeplein's (Vanessa's family) and our family at mom and dad's house. We gathered to celebrate Blake's 23rd birthday, and had a great time bbq-ing, visiting, and playing a long game of Apples to Apples. The game was quite hysterical, and we all had so much fun!!! Happy Birthday to my baby brother!!

On Sunday I moved out of my friend Amy's house in Vancouver, up to my parent's house in Hockinson. I'll be here for a short time until I'm able to get an apartment with my sister, Beth. I feel so blessed that we all still live in the same area!!

I'm in the process of looking for a job (temporary, not midwifery-related), so I can be saving up for my midwifery license and other things. I'm in that difficult in-between stage of things, being done with school, waiting for my test results, and trying to decide about starting a practice. Pray for me!!!

Yesterday (Labor Day) was more of a lazy day around here. We didn't do much of anything, which was nice. Blake came up for a bit mid-morning (Vanessa has a bit of a cold, so stayed home to rest), and we had a chance to pull out some old family albums! That was fun!! Mid-afernoon we bbq'd some braut's (sp?) and watched a little Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman. Not my dad's first choice, but the satellite is out, so you just make do with what you've got! Beth went to work, so the rest of us (Dad, Mom, Chloe, Me) watched October Sky.

I haven't done anything else as far as the wedding goes. I'm waiting for a couple of bridal shows that are coming up!! Yay!!

That's all for now!! Praying all is well with everyone!!

Back to the drawing board

So, we looked at the church today, and we love it for the wedding. It looks, however, like it's not going to be an option for the reception. Bummer. Major Bummer. So, we're back to the drawing board. Stay tuned...

Carrie and I liked Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants on the whole. It was a cute movie. We didn't appreciate so much the message they are sending to young teenage girls and boys that if a boy says he loves you, it's okay to sleep with him. Ugh! Isn't that the story that plays out in Hollywood headlines everyday though? One thing's for sure... it's a fake, empty kind of love that never lasts. Sad.

It's late and I'm tired, so I'll close for now! Here's hoping at least one or two people are reading this blog!! : )

On the other side...

I took my test yesterday, and to be perfectly honest I have NO idea how I did. Ryan says that's a good thing because when I took it last time, I felt really good about it. I should have the results in 2-3 weeks, so we're praying for good news this time.

Today we are headed up to Battle Ground to take a look at the church we're considering for the wedding/reception. I'm really excited to start tackling all things wedding with gusto!!! It's about time, right?!!

After we look at the church, we're meeting up with Carrie & Tim at the movie theater. Carrie & I are going to see The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, and the boys are going to go play video games or something of that nature. A nice relaxing day!

On Saturday, Vanessa's (my sister-in-law) sister Mallory is getting married in the evening!! It will be fun to go to another wedding before the summer is over! And it never hurts to keep your eyes open for good ideas too!!

Ryan's roommate and all of the other students will be moving in today, so he's excited about that! School starts on Monday. Oh, I forgot to mention that Ryan found out he'll be able to continue roofing on Tuesday and Thursday for awhile. Once the rain moves in for the fall/winter, roofing will end. He's also going to do some janitorial work on campus, also a good thing!!! What a busy guy!

Well, that's about the long and the short of it from Vancouver. More soon...