Landon Turns 3!

So we took some pictures the day after Landon's party at the park and I loved the one where Landon's peeking around the corner. :) And if you're wondering Landon did put his flower on himself after seeing one of the older people do it. I just had to get a picture. hahaha... thank goodness he got some more boy toys and cars and such. I was getting worried about the purses, dresses, and necklaces! o_O

This is a combo of pictures of those who made it to the party and what happened there. My mom came over with Misty (pictured with the dog on her chest) from Quincy! Landon sang with my mom the Jesus Wants Me For A Sunbeam song. She would sing the verses and he would pipe in "BEAM!" or "SUN" when it came to the word. I got a video of it, but haven't found time to upload it, so that will be coming. :)

Mario Valencia and his kids came (Mary had to work). His kids are the boys with red hair, Mario Jr. "Bubba" and Maxum, and the little blonde haired beautiful girl, Mariah.

Then there were the Gillespie Family with Cheryl, Jeremy and their kids, Mykaela (spelling is always wrong), Derrick and Brittany. I worked with Cheryl at the car wash and she has become a very close and special friend to me. She and Jeremy are amazing together and they have to be to put up with her father who owns the car wash and is hard as nails and frustrating as all heck! Their kids are amazing too. Mykaela and Derrick are twins and so sweet and caring. Brittany is growing into a young woman and worked last summer and this summer at the car wash helping wipe down cars and cashiering.

There were SOOO many people that showed up:
Andrea Mendez, Fabian, Kyla and Mathias
Tiffany Plassaras, Ashley, and Nicole
Mario Valencia, Bubba, Maria, and Maxum
Cheryl and Jeremy Gillespie, Brittany, Mykaela and Derrick
April O'Neal, Leon, Autumn, Dakota, and Claire
Misty Gottschalk, Corey and Aby
Mom
of course, Leah and Thomas and Linzey
... and a good surprise was his dad came too!
James, his girlfriend Tamara and her boy, Tyler

James got Landon a Thomas the Train bike with training wheels as well as a Emergency Crew Toy/Truck/Vehicle set. Landon was super excited to see his dad and to have him be a part of the festivities. I am glad James was able to make it. I had told Landon for a while that his dad would be coming to his birthday party so it made my little guys night to see him show up and spend some time with him.

Landon had a blast opening presents and blowing out candles... although I have to admit that I completely forgot about the cake until after most of the friends had left and only a few family members remained. :( But to my surprise that was probably the best thing because one sheet of cake wouldn't have been able to feed all the people who came! So it was a blessing in disguise.



Mario brought the pinata last year and it was such a hit that I got one this year and stayed up till midnight filling that sucker up! Apparently it was too full because when the 2nd kid went at it, it fell off by where it was hanging by! So we reroped it and most of the kids were able to take a swing at it. It was a blast and the kids enjoyed the candy and money (thanks Jeremy!) that were inside.



This would be the infamous and best family. The Gillespies!
Cheryl is a doll. Jeremy is a big teddy bear, and their kids are amazing.

We finally got to the cake before long. :)
Landon tried to blow out the candles like 3 times before I picked it up and put it closer to him.
You know when you're spoon feeding your kids and you tell them to open up, that your mouth automatically does what you are wanting them to do? This was the case in the picture below. hahaha



This would be the next morning when Landon got up he brought this to me and wanted me to open it. It was the Transformer's costume I got him. He put it on and it was a 4-7 year size, but it was just a wee bit big on him. I'm glad I didn't talk myself out of getting it because of that. It was the last one and like I stated earlier... he needed something mocho to dress up in. He's such a cute little guy huh?!?!



The party was a success. I have NEVER had so many people attend a birthday party and I defintiely was greatful for the outpour of good wishes, comments, thoughts, and birthday singing that happened that day and on his actual birthday.

When someone would tell Landon, "Happy Birthday!" he would shout right back at them with just as much enthusiasm, "Happy Birthday to YOU!"
hahahaha He's so cute, smart, handsome, and filled with love.
Happy Birthday Landon. I hope to share many more birthdays with you sweetheart.

The Oregon Coast

The last time I had traveled to the Oregon Coast was before we moved to Missouri the summer before I started my 5th grade year in Elementary School. We went with Karen Wells and her boys, Tyler and Nathan. My mom, April, Bubby, and Leah and I went with them in a camper on the back of a truck and a couple of cars to follow. We camped and saw lighthouses, jellyfish and starfish, caves, StoneHedge Tribute, and of course the amazing and vast ocean. I also got my first taste to the forest... a real forest that I played and camped in. It was fun and definitely memorable. I wish I had more photos to remind me of the sites and adventures, but I find myself at a loss.

So this last month I had an invitation from Tiffany to go with her and her daughter to the Oregon Coast for a weekend. I was immediately ready to say yes! To take a trip anywhere with Tiffany would be fun and memorable, but to return to a place that I hadn't seen or experienced in over a decade was priceless. So we made plans, reservations, arrangements, packed, and Friday finally came!

I have to give you a little background when it comes to Tiffany and I. We met while I first started working here at Mueller's Funeral Homes and we have slowly become more like sisters than anything else... best friends at heart some would call it. We have so much fun together. We are constantly meeting up to have play dates for the kids at the water park just less than a mile from Tiff's place (which is where I used to live before I moved in with Leah and Thomas) and Nicole and Landon have a BLAST when they are together while Tiffany and I enjoy one another's company, conversation and many laughs. She is an amazing Daughter of God and gives me the "Scripture of the Day" at work every morning. :) So as you can plainly see she is a lifesaver, belly-holding, blast of a friend. And we've known each other for a little over a year now.

We headed out and I took the wrong turn onto highway 82 right at the start of our trip. I quickly made an illegal U-turn known (at a cop's sitting spot) and we were back on the road... and in the right direction, might I add. :) That was about the most lost we were on that trip... and it wasn't really lost... just turned around. hahaha But that started our trip off!

We passed barges, cliffs, windmills, and trains along with many a semi and other vehicles. We made a few pit stops to go potty and that's to be expected traveling with a 5 year old and a almost 3 year old. :)

We finally made it to Kate and Mike's at around 10 at night. James was there and was able to enjoy seeing Landon for a bit before he had to go to his motel to report to drill in the morning. Kate and I stayed up getting her ready for the Young Woman's trip she was going on the following morning at the crack of dawn. Mike went to bed and you could tell he was beat. I stayed up helping Kate till about 12 or 12:30 and Kate was still up when I passed out on the couch with Landon falling asleep with me at the late hour. Kate was up at like 5:30 too! So I am not sure if she pulled an all-nighter or not... but she was a trooper and looked gorgeous as always in the morning ready for the long day activities planned for the young woman at Lincoln City, Oregon. Which happened to be the same place Tiff and I went to. After everything was packed into coolers in the morning and put into her vehicle she was off. Korben was playing the computer and Landon woke up soon afterwards and refused to go to sleep. So I started the day with a very sleep deprived son who was going to be overloading his senses later that day at the ocean beach.

We all got up and got ready. Mike made us some slamming sweet waffles that were homemade and homemade syrup too! I haven't been so spoiled in so long. It tasted great! Then we headed out after making a last potty stop in their bathroom before we hit the road. The traffic in Portland/Vancouver area was crazy and the highway down to Lincoln City felt like Seattle traffic! It was busy and crowded and clogged at points on the way down there. Tiff found later that we totally went out of our way with the directions we had and could have driven by the ocean the entire way down instead of fighting traffic on the freeway. But we got there in one piece and after checking into the hotel, getting the kids changed into cold weather clothes (the wind was really bad and it was foggy = humid and cold), we finally headed to the beach.

I was walking from parking the car after dropping the kids and Tiffany off and got a couple of balloon hats for the kids on my way to meet up with them. They loved them, but it was too windy to keep them on. So we anchored them to the basket of beach toys we had and were off.

The kids loved playing in the sand and learned that if they got to the sand right after the water went out that their castles and things stood better... so it was a race with the tides as they built and played. They watched the sea lions across the way and enjoyed running, sitting, building, and flicking sand. I vacuumed my car out and swear I pulled at least a full bucket of sand out of the carpet and seats with the shop vac! :) But it was worth it!

We wanted to get a picture first off (after getting the kids settled with their buckets and toys) of our feet in the Oregon Coast sandy beach... so we started to take them... but I wanted to have some of the ocean water in the picture too! So we went a little closer and got a good shot of the waves just going out.

Then before we knew it, a HUGE wave came our way while we were looking at our feet and about knocked us down by how hard it hit us! Then the rest of the night our pants were wet and sandy... I'll just say by the end of the day on the beach I was happy to change into some other clothes and my legs were about rubbed raw by the combo or sand and wet jeans. :)

Did I mention the water was cold??? This picture is priceless!

It's of Tiff touching the water with her feet for the first time. :)

We stayed in Lincoln City overnight and then the next morning, bright and early, we headed up the coast to Cape Town which had a ginormous rock a mile or so from the beach which was so captivating and mesmerizing at the same time. I don't know why being in the presence of this rock and ocean combination that was so pleasurable, but it was. I could have sat there on the beach doing absolutely nothing but watching the waves and surfers and of course the rock. The Ocean kind of has a tendency to put me into a trance-like state at times. Maybe this happens to more than just me, but I can just tell you from experience that it happens every time I go to the Ocean. Maybe it's the sand under my feet, the cool misty breeze that smells like salt water, and the constant crash and fall of the waves around you that seems to occupy all your senses at moments and just takes them over... who knows. But I am now addicted to the ocean's beach. I am addicted to the relaxing environment of people and kids playing in the sand with kites, buckets, balls, frisbees, and whatnot, the sound of seagulls sqwaking back and forth, the view of driftwood up and down the shore, the unmatched feeling of sand under your feet (and sometimes in your eyes when the wind blows just right), and the sea lions that you can see across the way. I am addicted to it all. I have found my favorite vacation spot now. I will be visiting it often. :)



Now back from my personal thoughts to our weekend. We went to Cape Town which is where they were holding a Surfing Competition. There were surfers all over the beach which was lined with vehicles that held occupants, boards, dogs, changes of clothes, and supplies for the participants of the competition. It was so cool to see the surfers out on and in the water.

I never knew that surfers could paddle around while atop their board like you see in those guys do in the Venice boats with the striped shirts and red ribboned hat. But they did! And it was so cool to watch. There were kids trying to surf really close to the shore with their parents out with them in the water of course...

and the most unusual sight was a HUGE mountain of sand that had a bunch of ants on it... that's what I thought at first, but then at a closer look it was a lot of people climbing up to be able to surf down! Surfing on sand! Who would have thought!?!?! But someone did and it looked like loads of fun. hahaha



After Cape Town, we traveled up the coast to Cape Mearse where the lighthouse was located. The kids were asleep and so I dropped Tiffany off with a camera in hand to see if you could see the lighthouse through the fog that was there on the coast the entire weekend we were there. Yes I was very upset at the fog! I wanted to see the miles and miles of water in front of me, but that was impossible the weekend we were there. So another time maybe. Anyways... she was gone a long time and I was in the car with the 2 napping kids reading the Oregon Coast map because I didn't have a book handy... when she came up, all out of breath, and said that you could see the lighthouse just fine! At that point the kids were already awake and so we all traveled down to the lighthouse. When we turned the corner to go to the lighthouse, I was expecting to see those tall lighthouses which are always in paintings... I was so wrong. This lighthouse was only 3 stories high (only looked like 2 though) and I was kinda of disappointed. But soon got over my expectations and decided to take in what I could while I could. I was able to see a lighthouse after all and that is special in itself. We went inside and waited for our turn to go up to the top of the lighthouse. Why wait? Because only 10-12 people could go up at a time because it was so small a space. I found that the lighthouse was built in the 1880-1900s and ran about 60 or 80 years (can you tell I was trying to keep a little boy from touching the panes in front of us as the gentleman was trying to fill us with the history of the lighthouse?) and when it was shut down the people just locked the doors to it and left for about 2 years. That's when the Parks and Forest Services found it and fixed it up. There were panes that were taken and never returned during those 2 years and since then they've been showing it to the public. It was fun to hear about the history of the lighthouse in which we stood at the top of.

We walked on back up the long walkway to another look out point and Nicole and Landon had a fun time running around and getting their energy out. They picked flowers, raced to see who was the fastest, and climbed trees. Of course we got pictures of it all and my favorites are the ones of Landon giving me a flower and looking for more to pick for me. :)

Then we began from that point the long drive home. We passed through Tillamook, but didn't stop because we were both so tired... we didn't get home till 9:45 or 10pm as it was. So I'm glad we didn't stop.

I almost forgot that we stopped at the Multnomah Falls. We didn't climb up to the bridge or even to the top, but we took some pictures and had a fun run around time with the kids to stretch our legs. It was so hot. The entire weekend was hot once you you left the coastal winds. The tempurature was 110 as a high one day in Pasco! So I'm glad we traded that for the coastal wind on one of the hottest days of the summer.The kids did really well on the trip other than some of the tantrums that Landon chose to have in the restaurant and lighthouse.

This week after the trip, whenever we get into the car Landon asks me, "We go to Nicole's house Mama!?" To which I inform him we aren't but mention we are going so he can play with Mathias or Maria. That isn't the end of it though... he always finishes his musings with "Me Love Nicole." I guess they are going to continue to be best friends, just like Tiffany and I are. :)

Happy Birthday Landon Man!

Today is my Mr. Magoo's birthday!
He is THREE years old today!
I cannot tell you how happy and blessed I am to have this wonderful little boy in my life.


Landon was born August 5, 2006, weighing in at 7 lbs., 14 oz. He was full of love and smiles and laughs from the beginning and it's only gotten better with time. He loves to be outside and enjoys the water like he should live there. Some of my favorite times with Landon now are cuddling with him while he wakes up and when he goes to bed. Because I wake him up before he is ready to wake up in the mornings. I get up especially early to be able to cuddle with him and love on him. Then when he's up I tell him I love him and he says in his little boy voice that turns up at the end, "I love you too!" He is the sweetest and funniest little boy you'll meet.

He's gone through stages...

The NO! stage.
Landon started to tell me No for everything! No joke... I ask if he wants a drink of water after coming in from playing in the pool in the backyard and he says No... he got out of this stage pretty quickly when he learned if he said No he really wasn't going to get what he said No to!

The 'Why Mama?' stage.
There was about a month or just under a month where Landon would ask me why for everything and when I said anything! We would be going to Wal-Mart...
---
Landon: "Where we going Mama?"
Me: "To Wal-Mart."
Landon: "Why?"
Me: "To get some groceries and toilet paper."
Landon: "Why?"
Me: "Because we are out of toilet paper and we are running out of food at home."
Landon: "Why?"
Me: "Because we use toilet paper to go to the bathroom and we have used every roll in the house that we bought last time."
Landon: "Why?"
Me: "Because we need to be clean when we come from going to the bathroom."
Landon: "Why?"
Me: "Because we don't want to be dirty."
Landon: "Why?"
Me: "Why are you asking, 'Why?' so much?"
Landon: "I don't know!"
---
Seriously this happened ALL THE TIME!
At first I answered his every "why?" question with a logical answer and spend minutes going through all the possible boring answers to those multiplying Whys! Then when my patience was cut short, I started asking that ending question again and again. It stopped soon after... I think he realized he didn't really know why he was asking those "Why?" questions.

The sticking-his hand down his pants stage.
I don't think this one needs a explanation... but I'm pretty sure that every boy goes through it. o_O

The Money! stage (still there).

He is currently still in this stage where he has learned that money buys him things... so he wants it! I have started to pay him a penny a day for picking up his room. I figure this will evolve into weekly allowance when he gets older for doing chores... but seriously! I have one happy little boy who is willing to clean his room for a penny! That's awesome in my opinion! And he doesn't throw fits or tantrums anymore about having to do it. When I give him the penny he immediately puts it into his giraffe 'piggy' bank I got him on his last birthday. :)

The I Wipe Myself stage (still there).
If you have a solution or previous experience on this one please let me know. Landon has been potty trained for a while now and has started to wipe his own bottom before he calls me when he's done. So what ends up happening... yeah... you guessed it! Clogging the toilet happens every time! So I'm caught in this trap! I am excited he's wanting to wipe himself, but not excited about having to plunge the clogged toilet every time!

The Lay on the Ground stage (still there).
Landon has never been one to throw tantrums because that is one of my Pet Peeves. I hate it.
So Landon has found something else... when he doesn't get his way or is told to do something he doesn't want to do... he lays down on the ground and puts his face in his arms... Yep... that's it! This doesn't bother me... it's not into that Tantrum yelling/kicking pet peeve of mine. So it is how he expresses himself without me getting upset with him. I leave him alone and ignore it to the best of my ability and when he's done he gets up and comes and hugs my leg or does what he's been asked to do in the first place. So I guess you could call this his "cool down" thing. :)
I kinda like it.

While he's been 2 years old, he's learned to do a lot of things. Landon tells me every morning and every evening, as well as some points in between, that he loves me. Most of the time it's preceded with me telling him I love him... but there are times when it comes out of the blues from him. I remember the first time he said it by himself to me. I was so ecstatic and beaming with pride and love. I picked him up just held him. He has come to adore rolly pollys, worms, and caterpillars. If you're not familiar with these little rolly creatures I've included some pictures of them. :)



One thing that I've enjoyed is that Landon cuddles more now than he used to. He doesn't mind putting his head on my shoulder or giving me BIG hugs and just sitting there with me. He's received many bruises, scratches, rug burns, and scraps. He's been covered in bandaids, neosperin, and kisses. He loves to brush his own teeth and enjoys brushing my hair and putting 'pretties' in it. Landon still prefers my bed to his and is attached to a little, blue, silky and soft blanket... (which reminds me of my favorite blanket I drug around as a little girl) but not so attached that he can't go to sleep without it. He has told me that he LOVES: Rolly Pollys Tractors Nicole (play friend) Bubbles Zoey "ZoBo" (the dog) The Rain Watermelon Flip Flops and so many many more things... In the car he continually makes me laugh because we'll be driving and I'll be thinking about what I need to get done when I get home... when I finally tune into what he's saying (mind you it's as fast as he can get the words out!): "I love my NaNa. I love my MaMa. I love my DaDa. I love my Linzey. I love my Auntie. I love my Uncle. I love my ZoBo. I love my Mathias (boy at daycare). I love my... my... ME!" hahaha

Landon is just such a sweet boy. He loves everything and everyone. He loves to make sure he puts his Sunday Nursery drawings on the refridgerator and is getting more and more patient during sacrament meeting, which might have to do with the large volume of children we have in our ward. He loves to sing and dance. Anytime he hears music he starts dancing. Lately as all of you might have noticed he's into flashing peace signs and whatever hand signal comes out in the photo shots. He learned that from his nephew Nicolas on the Mother's Day Camping Trip and hasn't "forgotten" it yet. *Sigh* Oh well... hand signs or not, he's still so stinkin cute in my book.

Landon loves to play with all kids and I have been told by his daycare lady, Andrea, that he is the one that gets picked on all the time by Adrian and the rest of the kids because he doesn't fight back. He has such a soft heart and is so caring. I love that he knows when to mess around with mommy and uncle and when not to. He's very gentle with bugs, babies, and flowers. He picks flowers for me all the time. While we were in Oregon on the coast we were walking and he saw some dandelions and picked a huge handful of them for me... came walking over to me and deposited them in my lap with a huge grin and saying, "These flowers for you mommy!" Who could not adore that kind of smile is beyond me.

I am so blessed to have Landon in my life. He's truly the thing that keeps me running. And there are times that I want to pull my hair out because no matter how many times I tell him NOT to get out of bed, he reappears a few minutes later around the corner saying he needs to go potty or whatnot. But in the end I kiss him before he goes to sleep and realize that I'd rather be bald then live without him. He's been such a blessing in my life. Heavenly Father definitely knew I needed his tender, caring, fun-loving spirit in my life. And I thank him every day for my Mr. Magoo (aka Landon Man).

Happy 3rd Birthday Landon. Mommy loves you!

P.S. I know the fonts and stuff are off, but I tried 5 times to change it all to the same one and it didn't work... so I am not caring at this point. I really did try to make it look nice though. Never had blogspot do that to me though! Frustrating... *shrugs*