Beach trip

I have been wanting to go to the beach for about 3 years now because when we have come to visit Oregon it is always around Christmas, so naturally that is one of the first things I wanted to do when we moved here.
Travis parents, my mom and Travis and me and the kids all went down to Tillamook for the day.
It was supposed to be a nice day at the beach or so we thought, but when we got there it was pretty chilly, typical Oregon weather I should have known. :)
We still had a lot of fun though despite the cold. It was McKenna's firt time to the beach so it was so fun to see her reaction and to play in the sand and the waves.
Grandma Allen brought some beach toys to play with in the sand which were a big hit! She loved playing in the sand with the toys.
Grandma Marshall and Grandpa Allen built sand castles which she just liked to stomp on, it was great. She and grandma Marshall got wet sand and dripped it on top of itself so that it made large towers, she thought that was so cool!
We tried to get her to go by the water, but she wasn't having it, that is of course until she saw another little girl go into the water and she decided it looked like fun, grabbed grandpa and ran into the water. Grandpa said it was so cold but Kenna just kept running out and then running back in, she loved it!
It was really enjoyable watching the joy she got out of the beach. We will have to go there when it is nicer weather.
We had a nice bbq there though with the best hot dogs! It was nice to be together with the fam. Graysen just slept in his car seat with a blanket over him and didn't really get to experience the beach, not that he would have really cared much but for pictures sake I wish I could have gotten some but it was too cold.
We went to the cheese factory afterwords which was fun since I haven't been there forever! I love the squeaky cheese! We got some yummy ice cream which McKenna loved! We looked in the gift shop and then called it quits for the day.

We had a really good time and I loved going and just seeing how beautiful the area was even if was cold I can never be sick of the beach! I love just looking out at the water and rocks and trees, it is such a pretty coast and I am grateful I get to experience such beauty. I love Oregon!

The move

So a lot of things have happened all at once and I am just now finding the time to write them all down.

We are finally in Oregon after waiting forever to move out of Utah, and we are so happy! Oregon is beautiful and I love being here. The journey to get here however was not so fun.
Just having Graysen 5 days before made the trip a little strenuous for me but surprisingly I survived and it wasn't terrible. We packed up our van, it was literally loaded to the max with all of our stuff we had been using for the past couple of months. Travis had already moved most of our stuff to Oregon a few months before so thankfully we didn't have to deal with that. Looking from the outside into the van you would wonder how we all fit in the van comfortably let alone at all, but we did and we were all comfy for the most part.
It was really hard for me to sit for that long and what was supposed to be a 12 hour trip relatively took us like 16 hours or so because of all the potty trips we had to make and no not for McKenna, for me! After a second child I cannot hold it worth anything. I also had to stop and breast feed a lot as well so you can imagine how many stops we had to make between all those things. It was also not enjoyable having to walk into public restrooms with my little cleansing bottle and all the other wonderful things I had to use to take care of myself; not to mention it was time consuming having to do it all....those of you with kids know what I am talking about. :)
Travis was so nice and went out and bought me a nice soft pad to put on my chair to sit on as well as a back support thing that hooked onto the back of the seat. It made the drive so much better. My feet got huge though from sitting that long, but they eventually went down.
I was so sad to leave my sisters and their husbands. We did a lot together and it was so nice to have them so close and be able to see them all the time. Now when we see them it will be few and far between. I love my sisters and loved living by them and that is probably the only thing I will miss about Utah, and maybe the mountains.
The kids actually did really great on the trip, Graysen slept most of the time and McKenna just played with toys and watched movies and ate snacks. It was really nice to have my mom there with us so that we could have help with the kids and all.
I was so happy to get out of the car and actually stretch out, it was heaven. After that I didn't want to be in a car for a while. All in all though it wasn't too bad and now it is over with and i don't have to do it again for a while hopefully.
We stayed at Travis parents house for a few days until we could get all of our stuff moved in, the place cleaned and set up which was nice. Grandma and Grandpa Allen were so excited to have us in Oregon finally and to see their new grandson for the first time.
Our new house is in Salem which is about an hour away from his parents house so we took many trips from Beaverton to Salem working on the house and getting moved in. It took a while but we finally got all moved in and I absolutely love our place! It is in a nice quiet neighborhood,(minus the dogs,) and there is a little park across the street and we are really close to everything! There are so many things here in Salem, it is crazy! We just rented a house and it has 3 bedrooms and a two car garage and a big back yard.. There is also a little park across the street so we have been taking daily trips there. Here are a few pictures of the kids rooms. Graysen's is still a work in progress
Our ward is really great and welcomed us right away and we have gotten situated pretty fast. My mom stayed with us for a couple of weeks and it was so nice to be able to get some needed rest and help with McKenna while we got situated with our new lifestyle.
Travis started Law school the day after we moved in and is loving it! I had to take him to school and pick him up for the first couple of weeks and let me tell you down town Salem is really confusing. I got lost quite a few times, but I think I am starting to get the jist of the area now. I don't see Travis a lot because he is at school or studying, so sometimes I feel like a single mom, but it is realy nice to have his parents close because they have been a big help and I don't feel like I am so alone and know I can call on them if I need anything.
We finally have a schedule down as far as Travis school/studying goes and with the kids so it has made things a little easier to deal with. Sometimes I feel like I am going to go crazy between my energetic child who always wants me to play with her and my son who always wants to be held.....it's a wonder I get anything done, oh wait if you have seen my house you are thinking you don't...haha.
Graysen is a good baby but I feel bad that I am not able to spend as much quality time with McKenna as I would like because Graysen always needs something or wants to be held and so it is really hard trying to balance the two, but McKenna has been a trooper. She loves her brother so much and always wants to help. I am really working on developing patience with her but she is so forgiving and patient with me. I think she knows that I am working on trying to be a mother of two and that Graysen needs a lot of attention but that I still love her and try to do things with her. She is such a good little girl and I love her so much!
Well, as far as moving and starting school and what not that about sums it up. I have other things I need to catch up on but will do it in another post since this one is already so long.

Graysen Allen Harris

I have been crazy busy the last few weeks and have not had time to post anything, but I thought I would do the most important event, the birth of our son!
Graysen Allen Harris was born on Friday August 6th at 12:21pm, weighing 7lbs 12oz. He was the cutest little boy ever and are so grateful we were able to welcome him to the world.
I was enduced because we were moving to Oregon the very next week so we couldn't wait for nature to take its course unfortunately. I had to go in at 5 in the morning, but it was definately worth it. I had a relatively easy labor, the only part that sucked was that my blood pressure dropped really low and so I was nausiated and throwing up pretty much the whole time, but at least I didn't feel any pain; thank you epideral!
I delivered at Orem Community Hospital which is just a maternity hospital, so it was super nice! I absoulutely loved my experience there and would recommend it to anyone who lives in Utah! :) The nurses were fabulous and the room was huge and very nice. I didn't want to leave the hospital because the food was soooo good! Travis was so great and stayed with me in the hospital the full 48 hours.

We were kind of worried when Graysen was born because his heart rate was super high, and he wasn't really breathing that great so they had to take him to the nursery right away to evaluate him before I got to hold him. They said everything was fine though and that he was okay so they brought him to me and I got to hold him. He was so precious and I just fell in love with his big cheeks and double chin. He had a full head of blonde hair which is weird because McKenna was bald. Travis was so sweet with him and it was so wonderful to see father and son together.
We had lots of family come to visit which was really nice and they brought Graysen so many cute things. I wish all our family could have been there, but we will take what we got! :)

Graysen latched on right away and hasn't stopped since then. He slept really good and it was really nice to be able to get some rest in the hospital. My mom was there from Illinois and she watched Kenna while we were in the hospital which was such a big help.
McKenna is aboslutely in love and obsessed with her baby brother. She just wanted to hold him and touch him and love on him, it was the cutest thing! She is such a great big sister and I know will be a big help with the baby even if she might mawl him to death.
Having a boy is definately a different experience especially when it comes to changing diapers. The first time we changed the diaper he peed all over....I have to learn how to do it pretty fast so that he doesn't do that. I definately didn't watch when they circumsized him because just the thought of it makes me so sad. He did really good though and just wanted to be held afterwords.
We went home on Sunday and it was nice to be out of the hospital even though it wasn't really our "home" persay since we were moving the next week. My mom cooked dinner and my sisters and their husbands came over which was really nice.


We are so happy we have another addition to our family and are looking forward to see Graysen grow and to see his personality. This is just one big change in a long list of them to come, but it is definately the best one! We love him so much and are grateful that we have to beautiful healthy children and can't wait to see them grow up together.

Kenna's first pony ride

We thought it would be fun to take McKenna to ride a pony for the first time ever since she just had her 3rd birthday. When we told her we were going to go ride a horse, she was so excited and kept asking every day "ride the horsie?" I told her it wouldn't be until Monday and showed her on the calendar how many days.
Whenever she told people she was going to ride a horse or if we asked her if she was excited she would just say "on Monday I am going to k"
There was this little equestrian ranch in Spanish Fork that Travis called up and asked if our daughter could come ride a pony and feed it and stuff and they said sure so we decided to go.
There were a lot of horses there and McKenna was so excited when we pulled up, she kept pointing to them and saying "I wanna ride that one" and she just really wanted to pet them all.

One of the employees came and took out one of the small horses and McKenna got to pet it while she brushed it and put on the saddle so Kenna could ride it. There were lots of flies around of course and so McKenna kept saying "eew bugs."
Once the horse was ready, she led it into the arena and we put McKenna up on it and the lady started leading the horse around in circles. McKenna absolutely loved it! She was so excited and looked so cute sitting up on it.

Travis was walking beside her trying to hold her a little in case she fell off but she wanted to do it all by herself without anyone touching or helping her.
She rode for about 20 min or so and then the lady brought the horse back and Kenna got to feed it a treat. She kept saying "come here horse," and gesturing with her hand for it to come....It was the cutest thing! When she was feeding it she didn't rally like the feel of the lips on her hand and was kind of scared, so she watched daddy do it instead.

We had a really fun time and I loved seeing her enjoy something so much. I think we will have to do it again sometime because that is all she talks about. Everytime we say prayers she says "thank you that we could ride the horsie," and she always talks aobut how fun it was.

McKenna's 3rd Birthday

I cannot believe that my baby is three already! It seems like yesterday I was bringing her home from the hospital, time flies by way too fast. McKenna has the cutest personality and is the sweetest little girl ever! She is always willing to help and has so much life and light that radiates from her. She truly is a joy to be around and I am so glad I have been able to be her mother for these pst 3 years.
She was a little tired since she woke up at 6:15am for some reason and only had an hour nap before I woke her up for the party, but her excitement weighed out for the most part.

For her birthday we decided to go to her favorite place which is Scera pool to go swimming. Auntie Abbey, Uncle Brandon, Aunt Melanie, Uncle Danny, and of course her cousins Taylor, Abby, and Alayna came to the water park with us. It was so much fun, and McKenna had a blast!

She is so funny cause she was a little awnry at first but as soon as I gave her something to eat she was totally happy after that. She is definately like her dad and gets really cranky when she doesn't eat enough.
After the waterpark, we went back to our house and played for a little bit while daddy went and got pizza. Travis' cousin Jen and her little boy Jackson came over and when Travis got back we all had pizza and pop and just hung out for a little bit.
We got McKenna a pinata that she picked out. It was a little kitty, she is obsessed with cats and I am not sure why because we don't even have one. After we ate we all went outside and the kids took turns hitting the pinata. It was really funny to see them do it. McKenna was kind of timid about hitting it which I surprised by, but she hit it a few times. It was really fun. Her cousin Taylor broke it, and they all scrambled to pick up the candy.....well the other kids did, McKenna just kind of sat down and started eating it instead.
Auntie Lindsay and Uncle Trevor came over when they got off work and we sang Happy Birthday to McKenna and had cupcakes. McKenna of course just ate the part with the frosting and threw the rest of the cupcake on the ground. After the cakes we opened presents.
McKenna got so many fun things, she difinately got spoiled this year! She got her two favorite movies, "Princess and the Frog" and "Nemo." Needless to say she wants to watch them all the time. She also got a lot of tinkerbell barbies and a tea set, a beach towel and toys, books, pajamas, cute clothes, a cute little kitty that she carries around everywhere, a potato head, ballons, a microphone, tinkerbell cards, tinkerbell cup.....in case you didn't know she also loves Tinkerbell, so she was very happy about all of her presents and loves playing with every single one.

She didn't quite get the concept that it was just her birthday at times because she tried to sing other people Happy Birthday and say it to them. It was so cute though because whenever someone would say Happy Birthday to her she was like "Oh Thanks!"
It was so much fun celebrating her birthday with our family and being able to see her joy and excitement. I am looking forward to many more birthdays with my girl and am so excited that I get to keep loving and watching every milestone and little things she does.
She definately gives my life meaning and makes every second of every day worth living. We love her so much and are so glad she is our little girl. Happy Birthday McKenna!

Fun summer activities

Since Travis doesn't have to work this summer, we have been doing a lot of fun activities together which has been so nice. I am taking advantage of this because come the end of August I won't have a husband for a while.
We have been to the zoo a few times this summer. Once we went with Travis sister and her 3 kids, and then we went with them again but her husband came as well as grandma Allen and Auntie Lindsay.
McKenna loves the zoo and all the animals. We got to see the new baby elephant Zuri which was soo cute! I think her favorite animal though was the giraffe.


We experienced raw nature while we were at the zoo both times. The first time we went we were at the gorilla exhibit and the gorilla had just taken a dump and then picked it up and started eating it. It was pretty gross....and people think we evolved from them....hmm.
The kids got a kick out of it though so it was pretty funny. The second time we were there the giraffe's were outside and the male giraffe was drinking the female's urine to see if she was ready to mate....needless to say the kids got course 101 of the birds and the bees.
We had a lot of fun looking at the animals, but I think the kids favorite part was riding on the carasoul and eating ice cream.

I am so glad I get to enjoy fun special moments with my family, I love seeing the joy that McKenna gets from spending time with us and her cousins. She will be so sad when we move and don't get to see her cousins very often.

Travis and I took McKenna to Bridal Veil Falls the other day and we had a lot of fun playing in the water and climbing up the rocks to the waterfall. The water was freezing, but McKenna didn't seem to mind one bit. It was really beautiful!


We have also been doing a lot of swimming in the back yard in the little pool,
at Scera pool which is like a little water park, and at Auntie Lindsay and Uncle Brandon's apartment pool. It has been really fun swimming. McKenna loves swimming, it is her favorite thing and can practically swim on her own.

It has been a really fun summer so far despite being pregnant, and I am looking forward to a lot more fun the rest of the summer.

Baby Shower

There is both good and bad things to be said for having the baby shower come and gone. The good thing is that it means I am getting closer to the end and actually have stuff for the baby, but the bad thing is that it is over and that I can't look forward to it anymore. I guess I will just have to settle for looking forward to when the baby comes. :)
Courtney is the best, she threw such a cute baby shower for me and even drove here from Rexburg to do it. My sister Lindsay was a co host and so it was fun to have a baby shower thrown for me from a good friend and my sister!
Amber came down from Rexburg with Courtney too, so it was like good old times all being together again. We had a lot of fun together, we went swimming
and out to dinner and just talked. It was so nice to have some girl time!
It was nice to hang out with our old roomie Annie as well, we all have so much fun together.
Travis mom was so nice and flew down from Oregon to be here for the shower, and of course she spoiled the baby to death. My mom was here a few days before the shower and likewise spoiled him, but I guess that is what grandparents are for right?
It was fun to have family and friends together for the shower, and I got a lot of cute things for the baby.
I always forget how much stuff you need for a newborn and how much stuff I didn't have that I had borrowed from my sister when McKenna was born that I now have to get. At least this gave me a good start! Thanks all who came it meant a lot to me to have you there!

With only six weeks to go, I am getting more and more anxious for baby to come. I still don't know what I am going to do with a boy, so any advice is welcomed! I just hope he is more mellow then McKenna cause I don't really think he could be worse......hope I didn't just jinx myself on that one. I am definately feeling the affects of the final stage of pregnancy and will so be glad when I can actually bend over all the way, or ride a bike, or lay on my stomach....I never thought I would miss such little things.

McKenna is so excited for the baby, she will touch my tummy and say "mommy I want him to come out...I want to hold him" It is the cutest thing ever! She is going to be such a great big sister. She is already so willing to help me with things so I am excited to have an extra pair of hands when he comes since I won't really have a husband for the next year or so. We are all just counting down until he arrives, I just want him to come!
Well, we had a fun time at the shower and I am so ready to have him here with us and then to move to Oregon and get settled in with our new addition.