It's A Boy!!!!

So last Friday, we had our 20 week ultrasound and, Yup - another boy - Wow - that's gonna be one house full of testosterone! It took us a little time to adjust to the idea of raising three boys across the age span of less than four years, after all - we were so sure that this was a girl (given the huge emotioanl rollar coaster I have been on for the last 20 weeks). But now that we have had a chance to wrap our minds around the idea, we are elated at the idea of rasing three boys so close in age. We can hardly wait for the adventures they will take us on and can only imagine the bond that these boys will share as they develop into men. We are very excited and can't wait to meet the little guy =)

Speaking of the newsest Evans boy, the ultrasound was amazing. Not only was this the first time we opted to find out the sex, but it was thefirst time seeing the ultrasound with a 3-D feature. The clarity was incredible. At one point he looked directly towards us and we were able to see a nose, lips, and even watch him swallowing fluid! From what we saw in our first meeting of him, he is a wild man and should fit in just fine with our other monkeys. He was very playful and was in constant motion.

Health wise, he looked great. Doctor said that everything look just as it should. This is wonderful news and gives up hope that the pregnancy will continue to go well and result in the birth of a perfect, healthy boy.

Presenting our new look

For the Evans' Family, the last eight months have kept us busy with the transformation of our front yard. As you can see, we started with anything BUT a clean pallet. Instead, our front yard was filled to the brim with a complete menagerie of bushes that have been collected over the past 41 years. We certainly had our hands full removing 50+ plants over the course of about 6 months. Some were transplanted, some given to others, and some found their way to the yard waste.

By summer, our yard was thinning out and we were starting to get to know our neighbors really well from all of our time spent working in the front yard - rain or shine. In fact, we were the ONLY ones working in their yard on a 102 degree day in July - something we are sure everyone thought we were crazy for. Finally, in August, we had a clean patch of dirt and we were ready to rota-till.
Next came a delivery of compost and a day playing in cow dung.

Then more rota-tilling

And then time to lay down the sprinklers


Finally, by September we were ready to roll, seed, and wait for the first signs of green.

Success at last!!!

First soccer game and first mowing =)

Growin' Boys

Just a menagerie of pictures of the boys

Counting their pennies already.....(notice the sizes - Caleb is catching fast!)

Yummmmm, oatmeal....

First Day of Pre- School

On September 23rd, Ryan had his first of pre-school. He could not wait and packed his own lunch box and back pack. In fact, our lttle man was so excited about going to school, that as we were pulling into to the parking lot on his first day, his exact words were, "Uh, you're just dropping me off, right, Mom?" Yup, they grow up fast. (Meanwhile, Caleb, in true Caleb style, had a death grip on my arm just to make sure he was NOT going to be left there!). Anyway, Ryan LOVES preschool. He goes 3 days a week for an hour and a half. In Feb, that will increase to 3hours each day. He is learning lots and always comes home with great projects he has made. His favorite is show and tell, which apparently he is never at a loss of words for!

A day at the beach

Before summer flew by by completely, we decided to head to the beach for a beautiful day at Nye Beach in Newport (about 45 minutes from our house). The boys had a blast playing in the sand, making sand castles, squishing their toes in the wet sand, and exploring the tide pools. What a great day! BTW - there is only one picture of Ryan only because he wouldn't sit still long enough for more =)

Caleb's first emergancy

With September, came Caleb's first trip to Urgent Care. Ironically enough, depsite the crazy antics boys can get themselves into, this had absolutely nothing to do with big brother, Ryan, or with just being a boy. It was a Sunday, daddy was outside digging trenches, Ryan was upstairs, I was working around the house, and Caleb was in the living room. All of a sudden, just as I was passing through the entryway, I heard Caleb screaming. I look over and Caleb had tripped over a toy and fell square on the leg of the foose-ball table. He was face down on a pillow (conviently placed I might ad!). I ran over to him and turned him over. That's when I saw the blood. I banged on the window which John, being a smart guy, realized meant come quick, and ran back to scoop up Caleb. We got the bleeding stopped enough to travel and decided that he needed stitches. I volunteered to go since John made the last ER visit with Ryan last spring (root tone in the eye). We managed to make it to the Urgent Care, all while trying to keep Caleb from taking his afternoon nap - of course all head injuries seem to happen right at nap time! Anyway, to make a short story even longer, Caleb was a complete trooper at the Urgent Care. He was very calm, even when being wrapped like a mummy, and didn't start screaming until they stuck the needle straight in the wound to administer the anesthetic. The result were three stitches and a nice littlle scar on his forhead - the first of many I am sure!

Meet the Robinsons

In August we got the boys all dressed up and headed to Portland for the marriage of our close friends Joey and Bryan (Robinson). The boys weren't that keen on the ceremony part - of course, what boy (or man for that matter) is?! However, once they got to the recepton, the party animals came out!


All dressed up and lookng spiffy......












......well until the blackberry bushes that is!


















A rare glimpse of Caleb's social side













First ones to the dance floor!

Cascadia State Park

Towards the end of summer, we decided that we just HAD to go camping at least once this year. We had yet to experience an Oregon Camping trip and boy were we in for a treat! We decided to try Cascadia State Park about an hour and a half east of Corvallis. It was a bautiful campground surrounded by an old growth forrest. We went for a great hike to a waterfall and spent some quality time at the river where there was a great area for wading. The boys were fantastic! It was our first camping adventure with both of them (somehow we missed last summer). They had a great time helping daddy put the tent together and build the fire and they were way into camp food and s'mores. We are soooooo excited for camping trips to come =)

The Alpaca ( aka the Muppet) Farm

In August, the boys and I were invited to tag along with some other moms we know for a tour of a local Alpaca farm. It basically entailed about 20 kids being turned loose in a pasture full of mamas and babies. It was a bit crazy, but once we got away from the pushy ones, the boys had a great time feeding the goofy looking critters.