California, here we come!

In July, the Evans Crew, Shasta included, headed South to visit everyone back in California. While it was hard to leave the picture perfect summer weather of Corvallis for the ...well, not-so-perfect summer inferno of the Central Valley, we were excited to be back home for a while. After all, it wouldn't have been summer if we didn't have a little taste of 105+! We spent about 10 days traveling between Grama's in Merced and Nana and Papa's in Clovis. Here's a little taste of our travels:

On our way down to Merced, we stopped for a beautiful picnic lunch at the Crags National Park. Afterwards, we went for a nice stroll - one of Calebs' first hikes since finally getting this walking thing down.

Once in Merced, our visit began by attending the amazing wedding of our dear friends Leigh and Jan. It was a beautiful evening filled with old friends, dancing, and no kiddos. Of course the tricky part was keeping our little bun in the oven a secret as we hadn't told the grandparents yet!

As we traveled down to Clovis, our first stop was at our friends Brian and Cory's home with their 3 kids, Avery, Cole, and Quinten. The kids had a great afternoon together playing while the adults caught up on life.

One of the hi-lights of our visit to Nana and Papa's house was a trip to the Fresno Zoo. What an amazing day! Ryan had sch a great time searching for all of the animals in the habitats and Caleb enjoyed the view from the backpack. Here, the boys were able to reach into a pool and feel the sting rays as they swam by. What a neat experience!


Ryan and Caleb enjoy a chance to feed the Giraffe some mulberry leaves - check out that tongue!

















Another hi-light was a short riding lesson from Nana. While gets to ride mommy's horse, it was neat to be able to ride one of Nana's, also. It also brought back fond memories as I watched my mom teach Ryan just as she had taught me when I was his age.

Whew - Vacations sure can wear a man out!!! (Little did we know that Ryan didn't just fall asleep at breakfast - he actually had the stomach flu....as did the rest of us a few days later at Grama's)









At Grama's house, the boys had a great time exploring all the nooks and crannies of Grama's backyard. Caleb's favorite - squishy mud between the toes!

Check out them baby blues!







"Hey guys, let's order pizza!"

(Caleb and Ryan calling who knows who from the hotel room in Medford, OR)

Party of Five

Meet the newest Evans! Some may call us brave, most may call us crazy, but either way, we are very excited about the pending arrival of a new baby. There's not too much to report, but here goes: We are at 11, almost 12 weeks along. The due date is April Fool's Day (a sense of humor already!), although, given Caleb's early arrival (3 1/2 weeks), pretty much any time in March is fair game. As for the pregnancy, aside from being utterly exhausted and perpetual ucky feeling, I have been blessed with a pretty easy pregnancy so far. Ryan is very excited about having a new baby and insists that the new baby in his own tummy is faster than mine. Caleb on the other hand is probably in for a big shock. =-)

A little bit o' family

The Evans' Family Show













Take THAT big brother!

For our sixth anniversary, we hired a baby sitter, packed a picnic dinner, and hiked to the top of Bald Hill for a romantic dinner overlooking the Willamette Valley.

A little bit o' Caleb

heehee - feel the power!













Nashville Star here I come!


















Blueberry picking with mommy, Ryan, Dorothy, and her mommy, Christie




The source of Mommy's computer issues

And a little bit o' Ryan

Just helping mommy in my goggles and Elmo undies!


Nothing like an ice cream cone with your friend, Dorothy










Each year, OSU hosts Di Vinci Days (basically a giant nerd fest - and yes, we felt very at home). Our babysitter, Tara, just happened to be there with her high school robotics team. In between matches, Ryan got to try his hand at driving the robot - our little nerd in training =)

Hello Midwest, Part 2

We're on our way!! Daddy and Ryan (with his backpack and ticket in hand) head towards the gate at Portland airport.










From Portand, we flew to Chicago where we spent the day with Wendy's mom's cousin, Lillian. We had a wonderful day with her and got a great tour! Here we are in front of the Water Tower, one of the only structures to survive The Great Fire.














The bean at Millinium Park











The Magnificiant Mile
















The end of our trip, we take a few laps on the people mover at the Omaha Airport.

Hello Midwest!

In June, we packed up the kiddos and headed East to Tama, Iowa to visit Uncle Bert (John's brother), Aunt Michelle, and Cousins Matt, Brad, Abby, and Timmy. Here is just a sampling of the 1000's of pictures taken of our adventures.


Unfortunately, Caleb decided to get 3 molars and 2 front teeth while we were there so he wasn't too happy unless mommy was holding him - at all times.















Cousin Abby and Ryan spent a lot of quality time reading - that is when Ryan wasn't playing with Timmy in his room.
On our first full day, we decided to take a walk to the river to see some of the Iowa flooding in person. Lucky Caleb got to hitch a ride on Brad's backin the same backpack all the Iowa cousins used to use.
































We also visited several parks, incluing this one by a lake where the "kids" had a blast in the human hamster wheel.











Uncle John and Uncle Bert showing the boys how it's done!





Mommy and Daddy sneaking away for a few quiet moments on the lake




Golf Cart Driving 101 with cousin Brad. Later, Ryan, Daddy, Abby, and Timmy take a ride on the innertube pulled by crazy Uncle Bert.






Whew! What a day!!!

Ahhhh, success at last - Caleb is happy in some else's arms =)

****As a side note, we began our vacation by visiting my mom's cousin Lillian in Chicago. She gave us an amazing tour of her beautiful city and as soon as my computer stops boycotting and gives me the rest of the pictures, I will post them, too =)