Last week...

...we met up with friends at the...you guessed it...the Children's Museum in Portland. Did the face paints give it away? Without fail, my kids seem to find that station minutes into our visit every time.

Gavin did not stay in the stroller much. He was far too independent for that nonsense.
Thanks Haycocks for coming and spending THREE HOURS there with us! It was so fun to see you guys!

...Brandon finished his THIRD YEAR of Optometry school!!! That's huge. No. more. classroom. studies. He'll be seeing patients full time during this last year and that means when he's home, he's home. (With the exception of prepping for parts 2 & 3 of Boards...) So, when he finished his last final on Wednesday and arrived home, the sun shining outside, he snagged Carter and went to the golf course. Carter was on cloud nine and keeps asking when they can go back to the driving range and hit balls "way up high"!

This boy LOVES golf. And even though he's right handed, he swings with his left...just like his daddy.

...and we spent a chilly, but very fun afternoon out at Hagg Lake with all these guys! The 2012 Class of Optometry. Now that the first three years are over, about 2/3 of this group are headed to rotations away from here and we won't see them again until graduation next spring. WEIRD! And very sad too.

(Photo courtesy of Kristina Skinner. THANKS!)
I don't mean to get all mushy, but these guys are some of the best people I have ever known. Thank you to the guys who studied along side my husband and made his journey through optometry school a better one, and thank you to the wives who gave me things to look forward to when our husbands were gone ALL. THE. TIME!!!

We had a BBQ and munched on snacks while...

Gavin slept in his carseat for 2 hours...

...the kids explored and played by the water...

...the guys had a baseball game of sorts...a childrens' pink bat and a wiffle ball were, I believe what they used to play. It was really quite entertaining...and humerous. Check out Brandon's pitch! :)

...like I said, snacks...pretty much unlimited...

...and a little more expoloring...

...here are some of the kids gathered on a bridge that they could not stay away from...hanging over the edge trying to reach their sticks (which, by the way I helped to track down...nothing like a good stick when you're out in nature) into the little stream below was just so darn entertaining. And you know what, I genuinely wanted to join them...so I did...but I mostly just fetched the sticks they dropped out of the stream.

It was a good week.