The exploring will have to wait

Chad has been working. A lot. He has this internship in Salem that he travels to once every three days--he leaves at about 5:30 am and gets home at about 2:00am, then when he is here he is working so we have barely seen the guy. Which means me and the boys are just trying to stay sane. So yesterday, even though he was gone, I decided that the house-boundness had to end, and we struck out early in the morning to explore a new park.
I loaded the car with the stroller, the snacks, the sunscreen, the extra clothes, the kids and we took off. Now this new park is really just a huge wildlife reserve, lots of trails and meadows right on the river, I thought that Cade would enjoy running, and I was hoping that Luke would enjoy sleeping.
We unloaded, got the stroller put together and up, loaded the stroller with the aforementioned accoutrements, and then took off through a covered bridge over the river. Cade was helping me push the stroller, which is really not so helpful, but he was having fun. As soon as we got to the other side of the river disaster struck.
We were SWARMED by killer mosquitoes. Seriously, I felt like the little African babies with the bugs in their eyes, I was just swiping bugs off my face, trying to get them off the boys without slapping them, but these little suckers were vicious. And starving. They went after us with a vengeance, biting through my jeans. We tried to push through, but since Cade was pushing that wasn't going too fast, and the mosquitoes were not clearing up. It really all ended when I checked on Luke and there were 5 on his chubby little cheek! I picked up Cade, football style under one arm, and ran, pushing the stroller one handed over the trail, all the while telling Cade "we're running away from the bugs! Hurry, hurry!"
I have two bugbites on my scalp. Like in my hair, on the top of my head. I have seven on my right hand. It's ridiculous.
We ended up at the regular park, on the regular slide, without any bugs.

And June in pictures=caught up!

The boys have really started playing together lately, Sometimes I wonder how much damage a 20 pound baby can really inflict, or if the mauling/wrestling will ever evolve into something civilized (I don't think so...sadly) but here is some of the playing:

This was right before Cade pushed Luke off the truck.

In June we took our very first trip to the Zoo. Cade LOVED the train, and he thought the animals were ok too.

And then the second week in June we went camping. It rained at least once a day, but it was a great trip and the boys loved living outdoors, sleeping outdoors, chopping firewood, and playing with fire. You can never start these lessons early enough!

The month of May in pictures

We traveled a lot in May (and June for that matter...pictures in a minute). Here are the boys in all their glory!

Luke has an INSANE reach, like go-go-gadget arms. I left the room for a second and came back to this!

For Memorial Day we went to Lakeview, the boys loved the new wagon and Cade got to drive his first tractor!




The next weekend we went to Corvallis to see Aunt Jodie and Uncle Shawn. Cade was busy looking cute--with his hands down his pants:

I am a tardy tard

HA!!! Get it??? Tardy as in late, tard as in politically incorrect total stupid-head. I am a seriously funny girl. So I was sooo late in posting the link to the boys photo session that it done expired already. That's why it was asking for a date and all that nonsense--because it doesn't exist anymore. You'll just have to trust me that they were adorably cute.

In other news, Chad is interning right now which means that he spends a 24 hour shift in Salem, and then he is here for 48 hours. When he is here he will be working, so he is one busy kid and I am one crazy mamma. The boys go to be earlier and earlier!

Other than that, same ol same ol. Woohooo!

I have been remiss...

I know there are a lot of things that I have not updated all you thousands of faithful readers on, but it is just wrong that I have not let you know that the boy's newest photo shoot is up and available for your viewing pleasure.

Go Here to see the slideshow. If it asks for a password it is Grogan.

Hope you enjoy!

Well then...

It's surely been a wee bit since I wrote! We have been up to a whole lotta traveling, which I will use as an excuse for not posting. Chad has been on the job interview circut which has taken us all over the state, and then we went camping which was...an experience, and this is the first week we have spent at home in over a month.
The boys are growing like crazy, maybe if I get around to it I will post some pictures. For now though, I have to go rescue Luke from the stairs. They are his new favorite play area. So far, he is a lot more cautious than Cade was, he has only rolled down once.
The kid is STILL not sleeping through the night, and so I am requesting EVERY sleep book ever written from the Library. I keep telling the doctor that something is wrong with the guy, but so far he doesn't buy it. He just keeps telling me that I have a baby.

This was bedtime last night. Cade was so emphatic about telling Luke to "lie down" that he even decided to pick him up in order to put him on the pillow. I just had to run get the camera. It wasn't far, because at bathtime I had been taking pictures of this:

They think they are ready for sleepovers. They can't even sleep in the same room without disasterous results, but last night they thought they were ready to share a bed. I just wish it would have worked, but Luke wound up banished to the pack and play again. For a few minutes though, I got a glimpse of the future: two brothers that love each other.