The Hoopes Come to Town

Josh, Hayley, and the boys flew into Portland last Saturday and we got to have some fun with them this week. We had originally toyed with meeting them down in Portland and doing the zoo, but we figured that everyone would probably be too tired after the long journey. My kids were pretty beat too after Grandpa's visit just a day earlier. I did drive down with Thomas and Olivia to greet them though, and Liam drove home with us. He entertained us with shrieks of 'Buzz' and 'Woody' as they watched Toy Story in the back.

It was a nice day so we hit the Valley pool later that afternoon. We swam and ate pizza. It was fun. Liam did get into a little bit of trouble with his mom and dad though because he woldn't stop running everywhere. He was just so excited.

We also visited 'Sand in the City' down at the new Hands on Children's Museum. Liam and Olivia loved holding hands as we strolled around.

I made fun of Josh throughout the whole trip for never wanting to get Liam out of his stroller when things were going on. Here he is feeling bad as he and Liam began making a sand bracelet.

Playing in the sand was a big hit

Covering yourself with sand is even better than making things with it.

We loved meeting Seth. He is so calm and such a happy baby.
He just sits and smiles at everything.

Liam's dip in the water was short lived when a nearby mom told us that people had been getting into trouble for having their kids wading in regular diapers. After a little chunter Hayley got his clothes back on.

We even got some free balloons as we left.

We also made our way out to Kandle Pool. We got there a little before Hayley and Co and to be honest Liam was more interested in wanting to go and play at the park next door than in the water. You can't please everyone all of the time I guess.

 

We also enjoyed a fun day up at Woodland Park Zoo. The kids had fun seeing the animals together and Hayley was impressed by the wealth of animal knowledge I have gained over the years. She said that she is going to have to get more into it. We didn't seem to have too much luck finding a whole lot of animals to see today though. Most of them seemed to be hiding.

Liam was allowed out of the stroller at times and we all
had to do our best to keep him from running away.

We had a day close to home right before they were scheduled to drive to Utah for Labor day weekend. They had some errands to run in the morning and then we went over to Priest Point Park for a while.

Sam thought that Seth was very entertaining and was constantly trying to gauge his eyes out.