Livin' the Lemen Life

2011-04-26T15:00:00.000-07:00

ISABELLE DAWN LEMEN

8.7 bls and 19 inchs long

Bringing the new additon back home

Preston loves his little sister. When he came to see her at the hospital his face said everything. He was in amazed by her. He is very gentle and wants to help and hold her all the time.

It was a long Easter morning for us. It all starte at 12:00 am and ended with a baby girl at 11:24 am. The labor was a lot harder then with Preston. It would have helped (a lot!) if the epidurel would have lasted the whole time instead of stopping right before the end of labor. All in all we are very happy that she is here.

More beautiful pictures to come.

2011-04-17T15:02:00.000-07:00

Preton loves to give his little sister a kiss and a hug.

This is a strainer from Preston's kitchen. It use to not be bent until he fell off on it with his head.

It left a good mark.

Always making a mess with the paints.

Getting into everything when mama is not looking. I love his face on the bottom picture.

2011-03-02T13:42:00.000-08:00

We were wanting to take a trip over the long weekend but didn't know where to go. Eric called me Friday afternoon and told me to pack a bag for me and Preston. He didn't tell me where we were going just that I needed to bring a lot of warm clothing and a swim suit. The swim suit ws throwing me off. He came home from work, packed and then we were off. We were heading to Grandpa and Grandma Lemen's house in Oregon. We were staying the night then all of us were heading out in the morning. The secret did not last long. The one person who thought he coul keep a secret blew it. My father in-law. We were going to the beach and staying at a resort right next to the ocean. On are last day we quickly got a family photo in the morning. It was so cold that morning!

This is the view from our hotel. Ther is a path along the beach that Eric and I walked for a bit on morning while everyone was still asleep. Good thing for Grandparents so were could leave Preston behind.

Preston's first time on the Oregon Cost. He was so excited. When we first took him out of the car he had the biggest grin on his face and could not wait to go explore. The only thing he did not like was the waves coming in towards him. I think he got scared because the first time he went a little to far out and Grandpa had to grab his hand and pull him towards the beach.We tried to fix our mistake of making it scarey, but when a wave would start to come in he would run to who ever was the closest and try to climb up their leg.

We found some dums that the boys got to play on. The girls got to go into Fred Meyer to do some baby girl shopping.

Eric getting the kite ready for Preston to hold. Preston also LOVED doing this. He saw us buy the kite, but we did a lot of sight seeing the the morning and was planning on flying the kite after his nap. The whole morning he would say, "Kite now." The wind was blowing pretty hard and Preston was fighting to hold onto the handle. It was super cute.

After our trip we stopped off at the Lemen's house to stretch are legs and have lunch before heading back home. Preston got to ride his quad all by himself with Eric fallowing behind. He doesn't have the concept that he has to turn if he doesn't want to run into a bush.

Sorry that the video is sideways. I wasn't holding the camers right.

2010-12-07T13:29:00.000-08:00

Grandpa and Grandpa Lemen came up for the weekend to go cu down a christmas tree with us.

We got to push Preston on the railroad tracks. (We thought there was going to be a train we could ride on, but the man has been working on in for 7 years now!) We still had a good time.

It is a huge tree! I had to get more lights to finish decorating it. It was about 11 feet tall.

Preston was so happy when he got to make a snowman. After it was done he kept pulling the carrot ou.

2010-11-21T15:00:00.000-08:00

We woke up to the beautiful snow falling down. It was not cold enough to stay for a long time, but it kept falling. When Preston woke up, I let him look out the window and he was really excited. He kept saying, "snow. Snowman," and put his hand together abouve his head to indicate a snowman. We put on his boots and coat and let him play in it. He was out no longer then 5 minutes and came running to the door crying because his hands were so cold. Time to get snow gear.

2010-11-21T14:28:00.000-08:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY PRESTON

We went down to Oregon to be with family and friends to have Preston's birthday. He is now 2 years old. His birthday was fun so I am sure Christmas will even be better.

Preston and his cousin Rylee.

Rylee got Preston markers and they got to color together. He just LOVES his cousin Rylee.

2010-11-21T14:26:00.000-08:00

My little monkey

2010-10-29T23:02:00.000-07:00

HAPPY HALLOWEEN

We went to a small local pumpkin patch as a family to pick out our pumpkin.Preston got to play

on a hill made out of wood chips. He loved it!

Being so patient

2010-10-29T22:30:00.000-07:00

Preston and I went down to Utah to visit family. We had a really good time. (Thank you Janna for flying us down.)

We got to. . .

. . . Feed the ducks. . .

. . .make donut with Aunt Mindy. . .

. . . have the best smoothie in the world. . .

. . . play at the park with Grandma and Aunt Janna. . .

. . . take pictures at temple square. . .

(more like run around)

. . . hang out with Grandpa. . .

. . . wear funny hats. . .

. . . play in the plants. . .

. . . pick tomatoes form the garden

and eat them. . .

. . . and water the flowers. We had a great time.

2010-10-29T22:23:00.000-07:00

We went to go spend time with Grandma and Grandpa Lemen and Eric ended up digging holes in their property. The dirt bike track is suppose to be for the grandkids, but I thing the adults have a lot more fun on it.

Preston tried to help or should I say just wanted to play in the mud. He had a runny nose so every time he went to touch his face, more and more dirt was added.

2010-09-26T15:06:00.000-07:00

One afternoon it was really quiet in the house. (To quiet) So I went to go find Preston and he had gone to his room, got his blanket and binkey and was just sitting on the stairs. When I found him he just looked at me and sad, "Sit."

While I was getting ready one morning, I was in my bathroom and I thought Preston was singing and playing in his room. When I went to go check on him, he had put on Eric's hat, climbed up onto the bathroom sink and was playing in the water and singing to himself.

We went to the Puyallup fair and Preston got to pet a goat and a bunny.

2010-07-18T21:25:00.000-07:00

One of are first adventures we had in Washington was to go crabbing.

we first had to set up the crab pots. . .

. . . then Preston watched as we lowered the pot into the water. . .

. . . to our surprise we caught one a little over a half an hour. It was only a little guy, but he was big enough to keep. We stayed out for a couple more hours, but no more crab so we called it a day.

Eric killed it

And we ate him for a snack. (Not enough for dinner)

2010-07-08T13:41:00.000-07:00

I know it has been a LONG time since I have blogged, But I have a good excuse. Right? As soon as our shipment gets here I will be able to down load pics of our new home and of course Preston. He has changed so much and is always learning new things. (that also leads to exploring and making messes where he is not suppose to.) He is keeping me on my toes. It was been really great having family close by. I love seeing Preston interact with his grandparents and his cousin. Eric loves having his dad closer so they can work on our house. (We have a lot of projects in mind.) So until next time you will have to wait for the pics.

2010-04-09T04:56:00.000-07:00

Street luge beginner

2010-04-09T04:25:00.000-07:00

HAPPY EASTER

Hope you all had a good Easter. Grandpa Lemen sent Preston this really cute outfit that he got to wear on Easter. (he has some growing to do) He went right to sleep after chuch and this picture was taken when he just woke up so he doesn't look to happy.

I filled some easter eggs with fish crakers and some bunny marshmellow for Preston to find out back. He really liked putting them in his bucket.

He got to see the Easter Bunny and was not scared.

2010-03-20T11:48:00.000-07:00

Trying to help make bread.

Having fun on the scooter. Notice who has the helmet on. Hmmm...

My little monkey

2010-03-20T11:06:00.000-07:00

I was coming back from the store with Preston when he saw our neighbers playing outside in the water and he had to join in on the fun. He loved it when the water hit his stomach. It made him laugh so hard. It was the cutest thing. We started in his cloths then changed to his swim suit.

Preston and his friend Kylee

Preston didn't know how to work the squirt gun properly. Instead of squirting other people he would end up squirting himself in the face. He would just laugh.

When he started to get cold, we went inside and Preston got messy with his lunch.

Good till the last lick

Then off to bed. It was a busy morning.

2010-02-21T10:27:00.000-08:00

Preston really likes to try and put on my shoes and shuffle around the house in them. So one day we tied my shoes over Preston's shoes and he was very happy.

2010-02-21T10:04:00.000-08:00

We went to a really yummy and pretty cool resturant with our small branch. They first brought out the traditional turkish salads, yogurt dips, hummus, and breads. Then they brought out the main coarse which you will see below.

They first just brought out the bread on this long skinny platter that was the length of our table. Then they brought out the kabob on a long sword and place it on top of the bread.

YUMMY!!!!!!!!! There was one little chicken wing and the rest was lamb (lamb it my favorite rolled up in the flat breat with onions and yogurt). I am going to miss turkish food.

Then to top it all off we had a light dessert along with fruit. The plate in the back was the sweet desset. It was almost like baklava but not as sweet. (Baklava is also one of my favorite foods of Turkey)We were SO stuffed going home!

2010-02-04T04:36:00.000-08:00

Preston and Dad heading off to church with there lunch box scripture case.

Trying to help mommy with the laundary

Ahhhhhh. . . a nice back massage

Got into the baby powder

Watching tv.

2010-01-14T02:24:00.000-08:00

WE FOUND A FLYING DRAGON IN TURKEY!

2010-01-11T10:51:00.000-08:00

Preston got his first hair cut tonight. It wasn't much, but he was starting to get a little mulet in the back and he had some long hairs on the top and sides. Now it looks like his hair is done and not blowing all over the place. I did it when he was taking a bath and it was a great distraction for him.

The-Christmas-Spirit

2010-01-10T00:38:00.000-08:00

The-Christmas-Spirit

I know this is a little late for Christmas, but I just saw it today and had to share it with others

2009-12-25T06:58:00.000-08:00

This is Eric's revised picture

2009-12-25T01:57:00.000-08:00

MERRY CHRISTMAS

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas. We did but we wished we could be with family and I wished for some snow. We tried taking a picture of all of us together and this was the only one that Preston smilied in so don't mind my crazy face in the back. If you haven't noticed, take a look at Preston's bump on his forhead. We were over at a friends house on Christams Eve and one of the kids (3 years old) picked up Preston and lost balance or something and hit his head on a dresser. We are not sure exactly what happend because they were playing in another room and a 3 year old told us what happened. She came up to me and said the he was picked up then thrown. I didn't get to worried or upset I new I had to first go see the scene of the crime.

Anyway here are some pics from our Chirstmas. Hope you enjoy them.

Thanks you for all of the gifts that were sent. Preston loves them.

He started to get the hand of opening the presents. He opened about two right when he woke up then we had to stop to eat breakfast.

Preston got a late birthday present form his cousin Rylee. Thanks Rylee!

Here is a short video of Preston opening a gift

2009-12-13T10:56:00.000-08:00

It's that time of year again. I only wish there was snow. I have been getting in the Christmas mood by making crafts and listening to Christmas music. But Eric is being a bah humbug by not letting me play music when he is home. He did help me put a gingerbread train together. (My family sent) He did the construction work and put it together and I did the decorating. Preston tried to help, but he kept breaking it instead of helping. I think I will let him distroy it after Christmas.

I have been in a really craftly mood for Christmas. I only wish that there was a micheals craft store. I find a craft I want to do and I can't find anything for it. It can be very frustrating!!

My first project (that I knew I could accomplish) was to make a gingerman wreath. I didn't want to make them edible because I knew I wasn't going to eat them so it would have been a waste of better and eggs. So I made them out of cinnamon, applesauce, and glue. I thought it turned out great

I then decided the make the gingermen for the tree. I made salt dough for the tree because the other mixture didn't make that much for a lot of cinnamon. Preston has learned pretty quickly not to tuch the ornaments. He will get close to the tree then look over his shoulder to see if anyone is watching. It's really cute.

I turned our picture frames into the word joy. I put all of our gifts or should I say Preston's gifts on top of the tv. I knew no matter how many slaps on the hand he would still want to get into the gifts.

I was a little creative with this wreath. I a bush by our house and attached them with wire. I was really proud of this one.

Hope everyone is having a wonderful Chirstmas season!!

2009-11-18T10:33:00.000-08:00

My mom's package made it. It took it a long time, but it made it. Aunt Mindy got him this cute birthday had and he hated it! As soon as I put it on he was crying for me to take it off. Thanks any way Mindy.

Aunt Janna sent him this cute little dog that he LOVES! (At lest the dog likes the hat)
Grandpa and Grandma Martin sent him a bath toy.

2009-11-18T05:15:00.000-08:00

I have fallen in love with squash soup. I really don't like squash, but it was made for a mops group and I always wanted to try it. It was so good!! And it is the perfect time of the year for it. Here is the recipe that I used.

BUTTER NUT SQUASH SOUP

1 Tablespoon shallot, minced (I only had a white onion and it worked)

1 Clove garlic, pressed or minced (I pressed mine)

3 Cups butternut squash, Peeled and seeded (the longest part)

1/2 Cup chicken broth

Combine sallots and garlic with a little butter in a pan and saute until translucent. Add squash and chicken broth. Bring to a boil then simmer for about 20 min. Pour everything in a blender or food processor and puree. Pour back into the pot to heat through. I added more broth so it wasn't as thick. (I like it thinner.) I also added some ginger to taste. So yummy!

2009-11-16T10:54:00.000-08:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY PRESTON!!!!

Preston turned one today

At firs all he wanted to do was suck on the suckers. We pulled them off and he didn't waste anytime at all.

I think he liked the sucker most of all

Aunt Lynn sent some cloths. Thanks Aunt Lynn.

Grandma and Grandpa Lemen sent some cloths and a VeggieTales dvd's and cd's. Thanks Connie and Rich.

We gave Preston a big toy train with a handle. (We only got a picture of him opening it)

2009-11-02T22:55:00.000-08:00

The sweetest molet ever!

Our Halloween was not that great. We all got sick a few days before and Preston got really sick on Halloween. So we didn't get to got out with Preston in his cute costume. Maybe next year will be better.

2009-10-29T04:38:00.000-07:00

Eric reenlisted on October 28.

And this is how Preston feels about it.

2009-10-26T03:57:00.000-07:00

On Sunday morning, it was so nice outside that Preston and I spent it exploring.

2009-10-21T09:26:00.000-07:00

Preston walking

2009-10-13T09:22:00.000-07:00

What a great night. I was out walking Preston and there were leaves on the ground and cool crisp air all around. Houses were decorated in Halloween and it got me all excited for the season. (except I can't bake any pumpkin bread or cookies because Eric is on a low to no carb diet) The next great thing about tonight is that Preaston took his first steps!!!!! He was so proud of himself. I was so surprised. Eric didn't even get to see it because he is in bed. Next time.

2009-10-12T23:57:00.000-07:00

Preston finally fits into his sunday suit from his Aunt Mindy. He lookes like a little man. I love it! I didn't get that great of a picture because we were going to be late for church and when we got back Preston was a sleep.

I didn't put his collar over his tie. woops

We got our new bedroom set. Our bedroom is so small that not all of the pieces could fit. So we have one out in the frontroom holding our tv. It works out great because our other tv stand was all open so Preston got into everything. Now we have no problem

The bed is so tall! It is all hand made. The would is mahogany and beach wood.

2009-10-07T06:25:00.000-07:00

We got to take a nice vacation back to the states. It was a needed bread from Turkey. Our first stop was Utah were my family is at. We had a really good time and they loved spending time with Preston. One of the days (only pictures I have) we went golfing

2009-10-07T03:30:00.000-07:00

We got to go the Las Vegas and have some fun. We left Preston back with my parents. We had one day in Vegas by ourselves. (which was greatly needed) Then Eric's dad came out and we got to hang out with him. The next day was the big surprise for Eric's mom. She thought she was coming to vegas with her sister for a bithday party. That was true, but she didn't know lots of family members were also going to be there. When it was Preston's grand enterence, she screamed so loud that it made Preston cry. He got over it and loved his Grandma. It was a good surprise.

We got to go indoor skydiving. It was really cool!

Of course Eric was the best. By his Third try he was doing flips. If is dad wasn't hurt there would be a BIG competition going on.

getting our gear on

This is the best picutre we got.

Grandpa playing with Preston at Aunt Lynn's

We got to go to Omaha to see our friends. We first stayed at Tami's. (Thank you Tami for putting us up.) Then we stayed at the Stahlies house. (Thank you Stahlies) We had a great time at both. Brandi and Preston watching our men go Karting.

At the Stahlies, Eric and Joss build a dirt bick path. I even jumped on the 50 cc motercyle.

Preston had fun on it too

He also had fun on the quad

Ahh!!!! . . . it's a . . . it's a . . . oh it's only Preston. (a little peek at what Preston is going to be for halloween)

Preston Turned into a climber. He made it all the way up the stairs!

DING. All dry

We went to a wakeboard cable park. Eric had a really good time. Brinley Loyd was so happy to feed Preston.

2009-08-16T01:36:00.000-07:00

Splish splash I was taken a bath

What ever you do or say will be held against you

Now who do you think did this?

2009-08-10T08:17:00.000-07:00

We took a trip to Istanbul and it was great! It was a bit harder with Preston, but we managed. There were a lot of different people from all over. We captured a few pictures of some. . . well. . . interesting styles. Boot sandles

Dredlock mullet. This was my favorite

All the streets were rock and the sidewalkes were not any better, so it was hard to push the stroller. It got a beating

2009-08-10T07:05:00.000-07:00

2009-08-10T06:43:00.000-07:00

Prston was a star in Istanbul. Everyone was stopping us on the streets to see him. Even at the airport the security guards would want to hold him. What is great about this is Eric and I were able to have some meals without him. They would just take him from us and keep him happy while we ate.

Preston was lucky, this man gave him an ice cream cone.

Cute Preston

If you look closely at the menu, you will see a missed spelled word and one that I don't even know what they were trying to spell.

We had a really nice meal on top of a hotel

This is a lot of bread

The view from the top of our hotel

2009-08-10T06:10:00.000-07:00

twins

Domabahce Palace. This is the enterence gate into the palace. If you look close at the picture you will see a soldiar standing in the middle. He was standing like a statue. It was crazy.

One of the enterences into the palace.

The palace was big! If I lived in it, I would get lost in my own house. I know we did not even see half of it. A lot of it was closed off for repairs. They would not allow us to take pictures inside. There was a crystal staircase that was in the shape of a double horseshoe. Lots of chandeliers. Also a lot of assembly rooms for different discutions; The Blue room, The Red room, The Pink room. And no the room was not that color. It sits right along the shore line so people could enter the palace by boat right into the ceremonial hall that was beautiful. A masive chandelier hung in the center from the big domb ceiling. It was designed to hold 2,500 people, so that tells you how big it was.

A fountain in the garden

We saw a kitty on the grounds and Preston was curious.

2009-08-10T05:55:00.000-07:00

The Underground Basilica Cistern

Medusa's head. There are two of them in the Cistern. The other one is on it's side.

This place felt magical.

2009-08-10T04:42:00.000-07:00

Hagia Sophia

This was incredible! The pictures do not give it justice. Right when we entered the HUGE doors, the only word we could use was WOW. I wish that we got a good picture of the ceiling because it was awsome! The pictures just did not turn out of that.

All of the floors and most of the walls were made of marble. When they were restoring Hagia Sophia, they found a lot of mosaic art that had been covered up when it was not used as a moaque as time went by.

(If only the guard wasn't there)

We came out of Hagia Sophia and found this cat sleeping away.

2009-08-10T04:23:00.000-07:00

Inside of the Blue Mosque. All of the women that go inside have to cover their arms and head. There were LOTS of people inside and LOTS trying to get in.

The ceiling of the mosque. (It's bigger in person)

The Blue Mosque

Entering into the walls of the blue mosque. It reminded me a lot of the temple grounds.

2009-07-23T00:00:00.000-07:00

We went for a bike ride and Preston fell asleep.

I don't remember why he was so upset, but we snapped the picture at just the right time. We could not stop laughing at the picture.
Preston is eating black beans and getting all dirty. I always laugh when he puts his whole hand in his mouth and the bean is still in his hand. He is getting better and better with picking up food. He can do bread really good, but the beans are so slippery that they are hard to pick up. But he does love to sqush them in his hand.

2009-07-22T22:00:00.000-07:00

Here is a short video of Preston laughing.

2009-07-05T00:45:00.000-07:00

We took a little day trip to find these waterfalls. What was suppose to be a 2 hour drive turmed into a 4 1/2 hour drive. We were twisting up a mountain then down a mountain, up a mountain then down. And they were not pathed roads. I got a little car sick so it was not that fun for me, but Preston did a great job!

It was a really cute town that was by the waterfalls. the river was running right through it.

Preston fell asleep while holding onto his foot.

2009-06-28T01:00:00.000-07:00

Preston trying to walk. He was doing really good this day.

Found some pictures with all of us in it.

2009-06-27T21:53:00.000-07:00

Preston is so cute that we always want to eat him right up. So we decided he would tast better cooked. He didn't mind.

Look at that smile!

Okay. . . don't forget to breath from laughing so hard! I went to check on Preston before going to bed and this is how he was. I almost woke him up from laughing so hard! He was sound asleep.

2009-06-23T22:31:00.000-07:00

I have not posted in a while, but Preston in doing great. He is still a very happy baby. (Even when his teeth are coming in) He has his two bottom teeth and his two upper teeth are breaking through. We are still waiting for his hair to start growing. He has some but it is just peach fuzz. He is learning to like his tummy a little more. He can roll from his back to his front, but not from his front to his back. So sometimes at night he will roll on to his tummy and wake himself up (and me) from crying.

Preston loves to stand. I will go to set him down on the floor and his legs and waist will remain stiff. He will not bend his waist. He can stand on his own (with a watchful eye.)

Preston is already learning how to drive a car!

And he is eating his fruits and veggies.

2009-05-19T08:12:00.000-07:00

Eric's and Preston's balancing act

There is a mirror hanging on the wall and Preston can't help but check himself out

2009-05-19T03:00:00.000-07:00

We took a trip to Gozientep for a day with some friends. It is about a 2 hour drive east from us. Preston was a star! Everyone loved him. They were even taking pictures of him with their phones. It was great when we went out to eat because they would just take Preston from us and keep him entertained while we ate. But some of the Turks were scolding us for having Preston in the sun. (What bad parents we are.) The picture below is at the zoo. I thought it was not going to be a well kept zoo for the animals (it is Turkey) but it was really nice.

Off to the war

We got this really cool copper plate that was carved by hand. The video below shows how they carve the plates.

2009-05-10T06:42:00.000-07:00

Preston was so tired he fell asleep in his swing/jump-up

2009-05-10T06:29:00.000-07:00

We took Preston swimming for the first time. It didn't know what to think of it, but he wasn't cryng.

2009-05-09T21:57:00.000-07:00

2009-05-03T02:18:00.000-07:00

Preston and I went for a walk one morning and took pictures while he was in a good mood and a clean outfit.

Beautiful blue eyes

Preston is siting upall by himself. (At lest for a few seconds)

2009-04-12T04:59:00.000-07:00

I was giving Preston a bath the other day and he has found his manhood. He was tugging and squeezing. I was waiting for him to hurt himself but he never did. Now he always wants to grab down there. I thought it was funny and had to share it with the rest of you.

2009-04-06T05:08:00.000-07:00

I was finally able to get a video on my blog. The internet here is terrible. I once left a video downloading for almost a whole day and it still didn't work. I'm glad this one worked because it is so cute. He just can't figure out how to get it in his mouth, but I'm sure he is also wondering what keeps hitting him in the face.

2009-04-06T04:27:00.000-07:00

I was sitting outside with Preston on a blanket and got lots of cute pictures of him. He loves to be outside and stare up at the polm trees when the wind blows. It lookes like he is holding the camera to take a picture of himself.

Don't mind my face, but I love the adorable look on Preston's face.

2009-04-06T02:42:00.000-07:00

Preston had to find something to suck on and Eric's toe worked great. Good thing they didn't stink!

I guess Eric was to boring for Preston.

I was out for a walk one day and was curious if Preston would like or even be able to sit in a swing. He really likes it. His favorite one is leaning forward in the swing. I guess it is the most comfortable for him. Eric has not come with us yet, but I think if he did he might scare Preston. I can just see him now wanting to swing him really high.

2009-03-23T07:58:00.000-07:00

4 months old

2009-03-23T04:55:00.000-07:00

It's a miracle! This is the first time Preston finally took his pacifier. He started to find his thumb and I don't want him to be a thumb sucker. He doesn't always take his pacifier but when he does I shout for joy. It makes it easyer on the both of us.

This is how Eric watches Preston while I am away.

2009-02-22T08:27:00.000-08:00

What a happy baby!

2009-02-22T07:07:00.000-08:00

Just wanted to show you how we travel with Preston.

We got to go see snow in Turkey. We went up to a ski resort that is about 4 hours away. The bad news was that it was awful weather. It was blowing so hard that they had to shut down the ski lifts. Eric did get one run in, but the wind was so bad that he was going so slow down the mountain. This is the only picture that we got. It is the view out of our hotel.

2009-02-22T06:36:00.000-08:00

This was an amazing acrhced wall that went on for at least 1 mile.

2009-02-22T06:22:00.000-08:00

kaya kiliseleri

2009-02-21T23:59:00.000-08:00

We went on a hike, and Preston wanted to do a little rock climbing. He's pretty good for as little as he is.

We found this amazing place while coming back from snowboarding. First off it is in a valley that is just beautiful. It looks like they had the temple on one side and the community on the other. These pictures do not give it justice.

These two pictures are inside of the temple. It was very well intact. If you look closely you can see Eric and Preston right in the middle of the first one.

This is the front of the temple. It lookes like the movie of Indiana Jones that they show of the temple etched into the rock.

This is on the other side of the valley. All of the holes are where the people once lived. We couldn't get a good enough picture, but we could see stairs etched into the rock leading way up to the top of the rock. It looked very dangerous to climb.

2009-02-09T03:50:00.000-08:00

He is getting so big!

Preston after getting his bath

2009-02-09T03:03:00.000-08:00

Preston can sleep anywhere

What you don't see in this picture is a vacume right

next to Preston. We couldn't get him to go to sleep

so when we turn the vacume on he went right to sleep

2009-02-09T02:26:00.000-08:00

We were getting ready to leave for church and Preston was asleep so we had to wake him up to put him in his car seat. We sat him up for a second and he started to fall back a sleep. He slowly slid down to his stomach for a more comfortable position to keep sleeping. we were laughing at him! He satarted to glare up at us with a look that told us how dare we be so noisy while he was sleeping.

2009-02-04T22:53:00.000-08:00

Eric always finds a way to hurt himself. He fell, hit his bad knee and sprained his wrist. (But it is a lot of fun.) It helpes us to fill the void of not being able to wakeboard.

2008-12-30T09:04:00.000-08:00

2008-12-30T08:50:00.000-08:00

Preston was starting to smile at almost 5 weeks. He is 6 weeks old and smiles more and more every day. He really likes to smile in the morning right after he is fed.

Preston's first Christmas

2008-12-30T08:38:00.000-08:00

2008-12-30T07:48:00.000-08:00

Grandma Lemen gave Preston a cuddly bear

2008-12-30T05:27:00.000-08:00

2008-12-30T05:14:00.000-08:00

2008-12-27T22:52:00.000-08:00

It was such a nice day outside that we had a picinic and let Preston feel the sun on his face. He is a strong boy. He is able to hold up his head in his chair.

Eric is teaching Preston early about the man being in charge of the remote control.

I made this shirt for Preston and Eric designed the car on it.

Preston loves to take his napes in the recliner.

2008-12-27T10:35:00.000-08:00

Preston loves to sleep with Mommy

Preston and his Daddy

2008-12-27T04:07:00.000-08:00

Preston loves to sit with Eric and watch tv.

Eric loves to scare me when Preston does his balancing trick.

What handsome boys.

2008-12-27T03:01:00.000-08:00

My mouth is bigger

Daddy is always giving me kisses

2008-10-06T01:22:00.000-07:00

7 more weeks
There is a market in Adana that we always go to that sales tons of fresh fruits and vegetables. They also have clothing, and lots of odds and ends.

2008-09-27T08:33:00.000-07:00

Eric's best friend came out to visit. He fit right in with the Turks. When we went to pick him up at the airport, we thought we spotted him at lest five times. Even the Turkish people were coming up to him speaking in Turkish. This picture was taken at the Hilton Hotel. We had our ward conference there.

2008-09-27T00:04:00.000-07:00

This bridge is 3,ooo years old and is still used today.

We walked around more of the park once it got cooler and we found all kinds of interesting statues. We had to get this one kissing my belly.

2008-09-16T22:07:00.000-07:00

In the middle of dirty Adana there is this beautiful masque and walking grounds. Everything is perfectly trimmed and green. There are also play sets through out the grounds for kids.

Some of the colors are so bright. I could not believe that such a bright plant could be in Turkey.

2008-09-16T01:28:00.000-07:00

These are a few pictures of Old Adana. It is crazy. The first time I came here I had a cultural shock. Cars are honking and zipping down the narrow streets. People are running to cross the street before a bus or car will run right into them.

2008-09-15T07:27:00.000-07:00

Eric got his winch out and we went wake boarding. (I was bummed because I couldn't ride. I guess someone had to work the winch.) As we were setting it up, lots of the Turks came over to see what was going on. At times we were surrounded. There were some kids that spoke one phrase in English. They kept asking me what my name was then they would back away in a small circle and try to pronounce my name to one another.
The tide was starting to come in so the conditions were not that great. It was very choppy but Eric was able to get up. The Mediterranean is very salty! As we dried, we could see the salt crusted on our skin. We went snorkeling one time and it really burned my eyes. Also if you get a mouth full it's not to pleasant.

2008-09-15T06:09:00.000-07:00

This is a restaurant on Adana lake. It was really beautiful.

We were driving around Adana Lake and found a bridge that the guys wanted to jump off of.

2008-09-15T04:47:00.000-07:00

We went to a natural spring swimming pool that is only about 30 min away. It is called Acpinar.
The spring is falling out of the white structure in the middle of the picture. We only like to go when it is really hot outside, because the water is freezing cold!!
Eric and a few other guys hiked up the mountain by the pool that had this beautiful view.

2008-09-15T02:47:00.000-07:00

For Eric's Birthday we had a party. He made a giant slip and slide by the side of our house. I made everybody sick to death with his B-day cake. It was a lot of chocolate.
It gets really hot in the summer. For the high this year it was 112 and very humid. The only way we could cool off was to relax in our swimming pool. Or should I say wadding pool.

2008-09-10T22:09:00.000-07:00

Eric got to get scuba certified. He was so excited! Eric is the third from the left.

This is the boat that we got to go on.

Eric had a great time but unfortunately for me I got sick. I spent most of the time on the top of the boat laying down sleeping.

CASTLE BY THE SEA

2008-09-09T04:12:00.000-07:00

The story behind this castle is that there was a king that had a daughter that would die if she got bit by a snake. So the king built a castle out to sea were the snakes could not get to her. There would be a boat that would row out to send food or what ever the girl requested. On one of the trips out, a snake got abroad the boat. No one saw the snake so it found the girl and bit the her. The king found his daughter dead the next day.

KIZKILESI

2008-09-09T03:33:00.000-07:00

This castle is right next to castle by the sea

SILIFKE

2008-09-09T02:51:00.000-07:00

KOZAN

2008-09-09T02:25:00.000-07:00

After the hike we found a nice picnic area to eat.
This sweet little girl was with us on our trip. The roads up to the castle are very Windy and on our way back the driver was going fast and getting everyone sick. Just as we said that PJ turns her head towards me and lost it. It went all over my lap and feet. Luckily we were by a place to pull over quickly. That was not a very fun experience.

FEKE

2008-09-09T01:59:00.000-07:00

This part of the castle looks like something that would be in Jerusalem. There is lots of areas like that that broke off with the arches and stairs.

SNAKE CASTLE

2008-09-09T01:10:00.000-07:00

This castle is the closest one by us and it was almost the last one that we saw.

Eric and a couple of guys went repelling on one of the castle walls.

KANLIDIVANE

2008-09-08T23:10:00.000-07:00

The castle circles half way around this very deep ravine.

2008-09-08T22:49:00.000-07:00

It is amazing to think that they did this with a chisel. There is so much detail.
There is lots of rubble that goes on for a long time. Even the drive up the the castle had remains of buildings that once were there. It looked like it was a very big community.