A little more summer fun . . . in October.

Still at the Garates' house. Coley and Kennedy were little fish.


This is in Wenatchee, WA. Our friends live on the edge of a hill, and this is the view from one side of the backyard. It was breathtaking! Thanks for the wonderful time, Webers!


Ty loves the water. This is the Wenatchee River
in Leavenworth, WA

Happy Birthday, Daddy!

The Bames are wonderful family friends, and every year we enjoy a great day playing at the lake they live on. Dean drags the kids around the lake on a tube all day long, and Judy makes delicious treats. It's one of our very favorite days every summer.

An Amazing Summer . . .several months ago

We had an amazing summer this year. I know summer has been over for quite some time now; in fact, my kids have fall break next week. But, somehow I haven't gotten back to blogging since school started. It seems like our lives went from 0 to 90 overnight. We spent our summer swimming, going to the beach, reading books, jumping on the trampoline, going to the beach, baking cookies, playing with friends, and going to the beach. Since school started, we've just been dreaming of all those things. (At least I have.) We're at a new school this year, and we have to leave the house at 7:15am. The girls are not big fans of this, but we're adjusting. The kids have started a variety of activities too - so life just moves much quicker. Sometimes too quick. . .I LOVE summer and am always sad for it to be over. So here are a few fun memories of our short break.

Our camping trip at McGrath State Beach


4th of July fun - love these cute girls!


We got to skype with our dear friends, the Worsleys.
We miss them so much.
The kids were so excited to see each other.


Happy 11th Birthday, Megan!


Gwen and Cara - we had a great visit in Sacramento with our good friends, the Garates. I think the kids spent about 16 hours in the pool during the 3 days we were there. It was a great beginning to our vacation.

More pics coming soon. . .

The Happiest Place on Earth is happiest when it is Raining!

We had the chance to go to Disneyland the end of February. (I know that was a very long time ago but better late than never, right.) Master's College was doing Disney Days, so the tickets were a great deal. It was predicted to rain the entire day, but we had already had our tickets and they were only good for that one day. So, we packed bags with entire changes of clothes and extra blankets. We figured we would go and stay as long as we were having fun. When we first got there, a huge down pour hit while we were in the parking garage. But, by the time we got out, it was done. The park was practically empty. In the first 15 minutes, the kids got to visit with Minnie, Mickey, Goofy, and Chip and Dale. They loved it! We have never wanted to stand in the hour long lines in the past, but there they were just hanging out on Main Street. Happy Day!

Next we headed to the rides. The wait for Dumbo was 10 minutes; really! I've only been to Disneyland 6 or 7 times in my life, but I have never seen it this empty. The last time we went was last April, and it was so crowded we could barely move. Leaving Main Street after the fireworks was like being in a cattle car. Not so much fun. This time was amazing! The kids started listing off the rides they wanted, and we hit all of them. Space Mountain - 15 minutes. Star Tours - 15 minutes. We walked right on to Pirates of the Caribbean, and at Small World, they asked us if we wanted to go a second time. (Jason would have shot himself first :) ) The rain hit a couple of times during the day, but we were inside both times and it worked out great for us. It was a happy happy day. My girls suggested that we should always plan to go on rainy days. So that's my secret tip - but don't tell anyone else.

Ty loved these guys. They kept giving him high 5's. I think he would have been content to hang out with them all day.

Love that Mouse!

Braiden and Coley were too cute! Dreams really do come true. :)

Ty's favorite ride of the day was definitely Dumbo


Small World Cuties

They're smiling now, but you can really only take that song for so long. We were cracking up when they asked us if we wanted to go a second time. Not so much.


The girls were so glad to have Grandma join us.

Somehow this is on the only pic I got of Gavin that wasn't blurry. He's too fast . . . or maybe I'm not such a good picture taker. Let's just say he is fast. :)

Coley was very brave and went on Thunder Mountain with me

Megan's first time on Thunder Mountain because it has always been closed before. She and Braiden both loved it. He was so brave. (Christine and Jeff were brave too.)

Coley got Baby Super Bee for the weekend (it's a school thing); anyway she was very excited to bring him with her to Disneyland. It's all about the bragging rights Monday at school.

It was an amazing day. You can see the water creeping up the girls' jeans, but it was totally worth it. Left the park, changed into dry clothes, a little hot chocolate and coffee at Starbucks and we were good to go.

A piece of humble pie

When Jason and I were first married, we had all kinds of crazy ideals about things we would and wouldn't let our children do. (Because we were so knowledgeable at 21?) Anyway, we used to laugh at all the excuses our niece and nephew would come up with to get out of bed after being tucked in at night. They were very creative and often very funny. We were certain our children would NEVER get out of bed once we said good-night. They would of course stay in bed and never disobey by getting up without good reason. (I can hear you chuckling at how ridiculous we were.) 4 kids later we have laughed at ourselves many, many times since then. We have heard all of the following:
* My pillow is too lumpy
* My feet are sweaty
* My sister is snoring too loudly
* I think I forgot to tell you something but I can't remember what
* I was just wondering what we're having for dinner tomorrow night (really?)
* You forgot to clip my nails today and you told me to remind you
* I think I have insomnia (from a 4 year old 10 minutes after being tucked in)

There are probably hundreds of others but they escape me at the moment. I was reminded of these just last night, as 2 of my children - I won't tell you which ones - got out of bed with the following excuses:

Child: Mom, can I close the piano? I just remembered I left it open.
Mom: Why are you out of bed?
Child: I remembered that I need to close the piano?
Mom: You got up because you were worried about the piano?
Child: Well, I didn't close it earlier and I wanted to make sure it was okay for me to get up to close it.
Mom: But you're already up.
Child: Is it okay for me to close it?
(Does anyone else ever feel like you're talking in circles?)
Mom: Tell me again why you're out of bed?
Child: I just wanted to be responsible about the piano.
Mom: Right . . . and being responsible about staying in bed?
Child: I know - but since I'm already up, should I go ahead and close the piano?

I give up. Sadly, the conversation lasted at least another 4 minutes after this before the aforementioned child was sent to bed. Then not 10 minutes later, another child comes into my room:

Child 2: Mom, can I let Hallie in? (Hallie is our dog)
Mom: Why are you out of bed?
Child 2: I was worried about Hallie being out?
Mom: You got out of bed because you were worried about Hallie being out? (Does this sound familiar?)
Child 2: Well, it is really cold outside and I was worried she would be too cold.
Mom: It's not cold; it's at least 75 degrees. You're wearing shorts to bed.
Child 2: Oh yah, do you think Hallie is too hot? Maybe I should make sure she has enough water?
Mom: Auggghhhhhhhhh! ( I didn't actually yell; I just wanted to.)

Apparently I knew much more about being a parent before I had kids. :)

This one makes me smile . . .

Coley recently (well like a month ago, but who's counting) celebrated the 100th day of school at kindergarten. They had a full day of activities culminating in Zero the Hero (aka: a really cool 5th grade male teacher dressed up in a cape and mask) coming to celebrate his big birthday. She absolutely loved it. I love this little face. She makes my heart happy.

Funny things happen when you a leave a little boy alone in a room full of perler beads . . .

For the record, there were 8,500 beads in the bucket before he got to it.



Don't be fooled by the cuteness - he is always looking to get into something. :)

So thankful!

I have been recently reminded of how grateful I am for the many blessings in my life. I am thankful for beautiful images like this one that remind me of the special lives God has entrusted me to care for. I'm so glad He picked me. What a treasure they are! Just look at those faces. (My good friend takes amazing pictures - I am thankful for her too. :) ) Jason has been in Israel all week for business, and my kids have been so great! They have been so helpful and obedient. They have made the week manageable; we're excited for Daddy to come home but it has been a good week. Jason has been blessed all week in Israel. It's his first visit there, and his trip was packed full of incredible sites. I'm so glad he has finally gotten a chance to see the Holy Land. The girls were thrilled this morning when he emailed us a picture of him riding a camel. Let's just say giggles took over the room. My friends have been so thoughtful this week - well they are always thoughtful, but they have been extra kind this week. I love it that they call just to check on me, knowing that Jason is gone. I'm so thankful for my church family. I can't imagine life without them. One sweet girl even brought us dinner tonight and spent the evening hanging with me and the kids. Thank you, Jenn! It was so fun, and I'm so grateful for your kindness.