Picnic at Papa's

On Thursday, we headed up to water Papa's flowers while he was out of town.  We ended up bringing a picnic and the kids had fun playing on the trampoline and playing tag in the yard.  It was a perfect day and reminded us of 1 year ago when we went for our "teddy bear" picnic with my mom.  She had gotten teddy bears for each of the kids and had them waiting in different places on the swing set.  She read them a fun story about a teddy bear picnic and then we packed up our lunch and headed to the back yard for a picnic and then a dip in the hot tub.  It was also the day I told her about being pregnant with Grace.  After looking back a year later, I realize how very sick and in pain she was that day and yet made it such a special day for her grand kids.  
Hayden and Lilly still talk about the teddy bear picnic with Momo as well as when she came and surprised them at soccer tots and took them out to McDonald's last August (all within about 1 month from when she passed away).  I truly think that was God's grace giving her 2 days when she was able to handle her pain enough to make such memorable moments for her grand kids, which they will always remember as being special!

 Caleb made sure everyone was well hydrated!

 This boy sure loves his little sister!

 And I don't think she minds him either!!

What happens when you roll over and you're the 4th child??

NO ONE SEES YOU!!
  

Grace has been moving around a lot lately.  We'll lay her on her back and turn around and within a minute, she is facing a different direction.  She loves to hold onto her feet when she's on her back and even rolled over the other day!  Of course, I didn't see her....I had laid her down and went to help Lilly in the bathroom and by the time we came back, she was on her belly!  What a big girl!  She also loves to "talk" and makes growling noises all the time now!

Cherry Picking

On Wednesday, I didn't have to fill in at work, so Mark, the kids, and I headed to pick cherries.  We went to a place we had never been and the trees were overflowing with cherries.  Usually we pick Bing and Rainier, but this farm had Lambert.  They were SO JUICY and wonderful!!  Especially warm in the sun!  There were so many of them, that we had a bucketful in about 5 minutes.  Mark picked pie cherries with some help from the farm owner and we were in and out in no time, with a couple bags full of cherries and full bellies!!!

Swimming at the Farm

Last Saturday, we headed to the farm in Ritzville for lunch, swimming and dinner.  It was perfect weather and all the kids had fun!  Caleb loved this car and refused to do anything else!

It was Grace's first time in the pool.

 I don't think she minded.  She barely even fussed!

 It must have tired her out though!

 Lilly like swimming back and forth in between people.  She loved this dino and was his pal the whole day, even if she couldn't figure out how to float on him!

I didn't get any pictures of Hayden, but he loved jumping off the diving board and became a pro at cannon balls....over and over and over again!!!

Our VBS week with Anna

Well, another year of Vacation Bible School has come and gone.  It was a busy month getting ready for it, but once the week came, it flew by and was a success!!  Anna, my niece came to help lead crews....and she was a BIG help to me.  We had a great week with her and were so thankful that she came....she's welcome as our live-in nanny ANYTIME!!!

She came on Sunday after church to help me set up.  After spending all afternoon at the church, we pigged out on chicken enchiladas and home made cookies n' cream ice cream to get us ready for our big week :)

Having fun with Anna in the back yard.  The kids wanted her with them at ALL TIMES!

Especially Caleb....he loved to say Anna, Anna, Anna...over and over and over again and as the week wore on, he had his own special way of calling her "Annie"!  Anna said she went to bed at night with the sound of Caleb's voice in her head every night!!

After a hectic first morning, we headed to McDonald's for lunch and ice cream (as big as Caleb's head)!!

Anna was a big help with Grace when I need to be helping the other kids.  She had the touch when she picked her up to get her to stop crying.

Opening some fun presents from Anna

Caleb loving Anna!  I think Hayden must have been tired!

On Tuesday, we headed to Chuck E. Cheese's for dinner and fun.  The kids all had fun playing the games and winning tickets for some cheap prizes at the end!

I think even Anna had fun!!

On Wednesday, we had a weenie roast and s'mores with Papa.

It was a HOT day, so we ended by running in the sprinklers!

Running in clothes stressed Hayden out a bit...so he decided putting on a swim suit would be much better.

Thursday was a BUSY day...our final day of 2 sessions.  One in the morning and one evening session with families and kids.  We got a bouncy house this year which the kids loved!  I tried to capture Lilly after coming out (she was much more bright red in person!)  It was hot and the kids worked up a sweat!!

Good thing there was a water table for the little kids!  By the end, Caleb was soaking wet and had to be taken away because he was trying to drink the water :(

Fun BBQ

Closing program.  This year, the theme was "Sky" - where everything is possible with GOD!  The kids learned a Bible story each day and about trusting God.  We had lots of fun songs that the kids learned hand motions to.  We also had a food drive competition between boys and girls.  They brought in over 400 pounds of food this week, which I thought was GREAT!  The funny thing was that the girls were winning by a lot the 1st 3 days, and on the final day the boys brought in a lot of food!  We had a person counting up the pounds during our BBQ dinner and the boys were only 10 pounds off.  Right before we started the program, she came in and told me that the boys had just brought in 10 more pounds....so it was a tie.  Anna said "Everything IS possible with God"!!  We had been talking all week about whether to really make one side win versus the other, or just make it a tie so everyone was happy....I guess we didn't have to decide!  It was pretty exciting!

Anna helping me with my cannon launcher playing the game "will that launch"

Must have been enjoying the show!

Thanks Anna for all your help this week!  You were great!!!

4th of July Week

We had a fun time last week for the 4th.  We headed over to the cabin on Tuesday and came back Sunday, so it was a full week of fun and relaxation....and pretty good weather too!!

This guy loves to wear other people's shoes!

Starting to find her fingers!

 The kids had fun with dad in the row boat.  Hayden and Lilly even got to go fishing a couple of times...but no luck.  The mountain (Mt. Rainier) was out though each day and beautiful!

 Bath time in the sink.

 Grace loved when Grandpa talked to her and became so alert every time she heard his voice.

 kicking in the water (there's room for Grace!)

 Dipping hands in the water (that's about all he liked doing).  He didn't want to get too wet in the cold water, but liked dipping his hands....although one day Piper walked by him and accidentally pushed him off the dock.  Good thing he was wearing his life jacket and barely made it into the water before someone pulled him back out!

 Grace's new quilt from Grandma.  It is really pretty (you'll have to zoom in).  Each block has a different animal made of really soft material.

 Deep conversation by the campfire

 Strawberry Shortcake

 Grandma had fun activities planned for the kids.  They got to decorate cans and then try to knock them over with bean bags.

 Dad teaching Lilly good tricks!

 No longer fitting in the bassinet!!  Caleb got to sleep up in the loft this year with the big kids.

 Filling up water balloons for our balloon hunt

 and taking a few sips in between!

 hmmm.....what will we do with these??

 "cousins"

 What do you think he's thinking about?

 Fun floating on the tubes

 Colleen and Ryan went to Disney World a few weeks ago and brought the kids back fun Mickey hats!!

 Falling asleep at dinner (I think we have a picture like this of Hayden about the same age)...the cabin must be an exhausting place to be!!

 Uncle Ryan brought LOTS of legos to play with.....here is the "world's longest carrot!"

 Sparkler fun

It was a great week seeing family and just relaxing before a hectic couple of weeks to get ready for VBS.  Happy Summer!!