Since our last post, we took a family trip to the Ape Caves with our cousins. It was a great time!
Then we celebrated 2 graduations. First was Dallin graduating from 5th grade as he prepares to head into Middle School. This is him with his teacher Mrs. Pivovarski.
The second graduation was Kyleen's graduation from Kindergarten. This is a picture of her with her two best buddies, Emily and Siri.
Right after school got out, Jerrin celebrated his 9th birthday! We had planned on an outside birthday and then it started raining, so we moved it inside. Then Kyleen came down with the flu and so we had to move the party to Chuck E Cheese. It was a great party!
A few days after Jerrin's birthday we decided to go on a hike. We thought it would be fun to take the kids to Angel's Rest in the Columbia Gorge and hike to the top. I should say, Brandon thought it would be fun, I had anxiety at the thought of getting all of the kids safely to the top and back down again, but tried to be a good sport and put on my hiking shoes. We got to the trailhead and there was a police officer there that said that the trail was closed because someone had fallen from the trail and we didn't want to see what had happened. That was enough for us to change our plans and take the kids hiking up to the top of Multnomah Falls instead.
We found out later that the hiker had fallen off the cliff and had died. The officer was right, we didn't want to see that, and I'm grateful that we weren't able to be up there on that trail that day, when it was a little too slippery!
Dance Festival was a great success this year! Breanne was lucky enough to be a part of this wonderful experience. She did the carwash dance with all of the other Beehives in the 7 stakes that participated and also did the Bollywood specialty dance. It was amazing to see so many youth gathered together in wholesome activities. The spirit was very strong and we enjoyed Saturday's performances much more than Friday's when Tamsen threw up on my lap right before the show began. Needless to say, we got out of there as quickly and quietly as we could and came back the next day when everyone was feeling much better!
Shortly after graduating from Kindergarten, Kyleen was finally able to join the club that alluded her all through school. She lost her first tooth! Then just a few days later she lost her second one. A few weeks shy of being able to share the exciting news with all of her school chums, it was still very exciting, and the toothfairy made the wait worth it!
Next came the 4th of July. We spent it in Longview, Washington, at the park there in town. It was a nice way to spend the holiday and they had a great fireworks show without the craziness of trying to get home from Ft. Vancouver. We were there with Grammy and Papa and our friends, the Wises. The kids had a great time waiting for the fireworks to begin.
I know, Summer should be over by now but wait, there's more! The boys had a great time at Cub Camp this year and I was lucky enough to go and be with them on the last day. I have never been before, because Brandon will normally go with them for one day, but this year he woke up with the flu the morning he was supposed to go, so I went on Friday instead. I had a lot of fun hanging out with my boys and watching them have a great time together. It was Dallin's last year as a Cub, next month he'll earn his Arrow of Light, and move on to 11-year-old scouts. I'm glad I got to go, and Jerrin got a dead center bulls eye at BB guns. I hear they're very rare. He got a special award and everything! Pretty cool!
Only a few more things, I promise...
So the boys have been having a great summer exploring this new neighborhood of ours and found a great place to go crawdad hunting. They came home with 12 crawdads, with the help of Adam Ashbaker, and so we cooked them for a side dish with dinner. Brandon was skeptical, he'd never had crawdad before and didn't know you could eat them. We used to cook them all the time when we were camping and my brothers would catch them. So here is our dinner with crawdad. Brandon, Dallin, Jerrin and Kyleen were the only ones that ate them, but they said they were delicious! They are not very filling, though. Good thing they were only a side-dish!
Brandon had never been to a professional baseball game before, and he's really gotten into following the White Sox, so when they were coming to Seattle, we couldn't resist heading up there for the game. Marla took our kids overnight, and we traveled up to Safeco field. It was a lot of fun! We had great seats and felt like we were a part of the game. We had a couple of foul balls come our way, but they were always either in the tier above us, or below us, but we still had a great time! (and the White Sox won!)
We've had a busy, and fun-packed Summer! On the days that we haven't been out and about, we've been enjoying the pool in our backyard and soaking up all of the long awaited sunshine! Walks, and bike rides, swimming, the drive-in...lots to do in just 3 short months. Next up we have Bre's first year at Girl's Camp. I don't know what I'm going to do without her for a whole week. I know she'll have fun, but I'm gonna miss her like crazy!
As a parting shot, I'm going to update you on the kitchen remodel we're doing at Mom and Dad's house. This they did all on their own, and I'm very impressed. Here is the tile countertop they're putting in. This is before the grout and backsplash, but it looks better already. Phase 2 almost completed! Next painting, and wood floors.
Sorry the post is so long! I'll try to post more often so the posts don't take the whole day to read. Have a great day and enjoy the rest of your Summer!
1 comment:
Wow! I feel like I've been through a whole summer with you - and loved it. I can't believe they all look so BIG. Tell them Mona says to STOP THAT!
Post a Comment