Puyallup Fair

We took the two younger kids out of school an hour or two early so that Uncle Fred and Aunt Jolene could take them to the state fair on the 14th. Jordan had already been with his cousin Kayla.

The fair isn't complete without a ride on the Ferris Wheel.

Great views

Fred and Jolene enjoying the ride

I was amazed that the kids were game for going on all the rides they did. They're finally tall enough to go on almost everything. Uncle Fred had a blast watching them!

We had a great time at the fair! Of course, I didn't join the kids on all the rides or else I would've been rather sick by the end of the night. Did you go to any fairs this summer?

Back to School

Does 4th grade come with attitude? The cooperation factor was missing this morning, but I did manage to get one un-blurry photo of Jaeden (finally).

Brooklyn looking forward to the 3rd grade.

I so wanted a picture of them together (I tried), but now the moment is gone forever...

Jordan still has 2 more weeks before he starts, and I promise a picture then. Even if I have to sit on him to get it done!

With Mrs. Pietila.

I just had to take this picture of the school bus in the fog. It shouts FALL. 'Twas a damp, cold, brisk walk this morning, but it sure felt good. Brooklyn was talking about a cold nose and I was telling her that's what scarves are for - wrapping around your face to keep you warm. Brrrr....and winter isn't even here, yet. I'd happily send some of this down to you Arizonans!

Can't wait to hear all the wonderful first-day-of-school stories they come home with! But first things first. Do I tackle cleaning the office, do the dishes and tidy up the house, or run to Starbucks and relish a few moments of this new quietness? Hard decision. . . . .

Where Are You???

We haven't disappeared. Really, we haven't! Just don't have a whole lot to blog about right now.

The two youngest kids are starting school on Tuesday (whoohoo!) and the oldest starts on the 21st. Can't believe we have a 3rd grader, a 4th grader, and a college student!

I'm looking forward to all that FALL brings. School, routines, crisp weather, sweaters, leaves changing color, candles burning, pumpkins, baking, and the list goes on. . . . .

What do you look forward to in the fall?

Surprise!

That's the name of this 3 week old colt. Our friend Diane invited us over to see the little guy yesterday.

The kids had a great time feeding, petting, and leading him around.

His mom is Luna. The kids rode her here.

Snack time.

Surprise was aptly named because he definitely was one. No one knew Luna was expecting until Surprise showed up late one night. He's a sweetie pie! The kids look forward to seeing him more and getting to ride Luna again when she's ready.

It reminded me of growing up around horses on my grandma and grandpa's farm. Those were the days!

Old Friends

We had friends visit us a couple of weekends ago from Eastern Washington. They're so faithful about coming to visit us at least once a year. The kids always get along great!

Brice bicycled with Keith in '91 (?) from WA to AZ. Brice & Leann own a very successful bicycle shop in a university town. For a wedding gift, they gave me a bicycle. Isn't that great? It's so fitting.
Funny thing is that I knew Leann's brother in AZ long before I even knew Keith and met Brice & Leann. I probably even saw Leann at her brother's wedding and never knew it!

Growth

Click on the house picture to see how our flower beds have changed!

Edited to add: I've changed my other blog to invited readers only ('cause I'm not updating it anymore), so if you're still interested in seeing the change, just email us and I'll give you a password. Thanks!

Our 4th of July

It was a HOT one here in WA! In the 90's. Keith and Jordan worked all day on a big project so I took Jaeden and Brooklyn for the day down to Portland, OR. We went to a couple of stores, had lunch at IKEA, and then decided it'd be nice to dip our toes in the water somewhere.

We crossed back into WA and visited the cute little towns of Camas and Washougal, along the Columbia River, where we found a place to walk down to the water. A lot of the beaches looked crowded and crowds were the last thing I wanted to deal with so this place looked just right! I believe that is Mt. Hood in the distance (correct me if I'm wrong).

We wished this little cafe was open. It looked so fun and right on the water! We'll have to go back.

Isn't the name even fun? Love the sign! Almost made me think of being in the Caribbean again.

Trying to keep cool.

This beautiful, sweet puppers wanted to play with the kids. They were waiting to load the boat onto the trailer and she snuck out once to come say hi to the kids. Kinda funny how quiet she was sneaking away, and then her owner noticed! See how she's looking longingly at the kids splashing in the water?
Sweet hands. If you look closely, you'll see she's a nail-biter! Is that a given maybe 'cause she was a thumb sucker? I know I had that bad habit as a kid (nail biting - not thumbsucking). Jordan does it, too. If they only knew what they were really chewing on!

So refreshing!

It felt funny and unreal that it was the 4th. Usually we're together as a family for the day. We still had a nice day, though. Hope you did, too!

On the Lake

Jaeden & Uncle Jerry

Keith & Boo

Jordan

And yes, here in Western Washington we wear clothes out on the lake 'cause it's cold!

Mayfield Lake Park

We camped here last weekend. We had a great time! We had a partial view through the trees down to the water. Once our campsite was set up, the kids got their bikes out and went for a ride.

We were glad to have gone mid-week because hardly anyone was there and the park had lots of great trails/roads to ride on.
This was just down around the corner from our site. It was a great lake to go sea-dooing on. More pictures of that next.

Drive By

We went camping last week and drove by this gorgeous view. This is Riffe Lake.

Just ONE of the reasons I love WA!

I'll get some camping pics up soon . . . . just dealing with a computer that has more fits than a 2 year old.

Memorial Day Weekend

Okay, so that was a while ago....but I'm trying to get caught up on posting, and I don't like to skip things we've done. Don't you like staying in the loop? So to catch you up, here's what we did the Saturday before Memorial Day. We heard through the grapevine about the 28 miles of garage sales going on out at the Long Beach Peninsula. They weren't near as good as we were hoping. Oh well, you win some and you lose some. Our consolation was getting to go to the beach and play the rest of the day! It was chilly out there as it usually is on our beaches here in the Northwest, but nothing a sweatshirt couldn't handle!

It was windy, but not quite enough to get the kites up for long.

Keith & BrooklynOkay, who's the wise guy?
I have so many more pictures of Brooklyn because she's so much easier to get to cooperate - in case you're wondering why.

It sure is fun to run your toes through the sand!

But not so fun to remove it before getting into the car. We were taught the trick of sprinkling baby powder on and the sand rubs right off. Still, how do we end up with a beach full of sand in the car when we get home? Crazy how that is. . . .

We went to a BBQ on Memorial Day itself. The first of the season! We love a good BBQ. How about you?

Bugz

Brooklyn had a speaking part in a program at school on May 8 called Bugz. It was about different bugs going on a picnic. I didn't get a video clip of her part - oops. We heard it for weeks before hand. "That's right, I am a dragonfly. I may look rather odd. That's because I just went through a metamorphosis. For I'm an arthropod." She did very well, I must say.

Her moment of fame. . . .

A clip of one of the cute songs about fireflies. The kids loved having the lights out and using flashlights.