Cousins Weekend

This has become an annual tradition with Brett's cousins. It started the summer after Brett and I were married and has grown from 10 adults to about 20 adults and 8 kids! Above the older cousins are posing with fun sun glasses they made at the most recent cousins weekend. The kids are stair steps with the oldest being 8 and the youngest 1 (the three youngest are not in this picture). Our locations have varied and we try to alternate between Washington and Oregon, depending on where weddings are =)! This year we met at the beach house on Tulalip Shores. This is a perfect location, right on the water, lots of outdoor space for the kids and enough yard for Kubb.....a family favorite! We always enjoy our time spent together and it is great for the kids to play together! Looks like we'll be back in Washington next year for a wedding =)!!!! Yahoo!

Camping with the Folks!

We met with my side of the family at Nehalem Bay State Park. On the way up we stopped at the Tillamook Cheese Factory for some delicious ice cream.....yummy!! The park was across the street from our camp site and there was a "fort" in the trees by the bathroom that entertained the girls for hours. We also went to the bay side of the camp ground to go in my brother's kayak and the girls played in the driftwood treehouse! (Abigail is posing onto of the house.) We also rode our bikes into Manzanita for a delicious pizza lunch. Brett and I did some browsing with my Aunt Annie at the VERY expensive stores, such fun to just hang out!! It was great to see everyone and sit around the camp fire and visit! The girls came home spoiled and over tired.....looking forward to life getting back to "normal" around here!

Swimming Lessons!!!

So this year has been an interesting year for swim lessons. We started off great! Both jumped in the pool happy as could be and started with good attitudes. Week one was pretty good - we had to dangle a few rewards out there and we practiced one day at the Cool Pool, but all in all it was a good week. Week two started off TERRIBLE!! Abigail refused to try, lost ALL toys for the day and threw MANY fits! Today she did great......kick boarding across the pool, supergirl glides, big arms over 1/2 way across the pool, jumping off the diving board with only minor threats - it was AWESOME! Hopefully she will end the week strong. Norah has been delightful the entire time - trying almost everything - doing bobs, glides, kicking, back floating, jumping in......she's pretty entertaining! Their teachers have been awesome and I appreciate Brianna's patience especially!

Abigail's Loosing her Teeth!

Abigail has now lost 3 teeth! She had one tooth pulled in May because an infection had developed above the top missing tooth. She then lost her first tooth naturally in June (the new tooth is almost fully grown in!) Then last weekend, while at the church camp-out, she wiggled the other bottom one free. As you can see the adult tooth was already growing in behind it! My little girls growing up TOO fast!!!

Camping in Lincoln City!

We enjoyed a fun filled weekend in Lincoln City at Devil's Lake State Park! We camped with Brett's side of the family. It was a lot of fun! The boys went fishing and took the kids out on boat for a ride. We walked to the beach, where is was mostly foggy, but that didn't stop the kids from playing! I took a nice hilly walk to an amazing park that the kids LOVED playing at. We enjoyed good food, great company and even a few moments of relaxation! We also made a quick stop at the outlet mall before heading home to the valley heat.....good times!

Here we go.....

Alright, here's my attempt at blogging....we'll see how it goes! I've loaded a few pics from the summer, but many more will follow.....enjoy!

Independence Day!

We started the day in Harrisburg, to watch the parade! It was great to visit with friends and the girls collected a LOT of candy! Then we came home to rest for a bit and get out of the sun. That evening we had friends over, The Clark's and The Hill's, for a BBQ and yard games. It was a lot of fun! Once it was dark we went over to The Clark's house where the girls played with sparklers, the boy set off many fireworks and we saw the professional show in the distance. What a great day! Thank you Lord for our freedom.....we have been blessed to be a blessing....who am I blessing???

Ballet Recital

Aunt Ellie and Uncle Sean came to watch!













Abigail was a labybug and Norah was a flower in the ballet recital. They both did a wonderful job, even though Norah was very scared and didn't even participate in the dress rehearsal!