Becoming a biker gang

It has been my goal this summer to transform our family into a biker gang. Considering that we have had ZERO children knowing how to ride a bike (they have refused to learn up til now)... I'm like "no" to that continuing :) So I have been taking out the girls one at a time for lessons. Madeline is now a full fledged bike-jumping-trickster (who would have thought she would be the first to learn? Lil' Miss Timid ain't so much anymore...) We are almost there with Marin too... I am even thinking about getting a bike trailer so Marcus and I can get some exercise together this fall! :) Max is a beast on his new skateboard from Nana & Grandpa, and Marcus is willing to wear anyone's pink helmet & ride anything that moves (I use the term "ride" loosely).

 Almost (but not quite) a full fledged gang on wheels :)

Little girl, big world

Marin is quite the expert on usage of a pocket knife these days. Ever since fishing camp (where she was taught usage & safety), she has been using her new little pink pocket knife Kyle got her, to carve whatever she can find. And I have found she's been offering to help in the kitchen more often as well :) Lucky me!!!

Summertime giggles

Sometimes, I just need to post all the random cute things that have happened all summer long. For no reason, other than I love these people, and I want these pictures in my family yearbook :)

Summer camps

We had a packed summer with lots of fun camps: Marin (fishing, ballet, sports. swimming, VBS), Madeline (ballet, sports, swimming, VBS), Max (soccer, sports, swimming, VBS), Marcus (cheering-squad-of-one for abovementioned classes)... :) SOOOOOO much fun!

You know you have a smart phone when...

... your entire photo stream is filled with mother-child selfies :) Oh my word.

Go Timbers!

We won four tickets to see our favorite soccer team, the Portland Timbers, and took our college buddies, the Schmierers along with us to the game. And what do you know, the team mascot (is that what we call him, a mascot?), Timber Joey found us and posed for a pic! Fun times :)

School year wrap

Another year has come and gone, and my big girls officially completed 1st & 2nd grade. A few special memories included "Donuts with Dad" on an early Friday morning at school, and a presentation by Marin's class to our retiring principal Mrs Hill. The kids make a hand-crafted clay butterfly as well as a book outlining all the kids' ideas of what Mrs. Hill should do with all her free time during retirement (my personal favorite was "take a nap", ha!). Also it's hard to read that white board, but here is the story with that - this white board is positioned at the entrance of the school and it asks various questions, the kids are welcome to take a pen & write responses. This day, the topic was "last day of school for the kindergarteners" - and i just so happened to walk by and notice Marin had signed it. It reads "Dear kinders, I am so proud of you! Thank you for working hard. Love, Marin"  - i am dying laughing!! She is such a BIG KID now, i remember when she was a teeny little kinder.

Spendin' our time with family

It is a gift to have family nearby. Even though we don't have regular gatherings, we sure do have fun together when we make the time! Here are a few snapshots of recent shenanigans. Cousins at the park, and grandparents feeding the ducks (ps. that is Madeline singing a little song to the duck, she later told me she could see a tear forming in the duck's eye, the duck was very touched by her sweetness. You cannot make this stuff up! ha ha ha)