Goin' to the Fair

Our yearly visit to the county fair... Thankfully it's exactly a one minute drive from our house :) Awesome sauce! It was a quick visit, but we caught the animals, the reptile house (yipes), the ice cream barn, and a few rides on our way out. I love fair!! (Kyle tolerates them for my benefit)... :)

Ft Stevens Camping Trip

We took our annual camping trip with the Bury's, this year to Fort Stevens. What a fun place! Not as close to the beach front our normal spot at Nehalem Bay, but still great beach access, and lots of bike paths (now that I have a single biker in the family, this stuff matters to me). It was actually on this camping trip that Madeline's biking skills took off. She and Jewel were biking buddies and did "the loop" a million zillion times together. My girl even crashed at least four times, HARD. But apparently since she is a new person now, she hopped up and kept trucking. Love. I adore camping, even though several situations every hour make me crazy with little kids. Honestly though, each year it gets a little easier! I'm glad we have pushed through the Little Years to instill our love of the outdoors with our kids (now if we could just get going with family hikes and the like)...

So, our camping trip highlights:
- First, Marin took my hand-written packing list and spent at least three hours one afternoon, turning it into an art book, complete with illustrations and computer type. I adore how my kids get a bug to do something, and just make.it.happen. Honestly it was much easier packing from her list, then from my own chicken scratch!
- Second, all four kids napping in the car on the way there (this is outrageous and wonderful)
- Third, all the bike riding
- Fourth, campfires, chopping wood, carving wood, playing in the woods
- Five, outings to the Fort, including adventuring in DANGEROUS territory
- Six, all the beach
- And finally, family memories with our FAVORITE family :)

Weekend at Nana's

Kyle and Tim took on a huge project at our house, requiring the kids and I to be displaced for a few days. We made our camp up at Nana's house, and she took great care of us during our stay! The kids had tons of fun playing at the park, catching crawdads in the river, swimming in the hot tub, jumping on the big trampoline, watering Nana's flowers, and I even got a special day with my niece Katelyn on a day the other grown-ups were gone. She was a big help with the little boys, filling in as 'big sister' and the two of us had fun doing something we both love (puzzles!) during naptime. I loved my time with her. She is so special to me! Also included are some pictures of the project - siding being torn down, repaired, replaced. New window, caulking. In a million degree heat. Such a hard job, and if it weren't for the hard work and tenacity of these two, I would probably be living in a tent right now. Thanks for taking care of us!!

Happy 7th Birthday to Madeline

Happy 7th Birthday to my blonde little bombshell of a girl - she is taking this world by storm, and blowing my socks off at every turn. At least once a week I say to Kyle "can you BELIEVE her?!!" as we wonder where our quiet, timid, "new things are not okay with me" child went. And who is this brave new creature in her place? She rides bikes. She swims. She rides horses. She goes down waterslides. She approaches friends in the neighborhood to play. She goes first. She takes charge of her life. She speaks up. But before we get too ahead of ourselves here, she still freaks out at the dentist, and is VERY attached to her silky blue blanket at bedtime (or other times when she's feeling sensitive). I think I'm a tiny bit glad there is still some of the "old" her in there :) All I know is (in addition to giving the best fashion advice in town), she makes my heart swell with love when I kiss her cheek goodnight. I love how unique and special she is. Happy birthday to my sweet darlin!

Happy 5th Birthday to Max

Happy birthday to my little Maxy, turning 5 years old. He holds such a special place in my heart ~ ever since he was born, his personality has just captured me. I just marvel at his spiritual depth, his compassion, his kindness to others, his smiling eyes, his kissable little cheeks, his capacity to love. He has the biggest heart, and it is filled to the brim. Regularly, his prayers at the dinner table end with something like "and thank you for my family and all the people who I love"... it's a long list! :) This year he will start kindergarten at Bethlehem, a unique half-day private school kindergarten program that our preschool started just this year. I think it will be a perfect fit for him. I love him so much, and am so blessed to be this little boy's mother :)

Happy 2nd Birthday to Marcus

Our little caboose has turned 2! What a delightful, entertaining, sweet and outrageous little person he is. So many people in my family say he reminds them of Grandpa Morry. I sure wish my Grandpa could be alive to meet Marcus, and just get the biggest kick out of him! The two of them would have a full-on hoot together. I am thoroughly enjoying all the stages of my last-born sweet baby love. I know everything Marcus does will be "lasts" for me as a mother. I'm really not sad about that, just enjoying the savoring of each little thing! He is a total conversational chatterbox, not to mention he is 99th percentile for both height and weight. So basically what I'm saying is nobody guesses he is 2, it's more like 3. But wait now, don't grow him up too fast!  I need my little two year old for a good solid year, please :) I love this boy. Happy Birthday Marcus Farcus Shoshie-Bug!

Happy 4th ~ 2014

Our annual trip to Camano Island over the fourth of July was, once again, a total blast. Enough cannot be said about this place being a little slice of heaven. Especially in the summer when the weather is warm, the breeze is balmy, the water is refreshing, the firepit is always lit, and the kids are happy & tired from long days filled with fun & freedom. We packed in a lot: boating, crabbing, 1st birthday party for Maya-Moo, pictures with matching outfits, beach combing, throwing rocks, swimming in the pool, swimming in the salt water, ice cream at the parade, scavenger hunts, catching a snake, celebrating spring/summer birthdays of the rest of the family, going on a run with my sister (we have matching running shoes, like a boss), eating, fireworking, smore's-ing, and even more! Even a special visit from the Bothell Corrigans, on their way back from Whidbey. FUN FUN and FUN :)

We left the girls there again for an extra week, just the girls and the grandparents :) They had an amazing time, and came home just bubbling with all their stories (and shells, soooo many shells!) - such a special place, and a special time of year. Thank you to my wonderful parents who make this happen every year!