fishing trip with dad!

Late on Sunday night (the day before an extra day off because of Labor Day), Ryan remembered that he wanted to take the kids fishing before summer was officially over and school started. We packed a bag of extra clothes, snacks, and water, loaded up the fishing poles and tackle box, and everything was ready to wake up early to head out for a fun day together with just the three of them. (You know this means I had a day all to myself, right? Guess what I did for FOUR hours straight? Nope, no crafting. Nope, no shopping. Nope, no sitting around and watching TV. Yep, I cleaned the kids' rooms inside and out going through clothes, closets, and drawers! Fun times...or not. But it felt great to get it done without the helping hands of my little ones.)

Guess who was the first one to catch a fish?!

Great job, buddy!!

He let Sis share in his glory...how sweet!

At their first stop along the river, there wasn't much luck for Mikayla. Ryan said she had a good time casting her line and then reeling it right in. Might not be the best strategy for catching a fish, but I'm sure it was a lot more entertaining than just sitting there and waiting (at least for me it would be!) He said she only "snagged" him once. Success!

They packed up after staying there much longer than expected (and I still don't know how he entertained the kids for that long!!) and headed to a trout farm down the road for another try. Ryan said it was a matter of seconds before catching the first fish. I guess they should have gone there first!

Great job, Sis!

And Austin caught another...

Each of the kids came home with two fish. Austin was super excited about making fish for dinner (which he's never had!)...so we'll see how long they stay in the freezer before we cook them up. Maybe Grammy can put her special Alaskan touches on a good "fish fry".

So glad that Daddy had this special day with his best two buddies!

beat the heat - pool party style!

The last Friday in August found us with an open day of nothing to do...that is until my good friend Natasha invited us up to her parents' house in Washington for one last summer "hurrah" with friends! We jumped at the chance to join the Edingers and Smiths (friends from college 10+ years ago) to just hang out and be lazy around the outdoor pool. When do we EVER get the chance to do that?! Ummm...never!

We packed some snacks and headed north about an hour and a half drive to spend most of the mid-morning/early afternoon playing in the sun. We drove into clouds and I got a little worried, but by the time we got there the sun was out in full force and the kids (especially Mikayla) were ready to...

...jump in!

Mikayla learned early on that the "deep end" really meant the DEEP END. She jumped in (without floaties on her arms) to find herself in a bit of a panic that she couldn't touch the bottom. However, her swim lessons quickly kicked in and she paddled back to the wall. She was a bit concerned and a little overwhelmed at the experience, so she ended up wearing arm floaties for part of the time. However, the more confident she got in the water without them, the better swimmer she became. It was great for me to see how well she has mastered swimming and how her swimming lessons from summer and earlier on were beginning to pay off!

Let's slide!

Austin was quite content chilling in the "hot tub" part of the pool. I think he likes the feeling of having a smaller space as the bigger pool overwhelmed him a little.

And, at one point he was a doggy?
Oh the imagination!

One of Mikayla's best buds is my friend Natasha's little girl, Allie. They are two peas in a pod. They are only 2 1/2 months apart, but their size difference is amazing! One is on the bigger end of the spectrum and the other on the smaller. In the picture below Mikayla is HOLDING Allie. It just cracks me up!

And they're going in...One awesome thing about the picture above is that Natasha and I (and a handful of other friends from college) have a similar picture of us jumping in her parent's pool over 10 years ago! It just warms my heart knowing that our friendship has spanned over that many years and now our children are enjoying the benefits of that friendship! I'm totally going to have to dig around for that picture...for sentimental reasons.

Nothing like finding the best way to beat the heat than with a pool party!

Group Shot!
Austin, Allie, Mikayla, Xander, Sam, Caden, Brady, Hailey, Levi

It was a real treat for us to spend the day by the pool and we enjoyed every minute. Even when some stray cows came for a "visit" in the front lawn and Natasha had to run and chase them away. Now that is a picture I should have taken! I really can't get enough of those girls!

3rd annual ice cream party

A couple of weeks ago we were invited to my friend Kim's Annual End of Summer Ice Cream Party! This is the third year she has hosted and I love seeing how big the kids keep getting each year when I look at the pictures. We had a great time last year and this year was no exception. It started out cloudy, but then it got super HOT! It was so hot that I didn't take that many great pictures because I just wanted to sit in the cool of the shade. The kids had a blast running around with friends (and getting sweaty!) and piling on their ice cream toppings for a cool summer treat! Thanks, Kim, for hosting this tradition!

Waiting in line for some ice cream.
Look how sweaty Austin is!

Mikayla enjoying her yummy treat!

Austin playing...
with leftover evidence of chocolate on his face!
That's my boy!

MOPS (end of summer) Play Date!

Near the end of August (the day after we got home from a long weekend of camping), we met up with our MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) group for a play date at Discovery Park...about 30 minutes south of us. I have been a part of this MOPS group since Mikayla was 6 months old and I was excited to be back for yet another year and to spend more time with these wonderful ladies and their kids! To kick off the new MOPS season, we headed to a fun park that I actually hadn't taken the kids to yet. I figured they would have a blast, so I put aside the running list in my head of "things to do" and we headed that way for some fun in the...sun? Not so much the sun! It actually turned out to be a cloudy, overcast morning (the day before was HOT!!) That's Oregon for you, but it didn't stop us, so I dressed the kiddos in bathing suits anyway to prepare for the chance of being able to play in the water.

They have this really cool sand hill that the kids loved running up and down on. It was the first thing that attracted them...like a magnet! (I am not a fan of sand. However, they are!!) It took them forever to actually first get the hang of getting up the hill...

{almost there}

{reaching}

{and they both came tumbling down}

...but after they figured it out, it was a beautiful view!

Another fun attraction to this park was the water feature with fun fountains coming out of the ground. Even though it was a bit cool and cloudy, the kids still had to try it out. Austin loved it!


Mikayla enjoyed it for the first couple of times running through the water...


...but it didn't take long for her to get all bundled up and sit on the sidelines with her BFF Ellie.

And, in case you didn't know:
When you mix a wet body with sand...it's a mess!

I'm a little biased, but how cute are these two?!

And, there really were other kids (and moms) having fun with us!!

Another priceless memory with friends!

When I'm taking pictures, I kind of feel like the paparazzi,
but I'm always so glad to have them after it's all over!

detroit lake 2011

A little over a week ago our family went on our annual camping trip to Detroit Lake, southeast of Salem, Oregon. We had such a wonderful time together as a family of four for 4 days, 3 nights. It was just nice to relax, rest (we went to bed early every night!), and not have anything we had to do! We spent our mornings warming up around the campfire, our afternoons at the lake, and our evenings enjoying the campground, S'mores, and games!

{Click on any of the pictures below to see them larger.}

LIFE AT CAMP!

FUN AT THE LAKE!

S'MORES!

ZINGO!

Sister & Brother...love these two!

Our family...I'm so lucky!