Summer Recap

Okay... Some serious blog neglect. I've been having laziness/camera uploading issues. So here is our summer in one post.

Swimming lessons

Yellowstone on the way to the family reunion

Smelly Paint Pots

This is how Giles would walk so I couldn't hold his hand. Smart eh?

Old Faithful. Not so faithful anymore.

Family reunion and cousin time

This is a pretty bleak post of our summer. We also went camping (kids and dad); crushed River Front park almost every week, swam practically daily up at the Davenport pool, and enjoyed some sunshine in the 509!

Trek 2011

Brent and I had the great opportunity to be Ma and Pa for a youth conference pioneer trek. We spent 5 days on the prairie of southwestern Washington and walked over 20 miles. This is us in our pioneer clothes after walking up "Rocky Ridge." The women were the only ones allowed to pull the handcart up the ridge and the boys had to line the sides of the hill and watch. It was an amazingly spiritual experience pulling those handcarts and not having the men jump in and help. It really made the pioneer stories sink in when we hear about all the strong men dying and the women pulling the load all alone or putting her ailing husband in the cart. It was a testimony builder that we can all do hard things.
Our six "kids" on the trek were strong and fast. Brent and I were usually trailing behind them as they blazed the trails.
The "sweet water" crossing was a tiny spring, but the boys still got to carry the girls across the "river." We only had two girls in our group. the rest were boys.

Ma and Pa and our trek kids at the top of Rocky Ridge.

Pa and his boys.

The kids all took turns either pulling or pushing the handcart. Every once in a while we would have to jump in and help (but not often thank heavens). We experienced very hot days (in the 80's and 90's) and one day was non-stop wind. It was hard on our bodies because we were so used to the 50 and 60 degree days in Spokane. Two of our kids had heat exhaustion.
Me picking out the thistles of my socks. The weeds were so bad that we had to duct tape our shoes and our ankles. No joke... and it sucks to have your legs Duct taped!
Being the caboose of the 29 handcarts. We got to blaze trails, be the end of the line, and the stop and go constantly in the middle. It was a wonderful week. A real lesson in life and a testimony builder.

Gavin turns 7!!

Gavin just turned 7!! This year he ended up having 3 birthday parties and eating cake 4 different times! Just how did Gavin end up being so lucky?
My parents were going to be out of town for Gavin's birthday so we celebrated early by going to CDA to the Croc center (highly recommended!) We swam, did a climb wall, played in a play land, then went out to eat and have birthday cake. It was a fun day with Grandma and Grandpa!

Then... I threw Gavin a Lego party. It was a lot of work, but totally fun. I made a Lego cake, did Lego juice boxes and even made Lego thank you blocks.
Then.... on Gavin's real birthday I had my Activity day girls over and we sang him happy birthday. Then it was time for a "family party." Gavin got a new bike. He was in dire need of one. I guess when your 7 you should have probably outgrown your 1st training wheel bike, right? Gavin was saying that his legs were hurting when he rode his bike. Not anymore with this shiny red and silver bike.

I got a lot of the good ideas from this blog: http://deliacreates.blogspot.com/2011/01/lego-birthday-party.html. Check it if you ever have to do a Lego party.
The Lego party cake. I didn't realize that I only had neon food coloring so the cake ended up turquoise.

A talented weekend

Gavin did a reader's theater for 1st grade. He read a story that he wrote and shared for everyone. He did a great job. Then the class sang a couple of songs for the parents and the kids got a treat. He has loved 1st grade and especially loves his teacher Mrs. Ames.

Miss Grace had a dance recital. She was sure cute as our little lady bug. And she actually danced up on stage! Which is major progress since the December recital. The video I took of her is actually her dress rehearsal. I was able to get close to the stage to take a good video.


The video of Gavin is a little choppy. I took the video while trying to hold a 1 year old. Not a good combination. Enjoy!!

Visit from Grandma Mac

Grandma Mac visiting us for a few days this last weekend. We are grateful that she could squeeze us in from all of her west coast traveling this spring.

Lots of cuddling

Hiking and piggy back rides since Grace's legs ran out of "batties" (batteries)

Lots of fun at many different parks. The kids loved being outside
and the adults loved the fresh air.

We went to Manito Park and loved the Japanese Gardens.

We love you Grandma Mac. Thanks for visiting. We hope you come and visit again soon!

Happy Easter

We had a wonderful East weekend. The weather was great. Nice and sunny at 60 degrees. The kids thought it was summer and were running around without coats or shoes.
A rushed photo shoot before 9 am church! Wish Aunt Nae lived close to take some awesome pics.
We started off the weekend by having a flashlight Easter egg hunt with some friends. It turned out really great. The kids had a blast. And they weren't scared of the dark...Bonus!

The Easter basket loot. Giles' favorite part were the jelly beans. And I have a stained sweater vest to prove it.
Grace was so excited about her Barbie doll. She just started playing with them and LOVES them.
We made the kids have to find their baskets. The only one we can really hide is Gavin's.
Then we headed up to the Davenport homestead for Easter dinner and another Easter egg hunt. Giles was actually awake for this one and loved just walking around with a basket. I think he picked up two eggs total.
Gavin was so kind to let Grace find all the "real eggs" leaving him with a loot of plastic ones filled with candy. Isn't he such a kind big brother?
Gavin climbing the rocks to find an egg. It's pretty neat to have your kids to have the same experiences and memories that I had as a girl. It wouldn't be Easter without climbing the rock wall in search of eggs.

Spring break

We spent a couple days during Spring Break at Stoneridge with Grandma and Grandpa. We had some crazy North Idaho weather, but we had a blast all the same. We played on the play ground, went mini golfing, did some crafts, watched movies, and swam (a lot)!
It was torture putting Grace in this special life jacket, but once she realized it would gave her freedom in the water, she dug it. She loved wearing her "gobbles" swimming.
Gavin loves swimming. He is still a little nervous swimming without a life jacket. That is our goal this summer, for him to be able to swim all by himself.
Then we spent an afternoon at River front park later in the week. We got a season pass (thanks Mom!) and it will be a blast. This is a pic of the kids on the "Berry go Round." The kids loved it... I was a bit tipsy afterward.