Camping

Every year Greg and his friends Sam and Ben head to Eastern Washington for dove hunting, golf and fishing over the labor day weekend. Then kids happened. Now they allow the families to come along every-other year. This year we stayed in an RV camp that is on a golf course. We were the only tent campers and our site was right next to the restrooms and pool. Even though we were not actually roughing it, I loved cooking on the camp stove and washing the dishes under the faucet. Sleeping in the tent was so much fun for the kids. Unfortunately they were so tired from all of the swimming, playing with Hopper dog and friends Luke and Samantha. They couldn't keep their eyes open long enough to spot the shooting stars. It was hot all day and cold at night. We didn't want the weekend to end, for when we returned... BACK TO SCHOOL!
Our little Cassidy has learned to swim! She put many hours of practice in at the Grave's this summer and is so excited to show them all of her new tricks. She can even do a hand stand! Samantha even got brave enough to jump in the deep end.

Self Portraits

Greg's birthday presents were lots of hard work for the kids. We traced their bodies onto newspaper, then they chose how to transfer their shape onto the canvas. Hours and hours of work went into their masterpieces. Cassidy gave us all a huge laugh. She didn't want to take off her shirt to copy it, so she just looked down. She worked hard, I bit my tongue, then when she was finished drawing, I had her take off her shirt to compare. Completely upside down and backwards! I'm still laughing! We measured our mouths and realized that our mouths don't go from ear to ear. Found out the eyes are not round and noses are not triangles. I still haven't taken a photo of the end product, but they are both great! I think Cassidy repainted her face 6 times before she called it done. Carson painted himself in his Sea-Hawk uniform. He was done before the painting was, so I had to do the background and most of his face. Daddy is pleased with his presents and is searching for the right wall to hang them.

Kangaroo Ranch

More than 7 years ago, while carrying Cassidy in my big belly... Greg and I were hired by Brooks to photograph an ad for their Power Bras. We headed to the Kangaroo Ranch to get some photos of Kanga. We were followed all day by a donkey named Jack, who thought he was a dog. He was right on our heals, into our bags and quite a pain. He won us over. We fell in love with him and gave him lots of treats and pets. To finish off the ad, I stuffed my pregnant body into a power-bra, and with a little photoshop produced this ad.Char and I decided to take our kids back to the farm. It was fun to see the kids petting the animals, meeting Jack, holding baby Roo and I even fed an Lama out of my mouth. We then went to a park to enjoy our friends for a picnic.Megan and Tyler

Megan's birthday party

Good friend Megan had a beautiful princess party that all of the Princes enjoyed too. Char blew us all away with her castle cake. I was even inspired to paint Megan her own castle to remember her 4th birthday.
Princess Megan
Oliva and Cassidy

Tillamook

Mom and Pop Dayley flew to my grandfather's in Oregon. Grandpa has been through surgery and isn't able to get up on his roof to replace it like he used to . So Mom and Pop, Uncle John and even Uncle Jack and Aunt Joan decided to take on the project. With family from both sides in one spot, Greg working so much we rarely saw him, the kids and I packed the wagon tight and headed south. We stayed in our favorite motel on the beach and played all hours. Aunt Carol brought her grandkids over and we enjoyed playing with cousins Gage and Isabel. Both 4 years old, the kids were instant friends. We had so much fun the kids didn't want to leave (until they missed daddy). We saw pelicans and seals. Collected aggots and shells. Climbed through a dark cave. Dug a HUGE hole in the sand which made a great pool-side addition to the sandcastle. Cassidy made sure we were the first ones on the beach so she could find a whole sand dollar. It's never a bad time when PaPa and MyMy are near. It was great to see grandpa and think about all the different times I got to see him throughout my life. Living so far away we didn't see him often, being as shy as I was, I didn't talk to him as much as I wanted to. I do remember as a child, slowly sneaking up on his lap just to be with him.

Kids with Aunt Carol, cousin Gage and MyMyHanging with Grandpa BrettSeeking treasure with Papa. We found some great ones!
Jack and Joan taking a break from roofing to say hello to the kids.Beach time with Joan

Fire Station

Jenn, MaryLynn and I headed to Woodinville to visit the fire station. Firefighter Greg (also known as dad to Sarah and Rachel) gave us a great tour. He even gave us a ride in the firetruck and let the kids waste lots of water pretending to put out a fire.

Jetty Island

The kids and I had such a fun and busy summer, there has been no time to blog. Greg has been working hard and tries to squeeze in a little play time, but has not had much of it.
Backing up to the first of August... The "Coffee Hottie's" (thanks for the great name Travis) packed our gear and headed for the beach. We waited hours in line for the ferry from Everett and with much persistance, we boarded, took the maybe 5 minute ferry ride accross to Jetty Island. The kids enjoyed a picnic lunch which taught them a new meaning for "sandwhich", they found sea creatures and even sunk in the quicksand. I'm so thankful for these great friends and all that we share even outside of our children. We have been getting together for weekly playdates for more than a few years now.