Kamiak Butte

We were headed to Kamiak Butte and when we drove past the bears, we saw one ripping apart a hide so Ed pulled in and the kids were excited to see eight bears pacing and eating and ripping that thing to shreds.

We had a quick (and freezing!) lunch before starting the hike.

Poor Jemma tripped and fell before we even started and literally rolled down a hill and then when Ed had her in the backpack he slipped and fell a bit and then a pine branch snapped right in her face--not her favorite place to go! But she perked up and we are always surprised at how cheery our kids are even after trudging straight uphill and slipping through the mud for 3 1/2 miles.

Jack packed his rubber band gun in case we met any wild animals.

Memorial Day.

Fried chicken and iced tea...yummy.

The Casebolt kids came to spend the night and Paula dropped their stuff off earlier with strict instructions from Will for Jack to not get into his backpack and he so he didn't get into it but he did wear it around the house all day: The kids love watching Ed play Super Mario on the Wii and he loves it because I can't complain when they are all happily (and quietly) entertained. So I left him with the seven kiddies and ran errands instead and came home to find them fighting the bad guy here:

My latest purchase for our bedroom. I found this on an etsy site and I loved it--I was in a hurry to hang it so I just spray painted an old frame but I have a better frame in mind that I'm now on the hunt for.

A sad, sad day.

Jemma's done with her morning nap.

This is one of the childhood milestones I particularly dread (seriously right behind potty training). I work really hard very early on to get nap times set (and I mean set in stone) and I hate when it's time to reschedule. She was done a good 4 months ago but I have put her off as long as possible by a variety of tactics and now, since it's the first day of summer and time for a new schedule anyway, we're finally doing it.

So, one of the first steps is teaching her to watch cartoons. My children are not natural TV watchers...they have to be trained. Today was Jemma's first try with Word World. I strapped her in, gave her a bowl of Kix and left the room. She made it a whole 15 minutes (really just till the Kix ran out) before hollering to get down. Our goal will be 30 minutes of cartoon-watching by the end of the summer (without food!).

And yes, I'm dead serious.

( I like her leg sticking out of the seat here.)

School's out for summer.....

and it's pouring like crazy!

Ava celebrated last night with dinner at China Buffet. I'm the only she could talk into going there so we went out by ourselves and had a great time! No one else in town makes General Tso's as good as them so I stick with that while Ava has a heyday in the buffet line. I love watching her do this! She always tries a little bit of everything and she has the best running commentary--she could seriously be a food critic. I branched out and tried some "Delicious Chicken" (yes, that's what the sign said) and it wasn't too bad but when I wouldn't try Ava's mashed potatoes she said, "maybe they should have said 'Delicious Mashed Potatoes'!" I'm not sure it have helped.

Now it's cold and rainy and not feeling an awful lot like summer but the Casebolt kids are coming to spend the night so things are looking up for the little people of the house.

Here's to summer!

Jack asking if he can please, please use the scissors....

it's hard to say no to this face!

(especially when he brings his sister to vouch for him)

22 weeks.

The baby is now the size of a spaghetti squash and weighs 1 pound. He's a mover and a shaker and Jack was the first to feel him! To those of you who have been nice enough to say I'm not big yet, just you wait. This is the point where my belly starts growing at least an inch a day so by the next update you will not be disappointed!

Last day of school (woo hoo)

First Day!

Last Day!
Wow, she's grown! And lost a bunch of teeth!

We are so proud of Ava this year!

She loves school and it shows! She got her final report card today with "excels" in all her subjects and comments like, "she is a pleasure to have in class...she is an excellent student who is eager to learn." Even better, she is kind and thoughtful and such a great helper...it will be nice to have her around all summer!

Cause she's so darn cute

Early kick-off

Ava's summer vacation starts later this week but she has today off for one last teacher workday so we started the summer celebration a little early with dinner last night at Qdoba: and a slumber party in Jack's room:

Do ya love the sleep mask? Necessary when sleeping with mister cuddly, let me give you one last kiss in the middle of the night!

Soaking up the daddy time whenever we can get it.

No one seems to mind that he always falls asleep!

The last first grade presentation!

Ava's class did a final show for us with all their history facts and songs--it was fantastic!

Here's George Washington and his lovely wife Martha!

Jack said, "wow Ava, I didn't know you had such a big part...I'm really proud of you!"

Gearing up

Ed's busy season is starting to rev up although it won't be in full force till June. This means many, many daddy-less nights at our house for the next 6 weeks. The only good thing about it is that he's rarely gone overnight--just well past bedtime. We have a sort of routine when he's gone that includes lots of short trips to wherever we can think of going, lots of french toast for dinner in front of a movie, lots of bubble baths with popsicles, and, especially when I'm pregnant, lots of me laying on the couch watching the kids crank up the music and run wild around the house. Our first Costco dinner of the busy season...there will be many more.

(Jack can actually eat that entire hot dog--it's amazing!)

Jem's learning to appreciate Costco's fine cuisine.

Her little feet were kicking the entire time--the excitement of Costco starts early at our house...these kids are pretty easy to please!

Party season

has begun.

strawberry and lemon cupcakes

strawberry champagne punch

leftover party food...our favorite part of any event!