time

I can't believe how fast time goes but yet some days seem to never end. I realized recently that we really only have 4 summers left after this one to have our son at home with us....he may come home for the summers but it won't be the same. How can it be possible that this boy will be entering high school in a September??? It seems like he was a little toddler not that long ago!

Summer has always been my favorite time with my kids....no schedules, lots of sand, bubbles, sidewalk chalk, games, friends, trips, parks, saltwater sandals & evening fires. It has always been a time that I have savored & cherished. It always seems to go too fast while the school year can drag on so miserably at times. For some reason this summer feels like a little pressure. Pressure to make lasting memories, have fun, get everything in. Maybe it is because we are entering a new phase and this summer may the last of its kind for our family. Maybe it is because I am feeling a little older now that I am almost the mother of a high school student. Whatever the reason, I do not want to let the pressure ruin my summer. I want to still savor and cherish. I want to enjoy the sounds of my kids engaging together, playing, laughing, and even fighting. I want to play intentionally and accomplish special memories but also do nothing together! Thank you Lord for THIS summer!

art lovers

My hubby is taking an art class this semester and he was required to take a free field trip to the Portland Art Museum. Since my kids go to a school where they are home schooled in their art credits, we decided to tag along. Did you know it is free for kids under 18? We had such a great time exploring, studying and laughing at some of the pieces....especially some on the modern floor. Boy....it is amazing what some people call art. We were thinking we could probably paint a canvas solid orange and sell it for a lot of money! They wouldn't allow any photos inside the buildings so we took some out in the courtyard before the sun set at closing.

Emma of course wanted a picture with the horse, since she has wanted her own horse since she was born!

We laughed about how many times we had seen naked bodies.....naked bodies (men & women) everywhere! One could really get an education there! My hubby and I talked about how much we love our kids ages right now. They are so fun to hang out with and spend time doing "grown up" things with.Afterwards we went to happy hour at our favorite....PF Chang's. My kids were goofing off with the camera and this was my favorite one!

love day

Yesterday was Love day. We used to have a lot of fun with holidays but for the last two years has been a bit of a challenge. We had all of our stuff in storage and we lived in a 700 square foot apartment. There wasn't much room for non-essentials. But now that we have moved into the downstairs house and unpacked everything it has become much easier to play again.

For many years we got the Papa Murphy's heart shaped pizza for valentines dinner with the kids and then after they were in bed we would have the yummy grown up dinner. But now that they are older we all get to eat a great dinner together!
We had steak, garlic mashed potatoes and grilled asparagus for dinner. Then for dessert we had pound cake with strawberries and whipped cream. It was fabulous!!
Our kids spent a couple hours on Saturday making us some great cards. Emma made a card that opened into a flower - so fun!
Cody made a cool box that had two sides for me and two for Dad. It was filled inside with candy and notes. Our kids are pretty creative - they get it from their Dad!

After dinner we took some time for dancing to my favorite - Frank Sinatra. We had a lot of fun laughing at each other and goofing off.

I love this picture of my kids - even though they have their fighting moments it is so fun to watch the way that they love each other. I had to tear up a bit watching them dance - it was so sweet.

Then Emma got a whole song with her daddy. What is it about little girls and their daddy? She was wrapped around him the whole song. All I have to say....she better not dance that way with her boyfriend?!?! I know she probably won't...her daddy will make sure of that!

It was a great day. My hubby made me a bunch of little paper hearts with love notes and taped them all over the place yesterday morning. Some on the microwave, my computer monitor, the bathroom mirror, the washing machine and then one on my pillow last night.

I love celebrating my love for my family!

walking for a cure!

Sunday morning, bright and early, a group of us women and girls headed down to "big city" for a very cool fundraiser for cancer research. We stopped at pioneer square for a group photo.

We got to be right at the start line, under the cool balloon arch!

We took lots of combinations of group photos at this point. I think a few of the women around us were not too amused, but we had a great time taking pictures of each other.
Here we are walking down Broadway in the mass of people. It is cool to be a part of something so big!
Then of course, since we were so close, we had to treat ourselves to a little bit of heaven! My daughter will probably want to kill me if she sees this photo?!?!?
We love you saint cupcake!
It was a great time and it didn't even rain a drop on us.

a fun give-away!!!

Click on her name to check out this amazing give-away from my artist friend, Michelle. She does incredible work and is an incredible person as well. We gave my sister-in-law one of her creations last year for Christmas and she llllooovvveeddd it!!!

She turns ten!

Where has the time gone that we now no longer have a single-digit child in our household!?!?! It just seems like yesterday I held this beautiful 8 lb, 5 ounce darling in my arms and now she has turned 10.
She has always been our little star - loving to perform and be dramatic! Emma has the sweetest smile and had the cutest chubby checks as a baby girl. She has always been a major snuggler which blesses those around her - always touching and sitting close - we love it!!
One of the things I so love about her is her love for all things "girl" while still loving to be on a horse, or get dirty and have fun!!
Emma has been dancing since she was born and this picture is so the essence of how she is - being carefree and dancing around in the sun!
This wild, crazy and dramatic child is so different than me - always needing structure and control - I love how God made her this way! Emma doesn't mind being silly and loves to have a good time! We pray that this passion for life will always continue.

She is also extremely responsible (which I am sure must have come from me!?!?) She recently started 4-H and did a great job "herding" the dogs on the bench at the fair. Emma loves all things with four feet - especially horses and dogs! We are so very proud of her dedication and hard work at whatever she does! My prayer is that this will be a trademark of who she is for the rest of her life.

We celebrated her 10th birthday this weekend by getting some much needed time of rest at our friend's cabin. We headed out for a hike on Saturday morning and this is what we were met with by our sweet & loving pre-tween....(hopefully, we will not be seeing this too often)...

But after hiking for an hour or so uphill, she returned to her normal self - smiling but still begging to turn back! She did hike for two hours up the mountain with a cold and it was her birthday after all - we can be so mean sometimes. The view and the scenery was worth it though!

Emma is very excited to be 10 - she is now two full hands!!!

Today we had our "friends" party at a friends house that has a beautiful pool. She and 5 of her fabulous friends had a great, great time swimming and playing in the pool. What is so fun for me is to see how many of her friends she has had for years. She loves her friends and God has blessed her with great ones! We pray He will continue to provide these great friendships as we travel through the coming years.

Okay this picture scares me just a bit. I am not sure which of the girls had this idea, but they wanted me to get a picture of them with all lined up on the chairs with their "drinks with little umbrellas". This is such a fun age - still little girls at heart but wanting soooo badly to be so grown up. I love my precious, fun, wild, free-spirited, smart, strong-willed, sometimes stubborn, affectionate, passionate and loyal 10 year old very much!!!!

I am so glad God chose you Emma to be our gift from heaven - we cannot imagine our life without you and all that you are. You are an amazing treasure and gift to those around you! We pray for many rich blessings for you this coming year!!

the big falls - with a celebrity!

Yesterday we headed out to enjoy a God-given beauty that is so close to home. Multnomah Falls was calling our names and we wanted to hike to the top! We even took Tucker along and he did a great job once he had his harness on!
This shot of the kids and I was taken about half way up the hike to the top .

Once we got to the top Tucker had a nice bath in the mountain water and we enjoyed lunch on some great big rocks.

There were a few mysterious caves along the path that the kids fit perfectly into!

We made it safely back down for snow cones and ice cream cones at the lodge. Tucker was quite a celebrity at the falls. So many people were asking about him and wanting to pet him. At the end a group of 10 south Korean college students stopped to touch him and drool over him - they were so fascinated they were all posing for a picture with "Tuckar". It began to get a little ridiculous! It must be how the family of a famous person feels - a little invisible.

It was a great outing!

loving flowers

Yesterday my parents, my brother, the kids and I went to check out the rose garden in the big city across the river. The weather was perfect and we had a good time wandering around the gardens.
We checked out all the different varieties of roses and even tried smelling a lot of them!
Some of them even smelled so good, Emma considered maybe eating one of them!!

We went to play in the park which happens to be a park my brother and I played at when we were kids. I think they still had the same slide and teeter-totters from the 70's.

Afterwards, we took them to this favorite spot of mine to have a few "dots". They were delicious as always!

cave exploring

The kids, my brother and I headed off Friday for the Ape Caves to be nice and cool in the midst of the heat. We stopped at a small attraction near the caves to do the underground tunnel at the Trail of Two Forests. My kids went through it about 4 times and my brother even gave it a shot. As for me, no thanks!

After lunch we all headed down into the big caves. With it being about 40 degrees and slightly windy inside the cave, we quickly put on hoodies. It is about a 30 minute hike in and then you turn around.
We were glad we had good flashlights because it is pitch black inside. It is also good to wear a hat or hooded sweatshirt to avoid the water dripping on your head the whole time.
We were able to get a shot or two of us in the dark.

Thank you God for the mysteries you create and that we are able to enjoy them!

celebrating freedom!

After celebrating at a big party in the afternoon, we decided to forgo our annual tradition at the Fort Vancouver and just stay home with some friends. We had several friends over and just relaxed until dark. Luckily, we didn't go to the fort because I ended up with lovely pink eye that evening. With every loud boom, I thought my head would explode!!

This year the girls really got into the fireworks. They were all wanting a turn to blow something up - they were giddy from the excitement!

My brother joined us since our parents ditched us for a fancy cruise on the columbia to watch the big show! Actually, we sent them off with our blessings.

The evening was gorgeous!!

Not too hot or cold

and perfect for sparklers

and blowing up big stuff!!

We ended the show about 11:00 and dad was out cold by 11:10 - He was done for the day!!