Fun with Brett

We love it when cousin Brett comes to play...


and to celebrate, we had friends over for a bbq...

the older kids had fun playing on the playground...

While Brett and Shannon entertained the dogs...


and the big boys played too...
Such a cutie patootie!!

Playing at the Oregon Coast

The girl's grandparents had a condo for a night at the coast, so we headed over to join them and play for a night.

While the weather was not sunny, it didn't rain on us most of the time either, so we enjoyed a walk on the beach when we got there...
We must have a thousand pictures like this...
to warm up, she buried herself in the sand...

Back at the condo, the girls enjoyed some reading time with the grands...


The next morning, after a nice breakfast, we headed to the lighthouse to check it out. After finding out that Allie was not tall enough to go inside (that was not a fun time... yikes, she was sad), we headed down to the check out the tidepools....



We found lots of interesting things in the tidepools.


Shannon was more interested in gathering sticks...

And then we got to see lots of seals and baby seals ......




It was a great trip (well, except for the very sad 4 year old who was not let into the light house)... :)

Feeling Puny

For the past day and half Shannon has been a bit under the weather... cranky, fever, runny nose, cranky, not sleeping well, did I mention cranky???

Today she resorted to an old friend to make her feel better..... She insist on having Ellie, the elephant on the couch to snuggle with... :)


Sure hope this is the worse of it... :)

Potty Time

Shannon is obsessed with using the potty right now.... We are not trying to potty train her, but she wants to do whatever Allie does.. including using the potty.

However, what she enjoys most is sitting up there and "wiping".... and then she wants us all to cheer that she used the potty, even though she didn't really.... atleast not each time. She does use the potty regularly after bath, but that is it... other than that, she just loves to sit up there and go "potty"....

Shorts Weather and random pics

Summer was here last week, so we went on an imromptu playdate at the park.. it was warm out... and the girls played hard.....and even came home and napped!! :)

I love shortalls. Well, I LOVELOVE overalls, so shortalls are just a version of these... :)


And, another random picture of Shannon getting ready to do a sommersault. I will get the whole thing soon, and post for all to enjoy! :)

Then the girls decided to watch a show... look how intently they are watching the tv.. if only they would listen that intently when it is me trying to talk to them..

Baby Horse

One of the horses at the ranch where Allie takes lessons had a baby this past week.. three days old!! Oh, so sweet, though a little gangly. ;)


Can you see what I see?
Allie and Lauren were hiding from the llamas.. :)

Alien Days in McMinnville

So, a long time ago a "famous" picture of a UFO was taken in McMinnville... and now, each year, Mac uses this as an excuse to have "Alien Days" which feature a parade... This is the first year since we moved here that we have been in town for the parade, so I took the girls to see what all the fuss was about...




Uh, it was ok... a bit silly and strange. Shannon and Allie were not really sure about it either.

Allie summed it up well.. at one point, she turned to me and said "Mom, I don't really love aliens". :) Me either.

Planting the garden

It is that time of year... time to plant our garden. Allie loves to help with this part....



We planted zuch, yellow squash, cucumbers (2...one for pickling and one for eating), snap peas, 2 tomatos, 1 tomatillo, radishes, carrots, spinach, corn and brussel sprouts...


In the middle of the work, Allie disappeared up to the house.. we assumed she had to go to the bathroom... NOPE, she came back down with her wagon behind her and brought this....

She told us we had all been working hard, and needed a drink break. Kyle was thrilled...he has trained her well. (Not sure about the soda for me, as I dont drink that.. but I did not tell her..)

We cannot wait to enjoy the bounty of our harvest!!!

A lesson in the birds and the... baby birds!!

A few weeks ago we noticed a nest in our front entryway... then we noticed a very irritated momma bird....so, we figure there must be something in that nest...

Kyle was able to stand on a ladder and get the picture of the eggs.. And Allie was super excited. We watched from our office window often saw momma bird come sit on her eggs.


Well, this week when we returned from camping, we heard lots of noises and saw momma bird feeding baby birds.... so we waited til she left and once again climbed the ladder..


3 little birds... :)

Still small, but not too much baby any more.. won't be very long and they will leave us.. but for now we will enjoy watching them grow!!

I can do it myself!!

Really? Has it already begun?

Shannon has already decided she wants to pick out what she gets to wear...

This day, she wanted to wear a "dress"... and it was one of Allie's nightgowns (spinsarounds)... actually, it was TWO of them, layered over her clothes. And each time I asked if she was ready to take it off, she would yell NO and rub the nightgown and say "dress"... oh my....

And now, she wants to get dressed by herself. Only problem, everything comes on over her legs.. apparently she doesnt want to put it over her head... she tried, but that didnt work, so she found another way....



Her shirts get quite distorted by the time they make it over her diaper and belly....

Why does it start so early with the second one????

Champoeg State Park

Our second camping trip of the season took us to Champoeg State Park, where mommy got to run a half marathon... since the race was at a state park, we decided to make a camping weekend.. and so glad we did!! ! It was perfect camping weather, great people and a fun time. We enjoyed a fun campsite (with the Jenkins right next door), and there were plenty of trails to walk and bike ride on...

Allie and her besties.. food is so yummy outside!!!



Always eating... that is our "sasquatch"


Shannon wants to be just like her sister...


Smiling in the camper...






These pictures say it all... "life is good".....

:)