Some of My Summer Favorites.

It was hard to believe how fast this summer went. I really enjoyed having the kids home and getting to spend time together as a family. We didn't do a lot this summer but we did make some fun memories. Here are a few pics from beginning to end.

We started out the summer with a trip to the Oregon Coast. We got to spend time with some of our wonderful friends and the Oregon coast even cooperated with some nice weather.


Every summer I always can and freeze quite a bit of produce to have on hand for the rest of the year. We are so blessed to live in an area with such bounteous produce and nothing beats Oregon strawberries. The girls love to help especially when they get to eat as they go. :)


At the end of June the kids and I got to go to Weiser, Idaho for a family reunion. It was so fun to get to see those that I have not seen for so long and to get to know those that I have not had a chance to meet before. At its high point we had over 190 descendants from my Great Grandparents all in one room. I am so grateful to be part of such a wonderful family with a rich history.


On July 3rd Jut competed in a sprint triathlon with his brother Brandon. It was so fun to see the both of them compete. They both did a great job and finished well. They are both amazing men and wonderful fathers. I love the fact that my husband has such a wonderful family that I get to be a part of. After the race we had a barbecue and I could not resist snapping a picture of my sweet little watermelon monster.



I always look forward to July 4th. It not only celebrates the birth of the country I love but also the birth of my mother in law who is an amazing lady.


This past year was Lexie's first year of 4-H. She took 3 sewing projects and 1 cooking project to compete at the Lane County Fair. She received all blue ribbons and both reserve and grand champion ribbons on her sewing. This picture is of her modeling her pajama pants for the style review. It was the worst style review I have ever been to but she was a shinning star out their dirt and bad smelling arena. She did an amazing job. All three of her sewing projects were referred to the Oregon State Fair but she chose to enter only two of them. Her skirt received a blue ribbon and her pj's were awarded grand champion for her division, plus a special award. She is on her way to being quite the little seamstress and we are so proud of her.


My sister Debbie came to visit in August and we has a wonderful time. I know it was not an easy thing for her to do because she was 8 months pregnant at the time. I am so grateful for her. I wish I would have realized as a child how lucky I was to have such wonderful sisters. Nothing beats built in best friends.


I know our last post was about our Seattle trip but it was one of my summer highlights so I had to include it. It was so fun and amazingly un-stressful. I am so grateful that Maurnee got to go with us we would not have seen half as much if she had not been with us to show us the way.

Washington trip.

So I decided with Char that we needed to have one last hurrah before school started so we decided to take the kids to Washington. First to stay one night at the Great Wolf Lodge and then on to Seattle to spend time with Maurnee in Seattle. Below are some of the pics of are time on the road.

So the room we got at the Wolf Lodge was called the kid Cabin which the kids liked since it separated them from Char and I... But Benson made plenty of trips back and forth when he was supposed to be sleeping. I guess he liked the freedom that came with being out of the crib.

Talking about Benson, you can see he thoroughly enjoyed his time!

Here is a picture of everyone in front of the water park, as you can see it was an indoor park which was nice since it was breezy that day.

Here the girls and I are coming out of the Howling Tornado which happened to be their favorite ride (it was the giant funnel you go through).

And just a few more pics of the fun...

Then it was off to Seattle and for 6 mile hike with Aunt Maurnee, and of course stops at Pike Place to smell the flowers and to check out the other sites including the Space Needle. Funny story, on the way up the Space Needle, the elevator attendant started telling the history of the Space Needle and Natalie raised her hand. Mind you that Natalie was by the doors that looked out over the city and leaving the ground quickly, the lady asked "do you have a question" and Natalie said "What do we do if the doors open?" Of course the lady said they won't and a man behind us said "I think that was very good question."

We had a great time and school starts tomorrow.