Blogging again!!!

A friend of mine told me a while ago, "when you post, you post!!!" Well, now is no different! Sorry, I have done our whole summer in one day!! I honestly tried a while ago, and I was going to keep up, but I was doing something wrong....I couldn't figure out what....but, finally I figured it out, and so, here it is....all at once!!!! Kids start school in 2 weeks, and we don't really have anything picture worthy planned, so I think this is it for a while!!!

Oh what do you do in the summer time?

I love the primary song, "Oh what do you do in the summer time".....I had that song in my head yesterday....with these words....."Oh what do you do in the summer time, when all the day is rainy.....do you look in your recycle bin and make something cool with the trash that you find in there?.....Is that what you do? So do I!!!!"

Jared had been begging to make something cool with our recycle stuff....after a week of 100 degree weather, and being out in the pool most of the time, yesterday seemed like a long day to have to be in doors because of chilly, rainy weather. By late afternoon, I decided it was time to make something with the recycle stuff.....I think we did quite well....a robot out of a vacuum box (yes, our old vacuum died, so we had to buy a new one).....and a car out of soup cans!!! It was a fun activity....I have to admit!!!

A visit from Kevin, Darci and Family....and Grampy and Peggy

We had a fun visit from Kevin, Darci, Shane, Cody, Jamie, Grampy and Peggy. They came in their camper to camp along the coast. They stayed with us for a few nights, then we joined them on their first night of camping out at the coast. It was fun to be with them!!! Hope we can do it again....soon!!!

Take me out to the ball game.....

Red Sox were "in town".....well, in Seattle, so we took a day trip up to Seattle to watch the Red Sox beat the Mariners in an exciting 12 inning (I believe) game! It was sort of funny.....Jared was ready to go home by the 4th inning....we told him when the number under the word inning on the lit up sign said 9, that it would be time to go....as we got into the 9th inning, we realized we had to tell him that someone had to win the game, also....we were happy it was the Red Sox, but Jared wasn't so sure about the extra innings....I think they all had fun though! Oh, and funny part of the game....in the middle of the 9th inning, some guy went running out on to the field, took his shirt of and ran all over the place....he was finally taken down by the security gaurds, and dragged off in cuffs! Pretty exciting!!!
It was a little chilly.....the kids were especially glad that Kayleigh insisted on bringing her blanket!

They have a cute play ground right within the stadium....the kids had fun playing before the game started.

A visit to Keith and Jacque....in Stockton, CA

We went to visit Keith and Jacque and their family over 4th of July....it was short, but sweet....fun to spend time with their family....especially since they wont be there for too much longer.

First Day.....we went to San Fransisco...... The Golden Gate Bridge
Alcatraz Island....(in the background)
A carasoul ride on the peir
We went all the way to San Fransisco, and the kids favorite part was the little play ground that was there!!!!
Sea Lions.....we were hoping to see a whole bunch of them on the dock, but there were only a few....it was fun to see them, anyway!

Later that night (July 3), we went to see fireworks.....we parked on the top of a parking garage, and after enjoying Cold Stone Ice Cream and some dancing fun in down town Stockton area (I think), we went up to the garage and had a great view of the fireworks from the local baseball game. It was a fun night.

Saturday had us going to the Big Trees....can't remember the official name of the forest we went to.....but, it was AMAZING!!!! Jared was ready to claim one of the "tree caves" for his home!!!

The classic.....try to reach around the tree!!!
Lydia was sweet to join the crew to the forest....you know how it is when you are a teenager, and you've been there done that....but she came, and was happy....but, I promised her that this time it would be different....that she would see a tree she had not seen before....so, at one point, Lydia and I ventured off of the main path, and I found her a tree she had not seen before!!!....so, here is Lydia and HER TREE!!!!

A Visit from Grandma and Grandpa!!

Our summer started off with a visit from Grandma and Grandpa Christensen. (June 25-30) We had fun showing them all of our favorite spots around here! We love the northwest!!!

First we went to Multnomah Falls.......
Just hanging around with Grandpa on the trail!

We made it all the way to the top this time! The kids were troopers! Everything is easier with Grandma and Grandpa....and of course the fanny packs full of treats from Grandma and Grandpa!!!
The second day......Mt. St Helens
and Ape Caves.....

Jared and Kayleigh made it ALL THE WAY to the end....the rest of us made it most of the way, but we were too tall to get all the way to the end!

On Saturday, we went to see the movie WALL E (not the best, but Jared loved the robot!....and that is why we went!).....then, that night we lit off fireworks (a lot of fireworks!) that Michael Pollard gave us.....via Mom and Dad. Thanks Michael!!!! It was a huge hit! We invited our friends, the Gallups to join us, then a couple of families from the neighborhood also came over to join us. It was a fun night!!!

We sure do miss you, Grandma and Grandpa!

Movie Night/ Pizza Night

One of my favorite things to do is have a family pizza/movie night! I just love all of us cozy on the couch (after eating pizza) and watching a movie together!!!