Time Out

The kids were playing outside with their next door neighbor friend.
Myles was not behaving himself and had to come in for a bit of a time out.
He was not happy and huddled himself in the corner.
Elsa decided to come sit with him.

Hey Myles, you don't have to do this time out thing alone.

Pssst, big brother, I'm over here.

Hey, Myles, it's okay, I'm here for you.

Boy, you must really be upset, Myles.

Well, mom, I tried.

When the Dog Bites, the Bee Stings................

when I feel sad, frazzled or frustrated I simply remember my favorite little people, and then I don't feel so bad because I forget myself, my worries and woes and am filled with such love, and laughter and gratitude that they are in my life.

And I think to myself...........it just doesn't get any better than this!

How can I not feel better after seeing this big smile?

Can you feel the love?

Rhaevyn made this dress for Aeva.......sewing by hand.

Oh the places we go with our imagination!

Sharing at it's best.

The thrill and fascination of the bubbles.

Myles said to me the other day, "Mom, my hugs for Elsa all turn into hearts."

My sweet, sweet helper.

Another wonderful smile!

Oh happy day, oh happy day!

Visting Family In Idaho

Last Wednesday we took a little road trip to Idaho to visit our Lindsay relatives.

We started out our trip counting all the waterfalls that we saw.

Happy travelers, Myles and Elsa..........

and Aeva.

Time for a little smackeral of something to eat.

The ride to Idaho was a very pleasant one.

We stopped in the Gorge at a rest stop to eat our sandwiches and chips.

The sun was out, and there was a nice breeze.

Myles enjoyed watching the seagulls land and try to get a nibble of the crumbs we had dropped.

Uncle Matt treated us to tacos Wednesday night.
They were positively scrumptious.

Aunt Leslie made some awesome guacamole and salsa.

Thursday, Matt took us all to the YMCA.

They have a huge pool section there.

There was even a three story water slide.

Matt took Aeva down the slide and she loved it, but going down on her own did not go so well. She said she couldn't move, couldn't breathe and couldn't scream.

But, we are happy to report she did survive and Uncle Matt was right there to catch her when she popped out of the slide into the water.

We talked Rhaevyn into going on the small slide that one basically jettisons off into 12 feet of water. We missed her doing it the first time, so we told her if she would go one more time, Uncle Matt and I would go twice.

Let me just say, I did not like that slide. It was sheer panic once your bottom left the slide and all you saw was water below you. You get that feeling of your stomach flying up into your throat like on a roller coaster ride.

All the kids enjoyed the lazy lagoon part of the pool.

We spent two and a half hours there.

By the end the kids were pooped and sitting on the bench with Uncle Matt, while Chris and I went down the slide a couple more times.

What a blast!

Thursday night was a spaghetti feed, and John, Shanda, and Christopher's parents came.

Myles enjoyed running around the backyard with Grandma and Walter the dog.

Elsa enjoyed playing with Auntie Shanda.

It was nice to get to visit with them all.

Friday was sailing in the morning for Chris, Matt and John.

Then we went to the Warhawk Air Museum.

There was a lot of interesting artifacts there.

The kids enjoyed trying out Morse code, the SOS lamp, and seeing the planes.

Rhaevyn's favorite thing at the museum was a wedding dress from WW II, and

Aeva's favorites were listening to the music that was playing from the 40's and the women's uniforms of the WACS and WAVES.

Then it was off for bbq'd hamburgers and ice cream at Christopher's parent's house.

Good food and a good visit.

Myles loved playing tic-tac-toe with Auntie Leslie and Aeva.

Elsa liked playing with Grandpa.

Auntie Leslie treated the kids to a round of s'mores that evening. They loved that!

Saturday the kids helped out with some yard work.

Then that afternoon we said goodbye to Matt and Leslie.

We cannot thank them enough for feeding and lodging us.

We had such a wonderful time there.

The kids were in heaven too!

What a wonderful visit we had with everyone.

Thanks to all the Lindsays for your help with feeding us and making time to

visit with us while we were there.

We came away with wonderful memories!

We look forward to our next visit to Idaho.

A New Pen Pal, Lucia Falls and Strawberries

I'll start with the strawberries.

That red delicious fruit does not last very long in our house.

Normally, Myles sits and eats practically the whole carton himself.

However, I think he is going to have a bit of competition now.

Elsa snuck up to the table and went hog wild with the bowl of strawberries.

I hope our plants are good producers this summer, so we can satisfy our

strawberry lovers.

This is my friend Samantha and me.

She and her family came for a visit.

The kids had a great time playing at the park.

On Monday we took them to Lucia Falls.

I think all the kids had a grand time together.

Rhaevyn and Aeva made a new friend.......... Sam's daughter, Aysa.

They became fast friends and are now going to be pen pals.

The kids are throwing rocks into the river.
Sam's husband, Len, keeping a close eye on everyone.

Rhaevyn, Aysa and Aeva.

The girls and Sam's dad admire the roses.

Say "cheese!"

Here are three of Sam's children and three of mine.

Thanks for coming guys!

We had a great time!

And the Bed Is In the House

First I'll post some pictures we took of the kids today.

We've had such perfect weather here yesterday and today.

The sun is out and it is warm, but there is a nice breeze.

Just lovely.

Here is my beautiful love bug #1.

She is edging quickly to my height.

Here is my cute love bug #2.

And my very handsome love bug #3.

Last, but not least, my adorable little love bug #4.

She didn't want to stay still for a picture, and who can blame her?
Here they are all together.

My little man is too quick with his tongue. I kept trying to get a picture of him just smiling. I even tried to fake him out, but he still was too quick.

Hello there..............

Chris and Elsa had a nap before church.

Thursday there was a last hoorah for WAVA in Battle Ground.

We decided to go, but let's just say it was pretty much a torrential downpour the entire time.

It was supposed to be held outside. Luckily there was a big barn where it was held so we could huddle inside. However, we arrived inside the barn looking like drowned rats.

Aeva is reading Pollyanna, so we tried playing the glad game..........finding the good with the rain.

The kids had lots of fun making tie died shirts.

Myles waiting so patiently for his turn.

Their shirts turned out pretty cool and unique. I will have to take a picture of them wearing their shirts for the next entry.

So, we have been talking about getting a bunk bed for the girls and then using the trundle that we already have. I had found a bed a year ago that I really like, but kept hoping it would go on sale. It never did. So, Chris looked online for me for bunk beds. I found one I fell in love with, but the price was outrageous. Chris had an answer to the predicament.

He designed me a bed that looked pretty similar to the one online.

Then we took the design and measurements to a fellow at church who does woodwork in his spare time, which I guess he has a lot of since he is retired.

Well, the bed is done and we have been working the last two weeks, off and on, painting it.

Chris stayed up until 1:30 am Saturday to finish it so it could be put in the girls room.

The girls and I spent Saturday morning cleaning out their room.

Here is Rhaevyn, basking in the sunlight and admiring her new bed being put together.

I caught him off guard with this picture.

Bottom bunk, minus the slats for the mattress.

My man, working hard. In go the slats.

Top bunk on.

Beds are made, trundle fits under the bed.

Yeah!

The girls slept in it last night.Next will come the ladder.

We won't get that until July. So right now Aeva is using a chair.

We will put up a new light and a new window shade tomorrow.

Then all we need is some drawers and we can move Elsa in.

It is nice to have one room that is put together.

Now we are moving on to doing the kitchen and master bedroom repairs.

While I am thankful to have a house, it will be nice to be back in my own bedroom.

I'll leave you all with a little video of the wind blowing in Elsa's hair.

Hope you all have an easy-breezy week!

Piano Recital

Yesterday was Aeva's piano recital.
I was hoping that she would go out on a limb and not take her books, as she had worked so hard to memorize her two songs.
However, I understand how it is nice to have the security of them just in case.
She did get a bit nervous and had a rough start with her first song.
I didn't put that video up here, as she was not happy with her performance, and Elsa kept kicking the camera. You all probably would have gotten a bit of motion sickness.
I thought she did just great on both songs.
She received two award certificates for finishing two sets of books.
Her teacher said that she is going through books faster than most students.
She absolutely loves to play the piano and I hear her on it almost constantly.
I sometimes have to pry her off of the piano to actually do her schoolwork.

I'm a Puppet is the song she is playing.

Have a fabulous week everyone.

Would a Rose By Any Other

name smell as sweet?
Would Elsa be as cute if her name was Gilbert?
Does the name Batman seem befitting of Myles?
How about Asoka Snips or Yoda?

Lately Myles has been preoccupied with names.
The other day he said he wished he was a baby again because he'd like me to name him Batman.
Some days he will not answer to anything except either Yoda or Asoka (Star Wars characters).
One day out of the blue he says "I think we should have named Elsa Gilbert instead."
Somehow I just don't think she'd appreciate that, although I know he means well.
There for a while I was not mom. I was Snow Clone Trooper, which has a certain ring to it don't you think?

Yesterday he was helping Chris out in the garage while Chris painted the girls bed. He gave Myles a little sponge brush so he could help. Myles says to him "don't you just love our baby (Elsa)?" And "Dad, you are doing such a good job!"
Makes me just want to squeeze him, he's so gosh darn cute!

Here he is stuck on top of our mattresses in his room.
I think he thought it would be fun until he actually was up on them.
He didn't like it so much. I didn't know what all the screaming was about and got quite a surprise when I stepped in to his room. Poor guy.

This is a picture the girls took of Elsa.
I guess they have been letting her draw with pencils and crayons while I haven't been looking.

Ben and Stacey came to visit Friday night.
We didn't tell the kids, and they were sooooo ecstatic when they showed up on our front step.

Elsa was quite the love bug with them, which she isn't normally like to very many people.
She doesn't mind getting held by other people, but she just isn't all lovely usually. She kept wanting them to hold her and would just put her arms around them and lay her head down on their shoulders. It was so sweet.

We took Ben to Battle Ground Lake. The whole time he'd lived with us he had never been.
I can't believe we never took him before. We didn't get too far, just walked down to the lake, but we plan to take both him and Stacey next time, perhaps for a BBQ.

We had a spot of lovely sunshine yesterday. Here are the girls playing with Elsa's water table.
She enjoyed splashing everyone.

After dinner last night we made some s'mores. Myles had never had them before.
The kids enjoyed toasting marshmallows over the gas stove.
They kept laughing because mine kept catching fire.
We were all in awe of Christopher's ability to toast them perfectly..........a nice golden brown.
They were so tasty and so much fun to make!

Wishing you all a golden week!