Fun at Lake Almanor

We celebrated the 4th of July at Lake Almanor for a week with Garrett's family. His brother's and their families were there, along with aunts, uncles, and lots of cousins. It was so much fun having family there to do things with. We ate lots of food of course. Dessert every night! The kids loved that. We went to the beach, went for walks, went to the concert in the park, went to movie night (which we left early because the kids were wired on candy and soda), went on Uncle Dan's boat, played in the park. Austin and Avery went on the boat with Hayley and Jessica to see the fireworks the night of the fourth. They had lots of fun! Garrett and I had fun visiting with Lance and Megan that night, while Wyatt and Nolan played together. What a pair. The kids all loved the beach and playing in the sand. Austin and Avery swam out to the dock a couple of times and jumped off of it. Nolan liked the sand and stealing people's toys. We went to Peaceful Point one day and Austin and Nolan had a blast throwing rocks in the water as much as they wanted. Avery spent the whole time collecting little shells which we brought home as souveniers. We watched the parade on the 4th in Chester, and the kids collected gobs of candy. One day we went bowling. One day we rode up to see Uncle Lance's house and spent the day with Megan and Wyatt. To end the trip we went on the boat with Dan, Darcy, Hayley, and Jessica. The kids rode the tube. Austin and Avery loved it. Nolan wanted nothing to do with it. He did want the boat to go fast though, and he didn't like it when the boat stopped. We got some good laughs watching the girls get thrown off the tube, including Darcy. Way to go Darc! When we weren't doing anything, we were enjoying not being home and sitting around. The kids, though, loved playing with their cousins the most, big and small. The big kids played with the little kids and the little kids played with each other and the big kids played with each other. We almost lost Avery only once. So all in all, a great trip. We enjoyed it emmensly. Garrett got drunk and talked about having another kid (no way) because it is fun to have a big family to do things with (3 is big enough). Then we decided that we had so much fun that we better just plan a Disneyland trip before summer comes to an end. 6 days and counting before we leave for L.A. Yes we are crazy. But we do have a lot of fun!

Backfire!

So my plan backfired on me. After our day of keeping the kids busy, I had a headache for 2 days straight. I only made it through 2 half days out of bed and the rest in bed. Sorry Garrett. We all survived and we are back to being busy.

Keeping Busy!

I have found that it is easier to keep the kids busy, rather than fighting them to let mommy rest for 5 minutes. So I say, forget the resting because it will never happen, and lets get the fun on. Today we went to the grocery store, put up the new kiddy pool, played on the swing set, broke out the water guns, broke out the play-doe, made smores after dinner on the BBQ and jumped in the pool one last time before bath, books, pre-bed wrestling, and bed. I am bushed. I will want to rest tomorrow, but I know the kids will be up for doing it all again. Yah! I guess Garrett was right. We will all rest when we die. I can wait, I'm having too much fun!

Family Gathering!

We had to take Austin's squirt gun away because he kept squirting everyone.
I got a picture of Evan smiling.
If looks could kill, Payton's got it!

Blonds, or not blonds? Uncle Hooty and Uncle Danny!

Our family got together on Friday for some good swinnin' and some good food. We had a great time and Audrea and Damon were great host. We went to this house that was out in the middle of the orchards in Live Oak. It felt like we were out in the middle of nowhere which was the best feeling. It was like taking a step away from all the worries and real life drama and stepping into some good times. There was a big lawn for some golfers to enjoy, a big swimming pool, which the kids loved, and some motorcycles, which the kids also loved. We had a blast. I didn't get too many good pictures because whenever something good happened my camera was nowhere to be found. We should do these kinds of things more often.

The First Day of Summer Vacation!

Today was my first true day of summer vacation. It was a good day. We stayed home for once and played, and played, and played. We broke out the bounce house and the sprinkler and had a picnic on the porch. Gracie, Abby, and Jolene came over to join in the fun. Nolan is the master of the hose. He so graciously sprayed the leavings of our picnic. No left overs. Austin loves playing baseball, even in his undees, and Avery loves the swings. (Which I did not get a picture of. Sorry Avery.) Gracie had fun jumping, running through the sprinkler, and playing with toys. Here's to another day gone, full of good times and good memories. May we always treasure them! P.S. Check out Austin peeking from behind Avery in the top left picture. Silly! :)

Nolan Can Pedal!

Nolan is now officially a bike rider. He can pedal a tricycle. He sits in front of me and goes in circles which is nice. One less child to keep track of. Avery and Austin will disappear down the street stopping to visit neighbors. The other picture is Nolan's war wounds. He thinks it's funny to steal the girls' toys at daycare and run for his life. Lets just say both girls (McKenna and Gabby) got him in the same week. I say he deserved it.

Our First Dance Recital!

Avery and Austin just had their first dance recital and these are the first pictures I have taken of them in their dance outfits. What a bad mom I am. The both have been in dance for a few months. Avery in Princess Ballet and Austin in Hip Hop. They had fun and they got to dance on a big stage for their recital. Avery was asked to dance with the age group right above hers and Austin is going to move on to something a little more competitive. Look for the videos!