Happy Birthday Emily!

Emily had another birthday.  She is now 11.  She had a hard time deciding what to do for her 11th birthday.

 She really wanted a party with friends and she also really wanted a pair of TOMS.  I told her she had to choose one or the other.  She picked the TOMS.  She got these ones.

 Have you heard of TOMS?  They have a slogan that says "one for one" because when you purchase a pair of TOMS for yourself, Tom, (or whoever he put in charge there) gives a pair of shoes to a child in need.  Pretty cool, huh?

 Bowen thinks so.

 He also thinks that birthday cake is pretty cool. 

  Emily, thanks for having another birthday so we can eat cake.  We love you very much!

Mice and Ladies

Missoula Children's Theater came to Cathlamet back in April and Emily and Alaina both tried out for parts in "Cinderella".  Alaina was cast as a mouse and Emily was "a lady".  The girls had much fun working on their parts all week after school and then performing in 2 shows on Saturday.  They are still singing the songs they learned for the show.  Fun times!!

An Evening Game of Baseball

 On these nice evenings we've been going out to the neighbor's field and playing a game of baseball before bed.  Rylan is playing t-ball for the first time this spring so he is really into it right now.

Its been the kids vs. the parents the last two games.

Doesn't Emily look like a formidable umpire in the picture above?

 She likes to call strikes on her daddy.

 Rylan, in ready position. 

 And here he is trying to tag his dad out at third.

We sure do enjoy our evening games of baseball.

All Dressed Up

The Frog Hunter

 You've heard of the Crocodile Hunter haven't you?  This here is the Frog Hunter.  

Rylan will spend hours down at the pond catching frogs. 

His sisters spend a fair amount of time down there too, but Rylan is known for his exceptional frog catching skills.  He spots the frog (the bigger the better), he approaches slowly and silently, and then HE POUNCES! 

Bowen likes to look at the frogs . . .

but he thinks Rylan is crazy for touching those slimy things!

Feeding the Cows

 When some friends of ours went out of town for spring break we fed their cows for them.  The kids were very excited when Ryan told them they would be responsible to feed the baby calves.  

There were 4 babies so all four kids bottle fed the calves for the week.  Bowen just supervised.

It was a fun experience for all of us!

Back At It

 We're back!  Spring sprung and we've been staying plenty busy so I have all kinds of pictures to share.  Here are some of Bowen. 

These are good ones because his forehead is bruise-free.  It seems he is always bonking his little noggin on something. 

He is growing up so fast and getting into everything!