Boatin' and Beach Bummin'

It was a beautiful day out here on the river. We just couldn't pass up the chance to get the boat in the water and play in the sand! Collecting rocks - this one's a keeper!

Lila Cool

Lila is glad summer is here so she can wear her sunglasses - upside down.

Daddy's Back!

Ryan has returned from his 2 week trip to Israel and boy are we glad! We missed him a lot! He learned so much and is excited to share his experiences with the church. He has wanted to make this trip for several years so it was neat to see how God worked it all out and Ryan was able to visit the land where Jesus walked when he was on the earth. The first picture shows the kids seeing Ryan off at the train station in Kelso. The next picture was when we picked him up at SeaTac. They were all very excited to have Daddy back!

A Graduate and a Ballerina

It was an exciting week! Alaina graduated from preschool on Wednesday. She has been ready to go to kindergarten since she turned 5 last November. Now she just has to make it through the summer. Today was Emily's big ballet performance and she did a wonderful job. She has really enjoyed her ballet classes and learned a lot. My little girls are getting so big!

Memorial Day Tea Party

Traditionally Memorial Day is a time to take the family outside for a picnic. When I asked the girls what they wanted to do on the holiday they told me they wanted to have a tea party! So that's what we did. We practiced sitting up tall and sipping with dainty pinkie fingers raised. We had hot chocolate (we don't much like tea), cookies, fresh baked bread and crackers. Delicious.

Coloring Zone

Grandma and Grandpa Far Away sent a birthday package to Emily that included lots of goodies for all the kids. One of the main ingredients was coloring stuff! They included coloring books, new crayons, markers, colored pencils, and paintbrushes. The girls are having fun coloring and have almost filled some of the books already. I love the paint brushes (they are Crayola ones with paint already in them). They don't make as big of a mess as watercolors do. When Alaina and Lila color, the whole dining room is transformed into "coloring zone". Chairs are moved and pushed together to create tables and crayons and markers are everywhere. It is quite a sight. Unfortunately they will move on to the next activity and leave "coloring zone" just as it is so at lunch or dinner time we have to transform it back to the dining room once again. It is fun to see them at work though. Sometimes I even sit down with them and color a picture of my own. Thanks Grandma, Grandpa, and Aunt Tami for all the goodies! We love you!

Some cute kids