Friday, June 28, 2013

In the Orchard

We've been spending a lot of time in the orchard lately. It's fenced and so we take Rachel's dog down there to run free. While he is getting his exercise, the kids climb trees and I check the fruit. There are some blueberries almost ready!


old doggie


In The Woods

Wow. Things are crazy with 6 kids. I don't know if it's the number or the specific interesting dynamics we have with the 6 that are here....whatever it is....it's crazy.

Our house is small, but our property is huge. The problem with our property is that our landlords live right across the street, and wow, they keep a close eye on us. It is tiring living like that, I must say, so we have been trying to get out just to avoid the daily emails.

Awesome thing is, we actually have our own property. It's in Shelton. There is a piece of family property (40 acres) that has been split up into four 10 acre lots, one lot for each of us siblings. It is nothing but woods, mostly an overgrown, long forgotten Christmas tree farm. And all of us only have a dream of someday doing something with our lot (it's becoming a more serious dream to me).

Anyway, the other day we decided to go play in our woods. We took Rachel's dog and some hatchets and saws. The big boys cut down some trees and scouted wildlife and we daydreamed about houses (or vacation cabins) in the woods.

I really love it there.


Tuesday, June 25, 2013

Summer Fun...Rain and Shine

We have been having a blast with Rachel and her kiddos living with us for the past couple weeks. The weather was great until this week, but we aren't letting the rain get us down!

I'll let Rachel do the talking this time!

Click here to read/see some of the every day happenings at the house of chaos

Click here to see our recent trip to Potlatch State Park


Good times! :)

More adventures tomorrow (rain or shine...supposed to rain) as we head to our "40 acres" with hatchets and rain boots. Stay tuned...

Wednesday, June 19, 2013

To The Beach!

Rachel and I have been talking about maybe taking the kids to the beach while she is here. Her mother-in-law has a little cabin down in Long Beach and we sort of, kind of, thought about, maybe taking all the children for a couple days. Seriously, taking care of kids is so tiring. We weren't totally sure we were up to the task.

After studying the weather we decided it was do or die if we were indeed going to do it. At our Father's Day lunch with Rand (who couldn't go to the beach but graciously said we should go anyway) and my Dad, we decided we were going and we were dragging my Dad and his trailer with us. Then on the way home to pack we invited my Mom and she decided she was coming too. There was a brief moment of panic when we started packing and counting heads and beds (10 people in a 400sq ft cabin??), but in a few hours we were on the road. We left Sunday evening and arrived at the beach right at sunset. Easton, Annabel and I ran to the beach to see it. It was beautiful!

In the morning (we all slept relatively well) I went to the store with my mom and we went down to the beach after breakfast. It was great weather. Sun, not too much wind, and fairly warm. The big boys played in the water for the most part and the little ones played in the sand. Rachel and my Dad spent a large portion of the day looking for her dog who bolted the second we got to the beach. I mean bolted and was gone. It didn't help that he is the exact same color as the sand. He was eventually found at the Humane Society. Oopsie and phew!
The weather slowly deteriorated throughout the day and was eventually raining by evening. We went back to the beach for just a bit the next morning, but we were tired, and cranky and the weather had turned. Nobody likes their wet cold legs getting pelted with blowing sand and rain.

We hit the road and were back home by yesterday afternoon. It was a crazy (fun) impromptu beach trip!

WE LOVE THE BEACH!

He got brave and got in the ocean this year!

FREEZING!
After tracking Sam for a good couple miles, they returned....with no dog.
I love the trek to the beach

love
She had so much fun walking (dragging) Sammy all around.
Sam's back (yes, we have 2 dogs named Sam)

And this is why we brought Papa! :)

Rock Climbing

The boys recently got invited to a birthday party at the Warehouse Rock Gym. We brought cousin Jayden along and I cannot believe what their bodies are capable of!! This was the same day as our last day of baseball where we spent almost 8 hours at the ball park. They proceeded to cling to rocks with their fingertips and toes and climb walls for several hours. How do they not collapse?? I need some of that!


Annnd, We're Done!

Just a quick one to celebrate the official end of baseball! It was fun. It was crazy. It is over!

Brendan and Wyatt's teams both made it all the way through the tournament to the last game. Wyatt's team lost their last game. Brendan's team won and became the District Champions for the Minors. After closing ceremonies, Wyatt played the AAA All-Star Game and his team (Blue) won!

Fun times!


Wednesday, June 12, 2013

My Favorite Neighbors And Still Baseball

My favorite neighbors are back again, just like last summer. Rachel, Royal, Jayden and Willow rolled in from Kansas with their truck and trailer on Sunday. We have been counting down the days for the past 75 days. All day Sunday, Brendan and Wyatt about drove me insane with their excitement. They rode their bikes down to the mail boxes to "escort" the crew to our house and then the 3 boys reunited in a jump-yell-hug. Easton and Willow stared at each other and then Easton "died".

Royal is flying back to Kansas today and Rachel and the kids get to be my neighbors for the next few weeks. I could use the extra set of hands right now!

And as for baseball....
We are still playing baseball. The double-elimination tournament is happening right now. They both lost their first games and then they both won their second games. I think it will all come to an end on Saturday after Wyatt's All-Star game. Brendan's level doesn't do "all-stars" per se. You apply and then get chosen to be a part of the Tournament of Champions and it takes place post-season. We decided to be done! ...maybe Fall Ball??

And now for a picture overdose (mostly taken with my phone, so sorry about the quality).

reunited

Uncle Bubba!

Blackberries (the little ones) almost ripe right outside the trailer door!

Easton LOVES hanging out in the trailer

"hey kids, quit watching TV and look at me"
Rach and I left Royal with all 6 kids while we went to COSTCO. This was happening when we came home!

We ran out of band-aids on the first day. 
 My favorite niece, Willow
She likes hanging out in the trailer, too
Snake hunting in the orchard.

And tree climbing

AND MORE BASEBALL!
Base hit
Stealing home...
SAFE!
at another game

Little Miss Independent