End of Summer Trip

The last week of August, we took one last vacation to Grandma & Grandpa's house. Daddy was able to go with us this time and it was fun for the kids to show him all that they'd learned how to do in the swimming pool during our previous visits.

The kids also learned something new with Dad! I would NEVER let them do that with me, so it had to be on Dad. ;) They had fun learning how to keep their balance and then jumping off.

 

 

We also did some fun projects around Grandma's house. They're trying to sell their house, so we did some touching up around the outside. The kids and I lined a side of their driveway with cinder rocks and pulled some weeds. Grandma even joined in on the work/fun! Another day, we pulled out the house paint and Grandma & I painted their front door the same color as the trim around their windows, which Dad & Joel repainted.

 The kids always play lots of games at Grandma's house too! This time, Grandma played "Pretty, Pretty Princess" with the girls! It was cute!

Camping Trip at Timothy Lake

We took a camping trip with our friends, the Rasmussen family to Timothy Lake. It was SO fun! Our family's plan was to camp two nights, Monday and Tuesday, but in the end the Rasmussen's were heading home Tuesday night so we decided to come home early too. It was two full, fun days of camping!

 Loved seeing these cuties playing together with their Monster Trucks.

 Love this cutie-patootie!

 Kelly and I had to tell Elijah jokes to get this smile! He was refusing to smile for the camera, but we got him! ;) 

A family photo to remember our trip!

The Rasmussen family too!

 The kids had a great time playing in the water at the Lake. Joel brought an old inflatable queen size mattress that has a slow leak and it entertained the kids for a long time on the water.

 

The kids also had a really great time in the woods next to our site! The created "rooms" with tables and made "food" out of things from the bushes. I loved seeing their creativity and how much they enjoyed it! 

 The sweet girls!

 These girls...This picture needs a good caption, like, "A good friend sits with you when life is in the dumps." Or something like that. Either way, Emily is a good friend to Hannah. They're so cute together! ;)

 John made some tasty bacon on tin foil over the fire! Seriously good and no greasy clean-up!

 The kids played Spot-It over and over again!

 We brought some Jiffy Pop and had a really hard time getting it to cook over the fire so I ended up opening another one to try it on the stove top and it started popping right away. It was funny.

 Hannah took this fun picture of Kelly and I! Good job Hannah!

 Love this crew of kiddos!!

Disney Vacation Post 2

The second day felt like a breeze heading South into Sunny California! We spent two nights with our friends, Mike & Michelle Ricklick. We became dear friends with them when we were living in Slovenia. Living close in small villages made them feel like neighbors. They served in the Kranj church and joined us in almost every thing we did in our youth ministry. They were also just dear friends who we had so much fun with! They have three kids and it was a joy to see them again...it's just amazing how kids don't stop growing! Their youngest was just 5 years old when they lived in Slovenia. ;) They moved back to the states around January of 2007, Abigail was 6 months old, almost 7 years to the day!

 They didn't actually come to Disney with us, they had gone the week before Christmas. Tirzah had her Senior Pictures there! So fun!! I stole this picture from Michelle's facebook page! ;) They said those Mickey Mouse ears "sync" with the California Adventure World of Color colors! Amazing technology!!

Their church is a great supporting church for all of Slovenia, sending teams each year, often for multiple ministries. We often had people coming to Kranj from their church, so it was a blessing and a joy to worship at their church the Sunday that we were there. Afterward, they treated us to John's Incredible Pizza Company. It's like Chuck E. Cheese x5! It was so, so fun!! One half of the restaurant is all you can eat buffet of pizza, pasta, salad & desserts. Our kids were in heaven! ;) The other half is the very fun game section, including a giant wall size Connect 4 game! It was such a fun place! Thanks again, Mike & Michelle!!

 Our kids LOVED having big kids to play with while we were there! We had so much fun reminiscing with Mike, Michelle, Tirzah & Hayden about our fun times together in Slovenia. Again, I stole the pictures from facebook. ;)

Disney Vacation

Our trip of a lifetime began around lunchtime on Friday. We had most everything packed by Thursday evening and just had to get it all in the van and tidy up the house before heading out the door. We picked Abby up from school early and were ready to hit the road! First stop: Dairy Queen in Damascus, just 10 minutes from home. Hannah asked, as we pulled into a parking spot, "Is dis Didnywand?!" No, Bug, we've got a LONG way to go still! You have no idea!

Since moving home from Slovenia, our family is rarely in the car for more than 3 hours at a time. The farthest we drive now is 3 hours to Grandma's house or 3 hours to the beach. When we lived in Slovenia, we drove 9 hours one way for a conference at least once a year! We had packing down to a science and driving through the night was normal! ;) We have since put away our toiletries, suitcases and packing lists, having to dig it all out again when we go on a trip somewhere.

After lunch we hit the road and Caleb was the first (and only) to ask the dreaded question, "Are we there yet?!" It happened at Wilsonville, just 45 minutes from home, again around Corvallis, then Eugene, then near Roseburg and again at Roseburg. After that I stopped writing the towns we were at and just left it to a tally-mark. It was a whopping 22 times in our 6 hour drive to Ashland, Oregon, where we stayed for the night.

Thankfully, Joel and I giggled at each other each time the question popped out of his mouth from the backseat. We started the tally-mark list on a notecard that I had in my purse. I'm sure it wasn't a coincidence that on the front side of the notecard was this verse, jotted down:

Exodus: 34:6 & 7

And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, "The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin."

We decided that would be a good theme verse for Joel and I on the trip. Taking 4 young kids on a 16 hour road-trip is a bit crazy! ;) We would need some good perspective for our hearts and minds.

The kids actually did really, really great! We were so, so proud of them! For Christmas, we gave the kids a couple sets of dual portable dvd players for the car as well as headsets. It was a gift for the whole family! ;) Mom and Dad had some great conversation time, listened to our own music...even danced to it! At one point we found a fun station playing 90's music and danced and sang for about an hour. I peeked back at the kids, they were so absorbed in their movies, it was like they didn't even know we were there! No problem for us! ;) Turn it up and dance on, Honey! ;)

The kids had their own fun to do in the car as well as watching movie after movie, which was a very fun novelty...we also gave each of them a plastic shoebox to fill with toys, coloring books, crayons--whatever fit they could bring in the car with them. Caleb filled his with his favorite toys and spent a lot of time playing Jake & the Neverland Pirates down I-5. Abby brought a giant Hello Kitty coloring/activity book, pencils and some toys. Elijah also brought some toys as well as some coloring supplies and Hannah brought books (she loves books!), a new Sophia the First coloring book, crayons and stickers.

Our first night was spent in Ashland, Oregon. Joel found a hotel with a pool. We arrived well after bedtime, but we were on vacation! ;) We swam for a nice long time and finally got the family to bed around 10pm. The boys were back awake at their normal time, so Joel headed down to breakfast with them, leaving the girls and I to sleep in a bit. After breakfast we swam some more and then got back into the car for another 6 hour drive to Modesto, California.

More fun things!

After uploading the videos and photos from my phone, I found quite a few more photos to post! Besides all the videos I took everywhere we went, apparently I snapped a few pictures to go with the stories of what we did! Yay!!

Socks, enjoying the ride in the car on the way to Mom & Dad's. He took turns sleeping on all of our laps. So sweet.

4th of July fun...

 Dad took the boys to see Despicable Me 2 along with Nate and his Dad, Ross. Note the size of that Coke!! ;) Dad & the boys shared it along with gobbling up popcorn! Fun times for the boys!! Thanks Dad!

Grandma & Hannah in downtown Redmond. 

 The three of us on the animal ride at the Redmond Fairgrounds. 

More pool photos...

Hannah enjoyed laying on this first step.

 The kids enjoyed lots of popsicles!

The kids loved this little bench and sat on it every time we went to the "Snack Shack". Hannah's face here, looks like she's feeling a little squished and telling Caleb to move over! Elijah's having fun though! ;)

Grandma time...

 The first Saturday, Mom needed to go to Sunriver to pick someone up so Hannah & I tagged along. We ended up in Downtown Bend for lunch and "The Bite of Bend" was happening all over the streets, so we found a place to rest and enjoy a "bite!" Hannah enjoyed "hanging out" in downtown Bend. ;)

 Dad & Mom's 45th Anniversary was July 3rd. It was nice to be with them for their special day even though they went out to dinner alone to celebrate. I wonder why they didn't want to tote along three kids aged 5, 3 and 2 for their special dinner?? ;) I sure love my folks and am so grateful that they've loved each other all these years. It's a gift to our whole family...sadly, a more rare gift these days which makes me even more thankful for them! I love you Mom & Dad!! Happy Anniversary!

 

A Parade!

Crooked River Ranch has an annual parade the Saturday nearest the 4th of July. This year it was the 6th, but it was fun to once again, don our red, white and blue and enjoy all the hub-bub and most importantly, candy, that comes with a parade!

After the parade, there is a community celebration, with barbecued buffalo burgers, crafters selling things, a jump tent, live music and dancing and the kid's favorite, "a choo-choo train ride!" It was a beautiful day and fun to join in the celebration and watch the community enjoy being together! My mom made some good money (which she lovingly shared with us for lunch and train rides!) selling her beautiful jewelry and Dad ran the jump tent that was sponsored by their church, Ranch Chapel.

Nate, another boy named Sig from their church, Elijah & Caleb. I got some video of the ride. The driver made it very fun for the kids! Going in circles, zig-zagging around. At one point he got it into a tight circle, trying to give the boy in the back a high-five from his seat in the front! I did wonder if it might tip over, thankfully I didn't have to find out! ;)

Elijah & Nate (Jodi's 3 year old son) wrestling with my Dad at the celebration. Caleb was involved in the fun too. I could tell the boys were really missing their Daddy when they started wrestling with my Dad. It's one of their favorite things to do with Joel.

It was a mighty warm day, so after the festivities we hit the pool for one last swim time before heading home today. The kids all made some wonderful progress in their swimming (surviving) abilities! ;) Elijah is just getting more and more confident and able in the water. He loves dropping the rings or these water balls that we have to the bottom of the pool and then dives to get them. Caleb has become comfortable being under water, with or without goggles and is "swimming" more and more by kicking his feet. Hannah loves the kiddie pool and the last three days was holding her breath and squatting down until her eyes were under the water and then popping back up! She would just laugh and laugh when she came back up! It was such a joy to watch them all enjoying the water! And the water feels soooo good, it's a nice warm temperature, that I don't even mind being in the pool with them! ;)

I took lots of videos at the pool on my phone, (to send to Joel) so I was grateful that Jodi, a friend at my parent's church snapped this underwater picture of Elijah! It's the way he was most of the time when he was in the pool anyway! ;)