Kindergarten.....

 

I have been thinking about this day for a very long time and now it has come.  Chase started kindergarten today!  I can report that not one tear was shed, though I only expected them from me. 

 

 

 

Chase rocked at Duck Duck Goose and loved his teacher. 

Chase with Mrs. Rose

My heart is a little heavy, but so very proud!

 

Silly!

Swim Lessons

Grandma Sandy took Chase to swim lessons this summer and it seems it was

just what the doctor ordered.  Chase's confidence in the water has grown exponentially

and he is amazing us with all of his tricks now. This is a picture of him and

 his wonderful swim teacher or "Coach" as he likes to call her : )

I love August

 

The biggest sunflower in our garden.  So pretty!

Last Hoorah!

School starts for all of the kids this week, so Jill and I decided to take them out for one last hoorah of summer. 

We packed up our flashlights and headed to Boulder Cave.

 It was a beautiful day and for the most part, the boys were troopers.  Max got a

little grumpy around lunch time, but with a little snack he found his smile. 

 

This picture was taken in pitch black.  I was hoping for a differnt outcome,

 but it still turned out cool.

 



Playing Catch Up....Spring

This could possibly be the longest post ever....but a little catch

up is required due to my blog slacking earlier this year.

We had a chance to visit the Point Defiance Zoo this spring and it was

amazing as always.  It is my favorite zoo in Washington.

And the walruses are always my favorite thing to check out.  They are amazing.

 

Our future entomologist got an ant farm from the Easter Bunny.  It was pretty cool checking out all the action in the little community.  I mentioned to the boys several times that ants can't bite from the inside of their farm, but they can from the outside :)  We never had a problem, thank goodness!

 

We had fun hanging out with Uncle Brad at the mini car races one night.  Max was being such a goof ball and I couldn't resist snapping a few picture.

Here we are enjoying the parade in Selah.  Teagen and Aunt Jill

were our favorite entrants :)

Chasebug had his pre-school graduation in May.  The ceremony was in the park on a night it was pouring rain, but we had fun anyway.  Can you tell he is excited? 

This is his best bud Jackson from school.

A beautiful weekend at the Riverhouse.  I squeezed myself into a wet suite for the

first time and did a little kayaking with some of my favorite kiddos.

Check out these rough and tumble guys.  Double teaming Uncle Dan/Daddy

is the only way they can take him!

Meet Gus, the newest member of our family.  We love him.

This guy surprised us one night by crossing the road from the

 pond on our road.  Pretty cool!

This picture cracks me up.  He got new flippers and loved them so

much he fell asleep with them on :)

Mutten Bustin'

YEE HAW!  This year Joe decided he wanted to try mutten bustin' at the

Ellensburg Junior Rodeo.  He was super brave and did great!

The cutest cowboys this side of the Mississippi!

Out & About in Portland

Holy moly did I have a good time in Portland.  I was lucky enough to be asked to attend a conference for work in Portland of all places.  You know who lives in Portland, right??  My wild and crazy cousin SaraB!  The conference was good, but the company was much better!

This is the famous VooDoo doughnuts of Portland.  Home of the bacon topped maple bar.  Were there plenty to tempt me at the conference??  Yes there were.  Did I have even one??  No I did not!  Yeah me :)

SaraBeth and Joanna know how to show a girl a good time.  We had excellent

food, which included gormet popcorn as an appetizer (amazing, you must try it)

and lots of lovely beverages.

Raven's Roost

Dan has wanted us to get a wood stove for our house for a while now and this year, we are going to do it. The stove will most likely go in in September and let me just say, we will be prepared! We have spent some time in the woods cutting wood this summer and it has been a lot of fun.

 Our guy Chase, he is a crazy good wood stacker and this guy, he never complains.  He loved

helping and did a fantastic job of it. Here he is taking a little lunch break between loads.  And

 the good looking guy with the suspenders : ) ....that would be Daddy and he is having a ton

of fun being out in the woods and playing with his chain saw.

  This look out point is called Raven's Roost and it was a fun benefit to our day of wood cutting.  Here is hoping for a cold winter, so we can be cozy in our home with our new stove!