Liese's visit

Melissa and Liese came down from Seattle for the weekend and we were lucky enough to squeeze in a visit with them before our trip to Black Butte. Liese is 10 months old now and on the MOVE. She is a very happy little girl who loved watching Jack and Lauren run around. Jack and Lauren loved entertaining her as well.

I know this isn't the best picture of Liese, but everytime she sees a camera she makes this face. It is SO funny! What a personality she has!

Visiting Andrea on the Waterfront

We went down to my parent's condo and met up with my Aunt Andrea today. The kids were so excited to see her and had a great time.

Feeding the ducks

Heading up to the condo on the cart! It was much easier giving the kids a ride on the cart than trying to drag three bags and two kids up to the 5th floor!!!

Mellow week

We are having a mellow week as we get ready to head back to Black Butte for five more days. We are excited for our upcoming trip! Here are some pics of the kids painting with watercolors this morning. We had to watch Lauren closely as she likes to drink the "paint-water." Yikes!!

Look at how old my baby girl looks with her hair pulled back. She is getting so old!

Camping in our backyard

We bought our camping tent in June and FINALLY found a free Friday to "go camping." We tried to make this camping adventure as much like the real deal as we could from our backyard.I had to put my BIG patient cap on during the day on Friday. Jack was SO excited about camping. He asked a billion questions (most questions were repeat questions) about this camp out. After repeating myself ALL day, I just had to remind myself that all kids act this way when they "just can't wait." It truly was very cute, even though, I thought I would die if I had to answer another camping question. =)
Our first activity was going on a small hike in a wooded area near our house. (Remember, I tried to keep this as much like real camping as possible.) We had to find sticks to use to roast our hotdogs and marshmallows on. Jack and Lauren loved searching for their perfect roasting stick.

Jack thought this stick was great....we had to break the news to him that it was way too BIG.

Lauren was thrilled when she found her stick.

Walking out of the woods with 4 sticks.
Here is our ghetto campfire, but whatever works, right? The kids enjoyed getting it ready.
After the fire was started...camping chairs around the fire.

Let's make some dinner! Here is Jack roasting his hotdog.
Next thing I know, Jack is eating his dog right off the stick. So much for buns and condiments. He showed me that he truly understood what camping was all about with this move!

Lauren followed her brother's lead with dinner. It made clean-up a lot easier with out utensils and plates.

Next, it was time to set up the tent. Jason found this tent at Costco. It was the biggest tent I had ever seen. It will easily fit our entire family when we all go camping. The kids had to be very patient as we set up the tent. After a few tears and a promise of a bike ride, the tent finally was set up.
I told you it was BIG!!!!
Peeking out of the tent....it doesn't get much better than that.

Roasting marshmallows....I have to say, I was really nervous one of the kids would run into the bbq, but they did a great job staying away from it.
SMORES!!! Lauren only ate about 1/4 of this huge smore.
Jack got all of his smore down without any problems...but, after he roasted his next marshmallow he thought Mommy should eat it. Oh darn, twist my arm...

Just before bedtime...
Jack insisted on the entire family camping out together, BUT Lauren wouldn't even think of it. She wouldn't even climb in the sleeping bag. So, Jack and Daddy were the only campers this time. Jack did mention that next time it would be "Jack and Mommy camping out and Daddy and Lauren inside the house."
Here is the inside of the tent before Jason and Jack got in. They brought Candyland, Go Fish and UNO in with them. After a few games, it was off to bed!
Jason and I had a bet whether or not Jack would make it all night. I didn't think Jack would sleep in the tent, because the times that Jason has been gone overnight, I would ask Jack to sleep in my bed. And everytime, he would say no way! What I forgot about Jack when I took this bet with Jason was, his sense of adventure and fun AND his indepedence. So, yes, I lost the bet, and Jack and Jason made it until 6:15 this morning. When I came downstairs to greet them this morning the first words out of Jack's mouth were, "Can I take my nap in there today too?" I think we have a little camper on our hands now! Now we just have to work on Lauren!

A playdate with the Tyacke's

The Tyake's came over for a playdate today. Caden and Jack play so well together. They were running around, playing in the water and laughing tons. It was so cute. The girls did great as well. Here are some pics from our fun morning.Lauren wasn't really into the water this morning. She said that it was too cold. Maybe she will get into it again this afternoon. She might be a little weary still because of her bee sting last night. She was telling me today that her foot was itchy. Poor thing....
Snack time...they ALL wanted their own chairs. What a crack up.
Well, you could tell that they ran around a lot today. They ate a TON for lunch. It was amazing. Now the kids are fast asleep, taking long naps after a fun, fun morning!

a quick trip to eugene

We took a quick trip to Eugene to visit my parents and brother. The kids had a great time as we went to a great park and the Lane County Fair. This slide was so cool....huge. Jack loved it!
Here we are at the fair. This is Jack's first ride. It was kind of boring for him, so each time he passed us he would "roar" at us. It was pretty funny.
This is the only ride that Lauren could ride. The carousel was fun for Lauren at first, but about half way through the ride, she wanted off! It is so funny, that Lauren has no fear around almost everything....but, when it comes to things that move (equipment at the golf course or rides at the fair) she is scared out of her mind.

This was by far Jack's favorite ride. He was laughing out loud the entire time. I don't know how well you can see his face in this picture, but you can tell he is having the best time.Petting the pigsLauren loves animals!

Climbing a tree outside my parents house.

I showed Jack what a headstand looked like the other night, and now he is obsessed with trying to do one himself. This is his best attempt so far. Not bad, but he has a way to go.
On another note, last night while we were home, the kids were running around in the backyard and Lauren stepped on a bee and got stung! Poor girl....she was hurt! Last night, I would hear her cry out while she was sleeping. The only good thing about this, is that Jack saw how much the sting hurt Lauren. Now maybe he will stop beating the bees with his baseball bat in our backyard. We'll see....as he has yet to be stung by one, but now knows how bad they can hurt.