Blessing Day

Neil was blessed by his daddy in Church yesterday. Lots of our family came for the occasion, and everything went well. He cooperated and even stayed quiet for the prayer.

The family...
The men...

The ladies...

My handsome men... :)

Busy Day

Yesterday was a very long and exciting day for Claire. After coming home from her first day of school, she rested up to go play in her first soccer game. The whole family was there to cheer her on. The girls played 3 on 3 without goalies. I was quite surprised at how entertaining it was to watch. I had so much fun! Everyone on the sidelines really got into the game, and we were all shouting and cheering the entire time! Claire even got a goal! It was great to see their faces when they would score. They were sooo happy! They had great team camaraderie too! Every time someone would score they would all high five each other and get really excited. I'm not really sure who "won" the game, although it was really close. I just know that the girls had a blast, and so did we! And the post game treat??...??? krispy creme donuts! Happy girls indeed!

First Day of Kindergarten

Today marked the beginning of a new chapter in our lives. From now on we will always have kids in school. Our lives will be ruled by the school schedule. This day came so fast!
Claire is ready though. She woke up on time, had her breakfast, and excitedly walked to school with her dad. When I picked her up this afternoon she told me about her day, and said that she had a really fun day, except for only going to recess one time. Ahh, Claire...so many new adventures await you. I'm excited to be a part of your journey and watch you grow and learn!

Camping Adventures

Camping, you may say, with a new baby??? Yep, it can be done. This year we went to Stub Stewart State Park for a 4 night adventure. The baby was actually the most well behaved of the group. He barely cried, and overall slept really well. The weather was a bit obnoxious while we were there. The first day was super hot, then just hot, then freezing by Sat/Sun, and then warmed up again on Monday. Although there were a few sprinkles in the night, we stayed dry the entire time. Thank heavens for that!

The kids had a blast! There was dirt everywhere to play in, woods to explore, bikes to ride, bubbles to blow, craft projects to make, and plenty of other kids to play with. On Friday we drove them into Vernonia to check out the local swimming hole, which was just a dammed off portion of the Nehalem River. It didn't look very appealing, but fortunately they had a kiddie area too, which was a hit. They really liked walking through the river and exploring the banks. The other activity that the kids really enjoyed was our trip to the trout playground. There is this pond with tons of trout and steelhead in it. You can catch up to 2 fish each. It seemed like a great plan, until we saw the pricing. There was no catch and release. You had to buy what you caught. You pay by the inch of the fish. It was the one time we were hoping for some small ones. All of the kids loved it though! They all were able to catch their fish, and we paid about $30 for 6 fish. A few of them were really big. I couldn't snap many pictures because I was too busy trying to keep kids from falling in the pond, baiting hooks, and helping net the fish. It was worth it though. We all had a lot of fun. There was a really fun treehouse playground as well.

The most popular activity for the adults was biking. The park is located along the Banks-Vernonia trail, and I never realized how great this was. Chris and I borrowed some bikes and rode the trail all the way to banks, which I believe was about 10 miles. It was gorgeous! Thankfully, it was downhill for most of the way, and we called someone to come drive us back to camp at the end. Others in our group made the long ride to Vernonia on another day, but I am too novice for this. I recommend the trail though for a great hike/ride. It was really nice.

Overall, this camping trip turned out really well with lots of good food and fun conversations. I also need to make note that Chris finally achieved his goal of making sure that I was warm while sleeping. He bought me a new goose down 4 season sleeping bag...and it made a world of difference. I was actually hot! I looked forward to bedtime to crawl into the comfy warmness. I can no longer complain about freezing while camping. :) Thanks honey!