Hike to Jug Lake and Sunrise

 Our first hiking trip definitely told me a couple of things about me and my kids. One, I am out of shape, and two, my kids are excellent hikers. We hiked 5 miles that day. It was a good trail, but about midway it got super steep and rocky.  Had a couple of complaints from the Alli and Wes, but Tim lead the pack with eagerness. So proud of all of them. Even Rowan wanted out of the pack to do his share of hiking.

 Once we got to Jug lake, I striped the kids down to their undies and threw their sweaty little bodies in the lake. There was a small handful of horseback riders that had brought up swimming pool air mattresses to float around on. It was kinda odd to see, but super cool.

No swim diaper here.

 The next day we drove into Rainier park and hiked around Sunrise . Part of the hike was on the famous Wonderland Trail. It was truly beautiful. Again, the kids hiked about 5 miles with Tim leading the pack. We loved the area. Wild flowers galore, streams, lakes, waterfalls, and...

 a herd of mountain goats grazing.

We had a blast with the patches of snow we ran into. Nothing like a snowball fight in August!

This is just one of the many beautiful vallies you'll run across on the trail. The fields of wild flowers smelled amazing.

Soda Springs Campground

 Family camping. It can be both challenging and fun when you have four children all under the age of 10. The word clean takes on a whole different meaning as you become "one" with the dirt.

James and I knew that camping was on the list of things to do this summer, so we both decided on a four night stay by Mt. Rainier.  What we didn't plan was how popular it was going to be in August.  There where so many people there.  They where packed into campsites fifteen feet  away from their neighbor in a 200+ capacity campground. I love car camping, but that is just ridiculous and not relaxing.  I do not like hearing the conversations of my neighboring campers around me. So, we went a couple miles out of Rainier National Park and found a wonderful campsite with no neighbors at all. It had a shallow river right by it, picnic table, out houses, and someone even left a bouquet of flower on the table for us to enjoy. It was perfect and free!

 Rowan on his first camping trip with the whole family.

 James is such a good cook. We ate well on this trip. This is the kids eating whole wheat pancakes hot off the grill with huge fresh blueberries inside.  I packed some of my plum jam I made this summer to add as a topping with tree ripened peaches. Can't get better then that!

 Everyday the kids were catching frogs. There were tons of them, and the kids loved to play with them.

 James made a rock dam in the river to create this little swimming hole. It wasn't warm, but the river was shallow enough to make it tolerable. Nothing like swimming in your underwear.

 Grubby little boy. Happy too!

This is why they call it Soda Springs.  I guess its naturally carbonated water that flows from the ground. We could hear it bubbling all night, which was kinda cool. There was a couple hikers that passed by one day and told us that in the 1930's there use to be a shack up the road that used to bottle and sell it. The kids and I tasted it and it tasted like iron spritzer to me. If you look at the picture above with Wes on the rock, you can see the orange stain this water makes on the side of the bank. Fun and fascinating to see. I recommend this campsite to all the families out there who plan on visiting Rainier, but don't want to pay to stay at a campsite. Nothing beats free and private!

Alli's 5th Birthday

This was a fun birthday.  Our neighbor also has a little girl whose birthday is 4 days after Alli's. So, her mom an I decided this year to combine the two together.  Since the weather had been nice, and we expected nothing less on the party day, we plannned an outdoor get together.  Our back yard is big and green with kiddie pool, slip-n-slide, sprinklers, and tree house. But, about an hour before the party began, it decided to rain.  So much for those plans. However, we all had a blast making it work inside. For starters, we played a couple rounds of musical chairs.

 I think the balloon stomp was a hit! To hear all the  laughter and squeels combined with balloons popping is exciting! We definetly worked up our appetites for cake and ice cream.

 Our cakes turnned out quite nice. Claires mom is a fantastic cook and decorator. Her cake is on the right.  Mine was pretty stressfull sice I ran out of frosting and had to make more. Then it was too soft to work with, so I skipped making the flowers and butterflys, and went with candy beads. It worked though, =)...not sure what Claire was upset about, but she quickly recovered.

 Weather cleared up enough for us to take a dip in the water.

Stinker Alli blew a bubble right in Claires face...she thought it was pretty funny, Claire didnt seem to think so though.

Big brother, little brother.  I've been feeding James well, =) Nate can feel the diffence I have made in James' life.

 The "big" kids decided to pick on James by squirting him with the water guns. James got'em back.

...I love the mysterious finger

And this is me and my neighbor Jen.  Smiling to the close of an awesome birthday!

Rowans 1st Birthday

 

Being born on Cinco de Mayo has its advantages.  There will be plenty of mexican food, pinatas, and tons of people to celebrate. Rowan had lots of all these things.  ...loving the Villa twins in their pink flowers by the way

He knew right what to do when it came to cake time...loves to share with mama

Rowan brings such joy to my life. There was a time, when I was pregnant, that I wanted Rowan to be a girl. I already had two boys from James, and Alli needed a sister, right? But, now, I couldn't imagine my life without him.  My bond with him is like none other. He forever changed my life, and for that, I am greatful. Being a mommy is the greatest calling, and the best part of my life. I am so happy to have three boys. I wouldn't change a thing.

First Month with Ginger

To help her learn to not jump up on the kids, and get some exercise, I tied a string to the tail of an old stuffed animal toy. She loves to run and chase it.

We took her on a walk without a leash. This pup is amazing. She kept right with her "pack", and didn't wander. She loves her people.

...hehee

Christmas 2011

Just a small hand full of the family gathered at our home this year. James' sister Clover had her baby a few days before Christmas, so the other half of the family went to Belingham. I missed the traditional big Christmas gathering, but we had big surprises for the kids that made this year a good one.

On Christmas eve we surprised the kids with a new puppy. Wes an Timmy have been asking for a puppy for years. Their kindergarten teacher informed me that they have been asking God for a puppy at prayer time. I knew I wanted to get them a puppy, but timing was essential. Now that Weston is 9 and more responsible he can help raise a puppy. His tender heart and love for Ginger, our new pup, is priceless. She has bonded to the family well, and can't stand being apart from any of us. She was easy to potty train, and sleeps with the boys in their room. She is very loyal and loving.

Before I brought her home, I asked Weston a question. I asked him if he had the choice of having all the presents under the tree or having a brand new puppy, what would he choose. It took him a couple seconds to answer, but he then said, "A puppy, I always wanted a puppy."

And now we have a Red hair-green eyed baby girl...=)

Halloween 2011

Wes an Tim enjoying their caramel apples...

pumpkin carving...

mama's baby Dino...

my four candy collectors