Cool Stuff

Marc built this after naps today. The plastic one we have broke yesterday so Marc decided it was time for a new one. Pretty impressive; it only took him a couple of hours and it was 95 degrees outside! Good work Daddy!!!

I almost forgot to report....Olivia can swing on her own now!

Thanks to a lot of work last night with our good friend Jake, Olivia finally knows how to pump her legs on the swings and she goes really high too!

We told her she needs to teach Emma and Emma will teach Marcus. She is so proud of herself. She won't get off the swings now that she can do this. It's quite amusing. Good Job Olivia!!!

Perfect Summer Day

Our yard is set up perfectly for summer right now. Notice the shade room in the background; it has a full screen around it which keeps all the bees and bugs out.

The kids have been using the pool a ton in this hot hot weather. We've been in it all weekend! When we were sitting in the pool this morning Emma said "This is the perfect summer day!" She's right!

We are all having a blast.

Hope you are all having a perfect summer day too!

Home

Marcus says "I'm not sick...they are!" We originally stayed home today because as of yesterday Marcus was still sick with the flu.

After dinner last night Olivia was complaining of a tummy ache and early this morning Emma got sick everywhere. So, good thing we already planned to stay home. Emma actually ate breakfast and has been much better this morning so I think she is past it.

Olivia seemed to get past it really quickly; she's been outside all morning.

Marcus is 100% back to his normal self today. Looks like it's back to work for me tomorrow. I'm actually glad; while I do enjoy staying home with them, I do not like it when they are sick.

Dare Devils

I haven't done a video in a while and thought this was a fun one. These two sure have become the little dare devils around here. After I turned the camera off they were arguing about who won this one. Needless to say there were many more races following this. Too cute!

Change of Plans

We were supposed to go to Silverwood today to meet some friends from Portland; but Marcus was up all night with a fever and got sick all over his bed this morning so we had a change of plans. I decided to bring the water table out for the girls today. We haven't played with it for a while and Emma asked if we could bring it out. They brought out some bath toys and had a ball.

The slip and slide also came out today...it was another scorcher so it was well used.

Marcus gave it his all to keep up with the girls today. He would go go go and then crash on the couch for a while. Poor baby...it's just not fun being sick. He seemed to be much better by bed time so hopefully tomorrow is a better day.

Carnival Birthday

We went to Courtney's 11th birthday last night. It was a carnival theme. There were all kinds of games from bean bag toss to balloon dart throwing. There was a tennis ball pyramid toss, fortune telling...even a dunk tank! With each game the kids collected tickets and at the end they got to pick a prize based on the number of tickets they had. The kids had a blast! This was a very well thought out party...so much fun! Happy Birthday Courtney!!!

Great Weekend

We came back home from fishing and the kids got into the sprinklers. It was really hot so we were okay with it.

Uncle Carl brought out the big guns for them to play with too. They thought those were the greatest.

Of course they had to try out the 4-wheeler too. Actually the funniest story...as we were pulling into Concunully on Friday night Marcus says, "So does Uncle Carl have a tractor, a 4-wheeler or a truck?". He was dead serious about it too. We were rolling!

We even had a camp fire complete with roasted marshmallows. Thanks for the great weekend Carl and Beth. We definitely won't wait so long to come back at visit again.

Water Play

By the end of the boat ride, Olivia was right up front with the rest of the kids.

Uncle Carl went really fast and made lots of waves for the kids to touch. They followed Emma's lead and came back with water on their hands and got us all wet.

She sure did get a kick out of it.

Uncle Carl finally showed them whose boss and got them all wet by throwing water on them. They were all laughing so hard...it was the best!

Fishing

After a few trips around the lake, the kids decided it was time to go fishing. Emma grabbed her pole and cast all on her own. Such an independent little lady.

Marcus had some assistance from Daddy. We kept the plastic fish on their poles and just let them practice reeling them in. I really don't think any of them were expecting real fish anyways. This plan seemed to work out perfectly.

Olivia finally warmed up to the idea of being in a boat and she grabbed her pole and was casting on her own too. She was all over the boat by this time; amazing what a little time will do. She had a blast.

Emma wanted to fish all day. I don't think there was one moment this little girl didn't have a smile on her face.

The Lake

We made it to the lake by mid-morning Saturday. Beth kept the kids in line while we waited for Daddy and Uncle Carl to put the boat in the water.

Olivia was very cautious about the boat ride at first. She was extremely nervous and would not leave my lap for probably the first 45 minutes.

Marcus on the other hand preferred to drive. He wanted to be sure Uncle Carl knew where to go and how fast to go too.

Emma was the biggest dare devil of them all. She had her hand in the water the whole time and came back to make sure all of us got wet. She had a ball. She was laughing the entire time.

Practice

We went to Concunully (a small town by Omak, WA) to visit Marc's Uncle and Aunt and do a little fishing. The kids got fishing poles for Christmas and couldn't wait to try them. First Daddy had to put them together.

The poles came complete with plastic fish so the kids practiced casting and reeling in their pretend fish. Marcus was a natural. I see many fishing adventures in his future.

Emma was very excited. We weren't quite sure since her first (and last) reaction to fishing wasn't so favorable. Remember the Big Horn Show where she caught a real fish and screamed and ran faster than I've ever seen anyone run? Well, she was into this so that's a good step in the right direction.

Olivia was a natural too. We got a lot of practice time in off Uncle Carl's porch and then it was on to the lake...

Grand Coulee Dam

This is the one and only picture we took here...I don't think we needed any others. Everyone did their jobs :-) It's a keeper!

Morning Sun

It is HOT HOT HOT outside. It's about time too! We have had great weather this week for our week o'vacation. Even Tucker agrees.

I put up the little pool this morning to help the kids cool off. They had a blast as always.

They love to see how far they can jump from one end to the other or from the inside to the outside of the pool.

White boys can jump!