Fun With Art

The morning of the first full day that Art was here, we walked around the corner to the kids' elementary school to play on the playground. I didn't take a lot of photos to prove it, but it was a nice way to spend the morning leading up to our big afternoon activity.

That afternoon, we were able to take advantage of the last day of Art's family membership to go to a local museum. It was the first time for my kids and they really enjoyed it. On the way in, we read the kids a sign that said "stay together, play together" and talked to them about the importance of not wandering off. Sweet Gus took the advice very seriously and immediately began looking out for Edith. 

It was so cute to watch, and their difficulty switching directions and re-figuring out the hand-hold after letting go was adorable. 

Every once in a while I was able to get a shot with Keef, too. The three of them looked like they could be triplets.

I think one my very favorite parts of the museum visit was watching my mom try to figure out how to flap her arms as fast as a hummingbird. I love her. :)

We climbed through a series of rope bridges (Edith white-knuckled it a bit), and at one point the younger kids got to climb in the cockpit of a plane. At first it was just Gus and Edith...

…then they were joined by Keef. It's just so cute to see the 3 of them together.

Especially when Gus grins like this: 

It was a really cool museum with so much stuff to see and do. 

And Art is so much fun to do things with.

Thanks for taking us to the museum, Art! 

The next day was July 4th, so it was chock full of activities. We started out the day by going for a hike (no surprise there, I suppose). 

The kids really struggled with their energy levels, but luckily there's a constantly running fountain about a mile and a half in that dispenses "energy water". Thank goodness I remembered about that, otherwise we would never have made it. 

I'm really glad I was able to show my sister and the boys our nearby hiking trail. Hiking is the best, and doing it with family is even better. 

We hung out at the house that afternoon. I love how relaxing our house is. The boys took turns teaching Gus how to play checkers. 

In the late afternoon, Art pulled out the Slip 'n Slide she'd brought with her. My kids had no idea what to do, but they figured it out and had a blast. Edith figured out that if you run really fast onto the slide, you might slip and fall on your butt. So, she decided to have Rophone help her on a leisurely stroll through the mist. :) (Slip 'n Slide photo creds: Art)

After dinner, my mom played a rousing game of Doodle Dice with the younger kids. What a nice time for all of them, and a nice break for me and Art.

Our new house is in a pretty good location to see the big fireworks display, which I'm happy about. An awesome fireworks show with little effort? Perfect. So, that evening we hung out at home, eating leftover floats, riding bikes and scooters, and drawing with sidewalk chalk while we waited for the fireworks to start. It was so relaxing and nice.

The fireworks were great and the kids loved being able to stay up late. We scoped out the best place in our yard to watch from next year and we can hardly wait. 

On the Monday after the 4th, we went to another museum and then for ice cream. We've decided that this will be a tradition when we have visitors. Fun and pretty much free? Can't beat it. 

Oh, and just so you know I was there…

The ice cream was a big hit. A couple of kids even found new favorite flavors. 

And, look! Ginger was there, too!

We spent the rest of the time that Art was visiting just kind of hanging out. It was really nice not to feel like we had to go do anything. Art got some great pictures of the kids playing outside on the last evening they were here. 

It was so much fun to have Art and the boys visit! I know it made the kids feel more like we're having a real summer vacation. I think having people come visit is just about as exciting as going somewhere. We had such a great time, Art! Come again anytime. 

And So It Continues...

Life just kept on rolling along after Father's Day. That's how it always seems to go. Edith uncovered a picture she drew for Bud's birthday but forgot to give him. At least I know I'm not the only one who forgets where she hid things. I absolutely love, love the pegasus. The wings are the best. 

Big discovered a new favorite chore: windows! He kept himself occupied for one whole day with it. He would be walking by a window and say, "Oh! I see some fingerprints!" and then go get the cleaner and a cloth. It was fantastic. One of our friends says she's going to hire him to do some work at her house and Big can hardly wait. 

My birthday actually fell in here somewhere. It's hard to believe I'm 44! Anyway, we had a lovely day. I was lucky enough to receive a fabulous picture from Edith:

Rophone got me the perfect socks to wear with my hiking shoes (my #1 wish for my birthday was socks). He also got me a cute skort. 

My sister, Art, had a friend make me some earrings shaped like the State of Oregon (I love them!), and I used some money from my mom to get a new hose and a sprinkler for the yard. 

The highlight of my birthday was the float party Rophone threw for me. He invited a bunch of friends over for an evening of floats (root beer, orange, creme soda, etc.). I don't have any pictures because I was too busy enjoying my party, but it was a lot of fun. So much so that we're going to throw another one soon.

My sister, Art, arrived with her two boys on the evening of my birthday! We were so excited to have them as our house guests. It was a great birthday, and I knew that Art's arrival meant that there was a lot more fun to come. And I was right! 

Happy Rophone Day!

Father's Day was a low-key event this year. Rophone just wanted to hang out and relax as a family, so that's what we did. I made the family-favorite chicken burritos for dinner and we opened (a few) gifts. I enlisted the kids to each fill out one of those "About Dad" kind of things. It's always fun (and sweet) to see what they have to say, and I loved watching their faces as they sat by Rophone as he read aloud. 

Oh, and Bud made a card folded to look like a dress shirt! I used to know how to do that when I was a kid and now I want to learn again. Really cute and sweet. 

The older kids wouldn't pose with their dad as he read, but the presents weren't so camera shy. Rophone got two new shirts to make him look even more handsome than he already does. Not that I'm sure that's possible.

Happy Father's Day, Rophone! We love you bunches! 

I Feel So Far Behiiiiind!

I know it's only been about a month since I last posted, but during the summer a lot can happen in a month! There's a ton to catch up on and we haven't even gone anywhere yet!  As I mentioned at the end of my last post, I had a hike scheduled for the next day. I really need to get out hiking with my good friends more often, especially this one. Ginger is great friends with her daughter and we always laugh a lot when we're together-- perfect recipe for a great time, right? 

We need to go again. I'm in need of more laughs. 

That evening, Rophone had us all pile in the car without telling us where we were going. Our city puts on a food truck round-up every Thursday throughout the year, but we hadn't ever been. When we pulled up near the gathered food trucks the kids and I were super excited. 

It was super fun and the food was really good. We decided we definitely want to go again, just maybe not when it's 100 degrees outside. :)

A few days later (the day before Father's Day), Pen and I managed to go on a hike just the two of us. The younger kids were bummed to be left behind, but it's not very often that Pen and I get to do something together, so I insisted. It was a lot of fun. 

There was lots of beautiful stuff to see. 

The butterfly didn't seem to mind having its picture taken (photo credit: Pen)…

…but the snake got pretty pissed off. 

Apparently it didn't like a human hand hovering 6 inches above its head. Go figure.

I uncovered some drawings of Edith's that she informed me needed to be recycled because of the mistakes. I did as she asked, but not without taking photos first. I love how detailed her drawings are (especially for a 4 year old!). 

I've got to take a break here before going on. Father's Day deserves its own post, after all. It's a big deal!