Day 244/365 ~2012

One of Matthew's 4 play dates this week.
Hannah came to play...the kids sprinkled sugar cookies from the grocery store.
An activity they have enjoyed since their were pre-schoolers.
Hannah is so easy to have around ~ She feels like an extension of our family!

Day 243/365 ~ 2012

A positive meeting with Andrew's teacher to get him started to school on the right foot.
Giving the "squishy seat" a thumbs up.
A seat used to help little wigglers in class.
We hope it helps!

Day 242/365 ~ 2012

A trip to Target to spend a birthday gift card was made twice as fun when running into Matthew V. who was also on a trip to spend a birthday gift card!
Both chose Pokemon cards (not a fan).
Two happy boys left with cards in their pocket and a play date on the calendar.

Day 241/365 ~ 2012

A wonderful evening spent with small group friends over dinner.
(We missed you, Rachel & Linda!)
As usual, the time passed much too quickly ~ the restaurant closed before we were done visiting!
I do so love these women and am very grateful for their fellowship!

Day 240/365 ~ 2012

Matthew and I caught Ants one afternoon to put in his little Ant Farm.
Supposedly self sustaining.
Our ants were dead in 2 days.
Our dismal track record for killing small animals continues.

Day 239/365 ~ 2012

God Bless my sweet family who indulge me by getting dressed to take a photo on the beach.  I know it's a pain, and I know they don't want to do it, but the fact that they do speaks love to me.  Despite leaving Kaitlin's dress and bow at home for this picture, we still pulled something together and I was really grateful.



Everyone's true feelings on taking pictures.



They might make me crazy at times, but I feel blessed beyond measure by these little ones.



My Matty.  When will we stop calling him that?  Never, i hope.  It's never "Matt" around here.  Just Matthew and Matty.  Always has been.



Those teeth! Love those smiley eyes.



Mama's best girl.








I think of how their relationship will outlive mine...I pray they stay close.



My loves.
My life.
My gifts.



So grateful.

Day 238/365 ~ 2012

Our second day at the beach found us building sandcastles!  First thing in the morning we headed out for some fun in the sand.



We headed back in for a quick lunch and then returned to explore the tide pools.



(I actually didn't intend to dress us all in stripes ~ And only realized it as we were walking out the door).



The tide pools were so fun. We spotted anemones, a sea star, baby fish, and a little crab.



Oh the treasures!



The boys were trying to gather enough crab parts to build a crab to take home. They were not happy when we told them that was not happening.



The weather was perfection. Sunny and warm, and not a drop of rain or gust of wind.
I was so grateful as it was our only full day there and to be blessed with sunshine it felt like such a gift!



We ended the day with dinner at The Fireside and a family viewing of Pollyanna.

Day 237/365 ~ 2012

My Facebook "Update" summed up our first day at the beach....
"So very happy to be at Cannon Beach! Of course the leaking tire valve on the way out of town was a bummer...so was forgetting Kaitlin's bag (that has 80% of her clothes in it) at home...then there was the root beer that spilled in the van...and Matthew really doesn't NEED underwear, right? Today is a new day! (I posted this the following day) Salt water taffy & Sandcastles make it all better!"  

And while the Sandcastles and Salt water taffy didn't make it ALL better...it sure helped!



Bruce's Candy Kitchen ~ one of our first stops, for the saltwater taffy! (We get two bags...one for me and one for everyone else. Nope, not even kidding). :)



I love the charm of the small downtown.  No Wal-Mart here, thankyouverymuch.



Next stop: The beach!  The kids could not get enough of the sand and water.



There is something about the ocean that just brings a different sort of joy out in my kids.
I love to see it. I think they feel so free here.



I love the sound. I can't get enough of the sound of the waves crashing in and I love the first breath of sea air when the car door opens.



Andrew so loves to jump the waves.



Sweet, sweet brothers.



I practiced some silhouettes for my photography class....



They were my first ones and I was pleased with them.



A Daddy and his little girl does so melt my heart....

Day 235/365 ~ 2012

Well Check day for Andrew! 
Uncertain if it was a shot day...he asked to bring Henry along.
"Gus" and "Dolly" were then soon to follow.
Lovie day at the Doctor's office!
Thanking God for healthy kids!

Day 234/365 ~ 2012

We had a small group meeting to get organized for the upcoming year.
These four little ones ran off to play together and came back all dolled up!
It was the first time they did something like this collectively on their own and it was just such a wonderfully sweet moment to see them old enough to be forming their own friendships.   
This photo definitely makes my heart smile.

Day 233/365 ~ 2012

Gymnastics started today!
Kaitlin loves it.  Her friends Grace and Kennedy are in her class too!
And all 3 girls want to be FIRST.  Oh, the comedy of being four!

Day 230/365 ~ 2012

We had such a fun afternoon/evening celebrating Hannah and Matthew's birthdays together with Shannon's family.  Starting with swimming (which the kids LOVED).  They were so happy to be all together!



Followed by a delicious dinner and a gourmet S'mores bar ~ complete with all types of chocolate (my favorite was milk chocolate with sea salt) and marshmallows (including Peeps!) and chocolate/honey graham crackers.  Such fun!



The birthday kids!  Matthew loves Hannah and still counts her among his best friends.

It was really a nice day spent relaxing and visiting as families.  I was really glad we had this time together before school starts & the speed of life picks up again (All too soon!)  Thank you friends, for the hospitality and all the effort that went into such a nice day for us!

Day 229/365 ~ 2012

4 hours of diligent teamwork in the playroom and it's done!
With the exception of Legos all toys are sorted, and all game pieces accounted for.
Lego sorting was left for another day & I still have work to do with the built ins, but for now this is fantastic.  I've barricaded the door and no one is allowed to play!  Just kidding.




Our hard work was rewarded with some wild Blackberry picking and a delicious dessert of blackberries on Tillamook French Vanilla icecream...Mmmmmmmm.

Day 228/365 ~ 2012

(I already posted this but forgot that I wanted to record the story behind this photo as well.  I walked into the playroom to find the boys putting together two different Lego creations while listening to stories on the TAG reader (the blue/red pen looking thing in the middle of the table.  When the story was over, they would switch and work on the other creation.  This is so them ~ {most of the time} they are so great at working out things like this.  Here's the part I chuckled at.  If someone had to use the bathroom, then they counted the seconds that they were gone and then added that time on at the end of the story.   No doubt that was Matthew's idea.  They are good little playmates).

The kids have played their hearts out this summer.
The play room sure looks like it.



It makes me cringe.
I avoid this room and spend very little time in it.



Can't imagine why, can you?



But the time has come.
(Insert BIG sigh).
I can't start the school year like this or it just won't get done.
And that will make me crazy.
A family sorting, cleaning, organizing party is about to begin tomorrow.
We can all hardly wait!
All who would like to come are invited!

Day 227/365 ~ 2012

Gracie isn't normally a tu-tu sort of a girl, but her face sure did shine when she pulled out this swimsuit and said, "Katie, we can be twins!!!"

There wasn't a moment's hesitation before they were running upstairs to get changed.

A fun afternoon of lunch, swimming,  and a movie with dear friends that we don't see enough of these days. As the kids get older, and schedules get busier there isn't the natural overlap of our lives that we had when they were younger. A more intentional effort has to be made to see one another.



These two are getting  so funny to watch. And I love this picture of them lounging and chatting.
I did overhear Hannah asking Matthew if he preferred her hair straight or curly.  :)

Day 226/365 ~ 2012

There is no doubt that Matthew inherited his Grandfathers' (both of them!) engineering mind.  I don't think a day goes by that he isn't building, crafting, constructing...and just has a natural aptitude for it.

This particular day was the Angry Bird sling shot.  Loads of fun was had with their game that involved knocking down things gathered from the recycling bin.