September 2016

Another fortress built with Jenga pieces.  This one acts as a type of force field for Easton's drone.

We enjoyed our community fall festival today.  Xander asked to be painted as a puppy (of course!)  Although he is our darkest kid, he still asked for his arms to be painted brown as well.

Declan, Xander, and Skye.

Towards the end of 3rd grade they gave each kid a started cabbage plant.  This baby took forever to grow.  It was eaten by worms a million times, and usually watered, but somehow it survived!  He will be entered in a drawing for $1,000.  We will of course be holding our breath until the check arrives! 

Cache did an 'all about me' poster at school that required a picture of himself.  Naturally, it needed to be a soccer picture.  Cache is the king of soccer.

And whenever I get my camera out, Xander and Declan need their pictures taken too!

August 2016

Just one of the many faces of Easton!

We took a trip to the Philadelphia Temple open house.  It was a nice, hot day.  The temple was beautiful.  This was the first open house I have been to since Portland, OR...and definitely the first for the kids.

Afterward, we took a walk around the city.  First we got lunch in the Reading Terminal...
Philly Cheese-steaks of course.  Followed by gourmet Amish doughnuts.

We then walked (what felt like 5 miles) to the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall.

And this is how we finish any 'hard' day of travelling!

Once of Cache's creations.

Xander loves his puppies.  This is Cookie.

What?!!! Can it already be the first day of school?!!!

Easton, 4th grade.  Cache, 2nd grade.

The neighbors.  (Cache usually sits out of these pictures)

What?!!! Can it actually be time for the twins to start school?!!!

Xander's first day of Kindergarten!

The twins have 1/2 school - 12:00-3:00.

Declan's first day of Kindergarten!

Could they get any cuter?

One happy kid after school!

July 2016

We've reached Oregon City!  Well, virtually anyway!  The boys finally completed the Oregon Trail game without dying of scurvy, snake bites, or starvation!

Do you ever take a picture then wonder why?  I was staring at this blob of silly putty we made, then it hit me.  It is the world of course!  I guess it's like seeing the Virgin Mary in your toast!

My boys love legos.  But it does come and go.  Easton is on a lego-kick lately and made this really cool set of army vehicles.  It started with the helicopter on the right that carries the little tank on the left.  Then he added the smaller helicopter with hanging cargo.  Pretty awesome.

Our family has many universal-loves (probably because they are all boys)...in addition to legos, we love shark teeth!  Xander just picked this great white tooth up from an online seller on ebay.  It is such a pretty tooth and we are pretty certain it is wrapped/secured by pure gold wire!  Not a bad purchase for $10!

Declan opted for the 100 small shark teeth instead.  They are tiny, but pretty cool.  The seller was kind to include a bunch of gems (another universal love in this family) and a small megaladon tooth.  It may not look small here, but compared to Easton's and Cache's 3-4 inch long megaladon teeth...this guy is a baby!

One of my friends frequently give me their things when they are done with them...we have a small trampoline and playhouse from them in the back yard.  This week's delivery...a giant teddy bear.  Needless to say, it will be well-loved around here!

Just like the good ol' days.  I got out the twins tricycle to sell at our next garage sale...they both wanted to ride it, so they both hopped on, and commenced the fighting!  Ahhhh...such sweet memories!

Most of the time, we use our Jenga blocks as building blocks.  Here is one of Cache's creations...

June 2016

Cache skipped school for a few days and went to Minnesota with David.  They gathered with David's side of the family to celebrate Cache's great grandma's 95th birthday!  Of course, as the only grand child at the party, he was smothered with love, attention, and legos!  They took a trip to the Mall of America and went on an indoor roller coaster, rope courses, and a huge lego area.

The boys gathered around the computer playing 'The Oregon Trail.'  We used to play this on the elementary school computers.  It was one of my favorite games along with a game called 'Lake Powell' (I think).  Was this because I grew up in Oregon or did other kids in other states play this too?  Either way, my kids love it!

Just another day in the hood.  Yep, all but one of those bikes is ours!

Welcome to our indoor gaga ball court.  Hours of fun in the family room!

Cache's final soccer game.  They played on the nice turf fields.  Apparently, Cache was made for turf.  The fields are fast and accurate.  He scored 5 goals this game!

Xander always begs me to buy strawberries at the store.  If only the other kids would eat them too...although he does a good job of eating them himself!  

One of our favorite snacks... pepperoni, crackers, cubed cheese, cut up pickles!

Could it be...the last day of 1st grade!  You survived Cache!

And the last day of 3rd grade!

How we celebrate...games with dad!  If you haven't played team Sorry, it's a great twist!

Possibly the highlight of the summer came early for us this year.  We got invited (or maybe I invited us) to our friend's lake house at Lake Anna.  The boat was big and strong, the house had plenty of room and comfortable, the weather was amazing, and our friends were so much fun!

Blake and Easton (with Sara hiding behind)

David thinking, 'hmmm...this is nice...how can we buy a house and a boat on the lake?'  I must admit, that was a good hour long conversation on the way home!

Declan, Lacie, and Xander

Best buds, Grayson and Cache

We went out on a perfectly calm night to fish.  It was a slow start, but eventually we couldn't keep up with the 6 rods over the boat!

Relaxing after a great day on the lake!

The boys played on a home school soccer team this spring.  I always treat them to trophies after playing a season of home school soccer or our own soccer teams I coach.  Each trophy costs like $8...so it's a pretty inexpensive way to make their day!