Resemblance

Brooke and her Grandma Britta!

Kettle Falls

Oliver looks happy, but just for a moment...

We made a second trip to Kettle Falls in August.  A few nights before we left Oliver had a fever of 104.   After the fever broke, he was still not the same happy boy that we are used to.  It was a tough trip with a grumpy/sick little boy.

Brooke helped Grandpa water his plants.

Not too shabby of a place to camp for a few days!  Check out Bing's corn!

Everyone is having a great time with the chickens.  Here is "Super Rooster" getting ready for his big announcement.

Aunt Marianne and Uncle Jeff were visiting which is always a fabulous time!

We went to the beach on the Kettle River.  Brooke played, and played, and played!  Oliver wouldn't play and was very grumpy.  I finally caved in and took him to the local clinic to make sure he didn't have an ear infection.  With a clear bill of health, I took him back to the house for a nap.  Poor Oliver.

It was a challenging trip that really pushed my patience to the limit.  It was worth it though!

We had a picnic lunch in Omak on our way home.

Fifteen minutes away from home we were stopped for a fire along highway.  Luckily it did not force us to turn around and go back to Chelan which would have been a LONG journey.  We just wanted to get HOME!

Blackbird Island Lunch

Here are a few images from a little picnic Grandma Carol and I had with the kids last week.

Yes, this is what the kids did to my foot.  First was the dirt, then came the water from the water bottles.  Fun fun!

My new favorite place is a U-Pick orchard about a 8 minutes drive from our house.  We were invited to go on a nectarine picking outing with some friends.  There were little ones running around everywhere!

Picking out the perfect one!

Sharing!

Everyone got to help pick them out of the trees.  The bad ones on the ground were tossed for the pigs and chickens to eat.  What a fun outing!

To the Farm!

Mom and I took the kids to Smallwoods Harvest for a morning of farm fun.

Last time I took the kids to Smallwoods, Oliver would not sit still in the wagon.  I was pleasantly surprised that he now sits nicely.

 Brooke said, "I'm a little scared." 

But she eventually got in and sat for a quick photo.



We ate a turkey sandwich for lunch and the kids ran around getting the last bit of energy out!

Birthday Girl!

Setting up for the big 3rd birthday party!

Bing and Britta drove down for the very special day.

Brooke's 3rd birthday party was tons of fun this year!  Here's a cute photo of the "older" girls at the party.  They are all such sweet friends.

Brooke has been a fan of Dora for two years, so it was very fitting that she requested Dora cupcakes this year!  This was my way around doing anything too decorative with frosting.  I think it worked!

Britta was my main helper when it came to cutting around all those Dora characters.  I think she now has their names memorized!

Oliver was pretty shy during the party.  But this was his reaction when a cupcake was put in front of him!

The party favors turned out pretty cute!  They are crayon rolls which can be easily sewn up.  I still have a few to deliver (talk about being a busy mom!).

Snacks and cupcakes.  The kids really seemed to enjoy the morning party and I love the fact that it's all about the KIDS!

Yummmmmm!  The fun pink party poofs in her hair were given to Brooke from Grandma Britta and I made the Dora shirt that morning! 



Pool time!  Gotta love an August birthday!

Spokane

We made a side trip to Spokane on our way home.  Riverpark Square is such a fun park for the kids to visit.  They had their very first snow cone.  It was a refreshing treat on this hot day.

Brooke watched the kids play in the fountains, but is not quite ready to play in that cold water.  She also thought about the carousel but was too scared.  Maybe next year!

Her favorite part was the alphabet blocks!  She immediately started climbing and singing the A, B, C's.

Both of the kids loved the big red wagon slide.  Oliver wanted to do it over and over again!  I think Grandma liked it too!

The Unexpected Visitors

Lots of itching going on!

We couldn't wait to get out camping!  It's already August and we were headed out for our very first use of the camper for the year.  We arrived at the campground, set up and prepared to have some fun.  We started to notice that the park was full of campers but no people!  Soon we found out why when we all started getting swarmed by mosquitoes!  It wasn't long before we decided our two night stay was not going to work out there.

On the road again...

So with a quick call up to Kent's parents we decided to drive a few hours to their house to escape the bugs!  Good thing Kent is so quick with setting up and taking down the camper.

We wanted to see the laser light show in the evening at Grand Coulee Dam, but a quick photo op was all we got this time.  There is more water than normal, so it was flowing over the top of the dam.  It was neat to see and hear!

So after a good night's sleep we headed here... the Kettle River!  It was cloudy and 77*, perfect for a day at the beach.

The water was colder than normal, but it doesn't keep our water-loving girl away!

Oliver played and played and played in the sand.  And ate it too!

All anxieties about sand are now GONE!

What a wonderful day at the beach!

Water, Water Everywhere!

The kids have been getting antsy if we don't get out of the house in the morning.  This morning was no different, so we quickly decided on going to the splash pad for the very first time.  Lately Brooke has not been a fan of water in her eyes (including tears).  "Somethin' in my eye!" she yells. "I need a towel!"  So we stopped by the store and grabbed some bright pink goggles!

Grandma Carol and Auntie Caitlin met us at the park and soaked up the sun while the kids played.

Oliver liked to fill his bucket with the little bits of water that dripped from the water guns.

Brooke had fun!

We are having a fun "pool party" for Brooke's birthday (as long as the weather is warm).  Brooke picked out the giraffe pool at the store this morning.

It was an instant hit!