Washington Cousins

Grandma and grandpa watched the Washington cousins for a couple days. I took the kids to grandma's so they could all play. They all had so much fun and I know they are looking forward to the next visit.

JJ on the swing, which is now a favorite activity at grandma's.

Samantha and her cousin bumping feet.

Samantha and another cousin bumping feet.

Grandma, a couple cousins, and Riley on the big swing.

History Repeated

We have two of these Dora power wheels quads that Jamie got for the girls when he came back form his last deployment and couple years ago. They have been sitting in garage over the winter. When the weather started getting nicer, we moved them to the back yard, but then had to find the chargers. The girls love these "Dora bikes" (as we call them around here) and ask often to ride them. And the boys often try to.

Jamie has this story that he has told me a few times about how when he was a kid, he had a power wheel three wheeler. He said that after a while the battery wouldn't hold a charge more then 10 minutes no matter how long it was plugged in. Well, being the crafty guy that was (is?) he convinced the neighborhood kids to push him around on it.

The apple doesn't fall far from the tree. . .

Spring Concert

Samantha's school had a Spring Concert series. While waiting for it to start, I was talking with a friend about future concerts and how in a few years, I will be attending these all week since the school only does a few grades each night. Something to look forward to. . . Here is "a" picture of Samantha singing one of the songs. I have a few more, but the lighting did something really funky to everyone's eyes and they all looked possessed. Some thing to deal with if I ever find time to scrap book again.
The concert went well. They had two other groups perform that night, her's being last. Their group, I think, did the best. You could understand almost all of what they sang. They also had some extra things for a lot of the kids to do each song. Sam was picked for some lighting control for one of the songs, and was very excited about it. She did very well.

Books

My kids love books. They love to look at books. They love to read books. They love to listen too books. They love to make paths with books. They love to build with books. They love to tear books. And I love it when I find them sitting (quietly) with a book.

I love how focused he seems to be.

And, of course, the digital age has spoiled us in that we can pull out our camera for anything and everything. So a common phrase in our house, is "Mom, take my picture." And when I do pull out the camera, everything becomes posed, and they all want to be in the pictures. So here is Andrea, doing what she can to be "on film."

Andrea reading a book.

They do look cute reading a book together, though.

Coloring Eggs

Grandma Roberts was kind enough to volunteer her house this year to color eggs (she is lucky and doesn't have carpet under her kitchen table). I think his grin (and fingers) say it all.








Samantha had fun coloring eggs, just not me taking her picture I guess.

Easter on the Farm

Grandma and Grandpa Orr had an Easter egg hunt at their house this year. It was a little wet, but this is Oregon, so you just go with it. Grandma also decided to not mow the pasture, poor Riley, the grass was up to his waist in some places. All the kids had a lot of fun, of course. And they all got tons of candy.

It took Riley a few minutes to figure out what to do, and even then he was very determined to find the eggs by himself, and carry his own bucket.




I am very proud of my girls. When they filled their buckets, they would bring eggs they found to the boys to make sure they had plenty, too.

Breakfast

Yup, I am one of those mom's that whips out the camera instead of the wash cloth. Couldn't resist. You never know what is going to happen at meal time around here.

Salem Carousel

I don't know who has more fun, the kids, parents, grandparents, or great-grandparents when we go to the Salem Carousel. Samantha had her first ride when she was about 7 months old. And we have tried to squeeze in a ride with each visit since. The girls were so excited to ride, and spend their time in line picking out what horse to ride. JJ and Riley were sharing their excitement...until they got on the horses. Riley would cling very tightly to who ever was holding him. JJ on the other hand found the wagons that go around, but not up and down. He was very happy to ride on those.

Samantha having fun.

The girls having fun.

Andrea having fun.

JJ on a wagon, having fun.

The boys on the wagon having fun, I think.

Grandma enjoying snuggles.

Riley...having fun?

We have been back since I took these pictures. The girls, of course had fun riding horses, JJ went straight for the wagons, and had a blast. Riley...I tried to take my cue from him. He sat in the stroller, seeming content to people watch. The last time, I asked if he wanted to ride and he sat on the wagon with JJ.

Guitar Hero

For Christmas the kids got a Wii. It has provided a lot of fun for all of us. Even the boys try to play. Jamie went on a long weekend trip a couple weeks ago, and when he came home, he brought with him Guitar Hero (with guitar) and Lego Rock Band. I saw the guys play this a few time down at the station a long time ago and never thought that I would enjoy it. Boy was I wrong. What a fun game. We all are enjoying it a lot. Even the boys play it with mom or dad's help. So here are a few pictures of us enjoying our new game.

Samantha

Andrea

Riley and daddy

JJ and daddy

JJ and mommy

Strawberry Jam

In early March we made three batches of strawberry jam with grandma. Andrea was pretty helpful. But, anytime you cook with kids, you get the chance for some great (messy) pictures.

Andrea making (licking the bowl) jam.


JJ making jam (or just licking the bowl when we were done) and Riley "washing" dishes.



Then they traded places, JJ "washing" dishes and Riley making jam.

Sigh

I don't know what to say. I wish I could say this was a a funny one time thing. But I can't. I wish that I could say she learned her lesson after taking her to a few stores and many people commenting on it (to her). I don't think it is. Yes, my five year old drew all over her face (and usually arms and legs) when she was supposed to be falling asleep. Is there any more to say?

Spring Like Weather

It's hard to believe that with the weather we are having as I write this post (cold, strong wind, sweatshirt and coat temperatures outside) that at the end of February when I took these pictures, we were able to be outside in short sleeves. So here are a couple pictures of the kids enjoying the warm weather in February as we freeze in April. I hope this doesn't mean summer will be extra hot or to weird. Don't be fooled by JJ in his coat and hat. He gets attached to them when he first puts them on in the morning, and still wants them on in the afternoon when it is warmer.

The first picture is a common occurrence in our back yard. Riley is playing in the car and JJ decides he wants it and tries to force Riley out. He is usually successful. Poor Riley, sometimes it is hard being the littlest.

JJ acting like a big brother.

The boys driving their cars.

Riley driving around.

Samantha on her scooter.

Andrea on her scooter.

Vacuuming

What do your kids do when you pull out the vacuum? Riley has always found the vacuum interesting, and usually I have to pull him off the vacuum several times. After I moved some things around in the house, I ended up creating a couple little alcoves. The boys thought this would be a fun place to hide. And since some one had the silly idea when this house was being built to put carpet under where the dinner table goes, I vacuum a lot.

Both boys hiding.

Catch up

Here it is, a long over due update. I would like to think that so much has been going on that it's kept me away, but that's not really true. I ran into the problem that it had been a while since the last post and knew there was much to post, so I put it off. The down side to that is that there is only going to be more to post about. So, I finally did it, broke down and updated for the last almost three months. And I checked my camera, and there are already pictures on it for another post or two. Maybe you will be lucky and get a couple more posts in a few days. I think I ended up with four other blog posts. I just did a summary of the last few months. Enjoy!

Happy Birthday Andrea!

Andrea turned five this year. She is so excited to be five. She know that it means she can start school this fall. She was also super excited to have grandmas, grandpas, aunts, uncles, cousins, and friends help her celebrate. She and Samantha figured out one day that she hasn't had that happen yet, but Sam had (seeing as Sam has a summer birthday). Andrea had so much fun and enjoyed all her gifts very much.