Freezing summer burnt BBQ

Yes that's right......the weather was nice for about 10 minutes, the food was toasted to a black crunchiness and the wind was blowing everything away.....BUT.....we had a great time! :) We laughed and danced to some really good 80's music. Nicole and I even tried a few talent show moves from back in the day ;) Brandon made us some very delightful "Stoddard Spritzers" and the kids even managed to swim for a bit before the frost bite set in. This is the marina for our neighborhood and it's only about five minutes away, it's nice because it's an open space(which is rare for our neighborhood) for the kids to throw frisbees and football.




This is the lovely dinner we attempted....doesn't that look good???? The best part is the hot dogs were still cold in the middle.....nice! We did make some yummy dips though and filled up with those so all was not lost. Then thanks to Kristen......Grace and I made dirt and worms for Brayden who is her little best friend who also turned 5 just a couple weeks ago. He LOVES chocolate and Grace had such a great time making this that she was all for teaching me how. :)




Here is Haylee and Makenna, they were cracking me up making faces at each other.....don't they look freezing? Nice summer bbq huh?
Brandon and Nicole, (you guys are very photogenic, great picture)
They are so much fun.......Happy Birthday Brayden.

Growing up........

Haylee is now an official bike rider. She has moved up a step from her trike and now has a big girl bike, and she is so cute on it. We found it on clearance and I thought she would be a little intimidated, but she gets right on and cruises around like a pro. :) It's fun to see them ride together with their little helmets on.......I am a little sad they are both getting older. :( Is this the point that we decide to have more??????? Hmmmm to be continued..............





* The other fun news that I need to report is Grace has TWO loose teeth. HOLY COW!!! This is all happening so fast.....ahhhhhhh She is very excited though and keeps telling me that the tooth fairy is NOT real, that we will just leave her a dollar and that's that! Well.......the tooth fairy will see how much attitude she gets between now and then. ;) What are some of your fun tooth fairy stories and ideas?

"Life is good......at the lake"

Well all the fun has to end sometime. We had such a great vacation this year at the lake. Justin's Grandma who is having some health issues and has recently lost her sight pretty unexpectedly was able to join us for the whole week and that was great. We made it up there last Saturday and all of Justin's cousins (minus a couple) were there and we had a big BBQ. He already has family living in Spokane and the surrounding areas but this was everyone, including the out of towners. There was a LOT of people there. It was short and sweet, but very nice to see them all. So many babies, weddings, moves, new jobs, to hear about.

The icing on the night though was Grace having her first encounter with bee stings. Yes plural....4 of them! She was such a trooper though, everyone pitched in to help with her and she was fine within a matter of minutes. I was very impressed with how well she did.



Her cousin Tania rubbing cold shallot on the stings, she says her Grandma did this with her when she was little. It worked. :)

This is cousins Cameron and Zeek, behind them is the playhouse that's supposed to be for the girls but the boys fort is home to all the spare bikes so now they share.

The inside of the playhouse with Miley, Haylee and Daxton all playing.



Stacey, John, and Dane...they also are expecting a little girl (River) in November.



Haylee


Ready......set.........


Star jump

Ta da........beautiful ladies.
Tyler and Ailey

Grace, Breckley, and Cameron

Morning outing with Uncle Paul, Aunt Whitney, Grace and Haylee
Justin and Grace
Wendy did a little ear cleaning on those who were brave enough.....pretty nasty what we found in there.
Grandpa and Grace

The crowd gathers to watch the flaming ear.

Swimming with Grandpas girls.....from left is Grace, Addison, Haylee, and Miley
Justin started reading Haylee a children's book and she was too busy to listen but Grandma was really enjoying it, she can't see so she didn't even know Haylee had left and he was just reading to her.....it was very sweet. :)
Two peas in a pod these two.....all week they played and had so much fun. Haylee and Miley
Addison......no words to explain this one.
Grandma enjoying the weather with all of us.

Grandpa playing while Grace and Haylee dance.
Grandpa and Jackson
Jen and Jackson
Grace caught a fish.
Aunt Whitney and Haylee

Taking the little ones up the street for some ice cream. This little store has been around forever, no more penny candy but the ice cream was good.

Addison, Miley, Grace, and Haylee
Not just the girls anymore.....a little outnumbered Jack Jack

Messy faces Goofy faces

Wearing Aunt Jens pajamas.....oh the things they find for fun.
We got the little row boat out to tow the kids and they had a blast, this is Miley and Grace

Addison......another one with no explanation.

Spending the day at Lake Coeur d alene. Haylee, Jen and Jackson
Our family
Visiting Justin's Grandpas grave site

Haylee loves to take pictures
Night swimming with cousins
So peaceful

Cousins Jen, Kristen, Wendy and Justin
Here are all of the kids that belong to those cousins. Top row: Addison and Cameron Middle row: Grace, Riley Bottom: Miley, Ailey and Haylee Nothing like a sleepover at the lake.

Turtle hunting
Tyler braved the water in a canoe with all of the small children. We should have been worried but the silence was great. :)
Aunt Vicki came out on our last day with her boat and we had a blast. I tried water skiing for the first time, I was soooooo close but never got all the way up. Justin did very well, Wendy did great and Mike kicked all of our butts and did one ski. We are all a bit sore now.


Here is Mike, Dad, Grandpa
Grace was loving the boat rides

Grace and Reilly on the tube behind a "real" boat, the ride was a little faster this time. ;)


All of the kids having a great time getting dirty.
To end the week with a bang we celebrated Justins cousin Kirks birthday. Grace helped Kristen with the dirt and worms and was so excited to give it to him.

There is really not much else to say, we had a wonderful time. Our family rocks!!!! We miss you all already and love you so much. Thanks for the fun memories.