Summer Outdoors

Our summer has been non-stop since school was released in mid-June.  So far we have totaled 5 camping trips, 1 trip to NM, and a few other fun activities.

First was Memorial Day camping:

Fishing derby

Funny face family picture







Waking Daddy up in the trailer



Then it was off to Westport for a charter fishing trip:

Those that stayed behind played on the beach and got blizzards and taffy!



Next was a trip to NM:

 Little Miss LOVED the caves at Bandelier Natl. Monument.

 4th of July games- Trying to dunk someone

 We did lots of swimming and teasing of jumping off the diving board.

Next up was our first family reunion camping trip of the year in Carnation, WA.  Then we went on our church campout, and last was our other family reunion camping trip at Alder Lake.  Alder Lake is located about 45 minutes from Mt. Rainier, so we took advantage of the opportunity to go hiking and see the sites on the train.

 The smallest hiker soon figured out she could stand on the backpack bar to get a better view.

 We got to ride the Mt. Rainier Scenic Railroad with Grandma, Grandpa, and cousins Summer and Abby.



Probably the biggest excitement on the last camping trip was that McKinley didn't need to have a baby gate on the side of her bunk while she slept!  She really wanted to be like the big kids, so we told her that she would have to stay in her bed and she did it!  It probably helped that she was exhausted, but we are thinking that it might be time to pack up the crib soon.

Mid summer we got to spend some time at the pool with Kinley's birth mom too!

School starts so soon.  Our summer is quickly winding down with soccer picking up, birthdays and family visits.  Everyone has wondered where the summer has gone.  Mom and our littlest girl will be sad when we have to send the big kids off to school.  I'm amazed at how fast the big kids have grown.  In no time at all it will be time for the smallest bird to fly off to school too.



Trip to the Beach

We just returned from a trip to the beach.  Daddy and the two oldest went charter fishing while the rest of us waited in the trailer and played on the beach.  Littlest girl LOVED the beach.  She walked around poking her finger in the sand and picking up dead crab legs.  She also learned to write in the sand with a stick.

The fishing trip was successful.  They came back with 3 limits of rockfish and only had one get sea sick.  I was glad that we waited and picked out salt water taffy instead.  :)

Dance Party

After the beautiful weather we had last week, this week's rain has kept us all cooped up.  Tonight we had a dance party to burn off some of that extra energy.  Everybody joined in.

17 months

Baby girl is growing so fast!  Last week I tried to get some pictures taken.  I quickly learned that it will take at least two to get the best pictures. One to keep her attention and occupied, and the other to snap the picture.
At 17 months, baby girl is making animal sounds (like Mooooo and Quack) and counting to three.  She signs please, more, and all done and LOVES to immitate her big brothers and sisters.  The other night we were voting on what movie we should watch by raising hands when we announced the movie and our baby girl joined right in.  Winking has also been something she has found fun to try!


photo by Ravissant Photography

We are still so grateful that she is a part of our family.  McKinley's Forever Day is tomorrow.  To celebrate, we took our little forever family to dinner and are hoping to do some other fun things that the kids suggested to remind them about our special day.

Update:  We ended up visiting the temple to celebrate our special one year anniversary of that wonderful day.

Egg hunting

Since we weren't able to connect with our little one's birth mom this weekend, I figured I would post pictures of what the weekend looked like with our little one year old egg hunter.

Easter

This year we took the kids to the Easter Egg hunt in town and then stood in line to visit with the Easter bunny. 

Our little Em was kind of confused at the first egg hunt of the weekend, but once she figured out she could keep the eggs and that there were treats inside, she LOVED it.

She got to a point where she would just pick up the egg and then open it while the other kids ran wildly around snatching up eggs.

Hunting for eggs with candy drool on her jammies from the first egg she found before church Easter morning.

Even brighter

That smile makes my sunny days even brighter.  Look at those gorgeous eyes and curly locks.  What a cutie!

First piece of art

I've been thinking about McKinley's birth mom every time I walk past this beautiful piece of work.  Since I can't fold it up and send it to her, hopefully a photo will do.

M's first official drawing.  She's full of talent!  :)

I realized these last videos, little miss has some lop-sided hairstlyes.  This is usually how it goes.  We start the day off with symmetry, and then we get in the car and the minute she sits in her carseat, she pulls out the right side of her hair, leaving the one side untouched.  She already has her own hairstyle preferences.  :)

Little M also loves to attempt dressing and accessorizing herself these days.  If she finds a bracelet or necklace, socks, or hats, or even shoes, she will try to put them on.  As you can tell in the video, she is pretty proud of herself when it all works out.

DANCE!