Week #33:Back to School Nails

This week we...

...took our friend Danica with us to the river. Yes, we go there often if you haven't noticed. We had a blast as usual. I love the whole back and forth from bank to river, bank to river as the kids try to stay clean of the sand. It's a perpetual sand nightmare. On this trip the kids discovered the art of collecting rocks and stuffing them in any and every available pocket. 

...saw Emma pampered with a back to school pedicure and manicure. A friend in our ward is a nail technician. So one vinyl- for-nail-art trade later and Emma is hooked up. It was fun to see all the fun colors and combinations. I don't know that they'll last until the start of school, but it was still fun.

...found more milk messages in Lainey's spilled milk mess. Lainey took the cap off the milk jug and tipped it over to pour milk into her cereal bowl. Only, the jug got stuck flat on it's side on the table, gushing milk in the bowl and all over. I was freaking out! She was freaking out! She couldn't get the milk jug back upright. She filled her bowl alright and spilled milk over half of the table. I wasn't going to take a picture because I couldn't believe that much milk was wasted. I wasn't, that is, until I saw the heart milk-message in the milk as I went to swipe my wash cloth over the mess. I just had to then.

...went back to the Columbia with our cousin Alex. Emma got to go spend several days with her cousin, Grace, in Selah. Well as you can imagine, that made Paul feel pretty bad that he was stuck being the second child and not able to do that many things. So we called up a cousin of our own. :) And then we went to the river. Two things that will cheer us up every time.

 Alex skipped a rock

Paul: "Holy wave maker, Batman!"

...made more apricot nectar. I have to say that I was hooked on making nectar this year. It was fun to squish them in the Victorian strainer and easy to fill the jars and water bath.

...sampled the BEST homemade ice cream I've had in a long time. Aunt Shawnee and Uncle Bill were in town this weekend and we went over there to celebrate Bill's birthday. Shawnee made homemade ice cream with salted caramel sauce. It was divine. Ben and Claire especially loved licking the ice.

This one made me laugh.

Week #32:Surprise Visitors

This week we...

...had some surprise visitors and house guests. It was so fun! The Smiths, our neighbors from our days in Ellensburg, came through on their way to a family reunion. We were so glad that they stopped here on their way. We went to the river, watched the Olympics, and then went to the free movie the next morning before they headed on their way. Thanks for staying at the Erickson Hotel. Come again soon!

 It was fun to be around Blake with the cutest voice, Cade who actually played with Lainey and made her laugh, and Oneil who has a killer smile.We moved when Blake was just a baby, so we don't know the younger ones all that much.

Corgan and Lily are the two we remember most from our Ellensburg days. All the kids quickly made friends and played well together.

...took Paul in to get his cast off. He was so excited to get his cast off and be able to swim. He made plans to go to the river without really checking with me or Jason to see if it would work out. 

All the cool signatures he got

Our cool nurse cutting the cast off

...we went swimming somewhere special on Wednesday. Can you guess where? At the river! We had our cousin Katie with us...and it's just a given that we would go to the river. Right? Right. The river has been so low, which creates a great bank for the kids to play. It wasn't too hot, but just right. We wanted to stay longer. Sigh.

 Here's my cute little group

 I told you Paul is really enjoying the water. He isn't deterred by the frigid temperature, he just jumps right in and acts like he's making up for three weeks of lost time. Oh wait...he did lose three weeks swimming time. 

Paul: "Claire, you're not supposed to go in the water."

Emma: "You better ru-un!"

...made a splash at a birthday party. Our neighbor Danica turned 5 and invited us to celebrate with her. They had a bouncy house with a slide down into a pool. That was THE hit of the party. They had pizza, pop, and cotton candy. They had a pinata and treat bag to go. What more could they ask for? Nothing. They loved it all. Lainey was cute as she made friends with everyone there. She's good at breaking the ice with people; we just talk about her.

...attended our first, and possibly last, ever hunting/fishing themed wedding reception. We went to Moses Lake for the reception of my first cousin, once removed. (I finally figured out how the removeds work.) The bride and groom both enjoy hunting and fishing. In fact, the bride has more guns than the groom. We visited with family at the reception, ate the Swedish fish and gummy worms, marveled at the wedding cake with the groom sitting on top fishing for his bride with a wedding ring as bait, and then decided it was time to leave. But we didn't go home, not yet. You can't go to Moses Lake without also going to Chico's, so we did.

Grandma Wilson (Dad's mom), Aunt Evelyn (Dad's sister), & Dad

Jordan showing off in front of the great hunting decor

He offered a piggyback ride,

and she couldn't resist.

Lainey finally warmed up to Jordan, 

sitting with him and playing all night

Lainey discovered the window where

you can watch them make the pizzas.

Week #31:Working for a living

This week...

...Emma mowed part of the lawn. We got a new self propelled mower, and now it's so easy to mow. When Jason offered her money to get out and do it, she was thrilled to try it. She wasn't too thrilled at how hot and sweaty it made her, but she liked the idea of earning a couple dollars.

...we tried canning apricots. It was so fun, before we actually sampled what we canned. No blanching and syrup making necessary for apricots, it's great. But they don't turn out so tasty when they come out of the water bath. Will not probably do any more of this lovely fruit. My new favorite thing to can, if you didn't have to eat them when you got done. I also did some apple pie filling. That was fun too. It smells good as you cook the sauce, filling the jars is so easy, and they look so good when they come out. Only I have some tweaking on this too to get my filling and pies just right. Pictures to follow.

...we went to the river with Taya and Paxton. This is our favorite thing to do. If you haven't noticed already, you will soon enough. I hear requests to go to the river all the time. We like Howard Amon Park, especially when the tide is low. Notice Paul with his cast all bagged up to keep it safe.

...I got to fill a fun order. A woman that works at Jason's office wanted some letter plaques for her daughters, Dallace and Dakota. It was so fun to work on these and embellish all the letters. It was more play than work.

 I love the library stamp of their birthdates

The C is my favorite, and the credit goes to Emma