Christian is 7!

 

This sweet boy had a birthday this month too.  In the past we have celebrated his birthday in combination with Austin's or we have had a family party in Michigan, where we usually are this time of year.  This year he finally got to have a "friend" party.  He wanted a bouncy party so we had a bouncy ball cake, bouncy ball favors, and went to a bouncy house after dinner, presents, cake and ice cream. 

 

Christian has come out of his shell a bit this year and is growing in kindness.  He is a very compassionate boy by nature and always wants to include everyone in what he is doing.  He has a sweet spirit and is a peacemaker.  We are so thankful to be able to celebrate his life and watch him grow and play every day.  He is such a blessing to our family. 

Austin is 10!

Can't believe Austin hit double digits this week!  He wanted to have his first sleepover party.  We invited 2 friends from school and rented a movie and video game for them.  We set up air mattresses in the tv room and let them stay up as late as they wanted.  I think they made it until 3am! 

Austin also got to go to a Sounders game with dad this month which was partly for his birthday.  We are so proud of this boy.  Austin has really grown in thoughtfulness and kindness this year.  It has been so nice to have his home all summer - we have really enjoyed the time. 

My Little Businessman!

Christian surprised us this week and came up with his own idea for a new business...

He made some money the first night because we all were enjoying his creativity and service!  He added hours of operation to the sign later.  He even asked me to set an alarm so he would be awake at 8am the next day ready for his customers.

His brothers did not want to miss out on the opportunity.  Austin tried to start a lego selling business but no one was interested in that so he changed gears and made himself a sign and started a foot washing business.  He got us all to try that service out.  One of the older kids, probably Austin, helped Ezra make a sign that said "Ezra's piano show...3 minutes for 1$ and 6 minutes for 2$".  He played beautifully!  It was all very cute and very creative.

Camping #2

We were blessed to be able to take a camping trip with our small group from church.  5 families, 12 kids.  Lots of fun!  The weather was not so great.  We saw the forecast was for no rain and did not put up the rain flap on our tent.  You would think after living 4 years in Seattle we would know better.  We were up at 5am the first morning looking for the rain flap and trying to put it up without waking up the kids.  Christian and I worked really hard the week before trying to get him to learn to ride his bike with no training wheels and he got it just in time!  The campground was a great place for him to practice.

We sang songs every night and one of them required a "conga line for Jesus"...  hard to explain but it was a great song!

There were lot of smores around the fire every night and card games with the adults after the kids were in bed.  It was really nice to relax and have a lot of time for fellowship and get to know our friends' kids better.

No trip in this area would be complete without the requisite Puget Sound slugs.  Ick.

thankful for my van

I have to say, I never thought I would say that.  I never especially wanted a minivan and was a little sad when the day came that we purchased one.  The convenience can't be beat though.  I realized last week that my boys are spoiled and not used to sitting close to each other anymore.  I had to drive them from my mother-in-law's house to our house in Tim's Jetta.  It was a miserable ride, and not because it doesn't have air conditioning.  By the end of the ride (mind you its only 10 min) the boys were not allowed to talk to each other and had to ride with their feet and arms crossed.  And I was in tears.  Hmmmm...moments to remember I guess.

Camping in the mountains

We got to go camping in  early July with some good friends.  We went to Leavenworth, WA (a 2-3 hour drive through the mountains).  It was super hot compared to the weather we get at home.  It was in the mid-90s each day and I loved it.  It hasn't felt like summer yet here since it has yet to get really hot or even mildly hot for an extended period.  This was a new campground we were trying out.  The campsites were on the edge of the mountain/hill that went down to a big river so we had the sound of the river in the background, large rocks to climb and jump on, and a trail to explore.

We also spent a LOT of time swimming.  There was a nice pool there that was perfect for cooling off.

Also an ice cream shop on the grounds.  Fun!  Although the 2nd day we did drive the 2 minutes down the road to Safeway to buy a box of popsicles to save a little $$.

An unexpected surprise - there were lots of these little lizards in the rocks and the kids were able to capture a few.  We found out later they are called blue bellied lizards.  Talk about the perfect adventure for my boys!

The family we went with has 3 girls.  By the end of the trip my boys had corrupted them and turned them into gunslingers.

Foster Kittens!

This is Midnight

This is Winky.

We have been for about a year now thinking about becoming foster parents for the animal shelter in our town.  The orientation was never at a time we could go until summer came.  We decided to give it a try and went to training last week.  We came home with these 2 cuties.  They are living in our laundry room and we will have them until they get rid of the colds they have and are a little bigger so they can be adopted.  I had to make a bed for them in some shelves where we keep gloves/cleats/sports equipment.  Even though I made them a nice bed on one of the shelves, I found them this morning curled up on a different shelf in Austin's baseball helmet.  We are not going to be adopting them but we are having a good time playing with them and caring for them!