Mirrors and ponytails

Ellie discovers the power of the mirror, and the fun of having a pony-tail!

Peaceful

Grandma Susan must have the magic touch... another day, another lap-nap!

Photos of the family visit

Ellie gives her auntie Amber a hug and a kiss.

And a kiss for great-grandma Lille.

Levi poses with GG Lille.

Goofing around with GG Lille

An angelic pose with grandma Susan

Photo Ops

Two pretty ladies with their super cool shades

Let's try Richard's sun-hat as a prop

That works! Smiles and laughter all around.

Levi's turn in the spotlight. He shows off with a big wheelie on his big wheel.

Visit from Grandma Susan

How sweet it is to have a little one fall asleep in your arms.

That evening the kids enjoyed having grandma read to them - she had brought them some new books and this one is about Moving Day, to help them prepare for when we will someday move (when our house sells).

Chores

Ellie loves to go out to the farm(s) with me and if there are chores to do that is even more fun for her to help me out with them.

On this day we stopped by Jenee's to do some watering. At first Ellie watered the dirt but then I showed her how to water the plants...

...she caught on fast and was a great little helper.

After that we went to visit Sinwaan and the other critters. She always makes sure to go over and visit with the Minis. I am sure Andy is wishing there was some grain in that tub for him!

Sprinkler fun

At first it was a game of dodging the droplets as they spun around in the air.

Ellie shrieked and giggled as she made her escape.

Levi turned it off so he could run over and try to drink from the 'arms.'

We would surprise him by turning it back on!

Ellie was also startled when Levi turned it on this time.

It was a lot of fun for a warm afternoon.

Matt is growing out his beard as motivation for writing his book. It is going to be a bestseller.

Dental visit

Time for the kids to visit the dentist again! We had an appointment for 8 AM. The kids did great and a photographer from work also came along to get some photos of the process in case we ever need photos of kids at the dentist later.

Levi was such a pro, he did so much better than last time. He was a little nervous about the x-rays but this time he sat still and let them get all the views they needed. I was so proud of him! He sat in the big chair with his bib and sunglasses and headphones and got to watch something on the ceiling while they cleaned his teeth and did the exams. He also got to see the x-rays they had taken of his teeth and he thought that was pretty neat.

Ellie is getting the hang of it also, she is still young enough to sit in my lap and lean back into the dentists' lap. She did better today also, I think her big brother's example was a comfort for her.

Fun with Oma

Today the kids spent the day with their Oma Karen. They had a lot of fun playing in the sand pile out back, and with the Legos. Levi played a bit with Carson. Ellie played with them about half the time, and the other half of time she was with Oma specifically helping her or just sitting on her lap watching the boys play.

Ellie helped Oma do a few loads of laundry and loved tossing it in the dryer, and then when dry they piled it in the basket and pushed it down the hallway to Jessica's door. Ellie knocked on her door and when Jessica opened it, Ellie said quietly to her "here, clean laundry."

Oma reports that "the boys got along famously and sometimes Levi was in charge which I found interesting. Sometimes Carson decides what they will play, but most the time Levi did and Carson follows..."

They all played with sidewalk chalk and drew pictures and wrote their names at Oma's suggestion. They all played in the play room together with action figures, and the Life game and Carson had money/coins he put on the table and Levi made up a game about that. After the boys left that room, Ellie picked up the coins they strewn on the floor and said to Oma "Carson's money" and she put it up on the table where he could find it.

When the boys played in the dirt, Ellie pushed the smaller stroller with the doll in it back and forth on the sidewalk. Then she decided "Susie" needed a nap, and she put her to bed, and brought out a teddy bear that needed a walk in the stroller. She managed to buckle him in and take him out, she enjoyed practicing that as well.

For lunch the kids all wanted pancakes, so Oma made apple pancakes and they also had (soy) chocolate milk. They all ate quite a bit, especially the boys, I think Levi ate 5 pancakes!

My mom says "It was probably the most fun they ever had here and probably because they are getting older and able to socialize better--it was good for all of them..."

Drag Strip

As I was browsing folders of images that have yet to be archived and uploaded, I came across this image, in the middle of photos of cars on the Walla Walla Drag Strip. I can only imagine that this field was there next to the parking lot. I don't know if Levi found this cup amongst the wheat or if it was something Matt bought while they were there.

A couple photos

Ellie visits with Cindy's chickens

Levi takes a short ride on the motorcycle

Camping at South Fork

This weekend we went down to South Fork to camp with my mom and Gail. Matt stayed behind to clean the house because we got a call about a showing. Matt's dad was busy so he only joined us for the day on Saturday.

They have a neat playground there which kept the kids busy.

Ellie especially enjoyed the monkey bars.

Levi spent most of his time digging in the sand and burying his cars.

Gail had organized a potluck on Sabbath for lunch to celebrate her dad's birthday, so we all enjoyed the spread of delicious food.

Later that evening mom showed us all how to make a campfire. I told her she should try out for Survivor.

Mom did a bang up job and soon had a fire a'blazing! We all enjoyed some S'Mores and then the kids got drowsy as the sun started setting. Levi cozied up with Gail and fell asleep on her lap.

Ellie fell asleep with me holding her. We three ladies all sat around the fire and told stories and had a nice time visiting.

At dusk Robert and Carson showed up and told us about some deer in the campground. I had put the kids to bed in the camper so I took my camera out to find them. I was able to get pretty close but then Carson scared them away and I could see that one had a limp.

We had a really lovely campsite, very private and peaceful. Gail had the spot next to us (to the right) and had set up a tent with her cot.

We enjoyed a beautiful sunset!