Camping in Mt. Rainier

We were able to go camping in Mt. Rainier National Park as part of our trip to see Mike's parents in Washington. Mike's parents came along with us, which was super special. We had such a great time. We camped in the "Ohanapacosh" campground. Mike and his sister have great memories of camping there when they were kids. 

We did tent-trailer camping. Mike's parents brought their trailer & we borrowed Mike's sister's trailer. It was so nice of them to let us take it. As a little girl, we did lots of camping in our tent-trailer. I loved it. I think I want to invest in one and go camping every summer like Mike's sister does with her kids. It would be a great way to make memories. It was so much fun!!

The first night, the boys had fun roasting marshmallows. Thank goodness Grandma likes burned ones!! Actually, after a few burned ones, Daven started perfecting his roasting skills. He made me some pretty delicious ones.

I just love the squat in this picture. He looks like a pro doesn't he?

The best part about camping are the "wake up" pictures. Here is Avery in her bug suit as we called it.

I just love this picture. She looks so adorable all bundled up & in pink, no less. It was about 90 degrees when we arrived, but the next two days were cool. It was so nice to be able to wear sweat shirts and long pants in July. HEAVEN!!!

This is a river right by our campsite. I loved going to sleep to the sound of the river & waking up to it each morning. Could sit there and listen to it forever.
We went on a hike to some very old trees. Here are the boys sitting in the roots of a tree that was probably 800 - 1000 years old before it died. This is Mike's favorite picture.

The boys loved finding sticks. Here they are fighting this tree in a pretend battle. 

Here is another wake-up picture. The second night was really cold. Avery has on so many layers. It was kind of funny because she kept trying to put her fists in her mouth, but she couldn't move her arms far enough. It was like Ralphie on the Christmas story. I just wanted her to be warm, especially with SIDS and not being able to put bedding on her.

On our last day, we took a short hike to Silver Falls. It was very lush and pretty. I'm glad the boys got to see what other parts of the world look like without cacti and rocks all over. Avery loved being in her Bjorn. We created the term, "should we bjorn her?" every time we got out of the car. She just looked around and napped whenever she felt like it.

Grandma and Papa at the falls. It was a huge drop-off, so we held on tight to the kids. Isn't this a beautiful picture? We are so glad they decided to come with us!

I wanted to get a Christmas Card picture. But, the one I like best you can't see the falls in. Oh-well. Here is another of my favorites.

I want to go back.

Avery Muffin

Here's a picture for Grandma Pehrson and Grandma Bryner of Avery muffin. Mike snapped this of her today in her swing.

4th of July

We just got back this week from our trip to Washington state to visit Mike's parents. We had such a great trip. I'm going to try and post some pictures from our favorite happenings. We kept very busy. One special highlight was that Mike's sister, Michelle, was there the same time we were. The kids had a blast hanging out with all their cousins again. Cousin time is the best. I have the best memories of spending time with my cousins as a kid, so I was super excited they get to start creating these memories with their cousins now.

It was around 100 degrees on the 4th. Everyone thought it was so hot, we thought we had died and gone to heaven. It was so nice to be somewhere where it actually cools off at night & the mornings are pleasant.

We started the 4th of July by painting rocks in the backyard. Papa gathered a whole bunch of rocks & grandma brought out all her paint. The kids had so much fun. The adults spray-painted some rocks red. Then, Papa put some U of U decals on them. Of course, Mike enjoyed this!!! We brought home the Utes rocks and the boys proudly have them displayed in their rooms.

Logan, my little lefty. He uses his left hand for everything, even eating. Kind of surprising to us. Logan was very focused the whole time. He only used RED paint. To Mike's dissapointment it was not because he likes the U. It was because he wanted the rocks to look like fire engines.
These two were inseparable. Mekenna took Logan under her wing and took care of him from sun-up to sun-down. Logan was eating up all the extra TLC. Mekenna was so sweet to him!
After lunch, we went boating. The Columbia River is right by Mike's parents house, but it was too cold for skiing. We took a small drive to the Snake River. BEAUTIFUL! It was so fun to be on a boat again. I loved boating as a teenager & still do. Here are the kiddos with their cousins, just having a blast on Papa's boat!
This is a nasty picture of me. But, I had to post it. Daven loves boating. He surprised us by being very comfortable on the boat. He loved being the flag boy. He would hold it up really high while we were all skiing. The water was super cold when you got in. (Hard to imagine how cold the water on the Columbia must have been). But it was fun to ski and be on the water. I have to say, Mike and I found muscles we forgot we ever had the next day. We are getting old!!!
That night, we drove down to the Columbia River and watched some fireworks. It was a great day. Above is Daven driving the boat, he loved to honk the horn. Fun memories!

A Good Laugh (or Two)

Laugh #1:

Today we went to Kohl's. I got a gift card from my mom for my birthday. I am in desperate need of shirts. I took Logan into the dressing room with me because Mike had already wandered off with the other 2 kiddos. Logan wasn't super excited, so I told him to tell me if he liked the shirts I was trying on.

He didn't say much. But as I tried on the final shirt....he said:

"When I grow up and get bigger and turn into like a mommy, then I can wear a shirt like that." 

The lady in the dressing room next to me busted up laughing!! I was laughing, too and explained that when he grew up, he got to wear shirts like daddy.

But, Mike said, hey at least I knew he liked my shirt. I bought it!!

Laugh #2:

We have been doing swim lessons through the city. Logan HATES his swim lessons. On Wednesday, he was crying. He told me that he needed to go stinkies. I freaked out and got him out of the pool, worried he had already gone. Luckily, he hadn't. But, Avery was asleep in her carseat. Daven was done with his lesson. So, I asked Daven to stay right there while I ran with Logan to the bathroom. I had to hurry fast. (but really I should have taken them both with me).

Daven was the best big brother. He didn't leave her side. The lady sitting next to us said he did a really good job watching her and entertaining her after she woke up.

Well, later that day, I told Daven how appreciative I was for his help watching Avery while I took Logan to the bathroom. He said:

"Your welcome. And if anyone said they wanted to take her, I would say she costs ONE HUNDRED DOLLARS."

I think he was trying to think of some HUGE amount that nobody would ever be able to pay. But, yes, I have to chuckle because he would have sold his sweet little sister for $100.00

Mike said, next time make sure you take her to the bathroom with you. 

Swine Flu hits our household

Yes, we are pretty sure we all had the swine flu. It was YUCKY!!! Thankfully, we are all feeling better. Somehow, Avery didn't get it. Thank goodness! Our family came into town for Avery's baby blesssing. My sweet niece was the first to come down with symptoms on Saturday night. But, it was a mild cough...so we thought nothing of it. But, by Tuesday Papa had it, Mike had it, and my nephew. When Mike spiked a fever and had the chills, we started thinking it was the flu. Well, 6 more of us came down with it that week. It was awful, we felt so rotten. Daven was the swine flu winner, conquering the virus in 1 1/2 days. I was the looser, taking 8 days to get over the bug. When Mike's sister got home, she found out that the day before they came, several 5th graders at my nieces school tested positive for the swine flu. I guess the majority of the 5th grade got infected. My sweet niece is in the 5th grade. So, although none of us were tested, we are pretty certain that is what we had. Our pediatrician seemed to think so as well. Just hope none of you get it, it is so yucky. Sorry to Chloe..I know we passed it to you.

What is crazy is we just got back from California this weekend. I found myself not worrying as much about the boys' hands being clean. Usually I am a freak. But, I guess in my mind, I was thinking, we'll we've already had the worst possible thing. Anything else would seem pretty mild.