Volleyball!

It's been a bit of a rough start for us in middle school this year, so I was very surprised that Ali wanted to go out for volleyball. (Thrilled!! But, surprised!)
It has been a learning experience for all of us. I don't think I've watched a volleyball game (and definitely not more than one game) since my friends played in high school. We (Mom, Casey, and I) spent the first whole game telling each other all of the rules! :)
Ali is getting better - and more confident - every week. She's really enjoying herself and I've been loving watching her play!

I am so proud of Ali and her decision to try something new. Change can be scary... and this has been a year with lots of changes. I'm SO proud that she stepped out of her box, took a chance... and stuck with something completely new to her! :) Love you!

Meri's Birthday

September 2014

Daddy's traditional birthday donuts in the morning!

Miss Meri is now 8! She had her family dinner (on the 16th; the date of her birthday) at Olive Garden. Shocking, I know. I really don't know how the Olive Garden trend got started...
Grandma Sandy made a cake per Mer's request. Chocolate cake with chocolate frosting. Yummy! :) Another request was for the My Little Pony to be on top of the cake... but the tail could not touch the frosting!

Her party with friends was on the Saturday after her actual birthday. She had several friends (& cousins!!) over for a painting party. I suggested she call it an "Arty Party", but she did not like that idea! lol! :)

They all picked a picture they wanted to paint. (I had a few picture ideas for them to choose from.) They loved painting! Their *portraits* turned out so great! After was sang happy birthday, we all decorated our own cupcakes. They were on little paint trays and the paint spots were filled with different toppings and sprinkles. The cupcake creations were quite amazing! Later, there was present opening and play time. It was a great day!

That evening, Kristen and Luke came over for pizza and more play time. It was a full - FUN - day. Happy birthday sweet girl I can't imagine our lives without you!! xoxo

Back to School 2014

September 2014
Merilyn started 2nd grade this year! She was pretty excited. :) It was helpful that she "knew" her teacher... Ali had her in first grade. Grammy and Mer had gone shopping for the *perfect* first-day-of-school-outfit, so she was good to go.

I love this photo that Travis has started taking of the girls walking to school. Although, if I'm going to be completely honest, it breaks my heart a little bit. :)

Ali got to join Daddy this year for the first day festivities because she started a day later. And, speaking of Ali... her first day of middle school was a half-day so she (and Daddy) didn't think that needed a "first day photo". No first day outfit either, as they were told to be extra comfortable for the day. So, I was hoping for a first day picture on the 2nd day... but no one remembered. Bummer. Oh well!

It's been awhile since (years?) since we got together for our girls camping trip - and this was our year! My girls love Suzann's farm!! Riding on the Kubota, climbing apple trees, playing in the river... the list goes on and on. There's always something FUN to do there.

The girls and I got out the tent from the dusty depths of our garage... it hasn't been used at all in SO long! I swore then that it would be the very last time in a tent. (And, that began our adventure in trailers.)

We had so much fun on our little camping trip. (I didn't even mind sleeping in the tent!) We spent quite a bit of time at the Molalla River. Yikes! It was cold!! The kids didn't seem to mind, though... we had to drag them out! :)

And, of course we had some crafty time. :) We all brought back river rocks to paint and make pet rocks.

Thanks, Suzann, for another memorable weekend. :)

 The kids with the flag we made at one of our camping trips in 2009.

Oceanside 2014

It was time for the annual family get-together at the coast. It's always nice to see everyone and chat about what has been going on since the last time we were together. It was a beautiful day at the beach! It was pretty windy down on the sand... the walk back was a little painful with all of the sand being blown in our faces!

 Merilyn and Malia. (Trav's cousin's daughter.)

Three Arch Rocks. It was an amazing day!

Champoeg Camping

Our second trip of the summer was at Champoeg Park. We hadn't been here before, and Trav loves the fact that there was so much history in and around the park. It was so hot, but we built a fire anyway... gotta have the s'mores! While we waited for the fire to get going, the girls sat in the camp chairs reading. Love this! :)

Ali is roasting her marshmallow. :)

After the s'mores, Daddy and Ali got out the *bean bag game* (I'm not sure what it's really called...) and played for awhile. Trav is a master... none of us can get the points needed to beat him!

The next day we took off on a little hiking adventure to see if we could find the old town. Meri & the dog pooped out quickly, so I took them back to the trailer while Trav and Ali continued on. Unfortunately, the building was closed... so we drove to the Butteville General Store for lunch and ice cream.

It was such a beautiful place! 

After lunch we stopped at the visitor's center to check out what was in there. Trav was completely fascinated by all of the history... and the fact the pioneers had settled in Champoeg rather than Oregon City. He and the volunteer had quite the conversation about all of it!

Wordless Wednesday.

Okay, a couple of words: McIver Park, July 2014

Summer Swimming

It has been so warm this summer... in fact, today it's supposed to be over 100 degrees today! While I don't love the heat, the girls love the pool. We've spent a lot of time there this summer. The game here is jump from the stairs into the floatie. :)

July 4th 2014

Happy Fourth of July!

This year my mom outdid herself for the HV Parade... she arranged a horse and carriage for the kids to ride on!! They LOVED it! Casey and I snagged a spot on the street and waited for them to drive by. Ali and Natalie were in the front seat and they didn’t stop smiling!

 This was a selfie that Mer Mer took on the carriage.

After the parade we went back up to my mom’s house for lunch, a rest, and to wait for Daddy to get off of work. When he got there, we went back down to the park to check out some of the events that were set up.

And of course, there was the traditional slip-n-slide, lighting our fireworks & sparklers, and amazing food! (As usual...) It is always a good time! :) We stayed for the Happy Valley fireworks display, then hit the road because Trav had to be at work by 6am the next morning!