3rd grade!

The First Day of School by Alison

I woke up and took a shower! I got dressed! I got my stuff for school in my new backpack.When I got to school, I got to my desk and put my stuff away. Then, Daddy left and I did my work! After Daddy left, I felt a little scared since dad left. But this friend at my table was more scared then me! So, I helped her and we did more work. Then, it was recess time and I played with Kylee. Then we went back to class and we started to make an apple book. The teacher gave us a little time to work on them, and also to work on our "Who Am I?" posters. I was the teacher helper so I got to do calendar. After that, teacher asked if people wanted to be the lunch servers. Then, she read us a chapter of a book. Then the room monitor lined us up for lunch. We washed our hands and went to lunch and after lunch we lined up for another recess. After recess we went back to class. My teacher read us another chapter in the book, "101 Ways to Bug Your Parents". Then we went to music. Then we went back to class and sat at our desks. We waited for the room monitor to call our groups to get our stuff and go to the carpet. Then she took us out for an extra recess. We put our backpacks on the grass so we could play. After that, we got on the bus. I liked it all!!

Camping

This was our last camping trip of the summer since I go back to work next Monday, and we'll be back to completely opposite schedules.

We took the trailer up to Mt. Hood RV Park last week. The girls love this campground because it has a playground and a swimming pool. :) I love it because it's so beautiful!

We feel like we're almost experts now with setting everything up! (Taking it all down and packing everything back up is another story...)

We had a great time during our little get-away. Gramma and Mikey joined us the next day and Merilyn loved her Lily time.

While Mike and Trav golfed, Gramma, Ali, Meri and I went out to try to find the Letterbox treasure we had searched for last year. Still no luck! After the guys got back, we took Trav back with us for a second look. (And a text photo from Casey...her family found it last year!) TaDa! Thanks for the great clue Casey! :)

Of course, I didn't even think about bringing a stamp for the treasure box... so we colored Ali's thumb and left a thumbprint! (I tried to turn it into a little bug.)

We went on lots of walks while we were there. We found a great little spot right on the river! Had we known, we would've come prepared with swimsuits! Or not... the water was freezing! The views were so amazing! Merilyn chose not to join us... it was "too much work.")

Travis and I celebrated our 11-year anniversary while we there. The girls helped Mom make us a very nice steak dinner (and a surprise ice cream cake!). So fun!

Trying Something New...

I have racked my brain for ideas on how to make chore charts (and allowance) work for us. I found this idea somewhere... but of course, I couldn't find it again, so I came up with a similar version. (Thank you to the smart person who came up with this idea!) First, I typed up a list of things that I do around the house (or that need to be done around the house).

I printed, cut, and glued... to make a poster.

Each one of us chose a different color of star sticker. (I figured I should get in on this too! Maybe earn some fun money! Hah!) We put our star on the chore when we do it. (Merilyn's are modified a little bit... for example, instead of unloading the entire dishwasher, she does the silverware, and I help her with the rest.)

At the end of the week, we'll count up our stars and see how much we've earned. I think the chart I saw had each star = 5 cents. But, we're thinking each star = 25 cents.

We're going to give this a shot... and hopefully, it'll work! I think it'll be easier for us to keep track of what we do... and help Trav and I remember to pay the girls their allowance. Any other ideas?

Tillamook 2011

Another road trip... we have become master road trippers! We got a new movie, Rio and popped popcorn for this trip. The girls were quite content! We can always tell when we hit Tillamook... even with our eyes closed. The ripe, dairy cow smell can really make your eyes water!

We drove out to Rockaway to shop and get ice cream. We met a little squirrel who was very interested in the girls' ice cream cones...

We dropped Grandma Karen off at her massage appointment, and the girls and I went to the Tillamook library where we made it just in time for story time! There was a clown performing during today's kids' hour... the girls loved it!

Aunt Pat was able to get us in to La Tea Da for a little tea party. What fun! The girls got to dress up in hats and scarves... even high heels! We were served little sandwiches and tea. The girls had peanut butter, jelly, and Nutella sandwiches, goldfish crackers, fruit, cheese and crackers... and a tiny cupcake. It was great!

Grandpa Ken and Grandma Karen came out to our house from Colorado. They were on their way to Tillamook for the annual Slyter reunion. We enjoyed getting to spend time with them. Once a year is not enough! Ali and Meri love getting to spend time with their cousin, Marisa! They always pick up right where they left off. They were super busy... running through the sprinkler, riding bikes, and hopscotch.

Meri and Marisa had quite the playground on the back deck. I think they had Merilyn's entire room out there!

On Sunday, we all went out to dinner with Uncle Ross. On Monday, Aunt Pat and Uncle John drove up from Tillamook. The boys played golf, while the girls went to the scrapbook store, went out to lunch, and went to the mall. Rough! :)

Sunriver - July

We've been on a few road trips this summer... the girls are getting quite good at loading up the back seat with travel goodies.

Our family went to Sunriver for our dear friend's 50th wedding anniversary. (Congratulations Lloyd and Midge!) We all went down a few days early to take advantage of the sun! Mom, Casey, and I all stayed in a house together that had a great loft for the girls to play in. It was a very relaxing, enjoyable time.

The weather was beautiful! Of course, there was lots of swimming...

There was a lot of bike riding...

There were many tasty snacks. This one (a treat from Rocky Mountain Chocolate) was enjoyed on the grass after shopping at the outlet mall.

Lake Tahoe - July

We had the opportunity to take a "little" road trip... to Lake Tahoe (north-California side) for a Schweitzer family reunion. My uncle Chris had booked us all rooms at theFranciscan Lodge. It was really great to see everyone, the weather was beautiful, and the lake was amazing. (However, I think the girls would've been happy to spend the whole time in the pool!)

Alison and Natalie are swimming like little fish!

Trying to get a picture of all of the cousins and their families... it almost worked!

On the way home, our family took a detour through the Donner Party museum. Trav and I were a little more interested in the history than the girls... but they loved the little hike and climbing on every rock and log.

The girls were great travelers. It also helped that most of the driving was done at night... they slept a lot! When they were awake, they were loaded with travel bingo, movies, and toys.

A view of Mt. Shasta

Our fearless driver.