Ashten and AJ

AJ loved standing here for some reason, he spent a lot of time here over the weekend Dad doing dishes, lucky them (and us) they had a trailer
Aj, Wes, and Kristin

Ashty, Armand, Dad, and Mom playing games

The weather cleared up for a little bit today. The ranger came over and taught the kids about some fungi, trees, bugs, and animals. This and picking up litter certified them as Junior Rangers.

Ashten and Ashley listening to the Ranger.

Ayden learning about fungus that grows on trees

AJ lost interest after about 2 minutes

Picking up litter to become Jr. Rangers

Receiving their certificates

Presenting the newest Junior Rangers

Ashten and Ashley playing with play dough Ashten, Armand, Mom, Ayden, Dad, Toni, Wes, and Kristin

It was a long day for Ayden

and Ashten

Armand, Mom, Ashten, and Toni

We went to Potlatch State Park over Labor Day Weekend. The forecast: RAIN, RAIN, and more RAIN! Tent camping in the rain is ridiculous. We actually stayed dry the first night, the second night was a little wet, and by the last night everything was soaked. We had to run a load of blankets in the dryer. Anyway, we had a great time nevertheless. We played a lot of dice and card games as well as a game of croquet in the middle of a down pour! It was a blast. The kids spent time making bead necklaces and bracelets, playing with play dough, and coloring. We will never forget this trip.

The Potholes Day One

Uncle Wes helping Ayden fly his kiteand helping Ashten too Me, Papa, and Daddy getting ready for dinner
AJ
The name Potholes, doesn't really make me think WooHoo this is going to be fun. But it was! We had plenty of things to do to keep us busy and entertained. We got to camp in the afternoon and set everything up, then headed over to the lake for dinner. There was a pretty lake, and a huge field for the kids to run and play. By the time we got to the lake it was time to start dinner. Everyone took a meal to be in charge of, and mom and dad had the first one. We had teriyaki steak strips and noodles. It was delicious. The kids ran around, flied kites, and threw rocks in the lake. When it started getting cool and dark we headed back to camp for a campfire and some roasted marshmallows. It was tons of fun, and we can't wait until tomorrow.

Bowl - O - Rama

Ayden about to bowl a...

STRIKE!! AJ was very tired, he had just woken up from a nap (at 9pm)
Armand played very well

So did Dad (and Ashten is on the left)

Papa. AJ, Ayden, and Grammy

Nice one, Ashten

This evening after a stamping show in the morning and a BBQ at Mom and Dad's house in the afternoon, I had a great plan...bowling! I was surprised that everyone was up for it. We packed up the kids and went up to Secoma Lanes. I haven't been bowling since I was a teenager, but I couldn't believe that for 6 people it cost $72.00! Anyway, it was worth it. The boys had so much fun knocking down pins. They had their own lane so they could play with the bumpers up. Ayden was a little pro though there were very few times out of the two games that he even touched the sides. He rolled several strikes, more than I did that's for sure, and he probably even scored higher than some of the adults;)

Museum of Flight

Grammy and the boys Ayden Ashten, Ayden, and Grammy

Flying the plane

Cute little pilot

Anyone for a helicopter ride?

The boys got to make those flattened pennies

Ayden learning about the hot air balloon

Ashten's turn

So cute. Too bad about that huge scrape across his forehead (Ashten threw a book at his head)

I think this is the fighter jet they really liked

Papa, Grammy, Ashten, and Ayden

Boeing had a free day today at the Museum of Flight, so Dad and Mom asked Ayden and Ashten to go with them. It sounds like they had tons of fun! The kids wouldn't stop talking about it. While the big boys were out playing, AJ and I had some alone time. The house was basically silent. It was a really great break for me, I got tons of laundry done and did a little homework while AJ napped. <--- maybe break isn't exactly the right word now that I think about it, but still very nice for me also haha.

Happy Easter

The baskets BEFORE the kids devoured them. The Easter Bunny brought them all new jammies, they also got movies, sandals, and lots of healthy-ish snacks.
Cute boys

Could they be any cuter?

Last night the boys put out their Easter baskets, along with carrots for the bunny. Ashten was very concerned because he thought that the bunny a)would steal his Easter eggs, and b)needed some cookies. I tried to explain that bunnies don't actually steal and that they don't eat cookies. After much consideration we decided that the bunny would be happy with the carrots and a bowl of water. I think it was a perfect compromise. This morning the kids got up and told us that the Easter bunny brought them "things". I got up snapped some pics and rolled back into bed, but not before warning them not to eat all the food in their baskets. Luckily, the bunny was smart and brought fruit cups, juice, rice cakes, and other mostly healthy snacks. I was not too shocked when a couple of hours later the food was no where to be found, just traces of litter of course. Armand made us a big breakfast, then we headed to church. Afterwards, we had dinner at Mom and Dad's house. Thanks for the delicious dinner!! We did not do an egg hunt, needless to say it was raining, I believe this is the third year in a row that we've had to forfeit. Actually, I think one year Mom had the kids over on a random sunny day to take care of that (honestly though, I'm happy that there is no candy in the house;)

Riding in Style

Papa and Anderson Ayden, Old Ggmom, and Ashten

I forgot I could use my cell phone for camera until later, so I missed getting pics of big boys riding

Papa was going to Old Ggmom's to mow her lawn. We went over to have lunch and visit with both of them, since we had stopped by to visit Papa last week and had missed him. We had lunch there, and the boys had a tons of fun running in her huge back yard. We played tag for a few minutes. Their favorite part though was riding the lawn mower. The big boys both got to ride and they helped pick up branches in the yard. AJ got to ride also, but he wasn't too sure he liked it. It is awfully loud.

Happy Birthday, Dad!

Ayden and Ashten helping Papa open the presents they made him.Anderson, Kristin, Wes, and Grandma Peter (Kristin's brother), Papa, Ashten, Grammy, and Ayden
Yesterday, Dad turned 49 years old. Today, Mom had a party for him at their house. She cooked some awesome food and we had cake. Afterwards, the boys had a computer game that they spent all night trying to play, while the girls worked on crafts. The kids played and watched movies. Ayden stayed up until we left at about 1:30am. We all had lots of fun. It reminded my of the old days before we had kids when we used to stay and party all night.

(you can see the craft we worked on on my Craft Blog.)

Deer and Doo Doo

Ashten, Anderson, and Ayden

I forgot my camera so the cell phone had to do.Today, after doing some really "fun" stuff, dentist appointment, car tabs, etc we stopped by Grammy and Papa's house. We played computer games and visited. Later when Papa went to work we tried to go geocaching. The cache was supposed to be located on the old 11th Street bridge in Tacoma. We looked everywhere but the only thing we found was a dead deer that someone had dumped and lots of dog poo. The kids were bummed but they were so excited to walk up to the draw bridge. By the time we were done with the walk it was getting dark and the GPS batteries were dead so we went home.

Christmas IV

Britany, Taylor, Brad, and AshtenTana in her new jumper Grammy had sewn her.Ayden shooting his gun at the target Uncle Brad drew on the doorAshten's target was on the mirror Ayden and Ashten had a blast playing with Uncle Brad
We headed to Grammy and Papa's house next for Christmas lunch. Brad, Britany, Tana, and Taylor were able to come home from Arizona this year. We were so happy to have them back in Washington and also so happy to meet baby Taylor. We had a Country Rib dinner and afterwards thebig kids opened their presents while AJ napped. Dad, Brad, and Armand bonded while they played computer games. The girls had fun hanging out and relaxing (as much as we could with five kids ages 5, 3, 2, 1, and 0.)