The Blonde Bomber

May she always be so confident!

Bathing Beauty . . . or Beast

Shannon has been a LOT of trouble for us lately.She has cemented her position in the Terrible Twos and is truly trying. So, we take pictures like these to remind us that she's not always the Creature from the Black Lagoon.

And we still love her.

Swim Lessons

Mitchell did swimming lessons over the last 2 weeks!

First he needed some goggles, which we tested out in the bathtub.
Big hit!

He practiced kicking, floating, blowing bubbles, and being comfortable getting wet all over.

Well, sort of. Mitch turns out to be a master at keeping his face out of the water!!!

Shannon was an attentive audience!

Mitch did a great job listening to his teacher, Brooke! I was so pleased to have such a well-behaved little student!

My favorite concentration shot! He did a good job trying. While he still won't go under water, he certainly enjoyed himself and we have a solid foundation for trying again next year.

Re-connecting with Old Friends

This weekend was spent reconnecting with friends of old. I took the kids to Ephrata and spent the afternoon with Noel and Coah. So fun to spend some time with a friend from grade school!

  Then on Friday we drove to Lake Kachess in Washington for our Pioneer Pack Reunion. We stayed at the Jonas "cabin" and enjoyed time together immensely.

  Shannon and Mitchell loved all the toys provided by Jayme, and shared by Connor.

Little Emre came from Massachusetts and charmed Shannon (and the rest of us!). Such a good baby!

We enjoyed time at the beach.

Swimming, wading, throwing rocks, chasing an errant dog ("Major Bummer!"), and soaking up sunshine . . .

These two could not get enough rock throwing.

Poor Emre cannot escape Shannon on his own!

Much was made of the taxidermy at the house, and Mitch especially liked Bernie the Bear.

An overview of some relaxing. We enjoyed a delightful clothing exchange as well!

Food responsibilities were divided amongst teams and we had an abundance of tasty treats! If only we could have stayed until all the food was gone . . .

Here are the girls: Ann, Amy, Anna, me, Nina, Jayme and Sierra. We missed a few, but loved our time together! The storms were an added bonus . . .

Mitchell turns 4!

Mitchell Bryan is 4 years old! So hard to believe! Our little boy is a trip to be with right now. While he has his moments of full-lipped pouting, he is also a funny kid who loves playing with his friends, making jokes with his sister, and all things related to firetrucks.

In fact, he LOVES firetrucks - and especially Fireman Sam - so his birthday party reflected that. We enjoyed having family and friends help celebrate this weekend with a low-key BBQ affair.

A real fire hose was a big hit! The hats and badges were also fun additions courtesy of Ephrata FD!

 These two happily cemented their bond over a love of Cheetos!

 We had time to visit and let the kids run amok.

Lunch consisted of two options: halibut or hot dogs! Full plates and happy kids.

Mitch was happy to have his cousins and Cowans help with the presents. He even got a boost from Jack!

 We had great grandparents in attendance!

Someone needed a nap . . . 

I didn't manage to get everyone in the photos, but we are grateful to all who helped celebrate - near and far. Happy birthday, MBJ!