Fun with friends!

I got to watch these three cuties while their mom was in the hospital having their baby brother.  They are in our old ward.  Esther and Isaiah did preschool together, and all three girls just loved our crunchy (fake) grass!

Oaks Park

My kids are afraid of pretty much everything, so I didn't have high hopes when I took them to Oaks Park this summer.    I was hoping to get them onto at least 2 or 3 rides.  We've taken them before and they just cried the whole time.  But this time was awesome!  They were nervous at first, but after a few rides they were begging to do more!  They rode the roller coaster by themselves, and went on every single ride they were tall enough for!  Phew!  They keep begging to go to Disneyland and I keep telling them no way, because, duh, they'd just be afraid of everything.  But maybe we're getting closer to that working out.

Swimming Lessons

The kids took several sessions of swimming lessons over the summer.    Here are some pics from Isaiah's class, level 2.

It's Oregon, so we swim outside even when it's raining.  They only close the pool if there is lightning.  Or, as we discovered one time, if a child throws up in the pool.  So this rainy day at the pool was my absolute favorite.  The lady sitting next to me watching the kids said "They really should put up a roof over this pool, don't you think?"  I looked at her like this, "?" and she said, "I mean when it's raining like this, those poor kids will get all wet!"  Sometimes it is very hard not to laugh at people who say dumb things like that.  But I didn't.  I just smiled and nodded.  Maybe swimming isn't the best class if you prefer your child not get wet?  Just a thought.

A few random happenings

Before you have kids you hear a lot about the many roles parents take on--chef, nurse, chauffeur, etc.  What no one told me about was that I would also take on the roles of table, chair, bed, and desk.  So here I am being Eliza's desk while she does some summer school :)  She really lucked out--this desk comes with a built-in encourager/praiser PLUS a marker holder!

The kids and I went to visit my old roommate Sarah in Lincoln City.  Super fun to see her house and all the upgrades they've done (which I've previously only viewed on her blog).  We spent a little bit of time at the beach, then visited a lighthouse, had some lunch, and then whined the whole way home in the car.  Good times!  Also, Zay Zay had this like 3-day phase where he wore his hair spiky.

I don't remember the occasion, but this is like my all-time favorite group of kids--Isaiah & Eliza, Ellie & Isaac & Max, and Esther & Raquel & Sarah & Mauro.  My kids used to play well with them; now they don't really care.  But I like the moms so much that I make them play together anyway :)

A museum, things sucked onto faces, and some berries

 We went with a bunch of the kids' cousins to this children's museum in, um, in somewhere in Utah.  Both kids had a great time!

Isaiah LOVED LOVED LOVED the climbing wall!  Eliza tried, but it wasn't really built for kids with a 28" wingspan.

Why is this so fun for kids?



And, not to be forgotten, the entire harvest of our family garden:

Speaking of waterfalls...

It turns out we didn't really need to go all the way to Stewart Falls for a waterfall.  While we were gone, the outside water spigot was turned on and left on for several hours.  It ran into the window well, filled that up, and then started pouring inside the finished basement.  Oops.  Jerel's dad was trying to take care of it with a shop vac, but it quickly became apparent that this was more than a shop vac kind of job.  So they called in the professionals, who set up a dozen or so fans which they left running for several days.  They took out all the wet stuff (carpet, mattresses, sheet rock) and set up an enormous dehumidifier.  A few weeks (and lots of $) later, it's as good as new down there!  Also, Jerel and I no longer put our suitcases right under the window when we visit.  Just in case.

Stewart Falls (or maybe it's Stuart Falls)

Jerel's mom suggested a hike at Stewart Falls.  The kids have done great on hikes in the past so away we went.  Trudy had told us you park and then ride a "tram" to the top.  When we got there, the "tram" turned out to be a ski lift.  I almost died.  Trams are entirely enclosed and safe.  Ski lifts are entirely open and prone to causing death.  But the kids thought it was awesome and we all survived.

The hike part went okay....it wasn't the hiking the kids struggled with, it was the fact that sometimes when you are outdoors, there are bugs.  Or bees.  Or flies.  Or butterflies.  Etc.  Any of these, per my children, are deadly and entirely worthy of causing tantrums.  At one point a fly flew and hit Zay's lips; he seriously hiked the next mile and a half with both hands covering his mouth.

The kids had fun playing near the waterfall.

So that was fun and all, but then I had a GREAT idea!  I explained it to the kids.  Eliza was game, Isaiah was not.  But I told him it would be awesome, and it would be a long time before we had another chance like this, plus WE CAN DO HARD THINGS!  I'm always trying to get that through his head.  And finally he decided he might do it...after I promised him Oreos. 

 

Zay was super brave and headed off first, with me following behind dragging Eliza.  And then there we were, walking under the waterfall!  So awesome!  So wet!  So cold!  And I thought to myself, "Hmm, maybe I should've brought a change of clothes for the kids."  But I didn't.

And with that we had done it--we'd had an adventure!  We did something scary and hard!  We felt great!  We felt strong!  We felt empowered!  Oh wait, not we didn't.  We felt cold and wet and like we had the meaniest mom in the whole wide world.

And so we hiked the rest of the way cold and wet and soggy.