Crazy Kids.....Our Kind of Fun...

We were on the roof while dad was cleaning it. It was fun being up there!

We were all enjoying baking day. We had just made these little pretzel guys. Our cousin Andreas was at our house that day. ~Chauntel

Some of the Last Few Week's Happenings....

So....it seemed that we weren't watching our garden so well since quite a few plants were getting pulled up, roots and all. James figured we needed a scarecrow. Well, here we go making one.
The kids had tons of fun stuffing this guy:)
James even supervised and helped me figure out how to get the head to stay together.
The head before we mounted it...
Funny looking...but hopefully it helps. Really high now, but when the corn grows up behind it, it may not seem quite so high:)
James and Jared eating Strawberry Shortcake on Father's Day. Hopefully Jared won't eat whipped cream again for a long time....he wasn't too happy for the rest of the afternoon and kept spitting up in protest against the strange stuff Dad gave him!!!!
Jared has been rolling from his stomach to back for a long time but this was the first time I caught him rolling from back to stomach.
His triumphant grin when his mission was accomplished:) Now he's doing it all the time; although he's not that keen to be on his stomach. Must just like the challenge of doing something new.
Well, summer came to visit us finally! And we are loving the visit and hoping it'll stay awhile! With this warm weather....the boys and chickens seem to go hand in hand:)
And the more mud....the better!
Garret's not too happy that he just can't seem to go fast enough to catch the little Banty chickens! But he keeps pursuing them anyways.
Girls loving to jump rope.....
Jared enjoying the warm weather also!
Camille loves to sneak my exercise hoop...but can't seem to get it to stay up:)
But Lexa can keep it up, no problem, these days.
We didn't get to go to Joel and Denise's this past weekend because of some sickness....so James wanted to do a few fun things here at home to try make up for it. "OK kids, let's load up just like you are and head down to the creek to cool down for awhile...". So away we went.
Everyone finding things to do in the creek...on the branches...
They had lots of free fun:) Then we went and got hot dog and smore makings, came home, and had a hot dog roast. Yummy....and relaxing around the campfire!

Ok.....hopefully Alexa's happy:) She's been begging me to post something for awhile now. Finally told me she was taking the kids out and playing with them so I would do it. Mission accomplished:) Love you all, Mona

Dressing up like Twins

This is us dressing up like twins. Last year we did this so we wanted to do it again. Many times people think we look like twins. But I don't think we look like twins. This is in our backyard.
Chauntel and I are the bestest friends. I will never get a better friend. This is in our backyard also. We like dressing up like twins a lot. We were trying to make mad faces at each other for a picture, but we could not. We're not always like that. We get mad at each other too! ~Alexa

Celebrating Daddy's Birthday...May 2010

I got out of bed one day and Dad said we were going somewhere. But he said it was a surprise. A little bit later, he spilled the beans and said we were going to Cabela's. We were all so excited. We had never been there before. On the way, Chauntel and I were writing notes to each other. After that we listened to a Bible tape. Next we ate out at Taco bell. We left there and went to Cabela's. After awhile we were there. This is a picture of us getting ready to go in. We all got a candy before we went in. The very first picture above is inside Cabela's.


We went in and looked at this mountain of animals. It was awesome, I thought. We looked around for a long, long time and then we went upstairs and looked around for a long, long time. Mom fed baby Jared while we were trying out the tents. Mom got a picture of Chauntel, Camille, Garret, and I in a tent. But we did not put it on this post. Then we got this picture. Then we pretty much left. We got popcorn first. We went into the van and left. Mom and Dad were whispering in the front. But us kids found out we were going the wrong way home and that was the way to the ferry. Blayne knew the way there, that's how we guessed; because he'd been there before with my Dad. We were right. We were going to a island and it was called Anderson Island. My Dad has worked up there several times when he worked for R&R and wanted to show it to us.
This is us on the ferry. It was very sunny.
Alexa, Chauntel, and Camille.
This is the store where we got candy. We call it the "penny candy store" because they have candy for a penny. Whenever my Dad worked there, we would wait for him to bring us penny candy. All of us kids got to go there for ourselves this time and pick out our own bag of penny candy. The picture at the bottom is special because that is where my Dad swam. Guess what it is called? It is called "The Swimming Hole."
Written by Alexa

Things to smile about today....

...Chauntel relaxing with Baby Jared early this morning...
...Our garden is growing!!!!! I love to see the first plants peeking through!!!
....Seeing some of my favoritist purple Lupins blooming away...
....On the way to the Lupins; I noticed the Rose blooming for the first time:)
...Blayne taking care of Jared after we got home; winking at Mom....
...6 lovely...and yes, I mean LOVELY boxes of Tillamook Northwest Strawberries waiting to be taken care of......
...I don't know if you can tell by this photo...but this was the hugest strawberry I may have ever seen. The little strawberry is a regular size/to big, normal strawberry. The big one was about the size of a small apple.
...Telie helping make the jam and lovin' it:)
....Alexa doing the part she declares is the best...filling the jars....
....Cut up and ready to be bagged...
....Some of the fruit of our labors:) Blayne did the pies, of course. I think he just might keep us stocked on the treat situation in our house:)
...Daddy's home and everyone runs out (unless they're already out there) to see him. Especially if he happens to get home in his bosses big truck! The little kiddos always get a lift into the vehicle for a few minutes:)
...Even sick Garret, in his pjs, made it out to see Daddy. Finally seems to be getting better...
...Zac had to try out the truck's bed...
...The girls jumping rope together. Their new found fun thing to do these days. Laughing and having a great time!

So many things to smile about; so many blessing God has given. Better to reflect on these when you're tired and going to bed than the less than perfect things that may happen in our day to day life! Thanks to God!!!

Field Trip to the Fire Station

These are the people that went with us. We are with the the firemen in this picture. I had fun.
This is me spraying the cones. ~Zac

Mother's Day and a Night at the Park

This is us kids with my Mom on Mother's Day. I got flowers for my mom.
This is the park where we rode our bikes and played on the toys. It was fun!!
Today we went garage saleing. I miss Alexa and Blayne. I made chocolate cupcakes this afternoon. ~Chauntel

My Rooster, Sam

This my rooster, Sam. He is four months old. My dad bought him from WILCO . He was two inches tall when we bought him. Now he is one foot and six inches tall. He is a Black Astrolorpe rooster. His comb is getting bigger but he hasn't started to crow yet. This is my favorite chicken in our whole flock. I love to carry him around and feed him from my hand.

Today I made some pumpkin swirl cheesecake. This evening we are going to eat it after supper with Grandpa and Grandma Rhoades. Later they are going to take Alexa and I home with them for a couple of days. I'm really happy because they live so far away and we don't get to be with them very often. ~Blayne