Baby Step #2

One of the other goals that I wanted to accomplish before my baby arrives is to finish 2 baby blankets for my new baby. I can now check it off my list. Kimball's Grandma used to crochet the edges of flannel blankets for each of my new babies. They have become some of my children's favorite blankets. They are just the right thickness and so soft & cuddly. I never took the time to have her teach me how to crochet. As she was declining in health, I realized that she wouldn't always be around to crochet blankets for the remainder of my children. By the time I thought to ask her to teach me, her hands were too feeble. So, I taught myself with the help of a little crochet book how to crochet the edge of a blanket. Although I am not very good at it and I only know a few simple designs, I can at least carry on the tradition and have some special blankets for the remainder of my children. I make them in memory of her.

This is one of my favorite pictures of her.

These are the two blankets that I made for our new baby.

New Puppy

When Sarah & Heather were little we bought two German short hair pointer puppies. They were full of energy and the girls loved them. They were great family pets because they were good with children. We recently had to put our last dog to sleep. We have been without a dog for several months. Yesterday we went to the pound to look. There were several adorable puppies to choose from. We brought home this one. He is an English pointer. We know that he will have boundless energy but the kids are enjoying every minute with him. (Some of my children have boundless energy.) Hopefully our yard will survive his puppyhood.

Baby step # 1

With only 8 weeks left before the newest member of our family arrives, I have been busy trying to accomplish some of my "baby step" goals. I always feel as though my life will be coming to a stand-still and so I try to get things done that are important so that I can slow down and focus on my baby when she arrives. So here is my first baby step: To finish Eli's eye-spy quilt. Eli has been so excited for me to finish his quilt. He has been very patient. The back is made of Wall-e fleece and the front is made of various pieces of material that reflect things that Eli likes, such as Thomas the tank & Mickey mouse.

Marching Band

Sarah started playing the alto sax in 6th grade. When she moved to the junior high, she quit playing partly because she didn't like the teacher. Last year, a friend of hers convinced her to pick her sax back up and start playing. She worked hard over the summer and joined the marching band for her Senior year. She has made a lot of friendships and she loves playing at the games and hanging out with her fellow band-mates. It has been a great experience for her. Sometimes when your parent's tell you not to quit because you will miss out on alot of fun...they are right!

Her high school's marching band is quite small because they have lost many students since their high school has been split twice because of the 2 new high schools that have been built in the last 2 years.

Sarah in the middle, playing her sax.


Sarah is in the second row marching onto the field.

Eli's 4th Birthday

While we were camping we celebrated Eli's 4th birthday. We went to a local bakery and they made a Mickey Mouse cake for him.

Eli told us that when he turned four, he would "use the potty and eat meat." Well, he is now potty-trained. As for the meat, he is now informing us that he will try meat when he is five. Eli is a very picky eater and will not even try a taste of any meat because he thinks he won't like it.

Cannon Beach cont.

A few more pictures at the beach. It was a cold and windy day. I only wish the weather was a little warmer so that we could have stayed and played longer.

Heather & Collin found a little trickle of warm water to play in.

Angelina all smiles!

Sarah, Angelina, & myself getting a little wet in front of Haystack Rock.


Joe had fun playing in the waves. Each time a wave rolled in, you didn't know just how far it would wash ashore. It was too hard to predict. So Joe loved seeing just how wet he could get.

Cannon Beach

We could walk to this beach from our RV park. The day that we went was cold and windy, but the kids had fun anyway. It was a beautiful spot and Haystack Rock can be seen in the background of some of the pictures.

Nolan, Joe, & Collin.

Joe running along the beach.

Eli is enjoying the feel of the sand between his toes.

Kimball & Angelina.

Seaside Beach cont.

While in Seaside we visited a little aquarium right near the beach. It wasn't very big, but the kids enjoyed it. They had a table set up that was filled with water and the kids could touch living starfish and other sea life. They also had a tank that had an octopus it in. Eli was fascinated by it as it swam up close to the glass window. I wish I could have gotten a picture of the octopus, but it wasn't light enough. I also couldn't get any good pictures of the kids feeding the seals.

Eli finally brave enough to touch a starfish...but nothing else.


Collin, Heather, and Joe takes turns touching the starfish.



After stopping for ice cream, Joe and Eli ride the carousel.

Hitting the beach

Our first full day in Oregon we went to Seaside to walk along the beach. Seaside seemed like a really popular tourist spot with hotels lining the beaches, narrow streets, and lots of little shops. The beach was quite crowded and so we decided to visit a different beach on a day that we were prepared to play and get wet. We ate lunch at a nice restaurant and spent the afternoon just looking around. We visited a small aquarium where the children could feed fish to the seals. They were quite entertaining to watch as they slapped the blubber on their belly to get your attention to throw them your fish. They were very vocal and made some funny sounds. I will post some of our aquarium pictures another day.

My Mom & Dad.

Our family.

My brother Adam and his family.


My brother Lyle and his family.

Simple Pleasures

The kids loved riding their bikes around the campground. We lucked out and had a quiet spot in the RV park for the kids to ride their bikes. Other visitors to the park drove very slowly and were careful of the children that might be playing in the street. The kids, and even the adults, had fun riding their bikes down the grassy hill that was across from our RV site. It was always a disappointment when someone pulled their trailer into that RV pad. However, whenever they left, our kids raced over there to ride down the hill.

Eli braving the hill on his bike with training wheels, while Kimball waits to catch him if his bike tips over.

Joe takes a turn!

Here comes Nolan!

Adam racing down the hill on his cool Walmart "cruiser".

Family Reunion at Cannon Beach in Oregon

For the next while I am going to post pictures of our family RV trip to Cannon Beach on the Oregon coast. I am so far behind on my scrapbooking that I am going to add plenty of detail so that I can scrap these pictures at a later date.

A few years back my family decided to make time for a yearly summer RV reunion trip. This year my brother's wife Brandi chose the destination. The drive out along the Columbia river was something I will never forget. It was beautiful. The mountains were dotted with giant wind turbines to produce green energy and home to many large birds. The river was full of people enjoying various types of recreation such as windsurfing, boating, and water skiing. Their were also many barges carrying various cargo up and down the river. We also passed by several large dams. The other detail that stood out when we arrived in Oregon, is that gas station attendants have to pump your gas. My Dad said that it was a law there. It was nice to not have to pump our own gas and I assume it provides jobs for many people. It was weird to come home and not have someone pump my gas.

Our campsite was beautiful. We couldn't have asked for a better location. The first thing that my children noticed when we arrived, was that we were the biggest family in the smallest trailer!

My parent's fifth wheel. Unfortunately they had to stop to fix a blow-out on the way. Their fifth wheel received some damage.

Adam, Brandi, and their three boys rented this large rig for the trip since they don't own an RV yet.

Lyle, Lisa, and their son Nick rented this big rig as well.

Our Home Sweet Home for the next week with our FIVE kids! We have three pop out tents. Sarah & Heather share one tent, Joe & Eli share another, and Kimball and I have the tent in front. Angelina slept in a portable crib in the center of the trailer.

Children's parade

Every year in July our city puts on a children's parade. Usually I try to avoid parades since I have attended one too many and tired of them. However, this year I couldn't escape it since Joe and Eli were invited to be on a float and they couldn't wait to participate.

Angelina waiting for the parade to start.

Joe dressed as someone that he wants to be when he grows up. He walked behind the float.

Eli got to ride on the float. The girls were dressed as Cinderella and the boys dressed as the mice.

First Swim Lessons

Eli just turned four and was able to take his first swim lessons. He did so well. He took right to the water and wasn't afraid. I enjoyed the two weeks with just him and I at the pool. It was fun to watch him. On the last day of swim lessons they let the kids take turns going down the water slide and jumping off the diving board.

Waiting at his number for his teacher to arrive.

Eli was so little that the water slide flipped him around and he came out on his back, head first. He thought it was fun!

Jumping off the diving board while his teacher waits below to catch him.

Is it a boy or girl?

Everyone was excited to find out what our new baby would be. No one was more excited than Mom. Eli and Joe really wanted a brother to even out the numbers. Mom didn't really care, but she thought a sister would be nice for Angelina to play with.

Kimball and I went to the Ultrasound by ourselves this time. Mostly because we didn't want any distractions while they checked to make sure everything was Ok with the baby. We told the kids that we would bring home a present that was either for a boy or a girl. When they opened it, they would know if they were getting a brother or a sister. We let Eli open the present to find out.Mom didn't mean to trick anyone, but she wrapped the outfit in blue tissue paper to prolong the surprise. However, as soon as everyone saw the blue tissue paper, they thought it was a boy.

Surprise! It is a girl! The boys are smiling now, but a few minutes after the news sunk in, Eli broke into terrible tears. Thankfully, the tears didn't last too long.

Heather's Art

Heather loves to draw pictures, especially pictures of animals. I have been promising her for a long time that I would post her latest "masterpieces". These were drawn the end of her 9th grade art class. I am glad that she has been patient. It has been a very fun and very busy summer and I am finally finding a few moments to catch up on my blog.