Trip to Wallawas

So I was aching for a little getaway, just because it is Spring, and that's what is done! The Wallawas sounded nice and refreshing, not too long of a drive and just quiet. Joe takes Good Friday off every year, so we decided to take that time to head out of town. It turned out just perfect! The weather was nice and springy, the kids found endless adventures, and I didn't do a stitch of laundry for days! Perfect! And we brought my parents along so Joe and I could get back to man-to-man defense which is so relaxing after playing zone everyday!
Bear with me! I don't usually post this many photos, but I took a ton and it is all for my book!

The weather was so nice when we got there, we headed down to the cafe at the end of the road. The whole area pretty much shuts down for the winter, but in the Spring things start to open up for the weekend. The sign posted said, "We are open till we're closed."

So we hurried on down.

After dinner, we went to the trout pond nearby and paid 25 cents to feed the fish. That is always Joe's favorite part.

My favorite part of the trip was that we had all the time in the world just to wander around and explore with the kids. They are great adventurers and it is fun to come along and see what they find next!

On the island in the middle of the creek, the kids found this cool little fort that some young thing had spent hours putting together. There was a lean-to, a fire pit, a kitchen, and a lovely view of the river.

The kids picked right up where the last kids left off.

Sara is in the "rock-throwing" stage. All the kids have done it! She could stand there for hours throwing rocks in the creek!

Me in short sleeves - ahh!

More exploring.

Ben doesn't like to be stuck inside. The backpack worked quite nicely, although we couldn't keep an eye on him all the time and he kept taking his hat off and throwing it on the ground!

We had such a nice time there, can't wait to head back this fall!

The Kindergartners visit the Sheep Farm

Those kindergartners sure are busy! Kayte was very excited about today because she got to take her class to her Grandpa's sheep farm to see the new baby lambs! Her Grandma Annie was going to be there, and her daddy, and her Grandma Jan!
At the last minute, I decided to get Ben up and take him and Sara and Jack too! We don't like to miss out on stuff like this!

Petting the baby lamb.

Sara is not afraid and makes her way right to the center.

Kayte played the very big sister and shared her snack with Sara and then took her around the lawn holding her hand.

Ben is a snuggler. He was a little sleepy and he didn't like the wind, but I think he liked being back where it was quiet and he could just observe.
What a fun morning!

One of my favorite things!

Have I mentioned how much I love these?
Mud boots are on the top of the must-have list for moms. Kids can get them on and off themselves, and tuck their pants inside. They can make mudpies, tromp through spring snow, and still climb a tree. And the nice thing is, not a lot of mud really sticks to them, so there is none of that mucky build-up.
And this Christmas, Ann bought me my own pair of muck-abouts which I wear constantly (who knew moms did that much muckin' around?) and everytime I wear them, I get happy comments (especially from the kindergartners, who know how great they really are!)
So if you have not yet stocked up on these little wonders, I suggest you do so. . . .in a hurry!

Gentle Ben

The look on Jemma's face says she knows about Ben and babies!

But he was just trying to be nice!

See! . . .so sweet! No worries Jemma Jane!

More boy stuff

Ed came by with his chainsaw and helped Joe take down our poor dead aspen that fell over during this heavy-snow winter. Kinda sad cause it was really pretty once!

But this looks kinda fun too!
Thankfully aspen grow quickly so we will be working on that this summer!

Our first al Fresco 2009!

It is hard to believe that less than one week ago, we were buried in 6 inches of snow!

Steak and Wild Grape Smirnoff - dee-lish!

Our outdoor table is so large, Joe and I spend half the meal on our feet passing and cutting :)

Cause he's cute!

Feeding the squirrels, I mean, the birds. Whatever. . . .the squirrels eat everything!!!

Boys!

Will had Jude to play today, and what a perfect day to have a buddy over!
At one point, they asked for masks, and crafty mom that I am :), I whipped out these little numbers.
They do look a little intimidating! (and yes, Will is that tall!)

Spring always comes!

Will showed up at the back door this afternoon with his quiver and his bow and arrow.
"I'm going on a hunt." he announced. "I need you to pack me a bag of food."
"Ah yes." says I. Mmm, I think I might have some fruit snacks. . . so I throw those in a bag.
"Don't forget something healthy!" says he.
(Smile.) "Oh right!" says I, and I grab an apple.
Yeah, that didn't fit in the quiver.
"How 'bout some carrots." says my warrior.
So we trade the apple for carrots, he packs his sack and he's on his way. . . .

. . . .course he could've just stopped and asked Kayte. She was making mudpies, which are both healthy and delicious. . .

Adventures with Boris

It was Kayte's turn to bring Boris the Bear home today. Boris is the bear that visits the kindergartners every year and takes an overnight trip to each house. Then they write down all the adventures that they have together and share it with the class.

Boris had a peanut butter and honey sandwich. Apparently Boris only eats when you aren't looking. Ben got a bite of his sandwich at some point and the kids thought Boris ate it! Later in the afternoon Kayte gave Boris a cracker and when she came back and the cracker was still sitting on his lap she was really disappointed, "He didn't eat it!" says she totally surprised, then shrugs and eats it herself.
She really does believe in magic!
So Joe and I made sure that he ate his dinner - the kids were really impressed with his appetite!

It was finally a gorgeous spring day! So Boris headed outside with the rest of them.

But then Kayte decided to make mudpies, so Boris watched safely from the window (alongside Ben!)
Good day!

Happy Birthday Grandma!

We headed up to Coeur d'Alene yesterday to celebrate my Grandma turning 80 this year. We had a pretty good turnout altogether. From my grandparents down to the youngest great-grandchild, there are 80+ people. My guess is, about 65 showed up for the big day. The last time we took a group photo was in 2005, and we've grown considerably since then. I wouldn't classify this as a family reunion, just family getting together for a late lunch. It is always so much fun and a lot of laughs!

We took this at the end, so we are already missing at least one family from the day. . .

Joe has been working on a slideshow of all of my grandma's old photos, along with some photos from each family to present after dinner. It was so much fun to hear Grandma's commentary and there were photos of everyone over multiple Christmases and Easters and birthdays and graduations. (And a lot of big hair and peg-legged jeans :).

Mexican potluck. This is half the room. . .

. . .and the other half. Several years ago we had to start taking our party to the local Grange Hall. No home was big enough to suit, but this fits quite nicely.

Joe and I had so much fun working with all of Grandma's pictures. She really is a remarkable woman. All of her children said a little something about her that they really appreciated from their years with her and it was so amazing to me what a positive influence she made on her children in forming their attitude towards life and daily challenges. I have so much respect for that generation as a whole, the ones who grew up during the Great Depression and came of age just as the US joined World War II, and then went on to raise the Baby Boom generation. I would have liked to tell her that much more eloquently than I did. This woman raised six children, grew and canned the vegetables, sewed the clothes, baked the bread, pressed the drapes, weeded the garden, and still had time to make each kid a special cake on their birthday, line them up for countless group photos (in their coordinated clothing and curled hair and smiles, no less!), and still have dinner on the table by noon every day!
And at this point in her life, she still manages to make the trip down to visit all her brand-new grandkids within a week of their birth!
I love her sense of adventure and her spunk! And I love what she passed on to my mom in her hard-working and cheerful attitude!
As my Grandma would say, "Spring always comes!"
Isn't that nice?

Happy 1st Birthday Ben!

I have to preface this by saying that my entire life, I have been the kind that is always looking forward to things. I'm always anticipating the next adventure, never living in the present. But the day my son Ben was born, and Joe and I were pretty certain he was going to be our last, I stopped looking ahead and I just wanted time to stop. Here I had my husband and my four perfect children, two girls and two boys, and finally my life was absolutely complete and there was nothing more that I needed. And last night, as I kissed my baby for the last time, I got a little melancholy. Today he wasn't a baby anymore. He was 1 and he was toddling, and we have just moved onto a new phase. And tomorrow that is going to be exciting, but yesterday it was just a little sad!
But today, we celebrated!

Is that the cutest face ever?

1 day old!
Little Ben is a little joy!
He has a great sense of humor and laughs at the kids jokes, he likes to think he's on the inside.
He's a tad picky about his food and seems to have given up baby food along with everything else I've tried. Sometimes it has to do with the temperature, sometimes it is the utensil that I choose that is the problem. But he has taken to regular milk pretty well, so that's good.
He has lots of words, although they don't all sound quite right. There is a word for cracker and bottle and mama and dada and bye and all done, and he said "Sara" once too.
He sleeps 7:30 to 7:30 and takes two 1 1/2 hour naps a day.
He weighs about 22 1/2 lbs (which is about 2 1/2 pounds less than our Sara!)
He is a fast learner and we know he is going to be a good pal for Will as soon as he learns how to run (and he is already interested in basketball)!
It's been a good year!
Happy Birthday Ben!

Ben's Party!

A good birthday always starts with a donut, am I right?

Then we had the whole family, all the aunts and uncles and cousins and grandparents, over to celebrate little Ben. I think he likes the book!

He was very dainty and neat about his first cake. He scooped up some with his fork but wouldn't do the crowd-pleasing face-plant. I tried to squish his hand in the cake, so he would see how fun it was. But that made him cry and then he was done playing with the cake :)

He had to shed his messy shirt and then he was happy to get right to playing with his toys.
Thanks family - he had a great time!