summer snapshots

Were keeping busy this summer doing some fun things. This day we went to Wildwood. We hiked had a picnic lunch, played at the park then the kids rode thier bikes around. It was hot but we had fun.Another hot day we went to the Sandy Mountain Festival Parade in Sandy.

There's Kelsey and Sydney.

We sat next to a bunch of our friends. Here's Terry and Selena. Selena's holding her super cute, chubby, baby Ian. Check out her daughter in the stroller doesn"t she look like she's having fun?

Me and Aubrey!

We took off one weekend and went to Ka-nee-tah. Once again it was pretty hot but the kids had a blast in the pool. The twins splashed around for hours in their tubes.

Kelsey and Noah loved going down the slide and going to the buffet dinner and breakfast at the lodge where we stayed.

Nate liked floating around on the air mattress and I liked getting to spend some time with him since he's been working such looong hours.

One day we did put-put golf and we played games in out hotel room. As always it was nice to get away.

Punch Bowl Falls

Last Saturday we drove out to the Gorge and did some hiking. I love hiking and we haven't been able to do much of it with the twins being little but we decided they were ready!It was four miles round trip. We didn't think we were going to make it. We each took turns carrying the girls they got tired. There were also some very narrow parts with steep drop off along the trail. It made Nate and I more than a little nervous!

But this is what we saw when we got to the end! So it made it all worth it! It was a fun day we sang songs and played games as we hiked and the girls both had their first outdoor bathroom experience. Which is priceless!

Aubrey got a new nickname on this hike...pokey. She's often in her own little world and while she'll keep coming she's never in much of a hurry. We took turns staying back with her and encouraging her to keep going.

The only problem when we got there is we knew we had to hike back, but it went much faster and had lots more downhill.

On the way there we took the fruit loop in hopes of enjoying lots of fresh fruit only to discover Nate had left his wallet at home. We were bummed about not getting goodies at the fruit stands but really bummed we wouldn't be getting any ice cream in Cascade Locks after the hike.

Oh Well just gives us an excuse to go back again!

Sunriver

Why I love Sunriver...by Kelly Perry

Free Fishing Day with activities for the kids and a free BBQ lunch.. No fish were caught but we discovered Sydney loves to fish!The pool...complete with a slide and the perfect depth for the big kids to enjoy hours of splashing in.
The kiddie pool....once again the perfect depth for the twins to enjoy hours of floating around in while I read, relax, and soak up the sun.

The park. The house we stayed at was very close to the park and the kids loved among other things the tether ball and merry-go-round.

Not pictured the bike paths. Perfect for hours of biking and morning jogs complete with beautiful scenery and wildlife to enjoy!

The hot tub. Great for family time together and more fun. Yes, I'm fried from the pool!

Picnics together.

The horses. The twins were a little freaked out at first but their so beautiful.

Goody's ice cream shoppe. Arguable the best ice cream shope ever. Adorable stuffed animals, all kinds of candy and popcorn and of course ice cream.

Last but not least....time with my favorite guy. Since starting his own business he sometimes works 6 days a week...10 to 12 hours a day so its great to spend time together as a family. Nate prepared all the meals and cleaned up, encouraged me to go on a run, take naps, and lay by the pool. Kelsey and I even got to go shopping and got some cute clothes!

Thats why theres such a big smile on my face. I can't wait to go back next year.!

Baseball Boy

I survived my first baseball season as a mommy. Until now my kids didn't show any interest and my other mom friends warned me not to do it so I never encouraged them!

Grandma and Grandpa Perry made it to a few games which was great because I liked having someone to talk to and it gave me a break from having the girls hang all over me!There's my boy, he did great and had a lot of fun. There were a lot of rained out games this year but they made them up with double headers on Saturdays. It was rough on my and Noah's allergies but we did it!.

Great catch Noah, one inning he made two outs on the other team. The games were really long, were talking 2 hours, and most were in the evenings so it was very cold! It was rough!

It was coach pitch but if the boys needed it they got out the tee. Noah was very proud he never had to use the tee. He made great hits every time. Doesn't he look cute!

Halfway through the season I discovered a way to make the games bearable....bring my book! Nate didn't approve but I always looked up and watched when Noah was playing. It made the games so much better to sit through!
Playing around in the dug out was one of the boys favorites parts and getting junk food at the snack shack! I almost wish Noah didn't like it as much as he did because he just may want to do it again next year...

Happy Summer Everyone!

Planting a garden

Yes, this is a dog Dash. He is just one of the reasons we haven't had a garden the last couple years. He likes to dig things up. Another reason is we live in the middle of a forest and have ALOT of tree roots in the ground and the soil isn't so great.It is somewhat ironic that living on an acre we haven't be able to find a decent place to grow a garden. It's not because we haven't tried. Some years are more successful than others. But this year it all changes!
See those huge pots surrounding the twins? Those are the brainchild of my Landscape company owner husband. He plants ALOT of trees and has an excess of large pots so what a better to reuse them than to plant a garden in them?

In between rain stoms we went out to plant squash, cucumber, strawberry's, tomoatos, green beans, watermelon, zucchini and more. Hopefully the dog and the racoons will stay away from our "garden" and we'll have a banner year.

We had fun planting until the kids started complaining about their hands being dirty and cold. Then it started to rain hard so we all went inside and let Nate finish himself. Aw such wonderful family memories were making!

Kelsey turns 11!

For Kelsey's birthday she wanted a monkey cake. This is the best I could d without the help of my mom who in the past has helped my construct some amazing cakes! Kelsey was happy and thats the important thing.
We went bowling with a bunch of her friends. These two boys are both in the 4th grade..crazy huh. The big one is her cousin who happened to be up at my inlaws cabin so we brought him along.
The cutie in the braids beat everyone and they all had a great time! After one gamesome played again while other played air hockey. We had pizza and cake and Kelsey opened her gifts!

Kelsey's skirt takes me back to when I was in 6th grade it was the late 80's and Madonna was the coolest thing ever!

The rest of the family was at Noah's baseball game so when we all got home and all the kids were dropped off Kelsey opened the rest of her presents, which were all clothes!

She's such a special girl, I often wonder how I got so lucky. She smart and kind, so helpful and loving. I can't believe she's 11!

Special Delievery

Some people get bills in the mail, or clothes, even DVD's but I get quilt tops. Courtesy of my wonderful, beautiful, and talented, sister with help from my wonderful, beautiful, and talented grandma!Some time after the twins were born my mother dug out these pretty butterfly squares that my now 92 year old grandma had sewn. These are just a small sampling of the many amazing things she has hand stiched over the years.
I'm not sure who came up with the idea my mom or my sister but I'm just grateful someone did to make quilts for my girls using the squares! Luckily in the recent years my sister has become quite the accomplished quilter!

As you can see the result are these beautiful quilts that my daughters will keep on their beds at least until they get married. As you can also see my sister has a creative mind and a wonderful attention to detail that the pictures don't quite do justice.

I'm so grateful to her for all her hard work and the many hours she put in all her spare time between working and being a single mom! And I'm so thankful my girls will always have a piece of their great grandma to keep them warm.

As I mentioned its just the top so now my mom and I get to shop for the backs, and figure out the border or borders. Then comes some more hand sewing! I'm excited to get them done and get them on the girls beds I know they will love them as much as I do!