Cheerleading Camp!

This past week Samantha and Emma participated in a Cheerleading Camp through the Parks and Recreation summer program.  They really enjoyed themselves and learned how to do a few cheers, how to do jumps, and how to be a part of a pyramid. 

They did such a good job -- I definitely see cheerleading in their future!  I haven't decided if this is a good thing or a bad thing yet.  In the meantime they are practicing their cheers and having fun which makes me happy! :)

Happy 1st Birthday Clara Elizabeth!!!

Wow!  I can't believe it happened - my baby girl turned a year old today!  I have very mixed emotions.  I am so proud of her sweet spirit but sad that an entire year has passed.  I just want to bottle her up and keep her just the way it is.  Mixed feelings aside, we did try to do a few things to help her celebrate her big day.  We started out with a birthday breakfast at Dennys.  She ate part of a biscuit and some pancake with syrup.  It was sure yummy!

We came home and got some chores done and the girls helped me make her cake.  This is a picture of them putting sprinkles on it.

She had a nice birthday nap and then we had a birthday dinner - chicken nuggets and french fries!  Now who wouldn't love that?  She ate a couple of each and had a VERY full tummy afterwards!

After dinner we decided to go for a little drive so Clara could try out her new car seat!  She sits forward facing now and I think she really likes it!  She talked and talked during our drive like she finally had lots to say.

Then it was time to come home and open birthday presents.  Her grandma and grandpa and aunts and uncles spoiled her as they always do.  She got lots of new toys that make music which is perfect for her because Clara loves music!

Daddy tried to get her to blow out her birthday candle but mostly she just wanted to dig into the cake....literally!

I'm thinking that she really liked her cake!

She was so filthy afterwards that we had to put her in the bath tub and clean her up.  Then she got into her nice, comfy pajamas that came from Gramma and Grampa.

I sure love my little girl!

What a blessing Clara has been to our family!  I can not imagine our family without her!  We love you pookie!

Staycation Week!

Last year when I was very pregnant with Clara and we knew we would not be traveling anywhere for a summer vacation, the girls and I decided that we would have a STAYcation instead.  It was such a success that they wanted to do it again this year.  So I planned out a week of activities but on a little smaller scale since this time around we would also have the company of an 11 month old.  Our first day was "Tour Your Town Day."  This was a repeat of last year but we had lots of fun with it still.  One of the girls' favorite places to go to is Sunflower Books.  They had a great time looking at all the wonderful books available for all the kiddos.

They also like to go to the cafe "Joe & Sugars" to get a little treat.  Emma got a cinnamon roll, Sam picked out a cookie, and I chose a blueberry scone.  Clara enjoyed having some.....Gerber Sweet Potato puffs while we had our snack. :)

After going to several shops in town we chose Primos Pizza for lunch.  Who doesn't love a pizza buffet for kids?  I knew they would fill their tummies and enjoy playing at the arcade. 

Clara even had a good time, too!

On Day 2 I surprised the girls with a scavenger hunt around town.  I took pictures of places that they might recognize and turned them into puzzles so they had to figure out where the next clue would be.  One of their first clues was a tree in front of their school.  I only took a picture of the tree thinking that it would throw them off but they recognized it immediately.  Such smart kids I have!

Thanks to a few friends for allowing me to include their front doors as clues.  Here the girls are at Jessica's house receiving their next clue. 

Their next clue took them to our church - they recognized the clue very quickly but it was a little more tricky to actually find where they were headed to afterwards.

In between stops they had to work together to make the puzzle pieces fit - it was very intense!

We hit the library every week so the fountains in back of the building were a good choice to hide a clue.  Our scavenger hunt ended with a picnic at the park and it was really fun.

Day 3 was an afternoon of board games and homemade milkshakes!  I play volleyball on Wednesdsay mornings for a couple of hours so we needed something at home to do while Clara took a nice, long nap.  Here the girls are playing Disney Scene It with their milkshakes.

We got through several games (Monopoly, Life on the Farm, Book of Mormon Go-Fish, Scene It, and Uno) and hopefully the girls enjoyed themselves, even though it was a quiet afternoon.

Day 4 was "Local Parks Day."  I brought a whistle and at each park they had 20 minutes to play as hard as they could.  When the whistle blew, we loaded back in the van and went to our next stop.  I think we hit five parks in the morning and then met friends at McDonalds for lunch.

Clara enjoying her swing....

Day 5 was a repeat of last year as well.  We hit up the Pendleton Water Park with Dad on his day off from work.  We found a great spot in the shade and Emma and Sam went down the slides dozens of times and swam to their hearts' content!

Several hours and lots of snacks and sunscreen later, we were pooped and ready for our week to end.  I cross my fingers that the girls were able to make a lot of fun memories and that they enjoyed hanging out with the family as much as I did.  'Til next summer!

Earlier this month we had a couple of weeks of big thunderstorms on a daily basis.  On this particular Wednesday afternoon, the girls and I were sitting in the kitchen playing a board game and all of a sudden the sky went black so we knew another thunderstorm was coming.  But then the noise started and it got louder and louder and louder.  It only lasted a few minutes but this was the size of hail that we received at our house.

We are pretty lucky that no windows or siding was damaged by the hail.  Gotta love thunderstorms!!!

Berries Berries Everywhere!

Last week we drove to Hermiston to do some berry picking.  There is a wonderful blueberry farm that we go to each year.  The berries are plump and juicy and at a good price.  We also found a raspberry patch that had lovely berries, too.  It was a warm day but we were determined to fill our buckets!

Even Clara helped out by NOT being fussy!  She just hung out in her stroller and enjoyed being outside with us.

When we got home we had picked 20 pounds of blueberries and 10 pounds of raspberries!  The berries we froze but the raspberries.....

....we turned into delicious freezer jam!  How wonderful to have a freezer full of jam and berries.  Harvest season is coming upon us.  Our garden is doing well - full of zucchini, cucumbers, tomatoes, beans, peas, and onions.  Pretty soon I will begin canning and our food storage will again be ready for the long winter months.  It's a great feeling.

Happy 4th of July

We had a very special 4th of July at our house this year.  We love holidays and we especially love it when Daddy has an extra day off of work to spend with us.  We started out our day by going on a family hike.  We walked up Deal Canyon which is near our house and it is quite the hike.  It's beautiful but also pretty steep so at times it was a little bit of a struggle for Emma and Samantha.  But they were troopers and we made it!  We took the picture at a scenic spot where we could look out over the whole valley!

Later that day parents came for a visit.  Mom and Dad were on their way to the MTC in Provo to begin their mission to Jackson, Mississippi.  We were so happy that they could stop and spend some time with us before leaving.  We had a very yummy dinner of bbq ribs and salads.  The girls and I made them their favorite cookies to take with them on their trip.  There were lots of tears when we were saying goodbye.  It's hard to believe that we won't be seeing them for 18 months but we are sure proud of them for making the decision to go and serve!

They are wonderful parents and grandparents and we are sure going to miss them.  We love you G&G!!! :)

Later that night to make us all feel better, Mark lit some fireworks for the kids in the backyard but it was chilly and the wind had picked up so they didn't light very well.  He took the girls to see the city fireworks when it got dark which they enjoyed.  It was a good distraction for them.  Although we were sad, we were thankful to have a special day!