4-H Fair Judging

This past week marked the beginning of 4-H Fair Judging for Miss Emma.  This is our first year being involved with 4-H so we haven't really known what to expect.  Emma entered a few different contests to be judged in and she has done really well.  Her first was a Sewing Skills Contest.  She had to show some specific skills that are typical of first year students.  She stiched a button....

....and used a sewing machine to sew some lines in a pattern.  She had to be able to use any sewing machine that was available (not her own).  I was a little nervous that she wouldn't know what to do but she sat down and had it all figured out.

Her next area was called Fashion Revue.  In this area the students modeled an article of clothing that they made.  They had to write up an explanation of how they created it, what difficulties they had, where they would wear the clothing, and what they learned while making it.  Emma made a skirt so here she is getting ready to leave the house for the Exhibits building with her outfit. 

Then the show began - they modeled around the stage and had to answer some questions from the judge.  This was really outside her comfort zone but she pulled it off and is already thinking about next year!

On Friday she participated in the Favorite Outfit Board program.  Each student was given a 4 foot by 4 foot board.  They had to decorate it with a background, choose their favorite outfit, and create a theme.  We weren't quite sure what to expect but Emma gave it her all.  Here she is trying to tack on her background fabric.

She only had one hour to complete her board.  Some of the older girls from her group helped her out with getting her fabric on correctly.  They came prepared with staple guns which were a huge help.  Next year we will know what works better.

This is her finished product.  She chose a Back to School theme.  She had to do the whole thing by herself with no help from parents or leaders and it turned out pretty great.

We are soooo proud of Emma and her accomplishments.  She tried something new this year and has put herself out there.  Emma isn't one to be the center of attention so being judged and interviewed was really hard for her.  Next week during the actual fair her work will be on display, including an apron she has made and some homemade blueberry jam.  Being a part of the 4-H program has helped with her confidence and has been a wonderful experience for her.

Swimming!

It's been a very hot week here in La Grande and it seemed that the best way to beat it was to head to the swimming pool and splash around in the water.  This was Clara's first time at the splash pool.  She seemed a bit hesitant at first but within a few minutes she was having a ball!

I think we will have to go back a few more times before the summer ends.  If Clara is anything like her sisters, she will love the water!  We had a wonderful time!

Hermiston Fun Fest

Last weekend we decided that we wanted to head to Hermiston to pick blueberries which we do every year.  We were really looking forward to it and also to hooking up with Jon and his family for the day.  Unfortunately when we got to the blueberry orchard, it was closed for the day which was really disappointing.  So we decided to improvise and we went downtown to the see the Hermiston Fun Fest.  We went to the car show and saw all the classics from every time period and walked along the streets looking at all the displays.  Then we decided it was time for lunch so we stopped and had some famous BBQ chicken, rice, and chopped suey that our friend, Lua, sells.  We bought several meals and sat down at the nearest table to devour the yummy goodness!

One of the displays was an OMSI exhibit which had all things science.  Plus they had a little snake for the kids to try out.  Jordan was very brave!

Then Sam wanted to give it a try - Aunt Natalie wanted NOTHING to do with that snake!

Isaac was fearless!  He held the snake twice and was the only one to let it wrap around the back of his neck.

Outside on the street the kiddos played some games - the bean bag toss, fishing, and frisbee.  They each got little prizes - Clara got a little pair of sunglasses and thought she was pretty cute wearing them!

It was a fun day being with family - so happy we could be together!

Besties

Just a cute little picture of Clara with her best friend, Brittain.

Brittain's mom just happens to be MY best friend - the little girls were born a month apart and they really love each other.  It is adorable to watch them play and give each other hugs.  We had Brittain over for a little play date last week so this is the two of them taking a break and having some crackers.  Fun, fun, fun!

New Chicken Coup

One of the first things we needed to do when we moved in was get a decent home for the chickens put together.  They had been living in our garage for three months and needed more room to run around!  Mark was up to the task!

It took the better part of a day to get it completed and all set up but the chickens are now happy!  It is the older girls' responsibility to feed and water them each morning.  They get their chicken feed and then the girls pick grass and weeds from the yard to mix things up a bit.  They do a good job!

Within the next six weeks or so they will be laying eggs - Hopefully all of the work will be worth it!

Independence Day

This year for the 4th of July we had just finished moving out of our old house completely.  The new house was still a bit of a wreck so we didn't do a whole lot to celebrate the holiday.  We did, however, manage to get a few fireworks that we could do as a family.  Clara is almost two now so she was more interested in seeing the bright lights around her.

As you can see by Emma's face, a few of the fireworks were pretty loud!

I love how the big sisters were really trying to help Clara have a good time with this new experience!

Daddy did a good job of putting on a fireworks show that was exciting for the girls.

Happy Girls!

Sparkler fun!

Happy 4th of July!  Hopefully next year we will be a bit more organized.... :)

The Old Residence....

Well - our family spent over five years at this house.  It wasn't the fanciest place in town nor was it in the best shape, but we did have many happy memories here.  The girls have grown up here, this was Clara's first home.  We had wonderful neighbors who watched out for us, and even the deer in our yard grew on us.  Most of the neighborhood kids spent time in our back yard.  But we outgrew it and needed to move on to bigger and better.  It is time to say goodbye.

It's hard to believe that this was our room (Mark and I) - we were a bit crowded and definitely needed more closet space!

Emma enjoyed having her own room for the first time.....

Samantha and Clara were good "roomies" in this room.....

Of course, the living room was our central location.  We had Christmas mornings here, campouts, dance competitions, etc.

Soon I will be posting pictures of our new home which we are thrilled about..... but we are also feeling a little tender about our previous home.  Hopefully she will have another good family to take care of her!

Sick Kiddo

A few weeks ago Clara caught one of her bad colds...... she seems to contact every germ that comes her way unfortunately.  She was pretty sick for several days so we decided it was time to give her albuterol treatments to help with her breathing.  She was a good sport about it and within a few days she was doing much better.  Hopefully we will make it through the rest of the summer without another bout of illness.

Summer Play Time!

Yesterday was the first official day of summer vacation so we decided to meet some friends at Riverside Park to throw rocks in the river and play on the park equipment.  It was a beautiful morning!  Emma and Samantha were determined to skip rocks.....

Clara was fairly content to just stay in her stroller!

We decided to walk across the bridge to look down to the river.  The kids were fascinated!

This is Clara's best friend Brittain.  They were born a month apart from each other and love to play together.  We pushed their strollers next to each other and they even held hands while we walked.  I grabbed the camera to get a picture and suddenly they became very camera shy - no matter how hard I tried. :)

The big tree stumps were fun to climb on!  (Noah, Ryder, Griffin, Emma, and Samantha)

It was a great way to start the summer - many more adventures to come!

Transitions

In the next few weeks we will be moving to a new home which will bring lots of changes for Clara.  She will be in a new house with her own new bedroom and hopefully a nice new "Big Girl" bed!  Since that means several changes at once we decided that we should try to begin the transition from her crib to a bed before she moves into a new room.  We didn't want to throw too many changes her way at once.  Her crib was great but it is time consuming to take apart and put back together so we thought it would be nice to have one less hassle when we move.  We knew she would love seeing her new bed!  We put it low to the floor, added her favorite stuffed animals, and included a big new pillow to snuggle with. 

We told her how exciting it was and what a big girl she is becoming!

She seemed very happy and thrilled with all of the attention!  This was going to be a breeze!!!!  I laid her down for her nap with her Ba-Ba (bottle with milk) and turned on her fan and quietly snuck out and closed the door.  A few minutes later.........

......THIS is what we found!   She very successfully pulled out her drawers from her dresser and then proceeded to scatter her clothing everywhere!

And knowing that only Clara would want to ADD to the chaos, she got into her collection of Lincoln Logs and Legos and dumped them all out as well!  Bless her heart....

It's possible we were a little too confident in her ability to transition to her new bed.  Unfortunately, we had already taken her crib to the D.I. pod where it is gone forever.  Thankfully we have a wonderful play pen that is working quite well for her to sleep in and keeps her contained.  Perhaps it will be her "transition" for now and we will try with the big bed another time. [SIGH....]

Last Day of School

Well second grade and fourth grade have come to an end......boy did that go by too fast!  The girls both did wonderfully this school year but they were happy to see the end come.  Mark met them at their classrooms to take a final picture.  You can see the relief on their faces as they know that three months of freedom are ahead of them!

Here is Emma with Z.Z. - She is a very nice girl who was a good friend to Emma this year.

We have lots of big plans for the summer that we are excited about.  Plus, Emma and Samantha will be attending a new school next year so we are really looking forward to that!  Happy Summer everyone!