Sweet family time

A couple weeks ago we had the privilege of hosting my Aunt Sondra, my cousin Cheryl, and her youngest little boy, Kaelin, for six days. They came down from Alaska for a visit and for another cousin's wedding (Daylan--no pictures to show but good wedding!). It was a wonderful six days of chatting, catching up, sharing, and laughing. I've described it to several people as "food for my soul," and I treasured every bit of it.

Grant and Kaelin got along very well, especially considering they are two and not-quite-two years old. They played nicely and became friends. The only time they didn't get along so well was when they were playing trains. Kaelin was very serious about his train play, and Grant thought it was fun to get in his way and mess things up sometimes. They really did have a lot of fun together, though, when Grant wasn't being a stinker. They liked playing on the trampoline together and thought it was great fun to copy each other--so cute!

One night we went over to my parents' house, where my grandparents were staying, for a BBQ, and the kids played in the sprinklers. We had a few HOT (90's) days that week.

After church on Sunday we went back over to my parents' for lunch and some more family time. The wedding was Saturday, and Darris and Debbie were in still in town, so they joined us and brought along Debbie's brother. Good to see them, too. The kids played in the jeep and on Grandpa's "tractors" all afternoon.

This is one of my new favorite photos. Russell and Grant have so much fun together. Gotta love cousins!

Kaelin thought the jeep was pretty cool. He sat in there a long time!

I like this one of Aubrey and her "corsage" from Great Grandma.

The kids played this game for a long time. Kaelin ran beside the wagon while Aubrey pulled Grant and Russell in a circle around the jeep. He took a turn in the wagon, too, at one point but decided he liked running better. All three little boys laughed and laughed.

I think this a great picture.  Uncle Darris, Aunt Sondra, and Dad--three of the five Arnold siblings.

The jeep was their family vehicle when they were growing up (hard to believe they all fit in there!), and they were reminiscing about various outings and trips when we took this photo. Lots of memories in that old thing, I mean, this beautiful work of automobile craftsmanship. ;)

Not the greatest picture, but I had to document the fact that they really did stay with me. :) It truly was a delightful visit--such a treat. Love you, Sondra and Cheryl!

12 Years

We're "celebrating" our anniversary today with sick, whiny kids and a day at home. Thankfully, our true celebration was a couple days ago when we spent a kid-less night at Skamania Lodge and enjoyed 24 hours of peace and relaxation together. We are blessed with gracious, giving, and selfless parents (two sets of them, actually!), and they (Moffat this time) took our kids for the night, even though Grant came down with a fever the day we planned to leave. They all survived just fine, and Greg and I had a wonderful time away.

Twelve years in, and it just gets better and better. God has been good to us. I'm so thankful for the man I married. I love you, Greg. Happy Anniversary!

We hiked up Beacon Rock on our way to Skamania Lodge, and I discovered I have a fear of heights, particularly when not much separates me from the edge of a cliff and certain death. It's quite a hike up that rock! We had a good time, and I'm glad we did it (gorgeous view), but I will NEVER bring my children there. Yikes.



This was at the not-so-scary point when we were no longer on the edge (no pictures on the edge of the rock for me!), but you can see the crazy switchback pathway when we were almost to the top.



On the waterfront in Hood River. We had a yummy breakfast, did a little shopping, and watched some wind-surfers on the river before we headed home.

Tennis camp

Last week both Joel and Kari were able to go to tennis camp in the mornings for three hours each day. They both had a great time and learned some new skills. This was Kari's second year and Joel's first experience. Joel got hit with a racket and took a ball to the eye on the same day and still said he liked tennis. :) So far this summer Kari and Joel have been able to do an art class, a week of VBS, and tennis camp. They're keeping busy! Soon soccer will start up, but in the meantime, we're just planning to enjoy summer and play.

Our tennis camp crew of friends/siblings: Tennyson, Amaya, Ellie, Kari, Joel, and Blake

Cousin Camp weekend and Splash Pad

This weekend was Cousin's Camp for the older three kids. Grandpa and Grandma Moffat took the 8 oldest grandkids for three days, two nights, and they did all kinds of fun things--swimming, a trip to the beach, Chuck E Cheese, more swimming.  They had a blast and made lots of memories with their cousins and grandparents. It made for a very different weekend for us at home. It felt so strange and so EASY to just have Grant for all that time. I think it's funny that when we were a family of three, it felt difficult and stressful to have one child, and now that we have four, one child feels like a vacation! Seriously, Greg and I had a very relaxing weekend. Grant asked where the kids were a lot, but he seemed to enjoy being an only child for a couple days. After we dropped the kids off Saturday morning we walked around the Farmer's Market in downtown Gresham. Grant got to play in the bounce houses and slides they had set up there at a nearby church and loved it. We took him to the toy store and let him pick out some new Thomas the Train pieces and a new engine with his birthday money (he is NOT a quick decision maker at just-turned-two), and went back home for an afternoon nap for him and Olympics watching for us. That evening we dropped him off at Grandpa and Grandma Arnold's house and went on a date. Russell was there, too, and the two of them ran around (literally, so we heard) together the whole time. Greg and I went to dinner AND a movie--getting crazy, I know. It was really nice to have a more peaceful weekend, but we were glad to have the kids back Monday afternoon. We were refreshed, and they were tired from all their fun. They said they missed us "just a little bit."

Sunday evening while the kids were still gone, we met up with some friends and took Grant to Blue Lake park to play in the splash pad and decided we needed to go with all the kids sometime. Today was that sometime! A bunch of us moms met there this afternoon, had a picnic lunch, and let the kids play. I tried to take some pictures, but the kids were too quick for my little camera, and I didn't end up with many good ones. Grant's face was too funny, though, in the ones I did get, so I had to post some. He felt asleep sitting up in my lap, so we ended up staying longer than I planned while he slept on a blanket in the shade. The kids enjoyed playing with their friends, and I enjoyed chatting with mine. :)

(double click and then click again to get a better view of the eyes-closed-mouth-open pictures)

Kuplink, kuplank, kuplunk

A couple weeks ago the kids and I went blueberry picking for the first time, and it turns out, I have some champion pickers on my hands. The first time we went, we were there about an hour and picked 17 lbs. They liked it so much, we decided to go again. (One can never have too many blueberries, right?) The second time I had to cut them off at 21 lbs. Who knows how many they would have picked if I had let them keep going? We shared some with Grandpa but still have a lot of berries in our freezer!

Nanny McPhee no more

 I was SO happy when Joel finally got that tooth out today! It's been hanging sideways and grossing me out for the last week.









We started calling him McPhee. Do you see the resemblance? We liked those movies, but I'm glad that tooth is gone. Good job, Joel!



Our baby is two

Our BABY is TWO! I can hardly believe it. What is two-year-old Grant like? Well, he is energetic, intense, determined, stubborn, sweet, and full of fun. He's potty-training and pretty much has it figured out, just doesn't always want to take the time to put his stuff where it belongs. He runs around with no pants a lot of the time these days, sometimes with undies, sometimes not. :) It's summer time; clothes are optional. We're almost done with diapers, but not quite. That will be its own post, I'm sure, when it happens.

Grant is talking in sentences now and tells us in no uncertain terms what he does and does not want. He is a pretty picky eater right now. He likes yogurt, fruit, and hot dogs, but he finally just recently started trying more foods. We've even seen a few small pieces of chicken go down the hatch. He still loves his milk and his binkies. I'm not sure when we'll wage the binkie battle. We're not up for it yet because..he is still our worst sleeper, by far. Most nights he wakes up at least once and ends up talking to us beside our bed (he's no longer in a crib), and that's a vast improvement from what it has been. I can say that he is improving. A couple months ago, I could count on two hands the number of full nights' sleep I'd had since Grant was born, and now that number is eeking its way up to three hands. He's usually up for the day sometime between 5:00am and 6:00am. We have to keep his nap short if we want him to go to sleep at a decent hour (ie, before 9pm). This kid just doesn't need much sleep!

His latest mischievous deeds have included sticking a thumb in my freshly-baked pie, getting into my make-up (mascara and eye shadow all over him and everything around him), picking 17 green tomatoes and chucking them down the hill into the rocks below, and flooding the bathroom floor with water from the sink, twice. I'm thankful his fascination with the toilet has diminished, but I'm not a fan of this new sink fetish. I really don't want to see an inch of water covering our upstairs bathroom again. He was an angel at his well-child doctor visit today, though, and reminded me several times that he expected a sticker at the end of it. He got one.

We had a good time celebrating his birthday with family on Saturday at Grandpa and Grandma Moffat's house--a birthday pool party and bbq. Grant enjoyed the present opening time and knew just what to do. We were all impressed with his interest in the new clothes he received. He wanted to try on all the shirts. :) He knew just what to do with those candles on the cake, too. Thanks to everyone who came to help us celebrate!






with his little buddy, Cousin Russell (and no pants)

he loved the singing card with the dancing hamster in it

Happy Birthday, Grant!

Our little man is two today!
It's a hot, hot, breezy day--a great day for a birthday pool party.
We love you, Grant! 

Part of the club now

Kari taught Aubrey the art of towel-wrapping wet hair. Aubrey was so proud to join the female ranks and show off her newly aquired skill.

Dusty kids once again

After spending a whole morning in the sand play area at OMSI with Grant and Aubrey and seeing how much fun they were having, I decided it was time to put sand in the sandbox again.  (It has sat empty on the side of the house since we moved in a year ago.) I lugged four 50 lb bags of play sand to the backyard, dumped it all in, set the umbrella up to give them some shade, and the two little ones played for a full hour that first day and longer after lunch. It's not big enough for all the kids to play in (fight, fight!), and I do have sand in my dryer now and then, but I'm not regretting the decision.