Cousins

The next best thing to a brother.... and possibly a little better because you don't have to share a room.

My wish for them is that they always love being around each other.

Old Friends and New Kids

The Before:

                                                                      
                                                  The After:  10 Kids between us (one cousin)

                                                                      

Jodie came up from Texas to visit portland and we got all the kids together to run, play, and be together.  We took them to an enclosed Fort.... where else can you take that many children and still have a semi-uninterupted visit :)  ?

Summer Past Time

I do love to pick berries.  Sometimes I wonder if my kids will look back and think, "that was so boring".

But I will say that Avery told me the other day that I was the best mom.  I asked her why and she said, "you take us to do a lot of things, like picking berries!"

40lbs of blueberries!

We did some raspberries too a couple of weeks before.  Boy these kids can work!

What kids do when they take your camera:

Then you get mad at them when you can't find your camera.  You make them search for hours for it...tearing apart their baskets of toys looking for it.  Then you find the camera in your car under the seat where you left it.....and have to apologize ! 

Tree 2 Tree

Happy Birthday Matt!  Not a bad way to spend ringing in 40!

ZIP-LINING!!!

 Brian on the zipline.

 The junkyard.  You had to get up this in order to do the "black" course!

The epitome of Summer

Swimsuits and bicycles!

Look who learned to ride a bike and now has a new found freedom!

10

I know this is late....but wanted to post some pics.  I love this boy.

He is funny, loves to dance to music, loves sports, he will take the trash out whenever he is asked, usually without complaining, he is a great for his teachers and likes to make the whole family laugh...and sometimes makes them mad too :)

The other day I told him to shut the garage and come outside.  He hit the button and started running.  As I was about to yell at him that he was going to 'trip' the sensor and stop the garage from closing, he jumped over it at the last minute....  The kid is like a cat sometimes.  He made me laugh. 

He has a great group of close friends that I am really thankful for.