Chuck E. Cheese

Aunt Katie was so nice and took us to Chuck E. Cheese. The kids were so EXCITED! They see the commercials on TV every morning for "the place" and their mom hasn't taken them since Julia was a little baby. It was about time. It was as nice as I remember (note the sarcasm) but the kids had fun. Cameron learned a new game called "air hockey" that he fell in love with. Julia and Natalie liked the rides.



Chucky made an appearance and the girls took off and hid. Here is a picture of Julia getting as far away as possible from the mouse. Cameron, of course couldn't get enough of him.



We had fun and just like Cameron kept telling us over and over-- "Where a kid, can be a kid"

Thanks Katie for the fun night!

Don't Worry About It

This is what Natalie keeps telling me when I ask her if she is doing something she isn't supposed to be doing:

Mom: "Natalie, are your pants wet?"

Natalie: "Mom, don't worry about it!"

Mom: "Natalie, what are you in to?"

Natalie: "Don't worry about it"

Mom: "Oh, but I will worry about it............."

The Odds

The odds are 50/50 that Natalie will put her shoes on the correct feet.

Her actually percentage of doing that is about 2%. The kid NEVER has her shoes on the right feet. I use to help her switch them every time she had them backwards, now when I see her shoes on the wrong feet I just say "Okay, lets go." What can a mom do?

Birthday Boy

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MITCH!

Why I am ready for school to start...

Each year as the school year draws near, I start to panic. I am not ready to have my babies leave me for so long each day. I am going to miss them and it makes me sad, but every year my kids "help" me get over this panic by acting like possessed devils. I KID YOU NOT. They fight, scream, cry, and yes bite each other until I am ready to send them packing with a smile on my face. It must be the end-of-summer boredom that sets in. Whatever the case may be... I AM READY FOR SCHOOL TO START! (Only two weeks left)

Camping at Ocean City

Last weekend we went camping to Ocean City State Park near Ocean Shores. I am sad to say that my camera is having major issues and that I took ZERO pictures of the trip. The few I have were taking by others (Thank you!)

We went with Mitch's parents and the Clayson's. We had a really nice time. The weather was AWESOME. I don't think that I have been to the ocean with such good weather in a long time. The first night we got there, we went to the beach and watched the sun set. It was gorgeous. The next day we spent the entire day on the beach. The sun was so warm that Mitch, Laura, and I and a few of the cousins got completely in and waved jumped. I don't think that I have done that since I was 12. The water wasn't bad. Normally you couldn't pay me to get in. Cameron, Julia, and Natalie loved the water and spent most of their time in it.



Cameron was worried about the crabs and the sharks in the water. He told me that it wouldn't be a good idea to wear black in the water because sharks eat seals and if you wear black the sharks might think you are a seal. I loved the advice...



Julia got a bug bite right above her eye the first day we got there and her eye was almost swollen shut for the entire camping trip. Natalie on the other hand was still fighting that same stomach flu from a week ago and spent the entire trip throwing up. Poor girl! (and poor mom)

Swimming Lessons

We finished up our swimming lessons for the summer! Both Cameron and Julia improved a lot this time. I am not sure if it is because they are getting older, better teachers, or if going every day for 2 weeks, instead of 2 days a week for 5 weeks was the key. But at any rate they are turning into little fish. Cameron advanced to Learn to Swim level 3 and Julia Preschool 2. Julia has become SO much more confident in the water and Cameron is actually really swimming!!

Woo-Hoo!

It has been a S-T-R-U-G-G-L-E to teach Cameron to tie his shoe. He has been unwilling/unable to do it. We have been working on it for at least a year and a half off and on. This summer I knew that we were going to have to buckle down and learn this once and for all, he is going into the 2nd grade for heaven sakes! Anytime Mitch and I bring up the idea of practicing it is automatic crying and a fight. Today I braced myself for the onslaught of mayhem when I told him that today we were practicing. To make it a little easier, I told Julia that she would be learning too. In less than 10 minutes Julia had it down. Having your little sister do it wasn't going to fly with Cameron. He stopped whining and went to work, 5 minutes later Cam had it down. Nothing like a little sibling rivalry to get a task accomplished. I am so proud of both of them that I almost shed a tear-- this too has passed!

HALLELUJAH!!!!!!!!!!!!

Cousins!

Kara and the kids were in Seattle all last week. Needless to say it was one big party! We had a lot of fun hanging out with the cousins and I didn't get much accomplished.





We went to the Woodland Park Zoo. The penguins were a big hit!





I promised Cameron and Julia that we could feed the giraffes. They love giraffes.

Grandpa being silly.



The sleep over was so fun until it was actually time to go to bed. All of them came down at one time or another complaining that Natalie wouldn't let them sleep. Natters was finally banished to her own room.

Oh My Gosh, Ohanapecosh!

We went camping at Ohanapecosh (Mountain Rainer as my kids call it). This was our second year going with some friends in our ward and it was a lot of fun and very beautiful! Because of a mix up on our campsite reservations I went up a day before Mitch with the kids and Laura. Laura and I had an adventure setting up camp without a man. :) The kids became Junior Rangers and got official badges. Too cute.





We went on a few hikes and enjoyed the scenery. Natalie did great, just a little slow.

Down by the river we found a place to jump off a cliff into the water. Mitch, Laura, and I all did it. I will admit I screamed like a girl while I was falling though. Cameron wanted to give it a try so we found a rock that he could jump off too. Glacier melt is not warm...I thought he was very brave.

Relaxing on a rock during our hike.

All Comers Meet

We took the kids to an all comers meet in Shoreline. The kids races were the 50 meters, 100 meters, and 200 meters. Because of the 2 hours in traffic to get there, we missed the 100 m. It was fun to watch them run in spite of the difficulty getting there though.



Julia is so cute to watch run because she has such long legs but because she is so busy smiling and waving to the crowd she gets passed by others.





Cameron was all business at the meet. Unfortunately for him there was a girl that was "7" that was about a head taller than him that beat him in both races.





Mitch and I were amazed at the "stage parents" that were at the meet. Some people get a little crazy with their kids.



Natalie was going to run the 50 m. but when the time came she just couldn't do it. She did however want to pole vault. I have no idea why she keep asking to do it but she wasn't happy when we told her she was too young. Thanks to Laura and Mom who came along for the fun!

Reoccurring Nightmare

oh mY GOSH!
Mitch and I are starting to have a reoccurring nightmare. Instead of explaining it, you could just read this and insert Cameron and Natalie's name for Julia's.

We awoke in the night with Natalie crying, she had thrown up all over her bed. Not too bad...a bath, new sheets and blankets and we were back in bed. About 3 hours later we wake up to Cameron calling for Mitch, when Mitch finally opened his eyes Cameron was about 1 inch from his face. He had thrown up.

All over bed? Check. On the Floor? Check. Throw up sliding down drawers of clothes? Check.

While cleaning up the throw up off the floor with a spoon. We were discussing that we were actually getting "good at this,"and had a system down to clean up throw up in the night. We talked about putting together a"vomit kit" that we could put under our bed that we could pull out when needed. This might be the key to our financial future if we marketed it right! What would be in the kit? Rubber gloves, mask, garbage sack, spoon, carpet cleaner, disinfecting wipes, rag, Febreze, etc. We decided the last thing in the kit would be a bottle of whiskey-- for us.