Camping Trip

We haven't been camping since Whitney was a little baby, so we decided to go this last weekend.  We went to a small campsite called Dan's Landing and we were one of only two tenters since everyone else there was using RV's.  Here we just got to the site and decided to set up the tent right away.  Whitney liked "helping" by folding and unfolding the tent poles.  She especially liked this long orange one and kept dragging it around.

Our tent is a big eight-man tent.  There are only four of us and two are very small, so we only used about a third of the tent.  Whitney kept calling it her 'little house', which I thought was an appropriate name. 

We were able to rent a rowboat for two hours for only ten bucks.  And the campground managers even had lots of life jackets.  The two jackets on the girls were really colorful and they seemed to fit really well.  Whitney especially liked her jacket and being out in the water.  Rachel wasn't a big fan of having the sun in her face.

I took a short turn rowing, but I wasn't very good.  So poor Will had to do the bulk of the work.  Thanks for rowing us across ClearLake, Will.  The weather was beautiful and it was fun being on the water.  Will and I had a 'mini' waterfight.  But we couldn't do much because one of us was always carrying Rachel and Whitney did not want to get wet at all. 
 

Here is our awesome fire.  If you squint a little, you can see me in the background roasting a hotdog.  It took awhile to get the fire going because we didn't have good kindling, only big logs.  But our nice neighbors lent us an axe.  So we were thankful for their help or we would have been stuck with cold hotdogs.  We even splurged and each got to eat one smore (not totally diet friendly, but very tasty). Whitney just liked eating the Hersheys.

Will took a couple of really great nature shots early Saturday morning.  I love seeing reflections in the water.

Here a bunch of ducks swam by.

Although the place was called Clear Lake, the water wasn't very clear or good to swim in.  But that was okay.  We found a bunch of little fish (Whitney is pointing it out) right next to the shore.  Whitney kept throwing in grass and leaves and twigs for the fish to eat, wasn't that nice of her?

And the taking down of the tent.  We all got a little sunburned and mosquito bitten, but it was a fun camping trip.  Maybe we won't wait two whole years to go on one again.

Happy 4th of July

We had a really fun day yesterday.  Will had the day off work, so we could do fun family things.
And, of course, all dress the same.  I thought it was a cute idea to wear matching outfits.

Apparently, the little girls did not think it was such a cute idea.  We took several pictures and couldn't get any with them smiling or looking at the camera.  But we did all wear red shirts and blue jeans and felt a little patriotic.

Our ward had a big 4th of July breakfast.  The ward provided pancakes and asked everyone else to bring sides.  So we made a big fruit salad that was delicious.  I put my fruit on my pancake so I wouldn't have to use syrup.  The strawberry and the banana and the kiwi all tasted good on the pancake - not so much the watermelon. Oh well.  There were also lots of egg things and cinnamon rolls.  Will and I had to keep reminding ourselves that we were dieting.

Will brought his bubble contraption and was a huge hit at the breakfast.  The older kids liked chasing the bubbles Will blew and the younger kids got a kick out of using the flyswatter with the holes cut into it.  Poor Will had to basically stay there the whole time we were at the park, but I don't think he minded too much.

Rachel gets a little ride with my friend Jennifer.  I am her visiting teacher and she is Whitney's nursery teacher.  So we all know each other quite well. 

Another lady in our ward brought balloons and made balloon things for all the kids.  She could make hats or swords or little animals.

It is hard to tell from this picture, but this is Whitney's flower.  She carried it around with her for awhile and only had to be rescued a couple of times by me.  I don't think Whitney realizes how fragile balloons are and that they shouldn't be used to hit the bark on the playground.
So that was a fun time with our ward. It is nice to have get-togethers where everyone is calm and can just sit and relax and talk.

We went to Riverfront Park for the firework show.  It was super crowded with thousands of people everywhere.

This picture doesn't do the crowdedness justice.  We are on top of the red wagon slide.  Whitney was very patient and waited in line to get to go down the slide.  We only went down a couple of times because the wait wasn't very fun.  Whitney liked watching all the people.

The fireworks show started at 10:00, when it was good and dark. I tried to prepare Whitney ahead of time that the fireworks were going to be loud, but that they were far away and not scary.  Both Whitney and Rachel did a good job and watched the fireworks without getting scared.  Here are a couple pictures that Will took.  He was able to use a special setting for fireworks on the camera.  Who knew that cameras came with settings like that?

 

Of course, the fireworks looked much more awesome in person.  But I think Will did a good job getting picture of them. 

We had an awesome day.  I am so grateful for our free country and for all those who have been, or are currently, serving in the military to maintain that freedom.  We really are a blessed people.

The Optometrist

I went in to the optometrist for an eye exam yesterday.  One of my eyes has been bothering me off an on for the past little while.  But switching to just wearing glasses has made it much better.  Since I haven't had my eyes checked in many many years, I thought it was time to see the optometrist.  It was in Spokane Valley and Will was very kind to watch the girls while I had my appointment.
I was able to narrow down my glasses selection to these three pairs.  I knew that I wanted something a little more bold and a little more fun than my current glasses since I plan on wearing them most of the time.

I guess they all look very similar in these pictures, but it was nice to be able to look at the pictures at the eye exam place and get a different viewpoint of what I would look like wearing the glasses.  Tune in in like two weeks when I get my pair to see which ones I selected. 

And Whitney got to try on lots of glasses as well.  I think she is trying to act like a police officer in this picture.

A short visit

Will's sister, Emily, and her family were visiting family in Portland and they wanted to see us as they drove back to Colorado.  We wanted to see them on their way back, so we met up in the Tri-Cities to hang out with them for a little bit.  It was just a fast trip because they had lots more driving to do, but we were really excited to get to see them.  It has been about a year since the last time we saw them.  We met up at the Playground of Dreams in Kennewick.

Will brought his bubble contraption and it was a real hit with all the kids.  Here is Emily giving it a go. 

I think Matthew liked the bubbles the best.  He loved making his own (and got really good at making them) and he loved chasing the ones that Will made.

Grant got ahold of the flyswatter that has holes cut out of it which makes for a good bubble wand for little kids.  He waved it around and got a lot of little bubbles all over the grass. 

After bubbles, the kids had a ball playing on the playground.  Whitney and Anna stayed pretty close to each other.  Anna is about a year and a half older than Whitney and she was very nice and let Whitney tag along with her.  I think this picture is really cute with both of them smiling in their little boat.

All Matthew needs is a hard hat and he could be a great construction worker.  Here he goes to town digging for whatever can be found in the bark.

Whitney and Anna both like swinging.  I didn't get a picture, but they were both on the tire swing for awhile just chilling together. 
After playing at the playground, we went out to the Olive Garden for dinner together and then we had to say goodbye to the Guptills.  They wanted to keep driving for a little longer that evening.  Thanks for visiting us.  We had lots of fun.  We will have to go down to Colorado and visit them some time.

Saturday was just a relaxing day with my family.  We went to Chiawana park in the afternoon and only got a little sunburned.  Whitney loves holding grandma's hand and is happy to be walking to the water.  There were a lot of duck feathers and seagull feathers all around the water's edge that Whitney kept trying to throw into the water.  It was pretty funny because the feather often just floated right back to her.  Oh well.

Rachel is not too happy in this picture because we had just put her feet in the water.  It was apparently too cold for her because she started crying right away.  Again I say, oh well.  We went back to Cheney Saturday evening so we could spend Fathers Day without driving and just being by ourselves.

That is pretty much all that has been happening here. Hope everyone is doing well.

Potty Training

Why was I never warned just how difficult potty training can be?  We have only been doing potty training for the past six days and I already want it to be done.  But I guess that just doesn't work.

This is our potty chair that we are using.  It was given to us by a friend whose little boy was too young for potty training.  We have had this chair for about seven months; I have really been putting off the potty training.  Now all of Whitney's friends in nursery are starting to learn to use the potty, so we decided that we better start as well.
So we bought a bag of jelly beans as a reward for using the potty.  At first, Whitney was afraid to even sit on the potty, so she got a jelly bean for just trying to use the toilet, but now she isn't afraid anymore.  I am thankful for that.

I didn't take any pictures of the actual sitting on the potty, but this is Whitney right after she went potty for the first time in the toilet.  I let her play with a whole bunch of stickers and she put them all on our little brown toy chest.  She kept saying "What is that?" when she saw that she had gone to the bathroom.  So I am hoping she is starting to recognize the feeling of going to the bathroom in the toilet. 
What else should I do for potty training besides just leaving her on the potty for a long time while we eat or read books or watch TV or whatever?  I would love potty-training suggestions.

Anyway, that is what we have been doing this week and will be continuing to do for a long time.  Cheney has been rainy, so we have been spending lots of time inside.  I hope next week will be better.