Kaitlin is back

My sister has been a missionary serving in the Jackson, Mississippi mission and just came back this last week.

We went down to Pasco to be there when Kaitlin got home.  My mom texted like 25 minutes before they would arrive so we went outside to wait.  The kids did a lot of scootering.

It was great seeing her again after so long.  Adam wasn't too sure at first.  But he is an easy going boy and warmed up to her quickly.

That evening was my parents' ward's pioneer party.  So we went to that all together.  There was yummy food.

Adam shows off his messy hands.  He likes to hold a fork and try to eat, but he isn't good at this and ends up using his fingers instead.

Here we are back at my parents' house.  We asked a neighbor to come over and take a picture.  Notice that Kaitlin still has her missionary tag because she hadn't been officially released yet.

This adorable baby is my other sister, Kylee's baby.  She was so cute and friendly.  They are going to live with my parents for a couple of months so we will get to see more of them.  My kids were really excited about this baby, so I have high hopes that they will do well with our new baby.

And just in comparison - here is Kaitlin and my crew.

And here they are right before Kaitlin left.  You don't really notice them growing until you look back like this.

Welcome back Kaitlin!  I am glad that your mission went so well.  You are a good example for all of us.

Happy Fourth of July

So I am a little behind, if you can't tell by the title, but we had a great Fourth of July this  year.

Will has been talking about taking the girls camping.  But we didn't have to go far - just my parents' backyard.  We decided to go for the Fourth.

And it isn't camping without s'mores.

I love Adam's face.  He was shocked at how sticky his roasted marshmallow was.  It was really funny.  Then he quickly wanted it off because he doesn't like being dirty.

My parents tradition to share the Fourth of July breakfast with neighbors continued.  There was a good turnout and the food was delicious.

Then we quickly made it to the parade in downtown Pasco.  This parade has always been a bit short, but not this year.

Here Princess Ariel gets a ride and waves at the kids.  My girls loved the princesses.  They also loved getting lots of candy this year.

We came back to Hermiston for the evening because some friends from our ward invited us over for a potluck barbecue and games.  It is hard to tell but Megan is holding a water balloon.  The girls got soaked but it was plenty warm for drying off quickly.

Adam learned how to throw pop rocks. He liked the noises they made.

Some of the families brought little street fireworks.  These were very exciting for the kids.

This scared me.  Lots of little kids with little flames.  But everyone had fun and most people were very careful.

We watched the fireworks from their backyard.  My camera didn't take the best pictures but you know what fireworks look like.

It was a great day.  I am glad that we live in this free country.

Onion Days

We decided to hit Walla Walla Onion Days this year.  We went several years ago with Will's parents but a storm and being gone have kept us away since then.  It ended up being a fun day and the weather was perfect.

You can't go to onion days without being an onion - and eating an onion, naturally.

There were lots of onion games that the kids played.  They are like the basic carnival game but you use an onion instead of a ball.  The kids got to decorate onions too but I didn't get any good pictures of that.

There were a couple of demonstrations where you could watch people making their product.

Whitney and Rachel find an onion to stand by for a quick picture.

Adam thought this pool of water was neat.  He loved splashing in it and did it for a long time.  It was actually a solar controlled fountain, which I didn't know existed.  Adam just thought it was play time.

There was a big area all about conservation.  Whitney and Rachel try to power their light bulbs.

Playing in the dirt/water table.  This was a hit with all the kids.

And there was a big tractor that kids could sit on and pretend to drive.
Anyway, it was a fun day.  I am glad that we were able to go.

News

So I tried to get my children to cooperate and sit on the couch together.

But that just wasn't going to work.  So I picked to take separate pictures.

Can you guess our news?

Sunny Days

This has been a funny early Summer season so far.  We have had some really hot hot days and some cool and chilly and rainy days.  But we like going out during the sunny times.

Will had Memorial Day and we decided to go down to the beach in the morning.  The kids had a blast with the new beach toys and the frisbees we brought.

The girls decided to test out the water.  According to Whitney that was where all the prettiest rocks were.  I don't think anyone went deeper than their knees.

We had quite a few big holes dug by the end of our adventure.

Adam laughed and laughed as I covered his feet in sand.  I thought he might get upset but he loved it.  I guess we will have to head down to the beach more often.

We brought a picnic to enjoy afterwards (ignore Megan's grumpy face she was having a good time).  We let each kid choose three "treasures" to bring home.  So now we have more rocks, leaves, and clam shells.

On another day we decided it was hot enough to go to the splash park.  It is only a couple of minutes from our house.

Adam wasn't too sure about this cold water.  He was willing to get his hands wet but that was about it.  He actually spent most of the afternoon playing on the grass and eating dirt.

Our first sno-cones of the Summer.  I had a delicious peach mango.  Adam went around to everyone and begged for bites.  Thankfully, everyone seemed to think their sno-cone was the best, so that worked out nicely.

Not outside, but sunny days means colder food.  I made seven-layer dip for dinner.  Adam got so messy.  He didn't quite understand dipping the chip and tended to just use his fingers to get as much dip into his mouth as possible.  It was cute, until clean up time.

Anyway, we are liking the days that are nice and warm.  Just a few more school days left and it will be officially Summer!!