Kids Day at Riverfront Park

:: If you like information booths full of advertisers, parents with their overheated and exhausted children, oh, and lets not forget the family pooch....(really NOT sure why people think its a good idea to bring their furry friends to these type of events????)....then you will LOVE kids day at the park! Maybe I'm being a little harsh....I suppose if you are 4 like Anna, it was a great time. She said, "I really liked it, but there were too many people!"

:: One of this girls favorite things to do.....ride the carousel!....Her goal is to ride on all of the horses.... usually in one day!

:: MOM~ "Are you hot and tired Anna?".......

Anna~ "no, not really"

:: Me/Mom~ "Should this be our last ride, so we can go home and cool off?".....

Anna~ "MOM!!!!!!.....not yet!"

:: Me/Mom~ "Are you sure this can't be our last ride?"

Anna~ "MOM!....don't you listen to me?!...I said not yet!"

It was a good day....we rode the carousel 3 times....went to lunch....did some school shopping and had some good girl time :)

A Day at Mt. Spokane....

:: What's happening?!....we never manage to be in the same picture! ;)

:: Shhhh!.....don't tell her!....she didn't know I was taking the pic!....ha ha ha....Mom wins! (what?...my victories are so few I simply must gloat!)

:: I have this one so well trained!....I say "Danielle....smile!".....AND...she does :)

:: He's pretty well trained too!...I said, "Michael....give me a pose!"....AND...he did :)

:: I say, "Look everyone!....a big rock we can take our picture on".....I hear the collective groan as they obediently go over to the rock......snicker.....they love me!

A Day at Mt. Spokane..2nd set of pics

:: Here's the fam!

:: Mom and Anna...(here's me through my clenched teeth smile...."Anna!....Look at the camera!"....here's Anna..."NO!...giggle giggle!")

:: Vista House

:: Michael II, Dad, and Dani

:: Can't believe how quick she has grown up!....where's my tissue?

Sullivan Lake

:: You will notice a couple faces in the following pictures that haven't been on here in awhile. We finally snagged the kids from their summer vacation, friends, and work for a whole week!

One of our favorite places to enjoy the summer weather is Sullivan Lake. The water level is high this year, so we didn't have our usual set up on the beach, but we still managed to set up the beach tent :)

:: Danielle....she has spent most of her summer working and hanging out with friends...uh hum...and yes, spending time with her boyfriend ;)

(Its hard to believe she is 17 already and will turn 18 in October....eek!)

:: Michael....he has spent most of his summer hanging with friends.

(He will turn 16 in October....look out fellow drivers...he'll be hitting the road soon!)

:: Oh look!....its a rare photo with mom in it!....once in awhile I hand the camera to someone (other than myself who usually takes the family pics!), and I say, "Hey!...take a pic of me, so this family can look back some day and remember I was a part of it all".....tee hee!

:: And here's Anna....a full day of sunshine, water, and no nap....don't those eyes say it all?

And here's what I did with all those raspberries....

:: There was talk of raspberry cobbler and using the raspberries over ice cream....both sounded great, but I had another idea!....freezer jam!....yummy!

And, seriously who could resist these adorable little freezer jam containers!!!....I must admit...other than having a freezer packed with jam these containers were my true motive for making the jam....tee hee!

:: Of course I had to make a label to adorn these beloved containers ;)....I am so easily pleased.

Anna and the Pink Trek Trike

:: There is a story behind this Trek Trike.....Michael (Daddy) just couldn't wait to buy Anna her first trike. Well she was about 16 months old when he came home with this trike with the biggest smile. So excited that she would have her first trike. Too bad she is just now at 3 1/2 years old able to put her feet on the pedals....tee hee

It was an exciting day the other day when daddy sat her on the trike just to try one more time to see how much more she would need to grow and BINGO she could reach!
:: I don't know who's more excited over her riding this trike, Anna or Daddy.

And by the way.....I bet all of you thought I had forgotten how to take a picture with a human in it.....LOL! Notice there are flowers in the back ground though......I made sure of that! :0) (snicker!)

Anna and the Red Trike

:: There is no in between with her.....you either get a full set of teeth smile or a look away from the camera.
:: This is singing her lungs out while riding as fast as she can pedal around my car. zoinks!
:: Check out the tongue action! (it helps a person think ya know!)
:: And here, just picture me begging her to look at the camera and she's not having it! Little turkey!

Sullivan Lake

:: Hanging out at Sullivan Lake
:: I admit I have kind of fallen off the blog posting wagon this summer. I do not know where June and July went! Busy busy busy!

We've been taking the kids to Sullivan Lake a lot this summer and stopping by Gma and Gpa's for dinners. We've meant to go camping a few different times this summer and its either too blasted hot to want to go through the effort of packing everything, or we've had busy schedules, so instead we've been making use of the day use area up at Sullivan and it has been awesome! There are no houses around the lake, so you really feel like you're getting away for a little bit, but its close enough where we can still come home and shower and sleep in our own beds.

Pretty Pretty Flowers

:: Foxglove
:: Delphinium
:: Rose
:: Delphinium with Purple Salvia
:: Just wanted to show off some of my yard pretties!

Yard Then and Now

:: Here are some comparison pictures around the yard. The above picture was taken 5/20 and the next 2 pictures of the same flower bed were taken today 6/30. A lot happens in the yard within a month's time.


:: Here is the morning glory progress.....the above picture was taken 6/5, and the picture below was taken today 6/30. The frames should be covered by next month.

Long time no blog.....

:: Okay, okay....I know its been a few days since my last blog.......My mom-in-law sent me an e-mail today reminding me that I had not posted anything in awhile, so I figured if she's wondering....maybe the rest of you are too? 

:: First of all, get a load of the chickens! Don't they make ya smile? I took this picture while at my friend Lindsi's a few days ago. I can't remember their names, so I'll have to ask Lindsi and edit the post once I know. At first glance I think of Salt and Pepper, but I'm not a real creative one when it comes to names. 

:: I don't have anything very exciting to report. This past week was busy with play dates, doctor appointment, running errands and helping out my grandma. OH, and don't forget laundry! I got my sneak peek copy of the new Stampin'Up! Idea Book and Catalog 2009-2010, so I have been memorizing every page and started the countdown to when we can order from it.....JULY 1ST! 

::This weekend is Father's Day and the weather is supposed to be terrible for any outdoor activity and of course that is exactly what I have planned.....Taking Michael to a Spokane Indians Game on Father's Day. phooey! 

Hope you all have a great start to your weekend. As I type I can hear that Anna just woke from her nap, so I better run! :0)