S'Mores

We always have a great time having s'mores around the fire. It was a little windy last night, but we enjoyed ourselves. We have Elle Nesbitt for the weekend... we have a few things planned for the kids... enjoy!

Emmi...
Elle...

When will they learn to just let me take their picture?!?!?!



Joey... loves a good stick.

Stefan... oh, boy...
Joey, Emmi, Elle & Stefan...

Pictures from the beach...

A Weekend Get-Away

We are in Newport at the beach. Joe was working here most of the week, so we decided to join him. It just happened that there are not any basketball games this weekend, so we are clear and free.

Thursday -- Boys have early release from school, but I have to work. We left at 4:39 (not bad... I wanted to leave by 4:30). Jeep is with us and Molly is at the Freedom Farm.

Friday -- Gorgeous, sunny morning. We decided to head to the beach. Joey spotted a nice spot on our way back from breakfast, so we packed up and headed over to it. Nice soft sand to lay in and 'dunes'. The kids ran and ran up and down the dunes... with Jeep in tow. They played Star Wars on the dunes... I was the droid to avoid i.e. Mom with camera. They found a fort that someone had built and they added to it.

Then, it was time to swim. We headed to the hotel pool and they played and hot-tubbed. Emmi is becoming a good swimmer. Stefan and Joey made up games about falling into the pool... silly boys.

Next, quiet time... my favorite! After showers, we lounged around for an hour and watched tv, played on the internet, etc. Stefan fell asleep (so did Joe and I).

Then, it was time to rally the troops to head to a customer's (friend) house for dinner. Jeep came along and played with their dog, Bradshaw (as in Terri Bradshaw... how funny). There were three families for a total of 7 kids. They ran and played and had a blast. We had a great dinner (grilled steak and chicken, company potatoes and salad) and a yummy dessert.

Today, we will head to Newport Aquarium. It is a yucky day outside, so it's the perfect day to be at the aquarium. We haven't been there is years, so we are all looking forward to it.

I'll post pictures when we get home.

Joey's weekend in sports

MORE PHOTOS ADDED... SEE BELOW

Let's be honest... Joey had a very busy sports weekend and LOVED it! A few pictures of his fun:

Basketball game:



Swim Meet:


And a soccer jamboree... I haven't taken those pictures off my camera, but as soon as I do I will post them. He had 4 goals on Saturday. They won the first two game and lost the last game (they were short games). He was very proud, as he should be, as were all of us!


Edited to add soccer photos...

1. Joey attempting a goal... SCORE! (He made it happen... four times.)

2. Joey playing goalie and booting the ball down the field.

3. Joey receiving his medal after the tournament.

4. THUNDER

A little fun from the weekend.

1. Patiently watching her brother.

2. Warming up for the game.

3. Huddle before the other game.

4. Lunch with the principal -- he was given the award for RESPECT

A gorgeous weekend and no photos!

We had a gorgeous, hot weekend and I didn't take the camera out, not once! The Edgefield was great. We walked the grounds, enjoyed the scenery and ate dinner at the Black Rabbit. It is one of the restaurants on sight. It was very good. The kids stayed with Auntie Allie. They were tired as they had already had a super soaker fight. We're missing on soaker, so Emmi got the hose. Lucky girl.

Sunday was low key... a few errands for Em and I. Joe and the boys played every sport after Joe cut the grass. We then headed to a friends birthday party. Everyone enjoyed themselves.

Now, we begin another week. You don't even want to see the schedule, it will make you cringe. Just throw in two early release days to send my world spinning! Oh, we'll make it and it will be fun and usual.

All is Fine

After a crazy week, everyone is fine. Joey went back to school on Friday. The doctors "helped" him by putting him on Miralax for 10 days. He is feeling great... running around like a 7 year old should.

Stefan continues to amaze us with how he is picking up on reading. He loves having the ability to learn.

And Ms. Em is always entertaining us. She spent her morning yesterday in Kindergarten with me (I was the class helper). She loved it.

I finished my book last night and began another. It is so nice that I can read for me know. I still read for the kids, but I can take time for me. I will head out in a few minutes to take my C-BEST test. It is the first test I need to take for getting my WA Teaching License. I took this test more than 10 years ago... here I go again.

Joe is home, exhausted from travel and ready to do it all again. Joe is on the swim lesson run. This evening we have a babysitter arriving... Joe and I head will head out for a couple of hours and H will entertain the troops.

Jeep headed in for a bath and haircut... I will have to post a picture later of the awesome coloring he has when his hair is short. Molly is Molly. Does what she wants, when she wants. Still sassy and very sweet.

And another Saturday begins...

Maniac Monday

It's Monday again... it is cold in the house, coffee is brewing and all is still. There aren't many moments like this, so I treasure them.

Joey was up coughing again last night until after 10... I think a run to the doctor is now in order today. He coughs during the day, but not frequently and it is controlled. At night, he almost goes into a panic attack. He just got up, coughing lightly, but looks tired.

Stefan was out before his head hit the pillow. I don't know how he slept through Joey's coughing. They sang at church yesterday. They did well. We came home, ate lunch, played with Jeep and then I dropped them off at Karla's house to play. They loved it. I ran into Lake Oswego to pick up many boxes of donated picture frames for the preschool. One more thing to add to my garage. Actually, we are thrilled for the frames... they will make for some nice projects and they will go to the preschool for storage... as soon as I can find a spot.

Emmi couldn't sleep. Imagine that... she didn't want to. I let her get in my bed and she was out instantly. In her world it's "not fair" that they boys get to sleep in the same room and she is all by herself. This is her new ploy!

All in all, a good weekend. Swim lessons went well. We picked up a friends 3 kids to play Saturday afternoon. They just moved and needed some time to get organized. So, here I was with 6 kids ages 7 and under and 2 dogs... thank goodness it didn't rain. All of us took a walk with Jeep... I'm sure that I looked like a crazy person headed down the road!

So with Monday brings errands, appointments, teaching, parties this week (Valentine's Day is Thursday), etc. Oh, and just to prove my momminess... I baked oatmeal chocolate chip cookies Sunday afternoon.