Summer is Over

Summer is over for us. I survived! I survived kids whining that they were bored or hot. I survived the fighting that comes with boredom and being hot. Now the kids are back in school. Yay for me! Actually the kids were pretty excited too. They were also nervous since they are going to a new school. Hopefully they'll come home and say how great it was and that they already have a new friend in their class. I can be positive and hopeful some of the time!

Here they are in front of the school mascot. Paige did not want her picture taken! She was feeling apprehensive.

We stopped to play at a park after dropping the kids off at school. Romney just can't pass by a park with out playing.

Now for a little back tracking...

For the 4th of July we attended the parade in Basin City again. Small town parades are the best. They still throw candy which the kids love! We also got ice cream bars from the Dairy. It was a hot day and it felt very refreshing to have to the fire department go by spraying water. Paige loved the horses!

My sister, Nancy, and her family joined us and we met up with my other sister, Karyn and her husband, Jason. After the parade we headed to Moses Lake for good food and lots of fun.

In July, Joe and I were in charge planning the family reunion for Joe's parents and siblings. We were really excited about it and had fun planning out activities to keep the easily bored children busy. I was so busy setting stuff up and getting ready for the next activity that I kept forgetting to get out my camera. Then when I finally did I discovered after taking just two pictures that both of my batteries were dead. But, my wonderful sister-in-law, Heather, sent me a bunch of great pictures that she took. Thank you!! We played some kid-friendly baseball. Even I took a whack at it once. Actually I did hit it (I wanted to use the T-ball but they wouldn't let me). The little kids were so cute playing.

Jacob up to bat.

We went on a nature hike to hunt for things we could make into intruments.

Here's Joe helping to create something.

Here they are with their intruments going on a little parade.

Joe arranged to have Smokey the Bear come visit. They kids thought it was great!

Some of the grandkids waiting to go on a hike.

A little fishing pond. This picture must have been from the beginning because it didn't take long for the water to be quite muddy. Some of the kids didn't want to stop.

Everyone loved adorable baby Clara

After camping in the mountains for four nights we headed back to Oakley. There were a couple extended family reunions with a bunch of people I didn't really know. I also discovered that Joe is pretty much related to nearly everyone in Oakley. :) We watched the 24th of July parade and then a fireworks show that night. It was very fun and the kids had a blast.

Sometime (I lost track of time this summer) after returning from Idaho we headed over the Vancouver, Washington to spend a day at the beach. It started out a little overcast but turned out to be beautiful and sunny. It was really the perfect temperature. The kids just ran and played all day long. That evening we built a fire on the beach and roasted hot dogs and made smores. We pulled some big driftwood around an area that looked like an old fire pit so we would have something to sit on. One of the logs was charred in places so the girls put their towels over it and sat down. Suddenly my sister, Nancy, noticed smoke coming up behind her daughter. She went over to take a look. Her daughter stood up and they picked up her towel. There were pretty decent sized holes burned right through it!

Rebekah loved the ocean. She would walk right into the waves.

Nancy, looking so chic in her hat, and Tommy.

Romney just squealed with delight at all the waves.

Time to dry off and warm up a little.

I think they were trying to build sand castles and be mermaids.

I thought this looked liked Jacob dragging a pet around. It certainly kept him occupied for awhile. Such interesting things in the ocean. Oh yeah, another thing which we didn't catch on film was a big fish that just jumped out of a wave and onto shore next to Jacob, Joe and Adam. I don't know...it could just be a fish tale.