Boulder Cave

 

Dave made it back from his work trip at Harvard just in time for my birthday. We spent the day hiking to Boulder Cave with my family. A lovely way to spend a birthday if you ask me.

 

 

 

 

 

We brought our flashlights and Grandpa's lantern, perfect for the walk through the dark cave. The boys loved it so much we hiked back around to the beginning so we could do it twice. They wanted to turn all the lights of in the middle of the cave to see how dark it really was and they kept listening for the big eared bats. 

   

Noah led the way and spotted so many interesting things. 

 

As usual, little Sybil slept through it all strapped onto Dave's back. She woke up right at the end for the waterfall. 

Grandpa's canoe

 

 A day on the river in Grandpa's canoe.

  

The lagoon at Three Rivers Park is our favorite spot. The water is still. The beach is calm.  Noah loved jumping into the water from the canoe. Gage was happy throwing river rocks and taking his turn to paddle. The blackberry bushes didn't have any berries this year. Maybe next year.

Grandpa and Sibby 

lemonade stand

 

"Can we do a lemonade stand?!" 

"Please! can we do a lemonade stand?"

"When are we going to do a lemonade stand?" 

"Is today a good day for a lemonade stand?" 

Noah was so excited to do a lemonade stand at Grandma and Grandpa's house in Kennewick.

 

Little cousin Ashlyn was the perfect partner. They both sat on those cars and waved at cars for hours. 

Washington

  

One of my favorite sights is seen as we drive north on I-82. After crossing the bridge from Oregon, across the Columbia River and into Washington, you drive for another 10 minutes. The road inclines slightly and at the top of that hill you can see my entire hometown in the distance. I love that view. You can see Thomson hill with its house perched on top. You can see the river, sparkling. Sagebrush, rolling. Spots of black from the summer fires. The blue bridge. The cable bridge. The roads. The trees. The houses.

We made that drive in July and nestled at my parents house for several days.

 

Sibby and Grandma 

The boys spent plenty of time in the backyard. 

Riley always close on Gage's heels. 

 

 

They still love this inflatable pool Grandpa bought when Gage turned 2. 

 

My sister Kate and her family were also visiting from Ohio. 

 

Cousin Ashlyn

 

Cousin Lexi and Sybil are just a few months apart.

 

Bedtime stories with Grandma. 

 

The sisters at a family dinner at Todd and Kadee's house. We missed Erin! 

  

Grandma Brown

 

Dave and I hiked up Badger Mountain one morning.  

 

Swimming with the Stoyan boys. 

 

Chuck E Cheese's

   

Trampoline park - Noah and Gage LOVED the dodge ball game

14 months

This girl is getting sweeter and sweeter. It is so fun to watch her learn and do more. She does so many things that make us smile. Here are a few of our favorites.

 

blow kisses

 

say bye bye

 

Where's Mommy? Where did she go? 

 

And did I mention that she doesn't walk? or crawl? No, this girl loves to scoot. She gets around by scooting on her bottom and using her left arm to hoist herself. And she's pretty fast. 

Camping with the Rowleys

 

The plan was to camp up Payson canyon. But a big rain storm came in and we were so glad we decided to sleep at Liz and Curtis' instead. We roasted marshmellows in the backyard and slept in cozy beds in their warm basement. It was perfect. 

We managed to get in a lovely hike before the rain came down. Once it started thundering we all ran down the mountain as fast as we could. We were drenched, muddy and laughing. 

Baby on my back

 

The next morning we went to the Rowley's farm for ice cream at the Big Red Barn.