Midnight visitor

So a while back we had a midnight visitor...

Ugly little thing it was!!

One night, after going to bed VERY late, I was laying in bed trying to fall asleep when I heard Milo making a weird scraping noise outside so I got up to see what the problem was and found him very patiently trying to get at the opossum that was sitting on the top of the fence post. I think Milo had enough sense to know that barking would scare the thing away. It was pretty funny!! The opossum just sat there for the longest time while Milo & I watched it. I even had time to go get D out of bed so that he could see it. He, of course, being the animal loving boy that he is thought it was the coolest thing ever to see a wild opossum in the back yard.

Utah part 2---very late

So I have been a total blogging slacker. Although, I was having some computer issues so I do have a little bit of an excuse. Here are a bunch of pictures from our vacation to Moab...


Our caravan to Moab.




D on our first morning of 4-wheeling. We didn't get into Moab until about midnight and I think he fell asleep about an hour before we got there so he was not happy to be woke up at 6 am so that we could get out on the trail.





One of our many stops on the trail. Several people, including ourselves, had mechanical issues. Ours didn't survive for a 2nd day of wheeling. Better luck next year.



My sister-in-law, Jill and I took a sunrise hike to Delicate Arch in Arches National Park. It was a beautiful morning for a hike. We both got some awesome pictures.

Here we are at the end of our hike. You can barely see the arch behind us.

Later on after our hike, Jill & I went back to Arches with 2 of the kids and explored some more of the archer. Here is Joelle & Kenalee pretending to be falling off of the rock.

Silly girls!!

One of the many rock formations in Arches National Park...Balance Rock. The park was so awesome. I can't wait to go back and explore the areas that we weren't able to see.

We were all tired at the end of each day so much so that D fell half way out of bed and didn't even wake up.

When D was outside watching the guys load up the trucks on our last day, he found this Preying Mantis. It spent probably an hour crawling all over him. It especially liked D's hat.

On the second day of wheeling, Jack got invited to ride w/ one of the guys from Off Road Design. He had a blast!!

Utah Vacation Part 1

So for the 2nd year in a row we made plans to attend the "Blazer Bash"...Blazer as in the truck not our last name...in Moab Utah. We didn't actually make it last year due to car trouble, instead we spent a week at my parents house. This year we prepared all year long to make it down there. Part of that preparation included purchasing a truck that was capable of towing our GMC Jimmy...aka The Beast. Despite all of our preparation, we still had car trouble and got stuck in Walla Walla again. But, unlike last year, we did end up making it to Utah it was just a few days later than planned and in a completely different truck than the one we started our trek in.

We arrived in Walla Walla on Labor Day. Paige, Doug, and the kids came over for the day to see us. Here is a picture of most of the kids, including Joelle (Jack's brothers daughter) and D. Too bad Miranda is looking the wrong direction.

Another one of the kids with their "goofy" faces. Notice Miranda is paying attention this time. Silly girl!!

And another silly one of Miranda. I think this is her zombie look.

The 2nd day in Walla Walla I took Joelle and D to the park for a picnic and we played in mom & dad's yard while Jack delt with the car issues.

Joelle on the bandstand at Pioneer Park.

D on the zip line at mom and dad's.

The Beach

While Kelly was in town we took a day to go to the beach. We were suppose to go the day we went to Multnomah Falls but the forecast said it was suppose to be cold & rainy at the beach. Kelly ended up staying an extra day & I pulled "D" out of preschool and we headed for the beach on Tuesday instead of the Saturday before. It turned out to be a really fun day. It was rainy & cloudy on our way there but it ended up being a good day for the beach once we got there. It was cloudy but warm enough that the kids put on their swimming suits and took a dip in the ocean. "D" had never played in the ocean before. We couldn't hardly get him out. And of course, we all had a great time playing in the sand.

The kids jumping the waves.

"D" gathering sand for our sand fort.

"D" holding a crab he found in one of the tide pools.

"D" picking at the barnacles.

Kelly and Kaden.

Multnomah Falls

One of the days that Kelly was visiting we decided to go to Multnomah Falls. It was kind of a cold, cloudy day but as we started up the trail to the top it quickly got warm.

The kids before we started our hike...mostly happy. We started up the trail because the sign said it was only 1 mile. We thought no problem. Well, at the bottom of the trail it tells you there are 11 switch backs...at the 1 mile marker we still had 4 more switch backs to go. Kelly & I both say they lied about the 1 mile thing. We decided to head down once we realized it was quite a bit farther to the top. It was a good thing we headed back. "D" was tired and hungry...he had refused to eat the yummy breakfast cassorole that I had made that morning...I think he would have reached complete meltdown stage, if I had forced him to go any further. He was much happier once we got some lunch in him.

After the falls, we headed a little further East to the fish hatchery and damn. We had a picnic lunch, toured the grounds and watched the video about the yearly fish spawn. It was pretty interesting. I can't wait to go back during the salmon run. Here is D and Mac checking out the trout.

After the fish hatchery, we took a quick trip over to the damn. We saw a few fish fighting their way up the fish ladder and through the area where they count the number of fish that are going through. The boys thought it was pretty cool to see the big fish up close.

Kelly's visit

Last weekend Kelly and 3 of the kids came to visit. Wehad a great time making cards, eating good food, playing games, and just spending time together. My friend at church told me how to do "glitter" toes. I thought it was a perfect activity for us girls to do after the little boys went to bed. I think they turned out pretty cute!!

Our new friend

For those of you that don't already know, we have a new "friend". On our blog he will just be known as "D". "D" has been spending a lot of time at our house. We have been able to go on lots of fun outings this summer. This picture is from the trout farm where we caught 3 fish in about 3 minuntes. It was the first time "D" had been fishing....he was thrilled with the entire experience.