Thursday, August 29, 2013

School!

Well kids, it's time to be back in school!  Hey, what grade are you in now?
 Josh is a first grader?  Seriously, how the heck did that happen?
 And don't forget my little 3rd grader/teenager.  Oy this one's going to give me grey hairs!
 And to add a little excitement to the beginning of the school year, look what we have.....
 Josh lost his very first tooth last night!  If you can't tell by that smile he's SOOOO excited.  He's been eating corn on the cob like it's going out of style to get that thing out.  Way to go Josh!

Friday, August 23, 2013

Summer Wrap-up

Really?  Is summer really over? I honestly can't believe school starts in just a few days.  It's been a good summer though.  I know you're supposed to keep your kids brains active all summer long....keep giving them homework and doing "brain stimulating things" but I just wanted to have a very kick back, fun and fancy free summer and honestly we did.  No, they didn't sit in front of the t.v. all summer but I didn't park them in front of worksheets either.  They just played and played and used those amazing imaginations of theirs until they collapsed...(which never happens so really it was until we threatened them with their lives to get into bed, it's 11:00 pm and you're 6 years old for crying out loud)  I just wanted them to have good memories and not  over-packed day/ slave driver mom memories.  I can say we were successful.

Well, we had to sneak in one camping trip this year.  That's what I agree to...one camping trip per year and then Trav gets to camp all he wants with the scouts and father/daughter and father/son camp-outs.  So he is constantly camping.  I like my one.  I'm not even sure the name of the canyon or campgound we ended up in but we sure had fun.  There was a river so of course they had to go wading....


 Oh, just to prove William and I were there, here ya go.

 We brought up the kids bikes to ride around the campground.  They would go around and around and had a great time. 

 Unfortunately on the way up there we had all the bikes tied down but we didn't think to tie the seat down of Kate's trike.  So somewhere between here and "who knows where campsite" there is a little orange seat that would fit nicely on this bike.  If you happen to see it...give us a call. Needless to say Kate didn't do much bike riding.
 We were having s'mores and I was just taking pictures and happen to get this face of Josh.  I was laughing so hard at it that everyone started getting a little punchy and we had a crazy picture shoot. 



 Then for breakfast we almost almost pounded a dozen eggs, a pound of bacon and a pack of hash browns.  Our little family is getting big!
 It was a fun camping trip but then a few days later I packed the kids up and spent a few days at my parents cabin with my mom and sister.  Here's Tyler and Kate ready for a meal.
 And this little green table belonged to my grandparents and I remember when we'd go to their house we'd sit on it and spin around and we thought that was the coolest thing.  Well, traditions don't die young.  Now my kids sit on it and spin around.  They are more clever than I was and they call it the "cousin train."  I guess I didn't have any cousins my age so that's why I never thought of a name like that.  But they love that table just as much as I did.

 Rach was quite the photographer and took pictures of all kinds of things, including squirrels.
 Movie night with cabin famous popcorn.
 And for some reason a trampoline in the woods is so much more fun.  You'd think they have never jumped on one before....oh wait...we have one in our backyard in the woods....
 One of the legs to this little "gym" was missing so can you tell which one I jimmied up to work?  William didn't seem to mind.
 And give some kids some scrubbers and a bucket of water and you've got yourself some free child labor to scrub the chairs and benches on the deck.
 This sweet boy is ALWAYS sucking on those 2 fingers.  I wonder why they taste so good?  He prefers them over a binky.

 Fun times at the cabin.  Then we made it home and something happened to Rach.  What happened to her legs?
 Here's my 2 boys.  Will looks just like Josh did as a baby, but with darker hair.  Two peas in a pod.
 Gotta love it when they pull out the dress ups.
 You never know what combination you're going to get....


 Sometimes it's just too hard to keep your eyes open.  It really is hard work being a baby.
 Notice the 2 fingers?
 And again.  At least he's cute if you don't mind 2 slimy fingers.  I'm still so in love with this boy.

Thursday, August 1, 2013

The Oregon Coast

We just had the most amazing vacation/family reunion.  It was a long long drive so we tried to make the most of it with lots of stops and rest breaks.  Our first stop was  at Shoshone Falls and it was beautiful.  We also stopped by a hospital in Twin Falls that Trav did work on a few years ago.  It was so cool to see in real life things we had only seen in pictures and things he had designed and helped create.  It's amazing!
 We had fun in the hotels that we stayed in. Our first night Josh chose to sleep on the floor, then Kate rolled out of bed and landed on top of him. Neither of them remembered it in the morning.
 We also stopped at Multnomah (or something like that) falls.  Wow!  AMAZING!  Yep, that's part of the fam up there on that really tall bridge. 
 We then made it to Seaside Oregon where the "official" reunion took place.  Here's a picture of Josh feeding the Sea Lions at the aquarium.
 Here we are at the freezing cold beach thinking how everyone was roasting in 100 degree weather back at home.



 Will is that little red bundle that grandma is holding.  He did get to see the ocean for the first time....even if it was through his eyelids.
 My sister had written "Schick Family 2013" in the sand to signify our reunion.  Well, this little Latino family not only kept walking over and spitting on our sign, but they put all their stuff and camped right there.  I know you thought that was us, but no we don't tan that well....
 We had lots of yummy and unhealthy treats...our dentist is going to love us next visit.
 And Rachel chopped her hair!  Maybe this isn't the best picture to show it but it still looks so cute! I love it!  And I actually cut it...not Rach.  Let me specify that.
 The kids were crazy enough to get in that freezing cold water to jump the waves.
 The men played a mean game of bacci.
 And it didn't take long for the kids to freeze out one by one.


 This is seriously the best baby ever.  He traveled like a champ, slept like a dream and was happy as a clam 99% of the time.  My little love.
 Okay, a prize goes to anyone who can guess what movie this beach is in?  We watched it for the first time with the kids the night before to get them all excited about it.....anyone?  It's Goonies!  And it was beautiful.  I wish we would have stayed there all day long.

 Awwww, cute one of my mom and dad.
 We walked through the tide pools and found all kinds of cool things.
 Then it was off to Tilamook Cheese factory.  Mmmmm...Cheese....
 More swimming at the hotel...
 Here's a cute one of cute Rach with her cute hair.
 We got a surrey for a couple hours to ride around town.

 Here's the whole crew....It was so so fun! 
 Then at this point we broke off...2 of my sisters had to go home so my other sister and parents decided to prolong our trip a little, and I'm so glad we did.  We drove down the entire Oregon Coast, made stops along the way and ended up in Crescent City.  We saw some cool lighthouses.
And went in some more tide pools.
 We rented this house in Crescent City that was on 24 acres of Redwood land.  It was absolutely gorgeous.
 There were berries all over the yard that you could just go pick and eat.
 And very pretty flowers.
 Want some fresh blueberries in your pancakes?  Don't mind if I do!
 Will was very impressed by the Redwoods.
 Here's the group that stayed longer.  We're all standing by "Big Tree."  Wonder what genius came up with that name?
 Never a more obvious sign in my life....
 I had seen pictures of Redwoods before and yes, they look like big trees....but when you're there standing among them...it is indescribable.  You all of the sudden feel so small on this earth and it's almost a spiritual experience.  I absolutely loved it!
 These 2 cousins became the best of buddies on this trip.....
 We went on this amazing hike called Fern Canyon.  Highly recommend this....you seriously feel like you are in a dream or a movie.



 There were the coolest trees all over the place.
 We made a little stop to see Paul Bunyon.

 Another lighthouse.  I don't know why it was so foggy every time we stopped at a lighthouse.  Bummer.  But it was still cool.
 More tide pools....

No this is not a super cool hot wheels car.  It's our van.


 Who's the plumber?
 Rach wanted a bow and arrow and made them out of sticks.  She wanted to be like the girl in Brave.


 These 2 trees tipped over right by each other.  Look how big the stumps are.
 It's hard work looking at such big trees....
 We hiked to this river that was so much fun.  We could have stayed there all day too.
 Another plumber?  Man, what did I take pictures of?

 And you just can't help getting all wet.
 We went back to Crescent City and played in the ocean for a little while.

 And built an amazing sandcastle....and yes, he is an architect.  Mine would have not looked like that.



It was a long long car ride home but totally worth it.  We had the best time and made some awesome memories.  My favorite quote from the trip provided by Rachel, "This is the worst vacation ever!  I'm so sick of eating at restaurants and going to the beach!"  Yes, she is picked on. And despite the onry remark she had a blast too.  But when we came home at 6:30 at night and I didn't want to cook a meal for dinner so we had macaroni and cheese my kids commented at me being the best cook in the world.  Good to know they still prefer a home cooked meal.  Me too.