Sunday, July 28, 2013

Whirlwind

This weekend felt like a complete whirlwind. We had Archer's birthday party on Friday evening, then John had to work Saturday which kind of threw things off a little. Today we didn't have church because our church was meeting in Oregon at a conference-type thing that we didn't go to, so we decided to explore a new area...a little mountain lake outside of Kellogg. It was a little crowded (by N. Idaho standards anyway), and a bit too cold for my liking (I was the only one though - John & the boys were in the water), but it was pretty and quiet, and we all had a good time. We stopped along the road on the way out and picked a few huckleberries, but they were a little sparse and the kids got bored of it pretty quickly. 

And now it's already Sunday evening, my house is a disaster, and there are mountains of laundry to do!

Saturday, July 27, 2013

Summertime

Summer is so short here. It feels like it goes from 30 degrees to 90 degrees in days. The days are long, and the boys stay up late, late, late. (It's 9:00 right now and they are still going strong!)

These pictures were from tonight...we BBQ'd salmon, veggies, and corn, then had s'mores and played a game of ball in the backyard (I hesitate to call it soccer since we were using a beach ball and hands were fair game, but we were using soccer goals!). But these pictures embody SUMMER for us right now. Kids playing in the dirt, running around shirtless (in the evenings...not allowed in the daytime because of the sun!), eating junk food (because well...we eat pretty healthy and I'm okay with some summertime treats!), and staying up way too late for a 4-year-old who has barely slept since his birthday!
(Side note: see all that nastiness on our siding? That was all under our deck when we tore it off! So gross. The good news is new siding is in our near future!)

Friday, July 26, 2013

Birthday Celebrations

Still having a hard time wrapping my mind around the fact that my little boy is four! On his actual birthday, we went out to dinner and opened presents, but we saved the cake for this evening's BBQ with friends. It was the perfect way to celebrate Archer: running around wild in our backyard with his friends. Trampoline. Sprinklers. Swings. Monkey bars. Sidewalk chalk. Bats & balls. And of course hot dogs and cake! 

Dinner at Red Robin on his actual birthday:
And tonight's BBQ:
Monster cake - total labor of love since I messed up the first one and the first set of cake pops! But second time, while not perfect, was just what he wanted!
Blowing out FOUR candles!

Wednesday, July 24, 2013

4

4. It has been 4 years since we have had a newborn in our house. Well...technically that will happen this evening, but 4 years ago I was pregnant and having mild contractions wondering if they would finally turn into labor. Birthday celebrations are tonight - dinner, and a BBQ with friends on Friday, so more on his birthday later, but for now...

At 4:
1. Archer is our most fearless child. The only one to have broken a bone, made multiple urgent care trips, and constantly has bruises/scrapes/scratches covering his body from various stunts that he has done. 
2. Loves riding bike! Ever since he learned to ride on 2 wheels about a month or so ago, he has been a little crazy on it. Or as he says: "I'm a maniac, right Mom?" Yes. Yes you are! 
3. Is finally sleeping through the night! Yes, you read that right. He is pretty reliably staying in his own bed until about 6:00 am! Huge milestone for us ALL!
4. Favorite color: green.
5. Favorite food: hot dog on a stick (corn dogs). I promise, he doesn't get them very often!
6. He's still Mommy's boy. This morning he assured me that he will be my baby even when he's 50. He really loves to cuddle still, and is super sweet and generous with his hugs and kisses.
7. Loves SuperWhy! 
8. Archer is my clean kid...he reminds his brothers to wash their hands, he changes his clothes if he spills in them, he won't eat food after anyone else has taken a bite, etc. At his last check-up, he even reminded the Dr. to wash his hands.
9. He is very outgoing. He will strike up a conversation with anyone, anywhere. 
10. His top requests for birthday presents: a weed-wacker & a 4 wheeler. Needless to say, he's not getting either & I have a feeling he's going to be a bit disappointed.

Archer just born! Literally probably less than a minute old!

And yesterday, when he handcuffed us together with pipe cleaners!

Sunday, July 21, 2013

The Beach: Day 2

We are currently on the long road home from the Washington coast. 7.5 hours. 3 kids. Smooshed into a tiny car (because even though we did get an 8 passenger SUV, it only gets about 15 mpg vs 30 mpg with the subaru). 

The last two days we had decent enough weather, but today it's rainy and time to head back to 90 degrees & sunny! Yesterday we played on the beach for a while...the boys made "sand angels", dug big holes, flew the kite, and built sandcastles. After the beach, we went to a paint your own pottery place and the boys each painted a cup. It was nice to get my "real beach" fix, but now I need some warmth.


Thursday, July 18, 2013

Huckleberry Picking

John LOVES huckleberries. I prefer blueberries, personally, but he would pick huckleberries over blueberries any day if the week. So when a friend called him a few days ago and mentioned that he had heard the huckleberries were ripe already (it's pretty early if I remember correctly from past years), he has been itching to go. 

Thank goodness for long summer days & living in close proximity to the mountains! We spent quite a bit of time picking, then realized that we didn't have a clear path back to the main path. We could either go back the way we came (which wasn't exactly a clear path either - it's much easier to maneuver up the mountainside than down it!). It was quite an adventure getting all three boys safely down the mountainside to the main path (John was bush whacking!) but we did it...mostly safely. Poor B got another bee sting on his ear, but no major casualties! And we came home and made huckleberry milkshakes! Yum! 



Tuesday, July 16, 2013

Today

We are getting a new patio poured in our backyard! We had a deck that we liked, but it was going to need some serious repairs to make it safe, and we aren't really into all of the maintenance that comes along with a (wood) deck. So we tore it all off, and the patio is a work in progress. Today they poured the concrete, so I decided I should probably take the boys somewhere for a while since the backyard is off limits to them. 

The boys and I decided to head to Silverwood to play at the waterpark. We got there early and played until early afternoon. It's a little difficult to keep track of the three of them by myself...especially since the kid area is pretty massive, and of course the boys can't stay together! But we managed and even had fun! We ended our time with a ride on the carousel and a picnic in the car. Apparently it wore them out because ALL 3 of them napped. And 2 are still napping at almost 5:00! Crazy. I guess I need to take them to Silverwood more often.


And we came home to this:
Not the best picture, but the best I could do while leaning out the other door!

Monday, July 15, 2013

Pulaski Trail Hike

Last weekend I think we did our longest hike as a family, with all 3 kids walking. 4 miles round trip. Not too bad considering there were a lot of elevation changes. John and I were a little tired out from it, so I'm impressed with our little hikers!

It was perfect hiking weather: not too hot, not too cold. We packed a lunch and took a little lunch break at the mine where Pulaski and a bunch of firefighters took shelter during the terrible wildfires in 1910. The boys loved reading the signs about what happened, and they particularly liked all of the Pulaski axes that were displayed along the trail!

There was a nice little creek that ran along the trail that the boys cooled off in on our way back. It was such a quiet trail, but was really nicely manicured. I was surprised that we only saw a handful of other people out hiking. And it was so nice that the boys could all hike independently...minus the multiple times that we had to empty rocks and other debris out of their shoes! Note to self: buy hiking shoes for the kids!


Saturday, July 13, 2013

Silverwood

After a bit of a break from Silverwood, we decided to get season passes again this year. The best part about season passes is that we don't feel like we have to make it a whole day affair...we can go for just a few hours or until kids get cranky, and we don't feel like we wasted our money! 

Yesterday we spent a few hours just riding the rides. We avoided the waterpark since it wasn't super warm. It is so nice to be able to do a lot of the rides as a family. We did the log ride, bumper boats, kiddie roller coaster, and big swing as a family, then the kids did a few rides by themselves. This was the first time the boys talked me into the bumper boats. They assured me that I wouldn't get very wet, but we all came out of that ride SOAKED! I should have known...

We came home from Silverwood and I got to have a sewing night! The dads were on kid duty at our house while the moms were sewing at another house. It was so nice to chat, sew, and be kid-free for a few hours. Unfortunately, my poor house got the bad end of that deal! But I did end up making some good progress on a birthday present for Arch, and it's much more fun to see with other people around.