Quality Madison Time

Madison really enjoys spending time with little people. Eva is visiting this week and Madison's been having such a fun time playing with her and James. They love the attention Madison gives them.

Grant's First Day of Kindergarten

Grant had his first day of Kindergarten today. He was pretty happy before school, but came home feeling discouraged because he couldn't play on the playground at recess. I felt bad that he's still having to deal with the repercussions of the accident he had. Poor boy. He just wants to run and play. It's going to be a long time before mid-October comes and his cast comes off. Eventually Grant will be back to his bouncy self. I just have to remind myself of that every day.

Let the schooling begin!

The kids are on their way to school today. Carter's face expresses his opinion of going back to school. Madison is excited to reconnect with her friends (her last year at elementary school). And Grant feels like he's been waiting to go to Kindergarten his whole life. I think he's already met the kindergarten requirements for WA before even going to school, but hopefully there will still be new things to learn. I'm a little worried about how he'll do getting around the school. He's taking his wheelchair and his new orange crutches (thanks Pat) so he has options on how he wants to get around his class. Parents of kindergartner's might usually be worried about how their kids will fit in, or what they will or won't learn; I'm worried about Grant falling over and breaking his "good" leg.

Kitsap County Fair- We Love You

Each year we enter art or goodies into the fair so we can go free to the fair every day if we'd like. It was a bit harder to go as often this year since Grant was riding in his wheelchair, but we went anyways. Grant was a trooper about not getting to go on any of the rides (Jeremy let him play a bunch of the games instead).

The weekend to enter art was eaten up by Grant's accident, so this year we entered goodies. Jeremy made his famous Almond Roca (1st), Madison made Minty Buttermilk Brownies (1st), Carter and Grant both made different cookies and got 2nd places, and I made pistachio bread and got the "Thanks for trying" ribbon. The kids were thrilled with how well their baked goods did. They did do a great job baking. They all enjoy working in the kitchen... but not as much as going on fair rides!

Somebody Somewhere is being a STINKER!

We have been dealing with some mailbox vandalism over the course of the last year. To prevent any further problems with our mailbox Jeremy made it removable. Every night we bring "Blacky" (our mailbox) inside, then in the morning he gets put back out on his post. Since our mailbox is no longer available to steal, somebody resorted to ruining our trampoline and hammock instead. Things are replaceable. The feeling of not being able to leave anything whatsoever outside anymore, because it might get stolen or damaged, is not good. Somewhere somebody is being a stinker. I wish they could've seen how sad they made my kids by their misdeeds.

My Sister's Sweet Family

My sister Hollie is here visiting with her husband Sean, and their kids Keegan and Jordan. I just love seeing their smiling faces in person! They're going to the fair with us this next week. We're trying to cram as much last minute fun as we can into this little bit of summer we have left.

A newfound hobby...

James has discovered the TP. He keeps unraveling it and making a trail of it from the bathroom to various rooms in the house. He also likes to tear pieces of it off and make a big pile. Oh the fun that can be had when your older siblings don't close the bathroom door... I won't write about the other thing he's discovered in the bathroom, I'll just try to make sure the bathroom door is shut at all times.

We'll miss you Grammie Terrie!

My mom is heading back to CA, but we loved having her here to visit. Eventually she'll live up here. Until then we'll just be missing her greatly and looking forward to her next visit.

Accidents happen and so do miracles

Grant was riding his bike around our circular driveway when he decided to ride it to the mailbox to get the mail. He picked up speed as he got to the bottom of the driveway. He panicked and forgot to use his brakes, causing him to ride right out into the road. Yes, he was hit by a car. BUT he only broke his leg. That's it. Although it was traumatic, it could have been soooo much worse. For that reason I count this accident as a miracle. We are grateful to our Heavenly Father that Grant is still with us. We are also grateful to the multitude of people that were immeadiately around to help us. Miracles do happen, it is up to us to aknowledge where they came from.

Badminton Dudes

These guys are getting some serious badminton skills (sorry Madison you're still not very good at it). Jeremy set up the net in our side yard and we play nearly every day thanks to the fabulous weather we're having.

Boys in a Wagon

Here are some cutie-patootie boys in a wagon. James and Keegan enjoyed being pulled around by each of us as we played outside in the yard. Jamesy loves to watch what's going on from his lil red wagon. I probably took about a bajillion pictures of him riding in it, but I'll just post a few.

Washington summers are the BEST! The weather in the summer is so good here that it really makes up for all the inclement weather that happens during the other seasons. We were missing the WA summer temperatures when we were sizzling in CA last month.

Hapee Birthday to MEEEE!

We are back in WA safe and sound and celebrating my special day! My mom rode back up with us and is visiting for a couple of weeks, plus my brother and sister are visiting as well. It' s so fun to be surrounded by family on your birthday. I loved every minute of it and was sad when it ended.