How Four Became Six

In college we became the Fab Four, always up to something together and it was always fun. We (pictured above: me, Carrie, Gina, and Sarah) have had many adventures together over the years despite how different we all are as individuals. One of the most interesting things about us as a group is that on pretty much any attribute or opinion we end up in the same order:  Carrie, Colleen, Gina, Sarah. So it is no surprise to me that with kids we should end up in the same way. Carrie has three, I have two , Gina has one and Sarah is quite happy to have zero. Above is a picture of the four of us back in the day and then the six kids last weekend when we got them all together in Entiat.


We have Kaden (6), Atticus (2), McKenzie (3), Ben (1), Mikelle (4) and Halle (2) Quite the crew for a weekend of fun.

We were feeling a little bad that our kids don't really get to spend much time together so we decided a weekend away was in order. Gina graciously offered up her family vacation house in Entiat so we jumped at the chance. We were semi camping since they have a great kitchen, living room, bathroom but are lacking in room to sleep the numbers we had so our family and Carrie's set up our tents in the grass. Sleeping was a little rough for everyone since most of the kids are used to sleeping alone and in dark rooms but in the end everyone did sleep.

One of the best things about Gina's house is how close it is to the water, you just walk out the back door and down a grassy area to Lake Entiat. Here I am with Halle, Ben, McKenzie and Kaden playing in the water. The kids loved to be able to run right into the water.


Miss Halle deciding who to throw her water balloon at.


Being right on the water you get quite a view of the lake and the surrounding hills.  It was amazing to watch the sunrise in the morning. Lucky for me McKenzie got me up in time for that the first morning.


We also spend quite a bit of time in the community pool that is part of Gina's neighborhood. Such a great set up to enjoy the sunny weather with kids.  Here are Mikelle, Kaden, Carrie, Gina, Atticus and Matt in the pool. Of the six kids we had three who were able to swim around in the water on their own. Kaden is a fish swimming and jumping in all on his own, Mikelle and McKenzie can swim all over with floats and then Halle, Atticus and Ben are all like crazy monkeys clinging to whatever adult would take them in.


Atti is thinking about going in the water.


At the pool we had some chips on the table.  It was very clear the kids aren't allowed unlimited access to food let alone chips.  They were making stops at the chip table between all other activities. Here's McKenzie with the evidence of her Cheetos habit all over her hands and face.


Super serious Mikelle.  She is so tired she crashed on the couch with all the other kids running and screaming around her.


The favorite activity for the kids besides all the water was jumping on the airbeds in the tents.  That kept them entertained for quite a while. Here's Kaden resiting the temptation to jump on McKenzie and Halle. He was such a good sport with all the little ones around.


It was so fun to get to know all the kids better and to spend some time with the girls. I was glad Carrie and Gina got to see first hand how busy Ben is.  They called him the CIA baby because he was so silent and fast when he made his moves to escape. Here he is showing off for the crowd, just being his usual cute self.


We all had a great time and are planning already for next year when all the kids will be one year older.  Next year we'll have to talk Sarah into joining us, if only so she can appreciate her no kid status even more.

What Ever Happened To Those Lazy Days of Summer?

Our summer days have been anything but lazy. You may think that I have had nothing to post about, but in fact I've had way too much to post and have gotten very far behind. Just when I think there is a few moments to catch up something else fun comes along for us to do. Here's a run down of the "Ten Fun Things We've Done Lately" in no particular order with some pictures.

1) Riding A Ferry Boat. For cousin Claire's second birthday we took a great ferry boat ride around Puget Sound. McKenzie loves anything to do with birthdays and Ben loved the freedom of running free. He was a man intent of exploring every corner of the boat. Here's the birthday girl and her favorite Uncle Matt.


2) 4th of July. This might be McKenzie's new favorite holiday. Not only is it America's birthday but her Daddy "put fireworks up!" This is the first year that we let her stay up to watch the show. Previously she was always sound asleep long before the real fun started. Ben continued the tradition of sleeping through the show safe in his bed but McKenzie stayed up really really late. We had a great group of friends come over to celebrate with us.  McKenzie's final words of the day were "I want my people to come over again."  Here's McKenzie with her "people", Atticus and cousin Claire, watching the first firework of the night.

Photo courtesy of Aunt Jennifer

3) Saving Money To Visit Mickey Mouse House. I know the money jar has been featured in a previous post back when McKenzie was first interested in it. We're still collecting our coins for a trip to see Mickey someday and now we have our smallest family member contributing to the cause. Our friend Rachel came over on the 4th and was brave enough to let Ben dig through her purse. He was digging around for a bit and finally found what he was after. He actually took her wallet and removed all her change and put it in our money jar.  Better watch your wallets when you come over, this guy is bold. Thanks to Rachel for being a good sport.


4) ETrade Baby Strikes Again. My office is one area of the house that is off limits to the kiddos but whenever they can sneak in they head straight for the computer. Here's Ben doing a little stock trading during his recent break in. He has finally figured out round doorknobs so it was time to pull out the baby locks and tape them on the door knobs again.


5) Folding Laundry. Okay so he's not folding the laundry but what mother doesn't have the classic baby in the dryer shot? Perhaps he was looking for change in there.


6) Swimming Lessons. McKenzie started her first big girl in the pool by herself swimming lessons on a cold drizzly July day but the weather did not matter in the least to her. She is loving swimming lessons and being in the water daily. She started the class already willing and able to do some of the major things they are working like going underwater.  So she hopefully will stay focused to learn the things she doesn't know. Look at this serious girl learning to kick - gotta love the tongue hanging out has she concentrates.


7) Playing Outside. With the weather improving we are outside any chance we get. Here are the kids walking out the driveway and down the street to the mailbox, one of our favorite outdoor adventures. Love that McKenzie's pants are on backwards in this picture. I tried to tell her but she had put them on and was quite happy with them that way so that is how they stayed.


8) Sprinklers! Best of two worlds - outside and water. Not a lot more to say other than who doesn't love a good sprinkler on a hot day. Ben is a huge fan that's for sure.


9) Hanging with the cousins. Here are McKenzie, Nathan and Kayla last weekend out at the Mill Creek 5K which Aunt Kacey and Uncle Eric were running in. We were waiting for the race to start to so we could cheer. These three look like trouble if you ask me.


10) Looking for movie roles. If anyone hears that they are filming a new version of Charlie Brown let me know because I'll take Ben to audition for the role of Linus. Seriously he's a natural.




Hoping to post more often but at least I'm caught up for now.  Let the summer fun continue.

Who is That Guy?

Is it a bird? Is it a plane? Is it Justin Bieber, the latest teeny bopper heart throb? Nope, it's just our little Ben in need of a haircut. It's so funny to me that Justin Bieber is so popular with his baby face, big brown eyes and over grown hair. Looks a lot like another guy I know as Ben.  Kenzie would say they are "match, match."





Here's another picture of our sweet Ben showing off his winning smile.  It's always so interesting to see kids teeth come in.  You never know what you're going to get.  He's enjoying a nice cool breeze from a fan which is his new favorite thing to play with.