Happy Birthday,Spring

 We celebrated Spring's 8th birthday while we were in Washington. She has been saving her money for a long time in hopes of buying her very own camera. So, she had asked for money for her birthday to go towards a purchase of her camera. Her wishes came true when she was given enough money for her to be able to purchase a camera. She was so excited to have her camera at the beach. We are so proud of her hard work and determination to save for something she really wanted. She chose to have spaghetti for dinner and chose a chocolate cake with chocolate filling and chocoloate icing for dessert. Since Grandpa's birthday is the day before her's we celebrated both together.

Family Reunion

 We were able to go to Pacific Beach, Washington last week for a family reunion. All of my family was there as well as my Aunt Karen, Uncle Scott, Kevin, Katie, and Adelle. We had a great time and the weather was really nice. We played on the beach, buried Spring in the sand so well that she got suctioned into the sand and had to be shoveled and pried out, had cupcake wars, played lots of games, and just enjoyed a great time together.

Starfish and Jellyfish

Tuesday evening we headed to the waterfront park for a picnic dinner.  Aunt Heather, Uncle Brandon, Isaac, and Lydia joined us.  Aunt Heather took the kids down on the dock and taught them how to find starfish and jellyfish and they were able to hold them and Sammy even caught a jellyfish all on his own.  It was a very enjoyable evening.  Sammy loves being with Isaac and Mary took Lydia right under her wing and mothered her all evening.  We are very blessed that Aunt Heather could show us how to find all these fun things in the water.  I am sure it will be an experience all the kids will remember.

My Assistant

Spring has always enjoyed helping me in the kitchen.  As I was looking through pictures for her slideshow I realized how many pictures I have of her cooking or baking from an early age through now.  She especially loves to make anything that involves chocolate!  I love the time we have together cooking and baking.  I have realized the blessing it is also because she is now very competent to make things pretty much completely on her own.  She is getting really good at following recipes on her own as well.  The 11 year old scouts were heading to camp early this morning so we wanted to send some treats up for Joel and the scouts.  Yesterday turned out to be a busy day though as I was watching my friend's 5 children (ages 10, 8, 5, 3, 2) while they were loading their moving truck and also Brady and Kaiden were here for a while as well so we had anywhere between 11-13 kids at the house.  After they all left last night I hadn't made anything yet so Spring asked if she could make O'Henry bars.  I gladly accepted her offer.  Joel sent Spring an email with this picture because the Young Men kept asking him to personally thank her for them.

Today she decided to make treats for cub scouts for tomorrow.  She found a new recipe and enjoyed making these Trix Krispie treats all on her own.  She did a wonderful job.  One of the things that I absolutely appreciate about when she and Thomas cook is that they always clean up the dishes they used and never leave the kitchen a mess afterwards.  What more could a mother ask for!

When did he grow up?

With Joel being away at scout camp this week and me trying to get ready to leave on vacation next week I am finding myself staying up later at night so I can get things done.  Unfortunately, in a home of early rising children I also need to get up early the next morning.  Yesterday morning I surprisingly awoke after sleeping in late until 7:00 to find everyone still asleep with the exception of Thomas and Gideon.  As I came down the stairs I could smell homemade bread.  I walked into the kitchen to find bread in the oven and I called out for Thomas.  He came up from the basement with Gideon.  He told me that when he got up at "4 minutes to 6" he heard Gideon so he brought Gideon down with him.  He put him in his highchair with some cheerios and watched him while he made bread for us.  Can I just say, "Amazing!"  As I am typing this Thomas is outside mowing the lawns (which takes about 1 1/2 hours due to the size of the lawn and the thickness of the grass) all on his own offering.  I am grateful for Thomas' work ethic and desire to do for those around him.  He is an excellent big brother and such a lifesaver to me each day.  I have been realizing a lot lately how much he is growing up and becoming a young man.  It is a bittersweet realization.  Somedays I long for the little boy he used to be that I could lift and throw in the air.  On the other hand, I love the young man he is becoming and I love that he willingly gives me hugs and shows affection to those around him regardless of who is watching.  This guy sure blesses my life!

Remembering

I am going through the last 8 years of pictures as I am working on the video for Spring's baptism.  It is so fun to remember all the laughter, tears, joys, struggles, and to see how the Lord's tender mercies have blessed our lives.  I have laughed at old videos and am amazed at how much has changed, yet stayed the same too.  Needless to say, it is a fun walk down memory lane.  I just came across this picture though that just made me laugh.  Do you think this is a foreshadow of what is to come in a couple weeks?  It gives a whole new meaning to "cupcake wars!"

Off to Scout Camp

Joel headed off to Scout Camp bright and early this morning and will return late afternoon Saturday.  This picture was taken while waiting for a few stragglers to get here before they left.  Thomas kept wishing he could jump in and go with them.  I can hardly believe that next summer Thomas will be able to attend for the one day/night as an 11 year old scout.  It will be a week of cereal for dinner for us!

Cold Air...What a Blessing!

We broke down yesterday afternoon and turned on the AC for a short while.  The high temps and even higher humidity was just getting to us.  It was so humid that the kitchen floor was tacky when you walked on it and the carpet felt damp.  Joel and Joshie layed down by the vent and soon the others joined in just enjoying the refreshing, cold air!