Garage Sales, Lacamas Lake. and Miniature Golf

Day 3 started out with the boys having breakfast.  Weston, Benson, and Elijah were so cute eating their cereal at the little table.

 

 

Casey and I wanted to go to garage sales so we decided to do it first thing that morning.  Jason, Charity, and Nate were up so they went with us.  We had a great time!  It was so much fun!  We found so much good stuff.  It was exciting.  In the picture above Jason and Casey were hurrying to beat the other at finding the "good" stuff.  We laughed a lot and really enjoyed ourselves.

Then we came home to show off our great deals.  Spencer (above) loved his moose.  He was so excited.  Below he is watching as Jason and Casey figure out which cars are theirs. 

Benson (below) had fun with his new cars. 

Below, more garage sale finds - Weston's sunglasses and you can see that Spencer has two hands full of cars.  The boys were really happy with their new toys.  I can't remember now what else we bought but we got quite a bit of stuff.  We got books for all the kids and Barbies for Paisley.  I think we had something for everyone.

Above Adalei, Brielle, Paisley, Weston, and Elijah were enjoying the strawberries and raspberries from my garden.  The boys would go outside and then come in and tell me that they ate all my raspberries.  They were so cute and I was thrilled that they were enjoying themselves so much.

In the afternoon, we went on a hike to Lacamas Lake and had a great time.  Above is a picture of us hiking and below is a picture of the beautiful lake.  Thanks to Misty for the great idea.

This appeared to be a skate boarding place and the kids had a fun time.  Casey was running up and down the steep concrete wall.  Then Weston tried to do the same.  He was able to reach the top of the concrete wall.  We had a couple of skinned knees on the boys but no one got hurt.

After the hike, we stopped at the park so the kids could play.  Ashley holding Audrey, Jenna, and Charity were relaxing on the bench.  I captured this cute moment with Audrey below.

The kids and their dads had a really fun time playing on this structure.  You can see above that the kids could hang on and then below the dads took a turn.  I think Casey was able to hold on the longest as the structure went in circles.

Nate suggested ice cream so we stopped at Costco for treats on the way home from the hike.  (See above.)  

Below is a picture of darling Allison.  I just loved her dress and she just looks like a little princess.

 
Here's a picture of Weston picking raspberries above.

 

 

Above, Spencer and Benson were checking out my strawberry patch.

Then the kids really gave me a wonderful gift - another surprise - they just started doing yard work for me.  Casey and Jenna were pulling weeds and Jason was clearing my raspberries so I could get in to walk around them and pick them.  After Nate cleaned his car, he came to help also.  Malcolm was great to mow and edge my front yard, then he mowed my back yard.  They sure did a lot of work fast and I was thrilled.  I really felt loved to have them do this service for me.

I had fun taking pictures of Audrey and Allison.  They are just cute beyond words.  I took lots of pictures and thought the above one was the best as they were both smiling.  I am such a lucky grandma to have such cute grandchildren.

We weren't able to find a babysitter so Malcolm stayed home with the kids while the adults went to play miniature golf.  I think Jenna was the winner of that game.  It was chilly and we had fun.  After that, we stopped at Shari's for pie.  We stayed up late!  The day just went so fast.

Voodoo and the Zoo

 Day 2 of the family reunion started off with the kids watching a movie. 

 Our first stop was Voodoo Doughnuts in Portland.  We all enjoyed our Voodoo doughnuts.  The voo doo doll is my favorite!  Spencer above picked a doughnut that looked yummy.  Paisley (below) was slow to eat her sprinkles doughnut.

 Benson above finished his doughnut and was ready for the zoo.  

Adalei below is holding the empty box that held our doughnuts.

 As you can see above, the kids were really excited to go to the zoo and see all the animals.

 Playing on a tractor above.  Below is Audrey in her stroller.

 Spencer loved this horse above.  Aunt Charity took Paisley to see the goat below.

 Paisley above and Elijah below.  It was wonderful to see them look so happy.

 Precious Allison above and the kids playing in a car below.

 On the way home from the zoo, I caught Audrey (above) sucking her thumb while sleeping.  She looked so peaceful.  

We ended the night with dinner at Who Song & Larry's while the kids stayed home with a babysitter.  Afterward, we went to Powell's Bookstore and had a fun time mostly looking in the children's section.

Celebrating the Fourth of July!

 Adalei and the other kids had so much fun riding Benson/Weston's scooter.  (Thanks to Casey/Jenna for bringing them - now Adalei, Brielle and Elijah have two scooters at their house to share.)

 Rather than take the whole family to a fireworks show, I invested $100 in buying fireworks for the family entertainment.  The kids had a great time.  Paisley (below) and the other kids really enjoyed the sparklers.  Casey and Jason did an excellent job with the fireworks!

 Adalei and I took turns taking pictures during the fireworks.  Benson above and Nate/Misty below.  It was a chilly 4th of July evening.

 Jenna has the most beautiful smile and here she is above holding Allison.  (Adalei took this picture and the one below of Jason/Ashley.)

 The picture above shows the smoke from the fireworks.  The boys were especially enjoying the evening.  Just a final shot of Adalei below.  She is wearing a magnetic necklace that I got for her (and one for Paisley and Brielle too) in Charleston, South Carolina.

We all had a fun time celebrating the 4th of July!

The 2012 Annual Family Reunion Begins

Precious little Allison looked so cute in her 4th of July outfit!  Almost everyone was dressed in red, white, and blue and it looked so festive for the holiday!

 Weston above and Paisley below having fun with some red, white, and blue glasses!

 We planned our reunion after the neighborhood annual picnic.  Misty and I were sitting on the floor.

 Paisley above looked so cute with her star headband and her red fingernail polish.  I was happy that my nephew Malcolm, below, came to visit.

 Here I am above - a happy grandma holding cute Allison.  (Adalie took this picture.  Good job Adalei!)

 My homeowner's association also had snow cones for the holiday.  I thought it was cute that they were red and blue flavors.  The kids all enjoyed their treats.  (Thanks Jenna for taking great pictures for me.)

 Playing at the park above and the girls playing with dolls below - Paisley, Adalei, and Brielle.

 Ashley volunteered to make dinner our first night.  She made delicious chicken and vegetable skewers with yummy peanut sauce.  It was great.  We ate in the backyard and that was fun for the kids.

Jenna's sister also came over and brought a delicious salad and some cookies.  Above, Charity and Ashley were the last to eat.  Thanks Ashley for dinner!