Kidwash

Lee made the kids a Kidwash to play in for the summer (saw the idea originally here).  It’s a sprinkler made from PVC pipe and landscape misters.  I thought it would be perfect for Isaac and Grace because the water wouldn’t hit them as hard as a regular sprinkler.  Maybe even I would enjoy it on a hot day!  It went together easily and was cheap to make.

Grace ran through it immediately and loved it.

Every single time Grace ran through she put her hand over her head, it was so cute!

Isaac had to watch and think about it before he even changed into his swim trunks.

Eventually he ventured in with his clothes on…

…and he loved it!

He agreed to change into his swim trunks and he and Grace ran through that thing over and over.

The Kidwash was a hit!

It was the perfect way to celebrate some warm summer days…finally!

It was also the perfect way to get them ready for our first visit of the summer to Murase Park, later that afternoon we headed there for some fun in the water.  True to character it took Isaac a little while to warm up to the idea of playing in the fountains, while Grace showed no fear and went right in.

Notice Grace’s hand over head again!

Once Isaac got going, he loved it.

They had so much fun and loved playing together also.

Emma and Tenley were busy going down the big slide at the park.

I may have enjoyed it a few times too.

They also got their feet wet a little bit.

It was such a gorgeous Saturday.  Too bad we haven’t had any since that first weekend in July.  Hopefully we will get to use the Kidwash and get a little wet again  (besides in the rain) sometime before August…

Chin Karaoke

Meet Josie and Crazy Catie.

Emma and her friend Kaitlyn kept me laughing with their crazy chin karaoke antics a couple weeks ago.  They had fun coming up with a script and having me film their movie.  I will spare you the video.

The best part was watching them try to frown so that Josie and Crazy Catie were actually smiling.  It was pretty funny!

Thankfully they clean up well and they were (fairly normal) while they ate their s’mores on a stick.

Weekend at the Beach

It’s not very often that you get three whole days of blue skies and sun at the Oregon coast, but that’s what we had when we spent a weekend in Lincoln City with the Palmer’s.  It was gorgeous!

Of course it was a little windy which made it chilly, but we couldn’t have asked for nicer weather overall.  Isaac and Grace were beside themselves with excitement to go to the beach.  They don’t remember the last time we were there, so they couldn’t wait.  We spent as much time as we could actually on the beach. 

I was a little worried about how Isaac and Grace would do with the sand.  I didn’t have any reason to worry though, they loved it right from the beginning and got right to work in the sand.

From the minute Isaac found out we were going to the beach he wanted an excavator to play with in the sand.  A bulldozer was the best I could do.  He was thrilled and hardly put the thing down!

Grace and Emma helped bury Arianna in the sand.

Emma went right for the water, which doesn’t surprise me.  She’s always been oblivious to the cold Pacific Ocean.  She, Dallin and Grant had fun in the water.

Isaac and Grace on the other hand, would have nothing to do with the water.  They both thought it was too cold and scary.  That’s fine, the sand kept them plenty occupied.

The wind was perfect for kite flying. 

It was a great day on the beach.

When we weren’t at the beach, we had lots to do at the awesome beach house we stayed at.  It was plenty big for all of us (Reed & Sandy and Reed’s mom were there, as well as Anne, Arianna and Canaan).  The hot tub and game room were huge hits with the big kids.

The outdoor fireplace was perfect for s’mores.

And we had great views of the beautiful sunsets.

The kids played and were goofy.  The adults stayed up late talking.

Dallin was so nice to play with both Isaac and Grace.

We at lots of good food, including Chuck’s huge Juicy Lucy burgers.

We celebrated Dallin’s 12th birthday (still trying to figure out how he can be 12!!).

And we hit the beach some more!

Lee and Chuck took the kids on a walk, but the little girls just couldn’t make it all the way.  Chuck came back with both Ava and Gracie.  Grace was all wrapped up in his jacket. 

Of course, a trip to the coast wouldn’t be complete without some salt water taffy. Or toffee if your name is Lonna….=-)

We had such a great weekend, and it went by way too fast.  Can’t wait to do it again!

Isaac was completely tuckered out on the way home.  He fell asleep with his sandwich in his hand and the bulldozer not too far away!