Not Done Yet!

July 22

Our friend, Karen, has 4 adorable chihuahua puppies. We visited them today. It was sure hard to leave without taking them home!

July 23

They really do get looked at! I sometimes wonder if I'm the only one who looks at the scrapbooks I put together. Here's proof I'm not! Woo hoo! Lyndsi wanted to look at pictures of me when I was little so we did that then moved on to her own baby pictures. It wasn't long before Dylan joined the fun.

July 24

I love my pond!

Summer Continues....

to tick away! By this time of the summer I usually start thinking about school and what I need to do before school starts. I know it seems early but we go back to school at the end of August so when the downside of July hits, my mind starts the switch over to teacher mode. Very slowly......

This summer has been really fun. We've camped, swam in the pool, fished, drank coffee, bar-b-qued, slept in, stayed up late, pulled weeds, visited farmer's market, swam in the lake, boated..... The only thing we haven't done that we usually do is travel. We decided to forego a big road trip this summer and to spend the money on our bathroom/Dylan's bedroom remodel project instead. I miss the leisure of travel but have enjoyed the ease of staying home.

Though July is nearing its end, we still have several summertime activities planned. Hopefully I'll have lots of pictures to post soon!

July 15

Dylan's turn for the photo! He's done well with the tennis lessons. He's quick on his feet.....which I'm not!

July 16

I'm so happy that my children still like to play in the park! Unfortunately, for them, we don't go often, but when we do, they still find joy in the simple toys. Check out Dylan flying through the air!

July 17
Lame picture! I remembered that I needed a picture as I was laying in bed after my Master's class in Wenatchee. This is the pile of things on the floor by my bed....

July 18

Instead of eating on our lunch break today, I shopped! We will be attending 2 outdoor weddings this summer and I needed a dress! So....I scarfed a sandwich back at the school, drove to the mall and did a 30 minute power shop! I bought all three of these dresses with the intent of returning 2. After modeling for my family, I've decided to keep the dress on the left!

July 19

One of the best sounds on earth! If you live in Okanogan you know you will be wakened at about 5:30 from the sound of a small airplane buzzing your house some time during the summer months. This is the sound of the mosquito sprayer spraying insecticide over the city. I know, I know......sounds awful! But when I argue that maybe the spray is bad for us all, those who have been eaten by mosquitos look like they'd like to kill me! We do have a bad mosquito problem in the Okanogan valley because of the river. Anyway, the reason I took this picture is because I'm amazed at how low this plane has to fly to drop the spray! In this picture, he is coming back up so he doesn't hit the houses on our hill!

July 20

True catch and release! The kids feel the need to add to our fish poplulation. We are now the proud parents of a blue gill and a sunfish, who have joined the koi and the goldfish in our backyard pond!

July 21

Happy 15th Anniversary Gary and Lynell! Thanks for letting us celebrate with you! We spent the evening with our good friends at the local winery. The owners brought in musicians from Chelan and sold their wine by the glass or bottle. We sat on the patio, listened to the music, chatted, and watched the sun go down. Perfect!

Save John Knighten

John's wife Shawna is a friend of mine from high school. Though I have not met John, Shawna is a lovely person inside and out. I'm passing on the information the way I know how.....through the blog. Check out John's website by clicking on the button to the right.

Project 365 - Still Going!

July 8

Ruth goes to Joey's Bark and Bath a couple of times each year - usually after a stay at Cottonwood Kennels, when she smells especially lovely..... Joey loves Ruth and I think the feeling is mutual!

July 9

Awwww......Lyndsi fell in the parking lot and her friend, Jenna, took care of her. I love the hand holding that neither girl feels too old for!

July 10
Mashashs - that's what the sign reads!

July 11
We spent the day at the lake with several good friends. At one point all the kids took out floaties and played in the deeper water.

July 13

Max and Dylan made $10 on this lemonade/limeade/crazy bread stand! I sometimes think I may be in the wrong business.....

July 13

We love when visitors come to town! Today, Linda and Georgie came to retrieve Georgie's cell phone from Barb (these 3 are sisters). We got to spend a few hours with them at Rancho Chico before they turned around and drove back home. Fun!

July 14

The kids are both taking tennis lessons at an athletic club in Omak. I'm impressed with how quickly they pick up on new skills. They definitely didn't get their athleticism from their non-athletic mom!

Am I Getting Old?

July 2

I went to the eye doctor yesterday. I knew my eyesight was changing because it's getting hard to see far away. I was right about that. However, my doctor also recommended I get a pair of reading glasses......just for eye strain......just while working on the computer....at night.....or for reading......at night.....am I getting old?

July 3

Have you ever seen where those fun aerial fireworks come from during those great fireworks shows? This barge was parked outside Steve's aunt and uncle's house on Loon Lake on July 3rd. We got to watch the 'pyrotechnics' getting ready for the big show. I found it all a bit interesting AND unnerving!

July 4

Wow - I've never seen such a fireworks show! This is just a small shot of the scene around the lake on the night of the 4th. We watched fireworks for several hours. At any time you could look across the lake in any direction and see sparks of light. It was so pretty!

July 5

Any time Steve's side of the family all gets together we hold photo shoots of all the family members. This is a shot of Linda with the kids. We don't have many good pictures of Grandma with her grandkids so I'm glad this one turned out so cute!

July 6
Do you have a dress up box? My parents gave Dylan a Rubbermaid tote full of Halloween costumes for his 3rd birthday. Those costumes have been used for Halloween and for dress up play for many years. All the kids' friends know where this box is stored (under our stairs in the basement) and they all seem to love to play dress up. Over the years the costumes have been added to with more Halloween costumes and dance recital odds and ends. We've even had hand me down costumes given to us!

July 7

This is my bathroom........

Happy 5th of July!

Hope the holiday weekend was enjoyable for all my friends and family! We spent a fantastic weekend at Loon Lake with Steve's mom, aunt, uncle and cousins. Loon Lake knows how to celebrate the 4th! We arrived on the afternoon of the 3rd to loud cracks and booms and I'm pretty sure there wasn't a moment of pure lake quiet until we left on the 5th! We enjoyed every bit of our time with everyone and hope to get together again soon.

Grandma and Lyndsi trying to avoid the loud noises

Georgie and Lee tolerated a rotating door, beach messes and constant food preparation as friends and family stopped by throughout the weekend. Apparently, when you live on a lake, your home becomes the center of all festivities! Dylan and Lyndsi loved the endless supply of cousins and friends to play with. Steve relaxed and reminisced with his cousins and I relaxed with whomever was relaxing at the moment.

Eric, Malana, Chase and Sophia traveled all the way from Arizona to spend the week at the lake. Sophia will turn 1 this week so we had a small party to help get her started on her birthday traditions. Thanks, Malana, for giving us a pre-party party!

Scott, Leslie, Ryan and Katie drove over from Vancouver for the long weekend. Dylan enjoyed a bit of freedom this year as he and Ryan were allowed to light some of their own fireworks. He was thrilled with the obnoxiously loud noises he created!

Lyndsi and Katie tried desperately to babysit their baby cousin (who was having nothing to do with that!) and played for hours on the beach.

All the cousins chased each other around and played in the water, despite the chilly air.

A long time Loon Lake tradition is the decorated boat parade. This year, the kids were able to ride along in the parade throwing candy at all the spectators on their docks. Fun!

As the boat came by our dock, Ryan and Dylan jumped out of the parade to shoot water at the rest of the parade participants

The residents who live on the lake hired a professional crew to shoot some fireworks for everyone on the night of the 3rd. The show was beautiful but I was most amazed by the number of large aerials going off all around the lake on the night of the 4th. It was spectacular! Many homeowners and visitors spent large amounts of money to create their own personal light shows - much to our enjoyment!

Thank you to the Evans/Poole families for hosting such a memorable and fun weekend. Hope we see everyone again soon!

July 1!

June 23

I think it's finally summer!

June 24

Lyndsi has been attending an Art Camp all week. I stuck around for a few minutes today to see what was going on. Dayton Edmunds, a famous Native American storyteller, told a few stories and sang some songs to the kids.

June 25

My dad and Lyndsi were hanging out on our back deck. I love my backyard!

June 26

Dylan at Cub Scout Camp - My dad came over from Spokane and he, Lyndsi and I drove up to the camp to see what was going on. We were there for a guest speaker and BB shooting. Dylan was in his element!

June 27

Grand Coulee Dam - wowsers! Lyndsi and I were driving to Spokane today and had to stop to check out the dam.

June 28

Erin's cute house in Spokane. My sister is so talented! She made her cute little house into a cute bigger house by raising the roof and making the upstairs into a bedroom. Lots of work!

June 29

These are Ali's dogs. They spent the night with us at my parents' house. So cute!

June 30

Lyndsi was loading the dishwasher for us today. She takes her job VERY seriously! I told her to rinse the dishes first. I think she probably washed them better than the dishwasher did!

July 1

Date night! We actually got a babysitter and went to dinner AND a movie! Ate at Rancho Chico and saw Grown-Ups. Funny show and a great date!

Happy early 4th to everyone! And happy Canada Day to my Canadian friends!