Just the other day we got a email from our OLD myspace account. Well, it brought back one of one of our favorite Zoe pictures. It reminded us how much our kids look alike.

Ok Zoe and dad (2005)

And Charlotte (2014)

Abigail and Oliver playing Simon Says:

Abby: Simon says “jump up”

Oliver: And down?

Abby: No, just up.

Here are some pictures from a recent trip to Birch Bay.  

I finally figured out how Greg can have fun at the beach.  Sure he loves to go to the beach but (for anyone that knows him) he’s not much of a ‘sit around for hours and watch the kids play kinda guy.  But, when he brings his gear its a whole new story.  He has fun, the kids have fun and we all get to enjoy the videos in the end.

Today you get to read about us driving!  Because really, in a road trip there’s a lot of driving.  And after miles and miles you start to snap pictures and must share them with all.

Most of our driving through the Midwest and now leaving Texas and driving west has looked like this.

So, when you see a “mountain” in the distance it justifies taking a picture!

Then you realize it was just a fleeting moment and you have this again.

And, when there are a hundred billboards on BOTH sides of the road all for the same place…you find that pretty interesting too.

Our first real stop on this leg of the journey was Albuquerque, New Mexico.  The houses were different…

The rocks were different…

And we made a pit-stop at the Petroglyph National Monument

It started to pour as soon as we made it inside so, unfortunately, we weren’t able to see the actual mountain side.  I know we are from the northwest and all but we were on vacation.  Hiking in the rain didn’t sound quite so appealing.  The kids completed their folder to earn themselves a Junior Ranger badge and we started on our way again.  We were able see a little wild life though!

Another great reason to go RV-ing!

Arizona really loves these signs.  They were everywhere.

That’s all for now.  Our next stop is Bearizona!

It has been my desire to get caught up on my summer photos and blogging.  While that may not happen I will at least give a glimpse of our summer.

We headed to the beach with my sister-in-law and nephew.  She’s supper cool and got in the water with the kids looking for fish and crabs while I got to sit in the sand and take pictures.  Perfect.   

Zoe was bummed she forgot her kite but guess what she found?

The beach was crawling with caterpillars.  The boys were quite excited by it.  When Zeke had one stuck to his back his brother thought the use of a rock was the best method of removal.

Silly me forgot swim gear.  Oliver hiked his shorts up as far as possible and walked across the giant pool.  

After too long it no longer mattered.   

Toby enjoyed himself in his normal way. 

Zoe and I recently finished reading Anne of Green Gables.  I thought it would be fun to have an Anne tea party and let the girls watch the movie.  I love coming up with these ideas but my real goal this time was execution of the plan.  With some quick phone calls we had our party date set and well on its way to becoming a reality.

Never having actually done a real tea party I borrowed all of the tea supplies from a dear friend.

All the girls dressed in their finest and Zoe was even able to borrow and American Girl costume.  It was so fun to listen to their conversations and giggles as they ate lunch and drank their tea.  With four to choose from I laughed when they all chose peppermint with cream and sugar.  We moms even had a chance to visit over tea while they watched the movie.

Being our first real party I learned a few things.  One of which is I need to figure out how to take pictures and host a party.  So these were the only ones I got.  For more one the days events check out my friend Ruth’s blog Blessed by Five.

So even though we are still in spring we have been enjoying some amazing weather. Not wanting to waste a minute the slip and slide has already made its way out of storage.

Oh yeah, notice Zoe’s foot?

Here you go. Last week she fractured the top of her foot. The first Thames bone injury. She jumped off a playground structure and just landed wrong. She will have her boot on for 3 weeks (as long as she follies doctors and moms orders to let it heal). But that doesn’t mean a trash bag and duct tape can’t come into play!

Oliver was the slip and slide maniac!

Um, no bikes!

This was Abigail’s speed for the day. Got her feet wet to cool down then relaxed with sister in the sun.

Zeke found his courage at the very end and with much cheering went down the slide. I think he may have actually gotten some water on his hair!

Last week we celebrated Abigail’s 2nd birthday. We started our day at Jump Zone and then returned home for cake and presents with dad. Birthdays are much loved in this house. Zoe and the boys have been looking forward to and making preparations for Abby’s birthday since November when Oliver’s birthday was over. It was a long time coming. Needless to say, they lavished her with gifts and love on her special day.

An amazing transformation happens at 2. She quickly went from my little baby to a big independent girl. She is very much the girly girl. Already loving shoes, clothes and having her hair made pretty. She loves to talk and sing and is constantly coming up with new phrases that I don’t expect to hear from her. It has been such a joy to watch the relationships between each child grow. The way they interact together. God has created each one so uniquely and with each passing day I am more amazed.

Here are a few shots from the day. They are from the iPad so not the best but they capture the memory all the same.

After leaving Anahiem we were on our way to San Francisco.  Its a bit of a drive though so we stopped off in the Avilla Beach area for an overnight.  This was one of our best out-of-the-blue stops.  We camped next to a couple that, noticing the bikes on the back, directed us to a bike trail just down from the campsite that rode down to the beach.  What a perfect way to end a day in the car before starting dinner.  The trail was an easy 3 mile ride, almost all flat, down to the beach.  A huge sandy beach.

Toby did noot want to move from this spot!

Dogs are allowed durring certian hours of the day and we arrived just at the right time for Toby to head down with us.  He, of course, thought we were trying to kill him forcing him to run 3 miles!  Little did he know he would have to run back as well.

The little town of Avilla

More trouble for Toby. An ‘unexpected’ wave actually got him wet!  Greg feels terrible.  Really.  He does.

As the sun started setting we headed back to camp.  If forced to spend more time here I would be OK with that.