New blog background

Felt like I needed an update today, so I fiddled around the the layout on the blog. I love this background with all the homeschooling and college work that is going on this really fits my mood right now :D

Day on Camano Island

One of our last big outings while my mom was visiting was a trip to the wooden boat club on Camano island. It turned out to be an absolutely beautiful day so I brought the boys swimsuits and let them go in the water.

Noah is in love with the water. You would have thought the kid had won the lottery. He was just JOY personified.

Abby loved gathering up all those beautiful rocks. I don't know if my washing machine can handle yet another rock collector, haha!

Oh and the little professor, his wheels are always turning!! A shell and a piece of driftwood, wallah, he's invented a "tool".

The water was a little cold, but thankfully the rocks were sooooo warm.

Sometimes the sunshine hits those blue eyes just right, wow... what beautiful kids I have :)

Thanks for a great day momma! Miss you like crazy!!

Smart Cookies

I have some good readers in this house. These two boys really surprised me one week this summer. We are homeschooling and our curriculum is literature based so we are constantly reading. Well I took the boys to the library to pick out some picture books, just for some lighter reading. What do they do? They both insisted that they wanted to pick out their own chapter books to read. Doesn't matter that I am reading two at the time TO them. No, they want to read a chapter book to themselves. So I told them, "that's fine, but mommy just doesn't have time to read it to you. So if you get it you have to read it to yourself." Apparently that isn't a problem. They both read their first chapter book BY THEMSELVES in a week and half's time.
Noah read Night of the Ninjas, a magic treehouse book, and Gabriel read the first book out of the Hardy Boys series. WOW was I impressed, but more impressive is the fact that they didn't stop. They are both continuing to read books on their own time. Gabriel is on his 5th chapter book of the summer and Noah is on his 3rd. Can I remind you that Noah is going into 1st grade and Gabriel into 2nd!! A mom just can't help but brag sometimes, my boys are just so stinkin' smart!

Mama's Girls

My sister didn't stay very long but there are somethings you just have to do while your in the Northwest, so we tried to do as many as we could.

Deception Pass

Crab Shack

Pike's Market

At Pike's Market my mom bought Tasha a chinese stamp with her name engraved in it. The man did the engraving right there while we watched.

The Space Needle

TeeTee Smooches

Eating Pie at Greenbank Farm

My big sis came to visit us this summer. Never really thought it would happen, but she braved out the plane ride just for me :) We had such a great time with her and I hope she will come back again (hint hint)! While she was here we took her to Greenbank Farm for some pie. It is definitely one of our favorite spots on Whidbey. When we went this time the goslings had just hatched so it was a special treat for the kids to see all the babies. Of course, having pie is a pretty good treat too!

Look who's riding now!!

Can you believe it!! Noah learned how to ride his bike!! Woohoo!!

He is doing awesome. After learning to balance on his little strider he was ready for his other bike. The problem was not the "knowing how" it was just needing the confidence that he could. It was so frustrating at first I would give him a push and he would ride... REALLY ride... then he would get scared and run into the curb so he could stop.

One day he just decided... stubborn little guy... that he was gonna keep trying. Of course a little cookie motivation helped too :) but he DID IT! Just kept on getting on and doing it. Now this little man is just ZOOMING around the street with his brother! Can't you just see the pride on his face!

We adjusted the strider and handed it over to our other little rider. She is plum proud of her self too! She is really getting it though. Yesterday we were out there and she would get on the sidewalk and go down the little incline and pick her feet up. Before you know it I am going to be telling you about her learning to ride.

Beautiful Breakfast

Gabriel has taken too preparing the breakfast bowls lately. When I come downstairs they are always so neatly arranged waiting for mommy. I just couldn't resist taking a picture this morning. Such a clever boy I have :)

p.s. notice the vitamins are there too!

We love the Waterfestival

This was our second time going to the Water Festival in Anacortes and I have to say that it just might be my favorite festival. Oh maybe second... I am really looking forward to Shipwreck Day too. They have a great children's section where the kids get to make boats and then get to sail them. Last year Daddy got to do the hammering while I watched with Abby. This year I got to do it. Abby and Daddy watched but Abby did get to take home her own boat. I will have to take pictures later of their finished boats, because they brought them home and painted them this year.