Blue Skies & Sisters . . . Nothin' Better.

 It has been unseasonably GORGEOUS 'round these parts, and we can't get enough!

As soon as we're done with school for the day, we head outside to help Daddy with work projects,

or just to enjoy the glorious sunshine.

The other day the girls were swinging,

Tay had had enough . . .

 

 

 

So, the super cool big sissy that Kam is, she donned her helmet {yes, I realize that it should've been the other way around, lol!}, and took Tay for a spin in the wagon.

 

 

But after awhile, Kam got tired.  And, well, a little grumpy.

Because it's hard to be six, right?  Six is a tough age that comes with a LOT of hormones,

I'm finding out {or being reminded of . . . for the third time}.
 

But then the sweetest thing happened.

 

 

 

Tay found her, and proceeded to just BE THERE for her.

 

 

 

 She squeezed.
 

 

 

 She imparted some younger sisterly wisdom.
 

And soon, Kam's smile returned.

 

 

 

 

 

 Are sisters, like, the GREATEST thing in the world??

I know I'm blessed by mine, and my girls are blessed by theirs.
 

   

 

 

 

Medford Trip

For, literally, years I've been wanting to plan a trip to Medford.  Though I didn't grow up there, I did spend several significant years there as a teenager; and I've been longing to show my girls all of the places I loved in Southern Oregon.

Since we still have so much family there, our limited trips are always short, and spent at a specific function {reception, party, birth, etc.}  We never seem to have time to just mosey around, visiting.

I was so happy that we finally made it happen a couple of weeks ago!

My mom and I took the girls down a couple days early, and Jeremy and my dad met up with us later.

On Friday we drove to Jacksonville, an ADORABLE little town I used to love to visit.

 
The weather was wonderful, and the scenery gorgeous.  Beautiful Fall colors everywhere.
 

We met up with one of my favorite people for lunch at one of my favorite places ~ The Bella.
 

We're just going to pretend that we had a wonderfully quiet lunch full of sweet conversation and delicious food ~ Instead of the full-on screaming from a certain one year old who shall remain nameless.  Sigh.
 

The day didn't exactly unfold the way it had in my mind.  There wasn't much window shopping for me since my little ones were coming down with a virus, and Tay was cutting three molars.  But I'm happy we made the trip anyway.
 

I have no desire to go on another trip any time soon.  But I am glad we made it happen ;)
 

 

 

 We even had a few moments of silence out of Tay.  Especially when she got to meet up with her little cousin again.  She LOVES the bay-bays :)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Catchin' Up?

My goodness, we've been on the go!

A nearly week long camping trip the middle of July, then a week of VBS, a few birthdays, BBQs, a visit from a cousin we hadn't seen in a couple of years,  and finally a visit with my sister.

Annie and her adorable kiddos were up for a week long visit, and it was AMAZING.  We never seem to have enough time together, and though I wish they could stay forever, seven days was just enough time to fit in all that we wanted to do.

Mostly we just hung out at Mom and Dad's soaking up the sun by their new pool.  We had a sleepover at our house one night, and Dad insisted on taking everyone to Enchanted Forest one day.  The absolute sweetest part was watching Kam and her cousin, Mona, playing together.  They were inseparable.  They swam, blew bubbles, played dress-up and Barbies. And that led to the most difficult part . . . saying goodbye.

The night before they had to leave Kam had a break-down.  She cried like I wanted to.  We were sad to see our "sisters" go.

But we vowed we'd get together more often.
I sure hope we do.

The Best Ab Workout EVER!

We've been much too busy for blogging these days.

My SISTER is here for a visit!!!

There's been bubble blowin'

And pool loungin'

And snuggles galore!

But the best part?

The ab workout.

Do you know what I'm talking about?

I never laugh as hard as I do when my sister is here.

I swear we giggle like we're little girls.

And that turns into full on laughing, which leads to snorting and then comes the silent laugh . . . because we're completely out of oxygen and doubled over from laughing so hard.

The best ab workout ever.

{Not So} Wordless Wednesday ~ Littles

I call these two, my Littles.

The littlest of my girlies.

They love each other quite a bit.

Okay, sometimes one can frighten the other, just a tad.

Hey, Mama, what are you always doin' behind that big black box??!

But I just know they are going to be the best of pals!

Sisters

Recently we've been trying to get the older girls to sleep in their own room, and not in, you know, our room with me and hubs, and Kam. So, this is the new arrangement. Is it the sweetest thing ever? Apparently their beds were just too far apart, so now they snooze together. Ohhhh how this melts my heart. And yes, they do chat and giggle and read stories before drifting off. Aren't sisters the greatest???

Family Fun!

Last week my sister and her family were visiting from Southern Oregon.

We don't get to see each other near as often as I'd like,

so we try to pack in as much as we can in the time we do have together.

In the four days they were here we went shopping,

spent the day at Enchanted Forest, celebrated birthdays,

and got in some visit time.

Probably the most fun for the kiddos was our trip to Enchanted Forest.

And, boy, did we have a group!

My sister and her family, the girls and I, Mom and Dad,

My other sister, her two older kids, and two of their friends,

my brother and his daughter,

PLUS my dear friend, her husband, and their four children.

If you lost count, that's nine adults and fourteen children.

1-16 year old

1-15 year old

1-12 year old

1-11 year old

2-7 year olds

1-6 year old

1-5 year old

1-4 year old

1-3 year old

1-2 year old

2-1 year olds

1- {almost} 7 month old

What fun we had!

{Warning: Get ready for picture overload}

A quick shot in front of the castle wall.

I think Sierra and Kuaile were racing each other. Fierce competition, huh?

Bumper Boat Fun!

Jaymes had so much fun going through the rabbit hole.

Gramps and my niece, Sonoma.

{Oh how I love this picture. In case you can't get a sense from the photo alone, my dad LOVES

children. He is so good with all of the grandchildren. Their eyes light up when Gramps is in the room.}

Such a great day.

Of course, those four days went by way too quickly.

And I didn't get near the visit time with my sis that I'd wanted.

But, you gotta look at the bright side, right?

I love having the WHOLE family together!

{And, yes, Kam was there, though I didn't get one photo of her!

She was contentedly snuggled in the Ergo the entire time.}

Hope y'all had an equally blessed week!

While They Sleep

Do you see how beautifully they get along?

Sleep, babies, sleep.

Sisters . . .

Sierra, Makenna, Kam, and me with my sister, Annie, and her daughter Sonoma

As a gal with two sisters of her own, I know how truly special the relationship can be. That's why I was so happy when we found out, last Fall, that we'd be adding another princess to our family. These days Kam has two older sisters to protect her, whom, someday, she can tell all her secrets to. I can already see those three conspiring against this mama! What a precious gift a sister is.

Life Is A Dance

Last night was the final night of the Oregon High School Dance and Drill State Competition. Having been a member of dance team throughout high school, and having coached after high school, I naturally love to attend each year. But even more important, my sister, Annie, still coaches high school dance team, so we love to go to support her and her girls. Geri and I loaded up the girlies (if you think we're getting Kam started early, you should know that Makenna attended her first competition at the ripe ol' age of 2 weeks!) and headed into Portland.

We all had a fabulous time. Kam slept through the majority of the competition, Sierra and Makenna were content snacking on popcorn and admiring all of the costumes, and I got my dance team "fix" for the year. We also got to visit with old friends, and of course see Annie and her daughter, Sonoma.

I snapped a few pictures, though none are great (I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with my camera ~ any suggestions on a good camera are welcome!).