my family

the boys had a really good time on trek! they got pounded with rain and hail, but they still said it was amazing and they both absolutely loved it. we surprised them by having their room redecorated when they got home. it wasn't finished, but we got some new furniture, curtains, accessories- and painted the room and their dresser. tons of work! but it looks so much better. i'll post photos sometime.

these are a couple of shots of our trip to phoenix. and yes, we're proud to call them family. :)

School has started and Quince is officially a kindergartner! I took far too many pictures of him that day. You would have thought he was our first.

And Preston and Spencer left on Trek yesterday. I have to agree with them, they looked a little lame. But they didn't have a choice. I'm sure it's hot and they're probably exhausted, but I hope they are having a very memorable time.

where did summer go?

we're finally back, and we have no plans to travel any time soon. the kids start school next week. it seems summer has flown by and i seriously can't believe it's over. july went by faster than i could blink. we had the 4th, then scout camp, then the trip to canada, then arizona- then august hit. crazy!!

we had such a good time on our trip to canada though! will and i both enjoyed it even more than expected. not the canada part- that was beautiful and everything- but not the best. we liked it, but we liked washington and oregon more. driving the coast was amazing! breath taking amazing!! i highly suggest it to anyone who can handle that much time in the car. there are several cities on the coast of oregon that i plan to go back to.

the trip to az was great. it was quick, but very fun. and hot. the first day there i was thinking it wasn't so bad, but by the last day i was dying and complaining more than anyone wanted to listen to. duane and misty were wonderful hosts. they went all out for brig's birthday and gave him quite a birthday dinner. it was photo-worthy food, for sure.

i'm excited to be home. for structure and schedules and fall- which can't be that far away. the end of summer until halloween is my favorite time of the year. (as i've probably mentioned a million times.) the boys start school next week, preston and spencer have trek, and then the next week preston and i are going to education week. which i love.

oh yeah- and will is seriously already looking into getting scuba certified for his trip he has planned to the Cayman Islands. :)

along the coast in oregon next to sea lion cave. (the largest cave of sea lions in the world.)

crater lake. amazing. over-whelming. kind of scared the crap out of me.

the butchart gardens. completely worth the trip to victoria.

snoqualmie falls, in washington. i have a trip planned there as well.

a sign as you drive into la push. one of my favorite places of the whole trip. la push is a beautiful little hidden reservation at the tip of the washington coast. i didn't want to leave it.

Quick Update

So yes, today is our big 15 year anniversary. Will's up in the mountains with a bunch of men, and I'm stuck at home with Spence. :) Will is so great. He left me flowers and balloons this morning and had Cheryl bring me Cheesecake Factory tonight when she came to get the kids. He's gone above and beyond this year.

As usual, I'm overly stressed out because it's the week of scout camp. Oh how I love the Saturday when they all come home safely. Spence couldn't go this year because he sprained his foot Sat. night. It's kind of nice to have him here to keep me company.

Life has been a challenge lately. So much .... stuff going on. I'm anxiously awaiting results from the cardiologist about my heart monitor. They called me a week early and said I could turn it in because 'they had enough recordings for diagnostic'- whatever that means. So now I guess I just continue to wait for that 'diagnosis' to come in. Whatever we find will likely explain the 3 years of dizziness. I suppose it will be good to have answers, at least.

Will and I are scheduled to leave a week from today for our trip. I feel like I desperately need a vacation from life. From feeling the way I do, thinking about it, worrying.... all of the stuff that I shouldn't do anyway. It will be nice. We both really need it.

The boys are all doing well. Linc is officially potty trained. It took about a week until he had it down. It makes me so sad that he's growing up. It's happening way too fast.

We had so much fun with Duane and Misty in town. They left yesterday and I have to say- I much prefer them here, as do the kids. We are going to visit them in Phx. at the end of the month.

That's about all here. Oh yes- Congrats Jamie and Abby! I hear it's official. (med school) Where exactly is it?

Help!

so really quick- i'm in need of a creative, clever idea for will's anniversary gift- coming up in just a few weeks. he's been doing this over-the-top sweet thing for me for the past 12 weeks. the '15 weeks of our anniversary' i think he called it. every wednesday for the past 12 weeks he's given me a gift to celebrate our anniversary, and we only have 3 left. so i've got to come up with something cute, meaningful, and inventive- since there is absolutely no way to top what he's done. any suggestions? please?

Life

Summer is in full swing here at our house. And it's been cold and rainy so far- with the forecast calling for more of it for the next 10 days. My boys are none too pleased with it.

Brig has been at basketball camp since Monday. We've talked a couple of times- he is having a really good time. Apparently the food is amazing. I miss him much more than I expected.

Preston and Spencer have been bonding. They go running in the mornings together. And after they're done- Preston heads out again so he can get in some 'real' running. I'm proud of Spence for trying. (he's never loved running.)

Lincoln came down with a fever on Quincey's birthday. We're not sure what he has, but yesterday at Quince's kindergarten check-up with the doctor, we found out Quince has strep throat. Even though he seemed to be feeling fine. So that's probably what Linc has. As long as he has meds, he's his normal self.

We're getting rid of cable- mostly because of Clayton and Quincey- but we feel like it's time for it to be gone. Those two would lay in front of the television all day long if we let them. So Clayton's going to have to come up with a different plan for his summer. :)

Will's busy working and wasting time with real estate- and I'm busy doing....whatever it is I do.

Pathetic update- but it is what it is.

our first dozen

we finally got a dozen eggs! four today, and hopefully more than that on a regular basis. we have twelve chickens; 10 hens, 1 young hen, and 1 young rooster with a very pitiful crow. but he tries. our salad table is ready for the first harvest. the spinach didn't grow well at all- not sure why.