And in Other News

And these are the pictures that didn't make a different post: 

(It sure feels good to clear 454 photos from my phone and 228 from my DSLR)

 Gage and I played trains in the cul-de-sac one day!

 Easiest way to make all three kids happy at once!

 Love my cheesers!

 The kids made a wipe out course in our back yard and put their helmets on to go through it. . . you know, just in case.

 Gage is such a good big brother. When I need to get something done I send the two of them outside and he pumps his little legs as hard as he can to swing both him and her!

 We rode to the park one day with the wagon behind the bike. I'm fine doing it in the neighborhood and stuff, but out on real streets I was pretty hesitant.

 My sweet guy is always picking "flowers" for his mama

 I was watching Jett one day and he got stuck in the hamper -- Babysitter fail!

 Who doesn't want to ride a dino?

 We love EZ Orchards! The kids love the tractor and I love the shortcake!

 Miss Thing earned her high heels and matching headband that have been in my closet for about a month! She was beaming and they have been her shoe of choice since.

Miley, oh Miley! She loves the garbage. The other day I couldn't find her anywhere and I was calling her name and she was silent (which is not normal for her!). I started to panic until I found her by the garbage licking out a yogurt container, YUCK!

This blog is officially caught up!

Bauman Farms

It's not very often I wait until the last minute to do things, but when Kate came out she asked if I would take pictures of her boys while she was here. And every spare moment I had, it seemed to be raining. On the very last night she was here, in between rain showers, we headed to Bauman's and got them done! So CUTE!!!

 My 3 amigos!

 Brock

 Jett

Brothers

My little side-kick came along to "help". 

She also brought her own camera and is becoming quite the little photographer!

The Portland Aquarium

On our last day with our cousins, Grammy took everyone to the Portland Aquarium. 

 Apparently they don't know how to make very scary faces!

 The bird room was a big hit with these two. . . until Grammy got pooped on!

 The boys didn't want much to do with them.

These kids sure love their Grammy!

Dance Festival

Dance Festival. Whew!! It's over! 

It started out fun and exciting, then some aspects got extremely frustrating, then it got so close that it got exciting again! It really was quite a process and overall I am thankful that I got to be apart of it. Our YW were amazing. They knew all of their dances, they were where they were supposed to be when they needed to be, they were helpful, and overall they were just AWESOME!

For a day and a half, my job was to guard an entrance to the building. It was one of two main dancer- entrances, and it was not supposed to be used as an exit or an entrance for anyone who wasn't a dancer. You would think that people would be able to respect that, but I got yelled at time and time again for asking people to follow the rules. I was either getting yelled at by chaperones on the outside, or in trouble from the people inside when some used it as an exit. I almost cried at one point.

 But then, seeing all of the dancers lined up for the first live performance on Saturday made it all worth it. They were all so excited to show off 6 months of hard work for their family and friends. 

Then, seeing the Beehives, who I got to work with (when I wasn't shuttling around older girls!) perform, it made me want to cry again, but in a good way! They nailed their dance and rocked their costumes!

 My crew showed up for the last live show!

I was sooo excited to see people who weren't going to yell at me! 

And miss separation-anxiety Miley was so excited to see her Mama! I got home Friday night after she was asleep and left Saturday morning before she woke up. I hadn't seen her for 32 hours which is the longest we have ever been apart. 

 The hot rod during the swing dance was Gage's favorite part of the show!

These are our "holy cow, we actually made it through" faces after the last show! 

Love these ladies and their hard work!

I survived the weekend on excedrin and dr. pepper, but came away with a respect for dance and the spirit it can bring into a room. . . and a farmer's tan!

Swim Lessons

The day after we got home from Sunriver, swim lessons started. It was nice to see that the kids remembered their skills from the end of April when we finished lessons. I love to see them learn new things. They sure love the water. As I said earlier, I put Miley in the parent-tot swim class, which meant that I had to get in the water every day. I dreaded how cold it was, but it was fun to splash around with her. The actual class itself was really lame so I'm pretty sure we won't be signing up for it again.

The kids get little report cards at the end of the session and this is what Miley's teacher's comment was. It perfectly explains how weird the class was. 

I didn't get to take very many pictures since I was in the water, but my mom has more on her iPad and phone, so I will update this when I get them from her.

Father's Day

Daddy got to spend Father's Day mainly in Sunriver this year. We let him sleep in and then the kids hid pictures that they colored and made clues for him to find them. We skyped with Papa Grimmett and then Dad took the kids on a loooong bike ride so I could pack and clean up the house. On our way home from Sunriver, we stopped for Father's Day dinner at Red Robin.

 Finding the clues

 Miss Maisey was the architect behind the scavenger hunt, and she was pretty proud of it.

 On our way into town, we stopped by the cemetery to wish Papa who lives in heaven a Happy Father's Day too.

Once we got home, we gave Dad his gifts.

Happy Father's Day to the greatest Dad in the world!

Sunriver

As soon as Maisey was done with school we headed to Sunriver for 5 days! We had a blast, like always, and we are so grateful my aunt and uncle allow us to go so often.

There are tons of pics of everything that we did

* We rode the train, 3 times!!!

* Maisey was just barely tall enough to do the bumper cars this time. She was so excited. She looked like she was going to cry every time someone hit her, but when she got off the first time she asked to go again!

* We played miniature golf. This was Gage's first time golfing. He had a blast and was actually pretty good (except for when he picked up the ball and put it in the hole!)

* We went on TONS of walks and bike rides. Mid-June was the perfect time to go. Not too hot, not too cold. It seriously was BEAUTIFUL!!!

 One day the kids biked while I ran to the river. We all had fun exploring!

Getting 5 little kids to look at the same time is tough!

 This girl wanted to pose in every spot for a picture

 This girl just wanted to walk around by herself. She thinks she is very independent.

 And this dude just wanted to watch the fishing boat.

 We saw some deer on an early morning walk

 One night we ALL went on a bike ride. It lasted like 2 minutes before Jett started crying and Grammy's chain fell off. 

A view on a bike ride

* We hit up the park several times

* We played tennis. Not actually on the tennis courts, but in the drive way. Maisey and Dad kept score and Maisey won.

* We headed to the SHARC (a big aquatic area with a sand box). Gage spent most of his time playing in the sand while Daddy took the girls around swimming. I gladly parked in on a chair in the sand area to "supervise" Gage.

These are definitely my kids. . . lounging around in the sun!

* We went down the year-round tubing hill for the first time. The kids (and Daddy) thought it was super fun!

* We stopped at a new little park area to play

* We ate lots of treats from the village: ice cream (x2), shaved ice, and huge doughnuts!

* And when we weren't busy having fun, we were keeping our eye on our little busy baby. This was her first time being mobile in Sunriver, and she definitely took advantage of that!

* Not pictured: Jump houses, game nights, Pitch Perfect, guitar hero and tractor riding!

What an awesome way to kick off summer!