Happy Fall

We love carving jack-o-lanterns and this year, we decided to toast the seeds. Of course, we started by taking out all the slimy pulp:

Then we rinsed the seeds:

Now they're soaking in salt water.

Here are our finished lanterns:

And here are our subjects (insert sound effects here: Ahoy! ARGGGHHH!! Nowwww! (Ascha's cat sound starts with an "n" and skips the "e.").

Victoria

Jeremy and I celebrated our 10-year anniversary in July. My sweet hubby valiantly attempted to plan a secret re-creation of our honeymoon trip through Banff and Jasper National Parks in British Columbia, but I wasn't at all cooperative. He eventually spilled the beans on the "surprise trip" that just wasn't working out because of my continued insistence that I couldn't possibly leave Ascha overnight. We decided we'd postpone our trip until fall and I'd do my best to prepare both the baby and myself for a short separation. We also decided recreating our honeymoon trip would require too much time away, so we revised our plans. My mom came and stayed with the kids and we went on a three-night adventure to Victoria, B.C. We stayed at Marketa's B&B (which we highly recommend!), which is quite close to downtown. We enjoyed wandering and visiting shops (especially shops with breakables! We almost never frequent such shops now that we have 3 kids!), eating, going to the Maritime Museum, eating, driving around the Saanich Peninsula, eating, going on a zip line adventure, and eating some more. We've watched too many foodie travel shows, I think. Or maybe, we were inspired by the fact that we almost never consume a meal without interruptions (sweet, lovable, wonderful interruptions! Sheesh! Sounds like we despise parenthood. We certainly don't, but we did enjoy our brief reprieve).

My one request for our vacation was for it to include an "adventure component." We were (read: I was) thinking of renting a kayak, but even the most sunny October days seemed formidably cold for kayaking. We did manage to find adventure, though, in a zip line course which we thoroughly enjoyed.

We came home well rested and READY to be with our kids again. I am so thankful for the past 10 years and so thankful for the sweet and refreshing "just us" time we shared on this trip.

The Pumpkin Patch

We really enjoyed visiting a pumpkin patch with some friends to kick off our fall. The kids traveled through a hay bale maze, saw all sorts of animals and even got to feed a few, and then they experienced their first hay ride...

... When they arrived at the correct field, they each got to pick out a pumpkin (that they were supposed to be able to carry all by themselves. Thankfully, babies were exempt from that policy :-)...

... We eventually concluded our time with a fun photo op. Just wish Daddy had been able to come along, too. (Then maybe we'd have a Christmas picture this year. I'm still scheming about how to get all 5 of us into one picture. That almost never happens. :-)

Our Little Soldier Turns 5!

If you know Aric, you know he LOVES camoflage and would wear it for every piece of clothing if allowed. He's been asking for a remote control tank that shoots real ammunition for I don't know how long, so it was no surprise that he asked for a "tank" party. We had everything planned, the special "tank cake" made, and then... the day before the party the stomach flu descended on our house. Thankfully, the birthday boy didn't get it, but we had to postpone his party for a week, which about killed him (and Taylor). We did still have a little family celebration on the day of his birth.

The following weekend, we were able to successfully complete mission HB5. I was relieved that instead of having me recreate the tank cake from the week before, he opted for a sheet cake with his new tank toy on top.

He thought it noteworthy that the tank looked like it was shooting fire.

After cake and presents, we headed out for an afternoon of fun and games. This is the year of the pinata at our house, so we kicked off the festivities with a sound beating.

Then, we had "rescue the injured soldier" races across the yard.

Finally, we played "grenade" (ala "hot potato"), followed by a general water balloon fight that went on as long as I kept filling balloons.

Aric's special day was memorable and worth the wait! We are so proud and thankful to have such a fun-loving, adventurous, helpful, and kind-hearted 5-year-old as a member of our family. We Love You, Ar!

A Visit from Grrrrreat-Grama and Grrrrreat-Papa

My Grandparents made the trip to Washington in early September. It was such a blessing to see them and the kids loved showing off their "home turf," their special "tree forts," their favorite places to play and hide. Grama and Papa were able to attend Taylor's soccer game and wish Aric a happy birthday just a few days early. They also "imprinted" Ascha's knowledge of extended family members' names...every grandparent is now known as "Papa." It's the perfect easy-to-pronounce moniker and she's sticking to it.

Bend it like Taylor

Taylor's last game is this Saturday. The "Reds" have had a good season. Taylor's made some friends and learned a lot about soccer. He's made a number of goals and is a great defender. Aric is excited for his turn to play next fall, and Ascha is looking forward to having all the chairs on the sideline to herself. :-) She likes to take whatever chair Aric is sitting in, even if she's already in a little chair of her own.

Family Resemblance

I've been marveling at how much Ascha looks like each of her brothers lately. Here are a few pics of her next to her older likenesses at the same age (approx. 15 mos.) as evidence:

Taylor and Ascha don't share as obvious of a resemblance, but there are definite times when she favors him. She's always been what we call a "nose squincher," and when I was looking back through Taylor's younger pictures, I was struck at how similar their "happy squinching" expressions are.

Usually, I say from the nose down Aric and Ascha look the same. They definitely have the same James family mouth and chin. In this picture, though, even the eyes seem to match. It's wild to take a picture and immediately think, "I already have this picture, with this same expression, taken years before you were born!"

Our Sweet Ascha Lynn

Ascha is 15 months old. She is so precious and full of personality. She's gotten very opinionated about what she wears and when she wears it. She can hold her own with her brothers and is adding new words every day. She saw the below picture of herself and said, "Nigh-nigh, nigh-nigh." She's saying "hi" and "bye" along with many animals, sounds, facial features, and each family member's name.

She wants to be in the middle of all the action, all the time. The boys can't wrestle with Jeremy anymore without her walking into the middle. Nobody minds too much and she's always so thrilled to be included.

Ascha's First Trip to the Zoo

On the second Tuesday of September, we went to the zoo with some good friends. I was very surprised at how excited Ascha was. She loved every minute of her time there and loved seeing all the animals and trying to mimic their sounds. I think she was most thrilled to see the elephants. She kept doing the sign with her arm and saying "VROOOO!"

August Update

We had a few highlights in August. The first was the Clark County Fair. The boys went with Jeremy and a buddy to the Monster Truck Madness on the last day of the fair. It was a bit loud, so we girls went through the animal barns instead. Ascha loved the goats and the chickens best.

The other main event was a last-minute trip to the coast. We decided to go to the Long Beach Peninsula and ended up happening to go the weekend of the World Kite Festival. We had fun watching kites for a while, and we had even more fun flying our own kite and playing on the beach.

We spent one day at the Maritime Museum in Astoria. The boys (including the biggest boy :-) had a great time. Ascha had her moments of enjoyment, but didn't want to go when we wanted to go and didn't want to stop when we wanted to stop, so it was an interesting day. Here she is on her little "seat." She found this perfectly-sized piece of concrete and didn't want to go anywhere else. She spent the rest of her time at the museum trying in vain to get back to this spot.

The hands-on room had a number of lifeboats the kids could climb into and out of.

Amazing! A picture of Jeremy and I! (Kudos to Taylor, photographer at large)

We made it to the Astoria column, which had opened just a few days before. The kids made it all the way up and flew a little airplane off the top.

On the way home, we stopped at Horseshoe Lake in Woodland.

July Update - Part 2 - MONTANA

The kids and I had the opportunity to join my parents on their "lake vacation" this year. It was, as always, a wonderful time.

The "painted rocks" that give our favorite lake its name

Taylor heading out with Grammy on the tube

Taylor's first try at kneeboarding. He did great!

Aric had no desire to do water sports this year, but he was quite happy to drive the boat.

Swimming with Uncle Shane

Playing in the water on a hot day - what could be better?

Hanging with Grumpy

"Camp Apple Pie" - toast surrounding warm pie filling, cooked over an open fire

The big frog the boys caught one day...they also caught a few minnows

Jumping to Uncle Spencer

Another of the spectacular views we really miss...this one is Trapper Peak

All the family except Jeremy... It was sure a rare but special treat to see all my brothers at once

We attended my parents' church picnic... Spencer was the MC. Here, Taylor's participating in a food relay. Lots of the kids ended up with candy or fun things to eat...poor Tay had to eat jarred baby hot dogs (he doesn't even like regular hot dogs, so this was a real challenge!)

Playing with cousins

Seeing the baby calves

We spent a day at my Grandparents' place revisiting a lot of my childhood favorite things to do, like playing in the ditch...

...eating raspberries right off Grandma's plants...

(Ascha and her little cousin had a great time together. Here, he's feeding her raspberries. :-)

...having popsicles, then sending the sticks down the creek in a race to the bridge...

...swinging with Papa...

...or jumping out of the swing yourself...

...going as high as possible on the teeter-totter...

...playing in the "Tiger Tree."

All these things are sweet memories from my childhood and it is such a blessing to be able to see my kids enjoying the same experiences. I'm so thankful my Grandparents are so happy to share special moments like these with another generation of kids.

Of course, on our way through Idaho, we stopped and hung out with our friends. Here we are at Coeur d'Alene's "Art in the Park."

Thanks to all our family and friends for sharing such a special visit! Much love!

July Update - Part 1

July 4th - cuddling on the hammock watching the fireworks

enjoying the sparklers

Hanging out at Lake Merwin on the weekend with good friends (so good they even watched Ascha while they sent us out on the lake in their sailboat! Thanks!)

Camping on the north side of Mt. Adams

It was beautiful but very buggy, and of course, I left all our bug repellant at home on the counter! We managed to survive the mosquitoes and have a good time anyway. We swam and even got to have a German Brown Trout for part of our dinner. We hiked around with Jeremy the next day while he scouted out potential elk hunting country. (Ah-ha! The real purpose of our family camping trip is revealed! :-)

"Good things come to those who wait"

The boys have wanted a ride-on ever since they saw one at the neighbor's house. We've always flatly refused, but they had sold some of their old toys at a garage sale a few days before we found this used yellow Corvette. The boys were able to buy it with their own money and they absolutely love it!

Our first parade! None of the kids had ever been to a "real parade" before. They are now big fans.

The same festival that brought the parade also brought a carnival to town. The boys rode a kiddie roller coaster. Taylor loved it, but Aric was upset because I wasn't riding it with him, so he pouted through the whole ride. It made for a pretty funny picture.

June Update: Ascha's First Birthday

Ascha's the star of the show this month. Our beautiful baby isn't staying a baby long. She's been walking and running for a while, she's independent and feisty and fun...and on June 23, she turned ONE!

party preparations (this one's for you, Ann!)

not sure what to think of the giant butterfly Great Grama & Papa sent her

Do I have to touch it?

The big kids all loved it. I fear we may have started a tradition. :-)

Notice the foot up in the air - this is her customary position when sitting in grass

It's party time!

What, I can't touch that pretty light?

Yeah! I love frosting!

Cake (aka pumpkin bran muffin) sure is yummy! Mama may as well pull that trick this year, because she probably won't get away with it again. :-)

Ascha figured out unwrapping quickly and opened her presents with gusto!

This hug was so sweet and spontaneous. She loved her cuddle buddy (until it became associated with bedtime. She's no longer enamored with it. :-).

So fashion forward while taking baby for a stroll. She loved her stroller but couldn't navigate it well at first. When she'd get stuck in a corner, the boys would try to help her, but she'd just scream. She's not about to let her brothers take HER new toys!

This tea cart and tea set were much the same. She stayed up very late playing and didn't want to let Mommy take the pieces away from her before bed.

What a great first birthday! She even got to have both of her Grandmas celebrate with her!

Before the Grandmas headed home, we went to a fun park. This extremely crinkled nose is a trademark Ascha look.

The boys didn't get left out. Grammy gave them a special treat of a night of tent camping with her in our backyard. Grandma Janet gave each boy the special treat of cooking the breakfast of his choosing and allowing him to help as much as he wanted.

(special thanks to Daddy on the assist for camping night! The smores were a nice touch. :-)

June is also the month of Jeremy's birthday, so we celebrated him on the 28th. This is the first time since I've been married to Jeremy that he wasn't sad and feeling old on his birthday...he thought he was turning 33, but he only turned 32, so he gained a year. :-)

Lastly, here's a look at one of our many "pets." This time, it was a moth, but the boys have caught many caterpillars, butterflies, moths, and even a preying mantis this summer. We have much to be thankful for - we love where we live!

May 2009 Trip to the Oregon Coast with Friends

We played on the beach:

(Ascha ate the sand, but didn't cry. She seemed to like it. Odd.)

We also had a lot of fun at the aquarium in Newport:

And at home, we enjoyed playing football and shooting at cans:



It was a great visit with great friends!