Memorial Day weekend

It was the perfect combination of family, friends, and weather. It was the best weather we've ever had for a Memorial day, 80's and sunny all weekend. We packed five trailers, four tents, 16 kids and 16 adults into our lot. We all enjoyed boating, jet skiing, paddle boarding, laying on the fun island, sitting by the campfire, s'mores, and going for golf cart rides. As Brad would say, it was epic!

Us ladies went for a booze cruise on the boat, no kids or husbands. We listened to music, drank, danced, and all jumped in! It was frigid and crazy fun.

Camo crocs are a must for camping.              

Mom's gone wild

Beach cuties

Dad's and kids 

Brad's parents came over to visit for the day on Saturday and surprised the kids, David and Sherron came to visit on Sunday, and the Princevalle's came to visit by boat. 

This picture looks so much like Brad and the kids I had to look at it twice.

I went to take a shower and asked Brad to watch the baby, this is Brad watching the baby, lol.

After we had so much fun it's easy to forget how much work went into this weekend. Late nights, working all day/weekend long, ignoring the kids, losing sleep, stressing out, but it was worth it. Huge thanks Jeremy and to my Dad, not sure it would of been possible without you. The shed/bathroom got done just in the nick of time, hours before people arrived. 

A few more pics to come........

Cate 9 month stats

Cate 9 months 
19.6 lbs (73%) -up one pound from 6 months
28 inches (64%) -grew one inch from 6 months
18 inches (92%)
-I guess she's kind of a peanut compared to our other giants! But has a giant head, that must be why she's so smart.

Benjamin at 9 months 
Weight: 22lb 7.8oz (79%)
Height: 29" (75%)
Head circumference: 46.4cm (80%)

Abigail at 9 months 
Weight: 22lb 13oz (97%) -the percentiles are different because of male/female
Height: 28.6" (97%)
Head circumference: ???

A fate worse than death

When I get my camera out my kids run screaming in the other direction. To them it's a fate worse than death, so I have to bribe them. I have a billion pictures of Cate simply because she doesn't object, yet. I guess I can see their point, since I'm always like "look at me and smile", "stand over there", "not there, over there", "don't smile like that", "smile like something is funny", "stop doing that", "put your hands down", "quit making that face", "do a little smile, not a giant smile", "don't squint", "ok now look over that way", "now hug your brother", "do you want to be here all day?!?", "just smile and hold still so we can be done". Sometimes it's painful, sometimes it's fun, but I know they are always up for going for a walk/adventure behind our house where I love to shoot. They are my favorite subjects, even if they are difficult. Hopefully someday they'll look back and like all the pictures. We always enjoy looking through my printed blog books and remembering all the things we did. Tomorrow they'll bigger, different and there will never be another today. I just want to freeze them and remember everything. 

This right here is the reason I love Spokane. I never knew before how much I love seeing rolling hills in the distance. Out of every window in our house I can see for miles and miles. You can see the big open sky. I see deer and our little bunny rabbit friend almost everyday in our backyard. Everyday I stop and look and love what I see. 

I was trying to make her smile so I asked her the funniest thing she could think of. She said "poop". Then I took this picture and we both laughed. 

(Clothes provided by Grimsby hand-me-downs. Thanks, Larisa!)

Cute as a button and sweet as a flower

Princess Catherine is 9 months old

Crawling all over, eating cheerios, watermelon, starting to be opinionated, and

 does not like to be alone or set down. She's finally sleeping in her room (it's about time!) and loves nothing more than her siblings to sit and play with her.

All I know about being a Mom

A Mother's love is the purest, truest love.

You always need your mom, even when you're old.

I am blessed to have a Mom whose heart overflowed with love for me, and to be able to pass on that kind of love. 

A mothers work is never done, as there is always more love to give.

When your Mom passes so does a part of your heart.

Being a Mom is better than my wildest dream.

Nice little Mother's Day

It was 80 degrees and completely still (not even a hint of a breeze) at the lake all weekend. It was perfect! Warm enough to run around in a swim suit and sit out in the sun. 

First time with her feet and hands in the sand. She didn't love it but she looked cute anyway.

These kids had a great time. This view never gets old.

Brad slaved away all weekend and our shed/bathroom is coming along. 

This little, was super needy all weekend, and getting teeth, and about to crawl, so she's a lot of everything. Love this little face.