When we got back from Twin Lakes, it was time for some major home organization and figuring out our needs for fall. I hadn't started school supply shopping or even figuring out what clothes the kids had for fall. This is very unlike me, I like to have a full bin of too big clothes for each kid, but they grow faster than I can think these days :). It was lovely to come out from cleaning closets to my little fashionista and her new lowlights :). Pretty sure she had help with this, but she was rocking it for a couple days until I got around to throwing her into the bath.
Here is the result of my every 6 month closet cleaning. It is a mountain of 4 kids too small clothing. Half of which goes into too big bins for the smaller kids, then most of the rest we can pass on. We are 2.5 months later at this point, and the 'on top of your dresser' technique isn't working anymore, we have another mountain to go through probably before Christmas. I guess I shouldn't call it a semi-annual chore anymore (time to update the cleaning spreadsheet!...and yes, it's that exciting to me)
Dad likes to show the kids all of his scooter and bike tricks...and I like to stand back and laugh when they can do it better than him :).
I don't know if this is at bedtime or in the morning, but this is real life at our house. Kids half dressed and in jammies, laundry and cleaning mess all around, and mom ignoring it all to read a favorite book or two.
During August we tried to explore around the area a bit before school and football season started to busy our schedules back up. On Costco day we decided to hit up the train park in Lewiston on the way. It doesn't hold a candle to Avery Park in my heart, but the kids love climbing and exploring around the train.
This moment my heart about burst. I don't get very emotional about most things, but there is something about Dad leading his girls in some beam practice while the boys drive the train together...
And then this :). It's no wonder I married this man :)
$600 and two hours later, it was time for lunch and I was left wondering why we ever take them in public :).
After we got back, it was time to update my spreadsheet about the cost of particular items in our food storage. The kids always want to help, so this time I sent Carter out to the garage with instructions to take a picture of the numbers in the corner of all the boxes from Costco. I figured I could use the receipt and size information to calculate cost. I got back this first picture, then 100 of the next couple :). Thanks Carter!
Our sweet 2 year old and her slobbery kisses :)
A great Walmart find is all it takes to seriously scare the kids coming out of the bathroom. O was a moderate success, but when Makenzie and I came out, she started screaming and didn't calm down for about 15 minutes...activity over!
As with most of the Northwest in August, smoke settled into our valley and didn't leave for a while. This is our normally clear view that we can see for miles.
On August 11th, Carter turned 5! He was more excited about starting Kindergarten than actually being 5, but we enjoyed a great weekend with Gary, Mary, and Ashley to celebrate this fun kid.
This new tradition is really a fun one for the kids, who hardly ever see pictures of themselves printed out. We get to talk about the day that each one happened and all the adventures that these kids have had.
What better way for birthday celebrations to start than playing in the boxes?!
Alex worked during the day, and we wanted to get some use out of some of Carter's presents, so he opened up the biggest one before breakfast. Grandpa helped assemble his new soccer goal and we spent most of the day playing balloon soccer :).
Lunch and Ice cream with Alex at work was fun, especially Ferdinand's Ice Cream...I'm starting to feel like Tillamook can be beat after all.
The kids wanted to play a few safari animal games, so we set up a trivia water balloon throw. The balloons had a hard time popping, but Alex was a great sport and swung at them with a badminton racket so he would get wet :).
Carter opened his presents dressed as his favorite super hero, Iron Buzz Safari Man :).
The next day was Saturday, so we took advantage of Alex being home and took the whole crew to the Discovery Center. It was a perfect size for our family, and at 4 minutes away, worth the annual membership. The kids and I have started going regularly, even if we only have 20 minutes or so to play. I'm always surprised at Hunter's bravery towards animals :)
He LOVES this taxidermy otter
All of the kids had a blast with the green screen video software, and with tricking dad into thinking his video or a dinosaur eating him was of him in a flower field :).
In true palouse fashion, they have a huge lentil pit to dig in and uncover dinosaur bones. I just help waiting for one of the littles to topple into the pit, but Grandma, Grandpa, and Ashley came to the rescue multiple times to prevent it.
When we got home it was time for the safari cake walk, with my supply of dollar store toy rewards. It was a huge hit, we need to remember to do it again sometime.
Hunter soaking in all the skills of amateur construction :) Gary and Alex worked hard to frame out this wall for our new family room door.
The next week was all about getting ready for my Eclipse 'camping' trip to Bryan and Candy's backyard with the kids. Alex wasn't able to make the trip, which was during the week, so I felt a bit of stress about tent sleeping with the kiddos solo, but as you will see from the next post, I'm SO glad we went. This picture is of our eclipse trail mix (or 'dump everything you have open in a container and add M&Ms mix...)
These guys were rockstars during naptime, either helping me pack and gather stuff or entertaining themselves with big kid activities like puzzles and crafts. I was feeling the craziness of the summer, but they were great sports about making the best of our 'hurry up and wait' schedule :).
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