Playing Outside

Here are a few pictures from last weekend. We took the kids out to explore, play on a new playground, climb trees and play on the rocks in the river. The rocks were by far the most fun part. (Selah was there, she just didn't make it in the pictures. This is sad because she LOVED it and was like a frog jumping from rock to rock with agility and strategy, it was quite impressive. Kiera was more like me - she saw a rock she wanted to get to and she just went straight through the water, sometimes slipping in the water, but determined to get there. Mason mostly stayed on one rock and liked to throw the smaller rocks in the water.)

Sunday, Eliza babysat the kids so that Ross and I could go on a bike ride. There is a bike path that runs from Kalispel almost all the way to Lakeside. It was perfect weather, perfect scenery and the company was great too! It was our first date in too long. Here is a picture from the ride, we stopped along the lake to take this one.

Update on the kiddos

The kids are doing amazing! They get to play outside all the time, there is a playground 100 feet away, a soccer field just down the hill from us and a safe street right outside our dorm for them to ride bikes and scooters - it is a dream if you are 2, 4 or 6 years old :-) Everything is so close that they could each be doing something different and I could see them all. They have each found friends at school, on the base and on our dorm hall. There is Eoghen ("owen", age 4), Finn (age 20m), Samu (girl, age 4 - she and Kiera get along well), Oshea (boy, age 2.5) just on our hall. Then there are girls on the base that are usually around for meal times and to play on the playground with.

We've had a busy few weeks. Selah started school 2 weeks ago - Here is her first day of school picture:

And a picture with Kiera and Mason:

Here is a picture of the playground at Selah's school:

The following Monday, Kiera had her first day of preschool (I'm sorry to say that I did not get a picture that day - yes, what "they" say is true, less pictures of the second and third.) Kiera goes to preschool Monday-Friday from 9-12 on the base, just a few minutes walk from our house.

Other fun things that happened this week:

• Selah lost the second tooth on the bottom, so she is currently minus 6 teeth, but I think one of the bottom ones is already coming in!
• Kiera learned to ride her bike without training wheels!!! She can only go in a straight line at this point, but that is mostly because we haven't had much time to practice. She loves it, being a big girl who goes to school and all :-)
• Mason - there isn't one new thing with him, mostly I'm just constantly amazed at how well he is speaking. This morning he was talking to me about an event that happened yesterday. I think that is the first time he has communicated that he remembers something from the past. He loves to play with his train tracks / trains, ride bikes - he can now ride/pedal on the 3-wheel tricycle, ride his 3-wheel scooter...

The kids have a nanny during DTS for the time that we are in class and they aren't in school (mostly Mason and Kiera a little in the afternoon), her name is Eliza and the kids LOVE her! They can't get enough of Eliza. I'll post a picture of her as soon as I get one. She is joyful and playful and patient and kind. They can tell that she is genuinely interested in them.

Ross' Progress

So...  Many of you have asked how Ross is recovering from his bike/car accident. Well, the simple answer is that he is doing really, really well. He gets up early each morning to do his exercises that help keep his knee and ankle flexible, strengthen them and also work on the stabilizer muscles. He has been out for a few bike rides, but the true test was running... He decided that he wouldn't shave until he could run again. I'll let the pictures tell the rest of the story:

What Ross looked like today:

What he looked like after the first "cut":

And then the second "cut":

For those of you worried, he didn't stop at the second cut, there was a third and he is now back to normal :)

yes, he went for a run tonight! Hallelujah!!!

Deer Deer Everywhere, Everywhere are Deer!

I'm sure this will not come as a surprise to most of you, but there are deer everywhere! Please hear me, I am NOT complaining. We LOVE it! Tonight Ross and I went on a short bike ride just to stretch our legs and look around and we saw 2-5 deer in most fields and yards, up the street, over in the horse pasture (they must of jumped the fence to get into the pasture - I wish I had seen that!). There are deer at the edge of the soccer field, at the edge of the dorm green, in everyone's front yards along the mountain. Ross said one crossed the road in front of them on the way to school this morning. The kids are all getting really good at spotting them at the window.

People tell me that you get tired of them eventually, but I don't think so. They are so beautiful and graceful and agile. I love living this close to the wild!

The moment when it all changes

You know that moment with your little one - the moment it all changes. One day you are walking down the street and they are holding your finger because their hand is so little, the next day they are able to fully hold your hand. What happened? How did their hand get so big? Their legs so long and their arms so strong and good at hugging? Well, I can't say that has happened to Mason yet... but I'm holding my breath waiting for the day when he takes my hand, fully takes my hand, not just my finger and I know that he is on his way to growing up. I've been thinking about this concept a lot, probably because he is my baby and he is getting bigger - physically, but also his vocabulary is growing, his agility is developing and he doesn't even need that much help at the dinner table.

No, this doesn't make me want another baby :-) But it does make me want to slow down and enjoy him. Hope that my memory will be able to capture this very special time and lock it away for when he is leaving for college and I don't have my little boy to cuddle with me anymore.

Okay... enough of this sentimental stuff.

Summertime

Here it is the middle of summer and we are starting to get the hang of it. You know, activities change in the summer. You've got to fit in pool time, library time, play time with old friends, play time with new friends, down time (for mom), riding bikes time (since Selah has recently learned how to ride her bike), farmer's market time, vacation time... Now that I'm getting us into a rhythm, I'm more relaxed, which means the kids can have more fun.

We have a general pattern that we try to follow, it helps me stay sane, and the kids (Selah especially) thrive on consistency and just knowing what to expect. For example, I normally clean on Monday, but this week I was trying to do some stuff on Saturday and Selah looked at me very seriously and said, but today isn't Monday, why are you cleaning? I had to agree with her, so I stopped :)

Our general schedule:
Monday - cleaning - stay home all day
Tuesday - at friend's pool
Wednesday - playdate with some new friends and laundry and ironing (very optional these days :)
Thursday - library day, playdate day
Friday - undecided - sometimes pool again, sometimes home because I'm so tired
Saturday - farmer's market, blueberry picking, around the house, races for Ross and I
Sunday - church and lovely leisurely afternoon at Mimi and Papa's house

Another wonderful thing that has happened to us this summer are 3 girls by the names of Hailey, Mary Catherine and Julia. They are junior high girls who come over on various days during the week to help me with the kids, help me bake and in general, just make my life more fun. I'm so thankful for them and so enjoy their company. My kids love them and get so excited when they find out that one or more of them are coming over that day. Hailey is homeschooled, so I get to hang out with her all year and we are already planning our fun for the school year ahead. (Thank you, girls!)

Pictures of my kiddos because I couldn't resist!

Blue Ridge, Georgia

A few weekends ago, my family had the pleasure of a long weekend in Blue Ridge, GA. My mom and dad have some friends that have an amazing house in Blue Ridge that they let us use. There was plenty of room for Ross and I and our 3 children, my parents, and Stephen, Ana and their 2 children. Just 30 or 40 feet from the back of the house was a creek that Ross and the girls fished in (with success!), woods to tromp around in and roads to collect bugs on. My mom was very smart and got bug boxes for all the girls, complete with a net for capturing and tweezers for picking up those icky bugs :) I think the bug boxes were one of the highlights.

We also got to hike alongside a beautiful waterfall and then play on a swinging bridge. The only bummer was that we couldn't stay longer - the weekend and at the bridge.

Ross and I managed to go trail running and mountain biking because my parents wonderfully agreed to watch the kids for a few hours each day for us.

But the best part about the trip was being with the whole family to celebrate my dad's 60th birthday complete with cake and homemade ice cream. Selah already believes that it isn't a birthday party without homemade ice cream. Dad, you've spoiled her :)

Below are a few pictures from the weekend:

Here is the gang at the bottom of the waterfall. Notice my mom, mason and cruz are missing. She kindly stayed home so the boys could nap.

Swinging Monkeys

The boys with the girls

Grandpa and Nana with their FIVE grandchildren

Grandpa and Nana with their whole family

We are hoping for another weekend in the woods soon. hint hint...