I thought I did a post last Sunday, but I guess I missed it.  My brain is a little tired and fried these days!  

This last week and a half has been a whirlwind.  Last week, Kirk worked all 5 days.  Cade was sick with the stomach flu on Wednesday.  We also woke up to 5 inches of snow that day and lots of icy roads.  His preschool was cancelled so he didn't even miss out.  We stayed home and watched movies.  We spent a lot of time at home throughout the week.  I have also received a lot of help!  Kara took the kids for a few hours one day and I slept.  Michelle Robertson helped out too.  We had meals brought in 3 nights from the Relief Society and a fourth by someone in our ward who just called me and asked if she could bring dinner!  Cade went to preschool and speech.

Ellie has been a good little baby.  She sleeps a lot.  Some nights she will sleep 4-6 hours at a time.  We realized that this was a problem on Monday of this week.  I took her in for her check up and she only weighed 6 lbs 5 ounces.  She started at 7 lbs 10 ounces and should have been at least that by 11 days old.  Dr. Patillo told me that we need to start giving her bottles in addition to breastfeeding and make sure she eats every 3 hours. I had been having trouble getting her to eat, but I didn't realize that it was that bad or that she had lost nearly 20% of her body weight!  I tried breastfeeding her and then giving her formula and then pumping for another bottle.  However, for whatever reason, I had very little milk.  when I tried pumping I got less than half an ounce.  She wouldn't nurse for more than a few minutes at a time without pulling off or falling asleep.  I ended up giving her 2 ounces of formula every 3 hours and we went back to the doctor yesterday (the day after her initial check up).  She had gained 3 ounces back.  I am happy that she is now going in the right direction.  I will continue to give her a bottle every 3 hours until she is up to the weight she should be--not sure what that is right now.  I have really struggled with deciding if she should get just formula or if I should keep fighting and try to get her to breastfeed.  I have chosen to go to all formula.  I need to know if my baby is getting enough food.  I don't have time to pump bottles every 2 hours to get more milk and fight to get her to nurse.  Cade and Cami need me too. I hate to think what would have happened if I had skipped this check up and she kept losing weight.  The doctor said that one reason she has been sleeping so much is that she doesn't have enough energy to be awake because she doesn't eat enough.  So, I am giving up nursing and going with the formula/bottles option.  I think it will be good for Ellie.

She is still a super cute baby.  She loves to be held and hugged.  In the last 2 days she has been easier to put to sleep (probably because she is not hungry!) and has been a little bit more alert.

Cade loves to do crafts and art projects.  We have been making small, simple ornaments each day that go with a story of Jesus and he loves that.  Cami loves princesses and dressing up.  We had a friend give us a small doll crib and Cami loves to wrap up her dolls in blankets and put them to bed.  She's been carrying the crib all over the house.

I am so glad that we have our house.  I love having space and having things put away.  I love the kids' play rooms and having a yard.  I love that Ellie has her own room and isn't sleeping in our closet or something.  I love looking out the window at the temple or the sunset and having a big garage to keep our truck and other things.  I am really happy with the new ward we ended up in and feel like the people here are really nice and welcoming.  I am excited to have a place that we can live in for a long time and just feel settled.

Kirk was home from the OR by 11:30 yesterday and it was great!  He helped me out and went grocery shopping with Cade and let me go to the Relief Society activity.  He is off Thursday and Friday this week too.  We are going to get our truck check done on Thursday and have dinner and decorate gingerbread houses with Scott and Kara.  Friday Kirk is planning on going fishing and then Saturday we have DFK trampoline family party and then adult dinner party.  My mom flies in on Tuesday of next week and we are looking forward to seeing her too.

My last few posts have not had pictures.  Here are a few to add in.

At the hospital

Making Airplanes at Home Depot

Eating ice cream!

Mall Christmas Parade

First "Snow"

This week started out with good news at the doctor for me.  He said that my fluid levels had increased a bit and to come back for another check up on Wednesday.  I was so relieved, just knowing that Kirk was coming home that day and I wasn't having the baby.  He made it home about 9:00 that evening.

Tuesday was a good, relaxing but busy day.  We woke up to a little bit of snow and Cade and Cami had to go out and play!  We got the house picked up and vacuumed in the morning and did a bunch of laundry.  We went to Costco and came home and had lunch.  After quiet time, we went to Wal-mart and picked up a few more things.  Tom, Lisa and Connor drove up from Utah and got to our house about 6:30.  We invited Scott and Kara over too for dinner and we had fun together.  Jex is getting really big!

Wednesday morning Cade wanted Kirk to take him to preschool and then Kirk and Tom went yokes for drinks and snacks.  They did their manly thing of gun cleaning too.  I played with Cami and talked to Lisa.  I told her it was the first day in a while that I didn't have anything I really needed to get done.  I went with Lisa to the preschool so she could stay for the end of Cade's harvest party.  Then I picked up Kirk and we went to see the doctor.  They did an ultrasound again and said that the fluid had dropped.  Dr. Bahnmiller wanted to induce me.  He said that the baby was healthy that day and the placenta was doing ok, but if we waited a few more days we increased the chance of something going wrong or having a c-section.  I was glad that Kirk was there too.  We went home and grabbed some stuff and the family.  We wanted a good, big meal before heading to the hospital so we picked Costa Vida--always a winner!  Then we left the kids with Tom and Lisa and went to the hospital.

Everything went really smoothly.  I had really nice nurses and got checked in and everything.  They started pitocin about 4:00.  I slowly started to feel contractions, but nothing too serious.  By 7:00 they were getting more intense, but still not too bad.  I opted to get my epidural though, so I didn't have to feel much.  We brought 2 movies--McFarland USA and Inside Out and watched those.  By 10:00 I was 6 cm dialated and by 12:00 I was at a 9.  Kirk fell alseep about midnight.  I woke him up at 1:10 when I was getting ready to push and the doctor and nurses were bringing everything in.  Elizabeth Ann was born at 1:19 after 4 pushes.  We were excited to find out if we were having a boy or a girl.  Now having a girl seems so right.  The nurses got her cleaned up and weighed and everything (7 lb 10 oz and 19 inches long.)  Kinda a fun fact.  Ellie was 7-10, Cade was 8-11 and Cami was 9-12 birth weights.  I fed Ellie a bit and then finally everyone left and we got to sleep for a few hours.

Kirk went home about 7:30 that morning.  He brought everyone back so they could see Ellie.  I ate some jello and donut holes and didn't even get a stomach ache.  I love not being pregnant!  I spent the rest of the day at the hospital and watched some football.  Kirk came back for a couple of hours in the evening to keep me company.

Friday morning Ellie and I were ready to go home by about 11:30.  Kirk, Cade and Cami all came to get me.  We home and hung out the rest of the day.  We set up the Christmas tree and played.  Mostly I sat down and took care of Ellie.

Saturday Kirk and Lisa got some stuff hung up in the garage and we hung out at home.  Cami had a stomach bug and laid on the couch watching movies all day.  Cade and Kirk went on a bike ride.  Sunday I stayed home with Cami and Ellie and the rest of the group went to Scott's church for Jex's blessing.  Tom and Lisa got their stuff packed up so they could leave on Monday morning.  Ellie mostly just slept and ate.  She had a hard time sleeping in her bed for a couple of nights and would cry every 15 minutes or so.  She and I spent most of those nights in the recliner sleeping together and it worked well.  Sometimes she forgot to wake up and eat too.

I was so glad that they could be here.  I was a little concerned about my kids.  I know they got a bit stressed out, but it was all ok.  I know I get a little onery, and people get to put up with me too.  It was so nice to have someone here to help with Cade and Cami and meals and getting a few projects done too.

This has been a long week!  I don't even remember some of the days. . .

Monday

Tuesday morning we went to singing time and then Dar came over and brought us a box of apples.  We stayed home the rest of the day because it was so windy!  That evening Kirk surprised us and came home about 4:00.  I had a baby shower with our new ward at 7:00 and had asked him to get his work done so I could go to that.  He forgot about it, but wanted to see the kids awake, so he came home early.  We ended up having an early dinner and he left about 5:15 and was home in time for me to go to the shower.  The ward here says they like to do baby showers for everyone.  It was fun to hang out and get to know a few people that I see at church.  We got a bunch of diapers and baby wash, a couple of outfits, toys and a blanket.

Wednesday morning we babysat David and Elaine, took the boys to preschool and played at home a bit.   Cami and I went to Target while Cade was at preschool and exchanged a couple of things from the shower.  We went to the library and Winco in the afternoon.  I was glad that I got the shopping out of the way before my doctor appointment.

Thursday Kirk left for his North Dakota hunting trip at 4:30 to catch a 6 am flight!  I had a doctor appointment and took the kids to play with David and Elaine.  I love trading baby sitting with Michelle; our kids have fun together.  My doctor's appointment was more dramatic than I was expecting.  I have been measuring small and my fluid levels are very low.  They did an ultrasound to check them and then left me alone in an exam room for a while.  Then the doctor came back and said he wanted to do another ultrasound himself to check the fluid levels.  They decided I was at a "7" and if it drops to a "6" (normal range is 7-25) then they need to induce labor.  I am 37 weeks, so it's early, but not crazy early. I have dialated to a 2 and am about 70% thinned. The part that made me nervous was that Kirk had just left for a 5 day trip.  The doctor said to keep a close eye on the baby's movements over the weekend and that he wanted to do another ultrasound on Monday and then Wednesday next week and if anything gets worse they will induce me.  I have been trying to take it easy since then but sometimes that is hard with 2 little ones and an absent husband!

Friday we took Cade to preschool and Cami and I went visiting teaching.  It was nice to go meet some new sisters.  Friday afternoon we stayed home and made french fries and hamburgers and read some stories.  Cade and Cami both loved the french fries.

Saturday morning we went to the Christmas parade at the mall.  Lauren and Crystal met us there with their kids.  The parade is pretty small, but Cade and Cami loved getting jingle bells and candy.  We walked around the mall for a bit and then headed home.  In the afternoon we watched Cars off and on and played some blocks.  We got pizza for dinner.  After the kids were in bed, Lauren and Crystal came over and we played a game and hung out.  It was fun to see them and relax without kids running around.

Today we went to church.  Our lesson in Sunday school was about being thankful and how that can make you happy.  My scripture for the week is D&C 98:1  "In everything, give thanks."  I am going to look for things to be grateful for in many situations this week instead of complaining.  We were able to face time with Alan and Kristi for a bit and we went to Scott and Kara's for dinner.  It was really nice to be able to go there and not have to cook.

This next week will be full of action!  We could be having a baby, Kirk is off the whole week, Tom, Lisa and Connor are coming Tuesday and Thursday is Thanksgiving.  We'll see how it goes!

Monday we had Elaine come over and play while Cade was at preschool.  She and Cami get along really well.  I really needed to go grocery shopping, so we headed out at 7;45 to Winco and bought food then took Cade to preschool.  Cami and Elaine played well enough to let me get the car unloaded and put the food away, with a few stories in between.  We went to the dollar store in the afternoon so Cade could get his "numchucks."  He was so excited and promised not to twirl them around and hit people.  We also went to the furniture store to look at dining tables.  I was prepared to order one, but they didn't have the finish I was going to choose in stock.

Tuesday we went back to the furniture store to order the table.  I am really excited to have a large, nice table in our house.  Then we went to music time at Gina's house.  The color this month is orange--each kid is supposed to bring some thing orange for the color song.  Cade refuses to bring anything that goes with the color.  He brought his green numchucks.  We went to the park for a few minutes afterward with Becky Bronner and Lauren Allen, but it was colder than I was expecting and we only stayed for about 40 minutes.  Liam, Becky's son, and Cade get along really well.  They are only 9 days apart and both like to fight with light sabers.  We spent the rest of the day at home, playing and cleaning up.  Kirk made it home by 5:00 and had dinner with us (that only happens a couple of times a week.)  He was at the hospital that day so no notes to catch up on!  Yay!

Wednesday Cade did not have preschool because it was Veterans' day.  We went to JoAnn's and I let each of them pick out some fabric.  They didn't know why, but I am making pillow cases for them for Christmas.  Cade picked Ninja Turtles with a blue background.  Cami picked a purple fabric with princesses.  They were both really excited and even helped me wash it when we got home.  We also stopped at Kohls and got a sweater for Kirk for Christmas.  We found kid's Christmas shirts and they each picked one that I liked.  I told them we had to save the shirts for after we put up our Christmas tree.  When I checked out, I got a good surprise.  I had a 25% off coupon, but they also gave me a $10 off a $25 purchase. I ended up spending $21 for a sweater and 2 kids shirts.  We stayed home in the afternoon and Cade and Cami played a lot with blocks and cars.  Cami likes to play princesses too.

Thursday we really didn't have anything planned.  We set up a train track and played with that for a while.  Cade used to love that and do it everyday, but not any more.  We ended up going to the park for a little bit and babysat Carter while his mom took the baby to the doctor.  The bishopric came over to visit that evening.

Friday was a busy day.  I dropped off Cade at preschool then took Cami to Crystal's house and went to the doctor for my 36 week check.  I have gained about 30 lbs.  They did a quick ultrasound to check my fluids, which have been low and are getting better.  They hooked me up to an NST and I have one contraction, which I didn't feel.  They said I'm dilated to a 1 and about 60% effaced and things are progressing nicely.  Not quite ready to have baby yet, but I am on schedule!  My plan is for baby to be born the day after Thanksgiving.  That would be 2 weeks early and Tom and Lisa would be here to take care of our kids.  But, I guess I don't really get to plan that.  After the doctor I picked up Cami and we went home and made some lunch.  We picked Cade up and headed out to meet with a speech therapist to help him with pronunciation.  We went to Dar's house and got some wheat flour before going home.  My visiting teacher came over in the afternoon.  Kirk came home for about 15 minutes before going off to Vancouver with James and David.

Saturday Kirk was gone all day.  We had German pancakes for breakfast (Cami's choice).  I usually cut the 9x13 pan into 10 pieces.  I at 3 and each of the kids ate 3.5.  Cade has been eating a lot this week.  He may be growing.  We made salt dough hand prints and Christmas trees and painted them while we waited for our dining table to be delivered.  I let Cade and Cami take a bath in my big tub, which they love.  They were both really excited when our table came.  They liked watching the guys put the legs on.  I was getting sick of being home.  We went over to Scott's house to visit and drop off some holiday clothes for Jex.  We went to the park and then to Costa vida for dinner.  After getting home, we cleaned up toys and then watched part of Aladdin before putting the kids to bed.  I folded laundry and watched NCIS until Kirk got home at 8:30ish.

Today is Sunday.  We got up, had waffles and went to church.  Cami woke up with dry underwear for the fourth night in a row.  That's a new record for her!  Woohoo!  Our home teachers came over, we went to tithing settlement and then the Elder's quorum presidency came to visit.  It was a busy afternoon.  Cade and Cami were tired and hungry by the time we ate dinner and we put them to bed right after.

The next few weeks will be exciting.  Kirk is going hunting in North Dakota.  He leaves Thursday and will be back Monday night.  Then it's Thanksgiving week and Tom, Lisa and Connor are coming to visit.  Then its the waiting game until baby comes while we do Christmasy activities.  I am about done with Christmas shopping.  Our house is reasonably put together after moving in.  Here we go!

Wow, a lot has been going on around here.  I need to do an update on the kids before I forget what they're doing.

Cami is super cute, stubborn and determined.

• Last night Cami brushed her teeth and I was taking my turn when she started screaming and getting mad at me.  Apparently she wanted to brush her teeth some more.  She ended up crying all through reading scriptures and getting Cade ready for bed.  She finally calmed down and I put both of them to bed.  She is just stubborn.
• Cami found a stick with dried leaves on it in our backyard.  She likes to dance around in a circle and wants me to clap my hands while she does it.
• Cami loves to have her toenails and fingernails painted.
• She likes to wear flowers and bows in her hair, even if it's giant flowers that don't match.
• She will sing and talk to herself for about 30 minutes each night before going to sleep, but she stays in her bed.  She has learned that the door gets locked if she gets up and plays.  
• We had a week of having 2 houses and Cami wanted to spend all of our time at the new house.  She was sad when we couldn't sleep at the new house right away and had to wait for the moving truck.
• Cami likes to go play with friends, especially if Cade goes too.  Cade gets nervous and Cami will say "it's ok, Cade.  I'll be there."  
• She loves to draw pictures of princess and our family.  Her "people" have heads, legs and eyes and a mouth.  Occasionally they have hair.  If she colors a picture from a book, she will put a spot of color on lots of different pieces of the picture.  
• Cami is still a really good eater.  
• Cami wears a skirt all of the time.  She loves to have a crown and a necklace on.  She loves to wear her high heels too.  She walks around with a blanket on her head most of the time.  This is her princess "hair."
• Cami will sit through stories for a long time.  She loves to hear about Minnie and the princesses.  

October seemed like a whirlwind around here.

It started out with a visit from Grandma Morris and Connor.  They were coming to see Jex and Kara, but Connor and Skeeter ended up staying with us for a week.  Lisa stayed here for 3 days while I was gone.  My mom's brother, Aaron, was in a plane crash and passed away.  I went to Denver to see my family and go to the funeral.  It worked out nicely that Lisa could be here while I was gone.  That weekend was also general conference, so we got to watch that.

I had fun seeing Lindsey's and Alan's families on my trip.  We were able to spend a bit of time together without all of the kids around and it was fun to talk and goof off.  We all stayed at Danelle's house.  Luckily she has plenty of space for 12 of us to invade!

We've been getting our house put together.  I really wanted shelves in the closet in the downstairs bedroom.  I figured out what I wanted to do and Kirk helped me get them in.  I am really excited because it will give us storage space and make that room more useable.  We also bought a table to put the computer on.

I had a doctor appointment in the middle of the month and was measuring about 3 weeks small (29 instead of 32).  The doctor wanted to do an ultra sound at my next appointment to check the baby and make sure everything is fine.  Luckily, it is.  Baby was measuring about 5 lbs, right on track at 34 weeks.  I have another ultrasound this week (36 weeks) to compare, but I think everything should be fine.  We have the baby room almost ready to go.  Lisa helped us set up the crib and fix the drawer in the changing table.  I washed the clothes and bought some wipes.  I still need to get diapers and a rocking chair, but we're getting there.

Kirk and I have been able to spend some time together this month too.  We went to the Lourdes physician dinner one weekend.  Another weekend we went with the Collette's and Hamilton's to dinner and a wedding reception.  We took the kids to Bills Berry farm and went on a hay ride and played some of the little games they have there.  We also spent a Saturday exploring.  He really wanted to go see some places in the mountains above Yakima and we packed up the truck and kids one day and headed out.  We ended up following a dirt road for a long time and hardly saw any other people.  We stopped twice to go hiking.  On the way home we stopped in Yakima for dinner, even though it was a little early.  It ended up being a VERY good choice.  There was an accident on the freeway and we got stopped.  We got home about 3 hours after leaving Yakima.  Usually it takes an hour.

Cade has been loving preschool.  He tells me about who he plays with and what they do each time.  He loves the craft projects and coloring pages.  Cami and I got to go with his class on a field trip to Country Mercantile.  They kids got to climb on the hay bale pyramid, see the animals in the barn, wander through the hay bale maze and take a tractor ride out to pick a pumpkin.  They were both so proud of their pumpkins.  Cade has really been into Teenage Mutant Ninja turtles since starting preschool.  He watches the shows on You tube and tells me about all the bad guys the turtles have to fight.  He now turns everything into a sword and is constantly fighting bad guys.  He has also loved coloring and is pretty good at staying in the lines.  We bought a few coloring books and he and Cami keep ripping pages out of them and coloring.  I'm not sure why they have to rip them out, but that's what they do.  Cade has also been learning to read.  I got the Bob books at Costco and he is through the first 18 books.  They have a few sight words and lots of 3 and 4 letter words to sound out.  He is doing pretty well.  Cade still loves to dress up.  One day he insisted on wearing his superman cape to Costco.  A few people commented on it and asked if he was Superman.  He said "No, I'm super ninja!" When we took our drive down the dirt road above Yakima, we were looking out the window for animals.  I spotted an owl and we stopped and took pictures and Cade and Cami could see it too.  A few minutes later Cade said he saw a baby elk.  Kirk and I did not see it.  Cade continued to tell us over and over how he was so lucky because he got to see the baby elk and nobody else did.

Cami still loves princesses and anything pretty or pink.  She is now potty trained.  She wakes up dry 1-2 times a week, but still has a hard time at night.  She does pretty well during the day as long as we rush into the bathroom as soon as she says she needs to go.  We made her a potty chart and when it was all filled out she got to get new high heels.  I don't know how, but she can run in those things!  She loves to put flowers and bows in her hair and get her nails painted.  I got her 2 new dressed to wear to church and she gets so excited every week to pick one and put it on.  She still likes to watch Frozen and Sophia the first.  Cami is learning a lot of new things.  One day Cade told her to count to 6.  She spouted out 1-2-3-4-5-7-8-9-10-11-12-17-18-20-21-6!  She got most of it right.  She can count objects up to 5 and knows about 6 different letters and their sounds.  She loves to sing.  We've been going to music time on Tuesday mornings at a friend's house.  She sings louder than the other kids and loves it.  It is really cute and fun to watch her.  When we went on our dirt road drive by Yakima, we got out to hike in one place.  Cade wanted to go up a big hill we told him it was too steep and Cami started calling it the bad way.  She and Cade decided that there was a dragon hiding at the top of the hill.  She has reminded me several times about when we went hiking and there was a "bad way."  It is crazy some of the things they remember.  Cami loves to take baths in my big tub, play dress ups, play with her friend Elaine, read stories and eat treats.

Cade was Leonardo for Halloween.  We went to our ward party a few days before Halloween.  They had a few games set up for the kids and then we ate dinner and they had a costume parade.  I was shocked when Cade said he wanted to be in the parade.  He has really come out of his shell in the last couple of months.  Cami wanted to be in the parade too and so they took off together and did it.  Cami dressed up like "blue princess" and won the prize for the prettiest costume.  Cami and I went to Cade's halloween party at school.  They got to make Jack-o-lantern hats, decorate magnets and play.  Each kid got to decorate a sugar cookie too.  They got to go trick-or-treating around the church and get a few little prizes.  They both thought it was awesome!  On Halloween, we went furniture shopping in the morning for a dining table.  Scott, Kara and Jex came over for dinner and trick-or-treating.  We had scones and steak for dinner.  Yum!  Then they stayed for a couple of hours after we put the kids to bed.  We had fun hanging out.  We haven't seen them much since Jex was born, and it was fun to just relax a bit.

 November seems like it just started, but it is already the 10th.  We had the Hamilton's and Collette's families over for dinner one Sunday.  I made taco soup, creamy corn chowder, bread sticks and jello.  We had 18 people eating here, but it was fun.  I am glad that we finally have enough space to do something like that and it isn't too crowded.  I ordered a dining table today.  It would have been nice to have it for that night, but at least we will have it for the next round of visitors.  We've been doing some Thanksgiving crafts.  We made turkeys out of pom poms and felt and gave 2 to Cade's preschool teachers.  They loved it and it was fun to show Cade how it feels good to do nice things for other people.  We made turkeys out of pinecones, wreaths out of leaves and paper plates and hung up our thankful tree.  I've been trying to get Christmas shopping done and am getting close.  The weather is getting colder and the days are getting shorter.  This winter could be kind of hard.  We are not going home for Christmas and will have a newborn so it may be harder to get out and do things.  It will be good though.  I am glad that we are in our house and can play in the back yard.  We have good friends around that we can spend time with too.

Warning:  This post is super long.  I wanted to get it all in there and decided to put it all together rather than a bunch of shorter ones.  Enjoy!

June--

Cade had swimming lessons for 2 weeks in June.  It took him a while to get used to it, but he did enjoy swimming.  We tried to go swimming about once a week during the summer and he got way more comfortable with the water.  We had lots of fun playing at the splash park with friends too.  We tried potty training Cami, and she did great for about 3 weeks, until July hit.  We did some house hunting and put an offer down on a really nice house in Kennewick.  Our offer wasn't accepted, but it ended up being good.

I felt super yucky for most of the month.  Kirk's mom, Lisa, came up and visited us to help for a week.  She cleaned the house, played with the kids and made some meals to put in the freezer.  We spent one day with Kirk up at Tucannon lakes and fished and hiked with the kids.  It was great to have her here.





June 26-27--Camping
     We went up to Leech Lake and camped for the night.  The kids loved it and did really well.  We went for a couple of little hikes around the campground.  We built a fire and cooked marshmallows.  I was making tacos for dinner and couldn't find my tomato.  I looked at Cami and she was walking around with a tomato with a couple of bites out of it.  It was pretty funny.  Both kids slept all night and we woke up and had breakfast and loaded the truck.  We loved having a truck for camping!!
     We drove a ways the next day and found a little creek that Kirk wanted to fish.  Cade and Kirk wandered down by the creek and I stayed with Cami at the truck.  After they fished, we packed up and headed home.  Cami was asleep in the back within minutes and Cade fell asleep soon after.  They were worn out, but loved camping.



July--

4th
I took Cade and Cami to the parade in Pasco.  It was supposed to be a really hot day (and it was), but we brought lots of water and snacks.  They loved collecting the candy and seeing the big trucks and tractors in the parade.



We spent a lot of time at the splash park and other water places with friends.  July was really hot!

July 9-12
     I went to Utah for the Smith family reunion and left my family home.  We had some fabulous friends who helped with the kids for Thursday afternoon and Friday.  Kirk took them out to dinner and to get Krispy Kreme on Friday evening with Scott and they were in heaven.  I got home Sunday night.  It was a nice break.  I enjoyed being able to spend time with adults and relax.  My goal for the weekend was to eat and talk and I think I accomplished both.

July 16-18
     Kirk and Scott went camping/backpacking to the Wenaha River.  They had a great time.  They saw a couple of bears--even one who visited camp at night--, a rattle snake and not too many people. They caught some big fishies too.  They were both happy that they went.  Kara and I hung out a bit while they were gone.  We went to 2 open houses (and ended up buying one of them) and out to dinner.




July 22-26
     We went to Island Park, Idaho.  This trip deserves it's own post, but I'll summarize for now.  We met my parents, Lindsey's family and Melissa in Island Park and stayed in a cabin for 3 days.  The first day we went to Mesa Falls hiked around a bit.  We saw a moose right by the trail.  We had a picnic lunch and then went home.  Daniel and Cade made a map and showed us where to go.  They did several treasure hunts around the cabin too.




     The next day we went to Yellowstone.  We saw Old Faithful, hiked around the gysers and watched Old Faithful again.  The kids were all really excited the second time and no one complained when we had to wait a few minutes to see it.  Cade really wanted to see a buffalo.  We drove around the east side of the park to the canyon and saw lots of buffalo in a field.  Then we saw one walking down the road.  Cade was so excited.  After hiking around the canyon for a while, we drove the 2+ hours back to the cabin.  Cade and Cami slept a lot of the way.  My dad rode with us and was giving Cami chips.  She fell asleep mid-bite.
    The next day was Saturday.  I was exhausted from the day before.  Kirk and Jason went fishing for the day.  The rest of us went to a spring near by and fed some fish and watched a muskrat swimming around.  We spent the afternoon back at the cabin and packed up a bit.
    Sunday morning we loaded up and drove home. It was about a 10 hour drive.  Our kids do really well in the car.  We bring lots of toys and books and crayons and a movie.

     After getting back from Island Park, we decided that it was time to look for a house to buy.  We put together a list and I went out with our realator and Kara to see them.  I took Kirk back to my favorite 2 and we put an offer in on the house I had seen a few weeks earlier.  Our offer was accepted and we signed papers on a Monday.  My parents drove up the same day.

August--
August 3-8th--parents visiting
    We love to have visitors.  My parents came up for the first week of August.  My mom knows how much Cade likes pirates right now and she was prepared.  She brought him a great pirate dress-up for his birthday.  She also brought a cake that they decorated with a pirate ship and buried treasure.  She had some "pirate games" planned like playing with cannon balls (black balloons) and looking for a crocodile.







     We went swimming and played in the sprinkler.  My parents watched the kids and Kirk and I were able to go meet with our loan officer and the inspector of the new house.  My parents got to come see the house while the inspector was there and it was fun to for them to see it.  They also took the kids to the park and helped me pack some boxes.  Kirk and I got to go out for our anniversary and do sealings and to Anthony's.  It is so nice to leave the kids with Grandma and Grandpa at home.  

August 8-13th--more parents visiting
Kirk's parents drove up the day before mine left.  The guys went golfing one day and took Cade with them for the first half.  He thought it was awesome!  We did a bit of shopping and eating out.  Kirk and I went out again on our anniversary to Fujiyama and had a lot of fun.  Lisa helped me pack a few more boxes.  We really enjoyed having them visit too.

August 24-30--trip to Utah
    We were planning on going to Utah August 22, but Kirk ended up having to report for jury duty Monday morning so our trip was postponed a few days.  He went in to report and only had to stay an hour before being released.  We left for Utah Monday morning at 10:30 WA time and made it to my parents house about 10:30 UT time.  It was a long drive, but worth it!
    Tuesday we spent some time with Jill and Quintin at Thanksgiving point.  Cade and Cami loved the pony ride and hay ride and seeing the animals.  Cami's favorite was the goats.  She really liked petting them. We saw Tom and Connor at my parents house for dinner.  Lisa was gone in Minnesota helping Grandma Maxson so we didn't see her.

Proof that I was there :)

     Wednesday Kirk went fishing and I took the kids to feed the ducks with my Mom.  Thursday Cade, Kirk and Tom went golfing.  We had dinner with Tom and Connor at a pizza place.  Friday we had dinner up in AF canyon and built a fire.  We fished a bit at Tibble Fork and Cami loved holding the fish.  Saturday we went to Melissa's race and went hiking in AF canyon again.  We met Tom at kneaders for lunch and then packed up to drive home.
     One thing Cade and Cami really liked was watching old Disney movies.  We watched Lion King, Sleeping Beauty and Snow white.  They also loved jumping on the love sack.
     Dar needed a ride back to Washington and drove home with us.  She did a great job entertaining the kids on the way and they had fun with her.  Cami spent several hours just looking at pictures on my phone.  Neither of them slept in the car.

August 21-Sept 3--Visit from the Lewis'
Kirk's best friend from high school and college was Randall Lewis.  Randall married Clara and moved to Boston and then San Jose.  We haven't seen them for 5 years.  The last time we did see them, neither of us had any kids and Kirk was still in dental school.  Now they have 3 kids and we have 2 and both of us have jobs and are living life.  They decided to take a trip up to Washington to see some of their siblings and us!  It was really fun to see them and hang out a bit.  We went to a couple of parks and spent a lot of time talking.  Cade and their daughter Evelyn, who is also 4, had fun playing.  Kirk and Randall stayed up way too late one night talking, but they loved it.  We are so glad that they came to visit and hopefully it won't be 5 years again until we see them.

September 6-7--Kellogg, Idaho
     We took a last minute trip to Silver Mountain Resort in Kellogg, Idaho with the families of the dentists that Kirk works with. We stayed in this gorgeous room that was basically a small apartment.  We got in Sunday night about 7:00 and Cade and Cami were wired.  They were going crazy running around everywhere.
     We woke up the next morning and had some pancakes.  Kirk, James and David went golfing.  We wanted to spend most of the day at the indoor water park at the resort, but that didn't open until 10:00.  We went down to the front office to do some of their kid activities.  Cade had made a card for the lady that worked there to say thanks for letting us stay and wanted to give it to her.  Then she gave us the first clue for a treasure hunt.  The second clue was easy to find, but we couldn't find the rest.  We ended up going back to ask for help and the lady gave Cade and Cami each a gold coin.  Then we did their scavenger hunt.  Finally it was time to go to the water park.
     We floated around the lazy river and they did the little kiddie slides.  I convinced them to go on a big raft slide with me once, but they didn't want to do it anymore.  I talked to Kirk and he was going to eat some lunch and then come down and meet us.  I decided to go get some lunch before we had to check out of the room too.  Cami decided to cry the whole way back to the room and when we went in the door, Kirk thought she was hurt or something.  We ate some food and then all went back to the water park.  With Kirk there, we were able to do a few more slides and Cade realized that he could do some more on his own and loved it.  We went down the big raft one several more times.  Cade and Cami loved the lazy river too.  They both had life jackets on and could just "swim" by themselves.  Sometimes I would push a tube with us and they would hold on or sit on that too.  We had a lot of fun and ended up leaving about 2:30.  Kirk wanted to stop at Cabela's on the way home and we got some dinner too.  It was a fun quick get-away.

That was pretty much the end of our summer.  Somehow, during the last few weeks we also packed up our house and then we closed on the new house on September 14th.  We had a lot of fun, but there were days where I was unpacking from one thing and getting ready for the next one at the same time.  I do like having lots of activities planned.  I am looking forward to staying home a bit more in the next few months though.  Then I'll be ready to go again.