Just Keep Swimming, Just Keep Swimming

This is their favorite thing to do...look under water with their goggles


On their way up the "big" water slide at otter beach on their last day of class.

Since these pictures were taken we've started the summer session. These girls are FISHES!!

We LOVE it!

Princesses for a Day

Today was the kick-off of Taylor's last week of preschool. By way of celebration, her class had a princess and prince party. What a blast!! The final picnic will be Thursday. We can hardly wait.

Rilee would not stand to have her sister all dressed up and not join the fun, so we had a princess at the clinic this morning as well!! Can you believe our luck?!?!?

The Hike!

If you have a 3.5 year old and a 2.5 year old, what would you think would be the longest hike/walk you would take them on? A mile?? Two miles?? Maybe even THREE?!?! How about an 8 mile hike which included a hill that had you climbing 1000 ft in elevation? Do you think you would be crazy enough to take your kids on a hike that would end up taking you 4.5 hours on one of the hottest days in May??

Call us crazy, insane or whatever, but that's exactly what we did last Saturday. Jason had mapped out a trail that went from the entrance to McDonald Forrest at the end of Oak Creek Rd. (out by his folks) all the way to our house. We live right by Chip Ross, so it was super convenient to just plop on the couch once we were done.

The girls actually did really well. Taylor hiked 6 of the 8 miles, including Dimple Hill. We were so amazed! Rilee made it maybe an hour and then she went up in the Ketley. That back-pack saved us. What do you do when both girls are tired and neither one will walk?? Put one in the back-pack and the other on Jason's shoulders. It was pretty amazing. Jason looked like a camel! I however had the hardest task which was carrying the girl's hydration packs when Jason was hauling them :)

Speaking of the hydration packs. We found a steal of a deal at Costco. I had done some pricing on the Camelbacks and they were running $40.00 for the kids and between $60 and $70 for the adults! Not at Costco, however!! $19.89 a piece!! So we each got to pick out our favorite color, fill them up with water, put them in the freezer and anticipate being able to suck the water from the little straw! I swear this is what got the girls through the hike. They absolutely loved having their own pack and drank lots of water along the way, which was a huge relief given the length of the hike and the heat.

The hike was worth it! The view from the top of Dimple Hill was amazing. There is a clearing where we took a break, had our snacks and rested for a bit. We are truly blessed to live in Oregon with all the green!!

Would I do it again?? Ummm yes! But probably with a double jogger stroller or something that the girls could ride in that isn't attached to Jason. Poor guy was/is pretty sore. Jason said he would do it again, only without the kids :)

The Family...before the hike

Taylor and Rilee sporting their hydropacks

See that speck up in the trail...that's Taylor!

Jason and Rilee truckin' up Dimple Hill!

Taylor and Rilee having a snack at the top!
Family shot #2...yes that is a sunburn on my arm from the fountain downtown the previous day. You should see my arms after this hike!! Can you say "Skin Cancer"??
The view was amazing
Notice that there's a little clearing for us to hang out at.See the hill in the wayyyyy back and the little clearing right at the start of the tree line?? That's where we hiked from! YES THE HILL IN THE VERY BACK!

Here it's a tad bit easier to see. We came over the top, through the split in the trees that you can see on the left and then down into the clearing for our snack!

MOM Magazine

Ever heard of it?? Well check out the newest issue!! Pay close attention to pages 25 and 30! I think you might recognize those people!!! We'll sign your copies of the magazine any time :)

http://www.mommag.com/

The New Ride!

When I asked Jason to take pictures of the Tahoe for the blog, he decided to do the "artsy fartsy" views :) He's fun! We got a 2007 Chevy Tahoe. It has grey leather interior and all the bells and whistles we could imagine. Even the 2nd row seats fold up at the touch of a button to access the 3rd row. I guess we could add more kids now?!?!

A Day at the Beach

Jason suprised the girls and I with a trip to the coast a few weekends back. We assumed we were going down to the farmers market for some fun. Jason had other ideas :) He packed the car with extra clothes, beach toys and goodies and instead of heading downtown, we were off to Newport. It was a BEAUTIFUL day. We all absolutely loved it!

I'm TRYING to update

I've been trying to update our blog for the last week and I can NEVER get pictures to load. I've tried them all together, individually...everything! So anyways, please know that I'm trying to keep you all updated, but blogger has something else in mind.

Mandy