Enjoying Family...

My Great-Aunt Judy came for a visit with my Mom and Michael. We had not seen her since Victoria was a baby. We thoroughly enjoyed having her visit our home and be with the kids. It took the girls very little time before they asked her to read....if you come to our home you will probably be asked for the same thing!!! Logan enjoyed having her here, but Grandpa Michael was ready and willing for a round of golf with Logan. And that is something Logan just can not resist!!!

I have come to realize how special our extended family is to my children. We have found ourselves in such a unique situation. Both sets of my grandparents are still alive and one set of his were alive until this last year. Our older children will always have memories of three sets of great-grandparents!!

As we were talking about the wonderful time we had with Aunt Judy, we realized that in just a few short weeks we will be going on a once-in-a-lifetime vacation for our kids. We will be going to the coast (or back to the coast as most of our friends would say!!) with a whole list of people, but among the elite will be: my mom and Michael, Phil's parents, and my grandparents. WOW!!! I hope that someday my children will look back on this next vacation as a true blessing. Not many children can say they went camping with both sets of grandparents and a set of great-grandparents!! To top it off....my grandpa wants to go for a ride on one of the four-wheelers (and he is a mere 85 years old!!). If that happens, you can bet you will see pictures of it!!

The Last Days of Summer....

We enjoyed our last few days of summer doing our favorite thing....we spent six wonderful nights camping with our good friends, The Johnsons, at Honeymon Campground in Florence, Oregon. We walked, biked, rode four wheelers, played games, roasted marshmellows, and laughed a lot. This vacation has become tradition for both of our families. We started when Victoria was a baby and have continued this at least once a year. The amazing thing is we never grow tired of it.


Life is funny and we never know where it will lead us, but to take a week to enjoy good friends and our wonderful family is so refreshing. It truly brings a joy and appreciation for life that sometimes gets lost in our busyness at home. At a time when we are waiting for the "phone call" that tells Phil he is moving on as a Manager of a Les Schwab store, it was especially enjoyable.

This is the time when Logan gets a taste of what life would be like to have brothers. The Johnsons have four boys and Logan LOVES playing with all of them. This vacation is all about riding bikes, playing football, and having a good time with his favorite friends.

As I held my girls each night by the roaring fire. I realized how quickly time goes by and how fast my "young" family isn't so young anymore. I mean they dress themselves, help themselves to all the food they want (whether they are supposed to or not!!), and even want to roast their own marshmellow - with "no help"!! How quickly I have transitioned from a mommy of little ones to a mommy of ones that think everyone else is little. It reminds me that our children have such a little time to be young. My children will remember me as always saying "please...don't grow up too fast". But as I watched Victoria take off with the big kids for a long bike ride, I realized that my little girlie-girl has truly become one of the big kids. And the great thing is, she is not afraid to try to keep up with the big boys. So with hair flying out of her bicycle helmet and her skirt as cute as could be, off she went with her Daddy to let him know she has moved on to be a big kid. And eventhough she is almost six....I have decided it is okay if she still sucks her thumb. Because as we all know, our childhood is so short, just enjoy it!!