Where have I been?

I honestly can't believe two months have slipped away without me posting anything. Where in the world have I been? I could start with a list on the various events that have seemed to consume my time but that could be very lengthy and a good possibility of being a tad boring so I will stick with the highlights!

Hiking-We drove up to Government camp and hiked into Mirror Lake. Since it was such a beautiful day it drew in large crowd. We only heard a few complaints from the girls. We honestly thought it may tire them, but we were wrong! The girls were great hikers.

Father's Day-We had my whole family at my house for a salute to the great and amazing fathers in our family. We had some great food, lots of laughs and kids wrestling. Aurora had the great idea of "fake" bandaging the younger kids up with toilet paper. Avery ate up all the attention she received for her ailments.

Picking Strawberries-You can't live in Oregon and not eat the berries. I was so sick the next day after we picked. I honestly think forcing someone to eat 5 pounds of strawberries and deal with consequences can be a form of torture. I didn't stay away for long-two days later I was right back eating them, but in moderation! The girls are some of the best pickers. We were lucky enough to have my mom here and my sister Laura and her daughter Kate. Thanks Mom for spending a week with us!

Pre-school Graduation-After two great years of co-op preschool Avery will start Kindergarten in the Fall. The kids bounced and played until their hearts were content at Out of this World Pizza and that was followed by a perfectly short ceremony.

Half Marathon-Whew-glad it is done! Helvetia half is a beautiful but very hilly run. I had some of my great friends there! Way to go girls! I was a little slower than last year, but chalk one up to training better for next year.

Fountain Fun- Maile found a great park with an even better fountain. We weren't really prepared, nor was it the right weather to be playing in the water, but that didn't stop my kids. Avery took extra precautions by wearing her bike helmet while playing. She was actually riding her bike in between playing in the fountain. My Mom made a killer rhubarb pie and crisp we ate while we were down there. I have been dreaming of it since!

Girls Trip to Seattle-This time my girls are old enough to go! We had such a great time,Pike's Place the fish throwers, the rainbow roses, the freshest fruit, amazing food and fun. Maile's parents were very generous to let us have their house. We stayed up and watched Mama Mia and it is a very good thing we watched it with just girls. My husband may have lasted 5 minutes into that movie. Right after we arrived in Seattle, we emptied the car and changed. We quickly found out that Myah had left her and Aurora's suitcase in Nate and Maile's backyard. It was a really good thing there was a Target right around the corner and we were only gone for two days. Thanks for the good times sisters!

Avery's Birthday- May 2nd she turned 5! She was just excited to have her cousins at her house, open a few presents and have chocolate cake per her request. She laughed her way through the "spanking machine" and went to Utah with Dave for Great Grandma Luella's funeral and Grandpa Don and Grandma Tanny's mission farewell.

BYU and UVSC Graduation-The last weekend in April I flew to Utah to see Audrey, Laura and Ryan graduation. Congratulations graduates! We were busy from arrival to departure with ceremonies, moving, celebrating,talking, seeing family and enormous amount of rain-especially for Utah, great pizza at Pizzeria 712 and fabulous frozen yogurt at Red Mango.

Are you still with me? If you are I'm impressed! Hopefully I can keep up a little better over the summer.