One Year Ago Today

Mackayla was born.

Where did the time go?

 We had a party with her two best friends

 She stands for a few seconds by herself

 She got two dogs for her birthday

 and some fun things from her grandmas.

 And of course a dog cake and butterfinger dog biscuits

 She didn't go after her cake but carefully pulled pieces apart

 and gnawed on her dog biscuit:)

 She gradually got more animated as she ate

 and pulled cake apart

 and ate it

 and flung it on the floor

 stinker:)

 She also loves to feed me. No thanks

I don't recommend using buttercream frosting. Martha Stewart led me astray with the dog cake demo. It has TEN sticks of butter. go vomit. And how do you clean that up?

 With lots and lots of soap and water.

 After that we went with daddy to work

 to check on a patient.

 More about that later:)

We love Mackayla. She is very sweet and easy going, and feisty and wants her way. She's patient and demanding. A terrible sleeper but will sleep anywhere. Doesn't like to cuddle, but very loving.

She plays contentedly.
She loves animals.

She loves her mom.

She loves her family.

She loves to swim.
She loves to brush her teeth.

She loves blueberries.

She loves Cody and Macey and their toys.

She wants to be as big as them, 

and will be before I blink my eyes.
You're getting so big baby 'KayLa!

When the Storms Come

We read the Wolf and the Three Pigs the other night. The one where the wolf blows down the houses. Then another day it was cloudy outside. My children think, since they lived in Oklahoma, with me, that if there are clouds there is going to be a catastrophically large storm that may or may not be a tornado. So Macey ran in and very emphatically told me:

"There are clouds on both sides of the sky! and they are coming together! we have to get out of our house! because it's made of wood! not bricks! and it will be blown down!"

We are lucky there was no storm.

Beach Getaway

The exterior of our house was getting painted last week by our landlord (they are awesome). So we (we, as in the kids and I) went to the beach to get out of the way.

We tried a new beach.

 It had some pretty rocky areas

 That they loved to float "boats" in

 Mackayla loves sand

 Cliffs surround all the beaches

 Treasures to collect are everywhere

 This house looks precarious to me

 Cody practiced his harpooning with a shovel

 I figured Mackayla was a little cool and dressed her. Mostly.

 The collected treasures were used to create

 Castles

And homes for Crabs (one is sitting on the log)

 

Sometimes treasures are hidden

 Inside

 This is how I know we played hard. A peaceful drive home. 

We came home to a new house!! I love it!

 So do they

I hope we can fit in all our adventures this summer before the rain starts. I hear it never stops!

Fever Fair

Ben and the kids went camping in our yard. 

Someone didn't sleep very well and it showed.

 We went to the fair the next day. It was the first and only day over 100 degrees. Their little faces are flushed. 

 They loved looking at animals.

 I tried to get Macey in front of this chicken for a good picture. Their hair looked similar that day, but she wouldn't let me fix it. I just wanted a twinner picture.

 Always happy with snacks.

 They rode a few rides

 Macey took her job of driving very seriously

 Cody took his job of shooting very seriously

 This random stranger took his job of walking his dog a little too seriously

Then my camera died!

We had fun looking at exotic animals and watching the rodeo after the rides, but the rodeo was soo hot we had to end early. It turns out Macey had a fever. poor thing. no wonder.

Covered Bridges and Banana Slugs

FORT HOSKINS

We went on a hike with friends. My children were a little weary, and teary, but we made it!

On our way down everyone was staring at something...

 Can't tell what it is?

 A banana slug. guh

 Macey was actually pretty happy after our friend Katie CARRIED her most of the way up the mountain. Go Katie!

 This is a view of Fort Hoskins, established in 1856 to "protect and monitor" the new coastal Indian reservation.  

COVERED BRIDGES

 While a few states like Pennsylvania and Ohio have over 100 covered bridges, Oregon has 51, the most covered bridges in the northwest. My interest was piqued when I saw my friend's blog, I think she went to all of them in Oregon, or at least a lot of them. We've seen three, and they are so fun to find.

HARRIS BRIDGE

CHITWOOD

 IRISH BEND

You can only walk through this one

Remember that blueberry pie that if I made, I would eat myself?

 Yummmm

This cute girl is wearing unmatching pajamas. I would say tradition is too strong a word, but when I dressed her in them I saw the matching pairs but grabbed a different one so I wouldn't break "tradition."  I can't wait until Halloween to put her in these though! She is still a little under the weather here. This little one is going to be one in less than a week!

 We went to a fun little surprise party for our friend. It was at a gymnastics building they manage. The kids got to go play and we had a catered dinner. SO FUN! I naturally took zero pictures, and then on the way out brushed the dust off of it and took a shot of the mountains because they were so pretty at dusk. sigh. the mountains are pretty though! if not a little blurry:)

Head Shoulders Knees and Toes

Hand Foot Mouth and Teeth

Mackayla has hand foot mouth disease.

She is also teething.

Pretty awesome.

One top front tooth finally emerged last week and the other one is trying to break through. 

And blisters all over her poor little body.

I feel so bad for her.

A little reality check to a great summer!

We're going to pick some fruit off the weeds today.

Blackberries are seriously weeds around here.

And they're ripe!