Uncle Jonny Home From His Mission + Cole's B-day

I don't know why but I didn't take any pictures of this amazing week. I stole some from my sister Gina's blog and will add more that my dad took later.

My brother Jonathan just returned home from his mission to Argentina. He was a valiant missionary and is full of the spirit. It was so great to listen to him share his stories and bear his testimony to us. We will never forget this time together with our family. The kids had a bliss filled week playing with cousins and I so enjoyed visiting with my sisters, brothers, mom and dad and then with all the extended family that came (Grandma Forman, Grandma and Grandpa Bishop, Uncle Dean and Aunt Linda and cousin Joseph, Uncle Cloyd, Aunt Debbie, cousins, Shannon, and Brandon, Aunt Lisa and cousins Tanner, Taralynn, and Travis, Aunt Jaime and cousins Katie, Kelly and hubby Dave, and Kody.) We also ran a breast cancer awareness run in celebration of my Grandma Forman and sister in law Angela's mother. C. J. flew down at the end of the week and became my doubles in tennis partner and I was so glad to have him come join the party. Cole also turned 5 during the week so we had a cousins birthday party. It was a hit!

A Little Bit of This and That

These are a few random pictures of the past while.

We went to visit the tulip farms about 10 minutes from our house. Sam took several pictures - we thought they were beautiful. We love all of the plants and flowers that grow here in SW Washington.

We took the kids to a fishing day at Kress Lake nearby. The lake had just been stocked and they all caught fish in a about a minutes time. This is Nathan the fisherman.

C.J. gets up early every day for Seminary. I think he was supposed to tuck Lora in but she was running around and he was fast asleep - he even had piggy to snuggle with.

Josh turned 10! He is wonderful young man. He had his birthday while Aunt Gina, Uncle Bryan and cousin David were here visiting. We had a barbecue and strawberry shortcake. His favorite present was a golden water ball. He bounces the heavy ball all around the house and the boys have dodging it on the tramp.

The last picture is Sam and David bouncing on the trampoline.

Memorial Day Campout with Friends

A group of our friends have gone camping at Willapa Bay for years now. We went last labor day and loved it so we joined them again this Memorial day. We had a great time clamming (we all caught our limits in about 20 minutes), playing on the beach, having horseshoe competitions, doing a Sunday Olympics, visiting the local ward, geocaching, eating fabulous potlucks, singing around the campfire, and mostly just being together. We stopped at Red Robin on the way home from the beach. We looked like we had been camping but nobody complained. I didn't get the camera out until it was almost time to go so no beach pictures but still happy memories. These pictures of some of the group the Wilson Family and Robert Ahrens. Katie Wilson loved and took care of Lora all weekend it was so nice! Cole found new friends and played like crazy from sunset to sundown, Sam, Josh and Nathan explored a lot.

New Animals at Our House

We are starting to feel like a bunch of farmers. We recently went to a livestock auction (we were definitely the city slickers in the crowd - the auctioneer had to publicly teach C.J. how to tell the difference between a heifer and a steer). We came home with two Hereford steers. We know we weren't supposed to name them but they are officially "Billy Burger" and "Hilly Hot Dog". It is fun to watch them chew their cud, roam the pasture, and come running when C.J. and Lora bring grain to them each night. We also got two bunnies for Easter. They are King Louie and Princess Lola. They are kind of a pain as they have eaten our strawberries, peas, and radishes and it takes C.J. and all the boys together to catch them to put them back in their cages.

Boys accomplishments.

These are some random pictures of a few of the boys accomplishments. Sam is now a our official great baby sitter. We even leave Spencer with him when we aren't going to be gone to long. He is very responsible and does a great job. He is growing up fast and is a fine young man.

The next picture is of Nathan - he is really proud that he can blow bubbles with gum now. He loves gum and blows lots of bubbles. A funny story I don't want to forget happened a while ago, It was early morning and Sam was a little grouchy. Nathan was talking to him and Sam said, "Nathan your breathe is terrible, you need to brush and use mouth wash." Next thing I knew Nathan came into the kitchen gagging and spitting. He drinks several glasses of water and says, " I think I just ate soap." I went and looked at his supposed mouth wash and found a look a like bottle of body wash on the counter. Well, we all got a good chuckle and Nathan's mouth was cleaner.

The next classic pictures is of the nice blow outs that come as a result of Spencer starting to eat big boy food. Good thing he loves baths!

Spring break is for work! Aaagh!

As spring break approached this year the boys were so excited for a break from school. I contemplated what fun things we should do and then I looked at our yard and realized that spring break was created as a time for farmers to get the fields ready for the year. I broke the news to the boys of my spring break work plan and it went over like a rock! I had goals set for each day. We worked hard. We raked and weeded all the flower beds, trimmed most the trees and plants, added bark to the beds, planted our early garden crops, put in raspberries, strawberries, blueberries, a peach tree, and grape vines. It felt great to see the results of our labors. We only had one glitch. We built another garden box and bought a load of dirt. C.J. drove the truck to the garden bed so that we could unload the dirt. It was a good plan but we forgot that it was the end of March and the ground was really wet. He backed up once and got stuck in the muddy ditch. We borrowed a tow hitch and I pulled him out of the mud with the Yukon at about 10 pm. Well, he got out and started to turn around and got stuck again all the way to the axle in mud. The ground was flat but a boggy mess. The next day I called a neighbor that I barely knew and asked if he might pull out the truck with his tractor. His son came over with his heavy duty truck, and he brought his tractor. Soon our truck was stuck even worse, the tractor was stuck, and the neighbors son's truck were all stuck in the mud. It was terrible at the time and I should have taken a picture but I just felt so bad. We finally had another neighbor pull out each vehicle individually from the road. I did take some pictures of the aftermath. The dirt for the garden box got shoveled into the mud bog to get weight out the back of the truck. So the new garden box will have to wait till the ground firms up.

The boys did have fun just being outside. Trampoline breaks were the best!

Princess Lora

There is no doubt that Lora is the princess of our house. She loves dresses, dolls, make believe, princess, her daddy, and her brothers. She loves me too. She loves to follow me around and helps me get ready in the morning. She need perfume, lip gloss and shiny fingernails. C.J. is whooped and lets her stay up with him a little later that the boys most every night. She loves to ride the lawn mower with him and feeds the cows with him. The boys all cater to her every need and she loves them right back. She is a little aggressive with Spencer. I have to remind her to only pick up her baby dolls. She is so good with him too. She will play with him and entertain him for long periods of time. Lora also has a healthy appreciation for food. She loves treats. I think I fed her chocolate milk in the womb and she has not forgotten. She does exercise with me though! She and Cole get out their little 1 and 3 lb. weights and do a pretty good job following along. We are all so glad to have a little sweet girl.