Treasure Mama!

So, the reason I haven't posted any blogs in a while is because we've been a little more busy than usual.

We had a couple of birthdays 

happy birthday daddy

happy birthday carl

And a couple of chipped front teeth.

Just after this pretty girl walked in the Ken Lake 4th of July parade, did the gunny sack race, hoola hoop contest, face painting, etc she was doing a pull over on the trapeze, looked down mid-circle and saw that her undies were showing, lost momentum and whacked her two front teeth good.  Poor baby sobbed she was never going to be pretty with her eye, crooked teeth and then big chipped teeth.  The next day she spent over 2 hours in the dentist chair with a brief consultation with the endodontist.  

All of my kids except Carl (who currently doesn't have any front teeth) have damaged their front baby (and now big girl) teeth.  You're welcome Dr. Kapust- we want to keep you in business...

And she's as beautiful as ever.

Then we were on vacation for a good stretch of time.

It was delightful.

We headed over to Leavenworth and stayed with my sister-in-law for a few days and watched my nephew play baseball in 102 degree weather(!!)

Charlie was beyond happy catching fish, playing in the creek, and a prized little butterfly held just long enough to get this picture.

Elsa is quite a fisherwoman too.

The kids all love playing in the "cricket."

We stopped off at the rocky reach dam to see the salmon swimming.

Then we all headed over to Mark's parent's place in Mazama.  They brought their pop-up trailer so we had extra beds (the cabin has beds to sleep 4 and we're a whopping 10 together).  

It was so great!

The cabin is at the base of Goat Wall which is a big rock climber hot spot.  You can see that big stepped rock in this picture- they're at the base of that...

Funny story behind this picture.  I took it on our drive up a long, bumpy, twisty turney road to reach the highest spot in Washington you can drive to in your car.

We decided it was silly to take two cars, so my sister-in-law and I graciously offered to sit in the back-back of the suburban for the drive.

It was beautiful.

But not worth the car sickness and sore bum in my book.

Not to mention that we fell a mile shy of the tippy top because there was too much snow blocking the roadway.

In JULY!

Another day we took a hike to Cutthroat Lake.  It was beautiful.  And our very first family hike.

Mark and I even had 2 seconds together when I made him let me take a picture, then Sarina snapped this one of us.  I'm not sure if that's my hair or pit hair...

It was not without it's dramas (Elsa was carried 98% of the way and Charlie hit melt-down mode until Uncle Kirk stepped in).  

My guess is they're both thinking, "Brass Hole."

But it was our first as a family.  

I see big steps ahead of us in that arena.  

Good free entertainment with the benefit of doing a body good too.  

Perfect for a family of 6, I say!

The kids had plenty of practice with their BB guns and .22s.  Poor, poor little birdies...  Believe me we had a talk about that activity.

They swam in Pearrygin Lake and caught 2 delicious trout (just a bit of mayo and Johnnies grilled up- perfection!)

bringing in supper

he was a little unsure about the blood

They found "wiener man."  Can you see why they might call that funny piece of wood that?

They built an awesome fort.  Called the "SS Cabin Club"

a picture for a contest held by their dentist office

it was even big enough for a campfire

Big cousin Ben took time out to play with the youngest of the group.

And of course s'mores...

can you tell who's ridiculously tired?

I can't believe I almost forgot the whopper.

Our last night at the cabin we had it to ourselves.  

Our kids were out chasing a poor mama deer that made her second pass in front of the kids- right by their SS Cabin.  I was in the kitchen cleaning up after dinner and Mark was out squaring up and setting the posts in concrete for his dad's carport.

Shortly after, Miss Elsa can running up to me with her hands clasped tight.

"Mama I found treasure!" the "treasure" said in a pirate type voice.

She'd been finding treasure left and right for a while so I indulged her and asked if I could see it.

I truly wish I had stopped and taken a picture of said treasure in her sweet little baby girl hand.

Instead, I quicker-than-lightening shook said "treasure" into the garbage (we'd just had spaghetti for dinner- you'll notice).

Can you guess what that treasure is?

Yup.

Deer poop.

NASTY!

I don't know what it is with that girl and animal poop.  

Maybe she'll become an expert in it.  

I don't know.  

But it's disgusting.

I couldn't get her to the bathroom fast enough to start scrubbing those little baby girl hands.  I think we sang the alphabet song 10 times while we lathered, rinsed and lathered some more.

All in all it was such a beautiful, fun trip.  I tried to pare down the pictures but it was tough.  

Beautiful babies, beautiful scenery.

I hope they remember how fun it was.

As always, so very many events packed into a short time frame: birthdays, visit from the tooth fairy, chipped teeth, 911 calls, treasure, and travels.  

The fun just never, ever ends.  

And I hope it stays that way.  

Maybe with a little less 911, dentist trips, and poop.