A Day at the Beach

My cousin Kelsey and her family invited us to come out to the beach in Neskowin where they were vacationing this last week. I'm glad we did, it was a beautiful day and fun to see her and her husband Jared and their two cute little boys Reegan and Emmett.

Ben had a good time playing on the blanket. I was worried how he would do but he seemed to like it.

For the first part of the day the kids mostly played in the sand because when we arrived the tide was in so the water was really cold.
Amy's little baby T.J. loved playing in the sand. By the end of the day I think he had sand from head to toe, in every nook and cranny, even in his mouth and he didn't mind it one bit.

Timmy was the bravest when the water was cold, he was in and out of the ocean filling his bucket with sand and water.

I think it took Bethany the longest to warm up to the cold water but she was also having a good time playing in the sand.

Not only did we get to see my cousin out at the beach but we were lucky enough to have some friends go with us. This is Sam and and his friend Sean playing trucks in the sand.

Sam trying the water out but it's still a little too cold.
Gross. Sam found some seaweed he decided needed to go back in the water.
Brevin and Scott found a log they wanted to try to float on. So they rolled it out into the water.
Brevin somehow hurt his foot so he decided to take a breather.
This is Scott taking the log out for a spin. He started to get a little too far down the stream and into the ocean so I told him he had to back it up. Since Brevin wasn't there to help anymore he recruited Matthew and Davis to help him.
Then Matthew and Davis took off down the beach looking for seashells.
Ian, Timmy, and Reegan had a blast running in and out of the waves.
Where we were sitting their was a squirrel that Sam found that kept coming out of the rocks begging for food. Sam was more than happy to share!Ben finally decided he had had enough and took a nap in the cabanna.

The water finally warmed up enough for Sam.

He went on a rock hunt and found some pretty big rocks to throw in the water.

By the time we were ready to leave Bethany was playing in the waves too with Allison and Camry.

We can't have a day at the beach without burying ourselves in the sand.
Camry and Allison helped bury.
Buried in the sand is Timmy, Davis, Matthew, Scott, and Brevin.

After the beach we all headed up to Tillamook for cheese and ice cream! What a perfect way to end a day at the beach!

6 Months Old!

My sweet baby Ben is 6 months old!Ben is sitting up all by himself,

he scoots around on his tummy, and loves to give and get kisses.
Who can resist kissing those cute little chubby cheeks!
Stats for 6 months:
2ft. 3.75in. and 18lbs. 6.5oz.

Scott's Summer Job

This summer they started excavating the land next to our house. So there was a lot of heavy equipment and construction workers in front of our house this summer. Scott was told to go out and mow the lawn one day and when I looked out the window to check on him this is what I found. Scott and the construction workers looking down a big hole.

This started the beginning of a friendship between Scott and the workers. He came home that night and could tell me everyone's name, how old they were and everything about their families. Scott ended up spending most of his summer days out "helping" the workers. They even let him ride on some of the equipment. They were so good to Scott that Andy ended up making them cheesecake at the end of the summer to thank them.

Matthew decided to take advantage of the situation and had many lemonade stands. Then one day I couldn't find Matthew. I looked everywhere and finally found him riding in one of the excavators, helping to dig a hole.
I was really worried at the beginning of the construction that it would just be a big headache but it worked out to be really fun for my kids and I think the workers actually enjoyed having my kids around. Since Andy had lost his job at the beginning of the summer we had to cancel our vacation plans so this was a blessing in disguise. Thanks to the construction workers it turned out to be a really fun summer!

Summer Activities

This spring when Bethany and Scott took swimming lessons, Matthew and Timmy wanted to take swim too. But at the time they were playing baseball so I told them they could take swim lessons in the summer.

They were so excited when summer came and it was time for swim lessons. Matthew is really good at swimming on his back.

Timmy was so happy he couldn't stop smiling while he was swimming!Matthew jumping into the deep end off the diving board.Timmy's turn! Both of them had a great time and can't wait for the next session to start.Bethany has been asking for a while to take some sort of dance class. I noticed one day while the boys were at swim that the club offered dance classes too. So I signed Bethany up for ballet.The teacher would always take about not just jumping but jumping with pretty hands. This is Bethany's pretty hands jump!Bethany absolutely loved it!

Hives?

Okay you would think with as many kids as I have that at least one of them would have had hives before! Nope. Never. So when Ben broke out in hives I was a little freaked out. I didn't race to the doctor or anything but I did drop him an email. The doctor said it was probably just a virus. Some babies, apparently, get hives at the beginning of a cold or other illness and it's not serious unless they are having trouble breathing. I'm still learning new things everyday!

A New View!

Ben can now sit up all by himself!

It's a whole new world for a baby when they learn to sit up! So much more to see!
Hooray Baby Ben!

4th of July

This year our Fourth of July festivities were pretty laid back. On the 3rd we went over to my brother Brent's house and joined in their neighborhood potluck and firework show. I think we will be going to this one every year. The show was amazing. Everyone in the neighborhood pitches in and they go out to the reservation and buy some really awesome fireworks! You really have to see it to believe it.
Then on the 4th we filled up the pool with water and water balloons and invited the cousins over for a swim.

They all had a blast!

Matthew getting unsuspecting Scotty with a water balloon. Watch out Matthew that's a pretty big water gun Scott can retaliate with!

After the water balloons stopped flying I put the slide in the pool so Sam could join in the fun.
Then that night we laid out on the lawn and watched Andy light off a few fireworks.
A perfect ending to a perfect day!
Happy 4th everyone!