First Day of School

Ashley and Owen started school this week. Ashley is a big 4th grader and Owen is a 2nd grader. They sure do seem like big kids now. Their first couple of days has gone great. :)

Last Day of Summer Vacation

We met up with my sister and her family to float the Boise River. It was a relaxing day and we all had a lot of fun. :)

 

Kids ready to float

 

Ashley and Alysha in the kayak

 

Molly and Delaney on the Boise River

 

Stacy and Owen on the Boise River

 

Uncle Will and Owen floating the Boise River

 

Goofy girls

 

Stacy, Delaney & Ashley in the Kayak

 

Owen and Mike in the raft

 

Mason swinging into the river

 

Ashley swinging into the river

 

Alysha swinging into the river

James's 18th Birthday

Our nephew James is turning 18 on Tuesday so we all got together at Lake Lowell to celebrate with a picnic, presents, cake, swimming and volleyball. 

James, Amanda, Kristey and Mike

 

James and the frog

 

Time for cake with friends

 

Cake with mom and sisters

 

Presents. That's what she said.

 

An empty box?

 

Boys playing volleyball

 

Boys vs Girls

Eagle Island State Park

We went out to Eagle Island State Park for a picnic and to swim the day before school started. The kids had fun swimming and playing in the sand. It was a nice day. :) 

Aunt Kristey and Mike in the water.

Mariah and Ashley covering Alysha in sand

Mermaid Alysha

Ashley in the park

Alysha starts her Freshman year of High School

Hard to believe but Alysha is starting High School. Above is a photo of her with the school mascot in front of the school at registration. It's been a frustrating move from Heritage Community Charter to Caldwell High School even though they are only a block away they somehow are having a problem getting paperwork to each other. So she didn't have her class schedule at Freshman orientation or even today for the first day of school so she is starting a little late. Hoping things get figured out quickly so she can get started and not be behind. :)

 

Alysha ready to start on the first day of school.

 

CHS's first year to have a school uniform - solid colored polos with dark blue or black pants/skirts. I think they all looked really nice.

Discovery Center of Idaho

Yesterday, we met my sister, Mason and Delaney at the Discovery Center in Boise. The kids had a great time exploring and playing with all the cool science experiments and displays. It's always a fun activity. Then we went to Molly's for lunch and to swim in the pool. 

 

Ashley at a robotic experiment

 

Owen at the robotic hand

 

Alysha at a different robotic hand display

 

Owen and Ashley taking turns on the pulley

 

Mason and Owen making hand prints

Alysha and Ashley at a vibration experiment

 

Owen and Alysha in the Animal Vet clinic

 

Dr. Delaney

 

Kids watching the wind experiment

 

Delaney and Ashley in the mini grocery store

 

Delaney, Owen and Ashley at the mini grocery store

 

Molly and Delaney blowing large bubbles

Oregon Coast Vacation Part 2

Part way though our vacation Ashley caught a stomach bug and was sick for a good 24 hours so we hung out at grandpa's house. The next day she felt a little better but not perfect. Aunt Lee took us school clothes shopping. Where we found all the kids new shoes and a couple new outfits. That afternoon Mike's nephew Jasson and his son Kye came over from Portland to visit with us so we went down to River Front park to play and ride the carousel. That evening my grandfather took all of us to dinner at the Roadhouse grill. Kye loved getting to throw the peanut shells on the floor. It was great to see them. 

Then to finish up our vacation we took a trip over to Lincoln City. We stopped for lunch at a cute little diner with a cool mural. Then we headed to the beach to play in the sand. It was foggy and windy but the kids still had fun. Mike built a pyramid sand castle. Once we were all cleaned back up we headed over to the sand castle contest where we saw lots of really cool sand castles being built. It was a nice day even if the weather wasn't the best. The next day we loaded up and headed home. We had a nice week over all. Thank you so much to my awesome grandfather and aunt Lee. :)

Kye, Owen, Alysha and Ashley at the carousel

Jasson, Owen, Kye, Ashley, Mike and Alysha at River Front park

Owen and Kye living it up at the Roadhouse grill with root beer and peanuts

Lunch in Lincoln City - loved the mural. 

Mike on the beach at Lincoln City

Kids on the beach at Lincoln City

Playing in the sand in Lincoln City

Mike's cool pyramid sand castle

Kids at the Sand Castle contest in  Lincoln City

Owen at the Sand Castle contest in  Lincoln City 

Sand Castle contest in  Lincoln City 

Sand Castle contest in  Lincoln City 

Mike and Ashley at the Sand Castle contest in  Lincoln City 

On the beach at Lincoln City

The cute little beach cafe where we stopped for snacks.

Ready to head home. Alysha, Aunt Lee, Owen, Stacy, Ashley and Great Grandpa Richard.