Another Fun Day with Cousins

Another fun day with cousins. We painted, played with clay, popped bubbles, had our own rock band, and went on adventures to capture and torture (not intentionally) bugs. I love being an aunt.

A Day at the River with Cousins

It truly is the little things in life that make us happy. The kids had so much fun floating down the river and playing in the mud.

Timmy's Brithday Party

My nephew Timmy had his birthday party at a skating rink and we had a blast. Happy birthday Timmy. Kelahna was able to roller skate with her walker for the first time. What an adventure! She fell more than she skated but then so do most kids when they are first learning. Persephone, our youngest niece, gave up and started crawling with her skates. It was very cute.

New Shoes

Kelahna got her first pair of shoes that fit over her orthodics. Her feet are finally big enough. We bought her a pair of Mary Jane Hatchbacks and she loves them.

Summer Fun

We spent this last week at the "Theoe Little House." GG and Don had recently purchased a home in South Bend near their tree farm. We had a great time. We went to two light houses North Head and Cape Disappointment. We visited Fort Canby and walked along the Lewis and Clark trail which inspired us to take the kids to Fort Clatsop. The boys had a great time exploring the fort. While at Fort Clatsop we took a mile hike with a guide that explained the history of Lewis and Clarks stay in Oregon. We were able to visit three nearby beaches; Sea Side, Long Beach, and West Port, unfortunately it was to cold to go swimming.

I took my den to the Mt. St. Helen Ape Caves. First the boys went to the visitors center where they watched an educational video, then we went on a hike at the Trail of Two Forests. This was very neat. We were able to see where the lava encased the tree burning it but leaving behind lave tubes. The picture with me is climbing down a lava tube with Jacob. I don't know who was more scared him or me. Finally we went to the Ape Caves which is named after a boy scout troop that discovered the caves, The Mount St. Helen Apes. We had a great day. It was so nice in the caves (45 degrees vs 90 degrees outside.) The boys had a wonderful time crawling around in the caves. It was a mile and a half hike and all the kids did great!

Balin "This is the best adventure I have ever had."