Celebrating Zoey's Birthday

We started our day out with making cupcakes. The girls got to help decorate them. They did a great job and loved being able to take over the icing bags!

They loved eating the cupcakes even more!

Since it was a beautiful day we headed out Willsonville Fountains. Eva was off and running with the other kids and did not get but one picture of her!! And this was it.

Kia hung out with her daddy and had fun splashing him.

We also got a very special surprise from our friends Kirstin and Amy. They gave us a birthday card for Zoey (which is something I look forward to each year) and this beautiful outfit handed down from Ellis for Zoey's little brother in honor of her! I loved this outfit last year when I saw Ellis wearing it. I am beyond happy to receive it in honor of Zoey and can not wait till Jax Dunkin gets to wear it for the first time. Thank you guys so very much. It means so much to us that friends remember Zoey.

Today was a great day. We could not have asked for a more peaceful day to remember our daughter Zoey as a family. We love and miss you sweet little girl.

Look who's 4!

Eva has turned 4!! I can not believe it.. She had a princess themed party. Everyone came dressed up.

We did a craft where they got to make there own body glitter.. Very easy.. Aloe vera with glitter. I gave them princess stickers to decorate the bottles also. The boys got to color wood car cut outs..

she had a great time with all of her friends.. Thanks for coming.

Park #2

Ok.. so I am not sure what this parks name is.. I forgot to look. I remember going to this park with KC a long long time ago with Dakota, when he was small.. I was shocked to see how much it had grown. It is inSsherwood by the soccer fields. (if that helps)

The girls loved climbing these big cement steps.

I do remember the water feature. Not to big. But just enough for them to splash around on.

Then there was the water sand pit.. Ok.. I was not prepared for this one. I gave up after a few minutes of trying to keep them out of here. I remembered I had clothes in the truck for them to change into. And lets face it.. the messier the more attracted they are to it.

They had a blast.. But after an hour and a half it was getting hot and I was in black capri's and was wilting fast. But, to my suprise they both took naps when we got home. Boy.. I had forgotten how nice it was to have a quiet house for a few hours.. I got a lot done! Depending on the weather.. next week we might just head over to the Willsonville water park!! That one is always fun.

Visiting Parks

Our goal this summer is to visit at least one new park a week.. (now lets see if we can do it!!) Las week we went to Hervert Hoover Park. This is a brand new park in Newberg. Pretty cool actually. But no bathrooms.. What were they thinking there! We were the only ones there which was nice.

They have a few of the same things that Discovery park has.. So the girls went right for those first.

Eva can get herself whipping around in that thing like you would not believe!! It was the perfect day to visit this park. Not hot and not pouring down rain.

Painting

So. Finally we decide to paint the house after 6 years of being in it. This is a bad picture, sorry, I had only film back then so this a picture of the picture!! As you can see when we bought it, it had all these bushes and a tree in the yard. I hated all of that! Plus I dont think you could call a bunch of weeds a yard!!

This is what the house looked like on Friday afternoon. We had to finish up prep with taping and sealing up some seams. And we had to pray for good weather. But no such luck. It rained that night.

But lucky for us it stopped that morning. We waited till about noon to start painting. My Dad came to help out.. He really comes prepared.. He had the sprayer and a suit and hat just for painting.. we had to make fun of him all day in that suit!! Before we could start we had a few more things to tape off. Then my dads spayer would not work.. I was getting very emotional and stressed because those who know me, know I hate to start anything and not finish it!! I could not see me having tape on my windows for a month with no paint on the house. So It was time to turn on the "Matt Signal" and get my brother over to the house. We ended borrowing a friends paint sprayer, then my dads sprayer started to work. So we were able to have two sprayers going at once. Poor Todd had to get on the roof and run the sprayer. The only time he got to use it! We, or I should say they, had the whole house painted (body at least) done in 3.5 hours. Then I got to start on the porch. We were about to paint the trim, when we opened the gallon of paint up and found that is was purple. I about had a heart attack. So we had to call it quits for the night and wait to go to the paint store the next day. The next day we had to work fast becuase I had no idea when the girls would be home from Grandma's. The house was all completed by about 3pm that Sunday. I was so relieved. Todd did all the touch ups around lights and such, we ripped off all the paper. Went out to the street.......

And let out a huge sigh!! We were done!

I am thinking we need to trim out the garage with the trim to make it pop a little more. It kinda looks like it is missing something over there. But that can wait. I dont wont to pick up a paint brush for at least a month. And then it will be for painting Dunkin's room! So it is possible to paint a house in two days!! Thanks to the three men in my life who start a project and finish it!! Love ya!

Eva's last day of Preschool

Last Thursday was Eva's last day of preschool. They invited the parents to watch the kids sing a few songs then they had ice cream.

Kia enjoyed being able to see Eva's room and of course the ice cream.

It was a good year.. and I am glad it is over.. No more planning stuff around a 2.5 hour time slot.

I'm squishing up my baby bumble bee...

Won't my Mommy be so proud of me!! Ok.. So Kia did not squish him completely, but she sure got him crammed in that little car pretty good. She brought me this car... crying.. Not sure if she was crying because she could not get him out or because it stung her.. But I really don't think it stung her.

I immediately took it outside to see if it was dead or alive and just left it on the front porch.. The girls lately have had this thing with bringing me every bug they can find outside. We all have seen those big black spiders with the yellow dot on them, they are everywhere around our house.. its the season for them to be out.. I hate them with a passion cause they can jump out at you if you go to squash them. (the swiffer vac is awesome for this task!) anyway.. yup, Kia had one all squashed up in her hand the other day. I could not believe it.. Why is she not scarred of spiders the size of boulders!!

So the poor bubble me got the last ride of his life in a fancy convertible.

This is it!

Beware all slugs!! Ok.. so now I have a slug problem in my garden.. Eva brought home a perfectly good start of a pumkin and now it is dead due to slugs eating all the leaves off the poor vine. So out I went to get slug bait.. and while I was out.. I needed plant food. So there you have it.. The plants better grow to twice the normal size with this plant food.

wish my plants luck!!

Project House.

Ok.. so we have said the house needs to be painted for about 5 years now.. about the length we have been in this house. This weekend we actually get to paint it! Grandma is coming to pick the kids up Friday and Grandpa is coming up to help paint. We are hoping to get it all painted in one weekend. Please pray this is possible! I do not want this project to last all summer long. I would just cry.

My poor house looks very funny right now.. we have had a hard time choosing a color.. one brown pulls red.. one pulls green. the bottom color is the one we have chosen for the entire house.. the light color will be the trim.. (i think) If I don't change my mind about the trim color in the next 3 days. The house has been pressure washed and all nails taken out.. now we just need to replace one board on the side of the house (when grandpa gets here!) then we will be ready to spray away. it will look so much different.. I will have to dig out a picture of the house when we first bought it.. it had all these shrubs in the front and a tree.. once painted I will post a before and after picture!

Pool Day

OK.. so there is now picture of the pool.. That would be because after lunch time all the moms got into the pool with all the kids.

It was such a hot day last friday, a pool party was a must.. I am so glad I got the pool up and running early this year.. We get out new saltwater system this week.. I hope!! All the kids had a blast and so did the moms..