Horse Riders

Jillian, Bridget and Tor got a chance to ride the horses at the Paul's this past weekend. Jillian and Bridget were eager to use their pretty new riding helmets, while Tor used his bike helmet. Jillian had grown enough that she was able to ride on her own, while Bridget did line-lead and Tor sat with Lindsey. They had a great time, riding until dark.

The More the Merrier

 It is so much fun when Rielee, Ava, and Harper come to play.  Boy, are they busy.  Ty was there so got to follow them around and he got a game of keep-away going.

 Kinda silly faces for the picture.  Ava and Harper are good at this.

I don't know exactly what they were building but they seemed to enjoy building on the picnic table with sand.

School's Out! Beach Trip

The last day of school was last Friday, so we made our annual trip to the beach cabin to celebrate and relax. We went on Friday night, and awoke to the beach on Saturday. Daddy and the kids biked to the library and read some books, then ran around on the playground. When we returned, Auntie Greta and cousin Adam arrived. All of us went to the beach for only a short time, since it was pretty windy and chilly, and the ocean was very cold.

For dinner, we cooked hot dogs, hamburgers and s'mores over the firepit ... the weather was beginning to turn for the better. We watched The Good Dinosaur in the evening, then Auntie and Adam headed for home. The next day, Jillian realized she had gotten bitten by a spider about 4 times on her legs - the bites would end up swelling up really big and red - not a pleasant sight, though after a few days they started looking much better.

Sunday was Father's Day, and we started with a trip to the beach in the morning, but it was very cold and windy again, so we stayed less than an hour (once Tor gets wet, it's only a matter of minutes before he's shivering and wanting to go back). Afterwards, we went to the Astoria pool to swim, then to Fort George for a nice dinner. Since Custard King was closed (and they only have soft serve, anyways), we went to another ice cream shop called Frite and Scoop on the waterfront. Everyone liked it a lot. We watched Zootopia that night - Bridget liked it so much, she wanted to rent it a second night.

The next couple days had the best weather, so we spent a lot of time at the beach. We drove up on the north side a ways until we found some large tide pools. The water in them was very warm, so the kids could play and swim in them for a while without getting too cold. The wind wasn't too bad, and even the ocean had warmed up a bit - we ended up staying for 2 to 3 hours each time. Here's a couple pictures of the action.



Of course, no beach trip is complete without lots of games of UNO and The Game of Life. The girls did all the winning - Daddy and Tor got shut out.

We also put biked whenever we could, since the girls brought their bikes with them, and Tor continued to work on his biking skills with training wheels. He likes to go fast, and often just drives right off the road.

Friday Night Sleepover

Jillian and Bridget were excited about moving into their own rooms, but not so much about having to sleep apart. They slept in their own beds all this past week, and it was difficult at times. To make the transition a little easier, we told them they could have a "sleepover" on Fridays and Saturdays (non-school nights), and it would have to be in Jillian's bed since it was the only one big enough. Tor wanted to join in, too. Here's a photo of all of them reading a book before lights-out.

Water Balloons and Anna

 With school out, Rielee got to come early to play on a nice day.  Rielee brought her water balloon maker.  Jillian is putting water in the balloons and then handing them to Rielee to tie.  Tor is holding the first water balloon and he was told by the girls not to throw it until they had made a lot.

 They decided the jar wasn't making them fast enough so they went to the water faucet where they could even fill them bigger and faster.

 After they had made a lot they got bags full and went up to the yard to have a water balloon war. 

 They all got soaked except Bridget who didn't like getting hit with a water balloon so ran far away from everyone.  It didn't end here.  They filled up another batch and did it all again.  After a couple hours of this they went to just blowing up balloons downstairs which was less messy.

 

 

The week before Bridget and family went to the beach I made Jillian and Bridget shirts with pictures of their pets.  When they got home from the beach Bridget got sad news about Anna.  She had broken her leg and was at the animal hospital.  She had surgery Wednesday and probably would be home on Friday and then Bridget will have to play nurse.



Bridget set out getting Anna's cage ready for her to come home.  She wrote a note that said, "I love Anna.", painted a picture, fixed her bed and made a new toy craft for her.  Anna will get lots of attention.

Ty Fun and Ava and Harper

 Since Jillian just had play day at school she used this old plastic pipe and set up a tug-o-war.  They had fun and even decided that all three would take on Ty.  Ty said they were pretty strong.

 Harper was driving the jeep and they were all trying to stay out of her way.  I had to tell Jillian to slow down when pulling the wagon.  Tor could maneuver pretty well to stay out of the way.  They do heed the rule of no crashing or hitting vehicles but still make it a fun game. 

 Jillian had a new idea for chalk.  She would make a big thick circle filled with chalk.  Then they would use handprints to make pictures or scenes.  Pretty cool.

Ty set up this new Play-doh game where you launch balls of Play-dough at the target in the middle.  It was a fun game even though a lot of balls missed their mark and sailed all over.

Brock's Graduation

 One more cat photo:  Bridget made this sign for Anna's cage.  (Anna needed a place to get away from the dogs.)  She is very proud of her Anna. When I say kitty, she corrects me that her name is Anna.

 It was a rainy graduation but it cleared for pictures afterwards.  Tor was the first to get his picture with Brock.

Next the girls were a little silly after sitting for so long but I was able to get a couple of pictures.  They could literally and figuratively look up to Brock as he won many scholarships.

Reading and Coloring

 I sit with Bridget before her nap like before but now instead of me reading to her, she reads a book to me.  She surprises me by picking up any book and reading through it with very little help even on long vowel words and sight words.  Also Anna gets to listen and take a nap too.  Anna has turned out to be the perfect kitty for Bridget as Anna lets Bridget carry her around all day, even falling asleep as Bridget is walking around with her.

Brock and Ty had on their baseball hats so Tor got one too.  Ty's was on forward but Brock's was backward and Tor thought that was cool.  Brock tried to get Tor to do the peace sign but gave up as Tor just wanted to high-five.

Bridget loves to do her adult coloring pages but this time Tor asked if I could print a picture of Batman.  I found one of Superman so he was happy with that and colored for quite awhile.

Hot Days

 When Jillian, Bridget, and Tor came to play it was time to get out the slip-n-slide for the first time this year.  It was so hot and the water so cold but they didn't seem to mind.  I finally had to call them in after almost an hour.  Tor got right into running fast, diving, and sliding off the end.

 Ty was playing with them when Tor wanted his Civil War set out.  Ty and Jillian got right into it too.  Ty helped Tor set up the soldiers and then gave them a history lesson on what the battles were called while Jillian wrote it all down.  At the end Tor destroyed all the battlefield.

This was very touching.  Mocha came to the Playfort with a dead baby bunny(It was stiff so was  dead before Mocha found it.)  The girls dug a grave and added a cross and a flower.  They put a sign with the name of the bunny, Bree, and saying when she was born and died.  Jillian wrote "Sigh." and drew a sad face.

Cooling Off

It was supposed be hot today, so we left home in the morning and went to visit Papa Ken in Skamakowa. The temperature was just right there. The kids were eager to help Papa with his concrete pour so they could make a couple bucks; so, they hauled rocks for a while. Once we were done, we went to Vista Park and dipped our feet in the water. The wind was really blowing, making big waves that the kids jumped. They ended up getting soaked, but they had a lot of fun.

Bridget: Pre-school Graduate

It's been a fun two years for Bridget at Calvary Community, but the time came for her to graduate. Her class had been working hard to prepare for their graduation program last night. Grannie and Papa Woodruff, Papa Ken and Bev, and Auntie Greta and cousin Adam all came to watch. Bridget was very excited about having a crowd there to watch her. Her class sang about a half-dozen songs, and then they said their full names into a microphone. Afterwards, we visited with her teachers and ate cookies. Bridget received a large packet of photos and classwork, as well as her favorite thing, a Sweet Spot card. Even though she will miss her friends and teachers at preschool, she can't wait to move up to kindergarten!

Brock's Grad Party

We celebrated Brock's high school graduation at his house on Memorial Day afternoon. There was a lot of family there, both on the Piercy and Johnson sides. The kids played outside most of the time while we visited. We did manage to get Tor in the house long enough to get a photo of him with his big cousin. We are looking forward to seeing Brock play basketball for his new team at Charleston Southern University.

Memorial Day

The kids went to Castle Rock to watch Papa Ken perform the Memorial Day service. They did really well, watching quietly. Afterwards, we went to the American Legion Hall in downtown Castle Rock to enjoy hot dogs and hamburgers and chat with the people there.

Painting Help

Bridget helped paint her new room, with some assistance from Jillian and Tor. They worked on applying the coral-colored paint that Bridget had picked out for two of the walls in her room. It was only a couple of minutes before they had to stop due to paint getting in their hair, on their face and all over their hands and arms. Mommy and Daddy had to finish the job. Bridget is thrilled with the look, and can't wait to move in.