Another HOT day!

Today they wanted the pool set up so Heather pumped it up. Brock came and threw the football while we were setting the pool up. We started putting water in it when Tor decided it would be fun to dive into the pool to catch the passes.

 After Brock left Jillian filled a plastic bag with water and they played hot potato. A good way to cool off.

 Next they set up the slip and slide-actually 3 in a row to make it really long but they never made it to the bottom, as they would slide off about the middle due to the hill's slope.

 Jillian used the camera to take many flower pictures and she will usually get some very interesting shots. This is the middle of a rhododendron flower.

Moon Dough and Pit Spitting

It was about 88 degrees when they came and immediately set up a new slip and slide. It took forever to fill up and then we found that our water pressure wasn't high enough (a well) to make it work since it was a triple slide but they got plenty wet from the pool at the end of the slide. Then later for a break in the shade they played with the Moon Dough and made pizzas and hamburgers. Tor had even forgot what Moon Dough was, since it had been so long since they played with it last.

 I had just picked some cherries and had them try them. Jillian thought they were sweeter than store ones, Bridget was so-so, and Tor tried one. I told them about a pit spitting contest so they decided to try it. Jillian won the first couple spits, then Bridget finally won one. You're supposed to curl your tongue to make the pit go farther, but Bridget couldn't curl her tongue yet.

Forgotten Beach Post

Nearly forgot to post about the last day at the beach. In the morning, the kids had a surprise visitor, right outside the window.

It was a beautiful day, so we headed right for the beach. Someone had dug a very large hole in the dunes, so the kids took it over for a bit.

Then, they checked out another vacated dugout on the beach ... and it was HUGE! (Bigger than anything that Daddy had ever dug). It even had a little campfire going inside.

As per tradition, the kids got ice cream after the beach.

We took a break from the outside for some board games. This Sorry game took forever, but eventually Tor won.

Pleasant Beach Day

Despite the clouds, it was warm with little wind, so we were able to spend most of our time outside. It was a late start (10 am wakeup for most), but after breakfast, we biked to Pacific Pines and played on the beach for a while.

Back at the cabin, the kids stayed busy playing in the yard, including playing a silly game of Quelf.

After hot dogs and s'mores, we all played some games of corn hole.

We are working our way through a bunch of Star Wars movies. In the morning, it was Phantom Menace, and in the evening it was Empire Strikes Back.

Back to the Beach

We needed to get away to the beach, and arrived to some pretty decent weather on Friday. The activity of choice for the kids is always "baking" with the sand under the deck.

We settled in for the night watching "Mama Mia", eating popcorn and oven-baked cookies.

Cousin Time

The kids took advantage of having Ty & Deb and Brock & Kaleigh all together in Castle Rock this past weekend, playing as many games as they could with them. They started with a game of football (2- hand touch).

Next, they played a basketball game -- all games were boys vs. girls, of course.

Just for fun, they had some relay races ... on scooters, and on foot like shown here.

The following day, they tried playing badminton, but that was short-lived -- it was just too windy.

The final event was corn hole, before it started pouring rain, ending the cousin time.

Fun Outside

Not a real warm day but nice enough to play outside. It's funny but when I mention putting a toy in the garage sale, it becomes popular. These blocks were suddenly popular. They built several structures, tore them down and then joined them up to Jillian's to make one big complex. They each had a separate bedroom which they filled with the outdoor cushions. 

 Later Brock and Kayleigh came to visit and sat on the deck for awhile. Then Tor convinced(?) Brock to play football with him so the girls visited with Kayleigh and discussed the plans for the wedding. Then they all went to riding scooters and then a game of basketball. Here Bridget's shot is blocked which makes Tor happy he is his partner. The girls had their team. After the game Kayleigh asked Tor to show them how he was going to walk down the aisle by himself. He cracked us all up with his exaggerated strut down the aisle. It was so funny but I'm sure that won't happen in front of other people.

Mother's Day Outdoors

It was a sunny, hot day in Castle Rock on Mother's Day at Grannie and Papa's house. Papa Bob made enchiladas and Grannie made pies. We had a badminton tournament, and Tor's team (him, Tierney & Brock) won!

Bridget played with Grannie, while Jillian played with Daddy (so no pics of her playing) -- she and Daddy managed to make the finals, but lost (Daddy missed badly on the final point, which Sweetie Pie will probably always remember ... oh well).

Morning with Mom

It's Mother's Day, and the kids celebrated by joining Momny in bed for a Starbucks breakfast. Keeping with tradition, they watched a Popeye cartoon (the Sinbad / Ali Baba episodes).

After, they presented to her the gifts that they had made.

Hot Outside, Finally!

The temperature finally got above 80 F, and the kids couldn't wait for some water fun.

On Friday, they spent the entire afternoon in the front yard with neighbors Hazel and Ila. They had water gun fights, jumped over the sprinkler, and rode their bikes through a "bike wash" (mist sprayer).

On Saturday, we went to Willow Grove beach. It was busy, but we found a spot. The kids were in the water a little bit (it was ice cold!), and played in the sand the rest of the time.

Two Fun Visits

I'm doing two weeks worth of visits from Jillian, Bridget, and Tor. I took these first two pictures last week and when I went to put them on the blog I seemed to delete them and couldn't find them anywhere, but when I downloaded the new pictures today they were in the file. H-m-m-m. 

Last week Dan left off a couple big boxes and thought the kids would enjoy them and they did. They decorated them with chalk and then put skateboards underneath to make an airplane. They took turns taking rides.

 Of course, they did a lot of Ripstick and Tor was determined to get it down and he did. He could go quite aways and make a turn. Ripstick is hard so he felt pretty good about it.

 Today it was back to the boxes. One thing they did was go to a hill and take turns tumbling down the hill inside the box. They could get it going pretty good by rolling with it.

 Since it was a hot day there was lots of water fights with the squirt guns and water shooters. Then it got more tame with a water stream and colored chalk.

 Rick set up the badmington court so they could practice. I played with Tor for awhile and hardly had to move since he went for every hit. Then Daddy and Tor played Jillian and Bridget. Lots of fun!

Homemade Play-dough

It can get pretty boring doing the same old things at home, so Jillian has been searching the internet for crafts and activities. Here's one she came up with ... homemade play-dough. It was messy, and kind of gooey, but they had fun making it.