Summer catch up

Ok, so since I clearly am on a roll with regular posts (ehem) ;), and since everything is old news by now, I could go about this post 2 ways:  either just start from current happenings, or backtrack a little for things I didn't get around to sharing but had hoped to.  I'm going with the latter. ;)

It has been a whirlwind, but really fantastic Summer so far.  Just a few short weeks after we moved in, we celebrated Logan's 3rd birthday.  Can't believe our little guy - our baby of the family - is already three.  He is hands-down, the most charming & mischievous kiddo I've ever been around.  Keeping tack of him is like trying to babysit 4 kids in one.  ;)   Literally, I can be loading dishes & turn around, and he's climbed to my highest shelf to grab the spray bottle & is windexing my flowers, or climbing all over furniture, or simply jumping in place.  I want that kind of energy he has. ;)  Ken loves that he's a natural climber.  Me, not so much. ;) For as much stuff as he gets into that make this age he's at exhausting, he is so affectionate & loving, really-really sweet (absolutely adores friendly bugs & is forever concerned about the moths on the glass & finding them their families because he thinks they are lonely.)  His little voice is just precious & despite his little frame, he has guts and determination of gigantic proportions.  We just cannot get enough of him & love his enthusiasm & curiosity for exploring the world around him. 

Logan playing hide n' seek under the table getting ice cream on his birthday



His favorite meal of the day is breakfast - big breakfasts; so we celebrated by taking him to a great breakfast café in Salem - I think breakfast dates as a family are some of the best - not that they happen often at all, but special occasions like Logan's birthday make them stand out.

Trying out his new bike from Nana & Grandpa Boggs

These next few were from right before we moved;  these boys definitely love to rough house with Dad & one another! :)



Brothers.  See, I'm not kidding- Logan has a spirit about him that is totally a hold on for the ride, fight hard, and have fun attitude that will be exciting (and nerve-wracking I'm sure) to see threaded through his life.



Something we've totally enjoyed is having family campfires in the backyard.  If I'm at the kitchen sink, I can look down & see them getting things started - I love it & the kids have a ball.  I think we've made more smores this Summer than all of my childhood combined. ;)

 

Fast forward into June, and it was mostly a month of transitioning.  Ken was still working in Roseburg, living with a very dear couple, Carol & Don Vrendenburg while the kids & I were unpacking and getting settled into our new home in Dallas.  We me them through church in Sutherlin & Carol was one of the leaders for a Mom's group I was part of down there.  They are an extra-special couple - rodeo cowboy & cowgirl, who we love like family.  They are like Oregon grandparents to the kids & treat Ken like a son.  It was a total blessing that Ken got to spend those few nights a week with them over the course of the month.  They took him ropin' steer with them one night & Ken, full on city slicker, had a blast & said it was such a rush to tear down the path on a horse in full gallop, chasing after cattle.  You should see their home, it belongs in Sunset magazine!   They converted a 100 year old barn into their dwelling. (1/2 of the barn is where they live, 1/2 is where the horses are) - it's so personalized to fit them & they have such a comfortable, welcoming, wonderful ability to make people feel right at home with them.   Despite living apart during the weekdays, that month flew by & we officially launched the gutter business July 1st. 

We spent the 4th of July weekend with family in Spokane & North Idaho.  That has to be one of the best times of year to be  in that area, ... lake time in the Summer is ....ahhhh.... wonderful!  My sister & her husband, Tom, just finished renovating a home on  Lake Coerd'Alene & we were invited to stay out there.  It was a blast!  Family from Texas, visitors from AZ, and family from Spokane were all able to be together.  The kids LOVED all the swimming time with cousins, hiking at Schweitzer, rock climbing, tubing, bon fires, time with grandparents, watching an amazing display of fireworks from the boat the night of the 4th - so, so, fun!!;)  It was also extra special to celebrate Maggie's birthday both with Ken's family & cousins on the Boggs' side, as well as with cousins on  my side of the fam at the lake.  It was a jam-packed, short trip home, but  so worth it!  Maggie's birthday wish was to celebrate at the lake - so we did...

Which brings me to the next batch of pics:  Maggie's 6th birthday, celebrated on July 5th.  Maggie is 6 but somehow has the emotional intelligence of  a young adult.  The connections she makes, the way she reads between the lines based on expressions & body language, how she doesn't miss a beat in conversations - it blows us away.  And scares us a little. ;) haha.  She is such a love to Logan and they are definitely close buddies at home.  They even share a room together & play together daily.  Picnics outside, playing bank, house, puppy, chef, salon - you name it.  She finds a way to involve him & he loves it!  I've seen him lay his head on her shoulder a number of times while they play side by side & there is definitely a softness in their friendship.  You always hear people say how different each of their kids are:  it's so true.  But something I think that doesn't get mentioned as often as it should, is how God can use those differences to blend siblings in the same household, beautifully.  Their differences compliment one another well and help our family feel more balanced.  Maggie is the social, maternal, quick, emotional, thoughtful, spunk in our family.... she's a sweetheart & makes friends in a nano-second.  Jack brings the  innovation, sensitivity, excitement/volume, helpfulness, humor and balance of love-of-home & love-of-nature.  Logan, as I've kinda mentioned already, is the crazy energy, affectionate, adventure-spirit-in-full, charming, sweet kiddo.  Somehow, each of them are very different, but  make up an endearing combination of kids we adore & are so thankful God brought into our lives.  My Mom always says the best gift she ever gave us was the gift of each other. (siblings.)  I see that  playing out for sure and love that Jack & Maggie & Logan (and anyone else that may join our family down the road) will have each other.  I know I'm so thankful for my brother & sister & love that we are all close, despite huge mileage spans between us.  I pray they'll have strong sibling bonds that keep them close all through their lives.  Getting back to the upcoming pics here; it was a happy 6th birthday & loads of fun! :)

Maggie celebrating at Nana & Grandpa Boggs' house

Jack watching her open his gift he bought with his own money

These 2 on July 5th, headed out to the lake

Daddy & his birthday girl

 

All the cousins on the Boggs' side of the fam:  Jack, Logan, Katie, Ben, Mayra, Maggie, Courtney & Kaitlyn



They wanted to be swimming every chance they could! :)

Birthday girl, on her actual birthday, - wish came true: getting to celebrate at the lake

Maggie & her cousin, Ella (my sister's daughter) - Maggie thinks the world of Ella and they have so much fun together when they see one another.  Wish it were more often, but we'll take whatever time we can get when it works out! :)

Ken on the wakeboard.  I decided we both couldn't have wipeouts that made us too sore to hold kids. ;) 

Logan so badly wanted to be bigger & able to try this... soon, Buddy, soon... :)

 

Jack rock climbing at Schweitzer mountain resort - went there for a day trip with family while home & he rocked it!  All the cousins tried, no one was getting farther than about half way.  Then, Jack gave it another shot & rang that bell loud n' proud when he reached the top! :)  Cute story I always want to remember:  later that night, when he was getting showered & in pj's, he said, "Mom, you know who helped me get to the top today?"  (thinking he was going to try and give credit to  one of the family members cheering him on I said, "You did it all on your own, Jack - we are so proud of you!"  He goes, "God helped me.  You know when I got scared half way up?  Well I just stopped and prayed to God to give me courage to keep going and He did."  Melt my heart... hope he has many memories like this through his life where he can see God with him.

Ken & I on a boat ride

Logan fell fast asleep in Grandma's arms on the boat ride.

Love this one of all the boys; Adam, my cousin Megan's husband, took several of these pics - smiling as I look back at that fun weekend jam-packed with great time with extended family.

And finishing off this marathon post with more of the current happenings....  we've enjoyed time at the beach over in Lincoln City, exploring new coastal areas & nearby hiking trails.  We love it here!  Without question, we miss being close to family & friends - but getting to live in Oregon is amazing.  We've made friends with a really neat family we met through vbs this Summer so it's been fun to get together with them & begin what could very well be (and I hope it is) :) - a life long friendship with their whole fam.  I love how God brings people into our lives in different seasons & threads those bonds that can have an impact on who we are for the rest of our lives.  So thankful for wonderful friendships near & far.  Ken's gutter business is taking off & as insane as starting your own business is, we've felt God's grace & energy to keep pressing on....  he works a ridiculous amount of hours right now & said he's on the best diet ever - it's a sweat-your-***-off diet while doing physical labor in the hot sun.  Can I say that out loud here? ;)  haha.  Needless to say, it's a crazy change for him going from dress clothes & ties to tearing holes in his shoes and sweating through 3 t shirts in a day.  He loves it.  Ken is all in & loves going for this.  We build in family time in creative ways right now, knowing this Summer schedule is much harried compared to what we hope the rest of the year will be like.  For instance:  if Ken has bids up in the Portland area over the weekend - sometimes we'll all go & make a fun afternoon of it in Portland or stop at a waterpark on the way home with the kids.  (they have some great free ones that the kids just love!)  The kids are enjoying running all over the property, picking fresh blackberries, swimming, & had a ball at vbs.  This past weekend was an extra special treat:  my parents came down for a visit & it's their first time here.  They have amazing energy and this wonderful ability to kind of come in, assess a situation, and just instinctively know how to help.  They asked what projects they could do around the house to help Ken & I.  (was it the over grown hillside of weeds, the crammed garage packed to the brim with boxes & stuff from the move, or my laundry room that was so stuffed with boxes you could hardly open the dryer) that gave away just how behind we are on routine practices for a typical household.  My Dad went to town outside, trimming hedges, pulling weeds (4 tractor loads full!), weed whacking, mowing... you name it.  My Mom fully organized our garage - so much so, that you can actually pull a car into it now.  My laundry room is spic & span with counter space you can fold laundry on...  I'm amazed.  And they whipped these things out in like a morning.  The kids loved being their helpers, and I loved simply being with them.  We still had time to build in a great trip to the coast for the annual sand castle competition & fresh seafood lunch, went to see Turbo in the theaters (first time to a movie for Logan, and only the 2nd time for Jack & Mags - this is a big deal, which is fun for them to get excited about it & even more fun as an adult watching them enjoy it the way they do ---- sitting on the edge of their seats, fully engaged & laughing out loud.  Too cute!)  It really was a great weekend....  and now I'm motivated this week to continue organizing before we start school next month.

If you've hung with me this long through this marathon post - thank you.  Hope you all are having a fantastic Summer - lots of love & hugs to you from us!

the kids with Red & Sherry, our dear neighbors who are so wonderful to the kids (and us!)  Red is almost always in his farmer hat, coveralls, and on the tractor.  Sherry is a baker.  Their daughter is getting married in their backyard this weekend - so they've been busy preparing things for that & are just refreshing to be around:  honest, hard working, straight-shooters in a neat season of life.

Red built a zip line that he lets the kids ride all the time - they love it!  Some nights, we'll walk over (pj's n' all) - and take a few rides before we come in for stories.

Blackberries are ripening daily & such a sweet treat out front

Sand castle competition on the beach in Lincoln City this past weekend with my parents

I wish I had taken more pics while my parents were here - we were always going & doing & working & playing with kids- I guess even with my camera in tote, I was too distracted to remember to snap more memories.  Wish I had remembered...

The kids had a blast at vbs:  Kingdom Rock

Love this one of Jack at the water park (even if a little blurry from my phone)

Logan & Daddy

Miss Magpie

My wonderful folks :)

Maggie & her friend, Cambria, diggin' into smores out back ;)

Having a campfire with the Gilson family

The Gilsons

 

Happy Summer 2013! :)