Camp Caro

Last Fun Friday, the kids and I went exploring outside. It was a beautiful day and I have really been wanting to take them hiking. There are a lot of family-friendly trails around Spokane, and although I have lived in this city for 23 years, I really haven't explored the great trails that Eastern Washington has to offer. The kids had a great time- first pretending to be Stella & Sam (their current favorite book characters) exploring the woods, and then on the way back, we pretended to be Dora the Explorer & her friends looking for clues on how to get back to where we started. I love their imaginations! They did great- no potty accidents (Yay Mac!) and they walked the whole way themselves. I can't wait for our next hike together!

 Photo credits: Lola

 Photo credits: Mac

 L stick: discovered & photographed by Lola

 Photo credits: Mac

Cousin Time!

Since my kids don't have any first cousins (YET!) when I told them that their cousins were coming to dinner, Lola thought it was crazy. My cousins, Jason & Joe brought their kids over for dinner. We have been with little Sullivan a few times, but Lola hasn't been around Jason's kids, Marley and Ila since she was about four months old so it was SO much fun to spend time playing together!

Family Time

We kicked off the weekend with Grandma Linda coming to town for a quick visit. She was able to see Lola's classroom, which Lola was very excited about. She treated the kids and Dan to new cowboy boots- which they all love and are excited to have! We brought the boots up to Peone to break them in and show off our house progress to Grandma Linda. It was a quick trip but FUN!

The rest of the weekend, we spent time with Rachael & James, soaking up the last few days we had with them before they take off for Spain. They are moving to Madrid for 15 months while James gets his MBA. We know they are going to have an amazing time together, and are looking forward to following them through their adventures, but we are already looking forward to (hopefully) Christmas 2015 when we can hug them again :)

 Bonding over Lola's baby ;)

 Checking out the progress at Peone.

 Cruising on Lake Coeur d'Alene.

 Buddies.

love these guys!

Fair Day

Now that we are more on a schedule since Lola started school, she and I decided that Friday will be our Friday Fun day together. Last week we went to the Spokane Country Fair to check out the animals and have their first bag of cotton candy. We met a few kids who were getting ready to show their goats, rabbits, and pigs and let the kids pet them. Besides the cotton candy, our favorite part of the morning was watching the Alaskan Racing Pigs. The kids loved their jumping and all of the cheering!

Lola's first day of Pre-Kindergarten. 

I can't believe that my sweet Lola-Girl will be going to school. After doing home school last year, she will be venturing out this year to St. Aloysius two mornings a week for Pre-K. I cannot believe how fast the past 

4 1/2 years have gone by. 

Mac and I dropped her off and she quickly found a baby doll, crib, kitchen, and three other girls. She didn't even need a hug when saying goodbye. She was so happy and busy. When we returned to pick her up, she was still doing extremely well and her teachers, Miss Beth & Miss Mary said she explored everything in the classroom and was such a sweet girl. She is already so excited to go back. My hope for her this year is that she continues to love school and makes friends who she will go to kindergarten with. Oh Lola- I love you so much and am already proud of you!

Labor Day Weekend

Twelve years ago, Dan met his first love at a Dave Matthews concert at the Gorge... Jense. Lucky for Lauralee and I, they married us instead and now we all get to have a night away from our kiddos and once again, feel like young kids, camping out at a concert. These two are some of the greatest friends we could ask for. Love them.

 On Monday, after returning home, we took the kids out to Peone to see our road, and were pleasantly surprised to find a few guys working on the concrete forms for the footings. The kids loved climbing on the dirt piles and throwing dirt clumps. 

The kids took turns "skiing" down the dirt hills

We're farmers! Apparently we grow plums up on the hill across from our house! Exciting!