Chuck E Cheese Where a Kid can be a Kid??

On Sunday afternoon we took the kids to Chuck E Cheese. I don't know what inspired us, I guess it was Gracie! But we bit the bullet and went. Everyone had a great time, and by the pictures you can see I mean EVERYONE!!! I think they should make their new slogan "Where a Dad can be a kid!" Mike was cracking me up! He had all the kids playing their tokens on the machine that he wanted them too play it on! It was like he was in Vegas! Joey thought everything was fun, so he was running everywhere! They all came away with some "really cool" prizes! Gracie got a princess crown, Cole got a helicopter toy and well Joey and Mike contributed their tickets to the Gracie and Cole! I just got a kick out of watching everyone else have such a good time!

Look what I caught!

Last Saturday we went to Mike's parent's house so the boys could go fishing! Well, no one caught anything, except for Cole that is! He was so excited when he snagged something. Mike helped him reel it in and look what it was! A deer antler, pretty funny. Cole and Mike thought it was great so now it's mounted on a board and hung on Cole's bedroom wall! He was pretty proud of himself!

The more the Merrier!

Abby and Gracie ready to go to Mike's cousin's wedding on Saturday!
Berg and Joey chasing each other naked in the back yard! I think Berg was going to retaliate with the bat! Joey wouldn't quit picking on the poor kid all week. Sorry Berg!
Joey and Samantha taking a ride on the scooter!
Blackmail Berg!
Goofy Cole, never a dull moment with that kid!

We had a very very busy week last week! On Monday my friend came over with her daughter to visit! I don't get to see her much since she moved to Vegas, so it's great to have a chance to catch up. Later Monday my cousins came down with their kids, and then on Wednesday my cousin Abby came to stay! There was never a dull moment! We had a great time and hope they come again soon! Everyone left on Monday and it was so weird to have an empty house after a week. The kids were pretty burnt out and actually didn't even want to swim on Tuesday! Unfortunately I didn't get a group picture. I actually didn't get very many, I think there was just so much going on all the time, that I forgot to pull out the camera, but here are a few I have to share! So I don't have any pictures of the other four kids that were there, bummer! Mo and Dawn if you have any to share let me know!

Can you spell trouble? (JOEY & AVERY)

These two just crack me up when they are together. They are already finding mischief! When Avery was here the other day I told Em, "those two are being way to quiet" I came into the living room to find them on the computer. Avery crayon in hand had drawn a beautiful picture on the screen while Joey was busy typing away. It was so funny! Good thing crayon comes off the computer screen so easily!

Camping!

This past weekend we spent three days at Ohanapecosh campground at Mt. Rainier. I don't think the kids have ever had so much fun!

Gracie and her friend Lars were little speed demons on those bikes. They named the hill that they rode up and down at least a hundred times "Can't stop crash hill" It was very fitting considering Cole took a pretty big spill on it! We hiked and Gracie enjoyed the fact that she could actually read the signs herself!
Cole I think got dirtier than anyone else! He and his buddy Leif both took big wipe outs on their bikes skinning their lips, knees and elbows, but both go back on right after and rode again! Mike got a new motorcycle and took Cole for a little spin!
Although Joey was not feeling well the day we went up he was loving the camping life after he felt a little better! He loves being outside! My friends daughter McKenzie took over and watched after Joey the whole time, which was a nice little break for me!
Gracie and Cole along with the other kids got Jr. Park Ranger badges which they were pretty excited about! We ate lots of junk, roasted a lot of marshmallows, hiked, biked, played and played! It was definitely something that we are going to try to do every year!

Family Resemblance?

I hear so often how much my kids look alike. Each week my opinion changes too. Sometimes I think like Joey looks just like Cole and sometimes I think he looks just like Gracie. I was just reminiscing, looking at old pictures of the kids when they were the same age as Joey and now I have my opinion, so what is yours? I told Mike just a few weeks ago, wouldn't it be weird if we had a brown haired brown eyed baby. That's the one thing all of our kids have in common is their blond hair and their blue eyes! Now I just need to get a hold of some baby pictures of Mike and I at that same age to see which one of us they look like. I'll save that for another post one of these days!

Happy 4th of July!

Joey enjoyed eating, eating, eating, oh and eating! He had free reign of the yard and was outside all day! He loved every second!

Cole, the awesome big brother that he is, shared his burger with Avery and Joey, spent some time with Uncle Joe, roasted marshmallows to make S'mores, and got to do some sparklers!

Bathing beauty Gracie enjoyed her time in the pool, eating s'mores, doing sparklers, and her and her friends had a little nail stand set up! Free manicures! They were handing out fake money so you could pay them!

We all had such a great time. Lots of family and friends to celebrate the 4th with! We had some great food, nice weather (until the wind started blowing) and lots of fun! I even got my cousin Becky to jump in the pool with me! She is such a good sport! (We are both about 8 months pregnant!) Here are a few videos I took with my digital camera. I don't have sound, but you will still see that fun that was being had by all!

Avery and Joey enjoying their food!

Mike giving Gracie and Hope a ride in the pool!

And finally Joey taking a little dip in the baby pool!