THIRD ONE'S A CHARM

FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL! Yea!!! they are all 3 in. Sophie started kindergarten this year and Spence is in 2nd and Maddie in 3rd. They are all loving it! And Mom.....she loves it most! You'll notice that we don't have a picture of Maddie in her desk. She has officially moved into the "stay away parents" stage. Every day she gets dropped off at her side of the school, Sophie tells her "bye Maddie. I love you!" and we are lucky if we get a goodbye....when I asked her about it she said very bluntly " uhhh, it's embarassing...I am in front" Oh how the times change.

YIKES-the dad is the MONSTER

In Dan's desire to change his eating and drinking habits he began a growing love for the low carb monster. Though he has dropped over 60 pounds, which is great-- at times I think he may have a sickness....and now he has involved the children. He has saved nearly every empty can over the last 6 months and now is in the process of building a grandfather clock out the empties with the kids.

WET DOG~~end of summer fun!

This picture of Sophie reminds me of those silly pet greeting cards where the dog and cat heads are giant and the bodies look tiny.




I dropped the family at a park near my friends home last night while I went to help her for a little while. I packed them a nice picnic dinner and their baseball mits. When I came to pick them up, Dan and Sophia were playing catch and Spencer and Maddie were twirling on the merry-go-round! As I got closer I noticed they were soaking wet!! As soon as they saw me they needed to show me again how cool this park was!!

Peaches are ready!

The other morning Sarah and I took the kids up to Green Bluff and went peach picking! At the farm we got our peaches they had a really cute teepee and log cabin for the kids to play in. As you can see i didn't get many pictures. The kids barely held still for one picture...they were all over that place! It was crazy! The new picked fruit made a really delicious pie!

AN ACT OF INDESCRETION

While a large group of us were swimming down by the boat launch at Farragut, our friend Chris Small's dog, Sid, took a wicked steamer right in the middle of where everyone was sitting and laying around. Chris couldn't have been any more angry or embarrassed when our dear Spencer points and yells, "LOOK WHAT THE SMALLS DID!" It's my goal as his father to instill a better sense of tact and discretion before he starts asking women how much they weigh and whether they're pregnant!

Good Friends!

These are our good friends from Portland, Corey and Damree. (on the right) Last year just after my diagnosis of MS, I found out that they sponsored me in the Portland MS Bike Ride. (which they were already planning on riding before my diagnosis) This is the 2007 team picture of the friends who rode for me just a few weeks ago. It is so weird seeing my name in print that someone is riding for me. It means so much to me that I have so many friends all over doing good for the fight against MS. Thank you guys so much! My positive check up a few weeks ago goes to people like this that work at raising funds for researchers to find the medicines and hopefully one day cure! Thanks guys! we love you!

FAMILY CAMP 2007

These are some of my favorite pictures that came from family camp. Probably because they capture the emotions.. Spencer melts when it comes to being around babies! He would follow this little guy around all day if we would let him!

The smile and joy that seems to be coming from Dan's face just before the baptism service began really shows the joy that everyone was sharing in the Small's life!

The kids all in all did well but there were times that if they has lazers to take one another out they would have! Spencer stole Sophia's drink AGAIN and she has had it!

Lastly camp is over and the kids were tired and delirious....as you can see the girls have created "snot" with their tissues to make the ride home seem fast and fun! wow!

A GREAT END TO A GREAT TRIP

We had a great end to our family camp! Our friends Chris and Kelly and their daughter Tasha were all baptized in the lake on the last day. It was such sweet moment. They are such wonderful people and it has been so great watching them grow in their faith. It has been a blessing for our family that they have become such good friends with us! We continue to laugh at how Dan and Chris worked together in Portland and we moved to Spokane at the same time with no knowledge of the move for one another! God obviously had a plan for us! We love you guys and are so happy for you!

SNAP SHOTS

Our campsite is right next to a little wooded valley and the kids played in there every chance they had. Logan, Spencer, Maddie and Sophia created a "fort" the first night we were there. It was there home base for the weekend!










The ride from the swimming hole is about 3 minutes.....Averie was one tired girl! Didn't last 30 sec0nds once the truck hit the road back to camp!

Not sure what kind of strategy Spencer is using here in his game of croquet!

After Sophia had her huge accident and scraped up her elbow...she was into wearing the long sleeves!

Destiny came by to borrow Dans bike and some asked for some water! We were teasing her about her turbo boosters!

FOOD, FRIENDS AND FUN!!

I believe Averie is guarding her cinnamon roll with everything she has!! We had a lot of good food and fun times with friends this weekend!

OFF TO THE LAKE

the troops headed for the swimming hole a couple of times! the weather was great and the kids (and adults) had a ton of fun!

BIKING

It seemed that many people had their bikes this year. Kids and adults alike. Before we went camping I told Dan that I wanted to get a bike and well we didn't end up getting one ...YET! We were in a hurry one day packing up the kids to get to the lake for some swimming and I needed to go to the bathroom which happens to be at the other end of the camp ground...so I hopped on Maddie's new bike and raced down! A little small but I was cruising. ON Saturday evening Sarah and I took the husbands bikes and went for a really fun ride....woo hoo without kids! Saw a bunny!
The men went on a huge ride Saturday AM and as you can see our dear friend Spencer is just about fearless when it comes to taking any dare! The boys convinced him to to ride down this huge hill that lands in the lake! Good picture Dan! And on the very same boys ride...poor uncle Bill gotten eaten alive by the vegetation on a narrow trail!
The kids circled the loop numerous times each day and we only had one spill...Sophia fell over one time and skinned her arm and knee pretty bad. It was a a lot of fun on wheels this year! And when I have a little extra $$$ I will surely be getting a bike!

CANNON BALL!!!

This last weekend we spent an evening with our friends, Chris and Kelly and their daughter Emily. The kids have not had swim lessons nor have they really been swimming very often. But they were really wroking into getting comfortable in the water this night. by the nights end....Spencer even did a cannonball from the ladder! Even the though the hottest days of summer have passed (knock on wood) the kids still love to play in the water!

A taste of Oregon

Back in Oregon I remember walking everywhere in the summer when we were kids on summer vacation. In any field in any part of town there were blackberry vines....they were all over the place! The other day while I was checking to see what was growing on the well known Green Bluff of Spokane...I found this one farm that was having it 's opening day for blackberries this last Friday. I took the kids and Averie and we had a blast....I can't believe I had to pay to pick blackberries but it was worth it. Maddie and I made a huge pie for dessert that night and now I am hoping to just get the jam made before Spencer eats them all!