Sophie

It's inevitable that every time I download pictures, 

I find a picture of Sophie on there from one of the kids.

Pumpkins

We had a weird Saturday where Owen was the only kid home for most of the day, and then when the other two were home, he had a Halloween party.

Owen took advantage of his time and decided to carve his pumpkin.

He started with this little one.

We scored a screaming deal on these big pumpkins.

We got over 130 pounds of pumpkins for $10.

Owen obviously loves his.

In the process of making the pumpkin creation, his small pumpkin ended up inside the big pumpkin.

He sort of had to birth the little pumpkin out of the big one.

Never a dull moment.

Owen's completed pumpkin.

He's pretty proud of it!

I also started a partnership with a company called Pley.

It's a Lego rental company sort of like netflix where you put the Lego's you want in a cue and then they ship you a set.

You play with the set, put it together and when you are done, you pack it up again and ship it back.

I will write a full report on my blog another time,

and will provide an affiliate link if you are interested in giving it a shot, but so far, we love it!

This is Owen with his first Pley set.

It kept him busy all afternoon on Sunday!

Totally worth it if you ask me.

Fall

It's been probably the most busy season of our lives so far.

Most days we have no less than three things on the calendar most days, usually it's more.

It keeps us running from activity to activity but it's a good busy right now and I am enjoying watching the kids grow up and experience new things.

That's not to say that I don't crave some time at home once and awhile!

Owen started swim team this year.

He practices three days a week for an hour and then once a month he will be participating in swim meets.

He had his first swim meet last weekend at Wilson high school.

Here he is on the starting blocks ready for his first event.

 50m Freestyle

50m Breast stroke

50m backstroke.

He swam 50m butterfly too, but he wanted me to record him, and since I don't have six arms, I couldn't take pictures.

He did great in all of his events!

It was a good learning experience and I know he looks forward to his next meet.

Aidan and his friend Zach ready for homecoming at Fife.

Waiting for their dates.

Aidan went with a friend named Kaitlyn and Zach went with a friend named Molly.

Both are super sweet soccer players.

Quick update

The kids are the best at keeping me up to date on this blog.

They like to read it and have been bugging me to update it.

So, since I dumped pics from my phone in preparation for my trip, I thought I would update what we have been doing since our return from Maui.

Owen and I discovered a new ride on shop and had our best time at the mall.

You can rent these stuffed creatures for $5 for 15 minutes and drive them around.

It's what we did while Aidan got his braces off.

Aidan won't let me take pictures of him that much anymore, but he did allow this one.

We've been spending lots of time with Sophie.

Sophie made a new friend with a bunny.

We all were hoping to keep this little housebroken rabbit that was more like a cat than a bunny, but we got out voted.  It was 4 to 1, but the 1 won.

All three kids got to spend a week at Lakeside Bible camp.

We spent a lot of time on this ferry.

Aidan and his friend Luke joined me to drive over to pick up their sisters.

The girl showed us her favorite camp spot.

Isabella's best friend Grace wanted to be baptized at lakeside and it was an honor to watch her dad Steve do that.

On the ferry home

Such a super great group of friends that Aidan has at Lakeside.

morning snuggles

We've had a few hot days so we have spent some time at the beach.

Check out this mini sand dollars that Bella found.

jelly fish

It's no wonder we call it sand dollar beach.

Seaweed mermaid

Our family has been trying to go on more hikes much to the children's chagrin.

This hike was taken without Aidan, which he very much appreciated.

We hiked down to an abandoned mining town and found some cool old buildings that were still left.

I'm kind of a big fan of old graveyards.

Just call him Russell the wilderness explorer.

We spent the 4th at Mike's parents who were nice enough to let us invite out some of our dear friends.

Owen obviously having a rough day.

We ended the night with some fun guitar playing and worship song singing.

And fireworks.

There were fireworks too.

Aidan and his buddy Colby at a late graduation party.

These two sometimes get along.

They sat like this and didn't kill each other.  It was a Christmas miracle!

Pac man log

watching for birds

So many beautiful days this summer!

Aidan and a few of his friends have been working on an old go cart that Mike made when he was a kid.

They are finding parts at garage sales and when they aren't making go carts, they are making new inventions.

While Owen was at camp, I took the opportunity to take the older two kids to UW for a campus tour.

This was Aidan's favorite part.

Love this library!

We took a canoe ride around Lake Washington.

Isabella was tired from walking around campus,

so she paid Aidan to carry her.

And he didn't even drop her.

 UW is a gorgeous campus, but I don't think Aidan is sold.

Perhaps Bella.

 On the lake brother sister selfie

Another trip to Whidbey Island

Dirtier but awesome!

They both had a great week at camp!

The boys spent hours showing us around their favorite things!

Obligatory ferry pic on the way home from camp.

 Best buds

All three reunited again.

Don't they look like they missed each other?!

We spent the evening in Tacoma as a family of five again, before we shipped the oldest off for his week at camp.

Back at it again!

Owen isn't too old yet for the library events.

This one was fun and he got picked to do some magic.

More beach time!

Shea and Owen missed each other so they got together for a fun afternoon at the beach.