A Little Bit of June

• It's been quite some time since I've sat in front of this computer to do anything other than scour Etsy and EBay for treasures to adorn my freshly painted bathroom walls. Yes, I've started projects again! Oh how I LOVE projects! A couple of months ago I got the itch to paint something, so I painted a bookcase for our bedroom. That wasn't enough to satisfy my, so I started to brainstorm ways to spruce up my kitchen...but that's gonna take a while....so I decided I was sick of looking at my hideous guest bathroom/laundry room. I've been brainstorming, painting, collecting, shopping, and decorating for the entire month of June thus far. I suppose it's now finished enough for me to be satisfied for a while. In fact, I finished today.



• All of my other time has been spent doing various other things. For one, I've enjoyed many lazy days with my Bible study girls. Oh how I love these girls! One girl in particular has a house/farm that is in dire need of demolition. However, she's making the best of it and we're doing a makeover on her bathroom...among other things.



• The kids got a nasty bout of illness last week, and we're praying that's the end of sickness for a while...and if God answers my prayer...FOREVER! Wouldn't that be nice??



• Synnove started T-ball and it's a joy to watch. She REALLY didn't want to play t-ball, but I sorta forced her to. I told her that she didn't have to play next year if she didn't want to. Still, she cried and pleaded with me and said, in typical teenage fashion,"why are you doing this to me!!??" Turns out, she kinda likes it...go figure. Her Grandpa made her a deal that if she hit the ball passed the imaginary base line that she would get a spankin' new 4-wheeler to ride. The whole ordeal is kind of a long story...but she has yet to hit passed the line. We're hoping that tonight is the night because she only has two more games until our 4th of July camping trip! She got to ride it on Father's day, but wasn't able to take it home from Grandpa's house. Of course, she's thrilled...and loves that it has "reverse."



• Adam has been working a lot...this week in particular. He's been prepping for this week's chemical safety audit for quite some time. He's also been working Saturday's and has spent many late evenings at home on the computer. That, as well as last months 2-week annual mill shut-down has kept him away from home waaaay too much. We're looking forward to his week off next week!



• Hmm...what else? Well, last Sunday was the first Sunday since Easter that we were actually able to attend church! Birthdays, graduations, weddings, work, baby showers, sicknesses...you name it. Our May/June gas bill was horrific.

Last minute family BBQ... first weekend in June

Lighting off the burn pile while being entertained by the "kids" on their "toys"

Because of some sort of miscommunication, Knappa's t-ball teams are the only teams that aren't coed. So, unlike the other teams, we get pink and purple shirts! Synnove is #9 with the dark helmet on.


Another last minute BBQ at the Kinder's with their family and another family I met through preschool/bible study. From left to right...Jim O'Connor, Synnove, Breanna Kinder, Kade Kinder, Tucker Regier, and Soren.

I thought that this shot captured the Summer Solstice quite perfectly...

At the Beach...In March!

Last weekend, we sacrificed a day of working at home in the beautiful weather to take the kids to the beach. Jones Beach is just 20 minutes from our house. I had never been there before, but Adam had taken the kids there sometime over the summer. It's a fun little beach on the Columbia River with lots of fun hills and valleys to take 4-wheelers. The kids ask to fly their kite every time they see the slightest bit of wind outside...so we brought it along too. In the pics, it looks cold outside, but it was actually quite warm. It was a fun break.

There were countless amounts of mini clam shells to decorate castles...oh, and a nice dried out orange peel...you know...for color =)

After a while, the kids were able to fly the kite themselves. Every time it fell, they would take turns picking it back up. I loved watching them play. Oh, and there's a "papa does" (ship) in the background!

The wind picked up and Soren turned into a butterfly!

Synnove, taking Soren for a ride

Weesie's Birthday

My sister turned 23 on the 10th! Chris invited the family over to their place for pizza and ice cream on her birthday. I had a feeling he had a pretty big surprise for her...but I didn't think it would be THIS big! Spoiled brat...

Camping: Rain AND Shine

As usual, camping in Naselle was lovely. I always enjoy spending time with friends and family and doing lots of nothing. The weather wasn't as good as it has been on our other camping trips, but it turned out to be MUCH better than expected. The only time it really rained was on Sunday. We even enjoyed a good share of sunshine! The kids had fun playing with their cousins and being visited nightly by the "Camping Fairy" aka Kylee. I must say, on this particular trip, the kids were spoiled rotten!

We played lots of games, ate lots of food, played paintball, watched a couple of movies out by the fire, and went 4-wheelin'. Six days of pure fun! Below is the slide show of pics. I also downloaded a short video of the insane rain (unfortunately, I wasn't able to capture the thunder and lightning) on Sunday morning.

4th of July Slideshow

Here's the photos of our latest camping trip. The weather was awesome...and I think we all had a great time!

Just click on it if you want to see full-screen or download any of them.

Camping Videos

All 3 of these were shot while on a 4-wheeler...so they are a bit bumpy. Remember to turn the sound on.

Camping Slideshow

Our camping trip this Memorial weekend was awesome...NO RAIN! This year, we had more quads than ever and we made good use of the trails. Even Synnove got to ride with some of the big boys =) Since the weather was decent, we had two movie nights around the campfire (thanks Doug and Sherri) and we played a few games. Tons of fun was had by all! I can't wait till our 4th of July trip!!

There have been lots of requests for the photos I took, so I tried to put them in a slideshow/album. I hope it works! Just click on the slideshow to view pics larger or individually. You should even be able to copy/save them for yourselves =)



I hope to post the videos I took on the trail soon (it takes me a while to shrink/upload them)