Last Day of School!

Claire and Jacob had a great school year.  We have been very happy with the growth and progress they have shown in their learning.  Claire got to wear her pajamas to school her last day.

When Jacob and Claire came home from school, Dani asked how their last day was, and Claire burst into tears.  She was sad that school was over and she wouldn't have her teacher, Mr. Zach, again.  Jacob also seemed to connect well to his teacher, Mrs. Duden, who challenged him to ask questions and learn more.

After school, the kids all went to celebrate the start of summer!

Random spring and summer pictures

Sometimes, there are pictures that I like that I don't want to devote an entire post to.  That's what this is... a post of random spring and summer pictures.

One Saturday, we rode our bikes to Town Center Park and played in the fountain.  The other kids were so busy that I didn't get any good pictures of them, but Liam held still for a few seconds at least.  We love being able to strap everyone into their bikes and go for a quick family ride with a real destination.

Check out that batting stance!  Fortunately, no children were harmed in the shooting of this photo.

Kate enjoying some outside time with her baby and a popsicle.

Playing in the backyard on a Sunday afternoon with Tate.

Hats from Nana and Papa from Peru!

End of the Baseball season

After lots of baseball games, the baseball season came to a close.  It was a great season for the kids.  They finished the season undefeated, including a few close games.  They were pretty excited, especially since they had dedicated the season to Estevan.

Jacob liked to play pitcher, where he is playing here.  He continued to be enthusiastic throughout the season.

After the game, we had a team party.  Here's entire team and Jacob getting his trophy (he was so excited to get a bobblehead trohpy!).

The official team pictures

We are grateful to Scott and Alice McKnight and their kids, who kept Kate and Liam busy for many hours throughout the year.

Strawberry Picking with the Kids

It's strawberry season in Oregon!!!  This is the beginning of the best time of the year.  We love Hood strawberries because they are so juicy and sweet.  We went and picked strawberries a couple times at Lee Farms.

Kate and Liam were good little helpers.  Both babies would pick berries off the bush and eat them.  Liam would eat the entire berry, stem and all.  He eats a lot of berries every time we go.  Kate would take 1 bite, and put it into the bucket.  Then, she started taking berries out of the buckets, taking a bite, and putting it back in.  They are well behaved and patient while we're picking.

 

Claire and Jacob were also good helpers.  They were in charge of their own buckets and picked lots of good berries.

Keeping busy at Jacob's baseball games

We've been lucky to have mostly good weather for Jacob's baseball games this year.  With 2 very active babies, that's been a good thing!!!

 

Though we bring a blanket for them to sit on, Kate and Liam spend most of their time roaming around the grassy fields with other little kids.  One of Jacob's teammates mom brings a wagon - it gets a lot of use by our kids and others!

One game, the rain earlier in the day left a little puddle (which was more like a damp spot than an actual puddle) for the kids to splash around in.  They wound up playing ring around the rosies and 'falling' into the puddle.

Not pictured (yet) is that one of babies favorite game-time entertainment is the McKnight family.  Getty is on Jacob's baseball team and finds the babies between each inning.  Scott and Alice and their kids take turns with the babies, with the kids walking all over the place with them.  Kate and Liam LOVE the McKnights!

The games end with long shadows cast over the field as the family walks back to the car.

Mumford and Sons Concert

Dani and I got to go to the Mumford and Sons concert with Jim and Mel.  A bunch of my other co-workers had seats in other parts of the arena, so we went to dinner beforehand.

We had tickets to be on the floor, and we ended up about 20-30 feet from the stage.  It was cool to be that close - I definitely like the energy from being on the floor.

Above us, from the back of the arena to the front, there were lights strung up.  The colors changed throughout the show and during the songs.  It made for a cool environment.

For the encore, they went to the back of the arena and played a couple acoustic songs around a single microphone.  Then, they walked right next to us on their way back up to the stage for the final encore.

It was an awesome show!

Father's and Son's campout

After one of Jacob's baseball games, we went to the father's and sons campout.  It had been raining intermittently throughout the day and right before Jacob's game, and we got there after 9, so we decided to sleep in the car.  Liam slept in between Jacob and I and seemed to take up way more room than a little 1-year-old should take!

In the morning, Liam and Jacob played with some of the boys.  It was pretty sparse attendance because it was Memorial Day weekend, but they got out some Nerf weapons and had some epic fights and had a great time!

Meanwhile, the girls had a girls night, which included watching a movie and going out for frozen yogurt.  Kate was quite concerned where Liam was.

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I am pretty sure that this was the first time that Kate and Liam spent a night in different places!

Hanging with the neighbors

We have spent an increasing amount of time hanging out with the Bowles through the hole in the fence.  We've enjoyed having their kids in our backyard, and our kids have enjoyed playing with their kids.  I appreciate that, though the oldest of their kids are older than Jacob and Claire, they enjoy including them in their games of basketball in the street in front of their house and other games they play.

One day, they got out the slip and slide, and the kids had a blast with it!!!

Dani brings Kate and Liam over so she and Andrea can swap watching each others' kids so they can both go for a run a couple times per week.  One wet morning, Kate and Liam headed over there in their new too-big footed pajamas and rainboots!