Trip to the Park

This morning, the boys and I headed out to the park to play so that they could get some of their extra energy out. It was the same park that Griffen and I went to last week but it is a great one and Jake and Austin hadn't had the chance to play there last week. Of course this morning there were clouds in the sky and I wasn't sure it was the best idea since I knew they would want to play in the water when it came on. BUT they really needed to be outside so we packed a lunch and the beach towels and headed to the park. Jake and Austin even wore their swim suits. I guess Griffen figured that since it wasn't as hot as it had been he would dress a little warmer.

He found his favorite gloves last night and hasn't wanted to take them off. He played for most of the first hour with these silly little mittens on his hands. He is sure going to be disappointed when they don't fit anymore which isn't that far away. Jacob was counting down the time until they could turn on the water and even when I mentioned that it wasn't very warm he would point out every speck of sunshine and said "it's warm enough". At 11:01 he bolted for the button that gets the water going and jumped right into playing. I got cold just watching them and I was sure that the other people there thought I was crazy for letting them get all wet. Thankfully for my over active imagination a few other boys joined in the fun too.

Austin really liked playing in the "tornado" as he called it.

One of their favorite things to do was to stand on different spouts to see how high they could make other spouts go. Jacob got these ones to go really high.

This is where our brave Griffen stood guard. He was the button pusher. Although he did head in the general direction of the water, when he came to get dried off there wasn't a drop of water to be found. He ended up spending most of the water time eating his lunch.

It was a good thing that we had gone in the morning because shortly after getting home, it started to rain. Now, I know we live in the northwest and that the rain keeps it so beautiful and green, but I WANT THE SUN TO COME BACK!!!! I AM just very thankful that the boys did Fircreek last week instead of this week. PHEW! Well, we are off tomorrow morning for a family reunion at the beach. Have a great weekend!

Flowers

I have always thought about taking pictures of our garden when the flowers are in bloom but have never really done it until now. I really love when the tall red flowers (don't know their name) are blooming at the same time as the daisies. I waited a little long as the daisies are starting to die a little but it still looks pretty.


















I am also very excited about the hydrangeas that I get to start cutting and have around our house soon. They are so big and beautiful and smell so yummy. On of my other favorites are the Japanese anemonies (I think that is their names). They are the little pink flowers between the daisies and the hydrangeas. Sorry that you can't see them very well in this picture. Maybe I will try to remember a better picture soon. I am so thankful that I had so much help in the beginning with this garden. I generally tend to kill things off very fast but my lovely sister-in-law Toni lived next door to us for the first five or so years and she has an amazing talent with flowers. There were also some great things already established in this yard from the previous owner, Evelyn Hunter. I am trying to keep this garden healthy and growing and can thankfully call Toni if needed as she only lives about ten minutes away.


As a little update, Jake and Austin had a great time at their overnight at Fircreek. Jake's only complaint was that since they were out on the island out at Firwood, he had a hard time falling asleep because the Firwood campers were singing too loudly, probably at their evening campfire. Both of the boys were excited about getting to stay up later (Austin apparently got to stay up the latest) and they got to make s'mores too, which Austin was still wearing some chocolate on his face when they came home.

Griffen had a whole day to be the only child. At one point he said he liked being the only one but when asked right after that if he missed his brothers he said yes. Dean and I joked about how different it was to only have one, but at the same time it was almost more work because he is so used to having his brothers as constant entertainment that he was nonstop about asking us to do this, or do that, or play this, or go over here, or go over there. It was a lot of fun to really get to focus on him but at about dinner time I was really missing Jake and Aus. It was WAY TOO quiet in the house. Anyway, we hope you are all enjoying your summer and that the last half is full of fun, sun filled days!

Playing at the Park

Today, after taking Jake and Austin to daycamp, Griffen and I met some friends at one of the many parks in our town. Thankfully, the sun was out today and Griff got a chance to play at the water park area. In true Griffie fashion, he got "all wet" which added up to a VERY small area on the front of his swimsuit being wet. He seemed to have a great time and took a good nap later this afternoon when we got home.

The other two had another fun filled day at Fircreek. They were both very tired as we walked home and went to bed about a half hour early without any arguing. Tomorrow is the big overnight for camp. We have to make sure to take their sleeping bags, pillows, & extra clothes in the morning. They get to have dinner cooked at the campfire and s'mores. Then they are sleeping out under the stars. The older campers (Jake) are going to have their sleep out out on the island out at Camp Firwood. Jacob is very excited about this. The younger kiddos (Austin) are sleeping out at the daycamp site. We will see how it goes.

Fircreek

Jacob and Austin started their week at Fircreek Day Camp today. It was a slightly earlier morning for us as I found myself once again packing lunches for them and making sure they had what they needed for the day in their backpacks. I dropped them off at about 8:45 this morning and they had a FULL day of fun. I picked my two tired out boys up at 4:45 this afternoon and it was a slow walk home as they both explained that they had done alot of walking today.

My friend Jenny took this picture of Austin and his buddies. (I can't find my camera at this moment-AAAHHH) The three on the left are good buddies from soccer and school. The little guy on the right is one of Jenny's son's friends from church. Both of my boys are looking forward to the rest of camp and Friday night they get to have an overnight there as well. It will be the first overnight camp experience for both Jake and Austin.

What a Weekend!

So this last weekend, Dean and I took the boys to my mom and dad's house while we traveled down to Portland to go to the wedding of my college roomate, Kim. The wedding was at an old school, the Kennedy School, that has been changed to be quite a place. It has a restaurant, hotel, a small theater, an small brewery, and about three or so bars. It seemed to be a pretty popular place. The wedding was outside in a small courtyard and then the reception was in the old gymnasium. It was a small, very pretty wedding and lots of fun. I actually found one of my other roomates that I had lost track of and she actually only lives about 20 to 30 minutes from us!
So this is the newlyweds, Kim and Doug. Doug was also UW student with us back in the day. He and Kim were great friends all through college and beyond then somewhere it turned to love and now marriage. We are very exctited for them and were very honored to be invited to their wedding.

You only need to know three names to know everyone in the picture below. Those would be Laura (the two on the left), Kim (the two in the middle), and Doug (the lone guy in the group). The reception was fun as we spotted lots of familiar faces and tried to quiz each other on how well we could recall names. We didn't do that well. In keeping with the school theme, everyone got their own folder with pencils and paper in it. The paper soon became more fun as a paper airplane fight began between tables. The evening was topped off with dancing to songs from the 80's and 90's, what a blast from the past!
Since they got married on a Friday and most of the guests were from out of town, they also arranged for a tour on Saturday. Once again the school theme continued as we boarded a school bus and took a tour of a few of the MANY microbreweries in the cities. We got a behind the scenes tour of one and we could sample some of the varies types each bewer makes. This picture is as we are beginning the behind the scenes tour. We had to wear our oh-so-attractive safety goggles. Don't we look great? Anyway, we had a great time but are glad to be home. This week Jake and Austin are going to day camp at Fircreek and I am hoping to get caught up on housework while having fun with Griffen.

Swimming- Hendrickson style!

So we finally got our swimming pools cleaned and up and running today. The boys were very excited to finally get into the water, even though they were limited to the tiny plastic pool this afternoon. The bigger pool needed time to let the chlorine levels get right. Of course our boys version of swimming is pretty much what they did today, walking around in the water. Dean even tried to bribe the boys, he offered twenty bucks to the first boy who would sit all the way in the water, quickly (no easing in) and without sqealing. Jake and Austin both tried but weren't able to do it fast enough or without screaming.

We even ate dinner outside tonight and had a campfire too. It felt like an official summer day. We are planning more summer laziness tomorrow. The picture below of them showing off their muscles is a funny one to me. After the picture was taken, they were comparing their "huge" muscles with each other.

We have also had some amazing lego creations being produced in the last few days. Austin can sit and build all kinds of creative space ships for quite awhile. He enjoys doing it so much that he even builds them for his brothers too. Jake and Griff like their ships and even add parts to them as well.

Family Reunion in Coulee Dam

This picture was actually taken on the fourth but it is so funny. Griffen isn't trying to show of his leg he is trying to not let his shorts touch his owie on his knee. The story is, as we were heading out to go to the flea market down by the dam, Griff fell just outside our room and got a little skinned up on his knee (no bleeding, just surface scratches). We got him cleaned and bandaged and then headed out. He got carried part way by Dean and me but got put down when we got across the street. He then proceeded to pull up the other side of his shorts (non owie side) and limped along saying it hurt, then quickly switched to the actually owie leg when it was pointed out to him. The "pain" and limp continued the next day until we were within sight of the playground at Steamboat Rock but would return as needed throughout the next couple of days.
So Saturday morning we headed to Steamboat Rock park with some of my mom's family. My Grandma, three sets of aunts and uncles, and three of my cousins and their kids spent the day playing in the sun. We found a great place to barbeque that was close to a really big playground, the swimming area, and a snack shop. Jacob volunteered to blow up this float ring for my cousin's daughter. He worked and worked at it and got it all blown up on his own. He was rewarded for this by getting to use it in the lake. He got to just kick back and relax in it. It sure looked like fun.

Austin was once again our brave boy ready to get wet. He had a lot of fun playing in the lake and the sand. He didn't quite get adventurous enough to try to get out to the little island but then again nobody else went out there either.
Griffen was happy to just get "all wet" up to his ankles. He had lots more fun getting his feet and hands wet and then sticking them in the sand only to wash them off in the lake and start all over again. He seemed pretty excited about how easily the sand stuck to him.We finished our day with yummy ice cream cones from the snack shop. As you can see in the pictures the boys were pretty happy about getting their cones. So happy in fact that Griffen decided to wear some on his face and chest. (Thankfully we had wet wipes in the car.) All in all it was a fun day getting to spend some time with family and play in some great sunshine even if I did forget to put sunscreen on the upper part of my back and got a sunburn.

Happy Fourth!

So we, once again, went to Coulee Dam for the 4th. My grandma still lives there and my parents as well as some of my aunts, uncles, and cousins were there too. It was a woppin' 102 when we arrived on Thursday afternoon. As soon as we checked into the motel we headed straight for the swimming pool. Our boys aren't the most adventurous when it comes to swimming but they slowly (VERY slowly) got fairly comfortable in the pool.
Austin is our most adventurous one. He got to the point of going under water a few times. Dean also tried taking him around the pool but Austin wasn't too excited about that so it only happened a couple of times. He did let me take him around once and kind of tried to float with me holding him. He didn't really stretch out enough to float but he didn't scream when he tried.
Griffen would have been perfectly happy sitting on the side with his feet on the first step in the water. Each time we went to the pool I let him sit there for a little bit and then I just came up and grabbed him and took him out with me. That was usually met with much screaming and crying for a minute or two then he would relax. (Each time there was less screaming) We discovered a "fun" game to distract him too. He would help me collect leaves that had gotten into the pool. These goggles were lots of fun for him too.
Jacob seemed to be getting a little more comfortable in the pool. Dean and I took him around the pool, though at times it was met with the usual screams and panic. He liked trying out his kicks while holding onto the wall and even sometimes while holding onto Dean or me. He actually let me help him practice floating on his back too. He rested his head on my shoulder and straightened his body out. He did great!!

So the night of the 4th, there were sooooooo many people pouring into the tiny town. Dean, Jacob and Griffen found a "locals" spot and watched the laser light show and then the fireworks. Austin wasn't feeling well so I took him to the motel where he promptly fell asleep and I watched the show from the balcony of our room. The next day we had a family reunion out at Steamboat Rock but I will post about that tomorrow as there are a lot of pictures and I need to decide which ones to use. Hope you all had a great weekend celebrating our country's birthday!

AAHH, Summer!

It has been awhile since we have posted anything but I was swallowed up by the Royal Family Kids Camp. It was a great camp this year. The campers seemed to really enjoy their week and the staff had a great time loving each of the kids. I still feel like I am trying to dig my house out of the hole it landed in while my attention was focused elsewhere but now we are getting ready to head to Eastern Washington tomorrow so the really good cleaning that my house needs will have to wait until next week.

I am excited though that we have had great weather lately. I am even enjoying the thunder storm that we are having right now. It has been so warm (I'd even say hot a couple of days) that it feels like summer has arrived. The boys have been having a great time playing in the sprinkler in the back yard. Today was a bit of a mess as Dean had just mowed the grass so they were not only dripping wet but covered in grass too. We will have to get the pool cleaned up and set up on the deck when we get back.

Not much else is going on around here but I will be sure to post pictures of our trip to Coulee Dam as soon as we can (I don't think there is internet where we are staying)

Jacob jumping right in to cool off.

Austin deciding to join the fun

Griffen is happy to just watch. He doesn't like the water so high.