So I'm sure you're wondering what we've been up to

Lots!  Since the weather has been awesome and school is winding down we've been busy playing.  

We spent a beautiful Sunday afternoon out at the bay.  There were lots of rocks for throwing and as the tide was slowly going out  it left plenty of great sand for digging in.

Last week Holly had her last field trip of the year.  It was to Tenant Lake and Hovander Park.  Another sunny day for pond dipping, bird watching and insect identifying. 

Right after school we took off to Seattle for a Mariners game.  It was the boys first one and as Tyler said "It wasn't what I was expecting!"  It was a little bigger than they thought it would be.  

As we were leaving the parking garage to go into the game, the parking attendant asked the kids if they liked baseball cards.  They all got a handful of great cards to check out.  As we were walking in Lucas handed me a card and said "I don't like this one."  It happened to be Alex Rodriguez...thought that was rather funny.  But another former Mariner, Randy Johnson was pitching for the Giants which was pretty cool.  We would have kept his card had we gotten one. 

We made it to the bottom of the 7th inning before we headed for home.  Thankfully we left when we did.  The game went into 12 innings and got done right around 11:00, we were almost home by then!

The next night we headed back to Birch Bay for a BBQ with friends.  It was another great night out there.

Sunday night we had our own little backyard BBQ complete with hot dogs and s'mores.

And Monday was a day to work around the house, dig for worms and hunt for snails and caterpillars.  Now to just finish out the school year!

A day at Pioneer Park

 

These are a random mix of photos from Mia's 4th grade class field trip yesterday.  Yes, Traci, Sam is holding a dead bee!  I'm messing around with the collage option in Picasa (pretty fun!)  If you want to see the photos a little better just click on the image to open a new window of it.  (And Betsy...2 posts in a row with a photo of me...just for you!)  :)

Mother's Day

Mother's Day this year was spent up at Silver Lake.  We did a combined  family birthday party for Mia/Mother's Day BBQ all in one.  It was a beautiful, sunny day and everyone got a chance to get out in the boat to do some fishing, too.  Just as the clouds started to roll in, we all packed up and headed home.  It was a great day to relax and hang out together.

Mia has found a new hobby this week.  Eric took home a bunch of scrap wood with the intention of using it for ramps and roads for the boys matchbox cars.  They never actually ended up using them for that purpose but they have been used to keep Mia busy.  She's been busy constructing houses for snails (after watching Hotel for Dogs) :) and also making American Girl doll furniture.  Which, she informed me, is MUCH cheaper than the real thing.  Good work, Mia!   You're making Dad proud. 

The cute thing is, Mia received this American Girl Doll Crafts project book as a gift and now she has a little desk for her dolls to work on their crafts at.

The girls turn

The girls had their turn to go fishing on Thursday night, Grandpa came along, too.  Eric's parents have been the lucky recipients of all these beauties (from the other night and tonight). Holly even parted with her prize catch, she caught the BIGGEST one and Mia caught the MOST. (I saw all the tally marks as proof) While they were out fishing, L, T, and J and I were deciding on what to do for dinner.  Lucas really wanted me grill the rest of the clams from Saturday, so I did.  

Grandma had stopped over for a little while and was roped into eating one.

I know I accidentally cut Grandma off some of these but Lucas' expressions are priceless watching her eat it.   Thanks, Grandma, for making his night!

The fishermen return

It's opening week!  The boys headed out tonight and caught some dinner.

Girls just having fun

For Mia's birthday, we talked about having a couple friends over but never really settled on what and when.  I was at one of her friends house last week and her and I came up with a plan to surprise Mia on her birthday with a little party.  I had Grandma take Mia out for ice cream after school and Mia's friends were dropped off during that time.  Here they are killing time before Mia arrived.  (and yes, Holly has it ALL on video!)  ;)Finally, there was a knock on the door (since I locked her out) and her friends opened the door and yelled "SURPRISE!"  She wasn't exactly sure what to think. 

I had planned a little photo scavenger hunt for them to keep them busy.  Here they are fulfilling some of the necessary requirements.  (Check my Simply Enjoy blog  for full details.)  It was then time for Eric to try out his "trick", Diet Coke and Mentos combo.After we brought the girls home in the morning, Eric and the boys went clamming so we decided to take advantage of the great weather and head to the tulip fields that were in full bloom.  Grandma had sent these awesome costumes for this years Holland Days festival and we thought we'd try to get a few pictures.  

After an awesome clam feast we crashed for the night!

A Decade Old!

Happy Birthday, Mia!  It's hard to believe your a decade old already (although you have continually reminded us of that for the last several months!)   We LOVE you!!!  (if you want to see the pictures a little larger, just click on the image)

Ahhhhh, it really feels like spring

It was finally sunny and WARM!  Today it reached 70 degrees so when the kids got home from school and asked if the water could come on outside, I said "why not".  I'm still plugging away on my Project 365 and am really getting sick of inside photos. Last weeks were terrible.  So when the sun and the kids were outside enjoying each others company I took my camera out to see what they were doing.  

The worm...seriously, I didn't realize these little details about a worm.  I was snapping away and when I downloaded them on my computer I realized that you could really see right into that poor little guy.    Thanks, Joey, for torturing the poor thing just so I could learn a thing or two. Then, Mia decided to set up the swing sprinkler.  She entertained herself and a few others throughout the afternoon.  These pictures make it look nice and warm but it was pretty cold yet (or so she told me!) 

We're back!

After an incredible week in Yosemite National Park, we're home.  The sites were spectacular and the company wasn't half bad either.  :)  (we met one of my sisters and her family there)  Good times!  I just uploaded way to many pictures on Facebook so if you're my friend over there, you'll be able to see them.  If your not my friend, just ask me...I'd love a few more.  I may add a few more here but for now, the couch is calling. Everyone else over here is already enjoying an Easter afternoon nap.

Mia found a cool spot at the top of Vernal Falls.

Mirror Lake

Yes, it snowed!

At Columbia Rock with Half Dome in the background.

Can't go to CA without a stop at In-n-Out Burger!