I've posted other pictures of Teagan "reading" to his siblings, but this time he actually is! He has been doing very well sounding out words and even has several he knows simply by sight. Yah Teagan! He is soooo very ready for Kindergarten!
Lincoln, Kiya, Cooper, McKay, Kamryn
Kamryn---the hair bow does not belong in your mouth. And wipe your nose for goodness sakes.
Kati and Brad
Charlotte and Greg
Ok, so I know my birthday was in June and we finally bought our piano in July....and it is Aug, almost September.....I thought I would still post a pic of my birthday present from my very sweet John-john. I am not a pianist, but can play the right hand decently and plunk out a couple left hand notes here and there...but I've always wanted a piano in our home. Hopefully our children will love the piano lessons we hope to get them in this next year and will stick with them. I wish now that I would have myself.
Ok, I know. Gross, right. This is what happens when you do not listen to your wife.
Just wanted to post this to give my John-john a hard time. Love you!
Ok, not the best pics. But John was very sweet and set up our tent in the back yard so the boys could enjoy a camp out. (Kamryn and I enjoyed our beds, indoors.) The boys loved it...and woke Daddy up very early with the sun.
Thank you Baby Einstein videos. You allow this mommy to occasionally get a few things done.
Obi-Wan Kenobi aka Teagan.
Qui-Gon Jinn aka Brody.
Teagan and Brody were driving me crazy one day...so were the extra boxes in our basement. So I set them to work on a little art project...creating pod racers. There was coloring, taping, egg cartons, random strings, and tons of imagination involved.
Anytime we stay at a hotel, we always blow our budget because we try to find a place for the kids to swim. They are NOT little fishies like I was as a child, so any exposure is good. Although, once you put the floaties on Teagan he is pretty confident. Brody mostly stuck to the hot tub and Kamryn actually loved the water and splashed around for quite some time.
Feet in.
Legs in.
Half the body in. 
Ok, not Jurassic Park...but Multnomah Falls in Oregon. After leaving the coast we were on our own as a little family. I remembered these falls from when I was a kid, so we stopped, had lunch, did the shortest hike and enjoyed a beautiful pause in our trip to gaze on the lush greenery and majestic waterfall. :o) Teagan really wanted a picture of his new dinosaurs with the falls.
John and the kiddos.
Teagan and Brody inside of a tree. I'm sure there were lots of bugs/spiders inside...but I didn't want to look. But a guy walking in front of us on the hike down had a spider on his shoulder, but before I could let him know the spider swung down with it's web to the ground and disappeared...lucky spider...I probably would have smacked the guy in the back and squashed it.
Brody and Mommy.
When we were leaving the Oregon coast, we came upon some road construction.....but were barely stopped because this guy obviously was terribly hungry and was digging through his lunch box when we drove up. He got his stop sign up just in the nick of time...we almost sped right past...but were almost glad that he stopped us because he was so funny to watch. We were totally cracked up by him eating his lunch and trying to balance the sign. Maybe we were just sleep deprived, but it was funny to us. *I think he saw me take his picture.*
Our new family pic....with a stranger in the background.
Our beautiful children.
John's parents, sisters + spouses + children, and us.
Happy 34th Anniversary! These are John's parents. They were beyond sweet in inviting all of us on a wonderful family vacation to the Oregon coast. We loved it...appreciated it...and will not forget it. Can't wait to do it again!!!
