Warning – this post has some 60 photos plus four videos at the end!
If you visit our home and Ruby sheds on you… just know that it’s less than she would have shed on you if I hadn’t done this.
The rodeo had free pony rides! Look at my big girl!
I love that Royal Ridges provides pony rides!
Pleased as punch to get on a horse.
Time for a rodeo! So nice to spend time with family.
Maggie is not a fan of having her picture taken.
Carolyn and Margaret played a hat-stealing game with Pappy’s hat.
Maggie was about to make a face at me because she noticed me trying to take her picture.
Carolyn is so silly!
Over the years, I’ve grown to love the princesses more and the actual events less.
Beautiful girl.
Even Great Grandpa came! Thanks, Dad D. for picking him up!
Grammy and Anna are two peas in a pod.
Ruby is a big doggy!
Margaret and Carolyn put on veils to come check out how the bees are doing with me.
Ooooooooooh.
Fascinating stuff!
Brand new comb is beautiful! (older comb is dark)
Again – fascinating! These ladies are making a chain of their legs to guide the comb building.
Anna went to summer camp (day camp) for the first time this summer! It was a big hit. I recommend Royal RIdges!
I scored a big set of this stuff at a garage sale and it was worth every penny. The kids have been inventing lots of strange and wonderful things.
I don’t know what it is, but it’s cool!
And now onto camping!!! Jordan’s new stroller/wheelchair was a lifesaver. He is pretty happy in it and it keeps him out of the dirt and so he can’t run away when we need it.
It took me until the day we left for me to figure out how to get my little camp kitchen working, but it was ooooooh, so yummy to eat outside.
Sausage and pancake delight!
The weather was cool, but not too cool with warmish afternoons and we loved it.
I love taking pictures of this beautiful girl even though she doesn’t like me doing it.
Cheese! Carolyn likes her photo taken.
Jordan’s all curled up in his chair and content.
Hey, I got in a photo!
We stayed five days (four nights) and on the fourth day, the sun warmed up and we spent most of the day in the water!!
haha
Jordan played in the water too!
I just love this brave little girl.
And this one too!
A wonderful young lady named Alexis spent the week with us. It would have been much more difficult without her. Also… the intex kayak was a big hit.
I laughed that Margaret laid on her towel on the rockes!
Throwing dirt and rocks!
Brian and Jordan have a shared passion…
Throwing rocks into bodies of water!
Love these two boys.
There is something sacred about dirty camping faces.
If Jordan’s arms can reach you, he will grab hold and climb up you like a ladder. Brian found a solution!
Home sweet home.
Beautiful day! Since we had life vests for everybody, it was low stress… even if somebody fell in on accident, they wouldn’t sink.
Look at Margaret! She rowed Alexis up and down the shore.
Carolyn was quite brave the first day we swam, but too tired to be brave the second day.
I read Prince Caspian out loud while camping.
Cuties.
Waves were bigger the second day, but the water was still pretty warm.
Brian and I had a blast.
It was quite deep, so I needed a life vest too if I was holding anybody.
The logs were lots of fun to climb on and jump off… and fall off. They kept rolling! Both Brian and I got to swim thanks to Alexis.
Cutie.
It was a great time.
Happy boy!
Cold daughter.
Wrapping up.
Farewell for now!
Everybody playing in the water… Brian sinking the log:
Brian “going fishing” with Jordan:
The lady at the garage sale i bought these little tents from said they fold up easy to store. I told her after my kids were done with them, there wouldn’t be anything left to store.
We’re just a typical, atypical family in the Pacific Northwest. We homeschool, love Jesus and are learning as we go.
We have three beautiful daughters, born in 2007, 2009 and 2012 and two handsome sons, born in 2009 and 2013. (My sons are Bulgarian – arriving home in 2011 and 2017. If you’re curious about Bulgarian adoptions, I blogged about our experience.).
After learning about the need for adoptive families of children with disabilities, (and here and here) we began the process to adopt our son Jordan (who has Down Syndrome). He arrived home on December 3rd, 2011!. We were in process for Daniel (who has arthrogryposis) January-October 2017. You can see photos from our trips to Bulgaria by looking at June and Nov/Dec 2011 archives and May and October 2017.
Love all of this!! Thanks for sharing. The camping trip looks like it was a GREAT time! And those bees are coming along so nicely! Well done :):)
Great fun and great memories!! Thanks for sharing!