I did it.

I sent Gabe a pic via text message, and he messaged me back "Yay! I have a boy now!" :-)

Meet Praise

Sorry about the pic- because No, I wasn't going to take him out of the jar!!!

Our best shot....

Who can Guess What Our New Pet is?

Edited: No really, I do want some guesses here! I'm not sharing unless you guess!!!

Kiera wanted to name it "Flower."

Melia wanted to name it "Unicorny."

I suggested picking a different name.

Melia came up with "Praise."

While discussing boy or girl, Kiera thought it was a girl because girls are yellow and boys are black.

I said I think it's a boy because it only has two pokies out of it's bum.

What could it be????

You have one day....

Guess Who!??

I think Gabe's trying to send me a message...

Fourth of July Fun

Yum! Licorice!
He was so cute; not terribly afraid, but I could feel him flinch at each explosion...

Happy with Momma and his thumb...

I'm so proud of my picture-taking-timing skills :-) Kaboom!

Wow. She could have fooled me, if I didn't know better.

Melia and I had a little trouble over reading today. Tonight, when Gabe got home, I sat her down, wrote out the word, and asked her if she knew what it said. The word was JEEP. She said "VEHICLE." We were rolling with laughter... She shouts, "I got you!!!"

On that note, I feel like we've hit a road block. She knows almost all her sounds. We quizzed tonight and she knew all but 5 in the whole alphabet, and knew 3 of those 5's names, but not the sound. But when we put the sounds together into a word, it's almost like it overwhelms her. She can read several words by sight, but cannot sound them out. And she's SO easily distracted by anything... especially the pictures that often accompany the words. (She starts asking why that Horse is wearing a Hat and a Hula Hoop....Or why that Mouse does Magic...or when, what, etc) It's really hard not to get frustrated. Oh, and the YAWNS!!! They start up almost immediately when we sit down and she actually has to think about school work! (If its cutting or coloring or anything fun or creative- different story... but reading wears her out fast!)

Anyway, I just had to vent. I know this is all normal, but I just know she'll love reading SOOO much, and want that love I had for reading for her... It's hard not to push. And she gets a bit testy when we do things she already knows... Like copying/writing the letters... This schooling stuff is hard!!! But worth it, I know. Like parenting. I wouldn't miss it for anything, but some days I wish I could miss it :-)

Guess Who Loves Blueberry Pancakes!!!

Melia's Birthday Party

After we got home from vacation, I jumped straight into planning Melia's birthday party. I already shared her specially birthday earrings pics, but here's a few more from the "ball game" outside...

Check out what in the world Kiera's got going on in the bottom right...

I think this picture is my favorite of all Shaun's funny ones..

All the while, Melia's not missing what's going on outside. She's happily playing quietly with her new Polly Pockets :-)

Cuddling with his Celeste...

Oregon Trip: Day 7 & 8

Since we weren't willing to fight traffic on Monday to get to the Aquarium, we went Tuesday after we'd packed up and left the campground. Surprisingly enough, there was zero traffic! The kids really enjoyed the seeing the seals and stuff, but I was actually disapppointed. We were in and out in under an hour compared to a cheaper price and 3+ hours of fun at the zoo in Portland. The only real distinquishing thing about the aquarium is that it had the shark tank(which was pretty awesome) and the hands-on area.

Inside the shark tank.

The girls were a little hesistant, but they touched pretty much everything I showed them.

There was this adorable harbor seal- it'd swim upside down straight into the glass, then bonk it's head against the glass similar to how a cat would lovingly bonk it's head on you, then press it's back all the way down.... So endearing!!!

We also were inside at just the right time, on accident, and caught them feeding the fish. Pretty neat!

By the time we left the zoo it was apparent that Melia and Isaac had both developed fevers and were feeling pretty bad. We headed north and stopped at Tillamook Cheese Factory. That was interesting, but I was hoping for something that the girls could watch and actually understand how cheese was made. They had little screens in the viewing area, I couldn't find anything that was age appropriate... But we did enjoy the ice cream! I was amazed at what a killing they must be making at selling their cheese in the gift shop- We will buy our Tillamook cheese at Costco!!!

After Tillamook we headed towards Portland. Stopped at a Fred Meyer along the way for dinner because we couldn't find a Chili's.. (Boo!) We intended to stop at Bob's Red Mill along the way, but forgot because of the kids' fevers..

Unfortunately, this last night of our trip really tried us as a family, especially Gabe and I. Heading through Portland, it's late evening, around 7ish. I had bought a pop, intending to drive as far as I could before stopping. After I had downed a decent amount of caffeine, Isaac started to really not be happy. Having had Gabe's phone die (along with it, the GPS), he called Annie for help trying to find someplace to stop, without a whole lot of luck. After several misadventures... getting lost in a town, taking an exit the computer said was to a rest stop, only to end up getting lost on a back road, having to turn around on a said road w/ a trailer... getting to a Walmart, only to find a big "No Overnight Trucks/Trailers" sign... We finally ended up at a rest stop. Which we will not do again. I am too light of a sleeper to endure the annoying truckers who honk as they drive by all night, the diesel engines coming and going.. in addition to having to wake up on schedule to administer tylenol to feverish baby... Not a good night, and my attitude reflected such in the morning...

Thankfully, God is gracious and I felt better after a little while. The rest of the trip home included a stop in Toppenish for some Orajel (desperate attempt to get Isaac to stop crying) and some cheap fireworks :-) We actually had to stop several times just to get Gabe and I out of the car... the screaming was really pushing us. We also made a stop at Minor's in Yakima for the yummiest burgers... I always forget how big they are! We made it home early afternoon, and actually figured out how to dump our tank into our home septic system- very helpful not to have to drive somewhere else when we're already so beat :-)

Looking back, our trip really was a great time. Riding the edge of insanity the last 20 hours of it tested our patience with each other, and I absolutely believe we are stronger now because we made it through as a team. I am so thankful that we had this opportunity, and I'm not so afraid of trying to do it again someday! (And so thankful to Mom and Dad Elliott for the awesome gift of their old trailer- THANK YOU!!!)