Woo hoo! The kids are going back to school! Although I am actually sad to see them go, there are some good things about it as well! We celebrated the event with a special dinner. Here is the banner (I really like making these paper banners lately!)

I found this table setting idea on pinterest. It was so fun to make!

 Cheering for the first day of school!

The kids loved having their menus. I served the dinner in courses. They couldn't have the next one until they had finished the first. This was actually a good way to get the kids to finish their vegetables! I served them their own Cornish Game Hens. They were delighted with them. Ben especially thought they were amazing.

 Abby's first day of preschool! She loved her first week and can't wait to go again!

Emily's first day of 4th grade! I do have pictures of the boys, but my camera ran out of batteries after Emily, so I had to borrow Dave's phone and I don't know how to get them off. I'll add them when he shows me how!

Finally, this is an art project that I did with the kids during the last weeks of summer vacation. Kind of a goodbye to the summer (although it is still 100 degrees outside!) The kids loved making them. Here are mine, Emily's, and Joshua's. Ben's is on the other side of the window waiting for David and Abby to finish theirs. Hopefully soon!

Joshua's Birthday

 Joshua's birthday started with a funny face pancake (as requested) 

Then a scavenger hunt to find his presents. Josh wanted his presents first thing in the morning. No waiting around for him!

He had to read the clues and figure out where they all were. Between Josh and Emily they figured them out pretty quickly. The only one they didn't get was the piano. I fooled them with the word "keys." They both headed to the garage.

 Build a Bear gift card from Grandma and Grandpa

 Kirby game from Mom and Dad

 Scooted from Mormor and Morfar

And then, off to the mall to make the Build a Bears.

Josh wanted a movie birthday party. These are the cupcakes I found on pinterest. Aren't they the cutest?

We took 6 boys (plus Ben, Emily, Abby, and Ben's friend Tyler) to McDonald's and then to see the new Ice Age movie. After the movie we came back to the house for cake and presents. Josh loved it!

 Gift boxes for the guests

 We had a cake as well as cupcakes. Amazingly they were both gone by the end of the party.

Here is Josh with all of his wild and crazy friends. There is something about a 7 year old boy eating a lot of chocolate cake...

We love you Josh! Hope you had a great birthday!

Emily's Birthday Party

Emily wanted a science birthday party this year, and I was so excited about it. Here are some pictures from the event.

 The set up before the girls came. They each received a purple lab coat (must be trendy scientists), safety goggles, a clip board (that Emily decorated in her colors of purple and blue), a lab book of instructions, and a pen. Fortunately, the lab coats had pockets so they could store their stuff.

The party table, ready for pizza when Dave brings it home.

Here are the girls all ready to start their experiments.

Let the science begin

Abby joined in on the fun

Making slime

Magic Milk

Something is exciting!

Bubbling Lava Lamps

Elephants Toothpaste

The Dr. takes a break for some jello

The grand finale: a mentos and coke explosion. I didn't get out of the way fast enough and caught a spray. Fortunately it was diet, so not too sticky.

Emily blowing out her candles

This might have been my favorite party to put on. Maybe one of my kids will want the same thing next year!

Oregon "Vacation"

Well, I guess I'll start with the car. It broke down about an hour from home. We coasted into a service station where they pronounced a death sentence on our trusty vehicle (this was the third time this year we had to tow it, by the way)

 The orange rental van we picked up in Redding. It came with a roof rack, so we could continue our trip. Although the bike had to move into the car with us.

 Buying a new Odyssey in Eugene. Justin, our sales associate was really nice. Here is Dave shaking on the deal.

 Here she is, in all her beauty. Oh, by the way, I looked on google earth this morning, and saw a street shot of our house, and this van is in the driveway! I guess they update those pictures fairly often (we've only had it for a week!)

We camped 3 nights at Loon Lake, a place Dave enjoyed as a boy. Ben the boy scout started our fire.

 Josh made a fishing pole out of a stick and some line and caught a bunch of little fish. He wanted to spend the whole time fishing. He loved it!

 Emily and Abby made a fort.

We rented a ski boat on Loon Lake.

 We tubed and skied. Well, technically David was the only one who skied, but Ben, Emily, and I did a lot of trying. Remember Bear Lake, Dad? Well I haven't really improved in my skiing skills. David was impressed by how quickly I could get my skis on in the water...I told him I had a lot of practice! We didn't get a picture of David skiing because I was driving the boat, but he slalom skied and looked great out there!

 Abby driving the boat (Dave is still peeling from that burn, by the way)

 Josh driving the boat

 Emily driving the boat

Ben driving the boat

 Cute kids having fun on the boat.