This is 38...

I have officially known Justin for half of his life. That's crazy right? I have celebrated his birthday with him 17 times(minus the two years he was in Argentina for his mission).  Back when we celebrated his 19th birthday he was opening his mission call and I would have never imagined at that time that we would be married and have 4 kids! I am glad that all the guys I dated before he came home from his mission never treated me the same way he did. He was special and different from the rest. I married my best friend and today we celebrated him with gifts and a grasshopper pie, made by yours truly. We love him so much and hope that this year is the best one yet.

OSU Halftime Show...

There's no such thing as easing into the dance year. In fact Kate's performing company kicked in to full swing with a halftime performance down at Oregon State University. I didn't get to see it last year because of Preston being so young, so I jumped on the chance this year. I love watching her dance, pom pom in hands, a little rain and all. 

First Day of School 2017-18...

Kate was the first one to head to school this year. She is in Ms.Watz 4th grade class and was pretty excited to be going back to school. She is looking so grown up to me lately. She has a few friends already in her class and I am hoping she makes a few new ones and learns a lot this year. 

Zach started the day after Kate and is now in 7th grade.  He's wasn't too excited to be starting another year, but part of that is the "I'm too cool for school" attitude he likes to play, mostly I think because it's the same song and dance his friends do. But he got himself up and ready to go all on his own so deep down I think he was pretty excited to be busy again. 

Ryan started Pre-K a few days later. He is in the 4s class at Christ United Methodist with Teacher Stephanie and a new teacher, Ms. Victoria. Things will be a little different with a new teacher but with a new class of all boys I think things will go well for him. 

And for Preston, he will miss them all and hopefully will find that having me all to himself, three mornings a week, is not so bad. Let's be honest, we will both miss all of them and the help and entertainment they provide. I love these kids! Bring on the schedules, the homework and bedtime routines...

Smokey Sunriver 2017...

Sunriver is becoming one our family's favorite summer vacation traditions. This year it was slightly smokier than times before with all the forest fires that were going on, but we still managed to have a good time. We also invited our good friends, the McCauley's, to join in on the fun. We always take lots of bike rides and this year was really fun because Ryan was at the perfect age for the tandem bike. He was in big boy heaven riding so fast! We ate ice cream at Goody's a few times, swam and played in the sand a ton, played rounds of pickle ball and taught the McCauley's how to play spoons. Fun times all around! I came to Sunriver as a kid a few times and remember it being one of my favorite places, that I hope my kids find it just as memorable and fun as I did.