September Updates

Avi is now OFFICIALLY 5 years old (as of Sept. 16th). She and Az will both be 5 until he turns 6 on October 17th. I love that for one month a year they are the same age. My little Irish twins! Now that they're getting older I do get asked more often if, indeed, they are twins. I imagine the older they get the more it will appear so!

On Avi's 5th birthday she lost her first tooth. She lost her second one the next day. So, she's now missing her two front teeth. She won't have to wish for them for Christmas though because the new ones are already there. They are responsible for evicting her cute baby teeth. I loved her baby teeth. They were so pretty and straight and looked so cute in her mouth. These new teeth are big and crooked. I'm thinking they'll straighten out once there's more room in there. Hopefully.

This week I'll be 17 weeks pregnant. That means in 3 weeks I'll reach the halfway mark!!! We have an ultrasound scheduled for the 15th of this October. We will be finding out what the baby is but Mark really would like it to be a surprise. At this point in my life I don't really want a surprise. I think it was GREAT the first time around. Now, I prefer to be prepared for the new arrival. If baby is a boy I can give away all of Liberty's clothes to my friend who just had a girl, and I'll save all of Azriel's clothes for when he grows up! If baby is a girl, I'll keep Libby's clothes and give Az's away! Simple as that. I'll have a reason to declutter more. Otherwise I have to save everything and wait until AFTER I've had the baby to organize and declutter. Thankfully Mark agrees that it is smarter to find out now even though it really IS more fun to have a surprise baby!!!

I can't believe that tomorrow it will be OCTOBER already! I LOVE the start of Fall. We're still having some warm days here so it doesn't feel like Fall yet. I think it's supposed to be in the 80s this week. I'm really ready for the cooler weather. We're at the awkward time of year where it's really cold in the mornings and then warm in the afternoons. It makes getting the kids dressed appropriately much more difficult. I put out a pumpkin and some Fall colored flowers to help us get into the Fall spirit!

My parents visited last weekend and it was so much fun! Dad helped Mark rebuild the wall in the dining room. They got the drywall up and now repainting is not far off! They also got the snowroof put on the addition (the dining room). It has one of those rather flattish roofs and needs a new coat of snowroof every few years to protect it. My parents got to see Azriel play soccer for the first time. That was a lot of fun. Mom went with us to practice and then they both attended the game the next morning. We were all sad to see them go. It was a nice and unexpected visit! THANKS MOM AND DAD!!!

Since October is here we are looking forward to our annual trip to the COUNTRY MERCANTILE. You can be expecting pictures from that outing towards the end of the month. Avi looks forward to riding a pony there all year. That's the hilight for her. There's a corn maze, pumpkin patch, petting zoo, straw pyramid and straw maze, and so much more! It's a lot of fun. This year Liberty will be old enough to enjoy it too! Last year we went with our friends, the Butchers, who have since moved away. We miss them. My sister and her family were here too and also went with us. We had a LOT of fun.

Kitty Jack is attacking me and I need to go wake Mark up to get ready for work. I was an early riser this morning. :-)

More another day...

The Miniature Horses & Chickens

Libby, Avi, & the Stallion

More Horsey Girls

Kateri and one of the miniature horses.

Avi loving on the miniature stallion.

Girls and Horses

Visit to the Farm

Avi and Audrey and the young Silkies.

The GUARD GEESE.

Pretty chickens. They were free range and got put up only at night. Ideal for chickens!

The girls waiting at the gate to see the horses!

Mon, Aug 8th. CHICKENS

My Mom's friend raises miniature horses and she also has chickens. She let us come out so the girls could experience both, up close and personal. We had a really nice time there and the horses were so friendly and cute!

Avi and a young SILKY chicken.

Audrey and some Chickens

Mom, Briana, & the kids

Finally down from the beach bunker so we can begin our long walk back to some WATER! We were all so parched.

Libby, the girls, & the beach bunkers

Liberty in her "I don't know" pose.

Nani, the kids and Mom coming down from the top of the bunker.

Scenic view of the beach bunker. The hill to your left (the only hill in the pic) is where all the other bunkers are. When you're exploring up there you can go off the path and come to a sheer drop off to the beach below. It's important to keep your little ones with you up there.

Beach Bunkers

Liberty just hanging out with Mama at the base of the Beach Bunker. We were so thirsty and tired at this point having been walking for some time in the HOT sun! Of course, we didn't bring our water because we didn't plan to keep on walking further and further away from the vehicle and the refreshments.

Avi on top of the beach bunkers in these three photos...

The Pier and Beach Bunkers

Libby was fascinated by the cracks on the pier. Don't know if she was afraid of them or what but she definitely tried to avoid stepping on them.

The Beach Bunker and Liberty chilling out. She and I stayed down at the bottom THIS TIME. We'd been up there on the first day of our trip and I had my first ever experience of being frozen with fear. Really! I was going up a narrow stair to the third level with Liberty in front of me (there wasn't room for side by side) so I was holding her hands and helping her step up. There were no railings on the stairs, just a sheer drop to the cement surface below. We got like three steps from the top and I looked down beside me and I panicked. I was completely frozen with fear, knowing that Liberty and I could plunge right over the side of the steps with one false move or a little trip and we would be dead or terribly injured. I couldn't move. Couldn't take the three steps UP. I searched my brain for a way out and stiffly and fearfully picked Liberty up and leaned against the wall to turn around slowly. Then I held her fast in front of me and got down as carefully as I could. My heart was beating ferociously inside my chest and I could barely breathe. I've NEVER had that experience before. Then there was the fear induced adrenaline rush that took a little while to calm down from. The years that we've previously explored the bunkers (sans kids) I ran up and down those stairs, never giving it a thought. Very strange experience that I hope to never repeat!

Marine Science Center

Yes, they even have a Marine Science Center at Fort Worden. My Mom, SIL, and I took the girls (& Pippin) there while the guys were all up in the hills exploring bunkers. The girls really weren't as interested in a second day of bunker exploration. So, we enjoyed the beach, the Marine Science Center, the Natural History Museum, and the BEACH BUNKERS.

Avi always seems to be in some sort of pose for pictures. :-)