Swimming Fun

On June 24th we joined some of our friends at the Amazon Pool. It was their opening week for summer, so it was absolutely packed! We had a lot of fun and the kids did great, but it was a bit stressful for us moms trying to keep an eye on our kiddos. There are several pools there and a section for sand play, but we managed to all stick together and make the most of it! I brought the underwater case for our camera so I was able to get some fun shots of the kids.
Marcus and Griffin
Becca and Cohen

Kaiser

Ronan

Marcus and Sydney

We gotta work on keeping that tongue in his mouth while swimming--especially in public pools! (:

Berry Patch

The first Moms of Grace activity of the summer was strawberry picking at Lone Pine Farms. We do it every year and it's always a big hit for the kids (& moms, too). This time Ronan and Griffin helped me pick a whole bucket full, whereas in the past I would just buy the pre-picked berries from Lone Pine's store because the boys weren't interested in picking. It was a lot of fun!
our berries!
Cohen carrying the Chase's berries

Griffin and Tyler playing in the sluice.

Farmer Griffin driving a tractor (:

Father's Day part 2

Father's Day turned out to be a pretty mellow day for us. We went to church and then came home to hang out as a family. Ronan and Griffin were excited to give gifts to Daddy--we surprised him with a collage photo from the camping trip (with pictures he hadn't seen yet). We also got him a french press mug from Dutch Bros.

Later in the afternoon Josh's family came over for dinner and to celebrate the dads. We had a fun time hanging out and watching the cousins play together. They are all so independent now, except for Emma I guess (:, but for the most part they all entertain each other nicely.
Jon and Amy (:
The normal ones of the family (:
Ronan showing off his balancing skills
Such a fun Daddy! (:
Great Grandpa holding Emma

Father's Day part 1

We celebrated Father's Day a day early by having a BBQ at Katrina and Kenton's house. They have a nice, big backyard...perfect for all the kids to run around and play! We hadn't all been together for a few weeks because by the time we came home from St. Thomas my parents had already left for their vacation in southern California. It was nice for all of us to be back in Eugene, except for Erik who was either in Seattle or filming in Europe at the time!
Gifts from our trip to St. Thomas

All the dads

Papa and his daughters

Papa with all the grandkids and sons-in-law

Josh and Aaron got cool squirt guns from the Henrys, which were a big hit with all the kids!

Camping!

On June 17th & 18th, Becca and I braved the great outdoors with our kids for the Moms of Grace group camping trip! We joined Kesch and Denise (experienced camping mamas) at Schwartz Campground in Cottage Grove, and several other moms who came out for the day or evening with their kids. It was a fun adventure and I was so glad that we decided to do it!

As soon as we set up the tent the kids jumped in and started playing. This was Cohen and Griffin's first time camping and it had been a long time since the other kids had gone, so they were all full of excitement! This was also a first time for us moms to go camping without the dads, but Becca and I banded together and went for it. (:

Right away the kids got suited up and headed down to the river to play.
The water was freezing cold, but that didn't stop the kids from going in.

Me, Denise, Lindsey, Elizabeth, Kesch, Kelly, and Becca

Finding Caterpillars
Relaxing in the Hammock
Roasting hot dogs for dinner


Cohen and Griffin by the campfire

Making S'mores
Me & Kelly wearing our matching Sunriver sweatshirts (:

When it was time for bed it seemed like the kids took awhile to get settled and fall asleep, but it was probably only 10 minutes. There were lots of whispers & hushing and Griffin would randomly start saying prayers out loud, but once everyone quieted down we all went right to sleep. (: It was fun watching them wake up in the morning...they thought it was pretty cool that we got to sleep in a tent!

Griffin loves his doggy and monkey (:

We spent the next day playing games around camp, going in the river, and hanging out with the other moms & kids. It would have been fun to stay longer, especially if we had daddy with us, but this was a great start! (:

We survived!