Family Hike

I was in charge of planning a Letterboxing event for the high school group at church, and one of the locations I wanted to try out was at Spencer's Butte. We went as a family to hike the butte and look for the clues. We realized pretty quickly that it wasn't a good location for the HS event because we couldn't find any of the boxes, so either they were missing or we weren't in the right location. Oh well, it was a nice excuse to get outdoors and take pictures in the woods. (:
We ended up playing around at the challenge course and hiked some of the trails.
Me and my silly boy



My guys (:

Holt Playground + Free Lunch

Griffin recently learned how to ride a bike with training wheels! One evening the Greens invited us to play at Holt Elementary School, which is right down the street from our house. Josh & I walked while the boys rode their bikes.

It was fun for Ronan to play at Holt because he would soon be starting kindergarten there!

Griffin & Macey climbing together

Macey "helping" Griffin (:

Emma & Griffin

Group shot of the 5 kids

A few days later Amy and I met up to take our kids to the free lunch by her house.
I love how Emma is peeking her head out for the picture. (:

Ronan trying to feed Emma (;

The Big 6-0

August5th~ The summer birthdays continued in our family with a very special milestone birthday for Josh's mom! We started off the celebration with a surprise visit at church, where she works, for lunch and cake. Someone ended up telling her that we were coming (bummer!), but it was still fun. (:
We brought flowers and a balloon for her, and Griffin gave them to Grammie in his shy way.

All of the church staff joined in on the party.

For dinner that night we went to Chapala with the Birthday Girl. We decided to make it an adults-only dinner, knowing that we would get together with all of the kids to celebrate a few days later. It was really nice for us to be able to take our time eating & visiting.

Jon & Amy

The Birthday Chica!

Amy & Erin

Ronan and Griffin saw this sign at the store and wanted to get it for Grammie. They know how much she likes ladybugs. (:

The original Ruddick Family (:

The Whole Group

My parents were watching the kids for us and they decided to go to the Oakway Mall to listen to live music in the courtyard. We saw them as we were leaving the restaurant. (:

Happy 60th Birthday!!

Moms of Grace Backyard Party

August 4th~ We had a great time in Denise's adorable backyard! I loved checking out her garden and getting ideas on how to creatively use the space in a smallish backyard. The kids had a blast playing in the pool and the snow cones were a huge hit--such a great idea! It was so nice to relax and chat with the other moms while the kiddos got their energy out.

Ahoy there, Cap'n Stanley

Happy Birthday, Kenton!

Our brother-in-law, Kenton, turned 28 on August 3rd and we all gathered at his parent's house for dessert: cookies & ice cream. (: They had some home movies playing of Kenton when he was little. He was reading and singing and practicing lines for a play--it was very cute! We had a good time visiting with each other and the kids had fun wrestling and rolling down the hill in the backyard.

Finn with the birthday daddy

We gave Kenton a game from his wish list called Yetisburg.

Handsome Guys!

Silly Boys!

The Henry Family