We just spend a fun-filled weekend in Kennewick with Eric's side of the family. We have a tradition of clumping birthday celebrations and it was time to celebrate the March birthday boys: Eric's dad (aka Bestefar), Eric, and Conor. (How ironic that we drove across the state for the birthdays, yet all three of the birthday boys live on the west side of the state.)
Eric's mom (aka Bestemor) had the idea that we should also get some family photos taken while we were all together. That was a great plan until one of our nieces was at a school retreat/function over the weekend (hope your glow-in-the-dark stars and footprints were a hit, Erin!) and our other niece wound up with a stomach bug and spent the weekend throwing up and sequestered from the rest of us (Piper - we hope you're feeling better!). A few pictures were taken, but not quite what was originally envisioned.
The weekend was a good combination of relaxing and fun. Oh! And I learned about a really yummy baking item ... cinnamon chips (by Hershey). Wendy, you are a rock star for having discovered these little gems. Oh Nellie!
On Friday, we packed up the kids and dog, braved the pass (which was beyond easy to drive over), and drove across our state. Everyone did really well in the car (God bless the inventors of portable DVD players!) and we made it without incident. After getting settled and a wee bit unpacked, we decided it was time to get out and enjoy the gorgeous weather! (Oh, I forgot to mention it was sunny and we had blue skies.... it was WINDY, but still really nice outside.)
The kids got to ride Wendy's horse Jarl, who is a very sweet horse. Annika was an old pro - she'd ridden him one before when she was about a year old, but this was the first time she knew what was going on. Conor also rode Jarl, and was fine, but definitely had more inclination to play with the sticks than sit on a horse.
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| Annika riding Jarl (with Aunt Wendy and Uncle John providing backup) |
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| Conor's 1st horse ride |
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| After Conor was done, Annika wanted to ride again (that's my girl!!) |
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Did you really think I'd let the kids have all of the fun??
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After releasing Jarl from his horsely duties and getting him corralled (he made a bit of an escape and had to be rounded up by Wendy and John. As they chased him around the yard, Annika very kindly pointed out that "He's MUCH faster than you!" to Wendy. She's so helpful.)
With Jarl in his yard and John/Wendy catching their breath, we all decided to kick around the yard and let the kids burn off some energy. There was plenty of room for them to run and lots of mole hills for the kids to play in/dig up/bury sticks in/stomp on. They had a BLAST and definitely needed baths when we finally made our way inside.
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| Annika enjoying every moment of the nice weather |
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| Conor was in hog heaven with all of the sticks available to him |
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| Mole hills are fun! |
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| More mole hill fun |
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| If our kids playing in the mole hills don't scare away those critters, nothing will! |
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| Cute dirty bum! |
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| Buca supervised the kids as they excavated the mole hills |
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This is Bub. He was a guest this weekend, too. His family was on a trip,
so he stayed at Camp Olson and fit right in and had a blast! |
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| Buca and Bub had a great time chasing each other and wrestling. |
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The kids poured some dirt on the deck and (mean mom that I am) I made them clean up their
dirt piles before we went inside. There was only one broom and both wanted to use it,
so this was the solution.
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The weekend was so packed that one blog post simply don't do, so stay tuned for part 2 of our trip!
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