In my hand

The weather and hill were just right to take this "trick" photo at the Box R Ranch in Ashland, OR. Every time Nolahn sees this photo he keeps asking me if he really was standing on my hand because he can't seem to remember doing it. Cute though, don't you think?

This is also at "glass beach". Payton is giving bunny ears to Nolahn while Grandma MaryAnn holds on to the walking stick. It's amazing how many rocks kids will pick up and put in a bag when they're not the ones carrying it! Once we had them carry their own, they didn't seem that interested in picking out any more!

My Dad and his wife recently came up to WA to visit us for the week. We had a fantastic time and I was really sad to see them go. On this particular day we headed around a narrow piece of land for quite a ways towards what locals here call "glass beach" for all the glass that washes to shore from the old dumping ground that used to exist several years ago. We didn't find a lot, but we were too pooped to go any further. Here Nolahn and Grandpa Alan are using the walking sticks Dad made for my scouting outings.

Fort Vancouver

We had the great fortune of spending some family time together in Vancouver, WA and Portland, OR last month. This was taken at Fort Vancouver. Regann and Mayson are official Jr. Rangers becuase they answered all the questions in their visitors' books. It was beautiful to see all that green grass and blue sky. Notice Nolahn the Kung Fu kid in the corner.

Spelling

Most people in my family know that I am a pretty good speller. I still have older siblings who call me because it's faster than searching through a dictionary. So today my 4 year old Nolahn perks up in the back seat as we are leaving the gym and he says, "Mom, I can spell". I assure him he can and think to myself that if he has my genes then he will be a good speller. He continues on to say, "See that sign? You spell it, three-x-one-t". He was "spelling" EXIT. I was very impressed.

Christmas Eve Pajama Party

It isn't tough to line the kids up for pictures with truly happy faces when they know they are about to unwrap everything under the tree. As a bonus, they are even mostly color coordinated in this photo. What fun!

The Mysterious Man

Me: Hey Nolahn, how'd you get that drawing on your back?

Nolahn: I don't know.

Me: Payton, do you know how Nolahn got this drawing on his back?

Payton: Hmmm... I think he did it. Yeah, he did it himself.

Nolahn: Yeah! I did it myself!

Me: Really? A person with arms and eyes? You are clever. Keep playing on the computer. Thanks for being so honest.

Fully Loaded

Nolahn came to me the other day with two light sabers tucked in his belt and each hand holding a laser tag gun. I thought this hilarious and promptly took his photo. Then he turned around to reveal that he had yet another projectile launching piece of equipment hidden behind him!

He is truly his father's son.