MaKenna Turns 4!!!

I can't believe it is possible.  Time just keeps going by so fast.  MaKenna turned 4 on June 4th.  We had  a Princess and the Frog themed Bayou Birthday Boogie!!  We had a pizza party on her birthday, Friday night after work.  I attempted to make frog cake balls.  They turned out okay, but it took me awhile to get the hang of the dipping technique.  We played pin the kiss on the frog, but it wasn't a big hit (maybe they are still too young for this game).  MaKenna wanted to just peak so she could get the lips right on the frog's mouth :)  We also did some dancing to The Princess and the Frog soundtrack!  I am just loving her at this age.  She is becoming so independent, and she is learning to make choices for herself.  So far so good.  Let's just hope she continues to make good choices throughout her life!  After her party we shifted gears to pack for camping for the weekend.  I know... sometimes I wonder why we do it to ourselves, but it is all worth it.

She got a Princess fishing pole!

Don't laugh at those frog cake balls.  I tried.

Saturday morning Richie and my dad took off around 5 am to head to Diamond Lake with our 5th-wheel RV in tow.  They were meeting up with my dad's cousin Clark for some trout fishing on the lake.  My mom, Mary, Ayla, the girls, and I took off around 10:30 to head over there and meet them.  We had a great time camping.  It wasn't very warm though and rained a little.  We've had a very slow start to the summer season around here.  In fact there were still patches of snow up where we were camping.  On Sunday we took the girls out on the boat and it was fun because we had bought MaKenna a fishing pole for her birthday so she got to fish with it.  We were hoping to catch a fish with her pole, but it didn't happen.  We did however catch a lot of fish and we cooked up some fresh trout for dinner one night!  And I happened to catch the biggest one, 21 inches!!! (no bragging here) :)  So MaKenna had a fun birthday weekend camping!

                                                                         YUM! Breakfast in the camper!

MaKenna playing Lasso Golf...so fun!

Mary, Ayla & Kenna on the boat!

My friend gave Kenna a camping hand-me-down shirt and it is so cool because it even glows in the dark!  She loved it :)




                                              



MaKenna using her new fishing pole!



Then my sister's birthday follows MaKenna's.  Mary's birthday is June 9th.  It was a big one for her because it was her 30th!!! I couldn't let her get away without celebrating 30 years, so last night (Friday) we went to Portland and celebrated the decade of her birth the 1980s!  We dressed up in 80s attire and ate at a restaurant called Oba! then headed over the Crystal Ballroom for the 80s dance video attack that they do on Friday nights!  So much fun to be silly once in a while and just have fun!

Today the sun finally decided to come to Salem!!! This is the latest date to reach 80 degrees in the recorded history.  But we finally did it and I'm so happy to see the sun.  We went to a couple garage sales this morning (love, love, love garage sales)!  Then came home and did yard work.  I got the pool out for the girls and they had a ton of fun in the pool.  I got a little sun burn, not bad, but I wanted to get some color, so it will be okay.  Now I am relaxing and blogging. 

Memorial Day Weekend

Memorial Day Weekend 2010 was crazy busy, but so much fun!!!

Started out with a Birthday Party for a friend of the girls' at the NW Kids Club indoor park on Friday evening! We are so sad that the Kids Club will be closing at the end of the month.  We hope they find a new location to continue their business.  MaKenna and Ella had a blast and the goal was to get them tired because we left directly after the party to head up to Washington to stay with my aunt Gloria and her husband Pete for the weekend.  We drove up with my parents in their Suburban.  I love Suburbans! So great to fit everyone in one car!  We arrived in Everett, WA about 11:45pm.  We were tired.  My aunt and uncle let us sleep on their boat and that was a lot of fun!

Saturday we ate breakfast at Gloria and Pete's house.  They made an awesome French Toast dish, then Gloria took us to the YMCA so the girls could go for a swim.  It was a lot of fun.  Thank goodness for indoor swimming pools that are heated!  The weather outside was very drizzly.  We had BBQ ribs that Pete grilled up on his Traeger.  Another delicious meal!  Saturday night was the main purpose of our trip.  For Christmas my sister had gotten me tickets to Carrie Underwood!  The event center was within walking distance of my aunt's house, but since it was raining she dropped us off.  The girls stayed with them, while Mary, Jason, Richie and I got to go to the concert!  It was an amazing concert.  Carrie did a great job putting on a show.  At one point she sang a song while swinging on a swing.  Later she was in a truck that raised up into the air and went out over the audience.  She also had a dress that lit up!  So very awesome stuff and the setting in itself was very entertaining.  I loved it!  After the show we walked home and then went back down on the boat to sleep.

Sunday morning, Mary and Jason had to come back to Salem for a wedding, but we stayed up in Everett and Gloria and Pete took us out on their boat!  It was a nice cruise around the island and we got to see the Lady Washington in action.  The Lady Washington was one of the ships used in the Pirates of the Caribbean film.  They were giving tours of the ship and private trips on it for Memorial Day!  We cruised right up close to it to see it in action!  It was pretty cool and I got some good pictures of it!  The girls took a good nap on the boat too.  Nothing like sleeping to a motor sound and a rocking boat!  After the cruise we went to a local farmers market and bought some asparagus for dinner.  That night we had a fresh salmon dinner from a fish that my mom caught on the Clackamas River.  It was delicious.  We also went in the hot tub that evening and just relaxed around the house.

Monday morning we got up and went out to breakfast and headed home.  It was a great time in WA.

I also had Tuesday off from work, so we got to meet up with some friends form CA who were in town.  A Willamette Alum who played basketball at WU when my sister and I were "ball girls".  Lori and her daughter Maija came down and we went down to Willamette to get some WU Gear and look at some changes to the campus.  Then we had Pizza Hut at our house before Richie and I had to head to our Parenting class.  Richie then went from the class to a hockey game in Portland (he had a very long day). He is playing in a long stick league and I hope to make it to some of his games that are a bit earlier and hopefully I can post some pictures.  He is trying to get in some sort of shape before he goes to hardball nationals in WA in July.

Well that was a catch up... Hope you all had a wonderful Memorial Day and thank you to all of those who serve for our country.

E