Ellie's 6th Birthday

Ellie is 6! She is getting so big, I can't believe it. We celebrated as a family this year. She decided to go to Quizno's and to Sun Mountain Fun Center for bowling and games. I also took in birthday treats to her first grade class. They were all very excited. I got Ellie a collection of Babysitter's Club books and a snuggie. She also got Barbie and the 3 musketeers movie and doll from her brothers. She had a great birthday and is excited to be 6 with the rest of the 1st graders.

First Day of School

Ellie and Caden started school on Sept. 8th. Ellie is loving being a first grader and having 3 recesses and music and P.E. Her teacher this year is Mrs. Goram. Ellie says she is really nice. She has made a couple of new friends since no one from her class last year has the same teacher. Caden is back with Miss Mindy. He goes 4 days a week and has 8 kids in his class all of which he knew from last year or from church. He loves it and still hides from me everyday I come to pick him up.

Max talks about Ellie and Caden when they are at school and is always excited to pick them up but I think he enjoys having me and his toys all to himself.

Labor Day

We went to Sunriver for Labor day and enjoyed a great bike ride on the trails there. Then we stopped at Goodys afterwards for treats. Ellie did great riding her bike w/o training wheels. We hope to make it down there again soon.

Three Creek Lake

We went camping up at Three Creek Lake the last weekend of August. It is so beautiful up there. The campground lies at the base of South Sister mountain and there is a clear blue lake with a great beach area. We had the best time camping. We made two dutch oven meals and tried out a monkey bread recipe. Yummy! We even rented a row boat and went out on the lake. It was so fun. We will definitely be camping there again.

Summer Camps

Our Summer Camp Co-op turned out quite well. The kids really enjoyed seeing their friends and there were some great activities planned. To finish up the summer we went to Tumalo state park and made underwater microscopes. The kids loved seeing clearly in the river water. We also had a water balloon fight, yummy snacks and just enjoyed playing in the river. What a great state park and so close.


Below is Ellie & Caden painting tiles. We did an Under the sea theme. Afterwards we had a giant parachute with a bunch of sea animals underneath. The kids loved running under the parachute to get the animals.


It was a great summer camp, thanks to all those that participated. I think I will do it again next year with just a few modifications.

Utah Trip

We had a great trip to Utah in August. We were able to spend time with both Ryan's and my family. The highlights of the trip were:

• Girls day out with the Ellie's cousins. We took them to a cafe for lunch, a little bit of shopping, then out for pedicures. Then they all spent the night at Heidi's brother's house. Ellie had a blast with her cousins that she rarely gets to see.
• The Ranch with the Tomlinsons. Ryan and his brothers headed out for a backpacking trip the day before then we all met up at the Ranch for some camping and 4 wheeling fun.
• We attended 2 different weddings while in Utah. Two of Heidi's cousins got married. We had fun visiting with family and enjoyed the receptions. Again all the cousins got to play together.
• Kangaroo Zoo is a huge warehouse filled with bouncy castles and slides. All the Tomlinson cousins had a blast playing there.
• Visiting Temple Square in SLC. The kids were amazed by the temple and the visitors center. Since Portland is 3 hours away it is not very often the kids have seen a temple.

Mostly we had fun just visiting with family. The kids had the best time staying and playing with cousins and seeing their grandparents.