Ellie's 7th Birthday Party

Ellie had a great birthday party. We had 26 kids come. They skated and played games. The kids had a blast. She recieved a ton of great gifts and it was nice to meet some of the kids from her class.

The Invite:

The Decorations:


We had set out customized water bottles and snacks for the guests.


The Guests:




The Goody Bags:

A mix cd of Ellie's favorite songs, candy, and silly bands. We also handed out glow necklaces and bracelets as the guests arrive.

The Fun:





The loot:



"We are always supposed to eat a little junk. It is healthy for you." (Ellie's quote of the day)

Ellie's 7th Birthday

Ellie had a great Birthday! She started the day out with a special breakfast with her BFF. We had pancakes, eggs, and sausage. She also woke up to her very own desk in her room. We had set it up in her room when she was sleeping. She was SO EXCITED. You would of thought it was Christmas morning. She even ran into her brothers room and woke them up to see her cool new desk. After school we met Ryan at Cup of Yo (a new self serve yogurt place). The kids loved it there. Her teacher gave her a Birthday Bag with cards from all the kids in her class. She even had a birthday balloon and bear on her desk for the day. Ellie also took in special treats (mini oreo cookies) to share with her class. I let her watch High School Musical that night and she was thrilled. (She has been begging to see it for a long time and finally it was on tv so I recorded it). Ellie said it was the best birthday ever.





Her big Birthday Bash is on Saturday so check back soon.

Fall Soccer

Both Ellie and Caden are playing soccer for the first time. Caden is on the Anteaters and Ellie on the Frogs. Neither of them love it, but it is a good experience and it is only the 2nd week. We will see how the season goes. It is fun to go to the games and the kids enjoy being part of a team. Ryan is an assistant coach on both teams and seems to enjoy it. He is really great with the kids.

Caden starts Kindergarten

Caden started Kindergarten this year. He was so excited and had no fear. On Wednesday we went to meet the teacher. He turned in his school supplies, went on a little scavenger hunt to get oriented to the classroom and school and got his picture taken. Then Thursday, the first day, he went right in, got settled, and didn't even say goodbye. He is very outgoing and I am sure will make friends easily. He has one good friend in the class so that makes it even more fun. His teacher is Mrs. Hoiness and she seems awesome. It is a big class though, 26 kids. She needs lots of volunteers so I plan on working in his class a couple of hours a week. I was a little frustrated at first b/c he ended up in afternoon kindergarten. They didn't even have morning this year. But he will be going to a morning class with a couple of other kids from his kinder clas on Mon. and Wed. so it worked out.

Ellie's First Day of School

Ellie had an awesome first day of school. She is in 2nd grade this year and seems so grown up. She came home raving about her teacher, Mrs. Burks, and is just thrilled to be in her class. She knows a couple of kids but none of her good friends are in the class. She has made some new friends though and I think it is going to be a geat year for her.

August Memories

We had a very busy and fun August. We started the month off with a visit from my parents. They stayed for a week and we loved every minute of it. We went to Crater Lake, camped and even took the boat tour around the lake. It was awesome. We visited Lava Lands and the Lava Tube Cave (aka bat cave). We biked around the Old Mill in one of those fun surrys. We hiked to Tumalo Falls and enjoyed playing in by the river. It was a great visit and the kids can't wait til they come back for a visit. It is hard when grandparents live so far away.

The following week we took a trip down to Utah. We stayed with Ryan's brother's for part of the time then with my brother for the rest of the time. The kids had a great time hanging out with cousins and seeing family. We made our annual trip to the "Ranch". We had fun riding 4 wheelers, shooting guns and learning how to shoot with a bow and arrow. The kids love the ranch and talk about it all year. We also went to Cowabunga Bay (a water park), the dinosaur museum, and spent lots of time just hanging out with the family.

We had about a week to get ourselves together before Ryan's sister, Korbie and her best friend came out to visit. We took them to see the sites of Bend and had great visit. It has been so fun to spend the last part of the summer with family that we rarely get to see.

July Fun

In July we took a fun vacation to visit some places in Oregon we have never been. We drove south and camped at Diamond Lake. Then we headed over to Roseburg and went to the Wildlife Safari. We also drove a scenic byway that has 20+ waterfalls. We stopped at some really spectacular ones and would love to go back and see more. Some are right off the road but others you have to hike in to see. Next we headed to Sunset Bay Beach. It was awesome. There was no wind and pretty good weather. The kids just love the coast. We drove home through Eugene and stopped at Chuck E Cheese. This was my kids first time to Chuck E Cheese and they had a blast. We don't have one in Bend so it was a special treat.

At the end of July we attended the Deshcutes County Fair. We love the fair and go every year. This year we bought each of our kids 10 ride tickets. They couldn't get enough. Ellie even went on the adult rides. It was a great time!

We also had a geat time at the Primary Water Olympics and the 4th of July.