McKay and Gensie's big trip to G and G's

McKay and Gensie have asked many times to stay at Grandma and Grandpa's longer than we usually are able to stay. So in August when we were so sad Tyson and Jess weren't going to be able to come visit us that we had to fill the void with something else. So we took our kids to my parents house. We stayed a week with them then Quinn and I left with Avonlea and the Twins and we let McKay and Gensie stay for 2 whole weeks. And boy oh boy they loved it! Neither one got home sick. They would call us, or rather we would call them (they were usually too distracted to call us) and they would say they didn't want to come home but they missed us and just wanted us to go there to see them. After 2 weeks my Dad and brother went to the Pendleton Round up (which is a huge rodeo in Pendleton Oregon) and it is exactly half way between their house and ours. So on that day Quinn worked from home and kept Avonlea and the Twins and I drove 3 hours to pick up our kids. 

Look at how hot and sweaty this boy is. He plays so hard and LOVES the animals.  There were many days that they couldn't even get him to come inside to eat.  Even then, he would grab an apple and head back out.

This is Shorty George, a pony that Grandpa just recently got. It was our kids first time seeing him and oh man was he a HIT! P.S. Robyn, my dad is selling him and the cart.

He is so well broke and can really pull a load.

McKay is well broke and can really pull a load too!  :) My parents have a big island counter in the middle of their kitchen that sits adjacent to our wood stove, so to go around them makes a big circle. They have lots of trikes that Grandma buys just for this reason. When I was a kid we rode many miles around and around that counter and now my kids are doing it.  They absolutely love it.

The Twins aren't going to be left out for a single minute.

Watching a movie with their best ol buddy Uncle Andon.

London in Yellow Cadence in stripes

How do you make this thing go?

Left: McKay, Uncle Logan and Kayslee, Gensie, Brindee, and Avonlea.

Avonlea, Gensie, Kayslee, McKay and Brindee on Shorty George.

The Girlies have ridden before and liked it but they are older now and weren't big on the idea this time.

This is how we fed them; just pile the food on the tray and push another chair up against it :)

Grandpa Pearce with Bridgey in blue and Cadence in purple

Some of the trikes are even big enough for Uncle Andon and he rides them around and around with the kids.

Quinn's Birthday

 I surprised Quinn for his birthday and made him his favorite soup, Zuppa (he loves it at Olive Garden). I've never made it before and it turned out soooo good. The kids loved it too. I made rolls and we had watermelon with it. Then he also got a triple berry pie. Blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries. Oh so good. We gave him a new pair of jeans from Costco which he loves. They look so good on him and he got a very nice copy of The adventures of Sherlock Holmes.

Zuppa.  It is a potato, Italian sausage and kale soup.  So good!

The twins go to bed early.  It made for a more simple birthday party.  Oh, and McKay's mustache...he wanted to be a cowboy with a mustache this particular day.

Oh so warm and runny with vanilla ice cream served next to it.  Oh and by the way, candle melt in a warm pie...pretty quickly.

Brady and Corrine

They finally made it!  Brady and Corrine have tried to make it up to see us since they returned from Italy.  Things got in the way, but if finally happened.  July 28th - June 3rd.

We played a lot of games (every night) and particularly enjoyed Pictionary.  We played guys vs girls, couples vs couples and had so much fun.  We also made sure to have snacks/dessert when playing as well.  We may or may not have eaten 2 large homemade cheesecakes in 5 days. :)  We were pretty busy with going different places that our dinners were more simple.  We bbq'd burgers and corn on the cob one night, on Sunday Brady and Corrine were introduced to our burritos with homemade tortilla shells, and then for 2 nights in a row we made nachos with fruit...fruit on the side not on the nachos. 

Multnomah Falls

Yup.  We hiked to the top of Multnomah Falls (over 1 mile) with 5 small kids :)

The kids had so much fun climbing in every crack and crevice, and over every log and rock they came across.

Quinn packed these 2 just like this the whole way up.  40 extra pounds.  Many people commented when they saw him "Wow, look at him!" and then they would tell Tasha, "Well, I guess you carried them for 9 months.  He can handle 1 hour."

This is at the top looking over the falls.

And then we drove straight from the Falls to pick blueberries.  It was the last few days before the season ended for many of the farms around here.

The twins sure like their blueberries.  Makes for some easy babysitting!  Just park the stroller right in the middle of the bush.

Cadence

Sometimes you really do need to stop and smell the roses.  At the Rose Gardens

Tasha and Corrine sat and visited while the kids just ran and played in an amphitheater at the Rose Gardens.

Cadence and Uncle Brady. 

Best Friends

We took a 7 minute drive from our house to the Columbia River and had a great time playing in the water and sand.

Check out Cadence's diaper... we forgot to bring a swim diaper :)

Cadence was all about playing in the water and London in the sand.

We had so much fun having Brady and Corrine here.  We are very happy they came and hope they will come again!