Happy Birthday to Brooke

A couple weeks ago our niece, Brooke, turned 13.  She had a big sleep over with her friends, and then Angie invited us all over the next day for cake and presents. 

By special request of the birthday girl, I made a six-layer rainbow cake.

Check it out, because I don't know if I will ever make another one.

Brooke got an anime poster from her mom.

Happy Birthday, Brooke!

Louis' 9th Birthday

For his birthday this year, Louis wanted a family trip to the bowling alley.  We all had a really good time, even if our bowling skills were a little rusty.

Louis helped Alice put her ball on the ramp.

The bowling alley gave us two (!) giant deserts because it was Louis' birthday. 

 After bowling, we came home for cake, ice cream, and presents.

Louis' new fully-automatic Nerf gun.

First Day of School 2015

Louis started third grade this year.  I can't believe how big he is now.  He was super excited for school to start again.

Alice was so jealous, but she has to wait until next year.

Bike Ride at Frenchman's Bar

This past weekend we loaded up the bikes on the back of the van and drove down to Frenchman's Bar along the Columbia River.  There is a great bike trail that we were super excited to try out.

We stopped for a rest at Hector and Louis' favorite fishing spot.

After the ride, we had a picnic on the beach and the kids played in the sand and water.

Strawberries

Even though we don't have a very big vegetable garden here, I turned a whole raised bed into a strawberry patch.  After a couple years of pretty piddly yields, our strawberry plants really started producing this summer (as you can see by the picture here).

The kids really love the strawberries (it's pretty much the only thing in the garden that both of them will eat).

I don't think any of our strawberries have actually made it into the house yet.

Fourth at the Fort 2015

For the Fourth of July this year we went back to the festival at Fort Vancouver.

It was super hot this year, so we had to get a snow cone.

Since my office is in the Fort grounds, we were able to set up our chairs on the lawn in front.

We had a great view.

The kids loved the fireworks.  This was their first year seeing the big display, but I'm sure we will be back!

Father's Day 2015

For Father's Day this year, we bought Hector a small fire pit for the back yard.  Of course we had to have a fire the first day we got it.

 Louis even made dinner that night for the family.

We also toasted marshmallows and made s'mores.