Hello, Deer

The deer were in the backyard today-the three of them walked right along the edge of my patio then jumped into the neighbors yard and ate their trees.  I had the slider open to take some pics., but the fog and that it was still dim out made it tough to get anything good.  You can see how close we were standing though, and they really could care less.  When I watched the bear the other night he was right below the rock wall you see behind the deer-now, that's a little too close for me when it comes to bears! In the past, the bears have come along the same trail that you see the deer on right now-right along the edge of my patio.  Yikes!

August's Soccer

August is well into his second soccer season, and is a natural at many sports, including this one.  This year, Mike is coach, which is a great experience for us all.  August seems to enjoy having Dad as coach, and Mike is doing a great job encouraging the kids and rotating them fairly out on the field.  We are the black team this year-The Cheetahs.  The team picked the name.  These pictures are from lastnights game, which we actually lost-the were very good.  We are a good team as well, but most importantly, everyone seems to be having fun on the field.

Blueberry Picking in August

This post is coming in late, but what can I say, I've been busy and my blog has been frustrating me!  I'm optimistic that it seems to be doing better now, though.

We love blueberry picking, and look forward to doing it every year.  With this years pickings, I was able to make blueberry muffins (Matthew's request), and a blueberry pie.  Of course, there were plenty to eat and freeze as well.  The kids discovered that they really like blueberry pie:-)

Ready to go.

Some blueberries for you, Reagan!

Mt. Si

Sticks are fun!

Reagan enjoyed picking the berries, but ate them out of her bucket just as fast!  Mike and Matthew treat it as a mission, collecting as many berries as they can for me, which is much appreciated, as I'm usually dawdling along with the girls in tow.  August usually divides his time somewhere in-between power-picking and running through the rows of bushes.  This is such a great activity that everyone enjoys!  I love the relaxing atmosphere and picking below our beautiful majestic mountain.  I could stare at it all day:-)

A few new hats....

My first attempt at a small baby blanket-a receiving blanket size.  I think I want to make a larger one for our family room, as this one felt so snuggly!

Custom Hat made for a friends daughter.

Sock Monkey Hat for Girls and Boys.

My newest Apple Hat for Girls-I really love this one!

Baby Rea in a Pumpkin Beanie.

Sock Monkey for Girls

Elf Candy Beanie for baby Boys

Just sharing a few new hats with my friends and family:-))

Alyssa's Ballet

Can you find Alyssa?  She is sitting near the helper girl in the back, smiling at me!

Alyssa on her first day-class was just ending.

Class just beginning.

She is LOVING it...both the ballet and tap, and I love that she has something special just for her!  You can see a glimpse of just how adorable the studio is in these photos:-))  She shows me things she learns in class throughout the week, and she is even inspiring me to want to stretch more.  I love what ballet teaches!

Ready For Ballet AND Tap:-)

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The girls look like they are striking a dance pose here, but in truth Reagan had just finished hugging Alyssa and was pushing her away!

Tomorrow Alyssa will attend her first day of a ballet/tap.  She is SO excited!  She has tried her shoes on many times since we purchased them last week, but for tonight we thought we would put the whole look together for the family who won't be home during the day tomorrow to see her in her dance-wear.  She looks so beautiful and ready to go and try something new.  I can't believe how big my sweet little Alyssa is getting!

My neice is SO talented!

Ashlee is so gifted in many things, be it crochet, dance, or in this case, the piano.  I just had to share this on my blog, as I am so proud of her!

Click HERE and once you do, it will link you to the post on my sister's blog where you can here her latest piece.  Take a couple moments to hear her play, and I"m sure you will be as impressed as I am.

I only WISH we had a piano in our house for my kids to have the chance at learning something so awesome-way to go Ashlee, and keep on going!

Freshman FOOTBALL!

This is his practice jersey.  His game jersey is actually #18, so in the game pictures, even though it feels like "where's Waldo", you'll want to look for #18 when trying to spot Ryan on the field.

Freshman football has begun, and what a busy schedule Ryan has! He has practice every day after school, games begin next Wednesday and that is all on top of starting high school!  Ryan took the plunge with his hair and cut it off (in order to make his helmet fit better), so I had to take a picture of that.  Of course, Matthew followed suit (same day, same haircut-lol!). We are proud of Ryan and looking forward to his first real game.  Last Friday night they had a scrimmage game to kick off the season, and we got a glimpse of  what the games will be like.  Fun! We attended as a family, and really enjoyed watching him.  Ryan got a good tackle and the coaches really seem to like him, they just want him to learn the plays better.  He missed that opportunity by not attending the Summer football camps, but I'm confident he will pick them up!  He really goes after it in the game.  Go Ryan!
 August came home from watching all the football and grabbed the biggest, puffiest jacket he could find and put it on, pretending that he was a football player!  His bike helmet was his football helmet, and his siblings were fair game for the tackle.  Matthew was very content to watch a live football game, and can't wait for his real game next week. 
August also has his first game that same day and time, so here it begins that I must clone and divide myself, but such is life with a full house of kids.  I love it, though!

Skating!

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The last week of Summer vacation, I was able to get to a skating rink with Sarah and practice some rollerblading! Candy, Sarah, Alyssa, August, Reagan and I found an afternoon session at a rink over in Redmond that was perfect-not too crowded and not too far away!  I found that I picked up rollerblading like it was yesterday (that was one of my favorite things to do as a young teen!), and Sarah did great!  What a fun way to spend some time together:-)