New pictures of the kiddos

Kraig and I took the kids out to our field of alfalfa and captured some really precious shots.


Kory James...



Kaden Eugene...



Konstance Grace...





We took so many pictures trying to get the kids to all smile and look at the camera at the same time...needless to say it was challenging, but SO MUCH FUN!! We were so pleased at how well the pictures turned out.

What a blessing these children are to us!! We are so thankful for them, each and every day!!

Thank you God!!!

Mt. St. Helens

My Uncle Raimund and Aunt Ingrid are visiting us from Germany this month, and we are so enjoying have them here. We thought it would be a fun day trip to take them to see Mt. St. Helens.




So we headed out last Sunday morning around 9:30 or so. We knew it would take us a few hours to get there, but what we didn't plan for was the extra winding roads to take us to Windy Ridge. This is the closest ridge to actually view the side of the mountain that erupted. The boys weren't too thrilled with being trapped in their car seats for so long. We left just before their naptime and thought it would be perfect timing, but they failed to go to sleep, until just before we arrived for a lunch break at a Rangers station just past the town of Cougar.

After lunch, we hit the road again to get to our ultimate destination...Windy Ridge. We arrived around 2 pm, and the boys were going a bit stir crazy. Mom felt quite car sick, so she and Aunt Ingrid stayed down at the parking lot and let the boys play in the back of her van, while the rest of us hiked up 440 stairs to a landing with a great view on the mountain.

Here is a picture of Konnie, warming up for the hike, doing some yoga!!



We are just about half way up the side of the ridge here...



Here is a shot of the mountain



A picture of my wonderful Uncle Raimund.



Here we are, the adventurous hikers, nearly at the viewpoint.



It is amazing to see how much timber is still floating in Spirit Lake, and it has been nearly 30 years since the eruption.



The view of the stairs and parking lot on the way back down the ridge.



When we got back to the parking lot, we were all ready to head home. Everyone wanted to eat a quick bite, so that we could drive non-stop.



Kraig and I took the kiddos back to Dayton, and Mom, Uncle and Auntie went to Leavenworth. We didn't arrive home until 9:30 pm. It was heavenly to be back home and to be able to let Kaden and Kory play and crawl all over the place.

We have a walker...

Well, it is official, Kaden has started walking!!! He took his first few independent steps last week. He is sure proud of himself and enjoying his new found skill. We couldn't be happier!! Here is a video clip of Kaden walking...




Sorry that I haven't been better about blogging lately. We have been so very busy. Things should start settling down soon, I hope. :)

Driving around the farm...

Konnie took the boys around the farm for a ride on her John Deere Gator. It was so sweet to watch. Of course the boys absolutely loved it!!!

Konnie gave Kaden a ride first...





Then it was time for Kory's ride...



Then our fearless boy felt that he was ready to take the wheel...



This is how Kaden felt about taking a break...



The next day, we decided to let them all ride together...



Then everyone was happy!!

Swimming in the pool

It is so amazing that is almost the middle of August. Where did the summer go? It seemed like it was just a week or two ago, that Konnie finished her first year of preschool (for 3 yr olds). Now in less than a month, she will be going back to preschool (for 4 yr olds). She just misses the age cut off for starting kindergarten, as she will turn 5 in early October. So we are off to another wonderful year at St. James School.

We are trying to fit in as much as we can before September arrives. We should be able to do a lot more fun activities after this week is over. Kraig has his final for school on Thursday evening, and then 4-5 weeks off before his next term starts...YAHOO!!

So...without further delay...our summer fun!

Konnie took two series of swimming lessons this summer and wow - what a difference. She has had several lessons over the years, but is really taking off with her swimming skills. We are so proud of her!!!








Konnie - our swimmer girl -





Kory having fun splashing in the water. He does very well with the water and rarely minds being splashed in the face.



Kory's funny face after he splashed a lot of water in his own face.






Kaden also loves playing in the water.

Feeling blessed again...

Kraig was doing some work for my Mom's business yesterday and came so close to losing his life. It feels so sickening to even say or type the words. But, by the grace of God, both Kraig and my Mom's employee are fine. They were replacing a 8" backflow device that was in an old vault. Fortunately, Mom decided to insist that the customer remove the lid off of the vault, as a precaution. Without this insistance, Kraig and Tyrone surely would have drowned. While they were taking the old backflow device off of the water line, the old valve blew off and within 5 seconds the vault was full of water. Normally, work is done with the vault top on the vault and the vault door open. Since the lid was off of the vault, they were able to quickly climb out and escape the raging water.

The City employees came out to try to find a valve in their system to shut off the water, but were unable to find one to close off the water flow. Over the course of the 18 hours, the water raged...they estimate that approximately 3 million gallons of water flowed out. The part of town that they were working in is very old and is not up to the current codes. We know that without a doubt that God was leading Mom to insist that the lid be removed to keep Kraig and Tyrone safe. In fact, she couldn't sleep the whole night before the job, worrying about things...and now we know why.

Oh how our lives could have changed forever...thank you Jesus!!!

Cooling off in the summer heat

This weekend we took the kids to a great park in McMinnville. They have a lot of great equipment to play on, wonderful padded flooring, a sand pit, and fountains to cool off in. Mom and I took our three kiddos and our niece Sydney on Saturday to play. Then on Sunday, Kraig was able to join us for another great day of playing.

Kaden and Konnie enjoyed the water a lot on Saturday, but Kory wasn't so sure about it. Kory enjoys the water in the bathtub, and in the pool at home, but the fountains make a lot more noise as the water collides against the pavers, plus the water is a little cooler. But having Kraig's help today, we were able to let Kory explore the water again, and really take his time. Kory did great!!!

Kory getting ready to brave the water





Kraig and Kory exploring the stream of water





Mommy and Kory playing in the water





The boys enjoying the water together



Kraig and the boys




Kaden really enjoying the water





We all had such a wonderful time, and it helped cool us off from our 90 degree heat.