Ethan's 7th birthday

My big boy turned 7 today. Wow! We had a lot of fun.

I made a spaghetti and meatballs cake this time! It worked out pretty well.

Ethan got some great gifts and had a wonderful time! He wanted a pinata, so he got one.

We were going to take him an his friends to the movies, but he chose to rent a movie, buy popcorn and soda, and watch it at home on the big screen with his friend Garett.

Lots more photos on the picasa album site. I think you just need to click on the picture.

Camping

This was Nicky and Gabey's first camping trip. It was a lot of fun, but a LOT of work! We went to Beaver Bay in Washington. This was a pretty cool campsite on a lake, with boat launch, fishing, and swimming. Kurt got to try out his new fishing gear for a little while. He was pretty busy with the boat during most of his free time though.

Noah had a blast. He was filthy the whole time too. He would spend a lot of time using the wash bucket to clean his hands and face, then 2 minutes later he would have dirt all over his face! I let him eat cherries and he decided to pick them apart to get the seed out, so cherry juice ran down his arms. He climbed huge moss covered boulders and if he wasn't fishing, he was begging to be! He was so cute!

Ethan was adorable as usual. He loved fishing. He even baited his own hooks, and cast his pole all by himself! We never caught any fish unfortunately, but he didnt give up. Now he wants his own tackle box.

Ash had fun too. She wished she could've brought a friend along, but there were so many kids as it was I couldn't imagine another one coming along. Maybe next time though. She was the only one who was able to get away on her own for awhile. She found her own little rock in the water that she sat and fished on.

Next time we plan on bring a Baby Wrangler along. I already talked to a couple possible people who could do it.

Mental note: next time bring a Sharpie and fitted sheets for the air mattresses.

Multnomah Falls and Bonneville Dam

Today we went with Kurt's parents, his brother Marc and his family to Multnomah Falls and then to the Bonneville Dam and Fish Hatchery. It was a lot of fun and we got some great photos. Nicky was on my back (with the football player looking bruise under his eye) and Gabe was on daddy's back. Short post today because we're packing to go camping in the morning! YAY!

Ethan

Ethan is my little sweet potatoe! He was helping me feed the twins this morning because Noah wanted a peanut butter and jelly sandwich-like-right-now! lol

My little Snickers is such a big helper. Thanks Ethan!

4th of July

We had a fun day today hanging out with Kurt's parents and his brother Marc and fiance Kim today. The twins slept a lot of the time in their stroller while watching people in the pool, while we BBQ'd. They had the most fun when they were playing in the grass while everyone else was on the playground. I think this was the first time they got to actually get onto the grass!

Here they are sitting together on the grass at the RV Park where the grandparents are staying while in town. Gabe on right.

Gabe is standing and walking while holding onto things. Hes going to be running soon I bet! Nicky got his second tooth on Wednesday I think it was... They are so different but they keep advancing in their own ways.

Nicky cut his first tooth! I just found it a few minutes ago. Baaaarely through the gum is his top, left toothie! Its been swollen this week, and Ive been checking atleast once per day on both babies for any signs of teeth. This is the first. They are a little over 9 months old.

Nearly 9 months old. My babies are getting so big, so fast! They are quickly crawling/scooting around military style. Gabe can pull himself up to almost standing on short things and tables with grippable sides....
I just had to stop typing because Gabey like to climb on Nicky. Needless to say Nicky doesn't like it.
They seem to be progressing about they same rate, but in slightly different ways. Nick has been shaking his head "no" (just for fun, not as a response) for a couple of months, but Gabe just started it. Nicky has been wrinkling up his face and forcing a sniffing sound through his nose for over a month, Gabe just started it. Gabe climbs, Nick doesn't.
Nick watches what is going on around him (he will get close to my alarm clock and touch the numbers) - Gabe tries to manually check it out (by yanking the alarm off it's cords! lol).

I cannot believe how scared I was when I first found out I was pregnant this time - it was such a surprise! I could have never guessed that I could ever be this in love with sich a large family. I always saw myself as a one-maybe-two-child kinda girl! lol

They are eating a large variety of foods now. We had to move them to size 4 diapers simply because they blow out of anything smaller within no time at all. They are wearing at least 9 month size clothing - 12 month fits best. I just bought them 4 pairs of adorable little Stride Rite and Nike shoes for summertime. My kiddos will be the best dressed kids on earth if I can help it!

Make sure you keep checking out our family's YouTube videos! They are low quality videos, but that enables us to uploads as much as we want in no time at all. I keep high res videos at home.