My little Abigail just recently turned two. Don't you just love how God made children extra cute during the more challenging ages?

This morning as sister got Abigail up, Natalie asked Abigail if she wanted a banana whole or in a bowl. Up until now Abigail has been wanting to hold her banana herself. "I hold it.", she says. This morning though she said, "bowl, bowl, bowl." Later she got really upset and Natalie couldn't understand what she wanted. So, I went into the kitchen. For spoon she says something like "oon" or maybe even a little less intelligible. But she points in the direction of the silverware drawer. All their little communications at this age are such a struggle, but one, if everything is going normally, these little ones really want to do.

It's funny to me, Abigail loves to say, "no". Big surprise, huh? She was one of my cute little one year olds that was so compliant, I thought maybe she'd always just say "yes". She said yes before no, after all. But, sure enough, here she is at the twos loving the word "no". It doesn't matter what you say, she answers "no". Last night we were trying it out. And my husband said, "do you want a treat?" The automatic response, "no". But, then it was followed by "treat, treat, treat." She wanted the treat (but she didn't get one).

The other cute stage advancement Abigail is showing involves potty. We had her sitting on her potty last night. She didn't want to stop sitting on the potty. And, she didn't want her diaper back on. That is a welcome sign of readiness, especially welcome after the difficult and long trial we have had with the last child regarding this area.

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My littlest girl and my step-daughter happen to have the same birthday. It's so much fun to celebrate two birthdays on one day. It makes it a little more like Christmas because it's not all about one child. Our girls are so cute about wanting to surprise their sisters and be involved in the party preparations. This year we started having the older ones pay for their own gift out of their piggy bank. It's a wonderful experience for them. They are really thoughtful, yet frugal in their choices. Well, here are some pictures of the celebration.

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My second-born daughter lost her first tooth. Isn't she cute?

And, I made some yummy whole-wheat sourdough bread. I blogged about it here.

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Just a couple of beach shots. I took the older girls out to the beach Saturday. We had a hard end to our day as I ended up in the ditch in the evening on my way home and the girls and I had to wait for a tow truck in the dark. Fortuneately, my car doesn't seem to have been damaged.

Jon had a bad day too, since the siding project revealed a rotten beam under the house that he'll have to replace. We live in a Manufactured Home which has no value on the books (in terms of appraisals). The previous owners put in their own decking, and unfortuneately bolted the decking into the siding precipitating its demise and allowing a place for moisture to get in under the house and onto the beams. Jon already replaced a beam under our kitchen when the front deck fell apart. He discovered the rotten beam then when he was demolishing the front porch. We really don't want to put any money into this home as it doesn't have any value. But, we've got to keep it livable. Anyhow...that was his day and he watched the little young'nn while discovering this. What a man. :)

Here was our day (the good half):

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I'm not too much of a Seamstress. Not yet, anyhow. But, while I was gone my 8 year old wrote this up. Do you think she's going to be a Seamstress? Or, maybe a Pattern Maker?

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When it comes to birthday time, I'm always reminiscing. Rachel is my cute, spunky, enthusiastic, honest, and quirky little girl. She was my plump little baby, and she is today just as cuddly as she was as a newborn (only with more kicking). I wanted to share some pictures from today and from our history. I can't believe she's six. To me she seems frozen at the three year old picture with her wearing the green dress, which I share below. But, that was three years ago and she certainly is growing up.

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I'm settling in after our trip. It looks to be a mellow week. I'm staying inside mostly as we've been having record heat - over and near one hundred. Too hot for me. Too hot for most people around here. I wanted to share some photos of our family from our trip. I hope you enjoy them almost as much as I do. :)

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We just got back from Yellowstone. I love the character that camping builds in the parents and children alike. I definitely come back appreciating the conveniences I have much more. Time away in God's creation also puts a longing and determination in my heart for a simpler, less complicated life.

The forecast for Yellowstone tonight calls for a low of 33 degrees. Brrr. Here it is a low of 60, with it hanging around 80 for most of the night. As we were driving into the Portland area our truck registered 108 degrees Fahrenheit. I'm not sure if it actually hit that, but it felt like it. We made Multnomah Falls one of our stops (which a favorite haunt of ours). It was too hot to even make it up to the bridge however and the sparseness of the Falls was erie. I've never been there when it has been so sparse.

Well, here are some favorite pictures. I'm sure I will share more. Two pieces of advice if you are ever to visit Yellowstone. One is bring layers and good tents and sleeping bags (which we had). Two is either reserve or plan on spending the night at a hotel or close camping the night before you camp at Yellowstone. During peak times you need to arrive between 7 and 9 in the morning to get a camping spot.

  Old Faithful

  Petrified Tree

  Yellowstone River

  I love dirt.

  Figuring Out Flyfishing

  Sweet Abigail

  Rachey trying her hand at fishing

  Lower Falls

  At the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone (more impressive than this picture)

  Yellowstone Lake

  Cops & Thief (these boys who camped next to us were from the Netherlands)

  Midway Geyser Basin

 
  Reflection at Firehole Canyon Loop

  You gotta love those clouds. They were a daily occurance - every afternoon.

Waiting for Old Faithful (#2)

Old Faithful Crowd
 

Old Faithful
 

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Today was one of those near perfect days for me. What makes a perfect day, you ask?

Well, first you get to sleep in a bit without any chickens (or husbands) waking you up early. Then, you have the presence of mind to delegate a chore to each of your girls when you first get up, in seperate rooms of course, and they actually get that chore done. Then, your oldest (but not the oldest of the group), who got her chore done quite fast asks if she can make breakfast for you. Yes, of course! The answer actually is not always of course, as I have to help her with the baking powder mixture we use, and usually end up flipping pancakes at the end. Then, you have the presence of mind to ask the oldest of the group, having just finished her chore, if she'd like to turn the pancakes. Of course she would. Yeah. In the meantime, your husband has loaded the dishwasher up for you (and the unloading was already done by someone else). You get the floors vacuumed (which already got picked up by someone else)...and your weekend starts with the house somewhat clean.

Then you head outside and water your plants and weed your flower garden. You are kind of mopey about your husband asking you to use the F350 to pull the tractor out of the pond at the bottom of the property. But, your husband doesn't give you a hard time about it. Then, your husband seems willing for you to go out and get some compost for your flowers and some craft things for your little girls. You feel bad you were so mopey and agree to "try" help him rescue his tractor. Your older girls watch the baby in their room while you go and rescue your husbands tractor. You successfully rescue your husband's tractor and it hardly takes any time at all. Your middle girl shows you the house she made out of sticks down on the lower end of the property, and she is as proud as could be about it.

On the way back up your husband tells you he wants to go with you to get the compost because he just likes to be with you. You get all teary-eyed. You head back to the house and dishes are unloaded by oldest of the group, and baby is well taken care of by her older sister - playing happily in her room. You make a caeser salad with chicken for lunch and "almost" everyone raves about it. You go out and get the hand-sewing needles for your girls to finish their stuffed animal dogs. (A needle was lost, which isn't good...but that was another day.) You go out with your husband and get the craft stuff. In the meantime he doesn't have to wait for you too long at Joann Fabrics because he goes and fills the propane tank. Then, you go get some Starbucks and go get a yard of compost for those clay flower beds you have. You get home, husband unloads it for you. (Can you tell I'm thrilled with my husband today?) You make a quick, but loved dinner while your husband is tilling the garden getting rid of the weeds between the rows. The kids come in and eat. Your husband comes in later. The kids aren't too terribly hard to get in to bed (because they are exhausted). And, did I mention that today the weather is just perfect for you? Warm, but not too hot to work outside all day.

Oh, on top of that, this wasn't today, but (sorry no pic yet), a calf was born in the field a couple of days ago and you got to see it running along side it's Momma, swishing it's tail today.

Well, God is still good, even when days don't work out like today, but it sure was a nice day.

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