Happy 80th Birthday, Grandpa Ray

Jeremy's Grandpa turned 80 this month. And as Jeremy told him, I hope we are as active and look as good as he does at 80.

These are pictures that Pam and I took at the party.

Here is Pam and Luken. Grandma had been feeding Luken chocolate cake.

Our kids with Great Grandpa

Jeremy had to work, so he came up at the end of the party. I was hoping to stay out of pictures, but Pam caught me and insisted.

Here is Ray with his Grandsons except Travis.
From left to right: Shane (the eldest), John (the youngest), Grandpa Ray, Jeremy, Kevin, and Thomas.

And here is Grandpa Ray with Travis and his family.

When I went outside to collect the girls to go, I could hear giggling, but I could not see anyone.
I found them all crammed in the tunnel slide. Above is Aliah, Jeremy's cousin's daughter.

Makayla was at the bottom.

Bailee was up around the corner.

We had a great time at the party. It is always nice to visit with family.

More Yard Work

I have been getting the kids outside most days to do yard work. We have grass that just wants to take over everything. Above is Luken doing his share.

Sam and Bailee cannot just work in the yard. They have to throw dirt and yell at each other. This is Bailee getting ready to retaliate.

Luken was just an all around helpful guy.

Another Rainbow

The other day we had another rainbow appear. I took my camera outside and took several pictures of it. At one point, you will see that there were two.

I love the every changing aspects of a rainbow. As the clouds move, it changes shape and color. That is why I have included more than one of the pictures I took. I just could not decide which I liked the best.

Dog Saga Continues

We have a happy ending to our dog story.

It turns out the dogs were our neighbor, Barry's. He had just gotten them on Tuesday, the first day they visited us. He had picked them up at the Pullman Animal Shelter. Thankfully, they had the identification chip in them. As soon as they got to the Lewis Clark Animal Shelter, they called him. We did not think of calling Barry because we knew he was not home and he did not have these dogs.

This is a great ending to our story. The girls can still visit the dogs and we know they have a great home and will not die.

Our Garden

We planted a garden this year. This is the first year that we have done this. Actually, this is the first time I have ever planted a garden. I have made some mistakes I have already found out, but I am sure it will all work out.

This is our starting plot. It has grown since this picture though. I worked soil all by hand. Jeremy did not have the time to use a rototiller on it for me.

This is going to be a family project. Here are the girls helping out. The little girls thought it was a great plan. Bailee had to be told to help.

Luken also chipped in. He thought digging in the dirt was a great idea. He loves to come out with me when I am pulling weeds and dig in the dirt.

I will keep you posted on the gardens progress.

Funny Faces

I love the many faces of our boy.

Visiting Canine

Yesterday, I came home in the evening to find two lab older dogs at our house. The kids said they had come down Evans Rd and decided to take a break at our house.

You could tell that they had collars at one time, but not any longer. They were mature dogs. One looked quite old.

They hung around the house until late last night barking at whatever was crawling around in the bushes and trees around our house.

When we woke this morning, they were no where in site. I was very glad, because our girls thought that we should keep them.

Then around 10am this morning they returned. They were so malnourished that Jeremy had to feed them. In doing so, we knew we would have to call the animal shelter.

And so that task fell to me. For your information when there is a stray animal, you actually call the sheriff's department or the police department depending on where you live.

Our girls were not very happy. They wanted to keep one, if not both. Jeremy even considered keeping the younger of the two. Thankfully, sanity reined and both went to the animal shelter. There were sad faces all over the place when they left.

It was very easy though. These dogs were definitely someone's pets. When the deputies came, they just called the dogs and they hopped into the backseat of the squad car.

I pray that whoever has lost them comes to find them, because they were very sweet dogs.

Hummingbirds

Last year, we had several hummingbirds that came around. This year I decided I wanted to have a feeder somewhere that we could watch them. I purchased this a few months ago, but just got it out recently. We have it hanging outside the window where our kitchen table is.

I took these pictures yesterday after having our first hummingbird visitor. We are going to be hanging other bird feeds also. We just have to be careful, because are good birders. I hope to have more pictures of the different birds we have around here. There seem to be many varieties.

Recital Night

Here are a few pictures I took the night of the recital.

Makayla was tickling or pinching Sam in the above picture.

Recital Rehearsal

Here are a couple of pictures of the recital rehearsal. They all start on stage for a pep talk from Shelleigh.

Sammy, Bailee, and Makayla are all in the above picture. Can you find them?

I took a few pictures trying to figure out settings for my camera. I gave up though in this little trying to get it right.

Recital Portraits

First, I want to thank Ange (Ange Movius Photography) for doing the recital portraits the last few years. She does a fantastic job with the craziness that comes with taking, not just one kids, but many kids pictures. We are very thankful at River City Dance to have her do this for us.

Second, I want to show you our girls. Makayla took Creative Movement this year. It is our beginner class. You can be three and join this class. I have to thank the teachers who take on the change of ones so small. Becky and Jessie, thank you so much for all you do. Each one of the girls has enjoyed being with you in class.

Makayla's class - The song they danced to was "Red Hot" and you missed out if you did not come to the recital. The younger kids are always the most fun to watch.

This was Sam's fifth year of dance. I just checked. She has been dancing since 2006. Where does the time go?

This is Sam's jazz class. She was the only one this year to do both jazz and ballet at level 1.

Here she is with her ballet class.

Last, but never least, is Bailee. Bailee has been dancing since she was five, I think, maybe four. So this was around her ninth year.

Here she is with her tap class. She has decided to not take tap this fall. I am disappointed, but going to allow her to make the decision. I am hoping she will miss it and come back.

Then comes jazz.

Lastly, ballet. Bailee started pointe in January. She has really enjoyed it and is looking forward to take more this fall.

Bailee danced in six different pieces this year. Above she is shown with her pointe class, below is her regular ballet class.

The recital is always an exciting way to end the year. It was a wonderful performance this year. Everyone did great and had fun. And just so you know, Bailee and Sam also have fantastic teachers.