Grandpa said WHAT???

"Mom, grandpa said we are going to get chickens in our backyard and then we can play with them every day!!!" Yep, straight out of the mouth of Ava. He has also told her that someday he will buy her a dog and a hamster. He knows mommy will put them on the curb, but he gets their little hopes up anyways.
The kids had a sleepover at grandpa Rick and grandma Natalie's the other night (they live right next to the fairgrounds and keep their chickens in the chicken barn) and spent all of their time in the chicken barn playing with their new friends. When I came to pick them up, they were grinning from ear to ear and talked about it like it was Disneyland or something. I'm glad that something as simple as chickens can make these two so happy!

Our Busy and Crazy Summer Adventures

WOODLAND PARK ZOO

We had such a great day at the zoo! Our Texan cousins came with us, and we picked another cousin up in Kirkland. (She got came home with us for the weekend!) The kids were so into all of the animals and didn't mind all of the walking at all.

The Bears were only about 10 feet away from us. Most of the kids agreed that this was the best part of the day!

The boys did really well sitting in the stroller. They got out and ran around for awhile, but it was pretty hard keeping track of so many kids!

The boys loved seeing the bears!

The lions didn't ever move, but it was still pretty cool!

5 little monkeys

The Jaguars were fighting right by the glass...we watched them for quite awhile

Taking a break by the penguins- what a fun day!!!

BIRCH BAY

We spent a lazy day by the beach last week. A bunch of Nick's family came along, and the kids played and played. Ava and Carter were captivated by all of the little creatures everywhere. They were out digging for 2 hours and never came away from the water. The twins did really well too...daddy walked them out into the water. It was really sweet. :)

There were buckets, shovels and rakes everywhere!

Little critters

Little Man taking it all in

Ava and her best buddy/cousin Johanna (They had such a fun weekend together!)

Cousin Kausten wondering what all of these crazy kids are doing! We brought this one home, of course! Ava had about 20 things that she wanted to take, but I made them narrow it down to 2. :)

Cornwall Water Park

We decided to take advantage of this amazing weather we've been having with a trip to the sprinklers! We went with our cousins from Texas. The kids all played so well (even the twins!) and the mommys got to sit and relax!

----My four silly kids having a blast!----

Brrrrr!

Miss Bella

She is such a great big sister! Weston wasn't as brave as Coleson, but she took his hand and went through with him.

Buds

Cookie Monster (Carter was feeding him a cookie and Coleson bit Carter's finger accidentally...Carter was pretty mad about that.)

Oh my

That's better. :)

Carter's poor bloody finger...he took about 5 minutes to feel sorry for himself, and then started running around again! Naughty Cole Man!

Summer is just getting started, and so are we! I can't wait for all of the adventure that the rest of the summer has in store for us!

Redecorating

Isn't that sweet, Coleson decided to decorate the entertainment center for me! What a great look! This boy really thought it through!

**How to achieve this great look at your own house:

1.Take all of your clothes off

2. Tip over the coffee table

3. Push coffee table over to entertainment center

4. Climb on up

5. Get situated

Carter Scott's 5 year pictures

Not to get all sentimental on you, but it seems like just yesterday that this little guy made his appearance, and we were overwhelmed with pride to be parents of a BOY! If we knew that two more would follow, I'm not sure that we would have been as ecstatic, but that's besides the point! This little boys has blessed our lives tremendously with his kind heart, his sense of humor and his zest for life. What would we do without him? Happy Birthday buddy!

KITCHEN kitchen KITCHEN!!!!!

I was going to wait until the kitchen was completely done, but Nick has to work 5 days in a row and alot of you have been asking for pictures. We still need to put crown molding on the top of the cabinets, finish the shelves above the sink, and put trim everywhere else. It's so nice to have a functioning kitchen again, and the extra cupboard space and bigger counter tops has been soooooo nice. I just walk into the kitchen and smile now!

The new bar
Dining room The cubby...this has been so nice. No more backpacks and coats laying all over!

The laundry room sink and backsplash.(Pretty bold color choice, I know!)

Weston's Slobbery Love

This little man is so good at sharing! I'm sure his great great grandma loved the drooled on, probably dropped a few times, germ filled, yummy, juicy watermelon bite that he shared with her! She was such a good sport, and it was a really adorable moment. Grandma Wachter is Nick's great grandma and she is 92 years old!

Another Mystery is History

Did you know Ace has a day every year when they plant your pots for you? Did you know that I went there and spent $58 dollars on beautiful flowers that I could enjoy all summer? Did you know that someone or something came into my backyard and ruined my summer flower viewing plans? Four beautiful terra cotta pots....EMPTY. Two were dumped out and the flowers were shredded, and the other two were smashed into pieces. Who would do such a thing?

One of the sad looking pots
Coleson, did you see anyone come into our backyard and do this? Do you have any idea how these pots got demolished? Since I know that you would never do such a thing, I guess the search continues. Maybe we'll never know. By the way, how did you get all of that dirt on your face? Hmmmmmm.

New Pictures

Check out some pictures of our little "Pink Princess" on my photography blog. www.ashleyseigmanphotography.blogspot.com. These were an assignment for a photography class that I'm taking. She is the perfect model, so of course I chose her for the first week! I started with the easy one, but I have 5 more weeks of assignments and 3 unwilling boys. :( Maybe I could borrow some of your children?? :) I think I will do Carter's 5 year pictures for my assignment next week, so stay tuned!

I love this day!

Happy Mother's Day! I'm not quite sure why this is underlined, but I'm just going with it. Anyways, my kids and hubby spoiled me today, and it was wonderful! Nick made a delicious breakfast, and then out came all of the gifts. Carter made me a beautiful bouquet out of colorful tissue paper. Ava made me an apple bird feeder and gave me a marigold in a cute pot that she decorated. Nick, Weston and Coleson got me a Grandiflora gift card and some goodies! The gifts were all so sweet, but the best gift of all is the love and joy that each of them bring to my life every day! I have such an amazing family and I'm so glad that God gave us to each other!

What we've been up to

Well, it's been a busy couple of weeks. I'm not sure that Nick's "vacation" has been all that relaxing for him! We got the rock up on the front of the house, hung some siding, got the walls textured and painted, installed 450 sq. ft. of wood floor, set up our table and cubby, set up the laundry room and even hung some pictures! It's coming along very nicely, but we still have a ways to go. The cabinets are still gone, and they will be back anytime. Then on to the countertops, backsplash, hardware, lighting, etc... Right now I'm working on the deep cleaning to get the rest of our house into shape. I can't believe how much dust there is! I will post pictures when it's DONE...for now I'm going to keep everyone in suspense. :)