The Cheetah Is Back!

We're hoping it'll make it another year. Stop growing Esperanza.

We Adopted More Chickens

 We added 6 more chickens to our flock - now we have 12. Way too many!! Our neighbors moved across the country and offered their chickens, chicken coop and gate to us before they left. They even helped us take apart and put everything back together. They are the sweetest family, and though I am happy to have their chickens, I am super sad they are moving. 

Benefits though include more eggs!

Summer Swim Lessons

 We just finished up our summer swim lessons at the Camas Pool. Esperanza LOVES the water. She's basically a mermaid, without the fin. We did two/two week sessions of swim lessons, with a break in between. Originally, we weren't going to have a break, but they put her in a more advanced class than she was ready for, and with kids several years older that she was so it was very uncomfortable for her. We sat that session out, insisted on a reevaluation, and eventually got back on track with where she belonged. She is a very good swimmer, advances very quickly and is building up endurance and skill. I kind of wish we had a big pool for her to live in.

Camping At The Coast

We had an adventurous, exhausting and memorable camping trip at the beach this past weekend with my sister Cyndi and her family. It was her husband Tony's birthday and we got to celebrate with them together at the beach. We stayed at a nice campground on the Oregon Coast. Our camping spot was large and private, surrounded by bushes full of juicy huckleberries as well as trees fit for climbing children. Roman, Ezra and Esperanza had a ton of fun playing around the campground, riding bikes , climbing trees and cooking marshmellows. The beach, though windy, was very nice and it was sunny the entire time! The kids spent hours digging in the sand and playing in the ocean.

On the way home, we stopped by the Tillamook cheese factory for a quick tour and a yummy ice cream cone. Then we took another detour at the Tillamook Forest Center where we went on a short hike down to the river and took a nice dip in the cold refreshing water. The actual forest center was just closing as we were leaving but we were able to walk through and take a look at some of the neat things inside. Ezra fell asleep on the way home, but not before getting his first little hair cut from getting gum stuck in his hair. 

What a fun weekend!