Weekend Away!!!

Tom and I were fortunate enough to get away the first weekend in November. Thanks, Mom for watching the kids...I am forever grateful!! We went to a resort in Harrison, Idaho. It was so nice.

We did a little browsing at some stores and we ate lots of good food at a couple of my favorite restaurants in Spokane. We went on a walk on the boardwalk at the Coeur d'Alene Resort. The sun was setting and it was so beautiful. It was difficult to take decent pictures all by myself.

I took this as we were leaving the resort. It was gorgeous all weekend but a little cold. I've decided I need to get some warmer clothes for Tom since he only had this sweatshirt.

It was nice to get away together. We missed Jayni and Mason like crazy though. I felt like I was calling my Mom nonstop to check to see how they were doing. They did great and had a good time with GraMimi and Poppy!!

Halloween

Nice title, huh? Not too creative right now! We had a great Halloween this year. Jayni planned the costumes months ago. She told me quite awhile ago that she wanted to be a witch and she wanted Mason to be a pirate.

They look so cute! Mason's costume was supposedly a 3T, but it most definitely was smaller!! He reminded me of one of the rollie pollie pirates from the movie Hook.

Jayni had to have a picture with her pumpkin. She's such a sweet girl!! I feel so very blessed to have her and Mason in my life!!

Autumn Hayride

I love Autumn and I get excited about all that comes around this time of year. Two of my favorite holidays, Halloween and Thanksgiving, the changing leaves, and the brisk breeze and smell of the air.

On October 6th we went on a hayride to a pumpkin patch and picked pumpkins.

     

Jayni with Grandma & Grandpa Perkes

Beth (Tom's sister) & Rex

Bob (Tom's brother), Britta, Rex, Eli, & Asa

Tom & Ryan (Beth's husband) being goobers

Later that evening we went over to Tom's parents house for soup and scones and so the kids could decorate their pumpkins. Usually I look forward to carving pumpkins but not this year. We went the easy route with Mr. Potato Head parts.

Here's the finished pumpkins! The Mr. Potato Head parts were a little hard to poke through the pumpkins so it was actually the adults that ended up decorating them.

Family Reunions

Over Labor Day weekend we went camping with Tom's parents, siblings, and longtime family friends the Goodlander/Maus family. We had a great time! Phil & Sandi Goodlander brought jet skis with them. Jayni & cousin Rex loved riding on the tube with Grandpa Perkes.

Tom's sister Beth, came up with some great games! The first night we did some various relay races. One of them we had to eat a whole donut that was tied to a string and we couldn't use our hands. After the adults were done with the relay races the kids wanted to do the donut game.

Jayni beat her cousins, Rex and Eli, and even ate the whole donut!

The downside for me was not having any showers where we were at. I can't stand my kids being dirty! We ended up using the bin that we store our tent in as a bath for Jayni & Mason to clean up in the two nights we were there. At first Mason didn't like it...

...but soon enough he was splashing and playing in the water. Tom and I used this to wash our feet at night too.

Tom and Mason relaxing together. Tom's sister Christi, designed these cute shirts.

The last night we were there, Beth came up with the idea to have a rodeo. She even made the little horses. Here's Jayni playing with one of the horses. She wouldn't let anybody else use this horse. It ended up coming home with us.

Here's the Rodeo Princess and her favorite horse!

Grandpa and Grandma Underwood (Tom's grandparents) came the last full day we were there and made us a delicious dutch oven dinner. It was fun to be with everyone, play fun games, and eat good food!

In July we also had gone camping for the Chlarson Family Reunion. We went to Ensign Ranch. We had good times with crafts, numerous trips to the big slip 'n slide, and lots of yummy food. Unfortunately, I only took one picture. I have no idea why I didn't think to bring out the camera! The one and only picture I took was this one of Jayni on our way home.

She was so worn out from all the running around and fun she had with her cousins. We packed up and left right after breakfast and I didn't notice that Jayni had hot chocolate all over her face until we got home and had a bath.

Bushman Family Reunion

August 20-24 was a busy few days for me and the kids. My 15 year old brother, Tyler was visiting from California. My sister, Shaila had picked him up in Spokane and he stayed with us at my Mom's for the first night. It was so good to have that time with him. I've always felt such a strong bond with him even though he's 12 years younger than me. He has such a strong testimony and is a very ambitious kid. He had just received his Eagle Scout before coming to visit. Good Job, Tyler. Keep up the good work!!!

Tyler had wanted to come during the Grant County Fair but wasn't able to make it. I ended up taking him to the Benton Franklin Fair in Kennewick. We had a great day and he even rode a lot of the little kid rides with Jayni, Malcolm, and Quinn (Shaila's boys). Here's Tyler and Quinn on one of the rides.

Jayni, Malcolm, and Quinn loved riding all the rides.

Tom was working a booth at the fair for the company he works for. We had stopped by there to change diapers and say hi and then some guy comes up to us to say we should probably call 911. Here's the reason why!

This was the booth right next to us. Note the name of the business. Of course they didn't have any water so Tom took a hose over to them. They started evacuating this area of the fairgrounds because they were using huge propane tanks. Let's just say this was our highlight of the day.

For all those who don't know, I have 17 brothers and sisters! Since Tyler came for a visit, Shaila arranged for all my Dad's children to get together (14 of us, 2 have passed away). My Dad passed away 5 years ago and so it's been about 3+ years since we were all together. We had a little reunion at a park in Moses Lake. It was great! Shaila planned a great day for everyone and we had a good barbecue that evening.

As you can see, it took a few times before everyone behaved for a serious picture!

Here's all the girls! Me, Shaila, Malissa, Amanda, and the youngest, Kathryn.

Here's the boys. Tyler, Ryan, Jason, Milo, Calvin, Carter, Spencer, Tanner, and Trevor.

The boys ended up piling on top of each other.

It was nice to see everyone. Some of us lose touch but then we get together it's as if we haven't skipped a beat. I love all my brothers and sisters so much. They are all valued and loved!

Gotta Love the Mullets!

I just really wanted to share these pictures even though they're from July.

I hadn't had Mason's hair cut for 5 months! I had huge issues with it. I was worried if I cut it short than he would look too much like a toddler and no longer like a baby. He's only 17 months but is as big as a 2 1/2 to 3 year old. He's now wearing 3T clothes!! Anyway, I didn't think to take a picture of his long hair until after my sister-in-law, Melanie cut off the sides. Melanie and I died laughing while taking the pictures, especially at how long the back was. I must say it didn't seem that long because his hair would curl under.

Here is Mason a month later playing in my Mom's bathtub. He had climbed in all by himself. I usually bathe him at night, but we had gotten there late so I decided I'd bathe him in the morning. I think he was feeling a little out of whack with the change in the routine.

He's such an adorable kid!

4th of July Parade

Tom drove a little truck in the Pasco 4th of July Parade for work. They let Jayni ride with him and even got her a t-shirt.

I may have gone a little overboard with the bows and flags but I was feeling very patriotic this Independence Day. I don't know if that's because I'm getting older or having lived in another country. I even had a flag and placed it on our house.

My Mom and Pop came down for the parade. It was nice that they joined Mason and I. Here's Mason eating some crackers as we waited for the parade to start.

I can't believe how long his hair is!!

Here's Jayni going by.

How cute are these two? Tom said Jayni probably ate more candy then she threw. He hadn't realized how much she was eating until he found all the candy wrappers.

Jayni joined Tom again for the parade in Kennewick to kick off the Benton Franklin Fair and Rodeo. For some reason I didn't take any pictures. I'm really not sure why. Thanks Landon and Holli for joining me and walking so far!