April and May Birthday Extravaganza!

More Lochheads in Mead!

Drew is teaching in Mead!  He started working at MHS (alongside his bride!) this year and another teacher snapped this pic of the brothers in their synchronized meeting faces.  What a crack up!

Learn to Ski Sunday

 Both kids learned to ski this winter--and it was all due to Daddy...and Oden!  Jeff took Josh up one Sunday afternoon with Drew and Oden, and once Josh saw Odie skiing, he decided he could, too!  After our first crazy experience on the mountain, I was FLOORED when Jeff sent me these pics from the mountain!  Good work, Joshy!!!

More Sunday Skiing

Drrrrrrrrew!

We will think twice before giving our garage code to Drew Lochhead.  While retrieving something that was his from our garage, he found some leftover April Fools signs and left only one of them in our front yard.  The kids thought it was a great idea!

April Birthdays

So happy to celebrate these two crazies in the month of April.  GG and Uncle DragonSlayer made wishes and didn't get any crumbs on the floor as they ate their cupcakes.  We were sad to not have Pappy with us on his birthday this year...he was in the hospital with very low energy, and they were going to check out his heart to see if there was anything they could do to help him out.  We missed out on the Drew/Harvey pic that always happens on their joint birthday celebration.

Projects done, on to fun!

Our lovely days at home often started like this...

Here are the garage shelves that Jeff completed during the week!  Our goal was to clean out our storage room downstairs (for future transformation into a bathroom) and the storage bins had to go somewhere...  My handy husband designed (ahem, adapted from online) and built these shelves in our garage in a couple of days.  They are exceptional.

The kids were bugging us ALL WEEK to go to Get Air, the new trampoline place at Northtown Mall.  So on this Friday during Micah's nap, Daddy took them.

We made a few bird feeders for Pappy's birthday--pinecones, peanut butter, and birdseed mess!  But I did try a funny one from Pinterest--toilet paper roll feeders!  I kept one for our birdies.

And the annual April Birthday Party happened at the Lochhead homestead on a Friday night.  These two always sing a nice duet to one another.

 Micah and Granny are best friends, for obvious, sugar-laden reasons...

Wheels!  Gracie and Joshy and Daddy rode over to the party and the evening was filled with Go-Go-GOing!

Aunt Annie's Dress-Up Box

Aunt Annie has the best dress-up box in town!

The kids have claimed "Aunt Annie's house" as their second home...

Sorry, Drew--apparently it's too hard for them to call it "Uncle Dragon Slayer's house."

Birthday Buddies

G'pa Harvey and Uncle Drew turned another year older this April!  Here's something to make your brain spin:  G'pa is 82, Drew is 31.  G'pa was born in '31 and Drew was born in '82.  Trippy!!!

The BEST Gift of September

MY Vote:  Baby Oden has been the best present of September!  We LOVE having Drew and Annie so close again--and we've been blessed to be able to see Cousin Oden two days a week, when I am working, and then when Annie is working!

Oden is such a big guy!  Born a premie, but small, no longer!  This boy can EAT!  :)  And he loves watching Gracie and Josh...  Most of the time his eyes are wide open, taking everything in--and smiling when Gracie and Josh get down close to drizzle him with baby-talk.

Our kids have been having so much fun with the baby toys that we've brought back out from storage.  It's like Christmas, all over again!  Exer-saucer, bouncy seat, singing toys...meant for Oden, but entertaining a 4-and 2-year old, too!

With all this gear, Gracie has discovered a whole new play-land for her baby.  Here, Oden is inspecting this dolly whom he found harnessed into HIS car seat.  I guess "baby bear" thought this chair was just right!  :)

Gracie's Vote:  Aunt Annie has been the best present of September!  The kids think that having Auntie all to themselves is pretty great!  On Tuesdays, I often come home to find Gracie playing Memory with Annie, or eating a snack while playing a "Which is Bigger?" number game, or recapping what happened in preschool that day.  Joshy's a fan too.  I knew this when, after two days of being with Annie, I woke him up in the morning on my first day off to see him immediately frown and say, "Where's ANNIE?!?"  This boy is getting pretty silly.  So it's pretty easy to know his vote...

Joshy's Vote:  Uncle Rico! has been the best present of September!  I don't know where this name came from, but Josh has decided that Drew is really Uncle Rico, and Josh tells (and retells) the story about how Drew fell asleep while watching the Olivia movie with the kids at G'ma Colleen's house and Joshy peeled his eyelids open, saying, "Wake up, Uncle Rico!"  (pronounced, "Un-ko Wee-ko!) They both have a funny bone that I'm concerned may be genetic...

Don't Forget...JEFF'S Vote:  Swede! Jeff can rest easy on days when Swede comes over with Annie, knowing that the safety of his family is at an all-time high.  Swede is vigilant in keeping away squirrels and birds, neighbor dogs, and (Jeff's favorite) pesky neighborhood CATS!

Hunters? Nope, Gatherers.

On a day where we had no outing planned, Jeff suggested that we go look for huckleberries on Mt. Spokane.  After consulting his grandparents, we headed up the hill, not sure exactly where we were going to find these delicious berries.  At our first stop, we unload the kids and walk down the trail a few feet to find...huckleberries!  Now, I will never insult a huckleberry, but you must know that these wee berries were a bit challenged in the size category.  Much smaller than most seasons, but a few, nonetheless!  We walked away with only a handful--and they were delicious in pancakes!

And I have to post the next picture from Jeff's phone:  it was taken at the Vista House where we had lunch.  We'll always remember that day and place, b/c while we were there, Uncle Drew called to announce that he got a Spokane teaching job and would be moving back to Spokane!  A picture-perfect place to have that news delivered...

And this is one of the many treasures that we've found at Greenbluff this harvest season!  We went with the Van Sickles when they got back from Alaska--and have gone again since for blueberries!--and came home with zucchini, apricots, beans, potatoes...and carrots.  This little carrot cracked me up immediately upon pulling him out of the ground.  I was just saying that there was nothing better than pulling a delicious carrot out of the ground...and wha-la!  Instant laughter.  Definitely worthy of a picture.  (I couldn't eat him!)

Sunriver, Oregon...2012

We had another great week in Sunriver this year!  This time we went over the 4th of July and had a great time--weather was HOT, pool was COOL, and family was BIGGER!  This was Oden's first year and we initiated him with bike rides, pool dips, and lots of attention.

 ...5 Belknap Lane was our house this year...our family had the two basement rooms, and Joshy was VERY excited to sleep in a BIG BOY BED just like his sister.  It took a few nights to get him to stay put, but he was finally getting the hang of it toward the end of the week.  He kept talking to Gracie and we kept coaching her to ignore him and pretend she was asleep.

Josh really liked Oden's toys.  We're thinking of bringing our playmat back out...ha!

Everyone was so interested in Oden.  He was on a weight-gaining mission...and over the course of the week he put on a whole pound!  We made wagers as we were leaving to see who could guess his new weight.  So glad we didn't guess our own!  Vacation food is the best:  Linda's potato salad, Colleen's brownies, Drew's flank steak...

This scene was quite common:  Gracie in Annie's shadow.  Gracie kept trying to snag Oden's blankets for her own baby doll...and she even figured out how to nurse her doll.  So cute!

And it wouldn't be Sunriver without the bikes!  This year the kids were both in our trailer...we're pretty sure Jeff was hauling around 90 lbs. of kids and stuff.

This year may have been the first without meltdowns in the trailer.  My favorite was hearing them chant, "Go, Daddy, Go!" when Jeff pulled them over big hills.

Lots of floor time with Mr. O

The kids even have a song now:  "Oh Mr. O...O...Mr. Cousin O...Please come visit me!"

Josh holding Oden...the baby holding the baby!

 Gracie doing an airplane trick

Loved this shot of the dogs waiting for Drew to accidentally drop some flank steak.  It didn't happen.  :)

 Annie is working hard to feed Oden.  This week she usually had company at every (day) feeding.  :)

POPSICLES!!!

One day we went for a hike at Benham Falls with Scott and Colleen.  Here are the two kids being "King of the Mountain!"

G'ma Colleen holding on to them tightly!

Josh didn't want to walk much.  We all took turns piggy-backing, shoulder-riding, and tricking him into walking or running on his own.

And Gracie wilted a few times too...

We ran into people that Jeff worked with at Camp Spalding out on this hike--a small world!--and they offered to take our picture.

 Isn't that Oden so sweet?  We think his hair has a red tint...

 Two babies with their bottles...

Another highlight was the day that the girls went shopping in Bend and the guys took our two kids up to East Lake which is located in the Newberry National Volcanic Monument.

And Jeff says the best decision he's ever made as a father was to throw his kids down a river in a raft without life vests.  :)

 They were thrilled!  Jeff says they went down six or seven times, laughing all the way.

And this was the other feat that was conquered while the ladies were out shopping.  No big deal, Mom...the kids were sent by themselves down a river and Papa Scott taught Gracie how to ride her bike while you were gone for a few hours.  No big deal.  Just an average day.  You didn't miss much.

And the kids thought the best thing about being in Sunriver was...SWIMMING EVERY DAY!!!  Jeff promised them that we would go to a pool each day we were there, so needless to say, we had lots of shriveled toes, tanned skin, and lightened hair.

This was the first year that the SHARC facility was up and running...so that meant inner tube slides, a lazy river, sprinklers in the concrete walkway, and the floating tree log to balance on.

 Their favorites:  to jump in and jump in and jump in...

 ...to flip Daddy in somersaults under the water...

 ...and to be thrown by Daddy into the air before splashing into the water.

Drewsy and Annith brought Oden to the pool with us on our last day.  It was PACKED with people.

We found this little spot to sit back by the fence.

And Oden found the kiddie pool!

Is he not the cutest thing!??!

Spiderman legs!  They look just like Slick's...

As you can see, he was pretty bored with the pool...  :)  Scoop of vanilla, scoop of chocolate--don't waste my time. Yawwwwwwn.

More bike riding!  She was a little timid after a spill she had, but we're thinking next year she'll be flying!

 Twinkles encouraging...

...and of course the trusty Retrievers, Swedo Speedo and Silly Lilly!

Other highlights:
-Cassie stopped by on our first night as she kicked off her July road trip.  Maggie loved playing with the other dogs, and we finally had an even gold-to-black dog ratio!  :)
-We were very close to the store and probably stopped there on a daily basis.
-Joshy asked if it was a "Movie Night?" probably 100 times.  He's turning into quite a determined fellow.  A dragon movie that was in the house was watched SEVERAL times.
-4th of July in the village was WILD, so we headed to "The Trout House," aka Hola's, for a lunch out. No fireworks this year...Swede was thankful, and parents were too tired to drive into Bend.
-On our last night, Jeff led us on a "Tour of Homes" bike ride...taking us past each of the houses we've rented over the last four years.  So fun to reminisce and a great way to end our stay.  (And so impressive that he could find them so quickly!)