Mount St. Helens

One of the other day trips that we took on our camping trip was a drive to Mount St. Helens.  This was amazing to see!  Seeing how much of the mountain erupted and came crashing down through the valley below was unbelievable.  We spent some time in 2 of the visitor centers, reading about how it happened, how fast and  powerful it was and reading some of the amazing survival stories.  If you ever have the chance to see this, it is well worth the trip off the highway!

"Look, I see it over there!"

"We're up here!"

In spite of all the devestation that occured over 30 years ago there, it was very cool to see all the regeneration of life that has and is happening there now.  Many species of both plants and animals are again thriving there.  We really do serve an amazing Creator God!

A trip to Smithers

On July 2nd, I packed up the van and headed up to Smithers for a little holiday.  Kevin had the opportunity to go to Greece for a University Instructors convention and I gave him my blessing to do so.  Yes, I would have loved to have gone along, but the university would only cover his expenses not mine, so my next holiday option was Smithers! 

Our first stop along the journey was in Fraser Lake to see the VanWerkhovens.  The kids were very excited to see their cousins and their new place.  They had great fun exploring where they lived, gonig on a messy hike, feeding turkeys and just hangin' out together!  Wish we lived closer so they could play with their cousins a little more!

Cousins!

Hiking through the trees along the path . . .

. . . and in the mud!  Thanks for the piggy backs Uncle Dave!

Feeding the turkeys

Then the next stop was in Smithers at Grandma's house.  We spent just over a week there enjoying the beautiful sunshine (which we hadn't seen much of  this summer yet!), playing in lakes, playing at parks, visiting friends, going to "Grandma's Store", a day at the farm, hiking, visiting aunts and uncles, waterslides and pools at Esther's Inn . . . It was a great week there!
 Here are a few highlights!

Going for a hike up Malkow Lookout.

Kendra and Owen enjoying a view one way from the top.

The view the other way.  Mountains don't get much better than that!

Playing in Grandma's pool.  Not quite the same as Auntie Esther's but with a sprinkler beside it, it was still fun!

Jocelyn tried the whole day at the farm for the cows to come eat her handful of hay. 

Watching the last bale of hay go up the elevator into the barn.

Going for a ride on the quad with Uncle Al . . .

going for a walk with mommy. . .

going for a ride on the dog!

Playing at the beach at Tyee Lake

Stopping for lunch at a rest stop on the way home.



Me and my crew!

Jocelyn, the little fashionista, reading some books while waiting for her breakfast.

However, no matter where you go, it sure feels good to be home again.  That is a good thing.

Puzzle madness

My mom recently went to Holland and took back this 'little' puzzle for us to do.  She knows my kids like to puzzle and was a bit intrigued by this one.  It came in this tiny box and it said 1000 pieces.  It also said for ages 6+.

 Well, upon opening up the box, we made a few discoveries.  The pieces were VERY tiny and there did appear to be 1000 pieces in that small box.  We also discovered quite quickly that this puzzle was for an age group a little higher than 6+!

 I am not a puzzle-er and now I know why.  This confounded puzzle has wasted more of my time in the last week than I want to admit!  I was determined to finish it and late (very late) last night I did.  Now it is time to look at it for a day or two, put it back in the box and send it to the thrift store for someone else to lose sleep over!!

Happy Mother's Day!

My 3 little miracles!  I love these kids with all my heart and soul.  They make me love being a mom!  I thank God everyday for these precious gifts!

 This year my mom was also visiting over Mother's Day.  What a treat to be able to celebrate this day with her! 

Posing for a family picture before heading off to church!  What a great day!

Gingerbread houses

As I've done in the past years, I invited my neices and their kids over to make gingerbread houses. I started this when it was just Kendra and Sydney and now it has grown to 11 kids (actually 12, but Lindsey and Kevin were in Edmonton so Gavin didn't get a house. Next year!) My mom was here this year and she made most of the houses the day before and we also had Auntie Sylvia come to lend a pair of extra hands. Karla appreciated this as her little man was only 1 week old. We were glad that she was able to make it out the door with her 4! This was also the first year for Courtney to participate with her little guy Finn. We even managed to get the end picture with all the kids and their houses! See you all next year!

Sydney and Kendra looking very serious about their creations.



Jocelyn didn't quite understand the concept of putting candies on her house when it looked like much more fun to just eat the candies!

Owen had a definite plan for his house:  Put on as much icing as it could hold and then cover all that icing with jellybeans and gummie bears - the candies that were his favourite!

Carson being quite particular about how his candies were arranged.

Hudson getting a little help from his mom.

The whole crew (L to R):  Finn, Judah, Owen, Addison, Kendra, Hudson, Sydney, Bryce, Berlin, Carson, Jocelyn.



Birthday #2!



It was time for another birthday in the deWolde household with the youngest member celebrating her 2nd birthday!  Wow - I can't believe that it was already 2 years ago when she arrived, just in time for Christmas!  Here are a few shots of our day!

The morning pose - Happy Birthday peanut!

 

  As a good older sister and brother, Kendra and Owen were more than willing to help Jocelyn open her presents, read her cards and figure out her toys for her!

 I went with a 'Farmyard' theme for her cake as she loves anything with animals right now and the sounds they make.  (Thanks howdini.com for the tutorial!)

A fun day!  Now on to Christmas!!

Family photos

Here is a peak at the family photos we had done a few weeks ago.  Having these done had been on my wish list for a while.  A happened to come across a photo session done by Sharalee Prang for a wedding and LOVED the pictures that she took.  After checking out her website and other family sessions that she had done, I knew that those were the type of pictures that I wanted!  She somehow managed to capture my family and all of our personalities perfectly!  We are not very good at 'posing well' for pictures so it was great to be able to just let the kids play and explore and have her worry about taking the pictures!