Canoeing!

Paul needed to borrow his dads canoes for some training at the Navy station, it was only obvious that we needed to take them out on the lake before hand upon delivery. 

Ben, Clare, John, Lilyan and Roen all joined us. It was great fun!

Paul and John with Syler and Ryker

Ben, Clare, Roen, Lilyan and Zander

Drezden wanted to swim instead!

Katara was playing on her blanket

Way out there!

He had a blast just playing in the lake.

Zander at the front of his canoe. He had a great time~

What fun we all had. We look forward to our next trip on the water!

How do we fit?

I get asked a lot how we all fit into our car, So I thought I would take some pictures to show you. I want you to keep in mind, the safety of our children is one of our highest priorities. CWe keep them in the safest car seat option for their height/weight. We have invested in some pretty amazing car seats that allow them to stay rear facing till 45-50 pounds, forward facing and harnessed to 80-90 pounds and boostered until 120 pounds, plus they have a 12 year life. This is what works for us, If you want more info on the carseats we use, let me know I am happy too share the information!

Middle row, Syler, Katara & Ryker all still happily Rear facing.

View from very back, Drezden rear facing, Zander Forward facing

Pretty happy and comfy!

 And that is how we do 5 kids all in carseats in our 3 row Durango.

Garden goodies!

I love having a garden, there is nothing like planning meals around the fresh harvest we pull from the yard. Here are just some daily garden goodies.

Nothing beats in flight carrots snacks!

Of course some Zucchini bread

And some fun cucumbers that grew together. These are "Dragon Egg" cucumbers, one of our favorites for snacking!

Come on over, we will share!

Birthday's

We attended a Rainbow themed birthday party for the little girl I watch, Savannah. We all dressed in a color of the rainbow and Katara wore her rainbow dress on last time as it is getting to small. 

Ryker is two! TWO!!! No matter how many birthday's happen it never fails to hit me like a rock, each year my children are a year older. It always happens so fast. Ryker is one independent, spunky, smart, determined, funny and loving little boy. He doesnt talk much yet, but lets you know what he wants with lots of gestures, sign language and grunts. He has recently potty trained (YAY!!) and is accomplishing so many things daily. Ryker loves feeding the chickens and picking Cherry tomatoes from the garden for a snack. He loves coloring and wants to do "school" at the table with the big boys. He hates missing out on anything his brothers are doing and is always just one step behind them. He LOVES Katara, always making sure she is okay and happy, providing her with plenty of entertainment.

I cannot wait to see what this little boy becomes. 

We enjoyed the day together and ended it with a delicious caramel Blueberry cake.

Birthday pancakes

Love this boy with all my heart!