Wrestling

After dinner, when most families are starting to wind down, our family is getting out that last bit of energy.......by wrestling.  And for some reason, it's much more fun to do in your underwear.

New Favorite Hobby

 Yesterday was my last riding lesson.  

I had been wanting to try it out for a long time and wasn't sure if it would be something I liked or not.  

I actually loved it!  

I wasn't intimidated like I thought I would be and I always felt really comfortable while riding.  Shawn was able to go with me and got a few pictures and videos (to prove I actually did take lessons:o).  

This is Jack, the horse I rode each time.  He was old and pretty safe, which is probably why I always felt so comfortable.  There is a lot more technique to riding than I had expected, but it was fun to learn and feel like I actually (kind of) knew what I was doing.  

 I got up to a canter yesterday, which is like running, and is something I'd have to do a few more times in order to feel more comfortable.

Before my lesson ended, she took me on a short trail ride.

I would definitely love to keep up with this new hobby in the future and maybe even get the rest of the family involved!

Hiking The Base Trail

The forecast shows rain and thunderstorms for the next week, so we had to make the most of this sunny day.  We packed a lunch and headed for base.  They have a great trail, so we hiked the short trail through the woods, grabbed our lunch, then headed for the beach.

 There is all sorts of driftwood art along the trail.

 These ladybug crossings are pretty cute too.

 Olympic Mountains, beautiful as usual.

 Horses!

We even got to watch a lot of jets take off an land.

 Going...

 Going...

 Gone.

 Making a see-saw.

 And last, but not least.

Amelia's Halloween costume came today!

I had planned on keeping it a secret.

But OMGoodness, when she looks this cute...

...I just had to post a picture!  

After School Snacks

While our days here on the island and numbered, we know our days with sun are even less.  After school we went home for snacks and headed back out to Ft. Ebey.  We found a house already built for us.  The perfect place for some Cheez-its and fruit snacks.

 We watched a little surfing.

 Then we drove up to the Gun Battery...for more snacks.

We got to watch the boats from here.

 Then we hiked to the campground and back.

 Shawn and I took our Christmas card photos on these stairs when we lived here in 2006.....maybe we'll have to do that again this year:o)

 The kids were ready to go home, but I didn't want to be stuck in the house just yet.  We drove up to another lookout point and found something we'd never seen before.

 J. Ebey Block House

 I wish we could have looked inside.

 Views don't get much better than this.

Sharing A Room

I've been thinking about having the kids share a room for awhile now.  I know when they get older and start school, it just wouldn't work.  So...for the next 4 months, until we move, they are sharing a room.

Amelia's room has now been turned into the playroom and our downstairs guest room/playroom is now, just a guest room.

 I just told them to go have quiet time and that they needed to read books or do puzzles quietly (because that's all that's left in their bedroom).  Amelia got into her bed and laid down.  Caleb closed the blinds and said he wanted to get some rest too.  What?!  I have the monitor turned up and they are doing a lot of whispering (I did tell them to be quiet) and I'm pretty sure Amelia is now in Caleb's bed and they are reading books.  We'll see how this goes:o)

Mom's Little Cutie

 I just couldn't pass this shirt (and the daddy one) up.

Enough said!

Pumpkin Cookies

It was a rainy, lazy afternoon.  Perfect for some pumpkin shaped sugar cookies with icing and sprinkles.

And this is what happened afterwards!

They ripped off all of their clothes, ran circles around the house and "made" me turn on music to dance to:o)

(Caleb told me he wanted to send the cookie pictures to Jesus.  I asked him how I was going to send it to him and he thought for a minute, then said, "Put it on the blog.  He can see it there.")