Santa Visit

The family with Santa at the Tree Farm



Little Miss sitting in Santa's sleigh


Little Man asking Santa for presents

Apple Picking

The season has come and gone but while it was here we did manage one family trip to an apple orchard for some picking. I honestly thought it would be groves of big apple trees and people on ladders picking but it was SO not that! The trees were Little Man and Little Miss size. Little Miss was not so picky in her apples so she needed adult supervision at all times. Otherwise it was successful, enough so that we took some of our stash to Miss Patti to share!

Where Oh Where Are Those Kids?

What Do You Do With a Green Door?

Decorate it I say!!! Don't mind the little goblins that snuck into the picture. I think they really add to it :)

Your Reminder...

To Stop and Smell the Flowers

Tornado Little Miss Devastates Playroom in Portland!

All in a matter of minutes. She doesn't even have her pajamas off yet!

Guessing Game

Is he is a Rockstar or a Superhero????

SUPERHERO!!!

Thank you for the cape Nana :)

Projects

When daddy was in Michigan watching the Wolverines beat 'the bad guys', Mommy kept us busy with crafts.

First, we made an ocean!!! We had the container, Mommy bought the rocks so it looks like water and then sister and I picked out some cool things at the Dollar Store. We love to play with it everyday. Little Miss loves to dig in the rocks.






Next Mommy took a white plane that I had, gave some markers to sister and I and we went crazy! It was so much fun and we want to do it again.





We did dress up too. Well, I did dress up, sister just watched with a disapproving look.


Once I took it off and she got to wear it, she was much happier!

GGGOOOOAAAALLLLL !!!!!!!!!!!

The plan is as follows:

• Sean picks up dinner on the way to pick up Little Man on soccer day
• Annie leaves to pick up Little Miss 10 minutes or so after Sean
• Sean gets Little Man and leaves Patti's house
• Annie pulls in, gets Little Miss and leaves Patti's house
• Sean and Little Man are off to soccer
• Annie and Little Miss are off to home

We tried this last week and it kinda' sorta' worked. Sean said Little Man started to come alive near the end of the session. So much so that he was trying to get the ball away from other kids and actually scored a goal! It appears that when I am there he is very clingy, VERY clingy.

Will probably keep the same routine for next week but perhaps Mommy and Little Miss will sneak over to take a peek. Next week is team pictures. GO GREEN!!!

Blueberries Are in Season

The weather was great, the fields were wide open and we had our buckets. Mind you, every time I put a blueberry in the bucket Little Miss was there to pluck it out and put it in her mouth!

Sean was serious about the picking.

Not much of a picker, more of an eater.

Hapa in the Park

Our parks and rec has a wonderful summer program called Free Concerts in the Park...yes, you read that correctly. FREE (and we all know how that fits our budgets!). Last week at a park right by the house was a duo called Hapa and they were great! They hail from Maui and play Hawaiian-Polynesia influenced music. My friend Adrienne is from Hawaii so her family and the Taylors decided to make a night of it and so glad we did. We will try to hit a couple more before they end for the season.

They had bouncy houses and tents set up around the park, some vendors offered free giveaways like balloon animals.

Fun was had with my sunglasses.

Little Man made a new friend in their son Kellen. These 2 were all over that park, it amazing how fast they hit it off! (too bad you can't tell by the look on Little Man's face).

And if Little Man was in a chair, can you guess where Little Miss is?
IN A CHAIR!!!

Let the Sports Begin!

Or so we hope.....
Little Man started an all-sports class thru the parks & rec this summer. The concept is pretty cool since they focus on a different sport each week so you can get a feel for what sport your kid actually likes. The classes have been hit or miss. It's like pulling teeth to get this kid to participate...unless I am standing right there next to him. He has gotten better as each Saturday rolls around and lends us some encouragement. I actually got to sit for about 5 minutes this past Saturday! At the time we signed him up for all-sports we also signed him up for micro-mini soccer with his BBF Ava. They are on the green team!

He said he wanted to play, he said he was excited that Ava was playing too. That all changed when it was actually time to play the sport. Coach Liz is his all-sports coach too so that should make it easier right? Yeah, that's what we thought too...sigh. I ran up and down the field with him, he did a little stretching, a little kicking, a little running, but it's better than not at all.

Little Miss on the other hand, was all over playing soccer. We may have the next great Mia Hamm! But then again, anything Little Man does, she is going to do!

Happiness Is....

Doing a dinosaur puzzle with a new hair cut and cool Lightening McQueen pjs...and getting to lay on the kitchen table!!

Crazy Head of Hair

BEFORE

AFTER

Fourth of July at Walloon Lake with the Merritt Crew

We picked the perfect week to be at Nana and Papa Joe's lake house! The weather was wonderful the entire time. We did so much while we there too. We did putt-putt golf for the first time, Little Man went tubing, we spent a day at Mackinaw Island, we saw fireworks, caught the local parade, had smores around a bonfire and got to celebrate Papa Joe's birthday. A perfect Michigan vacation. All the Merritt siblings, including spouses and children made it up so it was excellent seeing everyone, catching up on life, seeing how big the kids had grown...we soaked it all up before we had to depart for home.


beach babes

cousins busy at the beach

Sean and Little Miss at the links

cousins being silly at putt-putt golf

best seat in the house for the parade

curbside for the second half of the parade

best bonfire pit in MI

Little Man showing off his smorey fingers

all the grandkids plus me

ferry ride to Mackinaw Island

The Taylors

A Train Lovers Paradise

Did I mention Little Man loves trains? So there I sit, one 5 minute block of time without children demanding my time or help, and I stumble across an article about a train park in Oregon! It's about 45 minutes from home, no fees but donations requested, totally volunteer run train park.

A (7-1/2”) Gauge railroad nestled on four acres. The grounds are owned and operated by a non-profit organization named “Pacific Northwest Live Steamers”. PNLS has many volunteers who devote they’re time and effort to bring to you an affordable and exciting experience for the whole family.

This place was SO cool! We rode about 6 trains, Little Miss only made 2 trips but Little Man was having a ball. One of the trains looked like Thomas and to hear the gasps and squeals from the kids when he came around the corner was priceless.


Taylor Train Day

All Aboard!

I'm tired, but please can we go again?