The Fair

The Fair was last week and I hadn't thought much about going, but Thursday evening Kim and Kelsey decided that we should take the kids on Friday. So we did! We met up at Kim's house first and then headed over to the fairgrounds together. It was a perfect day, with a slight breeze and not too hot. 

We started by some of the cows; a baby calf had been born just prior to us arriving, and Annaliese loved watching it. She wanted to stay and see how long it would take for it to stand up but we convinced her that we could come back later in the day and check up on it. She asked about it throughout the day and thought it was amazing that it figured out how to stand by the time we came back mid-afternoon!

We checked out the pigs (a few baby piglets had been born several days ago,) the horses and the sheep and then moved on to watching some horse events.

Piglets under the warming lights

An attempt at a cute picture...Lydia and Owen weren't cooperating!

Annaliese and Auntie Dar

While we ate lunch, we watched the draft horses get connected to the wagons and walk into the arena; we didn't realize that there was a big outdoor arena where they were doing more things, so we patiently sat inside waiting for something more to happen. We finally discovered the outdoor arena and made it over to watch a group of cowgirls do a show; it was pretty fascinating to watch them riding around, holding on to a flag the entire time! Unfortunately, I didn't get any pictures (although they probably would have been all blurry anyways since they were running around so fast!)

Our next stop was the Wenatchee Kids Circus; they put on an impressive show, including some tightrope walking, some routines on these crazy high bars and ladder swings, and some tumbling acts. Haleigh, Mallory, and Malachi were mesmerized. The sat in the very front row for 45 minutes and did not move!

Finally, we had promised the kids one ride, so we headed over to the carnival section. We spent some time walking around checking out all the rides until they agreed on one that they were all tall enough to ride without an adult. They made a good choice and all had fun!

By mid-afternoon, Kyle met up with us and Kim and Kelsey headed home. We spent some more time wandering around, checking out the animals. We talked to a few of the girls who have horses and Annaliese wanted to watch them riding them. It was just for exercise, but it was pretty neat to see how comfortable they all were with their animals! We headed home in time for an early dinner and then a trip to Edaleen's for ice cream to finish out our day! 

Fancy Nancy and the A.N.G Spa

This summer we've been making weekly trips to the library and Annaliese routinely checks out as many Fancy Nancy books as she can find. She recently read one where Fancy Nancy created a beauty day for her mom and she immediately asked me if we could do something like that. My mom found out that this was something we were going to do and set it all up with Annaliese. 

I was invited to the A.N.G. Spa (that's fancy for Annaliese Noelle Gillette) and was treated to a morning of pampering. Annaliese followed the book exactly! My day included a banana and honey face mask, a manicure, a pedicure, and getting my hair done. There were also yogurt parfaits for a mid-morning snack. It was so much fun! Since Kelsey is off work right now, she was able to join me as well. 

Warming my face 

Banana and Honey Face Mask and cucumbers for my eyes

Hand massages

  

Manicure time!

A little entertainment while the nail polish dries!

Foot soaks

Make-up time!

All done...feeling refreshed and pampered!

Thanks, Mom for setting up this fun morning and for helping Annaliese (and her helpers!)  We all had a great time!

Horseback Riding

Last week Uncle Harv and Auntie Patti offered to take their horses out to Berthusen Park in Lynden for Ethe kids to ride. Annaliese has been asking to ride a horse recently so we decided to take them up on their offer and meet them out there. Kelsey and Ben came along with Mallory and Owen and Mom and Dad came with Malachi and Elias while Thane was working and Kim was off visiting college friends for the weekend. 

There were several other cousins there as well, most of whom are much more familiar with horses than we are! For the first 'ride,' Haleigh hopped on one horse, Malachi climbed on the second and Annaliese and Elias opted to go together on the third. I was shocked that Haleigh would sit up on the horse all by herself! She had a huge grin on her face the whole time!

About halfway through, Annaliese and Elias decided it was too uncomfortable and they wanted off; Lydia and I climbed on in their place. Lydia didn't seem to care much about the horse but made it very clear that she did not like her helmet. 

They switched riders and Annaliese rode by herself, Kyle took a turn, and Mallory, Auntie Kelsey and Owen also had the chance to ride. Unfortunately, just before getting back to where we started, Annaliese's horse tripped over a stick and stumbled, causing Annaliese to fall off. Her scream started Mallory's horse, but Mallory was gripping the saddle tight enough to prevent her from falling all the way off. And then Kelsey's horse fell over. Kelsey was holding Owen, and thankfully he was fine but she ended up with a fractured fibula; Annaliese had a few scrapes and now is just excited that she has a good story to tell! 

After riding, we had a picnic dinner at the park and birthday cake for Ben's birthday (although he was at Urgent Care with Kelsey and didn't get to enjoy it.) Even though things didn't go quite as planned, we all had a good time and Annaliese has said that she wants to try riding a horse again!

The Seventh Annual Gillette-Prentice-Feffer Get-together

For quite a few years now, starting with before Annaliese was even born, we've been getting together with our friends to go camping. Over the years, it's changed a bit and instead of camping, we've stayed at one another's houses or rented a house together. Last year, only the guys got together to watch the eclipse in Yellowstone. 

This year, we rented a house in South Lake Tahoe and met up for a few days. Between the three families, we had 6 adults and 9 kids (between the ages of 6 1/2 years old and 6 months!) It's always amazing how we can all be under one roof and have so much fun together! Jenn put together a menu that accommodated our various food allergies, the guys did most of the cooking and it was a team effort to keep the dishes washed and the kids entertained!

We left home early Wednesday morning and made it through Seattle without any problems. In fact the whole day was pretty easy driving. We made it to Klamath Falls, OR and decided to spend the night there. We found a hotel, went for a swim and were all in bed by 8:00!

Ready for breakfast at McDonalds

Lunchtime at a park somewhere along the way

Thursday morning we hopped back in the car and made it to Tahoe; we pulled into the driveway of our house about 2 minutes after the Feffer's arrived! While the house said it slept 12, it didn't really accommodate 12 people in any other way. (Think table seating for 6, smallest dishwasher I've ever seen, and small living room.) There was a foosball table upstairs so the kids spent the majority of the time we were at the house playing that! Jenn and Russ arrived around 9:30 Thursday evening so we spent most of Thursday just catching up with the Feffers and trying to get our kids to go to sleep!

Friday we headed to Pope Beach and spent our day by the lake. The kids played in the sand, the adults did some swimming, and we enjoyed the sunshine.

Brooks and Eden

Holden, Annaliese, Haleigh, Josephine, and Eleia

Russ' parents were also camping near Tahoe for their annual memorial hike that they do for Russ' brother. Part of the reason we chose to come to this area was so that we could participate in the hike they do. Friday evening we went out to the campground where they were staying for dinner. The campground host was great and gave all of the kids glowsticks, which they loved! There were lots of rocks to climb and space to go exploring at the campsite. The kids loved it!

Malachi

"Friendship bracelets"

Saturday morning, the guys headed off to the hike with Annaliese, Holden, Josephine, and Eleia. They went on a 5 mile hike to Showers Lake. From what we were told, the kids all did amazing and everyone was very impressed with them!

Josephine and Annaliese

Holden, Annaliese, Josephine, Eleia

While they were off hiking, the ladies took the little kids to a local park. We spent some time playing on the playground and then went on a little 'hike' along the river. 

Brooks and Haleigh

Eden, Brooks, and Haleigh

We headed back to our house for afternoon naps and the guys and big kids came home late afternoon. After a quick dip in the hot tub and showers, we headed back to the campground for dinner (and more glow sticks!)

Sunday morning we had to head home. After breakfast, we cleaned up a bit, ate some popsicles and hopped in the car. 

Our drive was just over 14 hours; we had a lot more traffic on our way home but the kids did amazingly well. They did a lot of coloring, we listened to a few books on tape, several Adventures in Odyssey cassettes (yep, my van has a cassette player in it!) and ate lots of snacks. 

Ice cream stop!