Colt's 11th Birthday

 We were stuck at the cabin thanks to the car for Colt's birthday but he didn't mind.  We got home that night and then celebrated later in the week.

Colt's second cousin Harry came for the entire week, they are only 3 weeks apart in age and have the best time together. Harry is fun to have around and fit right in with us.

Fishing at the cabin was somewhat successful. Colt was happy to catch a few.

11 year olds are so goofy, but I sure love this kid! 

Ann came with the girls for a night so we went to a Sweets baseball game, the kids got to enjoy all sorts of fun baseball food.

After the game we sang Happy Birthday to Colt and ended the night with a Dairy Queen ice cream cake.

Colt is one special kid. He is loyal, a leader, a hard worker and a fantastic problem solver. He loves to play sports, hunt, fish and be outdoors. He has the biggest heart for animals and has asked many times for a new dog (we lost our hunting dog this past spring), so maybe next summer he will get one of his own.  He holds my hand every time he sits next to me in the car and multiple times a day he comes up and says "I really love you mom". I never want to forget those little moments and how much they mean to me.  I love you Colt! You are one amazing kid and have such a bright future ahead of you.

 11 year stats

Weight: 99 lbs

Height: 60  inches 

Birthday Questions
What do you want the most for your birthday? hydroflask
What do you want for your birthday breakfast? breakfast burritos with a side of bacon and hashbrowns
What is your favorite color? black
What is your favorite toy? basketball
What is your favorite fruit? mangos
What is your favorite vegetable? carrots
What is your favorite movie? Rocky IV
What is your favorite animal? dog
What is your favorite book? Who Was books
Who is your best friend? Reilly
What is your favorite sport? basketball
What is your favorite thing to do outside? play basketball
What do you sleep with at night? my bed
What is your favorite thing to eat? candy
What do you want to be when you grow up? basketball player or a firefighter
What is your favorite thing to do with dad? stay up really late, watch movies and eat candy.

 What is your favorite thing to do with mom?  go out to DQ

Brownlee Reservoir 2018

My sister Amy organized a Mires Family get together at her cabin on Brownlee Reservoir this past weekend. Unfortunately our time got cut a little short due to car troubles but we still enjoyed our time there.  It was fun to have all the cousins together in one place.  The kids swam, learned to water ski, fish and just played together. The weather was perfect and it was so nice to be with my family for the weekend.

Case was a little rundown this weekend. He spent a lot of time sitting on my lap or laying down. He was diagnosed with pneumonia right before we left and I almost stayed home with him but Dave assured me he would be fine and he knew what to look for if he started to have trouble breathing. It was still hard for me to relax because I was pretty concerned about him (he was so sick and had lost quite a bit of weight for his tiny frame) but he did a good job of just resting and watching the kids have fun throughout the weekend.

We ended up having to stay an extra day because our car was not done being repaired so Dave's cousin Timer came up with his boat and we got to spend the last day fishing and catching! It ended up being a fun result of an annoying problem (I despise car trouble!).

Colorado

Dave and I met up with our good friends Shane and Courtney for a long weekend in Colorado.  It was the first time both of us had been away from the kids in way too long and we enjoyed every minute of just being together and with our friends. We stayed in Denver but spent a lot of time visiting the surrounding areas. Colorado is beautiful! If I didn't love Walla Walla so much I would move there! We spent our evenings in downtown Denver exploring the city and enjoying music, drinks and food.  During the days we ventured to Boulder and Colorado Springs. In Boulder we went on an awesome hike and enjoyed visiting their downtown and the breweries.

Nightlife in Denver was perfect, we had fun and then just walked back to our condo that we had rented for the weekend.

Our day in Colorado Springs we hiked the Garden of the Gods.

Took a tour of the Olympic Training Center.

We also got to visit the Air Force Academy.

It was such a great trip and so nice to get away and have fun. We did not do much relaxing but we made the most of every minute we had while we were in Colorado.  I am definitely coming back and bringing the kids. There is so much to do and see in this beautiful state!

Jax's 9th Birthday

My sweet middle boy turned 9 and he was so gracious and thankful for his birthday. Dave had to work and he asked if he could go to Mr. Ed's for his birthday so that is what we did. He also shared his hot chocolate with both his brothers and sister.

He got a Mariner's jersey, hydroflask, alarm clock and a book on the Chicago Cubs world series win for his birthday this year.

He was super pumped because he got to scrimmage with Colt's team that night and then was given a powerade and an ice cream sandwich after practice. He is really hoping he will make a majors team next year. 

Jax has grown so much this year, he started at a new school and had no trouble making friends and jumping right in to a new routine.  He goes to school every day dribbling his basketball and spends every recess playing basketball or football with Colt and his 4th grade buddies.  He gets home from school and is out shooting baskets again, his love for sports runs deep and he loves going up to Papa's house and talking to him about sports. He is so kind and caring to others and especially to me. He always checks in on me asking me how my day went and always looks for ways to help me out. I am really loving his personality right now and his sweet heart.  Happy Birthday my sweet boy!

 9 year stats

Weight: 79 lbs

Height: 54.5 inches 

Birthday Questions
What do you want the most for your birthday? Mariners jersey
What do you want for your birthday breakfast? Mr. Ed's
What is your favorite color? blue, white &a little bit of pink
What is your favorite toy? my basketball
What is your favorite fruit? cantaloupe
What is your favorite vegetable? carrots
What is your favorite thing to watch? Sportscenter
What is your favorite animal? humpback whale
What is your favorite book? Diary of the Wimpy Kid and Big Nate
Who is your best friend? Bryson
What is your favorite sport? basketball, football & baseball
What is your favorite thing to do outside? play basketball
What do you sleep with at night? lovie
What is your favorite thing to eat? BBQ chicken pizza
What do you want to be when you grow up? physical therapist
What is your favorite thing to do with dad? watch sports center together

 What is your favorite thing to do with mom? go out to ice cream together

Memorial Weekend with the Stacey Family

The Stacey's came back to Walla Walla for another fun visit.  This is the first time they had been to our new home and it was so fun having them around. We spent a lot of time outside playing baseball, running around, campfires, trying to catch crawdad's, wine tasting (with all 6 kids) and just enjoying the nice weather. The kids acted like we see them everyday and they all had fun playing and sleeping in the boys room upstairs together (all 5 of them!).  It was such a fun weekend!

 Early morning wiffle ball games were a kid favorite.

 Visit to the bookstore.

 Wine tasting downtown with all the kids.

 Court and I.

 These kids!

 Lots of time spent outside.

 Bonfire!

 Lots of smore's were made and consumed this weekend.

We went downtown to the Mill Creek Brew Pub for lunch on Sunday.

 Colt (10), Jax (8), Kendall (8), Case (7), Zak (5), Colbi (4).