Sleepover City...

...that's what I've been calling our house lately! To make up for all that time we had cousins visiting (aren't those considered sleepovers too?) and tournaments out of town in July, our kids have been catching up on sleepovers the past two weeks. Gabrielle had four in a row last week! And Cade had Pascal and Liam over (and/or went to their houses) a couple times each. It's been fun seeing them have so much fun with their friends and cousins. Willem even got to spend the night at Ethan's house and had a blast.

Here's a couple pictures of one of Elle's sleepovers last week...

 

Gabrielle, Jorja, Kyndsi, Athena

The next day it was off to Amazon Pool where the girls buried themselves in the sand...

Athena, Kyndsi, Gabrielle

Mountain Men and Woman!

The kids have been asking Chad all summer to take them camping, so Chad bit the bullet and took our three oldest camping for a night in the wilderness above Oakridge. I don't quite understand why or how but they had a blast! In 24 hours they roasted marshmallows, shot the bb gun many many times, destroyed an ant-infested tree stump, fished, hiked, slept in a little three person tent, coated themselves with mosquito repellent, got stung by bees, stuffed the four of them in Chad's little truck for the drive and ate at DQ in Oakridge! And they loved it! Meanwhile, Genevieve and I had a relaxing 24 hours with a clean house (that stayed clean :) plus Nev & I snuggled together all night (she doesn't sleep with us much anymore) and both of us slept soundly until 9:30 am! Nev did ask about her daddy and siblings many times throughout the day; it was very sweet and we were all happy to see each other again and swap stories this evening!

A bb gun, Swiss army knife and a fishing pole, what else does a kid need?

Oh ya, junk food, of-course!

Watch out for the ants, Will!

The Mountain Men and Woman!

Dad and Kathleen's Wedding: Part II

Last Sunday evening, August 1st, 2010, my Dad and Kathleen were married in a beautiful ceremony at Chateau Lorane. 

The setting was just gorgeous...

And the bride and groom were beautiful and happy...

The ceremony began with Willem and Riley as ring bearer and flower girl...

And a beautiful bride (with fun sons!) walking down the aisle...

It continued with a touching and personal ceremony...

And ended with a radiant husband and wife...

The speeches were fun and meaningful...

The cake (and dinner) was delicious...

And then came the dancing...

More yummy food...

And more dancing...

And a lot of smiles and happy friends and family...

Cousins: Naomi, Selene, Meleesa, Athena & Gabrielle

Nuk-loving Nev and Emmy                         Nev with cousins, Daniel and Roman

19 of my Dad's 23 Grandkids were able to join in the celebration...

And all seven of his kids (David, Duane, Marcus, James, Leticia, Marilyn & Amber) would not have missed it...

Kathleen's family was happy to be there too...

Here are my Dad and Kathleen with most of their many lucky grandkids...

And, finally, some pictures of our family and some of my siblings' families...

Our family!

My brother James and his family (older daughters, Denisha and Jevon not pictured)

My sister, Marilyn, and three of her six children (hubby Eric and Erika, Jackie & Leah were missing)

My sister, Amber (who took most of these great photographs), and her family

My brother, David, and his family

My brother, Duane, and his lovely wife, Mary. I had to include the second picture of their 'Brangelina' pose :)

Me and My Sisters!

And, one last picture of Chad and me

It was a great day with family and friends. It was very nice to see my Dad and Kathleen so happy and we are so glad we could celebrate the day with them!

Genevieve Gets Her First Real Haircut!

Today, my friend, Helen, who owns Willow Hair, gave Genevieve her first real hair cut. I have trimmed the back a few times but this felt different. Nev did good in the chair (for a 19 month old :). She had to be entertained and distracted by me and Helen's daughter, Savannah, numerous times but she sat still enough for a good little trim. I will try to get some pictures of her tomorrow with her new cut but here are some cute ones I took with my cellphone during the cut.