FUN in Washington

We had a great visit in Lacey, Washington. We went to the beach the first day there, the kids (and adults) got to play in the Pacific Ocean. The water was cold but we had fun anyway. We went to the Children's museum where Valynn and Mason played for hours, Kyra got to spend time with her Grandmas. We helped celebrate a couple of birthdays and spent hours visiting with relatives. We even got to meet a few new ones. The kids had fun playing with Mia and Alex and Kyra was intrigued by baby Amia. The kids were wonderful on the plane ride and while visiting, we even survived the overnight flight without much hassle.

Celebration!!!!

We helped Great Great Aunt Vi celebrate her 90th birthday. We threw her a surprise party. Here is a picture of Kyra with Great Great Great Aunt Vi (yellow), Great Great Aunt Delores (pink), and Great Grandma Hinds (white). I also have a picture of the kids with Vi and if I did my math right, their third cousin Mia. We also celebrated Grandma Larson's birthday. She got a cupcake for her birthday (cousin Jesse is in the background).

Lighthouse

Mark and I were able to tour the inside of the Wind Point Lighthouse in Racine, WI. It was built in 1880. There were 144 stairs to reach the top. It was fun to see the inside of the lighthouse. The kids weren't able to go up into the lighthouse so they stayed at the family reunion with their grandparents.

Swim lessons

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Today was the last day of swim lessons for Valynn and Mason, which meant it was fun day. They went down the water slide and got to play in the different pools. They both have come a long way in just the few lessons this summer. Valynn will jump off the diving board and swim to the surface by herself, she still needs a little help swimming to the side. She will also go down the water slide by herself and no one needs to catch her. Mason doesn't get mad if his head goes underwater, he didn't like his face getting wet and now it doesn't bother him. He was busy walking all over the pool where it was two feet deep without the instructor near him.
Kyra is our little Houdini, she learned how to unlatch the gate going downstairs. She had a tough day on Wednesday. She fell on the cement at swim lessons and had a big red mark on her forehead and then later that day she tripped in Valynn's room and hit her bed and got a bloody nose. Kyra had her first haircut yesterday, just a little trim so she can see. She is currently into reading books and Valynn is always ready to read a book to her.
Valynn is counting down the days to Kyra's birthday which also happens to be the first day of kindergarten.

Aren't they cute?

Here is just a few pictures from around the house. I got a picture of all three kids laying together on the sleeping bag. Of course Kyra didn't lay there long, she doesn't sit still much. Mason is giving Kyra a hug and Kyra is crawling underneath the coffee table. Did I mention she doesn't sit still for long?

It's that Time of Year Again!!

Tanners Orchard is open. The kids and I headed out there on Tuesday to meet up with some friends. Unfortunately I just realized I didn't take any pictures. None the less, the kids had fun playing on the train, feeding the goats, and of course eating donuts. On Wednesday after swimming lessons we met some friends at Wildlife Prairie State Park for the afternoon. The kids had a great time visiting and looking at the animals. That evening we took the neighbors paddle boat out on the lake. The kids had fun riding, unfortunately it was mom and dad who got tired from the paddling, not the kids. The kids can't wait to take the boat out again soon.

Camping Rinkel Style

We asked the kids what they wanted to do on Saturday.
Valynn wanted to have a picnic, kick a ball, and go camping. Mason wanted to play baseball, have a picnic, and go camping. So we did it all. We had corn fresh from the field thanks to John. The kids helped shuck it to have on our picnic. Later that night after another picnic, playing kickball and baseball we had smores over the fire, watched a movie, and then all five of us slept in the tent. Mark, Kyra, and I headed in around 5:30 in the morning to find a softer bed (the ground is hard after the air mattress deflates). Valynn and Mason slept out there the whole night and keep asking to do it again.