CHASSY!

Such a cute little doggy!
We adopted a 1 yr. old 'Whippet' from the shelter today. She is so agile, sweet, loving, and mellow. She loves to just hang out on a lap. When we 'tried' her out at the shelter today, she jumped right up on Alex's lap and was so content being there. 'Love at first sight!'
Natalja has been asking for a pet for her birthday-a hampster, fish, bunny, but we told her that we just got our kitten, Hopper, a couple months ago. We don't need to get another pet so soon.
Then...poor Hopper got hit by a truck, they always come speeding down the hill right by our house. They didn't even notice or stop. The kids took it pretty hard. Since we have been thinking about a little, kid friendly dog for a couple years, we thought this might finally be a good time.

We'll see how she works out, great so far!

fun in the sun

Bret is a boy with no fear!! He loves the water, too! He is showing us how Grandma taught him how to blow bubbles!

Splashing Boys! doing tricks and spins on the body boards in the pool! It's been a very fun summer with all the pool trips. We are so lucky to have the option of my mom & dad's house or the Clawson's have a pool at their house too. It is so much work and so messy to go to the beach, so I am glad my kids can have just as much fun in the water here! -and it's a bit safer ;)

You can really see how much Kelli looks up to her big sister, Talja. I was trying to get some pictures of Talja in white to make an invitation for her baptism. Kelli kept getting right next to Talja and even posing like her as much as she could! It was really sweet, until I needed to actually get some shots of just Natalja!

...and then the really funny part is that Bret copies everything Kelli does, so he started doing the poses too! Luckinly, he is a bit slower than the girls, so he wasn't a problem in the way. Very cute kids I have!

Splashing Boys! doing tricks and spins on the body boards in the pool! It's been a very fun summer with all the pool trips. We are so lucky to have the option of my mom & dad's house or the Clawson's have a pool at their house too. It is so much work and so messy to go to the beach, so I am glad my kids can have just as much fun in the water here! -and it's a bit safer ;)

Aquarium of the Pacific

The really cool looking Roller Coaster Bridge! Natalja by the Shark teeth, she had a great time getting wet in the sea creature park toys that sprayed water. It was a very hot day!
The really cool looking Roller Coaster Bridge! Natalja by the Shark teeth, she had a great time getting wet in the sea creature park toys that sprayed water. It was a very hot day!

Kelli & Talja being swallowed by the shard jaw!!! I love Talja's great sense of humor! Kelli driving the fishing boat, BYE, BYE!

ALL ABOARD!!!

Eli loves to see if he can fit into small places. That's reallly funny because I remember doing the same thing as a kid! He'd make a great crab, but he is way cuter!



I have no idea why the both ended up having their hands/fingers near/in their mouth?! Not the most sanitary place to be putting fingers in the mouth...
my boys, just hangin' out, that wasn't even posed.

lorikeet landing

Kelli kept saying "theose things are UGLY!" about the huge crabs :]

Petting the sting rays. They are quite squishy! Then after touching one, I found out they have a mucus coating, ewww!
The Sea Lions

Long Lost Family Gathering

little stink bug babies climbing on the rocks! so cute!

I finally got to meet Candis, Alex's cousin, Shawn's sister. I have known Shawn since I was 14, but Candis lived in OC with her mom, so I have just never met her. She is a great woman, an incredible girl who has been through so much and such a good person. She is helping Shawn out a lot, he is so lucky to have her. They are pretty much the only close family for each other. Their little brother Colt died at a young age, Bret who helped raise them died 10 yrs. ago, their father who lived in Texas was killed about 6 yrs ago and their mom, Patty died just a couple yrs. ago. It is really incredible for two people to have experienced so much loss.

This is Eli and Candis' son Dylan, who is just a few months younger.

Kelli always ready for the camer, the little boys just trying to keep their balance.

Bret & Logan McKee

Eli watcking everybody from above...

Dylan sliding down the rocks at Grandma Kelly's house.

Shawn and Candis standing together, Candis' husband Ryan close by for when the little ones lose their balance, ;).

We had Shawn and Candis and her family- husband Ryan, & sons Dylan and Logan- over to Kelly's house for a BBQ on Saturday. It was a great day. I am so glad to have finally met Candis, and her family. She is a very sweet girl, I hope we can hang out again and see eachother often.
Shawn's doing really well too! All the kids loved to play with him and 'get' him, or whatever it's called-what they do to the adult that isn't their own parent. He's always been a fun guy!

Boots

it turned out blurry, I didn't know the camera was on manual focus, but Bret was being so cute! He loved the boots and was having so much fun running around in them! It's probably a little to "village people" with just the diaper, but it was time for bed, so I wasn't going to get him all dressed.