Down by the river...

During our short camping extravaganza 

Rolli and Vivian couldn't resist playing at the river's edge.

This made me quiet nervous.

But the dangers of a freezing, fast moving river didn't even faze those two.

Vivian and Rolli.

It really was beautiful.

I can understand why they wanted to play and climb right here.

I had to share this picture.

Because of the look that Rolli is giving Vivian.

Viv had declared that they where playing "mom and dad."

I don't think that Rolli agreed with the 'bossing' that makes up Vivian's role.

Rolli could have sat for hours throwing sticks in the water 

and watching them travel downstream.

Another picture I had to share...

This is what Vivian looks like when she plays "mom."

The orders and instructions just flow out of her mouth at a high volume.

Not sure how I feel about her portrayal of a mother... 

This kid!

I'm thankful for his balance, coordination and strength.

Because he jumped from one rock to the next without hesitation,

without thinking of the possibility of slipping.

When I warned him how dangerous playing near the water can be

he just confidently said,

"Mom, I won't fall in."

And he didn't even want me to be too close,

just in case I had to catch him.

0% fear.  100% action.

Despite the water hazard...

I enjoyed watching my two imaginative toddlers play and explore together.

Fishing

Rolli has been talking about going fishing all the time lately.

Problem is we don't ever take the poor kid fishing.

Marshall, being the fabulous Dad he is, listened to his son's request.

And off we went...

Looking for the perfect fishing hole.

New gear and license in hand.

We had to walk a ways from our camp site.

And we didn't find the 'perfect' spot.

But we found a little piece of shore that pleased Rolli just fine.

This kid was in Heaven!

His patience is impressive.

Still determined to catch a fish.

Rolli's dedication to fishing out lasted the rest of us that day.

Daddy and Vivian casting a line.

These two captured my attention better than the fishless stream.

All smiles...

and no fish.

Marshall and I where finally able to convince Rolli that the fish weren't biting

and we started the walk back to our camp smelling like skunk.

Spotting this bicolored caterpillar was a nice reward for having to leave the fishing hole.

Rolli and Daddy fished some more back at the camp site.

And he still wants to go fishing again!

Mushrooms, mushrooms and mushrooms

Marshall, Rolli, Vivian and me where all pleasantly surprised by

 the large variety of mushrooms we found during our camping explorations.

All different colors, shapes, sizes and smells.

But mostly in similar environments.

Vivian is pointing at one of our favorite mushroom finds.

In fact we stopped to look at it every time we walked by :)

This little explorer couldn't resist the temptation to pick a perfectly formed fungi.

Say, "Cheese for mushrooms!"

Seriously though, we really did have fun searching for as many mushrooms as the forest would let us discover.  I think we may have a couple of future morel hunters in the making!

Camping!!!!

With the car packed to the max we left for our 

first ever Annual Family Camping Trip!

Vivian, Bella and Rollin ready for adventure!

And barely any room to spare.

Marshall drove us up the Icicle to the Ida Creek Campground.

There where about a dozen sites and only one other group of campers.

We nearly had the whole place to ourselves!

Of course we picked the most perfect spot ;)

This site came complete with a river viewing stump and the tranquil sound of flowing water.

Daddy and Rolli enjoying the fresh air, beautiful surroundings and each others' company.

Rolli is showing me how strong he had to be to climb up the stump by himself.

After exploring the area a little bit you know we had to get right to roasting marshmallows.

Marshall and Rolli roasting the first marshmallows!

Rollin had fun roasting the marshmallows but when it came to eating them...

this is the look he gave me.

He took one bite and that was it for the first night.

Who's kid is he anyways?!

Vivian of course LOVED the marshmallows.

Sweet and sticky, just her style.

One of my favorite things about camping is the fire.

My next favorite thing about camping is sharing the fire with these silly kids.

And the best part about camping is having Daddy there!

8 months pregnant and warming my belly 

before crawling into the tent for a snuggly night of sleep.

"Egg-citing" news!

Our four baby chicks have been growing all summer.

They've really become a part of our 'family'.

These silly girls have learned to explore the entire backyard.

The patio is one of their favorite spots to visit.

Blacky.

Then one mid morning we lost Henrieatta :(

Vivian was so upset she was crying.

Rolli was determined to find her.

And guess where we found her!

She was tucked as far under the shed as possible...

sitting on 2 eggs!!

Rollin and Vivian with our first eggs!

They insisted on getting their "egg baskets" for collecting.

Two perfect eggs from our proud laying hen Henrietta.

Then we found 2 more eggs in the coop...

then 2 more the next day!

I think the baby chicks are all grown up now :)

Our first backyard grown egg breakfast!

Who's hungry?!

After breakfast Rolli and Vivian went outside to say "Thank you!" to the chickens.

And we started our day with bellies full of yummy protein!

It's Fair time again!

*sorry about the blurry pictures.

It's hard to photography moving kids, animals and rides,

all at the same time.*

I cannot believe that it's already Fair time again!

Although it is starting to feel like fall around here.

Rolli, Vivian and I joined our friends at the Chelan County Fair on Thursday.

(FYI:  Thursday is the best day to go, still clean and small crowds.)

All of the kids wanted to see the animals very first thing.

Except the pigs, they didn't really care for the pigs.

So we hurried through the pig barn and over to the goats, sheep and poultry.

Rolli, Otto, Felix and Vivian.

"Oh' the goats are so cute."

Vivian and Rollin loved the soft rabbits.

This doe rabbit had 3 babies!

A white turkey!

All the kids where excited about this big guy.

There where lots of different breeds of chicken this year too.

One little hen even laid a small egg in her cage. 

This nice girl was showing a mother hen and her baby chick.

She let our gang pet the baby :)

Vivian, Rolli and Felix.

All of the animals felt so different.

Lots of textures, smells, sights and sounds!

Putting all your senses to work like that can sure make for a hungry tummy:)

Fortunately I brought snacks...

who am I kidding...

Nobody wants my snacks when there is fair food around.

Rolli and Viv each got to pick out one treat. 

Rolli with his white chocolate and sprinkles dipped strawberry kabob.

Clearly he is satisfied with his treat pick.

Vivian with her chocolate dipped strawberry and banana kabob.

Obviously Vivian doesn't mess around when it comes to eating a treat.

I talked Rolli and Vivian into entering some of their art work into the fair this year.

Honestly I think that I was more excited about it than they where.

But it was still kinda cool for them to find their pictures amongst all the other stuffs.

Vivian with her painting that won a 1st place sticker :)

Rolli in front of his painting that also won a 1st place sticker.

I'm not sure what the judging criteria was 

but it seemed that most of the projects had the same little blue sticker.

We still had to do one more thing before leaving the fair...

Carnival RIDES!

Vivian, Rolli and Felix on the Dragon roller-coaster!

Vivian LOVED this! 

She laughed, screamed and waved the whole time.

Rolli really liked it at first.

Then he decided that was enough.

Rolli and Vivian on the Airplane ride.

Same one we did last year,

but this year they wanted to go by themselves.

Two rides and we already ran out of tickets.  

So the smaller 3 kids just watched Otto on the bigger rides.

Vivian and Felix watching Chloe and Otto zoom by!

It won't be long and I'll just have to buy the kids wrist bands for all the rides.

Once again.

Fun times at the fair!

baby fish

Rollin showing me the baby fish he caught.

Bare handed, of course.

I snapped the photo moments before he informed me,

"I ate my fish!"

Why wouldn't you, Rolli, why wouldn't you eat a raw baby fish at the river...