Horseback Riding

Avery sold a lot of Girl Scout cookies this year.
Her whole troop sold a LOT of Girl Scout cookies.

So...the girls got to vote on how they would like to spend their earned money.
Most of it went to "others".  A shopping trip to buy things for the pediatric wing of our hospital and for dogs and cats at the Humane Society. 
Another portion went to the girls.
ALL of the 8 girls wanted to go horseback riding.
After being rained out, we finally got it re-scheduled and they finally got their time with the horses!

I think the pictures speak for themselves.  Just look at the faces on these girls.  They had a blast!!!

They sat so attentively and patiently through all of the safety talk....

They got their helmets on and were ready to go!!!

There were 5 horses and the girls took turns going on little trail rides.  They each got to ride all of the horses a few different times.  Avery was a little nervous to begin with....

By the second or third time through, she was relaxed and having fun!!

The girls even got to trot a bit....

Once the trail rides were finished, the girls all came together and learned the best way to feed a horse a treat. 

The girls had a GREAT time!  I have a feeling we'll be back!

Season of Service

Our school was contacted by a community service program that was interested in spending a Saturday doing volunteer work.  They organized an amazing event and on that day had 177 volunteers at the school working.

Both Mark and I felt it would be great to be a part of.  A great way to teach our kids about coming together as a community and how important that is.  So, we loaded the girls in the car, signed up for whatever job needed to be done, put on our yellow t-shirts and got to painting!  It was a modest job....painting the foundation.

But the girls really dug in and got into their job!!!
It was an amazing experience!!!  Such a fantastic sense of community.
As a member of the Central staff, I can honestly say the school looks FANTASTIC!  And for people who don't know the school or the population we serve.....this "face-lift" was well-deserved!!!

The kids were amazed on Monday morning!!!  The new landscaping, bright and colorful 4-square lines, a new map of the United states, and soooooooo much more were such a treat!!!  It felt great to have been part of the transformation!  And they are so proud of their new and improved school.

Then, what a surprise it was when we went out on the porch to get our local paper (The Ferndale Record) on Wednesday and hear Annalise say...." Hey....that Avery!!  And me."  Yep.  There we were....front page.  It sure feels good to get involved and make a positive difference.  You could see the look of pride on Avery's face, too.

Grandma and Grandpa

Grandma and Grandpa Schneider couldn't have picked a better weekend to come visit!
The weather was spectacular!!!  And after the winter and spring we've had.....all we wanted to do was be OUTSIDE!!!!

So outside we were!!!!
We played and played and played in the backyard, took a trip to Ferndale's Farmer's Market and had a picnic at the beach.  It was a LOVELY weekend!!!!

Annalise found a new species of crab.....the elusive "KERMIT cLrab".

And no matter what the weather....there is ALWAYS time for snuggling and reading books!!!
We love our Grandma and Grandpa!!!

LOVED visiting with Grandma and Grandpa. 
Come again soon!  (And bring the sunshine back with you!)

Memorial Day--Part 2

On our way home from Duvall we stopped by Everson for a Happy Camper's BBQ!

Another wonderful group of friends who we always LOVE to see and hang out with!
This time was no exception.....

And Aidan had a new ZIPLINE!!!  WooooooHooooooo!!!!!
A good time had by all!!!! :) 

Thanks for hosting Anne and Allan!!!

Memorial Day

We miss our Uncle Geoff and Auntie Robin.
It was sooooooo great spending time together over Memorial Day weekend.
We went to Duvall for a SHORT little visit.



The weather was nice enough to get outside and visit the park.

According to Annalise, "this is the best park EVER!!!!", she was squealing as Uncle Geoff pushed her higher and higher on the swings!! :)  Best day of her life!!  Seriously!  (Wish I had a picture!)

Auntie Robin even had cupcakes for the girls to help bake!

After a fun day of playing together, Auntie Robin was ready to snuggle up and have AVERY read her some stories.  Annalise decided she needed to be right there in the middle, too! :)

Sigh.  Wish we could do this more often.
We're still working on getting them to move CLOSER!!! :)